Head Teacher’s News – Page 3 – Stane Primary School and Nursery Class

Mr. Clark’s Blog – Wednesday 22nd October 2015

Today was another busy day at Stane Primary with lots of active and engaging learning opportunities taking place from the nursery to Primary 7.

Primary 1 and Primary 1/2 took the opportunity to extend their learning outdoors this afternoon by searching for signs of Autumn. They collected lots of fallen leaves and explored the different colours.

Our playground is such a wonderful resource and has so many mature trees – the range of colours at the moment are wonderful. We are also very lucky to have our own rabbits that live in the wild banking area. Sometimes when I am working in my office, I spot some rabbits scampering across the playground! Tomorrow, I will be working in Primary 1/2 and we will further explore the theme of Autumn with Primary 2 as well.

Wednesday is one of my favourite days in school as it is our Celebrating Success Assembly. Rev. Jonathan, our new school chaplain, joined us again. We are delighted that he has become an important member of our team already and the children were very pleased to see him today.

The children work very hard to follow the Golden Rules every day to make our school a safe, happy and purposeful learning environment. Our focus Golden Rule for October is ‘We are Kind and Gentle’ and I was delighted to award the Pupils of the Week their certificates for demonstrating these qualities:

The Pupils of the Week who have been kind and helpful.

These children will join me for ‘Tea with Mr. Clark’ very soon!

The next presentation was to the ‘Workers of the Week’. Our learning focus is ‘Daily Writing’ this month and there was lots of examples of this, from Visualisers, Beginning, Middle, End summaries to Taught Writing. I am always very impressed with how confident the children are at showcasing their work and explaining why they were chosen:

The Workers of the Week demonstrated excellence in Daily Writing tasks.

This week, I presented two ‘Head Teacher’s Awards’. One pupil has been demonstrating wonderful, exemplary manners to the other children in his class. I was very impressed with his attitude when I taught the class on Tuesday. The other pupil, along with his dad, came to our school during the October holiday and repaired the amphitheatre. I am very grateful for their kindness:

Head Teacher's Awards for boys who have been excellent role models in school. — Head Teacher’s Awards for boys who have been excellent role models in school.

Every week at assembly, the children who have had a birthday get one of our wonderful ‘Birthday Crowns’ and all of the children sing Happy Birthday to mark the occasion. There were lots this week because of the holiday:

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!

At Stane Primary, we love to celebrate the children who have achieved at a sport or activity outwith school. This week, one pupil shared her trophy from Irish Dancing and another presented her Gold medal from a Judo competition and her Silver medal earned at the British Judo Championships. As ever, I am very proud of my pupils who represent the school so well:

Success with Irish Dancing and Judo outwith school.

The final presentation was to our mature and responsible Primary 7 children who attended Kilbowie the week before the holiday. The children received their Kilbowie certificate, which I hope they will cherish as a memento of a fantastic experience.

There have been lots of letters sent home this week – please return the tear of slips for Parent’s Night and After School Clubs as soon as possible. Money and slips for the pantomime must also be sent to school as soon as possible.

At assembly, I reminded the children that the Parent Council Hallowe’en disco takes place on Tuesday 27th October 2015 in the school hall. Children in the Nursery to Primary 2 should attend between 5.30pm and 6.30pm. Primary 3-7’s disco is from 6.45pm-8pm. There will be a DJ, a best costume competition and other games and prizes. The cost of the disco is £1.50 per pupil, which should be paid at the door. There will be a tuck shop available on the night.

Please remember that costumes can be spooky, but not too scary!

Mr. Clark’s Blog – Tuesday 20th October 2015

I had the pleasure of teaching Primary 5/6 all day today. It was lovely to be a ‘class teacher’ for the day and to spend time sharing the learning of the children. They were learning more about report writing today and the children were writing biographies of the American artist Georgia O’Keeffe. The children’s reports were written in a factual way and each person was able to make good use of headings to organise their information. I was very impressed with the quality of the writing.

In the afternoon, the children were creating art work in the style of Georgia O’Keeffe and this will be displayed in the school hall when it is complete. I was very impressed with the children’s use of shape and bold colours to create their art.

The Primary 5’s enjoyed their fortnightly Kodaly music lesson with Mrs. McGregor today. She is teaching them all about the rhythm of musical beat using ‘ta’ and ‘ta-te’. I enjoyed hearing their songs when they returned to class.

Primary 2 have been busy learning the months of the year in maths with Mrs. McLean and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to their song today. Their enthusiasm was evident with their big smiles as they sang.

The new ‘colour band’ system is proving to be very successful in the dinner hall, with all children getting their first choice again today. I am very impressed with how quickly the children have taken to the new system. Please continue to help your child decide what they are going to order each morning. Remember that the menu can be found online.

The children in Primary 3 and Primary 4/5 are still working hard on the rehearsals for their Egyptian themed assembly which takes place on Friday 30th October at 9.30am. All parents, carers and relatives of pupils in these classes are invited to attend.

Two weeks ago, the AGM of the Parent Council and the first meeting of the newly formed 2015/16 group took place in the school. The minutes are available on the school website in the ‘Parent Council’ menu. I am delighted that two local companies affiliated with the Parent Council are going to sponsor new football strips and tracksuits for the school and can’t wait for them to arrive.

At the AGM, Mrs. Linfoot joined the Parent Council as Staff Member, and Rev. Jonathan Abernathy-Barkley, the new school chaplain, was accepted as a co-opted member. There is currently one vacancy on the Parent Council. An information letter about this will be sent home this week with details of how parents can express an interest in filling this vacancy.

The Parent Council will be delighted to welcome all children to the Hallowe’en Disco next week. It takes place on Tuesday 27th October 2015. The Nursery children, P1 and P2 should attend between 5.30pm and 6.30pm. P3-7 disco takes place between 6.45pm and 8pm. £1.50 entry to be paid at the door.

If your child is the oldest member of your family in our P1-7 classes, they will have come home with the Parent Teacher consultation letters today. These take place on Thursday 12th November 2015. The letter allows you to select between the afternoon and evening sessions. Please return the tear-off slip as soon as possible to class to allow the teachers to plan suitable appointment times.

Tomorrow is our weekly ‘Celebrating Success’ assembly. Check out Twitter feed later on tomorrow to see photographs of the pupils who are celebrating success in and out of school.

Mr. Clark’s Blog – Monday 19th October 2015

It’s been quite a while since I’ve had the chance to blog about what is happening in our wonderful school. It was lovely to see everyone back today after the October holiday and to find out what all of the children have been doing during the break. It was great to have such lovely weather and I hope everyone had the chance to spend some time outdoors.

Miss Tiffney is still unwell and won’t be back at work this week. The children in P4/5 are really missing her and send her get well wishes. Mrs. Glen and Mrs. Scott will teach the class this week.

I visited the nursery class this morning and as soon I walked into the playroom, one of the children invited me to share an ‘under the sea’ counting book with her. It was great to take 10 minutes out of my day to sit in the library corner with her and share the story together. It was very kind of her to ask me to join in.

Primary 3 and 4/5 have been very busy practising for their upcoming ‘Egyptian’ assembly which takes place a week on Friday at 9.30am. I have had a wee sneak preview of some of the singing and dancing – I am sure all of the parents and guests will really enjoy it. The children will be writing invitations in their taught writing lesson this week which will be sent home this week.

After lunchtime, I worked with P1/2 and P2 as they took their learning outdoors. They were using playground chalk to draw pictures on the ground of everything they know about ‘autumn’ ahead of their new block of interdisciplinary learning. There was lots of pictures of trees losing their leaves and of Hallowe’en costumes. Mr. O’Donnell was busy writing down lots of comments the children were making onto paper leaves. I wonder if these will be part of the children’s learning journey display?

Today was the start of the new colour band system for school dinners, and I am delighted that it went so smoothly. All of the children having a school dinner chose their meal in the morning and then came to the dinner hall wearing the correct colour band. I was very pleased that the amount of leftover food was reduced and that the very last person to come to the counter still got exactly what he ordered.

Please help continue to make this go smoothly by talking to your child about what they will choose each day. You can see the menu here or sign up for email alerts to have it sent directly to you every week.

Two important letters were sent home with the children today. Pupils in P1-7 have received a letter about this term’s after-school clubs. I am delighted to be able to offer P1-3 Fun Fitness, P1-3 Art and Crafts, P4-7 Football and P4-7 Cross Country. Later on in the month, I hope to be able to offer a P2-4 dance club too.

The second letter was about the Nursery to P7 pantomime. This year, the children will visit Hamilton Town House to see ‘Sleeping Beauty’. Our wonderful Parent Council have contributed £500 towards the cost, which is simply amazing! The school will provide a snack and a drink for the outing. Please return the tear off slips and money for the pantomime as soon as possible to ensure your child’s place is secured.

I will be teaching Primary 5/6 all day tomorrow and am looking forward to teaching them about information report writing, budgeting money in maths and some french revision too.

Remember that you can find out more about the life of the school on our Twitter page too. Why not follow us with a Twitter account of your own?

September Weekend Holiday

Have a lovely long weekend. School and nursery re-open on Tuesday 29th September.

From Tuesday, the breakfast club will open from 8.15am-8.45am. Children who arrive after 8.45am will not be able to come to the club!

Enjoy the weekend.

Road Safety Magic Roadshow

Children in the classes of Mr. O’Donnell, Miss Renton and Mrs. Robert will travel to Alexander Peden Primary School on Friday morning to see a ‘Road Safety’ Magic Show.

Please ensure that the permission slips have been returned to school by Friday morning at the very latest to ensure your child can go on this excursion.

Welcome to the new term!

School re-opens to all pupils on Tuesday 18th August 2015. We are looking forward to welcome back all staff and pupils and meeting the newest additions to our school too.

First day arrangements:

On Tuesday 18th, Breakfast Club will be available to any pupils in Primary 2 to Primary 7 from 8.30am-8.45am. Children should arrive at breakfast club via the P3-7 pupil entrance.

When the school bell rings at 9am, Mr. Clark and Mrs. Scott will collect the children from the playground and escort them to the hall for a short assembly to meet their new teacher and then go to class.

New Primary 1 pupils should arrive via the Main Entrance for 9.45am. A maximum of two Parents/Carers or relatives per child will be permitted to see them into class but we ask you to only stay for a few minutes. Parents of P1 children should return to the hall via the Main Entrance for 2.45pm collection.

All Primary 2s will be dismissed from the infant doors at 3pm. Primary 3-7 will exit via the doors nearest the picnic tables at the red-ash area.

Arrangements from the second day of school:

All children from P1-7 may come to breakfast club from Wednesday 19th August 2015, entering via the pupils doors for P3-7 pupils. Please note that adults are unable to escort the children into the breakfast club, but don’t worry, there are lots of members of staff on hand to assist the children.

P1/2 and P2 will be dismissed from the infant doors at 3pm and P3-7 will exit via the doors nearest the picnic tables at the red-ash area.

Nursery

The nursery session remains unchanged. 8.45am-11.55am for the morning session and 12.45pm-3.55pm for the afternoon session. Returning children should be brought to nursery as normal via the Nursery Door.

The date for new nursery pupils was issued on the offer of place letter (new nursery children start days are staggered to allow individual time with the staff).

On the first day, children should be brought to nursery thirty minutes into the session (9.15am for morning pupils and 1.15pm for afternoon pupils.) For the first day at nursery, pupils will stay for around thirty minutes.

Times for the child’s second day will be arranged between the key-worker and the parent/carer.

Inservice Days

The staff will be working on Friday 14th and Monday 17th August 2015. If you need any information or have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch with us during these two days.

If you are new to the area, or know anyone with school age children who have moved to our catchment area over the holidays, please get in touch during the inset days and we will be happy to help.

If any of your contact details have changed over the holidays, please let us know.