Our families and staff have set off to enjoy the long weekend and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work as we have settled into a new session at Heathery Knowe PS. Despite the weather, I hope everyone has a chance to relax before we return to school on Tuesday.
School Improvement
Our school improvement plan for session 2018/2019 is nearly ready to share. It is now being reviewed by our Quality Link Officer, Jacqueline Wallace, and following a meeting to finalise it on the 3rd October it will be published on the school website. In response to the priorities of the school, we have tweaked it to ensure that we can pay immediate attention to the health and wellbeing needs of our pupils (reviewing anti-bullying procedures, reviewing playground procedures and promoting positive relationships and behaviour). Thank you to all parents who have contacted me over the past few weeks to share concerns or comments as this has helped shape the priorities of the school community and directly fed into the formal school improvement planning document.
As a teaching staff, we have decided to continue with a literacy focus on reading and spelling. A lot of work was started on this last year and teachers are taking another year to ensure that the development of active approaches to reading and spelling are consolidated before we turn our attention to improving attainment in writing next session. This will secure the improved attainment in reading of all learners across the school.
Open Afternoon
On Wednesday we hosted our first open afternoon of the session. It was lovely to be able to welcome so many people into our school to celebrate their child’s learning and provide an informal opportunity for you to meet the staff working in the school. We have already received feedback on what is working well and how we can improve for the next open afternoon. If you have not completed the survey yet, it can be accessed using the following link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd33Wx5dIk4qacZ54Qf2OrwQ_HTEv51cHdkSROG0xr-b-xM9g/viewform
Parent Consultations
The next event on our family engagement calendar is parent contact evenings which will be held on the 9th and 10th October. This is an opportunity to meet individually with your child’s class teacher to discuss their progress and share any concerns. A letter will be issued on Tuesday to parents who are unable to request an appointment using the online link. The link to our parent appointment request form is:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdA11OiH6x4bri2D6m8sie_nPRYJk_Zr20Fd8uo8ZzevOAmig/viewform
Pupil Leadership
Primary 7 pupils in Room 10 have been very busy preparing for the Junior Leadership Team election which takes place on Tuesday 25th September. I am delighted that nine pupils are standing for election and it shows the confidence our young people have and their commitment to get involved in school improvement. We are already very proud of them for preparing their presentations and wish them all good luck for Tuesday. Primary 7 pupils who are not standing for election have responsibilities as polling clerks and counters. This is a fabulous opportunity for our pupils to experience democracy in action.
Learning Visits
Recently I have had the opportunity to visit Rooms 6, 7 and 8 to carry out formal learning visits. This is part of our quality assurance calendar and the agreed focus is pupil engagement in literacy. Following the visit, I meet with the class teacher and we have an opportunity to discuss pupil progress, strengths in the classroom and agree the next steps for learners. I have really enjoyed visiting the classes and have observed high quality learning and teaching and positive relationships between staff and pupils. I am looking forward to visiting Rooms 9 and 10 next week. Mr Scott is visiting Rooms 1-5 during this round of visits.
Looking forward to Christmas
This year we have decided to present a whole school show on the 11th and 12th December. Miss Harris and Mrs Spence have taken on the role of co-ordinating it and are already beginning to plan ahead to ensure this is a spectacular event. This is a fantastic opportunity to get together as a whole school community and I look forward to seeing it all come together over the next few months.
Christmas Party dates are:
13th December – Primary 6
14th December – Primary 5
17th December – Primary 4
18th December – Primary 3
19th December – Primary 2
20th December – Primary 1
Primary 7 will decide whether to have a Christmas party or alternative treat through a class vote. We will let you know the date once it has been agreed.
What’s happening next week?
- Junior Leadership Elections will be held on Tuesday 25th September
- The school football team will travel to Hamilton for the first football festival on Wednesday … Good luck everyone!
- Learning visits will continue across the school
- Staggered break times start with P1-4 having a break from 10.30-10.45 and P5-7 having a break from 10.45-11.00
Thank you for your continued support
Kirsty Duff
