Please find information on Focus Sessions: Building skills together 2024/2025
For parents / carers of pre-school children with additional support needs.
These session will offer practical strategies and examples of different ways of working with children with additional support needs, opportunities to ask questions, hear from other parents and discuss ideas together
These session are delivered by Health and Education staff working in Early Years Services. Session are run online. Parent Focus Sessions flyer 2024-25
Category: Information for Parents/ Carers
Muir and Mackintosh House and Vice Captains
Today, a number of our Muir and Mackintosh pupils took to the Arena in front of their houses – Fallow, Red, Roe and Sika – to present their ideas for House and Vice Captain.
The children worked so hard on their presentations and speeches and we are so proud of how well they all did this morning. The children from each house voted for who they wanted as their House and Vice Captains.
The votes were extremely close, but we now have our House and Vice Captains!
Well done to everyone involved, and thank you to parents/carers and champs who supported the children to go forward for this leadership opportunity.
Calderwood Primary Chronicle: 30/08/24
Every fortnight we will issue our chronicle to families via email and our blog.
All other information about Calderwood is on our blog and on Twitter we highlight our achievements.
Calderwood Commitments
- Please ensure you have registered your child on parent portal and that your details are up to date. West Lothian Council are now using this system for our annual data checks and EE2 forms for excursions. You can find advice here. The details you used on enrolment must be the same as the details you enter to enrole on parent portal, we recognise that a lot of families are requiring support with this and the office champs are working through emails and voice messages.
- 06/09/2024: Primary 7 Fundraiser: iPay will be open for donations from 2nd to 6th Sept or children can bring along change for donations for activities on the day. Find out more information here.
- Please complete and return the NHS immunisations forms that were sent home last Friday.
Calderwood Calendar:
- 2024-25 Calendar
- 02/09/2024: Term 1 Learning Letters posted on the blog, you can find them here.
- 06/09/2024: Primary 7 Fundraiser: All children can dress down (no football tops or crop tops please) and can take part in the fundraiser. iPay will be open for donations from 2nd to 6th Sept or children can bring along change for donations for activities on the day. Money raised will go towards the cost of their hoodies/ leavers’ events. Find out more information here.
- 10/09/24: 5:00pm to 5:45pm or 6:00pm to 6:45pm: Meet the Clan & Champion: Your child will take you on a tour and show you their clan room, their champion will also be there. Please no more than 2 adults per family. Prams can be left downstairs. Find out more here.
- 13th, 16th, 17th September: School closed for September Break.
Calderwood Communication:
- Champion update: This week we have welcomed Mrs Learmont as a full time pupil support to our team. Mrs Castillon-Intriago is moving on to pastures new and her last day with us with be 20th A huge thank you to Mrs Castillon-Intriago who has supported our younger clans, we appreciate all the support, care and nurture she has given to our children and clans, we wish her lots of luck on her new adventure.
- Dalguise Presentation link for Primary 7 clans.
- Parent council communication channels: Please click here for more information.
- Primary 7 plea for business funding: Please click here for more information.
- Seesaw: Information for Primary 1 -3.
- Loose parts and sewing request.
Routines:
- Parking: There are spaces in our carpark for blue badge holders, only those with a blue badge should park in this space. There is no parking along the side of the building on the Nethershiel Road.
- Morning Gates: As children arrive to drop off their bikes for breakfast club they can open the gates to access the bike shed (they are closed but not locked). At morning drop off there are staff in the playground and on the gate from 8:25am – 8:45am, please do not enter the playground before or after this time.
- Wet morning arrangements: When there is heavy rain in the mornings, there will be no champions on the gate as they are all supervising clans inside. Your child should enter the building during the playground/ STEM (corner door) and adults can walk their child up to the door. Children arriving after 8:45am should go to the office as normal.
- Smart watches: Children should please have smart watches in school mode during the school day, they are not permitted to take photos, use it to communicate, etc.
- Friday: A reminder that on a Friday school finishes for P1, P2 and Doune at 11:55am and at 12:00pm for the other clans.
- Lunches: Please ensure you have ordered your child’s lunch at home using your iPay log in. Families who want their child to have a sandwich pack lunch from the school kitchen on a Friday, should order this by 9:30am on a Thursday. Primary 6 and 7 lunches cost £2.20. You can find out more information here on how to use iPay. Due to severe allergies in school we request that you do not send foods with nut ingredients for break and lunch time snacks.
- School Office: Our school office opening hours are 8:20am-3:30pm (12:15pm on a Friday). Outwith these times you can leave a voicemail or send an email which will be picked up between 8:20am-3:30pm
- Electric Scooters: A reminder that E-scooters can only be used on private land with the permission of the land owner.
School Improvement:
- Poverty proofing statement: Please click here to find out how we try to reduce the cost the school day.
- School Improvement Plan: Click here to find out about our improvement actions for this year.
Advice:
- Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme: Click here for information.
- Fire Drill Social story: Please find a social support your child in the case of a fire drill or unwanted fire alarm.
Calderwood Compliments:
- A huge congratulations to our new Calderwood Chiefs!
- At Calderwood it our tradition to share a first day photo of your child. Over the next week our champions will add the photos to this blog post.
- Thank you to Leven Clan for helping with our connects all about our value of
- Thank you to our Parent Council for providing our fruit bowl for those children who have forgotten their snack.
Fire Drill Social Story
Learning Letters Term 1 2024-2025
Primary 1 Learning Letter: Learning letter 2024-2025 Term 1
Primary 2 Learning Letter: Term 1- P2 Clans Learning Letter
Primary 3 Learning Letter: Term 1 P3 Clans Learning Letter
Primary 4 Learning Letter: Term 1 P4 Clans Learning Letter
Primary 5 Learning Letter: Primary 5 Learning Letter Term 1 2024-2025
Primary 6 Learning Letter: Primary 6 Learning Letter Term 1 2024-2025
Primary 7 Learning Letter: Primary 7 Learning Letter Term 1 2024-2025
Sewing Primary 1
Following our Froebelian approach in Primary 1, we are starting to embed our Froebelian occupations. Froebel’s occupations connected children’s first-hand experiences in their local communities with creative materials to communicate, develop physical and problem-solving skills.
Through the school year pupils have the opportunity to carry out woodwork and use clay in their clans. Champions would like to expand our occupation experiences by include sewing.
Sewing is a life skill and sustainability is a global priority. Being able to
mend or make clothes reduces waste. It is also a way to express ideas and feelings and can be an art form in itself.
If anyone would like to donate:
- a variety of needles (plastic or metal with large eye holes)
- pin cushions
- fabric scissors
- a selection of different coloured embroidery thread
- some easy-to-handle fabric such as block weave fabric (for example Binca or Hessian)
- buttons, laces or ribbons
- fabric offcuts/samples
If anyone has an interest in sewing and would like to share this with our pupils please get in touch with Miss Connor.
Loose Parts Primary 1- Primary 3
We are looking for donations of loose parts and sewing materials for our Primary 1- Primary 3.
Loose-parts play is a type of open-ended play-based learning that encourages children to use their creativity and imagination. The phrase ‘loose parts’ refers to the variety of natural and man-made objects that children use. Loose-parts play is accessible for children of all ages and abilities. Loose parts can be anything – the aim is to allow children to engage with the materials in an imaginative way.
Examples of Loose Parts that could be donated:
Pebbles/Stones, Pine cones, Shells, Buttons, Beads, glass gems, bubble wrap, pegs, bottle caps/jar lids, material offcuts, ribbons.
If you would like to donate and unsure if suitable, please get in touch with Miss Connor.
Seesaw Primary 1- Primary 3
You will have recently received two Seesaw codes home:
Home Learning Code
Family Invite
The home learning code is for your child to upload their home learning or activity to share with their champion only.
The Family Invite allows you to link to the seesaw account and any adult to add comments to their child’s work either uploaded in class or from home.
You should have received both codes home, please let your child’s teacher know if this isn’t the case.
Just a reminder that Seesaw is a learning profile tool and shouldn’t be used to message teachers or discuss pupil’s absence/appointments for example. Please use the main school channels to discuss any issues or let the office know about absence/appointments.
Primary 7 Clans – Plea for Business Support
PEF Statement – Term 2
Please see attached our Term 2 PEF Statement.
