Welcome back to a new session at Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery Class. We look forward to working with children and families over the school year. On Thursday we welcomed 35 new Primary One pupils and 6 pupils between P2-7. I hope everyone settles in well and enjoys learning at Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery Class.
New Staff
We welcomed new staff to Heathery Knowe this session.
Miss McGown is a Newly Qualified Teacher and will teach in Room 3.
Mr Ferguson and Mrs Thompson have joined the School Support Staff.
Ms Beaton, Ms Carey and Ms McGregor have joined the Nursery.
Mrs Gallacher is joining us as an acting Depute Head Teacher from Monday 19th August. Mrs Gallacher will take over the remit from Mr Scott and will teach Primary 5 on a Friday.
Playground Procedures
We have reviewed the playground procedures for session 2019/2020.
Morning Routines – Mrs Duff, Mrs Summers and Mrs Gardiner are available from 8.15am each day. Any pupil arriving before 8.45am will be invited into the cafeteria for breakfast. Between 8.45am – 9am, Mrs French and Mrs Gallacher will be available at the gate to welcome children. Only children are able to come into the playground at this time.
Play Time – We continue to have two morning breaks to allow children to have more space and access to the MUGA pitch, trim trail and other playground resources. P1-4 break is from 10.30-10.45 and P5-7 break is from 10.45-11.00.
Lunch Time – We serve lunch in two sittings. Rooms 1-5 eat lunch at 12.30 then have outdoor play. Rooms 6-10 go out to play then have lunch at 12.50.
Home Time – A bell rings at 3pm to enable children to get packed and organised for home. At this time, any outdoor learning will finish and the janitor will open the gates. Parents are welcome to come into the playground to meet their child(ren) and take them home. We have two members of support staff available to support pupils in the playground at the end of the day.
Absence Procedures
If your child will be absent from school and you know in advance, please let the office staff know and they will be able to record the reason for absence.
If your child is unwell in the morning and unable to attend school, please call the school office and let us know. If we do not hear from you then an automated text will be sent out to ask you to call the office and let us know the reason for your child’s absence.
Each child will bring home an attendance guide for parents at the start of next week.
Physical Education
Every pupil is entitled to 2 hours Physical Education each week and we provide this in two slots. To enable your child to participate fully, they must bring a PE kit to school. There are two changing rooms in the school which will be used to provide a space for children to change for PE.
Our PE kit is made up of:
- indoor shoes (indoor trainers or gym shoes)
- Blue or white tee shirt or polo shirt
- Navy or black shorts or knee length leggings
PE Days are as follows:
Primary 1 (Room 1) – Monday and Thursday
Primary 1/2 (Room 2) – Tuesday and Wednesday
Primary 2 (Room 3) – Tuesday and Wednesday
Primary 3 (Room 4) – Thursday and Friday
Primary 3/4 (Room 5) – Monday and Friday
Primary 4 (Room 6) – Monday and Thursday
Primary 5 (Room 7) – Tuesday and Friday
Primary 6 (Room 8) – Monday and Wednesday
Primary 6/7 (Room 9) – Tuesday and Thursday
Primary 7 (Room 10) – Wednesday and Friday
Communication with Parents
Following feedback from the PTC and Big Blether, we will use an email system to share information with parents. Next week you will be asked to provide an email address that we can use to send newsletters, information sheets and web links. Email groups will be set up and we anticipate that we will use this routinely from the first week in September.
In addition to this, we will continue to share information on Twitter. A full list of school Twitter accounts along with the photography permission slip will be issued with the annual data pack.
Parents can contact the school in the following ways:
- Telephone between 8.30am and 5pm on 01355 221042
- Email to the office – office@heatheryknowe-pri.s-lanark.sch.uk
- Email to the Head Teacher – headteacher@heatheryknowe-pri.s-lanark.sch.uk
- Web enquiry – www.heatheryknowe-pri.s-lanark.sch.uk/wordpress/
Raising Attainment in Numeracy and Mathematics
There is a continued focus on raising attainment in Numeracy and Mathematics at Heathery Knowe Primary School. Primary 4-7 pupils will be set for maths. This means that children will benefit from smaller class sizes, additional support and teaching time. Your child will be grouped for maths along with other pupils working at a similar level and making similar progress. The class teacher may not be your child’s Numeracy and Maths teacher.
Numeracy and Mathematics will be taught by the following staff:
Primary 4 – Mrs Kane and Miss Inglis, supported by Mrs Gardiner
Primary 5 – Mrs Gray, supported by Mrs Rankin and Mr Ferguson
Primary 6 – Mrs Spence and Mrs McGee
Primary 7 – Miss Wharton and Mr Loveday
What’s on next week?
All children will be participating in Rights Based Learning.
Thank you for your continued support
Kind Regards
Kirsty Duff
