Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to term 4. I do hope you have had a lovely Easter break and feel a little refreshed. It is certainly good to see the sun shine more and to feel the possible warmth of spring- even if only a hint! It has been lovely to welcome the children back and to see their happy and smiling faces. There is a lot of exciting learning planned for this term which I will try to keep you up to date as much as possible.
Swimming This starts next week Tuesday 26th April every Tuesday for 6 weeks. Each class will be bused to and from Sandwick pool for a 30min lesson. Your child will need to bring a swimming costume, towel and any foot covering if they have a verruca or athletes foot.
Da Voar Redd up event: Friday 29th April 1.30pm the whole school will be walking down to the beach to do the annual beach clean. We have been supplied with bags and gloves, but can you make sure your child comes suitably dressed for a walk along the beach. We could do with some parent helpers on that day- so if you are able to volunteer please contact the school. I am so impressed that this is at least an annual event on Shetland- it seems appropriate as today is Earth Day which is designed to remind us all how fragile our planet it and how in need of our care.
Absence: May I remind parents and carers that if you child cannot come into school due to illness to phone the school on the first day. As we are really keen to try to maximize the time children have in school, if at all possible please try to organise appointments outside of school times and if planning other absence please complete, well ahead of the time, the absence request form which you can find on the Forms section of the blog.
Daily school transport:The JRSOs and I have been reviewing the safety of the children on the school buses and as a result have decided to alter a little the way the children come out of school at the end of the day. From Monday the children will line up in bus groups with a JRSO and will be lead on to the bus by that JRSO. They will be asked to walk to the bus, looking and listening and when on the bus to stay sitting with their seat belts on. Those who do not go on a bus/taxi will then come through the gate once all the buses are loaded. We have explained this in assembly today as well as how to be kind and respectful when on the bus. Please can all parents remind children about how to keep safe and respectful on the buses. All children should remain seat belted in for the whole journey as well as show consideration and kindness towards each other and the driver.
Healthy Snacks: Just a reminder that we would like to encourage all children to bring a healthy snack for snack time in the morning for example a piece of fruit, cheese, a low sugar cereal bar and try to avoid high fat crisps and high sugar biscuits or chocolate bars. Developing healthy eating habits while young leads to improved wellbeing and to a longer more healthy adult life. It would be great if we can work on this together with our children.
Safeguarding and photos: A reminder not to share photos of children other that just your own on any kind of social media, unless you have the permission of the parent of the other children in the picture. From now on school staff will only put photos of children that we have permission for on the school blog. If you would prefer you child not to be in photos on the blog please let the school office know.
Upcoming dates:
Monday 23rd May: Learner led event 5pm to 6.30pm TBC. Parents- (up to 2 per family) will be invited to come at a particular time during the session, wearing a face mask, so that we do not have too many on site at any one time, so that children can share their work with you. If you need to have a conversation with the class teacher please book an appointment at another time. More information nearer the time.
30th May: Children Classic Concerts will be performing Peter and the Wolf live for our children.
30th May: African Drumming sessions will start for each class for 5 weeks
30th June: 2pm: Leavers Assembly P7 parents only
As other dates are confirmed I will update you here.
Best Wishes
Gina Finch
