School Photograph Day is always a challenge in terms of trying to get all of the children’s photos taken (sometimes with siblings and/or other family members), whilst still trying to keep classes working productively while it is all going on. This year, we had  a particularly large number of families turning up for family portraits, etc., which had a knock on effect and the photo session ran on well into mid-morning. Thanks to the flexibility and hard work of staff, the expected disruption to lessons on Photo Day was kept to a minimum and was barely noticeable.  Now we eagerly await the results and look forward to seeing some stunning photos that will, in the future, form many memories.

The inaugural meeting of our SOC-IT Group for this session took place last Friday, 07 September where many issues were discussed. The SOC-IT Group is open for membership to anyone who has children attneding Stoneyburn Primary School, in fact, everyone in that situation is automatically given membership. The minutes of the latest meeting can be read here:

SOC-IT Minutes 120907

We had our first ‘Celebrating Success’ awards presented today at Stoneyburn Primary School. After discussing some ‘Magic Moments’ from the 2012 Olympics, we decided to award certificates to the person in each class who had produced their own ‘Magic Moment’ in school this week. These ‘Magic Moments’ ranged from problem-solving to helping others. Our first winners of this session are pictured above. Well done to all of them.

Our Primary 5 children took the plunge this morning and took part in a West Lothian swimming assessment. Although there were some nerves and initial trepidation from those not so confident in the water, everyone  soon got the hang of it and was floating, swimming, ducking and diving. If your child was assessed, expect a letter soon saying he or she is already a competent swimmer or offering you a block of free swimming lessons to bring on their skills.

Stoneyburn Primary’s newest recruits got off to a fine start today,  settling in almost instantly to school life. Although they have only half-days for the first week, our new children lapped up everything that was going on.  The other classes also settled quickly, so things are looking good for the coming term.

At last! The long hot summer days are coming to an end (I must have missed that!) and it’s now time to return to the main purpose of life – SCHOOL! Staff have already been back to work several times over the holidays to set up classrooms, organise resources and generally prepare for the new session. But, today’s the day and we look forward to welcoming back all of our previous pupils and extend an especially warm welcome to our new Primary 1s, who have their very first day of school today. Let’s all make every day count and strive to be the best we can be over the coming session.

The 2011-2012 session at Stoneyburn Primary School came to an end today with a superb fun day organised by SOC-IT. From Disco to Assault Course, Nail- and Face-painting to an amazing Petting Zoo, it was indeed Fun all the way. A big ‘Thank You’ to the members of SOC-IT who organised and ran events (even those who watched the children pet the animals but weren’t quite so enthusiastic themselves – not mentioning any names, Mrs. G.). Never mind, the children liked the snakes and stuff. This event was a fabulous end to a very hectic, but very successful week at Stoneyburn PS. Hope everyone has  a great holiday and we will see you in August.

Today’s première of ‘Lord of the Rings … Olympic that is!’ was an outstanding success, with superb performances form all of our children. There were many highlights, but possibly the most engaging was the Ultra-Violet sequence conceived, prepared, rehearsed and executed by Primary 7 children – it was simply stunning. If you have yet to see the show, I won’t spoil it for you by describing it to you; suffice to say, I have seen this particular item many times now and am still awed by it. Could tomorrow’s performance be any better than today’s – I doubt it, but then, our children are always surprising us with their abilities, enthusiasm and sheer nerve. Can’t wait!

The first ever performance of ‘Lord of the Rings … Olympic That Is!’ (written especially for our children by our own Mrs. Loosemore), will take place this afternoon at 1.30 p.m. Lots of hard work and practice has gone into making the show a success, but you can judge that for yourself by coming along and being part of the audience. The second and final performance of the show will take place tomorrow evening at 6.30 p.m. All our children are very much looking forward to showing what they can do – we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

School will break for the summer holiday at the usual time of 12.20 p.m. on Friday, 29 June. Can we please remind parents and pupils to make sure they have removed all of their personal property from cloakrooms, the dining hall, classrooms and their own personal trays, as any left property will be disposed of during the holidays when the school is being deep-cleaned?

School will resume for the new session on Monday, 20 August for staff and Tuesday, 21 August for pupils.