I hope all Heathery Knowe PS and Nursery Class families are enjoying a restful September weekend. We said goodbye to Mrs Cairns in the Nursery this week as she embarks on a career break. Mrs Cairns has worked at Heathery Knowe Nursery Class for many years and will be missed. We wish her well in her new venture and hope to welcome her back to our school in the future.
Maths Week Scotland
Across Scotland, children in schools will be celebrating Maths Week Scotland. It takes place between 30th September – 6th October and provides an opportunity for schools to place a spotlight on maths learning. The focus is on making maths fun and enjoyable and linking to every day life. At Heathery Knowe PS, maths week will end with a maths fun day on Friday. Many thanks to the adults who have volunteered to help during the event.
More information about Maths Week Scotland is available at:
https://www.mathsweek.scot/
Maths Inside Competition
One of our family learning activities is called ‘Maths Inside’ and is part of a National competition. The challenge is to try and see the maths inside everyday objects and send in a photograph of it. It can be maths in the wild (e.g. flowers, trees etc) or maths in our town (man-made items, street scapes etc).
The umbrella photograph was runner up in 2018 and was submitted by a Primary 6 pupil. “When it rains I see maths inside my man made umbrella. There is an octagon with 8 sides, 8 isosceles triangles which have 3 sides and i can also see symmetry where they’re 4 isosceles triangles on each side. (P6-P7 runner-up 2018)”
The stairs photograph was a best commentary winner in 2018 and was submitted by a Primary 1 pupil. “Gran is going on holiday and there are 139 stairs to the hotel. She practised in Gourock walking up and down these stairs but there’s only 108 stairs so that’s less. (IMA P1-P3 Best Commentary 2018)”
All pupils who submit photographs for the school competition will be rewarded with a pencil and ‘Making Maths Count at Heathery Knowe’ certificate. The winners in our school will receive a maths goody bag and their photograph will be professionally printed and framed for display in the school. Photographs for the school competition should be submitted by 7th October.
If you are entering the national competition, it should be entered on the website http://mathsinside.com/ by 6th October.
The age groups for the school competition are:
Nursery and Primary 1
Primary 2 – Primary 3
Primary 4 – Primary 5
Primary 6 -Primary 7
Photographs can be submitted for the school competition using:
- Twitter (@knoweschool) with your pupils initials and room number
- Email (headteacher@heatheryknowe-pri.s-lanark.sch.uk)
- Printed and placed in an envelope then given to class teacher
Raising Attainment in Numeracy and Mathematics
As part of the school’s commitment to raising attainment in Numeracy and Mathematics and building on the feedback from Education Scotland during their inspection, we have introduced new resources and teaching approaches. Children are benefiting from more direct teaching time through maths setting groups and increased adult support. We are also using new core resources across the school and encouraging children to persevere and think independently to solve maths challenges. It requires children to think more deeply and embeds mathematical processes in their thinking. In the short term, some children who previously found maths straightforward are now finding it tricky. As children become more confident, they are taking on challenges with enthusiasm. if any pupils are anxious about maths and this has not been shared at parent meetings, please let us know. After the October break, there will be a parent information session to outline the school’s approaches to teaching maths, a showcase of the new resources and an outline of the school’s assessment approaches.
Parent Consultations
Thank you to all parents who attended school this week to discuss their child’s progress. In response to parent feedback, we moved this event in the calendar from October to September. We have continued offering the book fair for parents who wish to purchase books on the evening.
For May 2020, we are hoping some partner organisations can join us to carry out health checks, share information about community clubs and events and hold a showcase of resources used to raise attainment at the school.
There is now a feedback form available using the following link to help us improve:
https://forms.gle/AL4bmq5NVUnMkfSbA
Snapshot Journals
On Friday 4th October, pupils will bring home a Snapshot Journal. Journals will be brought home once a term by pupils. Each pupil has selected examples of learning to share with their family. Pupils have taken great pride in selecting which pieces of work to include in their journal and I hope families enjoy celebrating their learning success. The journal should be returned in October, December and March. In June, pupils will take the journal home for the final time and it can be kept as a record of achievement over the school year.
What’s on next week?
Monday – Holiday
Tuesday – Orchestra visit (P6) and Library visit (P1/2)
Thursday – Nursery Big Blether 9.15am and 3pm
Friday – Snapshot Journals Home
Sunday – Deadline for national photography competition. Parents should submit directly if pupils are participating in the competition
Monday 7th – Deadline for school photography competition – pupils can submit using email, twitter or pupil post.
Thank you for your continued support.
Kind regards
Kirsty Duff
