We welcomed the children back from Spring Break and it was lovely to hear the news of their adventures whilst school was closed. We have another short week coming up with school reopening on Tuesday 23rd April.
European Election School Closure
The UK Government has advised that elections for the European Parliament will now take place in May 2019 that arrangements are required to be put in place by the Council to host these. The European elections will take place on Thursday 23 May 2019.
The Election Office has advised that our school will be used as a Polling Station on Thursday 23 May 2019 which therefore means that the school will be closed to pupils on this day.
This is the day prior to the May week-end holiday. I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but as you are probably aware public buildings and some schools are used as local polling stations during elections.
A letter will be issued to all pupils on Tuesday.
Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA)
Across Scotland, pupils in Primary 1, 4 and 7 are assessed using Scottish Standardised National Assessments. These are digital assessments and gather information on each child’s progress in literacy and numeracy. We are starting SNSA next week and the process should be completed by 10th May.
If you would like to find out more about SNSA, please use the following link:
https://standardisedassessment.gov.scot/parents-and-carers/
Outdoor Learning and Excursions
The pupils have a range of opportunities to learn outdoors within our school grounds. When pupils are leaving the school grounds, the necessary permission slips must be completed. We are not able to take children outwith the school grounds with only verbal permission. Recently, some pupils have missed an excursion because they have not brought in the completed form.
Religious Observance
On Thursday all pupils and staff visited South Parish Church for an Easter service. The Scottish Government defines Religious Observance as, “community acts which aim to promote the spiritual development of all members of the school’s community and express and celebrate the shared values of the school community”.
The children benefited from participating in a whole school event including the opportunity to visit a religious building, hear about the beliefs of Christians and meet the minister. We aim to provide opportunities for pupils to visit a variety of religious buildings, meet people from different faiths and reflect on their own beliefs.
We are reviewing our guidelines on religious observance with an increased focus on ensuring it is active, engaging, challenging and thought provoking whilst supporting children in the development of their own set of beliefs and values.
The following link provides the curriculum guidance used to support the review:
https://education.gov.scot/Documents/cfe-briefing-16.pdf
Cost of the school day
We are currently reviewing the cost of different activities and events at Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery Class to ensure that it is affordable and to reduce the risk of pupils missing out on experiences.
A position statement will be shared with the Parent Council in May and then all parents and carers in June.
What’s on next week?
Monday – HOLIDAY
Tuesday – Big Blether
Tuesday – Primary 7 classes working with staff from Calderglen High
Friday – Mrs French and Mr Scott are attending a Leadership Conference.
Thank you for your continued support.
Kirsty Duff
