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It was another fun filled week at Heathery Knowe PS with Primary 1 visiting the fire station, Primary 5 visiting the wind farm and most pupils participating in Halloween electives and the disco. I am sure there are some very tired teachers and pupils having a restful weekend.<\/p>\n
As another week ends, I have had the opportunity to review our progress to date.<\/p>\n
How Good is Our School?<\/span><\/p>\n I received the draft VSE report from Jacqueline Wallace this week and this has guided our direction for school improvement.\u00a0 This will be shared with teaching staff on Tuesday night and then a summary will be issued to parents. A pupil friendly version will be produced so that pupils are fully involved in making Heathery Knowe PS an excellent place to learn and achieve.<\/p>\n One way to continue to improve is by visiting other schools to guide and challenge our thinking. Mrs Caldwell and Ms MacPherson have visited other nurseries as they begin to think about planning for pupils attending for full days. We have a number of other visits planned within our learning community and beyond, focusing on:<\/p>\n Christmas Show\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Our Christmas show is called, ‘The Magical Christmas Jigsaw’. In this\u00a0<\/strong>traditional nativity, the\u00a0Christmas story\u00a0comes to life as a\u00a0magical Christmas jigsaw\u00a0is pieced together.\u00a0All classes will participate in the show with both an afternoon and evening performance. I am sure this will be the highlight of the Christmas calendar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday 20th November. It will initially be limited to 2 tickets per family but you will have an option to request additional tickets through a ballot.<\/p>\n Scottish Attainment Fund\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Through the additional money allocated to the school from the Scottish Attainment Fund, we plan to use it in the following ways:<\/p>\n The remainder of this fund is used to employ an additional teacher at Heathery Knowe PS to ensure pupils who need it receive targeted teaching time in small groups.<\/p>\n In preparation for next session, the school will establish a Scottish Attainment Fund consultative committee. The purpose of this committee will be to ensure parents, staff and pupils are fully involved in planning to close the poverty related attainment gap.<\/p>\n Staffing\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A letter will be issued to all parents on Monday to update them on the current staffing at Heathery Knowe PS. South Lanarkshire Council have made the decision that our school will have two DHTs for a period of time. This is a very supportive measure from the Education Resources who recognise the significant changes in the leadership team over the past few years and the need for stability for a period of time.<\/p>\n The leadership team is made up of:<\/p>\n Kirsty Duff – Headteacher (Permanent) What’s happening next week?<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you for your continued support<\/p>\n Kind regards<\/p>\n Kirsty Duff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was another fun filled week at Heathery Knowe PS with Primary 1 visiting the fire station, Primary 5 visiting the wind farm and most pupils participating in Halloween electives and the disco. I am sure there are some very tired teachers and pupils having a restful weekend. As another week ends, I have … <\/p>\n\n
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\nLaura French – Depute Headteacher (Permanent)
\nGraeme Scott – Acting Depute Headteacher (Temporary)
\nKaren McGee – Principal Teacher (Permanent)<\/p>\n\n