Dear Parents and Carers,

Apologies for the late arrival of this newsletter but managing staff absence has been a challenge this week as there seem to be so few supply teachers available – and then they fall ill as well. So Mrs Leslie and myself have been doing a lot of fill in this week, but it is always a joy to work with the children- after all that is why we came into teaching. However at the end of the school day there are lot of jobs to catch up on and the newsletter is one of them!

Sports Day: So sorry we had to postpone this event and disappoint both children and parents.  We have everything crossed that we can do this event next Tuesday 28^th June in the morning at 9.30am.  We really do hope we can do it then as we have no other days available to move it to.  I also hope that the parents who volunteered to help are still able to do so.

P6/7 Enterprise afternoon: This was certainly a lot of fun.  The inflatable obstacle course filled the hall and the inflatable lazer quest filled the pool room.  So Ms Scalan’s class had a busy and exhaustingly great afternoon with hot dogs. We are very grateful to John for organising the hire and setting up of the inflatables and Vicky and Michelle who answered the call for additional support as Ms. Scalan was away at the last minute.

JRSOs presentation in the Town Hall. The five JRSOs have worked hard over the year to raise awareness in road safety and general health and wellbeing, and they got to share their work and impact at a presentation event at the Town Hall in Lerwick today, along with JRSOs from other schools.  We are very proud of the work they have done and the impact they have had.  They presented very well, with a lot of confidence, managing their nervousness really well.  Well done JRSOS!

Antepreschooler open mornings:  It was so wonderful to welcome parents into the setting again and to see the children’s excitement when showing Mummies and Daddies their learning space. Thank you to all who came and for all your support.

P7 Leavers assembly:  This will take place on Thursday 30th June at 1.30pm.  I hope P7 have invited family to come to celebrate their final days at primary school and their transition to secondary.  I have felt privileged to get to know this great group of young people in their final term of primary school and to see how they prepare for moving on.  They have prepared various presentations to share with the school and their families- all in their unique style and I think there may be some surprises in store!   I am very pleased too that Andrea Henderson can also attend as she has seen this group right through school. We do ask all visitors to wear a mask to this event as we are all keen not to pass on any infection let alone Covid just before the Summer holidays!

Parent/Carer Survey: thanks to all who have taken a moment to share their views via this survey.  If you have not had a chance yet, then here is the link which will be open until Friday:

https://forms.office.com/r/6XbY8c87hi

I hope to share the results with you next week.

Toys in school:  A gentle reminder that children should not be bringing in toys from home – unless specifically for comfort or a specific class project, in which case please talk to your class teacher or Mrs Leslie about this.  We are concerned about aspects of hygiene when children play with and share these toys with their playmates when throwing around the playground. The school is well equipped with many resources for children to use throughout the day so there is no need for further items to be brought in from home.  Thank you for your support with this.

NOOSC: We are just updating the forms and information about this service and hope to get that out to you by the end of the week, for parents to book children in for sessions from 17^th Aug.  Ms Molly Farmer is our new play practitioner and she is really looking forward to running the provision.

Upcoming dates:

24^th June Nursery Sports morning

28^th June    Sports Morning 9.30 -11.30  P1-P7

28^th June    Nursery Graduation open afternoon  2.15 to 3.45 for those moving up to P1

30^th June:  Leavers Assembly – P7 parents/carers only, 1.30pm

30^th June   Last stay and play sessions for new starters in Nursery

1^st July       Last day of term- School closes at 3pm, Happy Holidays!

17^th Aug     First day of Term 1

As other dates are confirmed I will update you here.

Best wishes,

Gina Finch