It has been another very busy week in Heathery Knowe Primary School. I would like to take this opportunity to thank pupils and parents for making me feel so welcome in my new post as Headteacher. I am beginning to put faces to names and match parents to pupils in the playground. I have had the opportunity to show many visitors around the school in the last few weeks and we are always complimented on the welcoming school ethos and well mannered pupils.
Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSO)
Our pupils have opportunities to lead different projects and this week the new Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSO) have been elected. Last year’s JRSO representatives worked with Mrs McGee to lead an assembly and I am delighted to be able to let you know that Kayden, Hannah and Mia are our new Junior Road Safety Officers. I am sure they will do a fantastic job in educating all pupils on road safety and contributing to our travel plan.
A special thank you to our retiring JRSO representatives from last year. Cameron and Tyler have passed over the baton and now look forward to other leadership opportunities in school.
House System
We are currently reviewing our house system in school to ensure that it supports our overall behaviour policy and provides opportunities for pupil voice. Mrs McGee is working with Primary 7 pupils to nominate house captains and review the system. We will have another update shortly.
Football
The football league is now up and running for P5-7 pupils. We are now developing a football skills area for our P3/4 pupils to engage them in sport during break and lunch. Mrs Robertson has worked very hard to get the league running and I am sure the pupils are looking forward to participating in it over the school year.
Electives
Electives run on a Wednesday afternoon and it is an opportunity for pupils to personalise their learning by choosing an elective of interest to them. It provides opportunities to work with pupils and teachers from other classes. Our pupils have all made their selection and Mrs McGee is currently working behind the scenes so that it starts smoothly this week. Electives are linked to our promoting positive behaviour system so if your child loses some of their elective time they will be provided with a meaningful alternative learning activity until they are ready to join the group.
School Improvement
The Scottish Government launched the School Information Dashboard this week. This provides a range of core data about all schools in Scotland is provides information about attendance, engagement and achievement for each school. The link to the dashboard is below. Once you have opened up the link there will be an introduction on the screen and the middle tab ‘Primary Dashboard’ will then allow you to choose South Lanarkshire Council and Heathery Knowe PS to see our data.
The link to the dashboard is:
Treat Me Well
I attended the launch of ‘Treat Me Well’ anti bullying strategy along with all South Lanarkshire Council headteachers on Friday 31st August. Using the school value of ‘respect‘ we will review Heathery Knowe’s anti bullying procedures. The theme of the launch was focused on education to prevent bullying, accurate recording of incidences of bullying and clear procedures in place to address any reported bullying incidents and developing this at school level is our priority this term.
What’s on this week?
- We would like to welcome Elizabeth Naismith the school as a temporary supply teacher.
- The teachers will be working with colleagues from across Calderglen Learning Community. NHS Scotland will lead a professional learning session on children’s resilience and how we can support pupils in school.
- We start a block of rights based education. Pupils will be learning about their rights as children and older pupils will also be considering how this affects children across the world.
- The PTC have organised a fundraising disco for all pupils on Thursday night.
Thank you for your continued support.
Kind regards
Kirsty Duff
