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 26^th 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 29^th 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 23^rd 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.

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

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

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

As other dates are confirmed I will update you here.

Best Wishes

Gina Finch

newsletter 30.3.22

Hello everybody,

Your new headteacher has finally arrived, yesterday!  It has taken a while to  go through a lengthy recruitment process and then at the final hour, a dose of covid delayed departure for a few days.  However I am here now and feeling very welcomed, by the children, staff and the whole community. Thank you.  I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I hope you will take time to make yourself known to me.  Please forgive me if I do not remember your name and which child is yours-  it will take a while to make all the connections.  I am looking forward to hearing your ideas  about how we can move  forward together- to recover from  the impact of covid and  build on the excellent work of Mrs. Henderson and the wonderful team here at Dunrossness.

With very best wishes,

Mrs Gina Finch

I recently sent out an email regarding this survey, if for any reason you have not received it please let me know.

Shetland Islands Council is planning to ask all pupils in P5 to S6 to take part in a survey about their health and wellbeing. The findings will help Shetland Islands Council to understand the needs, strengths and possible concerns of children and young people, which will help plan future improvements to local services. Parents will receive a letter providing more detailed information about the Census, and the opportunity to let us know if they do not wish for their child to take part.

For more information please visit: www.shetland.gov.uk/schools