Heathery Knowe Head Teacher's Blog

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

This week I had an opportunity to meet with Elected Members at the East Kilbride Area Committee to discuss the Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery HMI report. The Councillors were positive about the strengths of the report and were assured by the progress we are making to improve the areas identified by Education Scotland.

Big Blether

Each month the school leadership team meet with parents and carers for a ‘big blether’. At the last meeting we discussed many aspects of school life which are summarised below:

You said…..	We did….
You were unsure of the new procedures regarding children being dropped off at the gate.	We explained our reasons behind this; safer for children with less possibility of strangers entering our playground, support staff contracts changed to ensure supervision by 8.45am and children more settled as they view the whole school area as a learning environment.
Pupils often tell you that they reported incidents to an adult/had conversations with adults but they didn’t know who the adult was.	We created a staff photo sheet and sent this home to all our families. We also placed photographs of staff on the doors leading to the playground.
Pupils were sometimes worried about approaching adults in the playground.	We reminded pupils at assembly that they should report all incidents to adults and that adults are there to help and support them at all times.
Parents/carers are sometimes feeling excluded and would like to have more opportunities to visit their children in school.	Classes will organise a class exhibition to showcase their learning. Dates will be shared soon.
Parents/carers would like to know the class topics in advance.	Teachers shared this at our “Meet the Teacher” Event and sent this home to parents/carers.
You felt that the end of the year awards were unfair and based on individual pupils’ popularity	Pupils voting for a good citizen/ role model has run for many years as the Lister Tower Award. We believe peer recognition is important and rewarding for children. This will be reviewed in Term 4
Parents/carers felt that the new House Captains names should have been announced at the leavers’ assembly	Children’s names had been announced at a school assembly in June 2019. This will also be added to the Leavers’ Assembly.

The next Big Blether is on Tuesday 17th September at 9.15am and 5.15pm. I hope you will be able to join us and discuss important aspects of school life.

Promoting Positive Relationships and Understanding Distressed Behaviour 

Next month South Lanarkshire Council will launch revised guidelines for supporting settled pupil behaviour in school. The title of the guidelines will be, ‘Promoting Positive Relationships and Understanding Distressed Behaviour’.  

At assembly this morning we discussed the procedures in Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery Class. The school rules have been simplified and are promoted as:

Be Safe – Be Kind – Be Ready 

Be safe – we are encouraging children to be safe as they move around the school using the term, ‘wonderful walking’. Children are encouraged to be safe in class and when using equipment. Within the playground we encourage children to be safe as they play, move around and look after younger pupils.

Be kind – this is the heart of everything we do and encompasses all work that takes place in class through Positive Alternative Thinking Strategies and by upholding school values. We encourage pupils to be kind in their words and actions to one another, respectful in the language used and inclusive in their friendships. Teachers meet and greet each pupil individually, ensuring the children start their day with a kindness check in.

Be ready – pupils are encouraged throughout the day to be ready to learn. This includes arriving on time and settling quickly. Being ready to learn includes bringing the resources required, being attentive and listening to others and always trying their best from the beginning of a learning activity to the end. Teachers across the school are using, ‘hands up for silence’ to ensure pupils pay attention without needing to raise their voice to gain attention.

Within class, pupils will follow stages of intervention to help everyone uphold the school rules, making Heathery Knowe a school where pupils feel safe, are kind and show readiness to learn.

Reminder – A pupil who is not showing safe, kind or ready to learn behaviour will be offered a supportive reminder from the adult and a check in if there is any support required.

Warning – If a child ignores the warning or is still unable to settle, they will be given a direct statement from an adult. This will normally start with, “I need you to….”. This is a warning that their current behaviour is not safe, kind or showing a readiness to learn and offering a positive, clear alternative of what the child’s actions should be.

Time Out – If a child is unable to follow school rules after a reminder and warning then they will be asked to take 5 minutes in a lower stimulus area near or within the classroom to settle.  This allows the child to take some time to reset and breaks the cycle of disengagement before rejoining learning in a positive and supported way. If a child requires time out then this is recorded by the teacher and I am informed. The reason for this is two-fold:

• It allows class teachers to monitor time out interventions and observe patterns of behaviour(e.g. if a child always needs time out during maths then this could indicate a learning need)
• It ensures the Head Teacher is aware of escalating behaviour from the outset and allows joined up working between the leadership team, class teacher and parents at the earliest opportunity.

Pupils with individual social, emotional and behavioural needs (SEBN): We recognise that for some children the standard system of promoting positive behaviour will be insufficient to meet their needs and an additional plan is in place. In the same way that pupils who find literacy / numeracy difficult have an additional support plan, children who require additional support in relation to their social, emotional and behavioural needs also have a support plan.  This is explained to pupils as ‘everyone gets the support they need but not everyone gets the same’. Children are encouraged to understand that children who find literacy  / numeracy difficult get additional support and different resources to help them learn and that this is the same for a behavioural need.

We will continue to develop the systems in place to support settled pupil behaviour and look forward to receiving feedback from Primary 5 pupils regarding positive pupil passports. All pupils will participate in a pupil survey over the next term to share their views on behaviour at Heathery Knowe Primary School.

What’s on next week?

Mon-Thurs – Leadership Team are working with focus groups to take a snapshot assessment of progress in Numeracy and Mathematics
Mon – The Quality Link Officer (Fiona Leggate) is visiting the school and Nursery
Tues – Big Blether 9.15am and 5.15pm
Tues – Information sharing session – PATHS resource
Tues – PTC AGM – All welcome
Wed – Moderation in Mathematics teacher focus group
Fri – Child Smile for P1/2

Thank you for your continued support

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

This week I have visited classes around the school and it is lovely to see pupils settled in their new classes and making new friends. Our Primary 1 pupils are now confident in school routines and are making good progress in learning. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress in learning or how well they have settled into the new school year, please get in touch with the school and we can arrange to meet and discuss how to move forward.

Role Play, Puppetry and Drama

We encourage children in Nursery and Primary School to participate in role play through drama lessons and play activities. It helps to develop skills in listening and talking, confidence and peer relationships. If you are able to help with the donation of any clothes or props, it would really be appreciated by the school.

The items we need most include:

• Puppets
• Costume jewellery (no brooches with sharp pins please)
• Hats and Bags
• People who help us costumes (Police, Fire, Doctor etc) and accessories

Toy Appeal 

We would also appreciate the donation of toys and games that are no longer needed to restock our wet interval boxes and play based learning areas. Any donations would be greatly appreciated.

Fancy Dress Exchange 

Many of our families choose to dress up and celebrate Halloween. The PTC Halloween disco is on Wednesday 30th October and children are invited to wear fancy dress to this evening event.

To support families, we are offering a fancy dress donation / exchange service. If you have any fancy dress costumes that no longer fit your children or are no longer needed then we would be delighted if you could donate them to school by Friday 20th September. We will then make pre-loved costumes available to all families to choose from during the parent consultation events.

Google Classroom Pilot 

Primary 7 pupils in Room 10 are piloting a digital approach to homework and collaborative learning outwith school. Google Classroom enables teachers to set homework digitally and pupils are able to upload their work to the virtual classroom and ask for help from one another or the teacher. This is an exciting step forward for our pupils and helps to prepare them for the digital approaches used in most secondary schools.

Miss Wharton and I team teach the virtual classroom and we have the responsibility of monitoring the comments made within it. This ensures it is a safe and positive digital learning and communication space for pupils.

We will evaluate the pilot project at the October break with parents, pupils and staff. Following on from this, we will make a decision as to whether we extend this to other classes.

Christmas 

It may seem early but we are already planning for Christmas using the feedback received from Christmas 2018. In partnership with the PTC, we are taking all Primary school pupils to East Kilbride Village Theatre to watch a performance of ‘Jackie and the Baked Bean Stock’. This experience is being funded jointly by PTC and School and the cost of the bus is included in the Christmas token (see below). I would like to say a huge thank you to the PTC and their fundraising efforts throughout the year that makes this possible.

• Last year all pupils designed a Christmas card in class which they brought home and parents made the decision as to whether they ordered their child’s design as a pack of cards made at SLC Print Room. 48% families wanted to continue with the option of pupils designing a Christmas card. However, 40% felt this was an additional and unnecessary expense and there was pressure to purchase cards as all children had designed a card in class. In response to feedback, we will run an after school card design session.  If families would like the option of buying a card this year then parents need to sign children up to attend the after school craft session. Within the session, pupils will create their design and bring it home for parents to make a decision about purchasing a pack of cards. Parents who do not sign their children up to the session will not receive a design home. We hope this compromise meets the needs of all families.  Card design sessions will run from 3.05-4.00pm.  Primary 1/2 will attend on 28th October, P3-4 will attend on 29th October and P5-7 will attend on 30th October.
• In response to feedback, we will be collecting any donations for hampers before the end of October this year.  Each class makes up a themed hamper which is raffled during the Christmas shows. The hampers are always beautifully presented and well received by visitors to school. Classes have already chosen a theme for their hamper and a letter will come home over the next week. Money raised from the hampers is used to support school activities and events and pupils benefit greatly from the funds raised.
• Last year, families provided feedback that there were too many individual costs during December. In response, each pupil will be able to purchase a Christmas token from October onwards. The cost will be £5 for one child, £8 for two children and £10 for three or more children. The Christmas token will cover:
  • Christmas Party
  • SLLC ‘Big Story’ performance
  • Transport to Pantomime at East Kilbride Village Theatre
  • 2 tickets per family to our school show (additional tickets can be purchased at a cost of £1.50)
• The feedback received last year highlighted that families required more tickets for our show than could be accommodated within the hall. We are adding one more performance this year to assist with this. On 17th December there will be an afternoon and evening performance. On 18th December there will be an afternoon performance only.  Two tickets will be reserved for each family until Friday 6th December after which all additional tickets will go on sale.

 What’s on next week?

Mon-Fri – Mrs French, Mrs Gallacher and Mrs Duff  visiting all classes
Wed – Head Teacher reporting to Elected Members at Area Committee regarding HMI report

Thank you for your continued support

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

 

Thank you to all families who supported the school this week by attending PTC meeting and the disco. The PTC work tirelessly to support the school through fundraising initiatives, supporting school events and as a consultation group for changes within the school. It was lovely to see so many new faces at the meeting. All money raised by the PTC goes directly back into the school to benefit pupils. The next venture for PTC will be the Christmas Fayre. If you have any ideas for stalls/ activities or if you are able to help, please contact a member of the PTC or the school and we will pass your details on.

‘Meet The Teacher’ Feedback 

In response to parent feedback, we changed the August Open Afternoon to a more formal ‘Meet The Teacher’ presentation session. The main points of feedback after the event were:

• 93% of parents found the session helpful or very helpful
• 84% of parents felt confident in their understanding of class routines and expectations following the session
• 63% preferred the ‘Meet The Teacher’ 2019 format, 17% preferred an Open Afternoon (2018 format) and 20% could not comment as they did not attend last year.
• 90% of parents felt a 3.15pm start time was appropriate
• 97% of parents thought the timing of last week of August was about right.
• 95% of parents felt welcome or very welcome in the school on Wednesday.

There were additional comments provided as feedback and we will make the following changes for next session.

• The first session will run at 2.30pm whilst all pupils are in the hall at an assembly. This will prevent the length of time pupils need to wait for parents and will enable families who have after school activities to plan around this. There will still be sessions after school for families with more than one child in school and to accommodate those who are working in the afternoon.
• We will be clearer that this is not a ‘drop in’ session and parents should not join a session that has already started. We will be clearer on the format and use door signs to advise when a session has started.
• The sessions will all run in presentation format,  regardless of the number of parents. For some classes, session 2 was only attended by 1/2 families and teachers spoke to them informally. Parents with this experience felt they may have missed out.
• All teachers will provide an information sheet for the class in booklet form for parents to take away.
• The Nursery Teacher will also provide a ‘Meet The Teacher’ session during session 2020-2021

Thank you for continuing to feed back  and help us improve Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery Class.

Positive Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) 

Positive Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) has been introduced as a new Health and Wellbeing approach across the school. PATHS is being taught in cohort groups. For example, the Primary 4 class in Room 6 will be joined by the Primary 4 pupils in Room 5. Mrs Kane and Miss Inglis will each teach a mixed group from the two classes to ensure that friendships are sustained and a year group receives the same experience.  This is the same across the school and all classes participate in PATHS after break time on a Wednesday.

Teachers of PATHS groups are:

Primary 7  – Miss Wharton and Mr Loveday
Primary 6 – Mrs Spence and Mrs McGee
Primary 5 – Mrs Gray
Primary 4 – Mrs Kane and Miss Inglis
Primary 3 – Mrs MacOwan and Mrs Hughes
Primary 2 – Miss Deans and Miss McGown
Primary 1 – Miss Harris and Miss Houldsworth

The PATHS^® Programme for Schools (UK Version)  is  systematic and developmental. It enhances social  understanding and develops learning at each stage in the following areas:

1. Emotional understanding
2. Self-control
3. Social problem solving
4. Peer relations and self-esteem

We have arranged a PATHS information session for Tuesday 17th September. The session will run twice (2.15pm and 5.15pm) and will provide an overview of the approach and an opportunity to look at the resources.

Positive Passport

Primary 5 pupils are piloting a new approach to promoting positive behaviour. Using the three rules of ‘Be Kind, Be Ready and Be Safe’, pupils will receive a stamp in their passport for each rule achieved throughout the day. Children can earn up to 15 stamps a week. Children who receive over 10 will be offered a small reward on a Friday (additional playtime etc). Parents will receive the passport home each evening and can find out how their child has managed through the day and offer praise and encouragement at home.

Once we have completed the pilot and sought feedback from parents, pupils and staff, we will be able to decide whether to roll this approach out across the school.

Postcards Home

Over the next few weeks, pupils will be involved in a competition to design a Heathery Knowe postcard. The postcards will be used to communicate with parents and share when pupils have gone ‘over and above’ what is expected, been an outstanding citizen or have an educational achievement to be proud of.  Once we have a winning design, it will be printed and the the leadership team and class teachers will start to use this to celebrate the success of our learners.

Maths Setting 

Children in Primary 4-7 started maths setting this week and are now taught in the smaller groups. I walked around the classes each day during maths time and observed pupils to be very settled and focused. The children offered feedback that it was easier to concentrate, the teacher had more time to speak with them and that they liked the routine of maths at the same time each day.

The Tee Jay Maths homework resources are currently with SLC Print Room and teachers will start using this homework resource consistently once it arrives back in school.

What’s on next week?

Tuesday – Head Teacher attending Learning Community Management Team

Thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

It was a very busy and productive week as our pupils completed their first full week of session 2019/2020.  All classes settled well into routines, revised previous learning and completed baseline assessments. Mrs Gallacher joined the leadership team and is already busy planning exciting opportunities for our pupils.

Leadership Team

The Senior Leadership Team at Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery Class comprises the Head Teacher, two Depute Head Teachers and a Principal Teacher.  To support the Senior Team,  Mrs Robertson leads the School Support Assistant Team and Mrs McPherson leads the Early Learning and Childcare Team.

The Leadership Team have the following remit and responsibilities this session:

Kirsty Duff (Head Teacher)

• Overall responsibility for all aspects of the school and nursery class
• Raising attainment for all pupils
• Lead practitioner and parent contact for Early Level Curriculum (Nursery and Primary 1)

Laura French (Depute Head Teacher)

• Lead practitioner and parent contact for Second Level Curriculum (Primary 5-7)
• Raising attainment and curriculum development for Literacy and English
• Pupil Leadership, Pupil Voice and Family Learning (Big Blether, Parent Evenings, Meet the Teacher etc)
• Local Community links
• Newly Qualified Teacher Support and Mentor

Wendy Gallacher (Acting Depute Head Teacher)

• Lead practitioner and parent contact for First Level Curriculum (Primary 2-4)
• Raising attainment and curriculum development for Numeracy and Mathematics
• Additional Support Needs Co-ordinator
• Active Schools and Residential Experience co-ordinator
• Student and Volunteer placement co-ordinator

Karen McGee (Principal Teacher) 

• Curriculum development for Health and Wellbeing
• ICT co-ordinator
• Special Interest Weeks (finance, anti bullying etc)
• Food for Thought initiative leader
• School Traffic Plan co-ordinator / leads JRSO Team

Carole Anne Robertson (School Support Assistant Team Leader)

• Leads School Support Assistant Team
• Leads Office Team
• Responsible for daily deployment and support for SSAs

Carine McPherson (Early Learning and Childcare Team Leader)

• Leads Early Years Team
• Responsible for daily operation of the nursery
• Lead responsibility for care and welfare of all Nursery children

Parent Contact 

Heathery Knowe Primary is a very busy school and we are always keen to respond as quickly as possible. If you would like to discuss any aspects of your child’s experience at school, please contact the parent contact for the appropriate stage in the first instance (Kirsty Duff for Nursery and Primary 1, Wendy Gallacher for Primary 2 -4 and Laura French for Primary 5-7). At any stage, you can request to speak with the Head Teacher by making an appointment at the office or emailing directly using headteacher@heatheryknowe-pri.s-lanark.sch.uk

Meet The Teacher

This event takes place on Wednesday afternoon. Teachers will share information with you about classroom life, plans for the year ahead, homework and how to get in touch if you have a concern. Pupils are able to attend the event too however if classrooms are very busy then older children / siblings may need to take a seat in our open areas whilst the presentation takes place.

Drop Off Zone 

The car park at Heathery Knowe Primary School is always very busy in the morning and we appreciate people move through the drop off zone as quickly as possible. The Junior Road Safety Officer (JRSO) team will be organising escorts in the morning to offer a new service. As parents come into the drop off zone, the JRSO team can meet younger pupils at the kerb side and escort them safely into the playground to save parents parking. If you would still like to park and wait until the bell rings you are welcome to do so.  The JRSO Team will share more information about this soon.

Plans for the Year Ahead 

Teachers focus on ‘Developing the Young Workforce’ and extending learning outwith the classroom. There are a number of exciting adventures already planned including:

• A visit to Pizza Express to learn about how this restaurant operates and a chance to make a pizza
• A visit to the Amazon Warehouse to find out how this business operates and how they can deliver items to our doors
• A visit to Sky Academy to produce a mini-film / documentary
• A visit to the Bear Factory to experience travelling on the train and making a class mascot
• ‘Clyde in the Classroom’ – growing brown trout to release into the Clyde and participate in this conservation project
• A visit to the Fire Station to find out more about the emergency service
• Working in partnership with community initiatives to sing, share stories and play games with older residents in our community

What’s on next week?

• Maths setting starts for Primary 4-7 pupils
• Tuesday – Rick Walsh (Educational Psychologist) planning meeting with HT
• Tuesday – PTC meeting 7pm
• Wednesday – Meet The Teacher event 3.15pm
• Thursday – PTC Back to School Disco
• Friday – Head Teacher attending SLC Head Teacher Meeting (Quality Improvement)

Thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have had a very busy session at Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery Class. Our staff are committed to ensuring pupils have the opportunity to learn and develop in an environment that is supportive, nurturing and driven by high standards.

We reviewed the way in which we recognise the success of learners and build our community. We renovated an area of the school to create the Glass Room where pupil success is celebrated at the end of each day with the award of a Superstar or Champion certificate. Pupils elected School Captains who reviewed and re-launched the House System including recognising pupils who demonstrate values in action using a token system. Pupils are responding well to a positive approach to promoting behaviour and recognising success.

 

The meeting room was converted to a nurturing space for learners. The pupils named this room ‘The Hive’ and it has proven to be a popular area for individual and small group work with a focus on Health and Wellbeing. Around 40 pupils have accessed this space for learning activities and small group discussions.

There have been a number of opportunities for pupils to participate in Expressive Arts experiences. This year we performed a whole school Christmas Show called, ‘The Magical Christmas Jigsaw’. All pupils in the school participated in the performance and many of our pupils and guests commented on the sense of school community created by the event. Primary Three pupils visited The Scottish Opera, Primary 5 pupils participated in the Youth Music Initiative and four Primary 6/7 pupils represented Heathery Knowe PS in the South Lanarkshire Choir.

There has been a strong focus on raising attainment in literacy throughout the year. Pupils in Primary 1-3 benefited from reading a wider range of books purchased using Pupil Equity Funding. The whole school participated in World Book Day. Activities included a visit to Waterstones, a book swap, door competition and a visit from the librarian at EK Central Library.  All staff participated in Active Literacy training and we invested in a range of resources to support the development of literacy for all pupils.

HMI  inspected our school and nursery in January 2019 and commented that we have, “successfully created a cohesive staff team who are firmly focused on improving outcomes for children . Some of the initiatives aimed at improving aspects of the quality of the work of the school are at an early stage. However, there is clear evidence of their impact on children’s confidence, their relationships with each other and their growing pride in their school”

The introduction of Pupil Progress Meetings in August 2019 has meant that pupil attainment is closely monitored and targeted support is introduced when required. As part of raising attainment in literacy, we reviewed the process for identifying specific literacy learning difficulties and this has benefited 15 learners from P5-7.

We organised a range of activities during Anti Bullying Week and shared the message of ‘choose respect’ and ‘choose kindness’. Respect Me trainers offered a Parent Workshop which was well received. The Junior Leadership Team organised this event and pupils participated in literacy, art and drama activities to think about ways to show respect and kindness to others.

Thank you to all pupils, parents, staff and friends of Heathery Knowe Primary School and Nursery Class who have made this possible. We look forward to the new session and welcoming everyone back to school in August.

Have a lovely summer break.

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are ready to begin the final week of session 2018/2019.  Pupils should continue to wear school uniform throughout the final week. Whilst teachers will be finalising aspects of teaching, core learning activities will continue until Thursday. On Friday, the focus will be health and wellbeing. Pupils will have opportunities to socialise with their friends and celebrate their learning over the year.  I hope your child has enjoyable memories of their year in school and they are looking forward to the start of the new school year.

School Uniform 2019/2020

Many thanks for your continued support of the school in ensuring all pupils wear school uniform. We are proud of our school and of our pupils and believe that consistent standards of uniform and  arriving at school ready to learn are key components in developing our school ethos. 

As well as enjoying a break with your children, parents will no doubt be looking forward to the annual trip to the shops to source uniform, school shoes and stationery. Please find a guide below to assist you with preparing for next session. 

• Each child requires a waterproof jacket and sturdy school shoes. Next session, pupils at all stages will be using the outdoor environment for learning and we cannot rely on the Scottish weather offering sunshine each day. Pupils in Primary 1 will have opportunities to learn outdoor every day unless adverse weather makes it unsafe to do so. 
• All pupils should bring indoor shoes that are labelled and easy to change into. They should be comfortable with hard soles  in case of an evacuation. We do not recommend indoor shoes with laces as they take longer to change into however if this is your preference, please ensure your child is able to tie their laces quickly and independently.
• The uniform is grey skirt / trousers with blue school shirt and Heathery Knowe PS tie. Blue polo shirts and grey/maroon jogging trousers can be worn on PE days to assist changing. We would appreciate your support in encouraging pupils to wear shirt and tie along with trousers / skirt if it is not a PE day.
• Within the school, we provide most of the resources required for school. Children need a pencil, sharpener, rubber and ruler each day. There is no need for pupils to bring additional notepads, colouring pencils/ pens, post it notes, highlighters  etc as these are all provided in school.

Breakfast Club 2019/2020

We have been very fortunate to have a breakfast club at Heathery Knowe PS staffed by parent volunteers. I would like to take an opportunity to thank all volunteers who have supported this service during the session. Many parents have come to rely on it and children benefit from the service provided.

The role of breakfast clubs is wider than the provision of food. Breakfast clubs are generally considered to enhance academic performance and behaviour of children. They can help develop social skills, provide a calm and safe environment before school and assist children to be ready to learn when the formal school day begins. As such, South Lanarkshire Council recently piloted provision of breakfast clubs in forty one primary schools across the Local Authority. This is now being extended to all Primary schools.

• Breakfast Clubs will run from August and will be free for everyone
• Breakfast Clubs will be open from 8:15am to 8:45am and provide breakfast only (no activities)
• The schools’ Cook in Charge will prepare and serve breakfast items to pupils (toast or cereal)
• There will be a staff presence in place to create a safe, secure environment. The Senior Leadership Team will be available to Breakfast Club staff to assist with any urgent issues that arise.

Next week, a letter will be issued asking parents to indicate if they will use the new service so that we can plan appropriate staffing levels for the new session.

First Day Back – 15th August 2019

The new playground system will be operational from Thursday 15th August. Support Staff will be available to support learners in the playground and we would ask that you say goodbye at the gate as we welcome children into school. This change in procedure is required to support the safety and wellbeing of pupils.

New Primary One pupils should come in the front door at 9am on the first day and can be taken round to class. There will be an opportunity to take photographs and help your child settle. We would ask that all parents leave the classroom by 9.20am.

What’s on next week?

Monday – Primary 1 excursion to Almond Valley Farm Park
Monday – Primary 7 transition event with Mr Chaplin and Mr Walsh
Wednesday – Parent Helper Thank you event
Thursday – Summer Assembly (South Parish Church)
Friday – 1pm close

Thank you for your continued support

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

 

 

 

 

Our induction days are now completed for Primary One pupils starting in August 2019. it was lovely to see so many confident young learners ready for school. The Nursery Graduation was a special event for pupils, staff and parents and I would like to thank  our nursery team for the effort that went into preparing for the event.

Dietary Requirements  

We have a number of pupils coming into school with additional health needs. This includes pupils with nut allergies. Our school needs to be a nut free environment and I would urge all parents to support us in helping keep pupils safe by checking snacks before sending them into school.  We will be ensuring that pupils do not swap / share snacks in Primary 1 to support successful monitoring of the situation.  If your child has an allergy / dietary requirement that we are unaware of, please contact the school office to discuss and allow us to plan for their time in school.

Sports Day 

Following Sports Day, we requested feedback from parents, pupils and staff to help us plan for next session. The key points of feedback include:

• 76% people preferred a local sports centre to school for Sports Day
• 59% people preferred competitive races to potted sports
• 64% people preferred a whole school Sports Day to separate infant and senior events
• 90% adults felt Sports Day was well organised

The additional feedback comments will be arranged into groups and made available within the next few weeks.

Moving On

The pupils all moved into their new classes on Friday morning for a taster session. The pupils all seemed to have a lovely time getting to new new class mates and their teacher for the year ahead.

For pupils going into Primary 2 (Room 3), I will confirm the class teacher’s name on Tuesday 18th June.

Teacher Cover Update

Mrs McGee will cover teachers’ non contact time for Rooms 7-10
Mrs French will cover teachers’ non contact time for Room 6
Miss Deans will cover teachers’ non contact time for Rooms 1-5

What’s on next week?

Monday – EQ PTC Sports Event
Tuesday- 4 primary 6 learners part of the SLC choir singing at the Town House
Wednesday – Primary 7 Leaver Assembly
Thursday – Shorts and Shades Disco
Friday – Primary 7 treat
Friday – Leadership Presentations and Elections

Thank you for your continued support

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff