We are looking forward to welcoming parents and carers to school next week for our first parent consultation meetings this session. Each appointment lasts for up to 10 minutes to discuss how your child has settled during this school year and their academic progress. All appointments take place in the hall. If you would like to discuss wider school issues then Mrs French, Mrs Gallacher and I will be available to speak with you or arrange a suitable appointment time.
Heathery Knowe Primary School PTC
Last Tuesday the Parent & Teacher Council met to hold an Annual General Meeting. Office Bearers were elected as follows:
Chairperson – Ms Kelly Archbold
Vice Chairperson – Ms Denise Smith
Treasurer – Ms Gail Tracey
Secretary – Ms Katrina Davidson
The PTC meet regularly (normally the last Tuesday of the month) and all parents are welcome to attend. We appreciate the committee’s ongoing commitment to supporting the school by sharing of ideas for improvement and fundraising.
Photographs
Following consultation with parents and carers at the Big Blether and PTC meeting, the photographer will visit the school on the 26th November to take individual and family photographs. We had hoped for an earlier date to ensure that this expense did not fall in December however the parent choice of photography company did not have availability prior to the date booked. I hope that by letting you know of this date now it will allow you to plan accordingly.
Primary One class photograph will be published in the Evening Times between 1st and 5th October.
Hallowe’en Arrangements
The PTC Hallowe’en Disco will take place on Wednesday 30th October. Tickets will be on sale prior to the event. I hope as many children as possible can join us for this event and all money raised will be used to support children in school.
There will be no Hallowe’en party celebrations during the school day and pupils should not bring or wear fancy dress to school. Class Teachers may choose to mark the day with a literacy based approach (reading or writing spooky stories etc) however no party activities will take place.
Raising attainment in Numeracy and Mathematics
Maths Week Scotland takes place between 30th September and 4th October. This will be promoted in school. On Friday 4th October pupils will participate in a fun maths day. If any parents would be interested in supporting the event, please let the school know.
Mrs French, Mrs Gallacher and I have worked with a number of groups of children this week to undertake assessments in Mathematics. We were very pleased to see the children keen to engage and show their skills in numeracy. The next step in raising attainment is to support pupils to apply skills in numeracy to real life contexts with increasing independence and confidence.
To support this, teachers have worked together to plan holistic assessments. Holistic assessments provide an opportunity for pupils to apply a range of maths skills in context. For example, planning a trip to the cinema which incorporates money, time, data handling. We will be continuing to work with pupils to develop higher order thinking skills in relation to the application of numeracy and mathematics in a real life context.
Nursery
The first Nursery Big Blether will be held on Thursday 3rd October at 9.15am and 3pm. This will be an opportunity for nursery parents to meet together to share ideas for improvement and discuss aspects of nursery life.
What’s on next week?
Monday – Head Teacher attending Evaluative Writing and Leading Early Years course
Tuesday – Parent Consultations 5.30-8.30pm
Wednesday – Parent Consultations 3.30-6.30pm
Friday – HOLIDAY
Thank you for your continued support
Kind regards
Kirsty Duff
