Dear Parents and Carers,

I have now been on the island for 6 weeks and in school for 4 and it has been a real joy getting to know the children.  It feels like I have been here for longer and I should know more but at the moment it is still all so new to me, but as ever the children  are kind and very understanding when I still can’t remember their name.  It will take a while to get to know them and their needs better- so that I can support them better, so please be patient with me during this learning phase. I have joined as we are transitioning into a new way of coping with Covid19 and illness in generally, at a time when we can invite parents and visitors back into school.  Although you have had contact with school through Teams and email over the last two years- that is just not the same, and now you have a new head teacher who is not only new to the school but new to Shetland, so it must feel like the school is very different and very distant. So please, if you can, do make the most of any opportunity to come into the school, through organised events- or to just pop in and have a chat and I hope you will discover that the school is still as nurturing and as friendly as it ever was.

What a busy and lovely week it was last week.

P2/3/4 had a visit from Yvonne Reynolds of the Shetland Amenity Trust to explain a project to revive the Croft House Garden which is very exciting.  The children will be involved in activities over the next few weeks working on this project and we will let you know when there is a grand opening of the garden.

Today Bruce Eunson from Educate Scotland was visiting P1/2 and P2/3/4 to run a session on the Shetland Dialect.

Primary Football League:  I am really excited to let you know that the Dunrossness team have been doing very well in this competition. In the tournament at Scalloway last Thursday, Lena, Magnus, Anders, Roma, Elijah, and Leighton must have played their socks off as they won two matches and drew the third.  Fearne, although missing from Thursday’s match, has taken part in the first round of fixtures at Sandwick where the team also played very well.   Having achieved 13 points, Dunrossness and Sound 1 progress to the finals which are to be held on Thursday 19^th May at the Clickimin 60:40.  We wish them the best of luck for that.

Behaviour:  From time to time, children will run into problems.  Maybe they are struggling to regulate themselves due to emotional turmoil, or maybe they have just had a disagreement with a friend or maybe have been misunderstood.  All adults in school are here to help children and ideally children will come to us when the problem occurs so that we can help them to resolve it the same day.  It is always harder to sort something out the next days as memories fade and also is means children have gone home with unresolved problems which can then create further anxiety.  So please do encourage your child, as we do in school, to talk through their problems as they occur. Staff do follow the behaviour blueprint which you can find on the blog, with the emphasis on recognising the need and helping children to ‘restore’ when something has gone wrong.  This often involves children talking to each other to explain what has gone wrong so they can understand what has happened from the other point of view.  There is nearly always two sides to the event and as parents we only ever get the one.  However in school we give everyone involved the opportunity to be heard and to be treated fairly.

School gates:  If you have come to the school recently, you may have noticed a slight change to the main gate.  It has a new latch system which we hope makes it safer for our youngest children who can be tempted to open the gate to explore the world beyond.  If you do visit the school please shut all gates behind you with the safety latches.

School Grounds:  As you may be aware the local community does have access to the multicourt after school hours but we have noticed that there are some who are bringing dogs onto the schools ground and leaving dog litter in the bins and other litter around about which the children have spoken to me about.  If you are aware of any young people who are using the school grounds after hours can you remind them to respect the environment.  Thank you.

School Closure:  A reminder that school will be closed on Friday May 27^th and Friday June 3^rd.

Learner led event:  Monday May 23^rd 5pm to 6.30pm.  You should now have received a letter with more details about this event which is for P1 to P7.  The time slot you have been allocated may seem a bit short if you have more than one child’s class to visit so don’t worry if you need a bit more time.  All we are trying to do is spread the numbers out a bit over the evening.  We do hope you can make it.

Sun cream:  Just a reminder that although it often does not feel very warm there is a lot of strength in the sun so please do apply sun cream to your child’s exposed skin before coming to school.  Also remind them to bring their water bottle which they can access throughout the day.

Parent Council: are organising a fundraising and social event on 4^th June at the Ness Boating club at 7pm.  Please come along if you can to have, what I am told is a really good fun evening. This is to raise further funds for the development of the school playground.  The children have been consulted and have lots of ideas about how the playground could be improved. See more information on Parent Council Facebook page.

Upcoming dates:

17^th May:  Netball and football tournament at Brae

17^th May:  P7 visit to Anderson high School 4pm to 5pm

19^th May:  Primary Football League Final

20^th May:  P7 transition to Sandwick Day Camp

Monday 23^rd May:  Learner led event 5pm to 6.30pm.

25^th May:  musical demonstration by peripatetic teachers.

26^th May: P7 taster Day at Sandwick

27^th May: School Closed

30^th May: Children Classic Concerts will be performing Peter and the Wolf live for our oldest children.

30^th May: African Drumming sessions will start for each class for 5 weeks

31^st May:  P7 Taster session at Sandwick

3^rd June:  School closed for Queen’s jubilee.

4^th June:  Parent council Bingo at 7pm to raise funds for school playground refurbishment

21^st June: Sports Afternoon

23^rd June: JRSO presentation in the Town Hall

23^rd and 24^th June: P7 transition days to Anderson high School

30^th June 2pm:   Leavers Assembly – P7 parents/carers only

As other dates are confirmed I will update you here.

Best wishes,

Gina Finch