Meldrum Primary School Blog

Adam and Hayden used materials collected in the playground to make this collage.

We have been asked to ensure the following important safety message is shared with everyone:

Please be aware that some of the reservoirs in the Pentland Hills Regional Park have partially frozen over. In these circumstances we ask visitors to take extra care around the reservoirs.

Please DO NOT venture onto the ice and keep dogs off the ice. If someone or a dog has fallen through the ice please dial 999 but DO NOT try and venture onto the ice yourself.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has issued good advice which is helpful and should be followed. Visit http://www.rospa.com/ for further information.

The Road Safety Committee would like to thank everyone who helped to make their campaign a success. They were concerned about the number of parents and children entering the school through either the car park or the gate beside the car park. They campaigned at this gate informing people that this was not a ‘safe arrival’ gate and so should not be used to enter the school at any time of the day. Letters were given out to parents and children informing them that the gates to the south and north of the school should be used. Staff stand at these gates to ensure children arrive safely into the school grounds. At the beginning of the campaign there was a total of 25 children using this gate. This reduced to 2. Hopefully this can decrease even further. A very successful campaign! Well done to the road safety committee from Primary 7.

Representatives from our Think Tank met with Mrs Stewart and P7 pupils from Bankton Primary School today to discuss how we could help each other improve the life of the school.  The children raised very thought provoking questions and gave us lots of food for thought.  We hope to visit the children at Bankton Primary in the final term to share more information.

Think Tank from Meldrum and Bankton Primary

Following on from National Safer Internet Day, I hope you found the information posted helpful.  Please find another link for advice on safe internet use by your child.

Safe Sites for use by children

I would like to remind you that the picking up and setting down of children in the school car park is prohibited.  This is a matter of great importance and we need your support to keep all our children safe.

Recently, there have been some tragic high profile incidents involving young people being struck by vehicles.  Within the last month, there have also been issues around schools in which vehicles have been parked irresponsibility or in which drivers have reversed into pedestrians, some of them children, causing injury.  This will continue to have a high profile in our school with the support of our Junior Road Safety Officers.

You will find some helpful advice on the link below.

Road Safety advice

The number of devices that can access the internet grows year on year. Regardless of the type of hardware you use to surf the Web, browsing online will always carry a risk that your machine will pick up malicious or unwanted software.

Microsoft defines malware (malicious software) as: ‘any software designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network’, and includes Trojans, viruses, and spyware.

Combatting malware is a complex and rapidly changing field in the world of IT, but the good news for is that protecting the devices you have at home can be both simple and cheap.

The most popular anti-virus and anti-malware packages offer basic, free to use versions that are easy to control, and provide adequate protection for the average home user.

While most people are aware of the need to use security software on PCs and laptops, many still leave smartphones and tablets unprotected. For more information see: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/free-anti-virus-software

A reminder that this Friday 12 February, you are invited to the new Bathgate Cinema, St. David’s, George Street, where industry experts will offer practical advice on parental control settings for different devices. There will also be the opportunity to see the first ever big screen-screen showing of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) internet safety films that your children see in school.

This event is free to enter, and open to everyone, so why not invite family and friends along? For more info see www.westlothian.gov.uk/saferinternet

Remember to visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents for additional support and advice.