MRS DOCHERTY’S POSITIVE THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK  15.5.20

Another Friday and the end of another fabulous week of work and support. I started this week with our positive song of the week: Somewhere Over the Rainbow which shared a message of hope and determination. This is exactly what we all have in abundance at the moment and continue to have going forward.

My positive thought for this week is one that sums up all of your positivity and our hopes as a school community.

Your comments, the daily work being shared and your positive messages of support through this time embody our school values and also the quote above. You are our rainbow and what has really struck us as a school is the care, love, support and friendship you have shown to us as your children’s teachers and as your friends.

It is the simplest of things and the Thursday Clap for our Carers that shows our rainbow shining through in these times and really make me smile knowing we are supporting each other and showing kindness and courage towards each other. Keep smiling and keep being that rainbow in someone else’s storm.

Thank you for being you and being brilliant. We couldn’t ask for a better set of children and parents for our school.

Have a great weekend and as always stay safe,

 

Mrs Docherty

Mrs Docherty HWB: Self-esteem 14.5.20

Good morning everyone. These are very different times we are living in and especially for your children as they adjust to the new normal routine. They may find it difficult at times and so for this week I would like to focus on some Health and Wellbeing activities about self-esteem and managing change and emotions during this period.

Self-esteem is something that allows children to feel good about themselves. It allows them to recognise what they are good at, helps them to persevere even when they don’t get things first time and supports them to recognise that it is ok to make mistakes. I have included a link below for a lovely story called The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes. Please have a listen and share it with your child.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQG4vFGd6eU

 

 

Self-esteem gives your children the courage to try new things, make new friends and also gives them the ability to recognise that good things happen when they try.

A few ways to help develop their self-esteem include:

  • Sharing with them their successes and telling them you can see how well they are doing with something.
  • Get them to make a list of what they are good at. If they are finding this difficult you and other family members can share what you feel they are good at.
  • Get them to practise the things they do well.
  • Encourage your child to do their best at all times and to persevere even when things are hard. When they have success doing this their self-esteem grows.
  • Right now in these times spending time with their family doing things they love will help to build your child’s self-esteem.

 

I have attached a little activity you could try at home with your child. Share the strength cards attached below with your child. Get them to recognise what they think their strengths are from the cards. Then  cut out five strips of paper and get your child to write their 5 strengths on these strips attaching them to the cloud template below. Everyone in the family could make one and you could all share what makes you special.

 

Strength-cards-new

 

self-esteem-cloud (1)

 

Next week we will focus on exploring feelings as part of our HWB. Have fun with the activity above and enjoy building up each other’s self-esteem.

As always, take care and stay safe,

Mrs Docherty

Mrs Docherty’s Positive Song for the Week: Somewhere Over the Rainbow 11.5.20

Good morning and welcome back to the start of another week. I hope you have all had a lovely weekend and have continued to make memories along the way. I love to start our week with a positive song and today is no different. One of my all-time favourite films is The Wizard of Oz and with it, its iconic song Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

 

In the film the characters have to show courage and determination as they embark on a journey like no other. This is very reflective of what we are all doing with life at the moment. We are all on a journey like no other and what is important to get through it is bravery, determination, friendship, support and love.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_XNczdUEoc

 

The lyrics of the song are reflective of what we are thinking and feeling every day as we wish for the brighter days ahead when we can all be together again. As we go into this week let’s think of the lyrics from the song and stay positive looking forward to another week of exciting learning and support of each other.

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

 

The lyrics provide us with hope and knowledge that as each day goes by we will be getting closer to being together again and starting our new journey after the storm.

 

Have a great week everyone, take care and stay safe,

 

Mrs Docherty

MRS DOCHERTY POSITIVE QUOTE FOR THE WEEK: 8.5.20

As we look back at another week of learning, friendships, support and hope we realise what a journey we have been on and indeed are still on. Hopefully for all of you things are starting to fall into a new normal and a new routine that works for you all.

While things have changed and we are all adjusting, what is important is to remember that when we come to the end of this part of the journey we are all here for you and as we get closer to that time we are getting more and more excited to see you all.

They always say absence makes the heart grow fonder and I know that is the case for us at St Ninian’s. When we remember the words of our song of the week from Monday “Rise Up ” by Andra Day please keep in your minds the lines:

All we need, all we need is hope
And for that we have each other
We will rise

This song means a lot to me and I have used it as a writing stimulus in school which resulted in amazing pieces of writing based on hope, strength and courage. Please know these are the qualities you are showing at the minute and we are so appreciative of your support and engagement. Our special quote for this week is:

 

 

We know that as a school and as a community we will grow even stronger through this and look forward to a new chapter of learning, laughter and fun.

 

Have a lovely  weekend with each other, continue to make special memories and please stay safe.

Mrs Docherty

Welcome back after the long weekend!

Welcome back after a few days off!

I hope you have all had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend at home with your families. I enjoyed going for walks and doing some planting in my garden. I even met some St Ninian’s families whilst I was out walking, it was so good to chat and hear how you were getting on.

Last week our teachers were contacting families via phonecall and they were all so pleased to get this opportunity for a quick chat and update on how you were all getting on. If they couldn’t get you they left a message or we sent a groupcall just to check in and to offer our support. Please contact myself or Mrs Smith if there is anything we can support you with via email or at St Ninian’s on a Monday when we are working in the HUB school.

This is a short week of learning for you and your teachers will post your learning grids online. Last week I sent out lots of virtual Golden Tickets and I am looking forward to seeing who the teachers will nominate this week.

As May is the month of Mary, Fr Kenneth has kindly recorded a video message for the schools of the Livingston & East Calder Parishes. It would be lovely if you could dedicate some time to this during your week for prayer and reflection, https://youtu.be/bK4Vnz46ldI

West Lothian are releasing challenges every Monday named ‘INspired’, these are challenges designed to challenge your skills, knowledge and understanding. It would be great if some of our children and families could give these a go. You can access the challenges via the blog https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/wl/stayinspired/ or via Twitter @StayINspiredWL.

As a staff team we are always keen to gather your views so with this mind we have prepared a short survey about the continuation of learning during this school closure which we would appreciate you taking the time to complete. It can be accessed with this link and we have also sent it out via groupcall https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuBppqbcNrLJgsDJUrQoNQVhmpOqtObtFXaczyMQaxXrPDCg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Have a great week and stay safe!

Mrs Roy

National Superhero Day

Good afternoon St Ninian’s Primary School! I hope everyone is doing well and keeping active by exercising!

Today is National Superhero Day! Here are some things I’d like you to think about;

Who is your favourite super hero and what makes them so great? Mine has to be spider man! I love the way he moves from building to building!

Can you think of what super power you would love to have and why? Mine would definitely be super speed, I think that would help me a lot when I am playing rugby!

Finally, the most important one, what super power do you already have? It is important just now for everyone to stay positive and I would like every single one of you to celebrate yourselves! Are you super smart? Are you super kind or caring? Are you super funny? Have a think and if you’re stuck, ask someone around you!

All the best,

Mr Cumming.

Mrs Docherty POSITIVE SONG OF THE WEEK: 27.4.20

This week’s Positive Song is Rise Up by Andra Day which is a very powerful song with a powerful message. It is a song about courage and strength in the face of adversity. The song has a very special message for everyone and has been used by our special NHS nurses across the country to rally each other and support their patients.

 

As a school we feel the message of the song is exactly what we would want to say to you as our parents and as our friends. It is a message of working through things and knowing that we will rise up and come out the other end. We will do this together as a team and the lines from the song which stand out for me are:

 

You’re broken down and tired
Of living life on a merry go round
And you can’t find the fighter
But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
And move mountains
And I’ll rise up
I’ll rise like the day
I’ll rise up
I’ll rise unafraid
I’ll rise up
And I’ll do it a thousand times again
And I’ll rise up
High like the waves
I’ll rise up
In spite of the ache
I’ll rise up
And I’ll do it a thousand times again
For you

 

Please listen to the song which is even more powerful when you hear the lyrics with music.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMpXtI6Nhskknowing

 

The song gives a clear message that who we are is demonstrated in what we do to help each other. It is about how we show support and empathy for each other which as a school we see in abundance not just now but at all times, so thank you. The words of the song give us a positive message of how we will get through these times and the positivity and experiences we will have again soon.

 

Have a great week everyone and please stay safe,

Mrs Docherty

Welcome back!

Good morning everyone,

We hope you all had a lovely weekend in the sunshine with your families!

Today many of our St Ninian’s staff team will be working in the HUB across the day helping look after the children of key workers. It seems strange not having you all there with us!!

Your teachers have planned another exciting week of learning for you and it has been great hearing about all your successes via the blog, twitter and TEAMS. Last week we sent out 4 virtual Golden Tickets – this week it could be you!

Remember that we are serving take away lunches between 12-1.30pm for our FSM and P1-P3 families. It would be lovely to see some new faces!!

Mrs Smith and I can also be contacted at the school today on 01506 414612 if you need any support or just fancy a chat! We are also available via email each day.

Our final thought for today is

Have a great day!

Mrs Roy and Mrs Smith

MRS DOCHERTY POSITIVE THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Friendship: 24.4.20

At the end of our first week back in our final term we hope you have had a successful week of fun and learning. Please know you are all doing so well and we are very proud of you. I know we have loved being in teaching mode and in contact with you all again this week and following on from our positive song of the week we have appreciated all of your friendship. As I always say Thursday is such an important day to stop, think and reflect especially when we Clap for our Heroes. Some of the things I ask myself on Thursdays are:

 

What have I felt happy about this week?

What have I done to make someone smile?

What special memory have I made this week?

What has made me sad or worried?

Who helped me when I felt that way?

 

Most answers involve my family and my friends which again I know we will all be missing. So for today I am sending you all a special message to help you to know we are all here for you and for each other. So from all of us to you we are sending big hugs and a big thank you for your support, hard work and friendship.

 

And please remember:

Have a lovely day everyone and look after yourselves,

Mrs Docherty

MRS DOCHERTY SUPPORTING YOU TO LOOK AFTER YOU AND YOURS: 22.4.20

Following on from yesterday’s advice on how to look after each other during Lockdown I’ll keep providing further supports from the Glasgow Times article which I found so informative. Today’s focus is

Acknowledgement:

Children can find it difficult to recognise or share what their feelings are. It is important to talk about these with your child and help them to identify what they may be feeling and why. When doing this it is important to get your child to name their feelings. You can help with this by identifying the feeling for them if required. This can be done by saying: I can see you are feeling….

 

When you have helped them to identify their feeling you can work together to develop ways to make them feel better if their feeling is one of fear, or worry or anxiousness.

Maybe as a family you are finding calmness at this time  and that is important to recognise and spread too.

Some questions suggested that you could ask your child included:

 

What makes you feel calm?

How can you continue to keep in touch with friends and family at the moment?

Can you think of anything fun we can do at home today?

What is something you could you do for someone else today?

What have you enjoyed about today?

What made you feel proud today?

 

I will further support this on our positive thought for the week on Friday and also on Thursday’s mindfulness self-regulation focus.

 

Have a great day,

Mrs Docherty

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