HUGE thanks to everyone who took part, raising a grand total of £944.54.   Another great success, thanks to our Fundraisers!

Our new school handbook is now available for download.

School Handbook 2018/2019

Can you believe it?  We will be in December by the end of this week!  Exciting times ahead.

Week 3 Menu choices this week.  Remember to discuss the menu with your child to make sure they pick something they like.

Yet again, it has been a busy week for Team Kirkshaws!

I am delighted to report that all 5 of our new sink units have now been fitted, and I’m sure you will agree they are looking splendid!  Our recent improvements were finished off with a lick of paint in my office too.  It’s all coming together nicely!

Other big events this week included a very busy Parents’ night.  There were lots of proud parents and happy children in and around Kirkshaws on Thursday night.  Many thanks to everyone who took time to complete the questionnaires circulating on the night.  We want to know your opinions so we can build on our successes.

We have had various ambassadors out and about, representing Kirkshaws again this week.  From Coatbridge High, to Asda and the Time Capsule…it doesn’t matter where our learners go, they always come back home with glowing reports.  Well done, everyone!

Christmas rehearsals are also well underway.  Look out for more information coming home next week about our various Christmas performances coming up.  It is sounding GOOD!

Unfortunately, the week ended with disappointing news for our P.7 children.  Many of you will have heard that Kilbowie Outdoor Centre has had to close to visitors over the coming week due to a sickness bug that has struck in recent days.  While the Centre undergoes a deep clean it is not safe for us to be there.  Staff at Kilbowie have assured us that they will aim to give us alternative dates as soon as they can.  I will be sure to keep you informed as soon as I know any details.

It is Week 2 menu choices this week.  See the picture menus below if your child needs a little guidance.

One of the qualities that makes Kirkshaws so special to me is the strong partnership that exist amongst ALL members of the school community.  Staff, parents, former parents and pupils all enjoy working together for the benefit of our school community.

Take this week, for example…our Fundraisers organised another well-attended Afternoon Tea, where parents and grandparents had the opportunity to pop in for a cuppa and cake and shop for Christmas gifts, whilst being entertained by some of our enthusiastic pupils.  Then the same Fundraisers were back in later in the week, planning the fine details of the Christmas Fête which will run on 9th December.  Not only that, but our Parent Volunteer group were in on Thursday, as always, preparing teaching resources with a smile.  In addition, our children continue to benefit from Mr Roe’s help in classes several times each week.  We also had a full-house for our Kilbowie Information event on Monday evening, directly followed by a busy Parent Council Meeting. And as for our Bronze Award outing to the Showcase – well, without parent volunteers we simply couldn’t have gone!  And let’s not forget the family homework I set this week.  I’m delighted to say, I am snowed under with all your responses to our Values task.  Who says primary schools are for under 12s?  At Kirkshaws there is no age limit to our team!  To EVERY parent or volunteer who took an active role this week…THANK YOU, your efforts have not gone unnoticed.

However, I can’t ignore the work of our younger members either.  Matt Stewart, from Entrepreneur Me, was thrilled with the enthusiasm shown by our P.5-7 pupils during his first follow-up visit since the launch of our Enterprise is the Business project.  Matt will be returning after Christmas to build on this with the pupils from Rooms 9 & 10, as they devise a ‘Do Good’ project to benefit those in need in our local area.

Our sporting stars also had another successful week.  A further two wins for the football team on Tuesday night had Mr Gall grinning for ear to ear.  Mr Sharp was also full of praise for the pupils he took to the Sportshall Athletics event on Friday.  Hard work, determination, resilience and first class sportsmanship made the day a huge success.  Lady Rocks Basketball coaches were also full of praise for the pupils they worked with on Friday.  I am always so proud to hear how well our pupils listen, apply themselves and help each other, both in class and when working with visiting specialists!

Our gardeners continue to work with Toni each week.  I can’t believe they are still smiling and throwing themselves into the huge task ahead, even with a significant drop in temperature this week.

Add to that the extensive work carried out by all classes linked to Anti-bullying Week, and I think you can safely say that we collectively value the  strong positive relationships that make Kirkshaws unique!

What a great start on our journey to becoming a Rights Respecting School!

We are proud to become part of the Rights Respecting School Award (RRSA).  Below is a short information letter about the process.

RRSA Letter

Home/School Partnership Forms will be coming home this week, but if you lose it, you can download another copy here.

We are on Week 1 of the Autumn/Winter menu.  Please discuss meal options with your child, and perhaps look at the picture menu below.  Click on a picture to magnify it.  Sometimes even our older children need a little guidance when it comes to picking a new lunch option.

So, what’s on this week?

Looking ahead to the following week, remember pupils do not attend on Monday 20th November as this is a staff in-service training day.

As always, when I sit at the end of the week and consider all that Team Kirkshaws has achieved, I don’t know how we fitted it all in!

TWO Friendship League football matches, THREE new carpets laid in Rooms 10, 14 & 16, FOUR lessons from Coatbridge High staff, NINE after school clubs, ELEVEN crates of donations for our Fundraisers Christmas Fête, HUNDREDS of Poppies sold, THOUSANDS of questions asked and answered in our learning community and INNUMERABLE moments of joy and encouragement in our playrooms, classrooms and playgrounds as our learners develop skills for learning, skills for life & skills for work!

First of all, I must thank everyone for the very generous donations made to our Christmas Fête.  There seems to be no end to your kindness and support.  Without your help, events like this could not go ahead.  Huge thanks too to our Fundraisers group, who somehow manage to find the time to organise it all.  Hats off to you, ladies!  I have no idea how you fit it all in AND keep smiling.

Running through ALL Kirkshaws lessons is the desire to provide our children with quality learning experiences to prepare them with SKILLS FOR LEARNING, SKILLS FOR LIFE & SKILLS FOR WORK.  Through this tiny gallery of photographs here, you get a flavour of what that looks like in our school.  These were all taken this week, but only show a tiny fraction of the learning going on here.

• academic achievements across ALL curricular areas
• personal hygiene – toothbrushing built in to daily practice from Nursery to P.7
• personal safety – crossing the road, using scissors, following safety rules in school
• developing relationships – families working in partnership, playground buddies, cooperative learning, peer tutors – sharing their learning with others, family homework (don’t forget to tell us which Values your family consider MOST important)
• making sense of the world around us by experimenting, asking questions, trying out personal ideas
• staying healthy – learning the importance of a healthy lifestyle at a young age to promote long term benefits
• thinking of the needs of others – charity events benefiting our wider school community and beyond
• making every day count – demonstrating effort, enthusiasm and a commitment to being in school every day – on time and ready to work with a smile!

I consider myself VERY fortunate to be working with such an amazing team of staff, learners and parents.  Together we will continue to BELIEVE, ACHIEVE, SUCCEED!