School Newsletter Issue 3
2012
Winter Weather
School Parliament
I am so pleased to see so many of our pupil’s still proudly wearing their uniform to school. As the Winter draws in the weather has certainly taken a colder and wetter turn and I would be grateful if all children could bring indoor shoes with them which will hopefully help to keep the school a bit less muddy and slip free. As previously mentioned I would also be grateful if you could reinforce the importance of coming to school dressed warmly and certainly encourage your child to wear a warm jacket.
This session, we have changed the way in which pupils make decisions about what happens in our school. After studying the Scottish Parliament in class, P5/6/7 decided we could put this learning into action by creating our own Parliament. The elections took place before the holidays and our MSP’s are as follows:
Library Opening
The group met last week and were deciding on priorities to be developed after discussing this in classes.
We had fantastic support from parents and carers who came along on the day to support in our official opening of the library. This is a fantastic space for our children and will be used for years to come. A huge thanks also to Cate James for her time and enthusiasm with the children and also Councillor Tom Trotter for attending and supporting the school.
After School Clubs Children seem to be enjoying the extracurricular activities we have been able to offer. Currently we are very pleased to be able to offer Art & Crafts on a Tuesday which is attended by the majority of the children in our school. Unfortunately, we will be unable to run the Zumbatonic class due to numbers and I would like to thank those who responded to this. These clubs remain flexible in order that we can respond to Pupil requests and interest, and so there will be a letter coming out to parents again in December to let you know what clubs will be on offer from January to Summer.
P1/2 P3/4/5 P5/6/7
Finlay Blackstock and Astrid Guatelli Emma Findlay and Finlay Semple Alasdair Bennett and Jo Dewar
In addition to the parliament, we have also set up committees who will look after specific aspects of the school. These are as follows: Environment
Corin Woodhead, Findlay Bennett and Lucy Walters
Health
Thomas Fox, Emilia Fox and Anna Lerpiniere
Fundraising
Eva Swan, Jonathan Jasmine Coppinger
Mostyn
and
This is a fantastic opportunity for our children to discuss issues and identify ways forward that are important for them and the school community.
Pantomime This year’s pantomime Beauty and the Beast has been booked for Monday 10 December at 1.30pm in the Village Hall. We have booked a theatre company this year as we were unable to secure dates at the Brunton Theatre. Big thanks go to our Parent Council who have kindly helped fund this experience this year. Look out via pupil post for more information next week.
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P1 Enrolment Our Primary 1 Enrolment for session 2012/2013 takes place on Wednesday 14 November with plans already underway for transition activities, helping our pre-schoolers prepare for their first year in primary school.
Christmas Fair The Christmas Fair and Lights Switch On this year is on Saturday 1 December in the Village Hall and the Parent Council are already busy organising this great event. I am looking forward to the event and hope to see many of you there. This is a great event for the community and a lot of hard work for those hardworking members of the Parent Council fundraising Committee.
Book Fair Following the recent Book Fair in School we received a commission of £188.88. This money has gone towards purchasing a variety of multicultural fiction and non-fiction books for all stages. Thank you for choosing to purchase your books from the travelling fair and helping to continue to supplement our libraries with appropriate and relevant reading material.
Feedback from Parents and Carers At both parents and carers consultations and our learning event, I have asked for feedback in terms of what we are doing in the school and how we can improve. This feedback has been invaluable for us as a staff team in engaging with you what you feel the learning experiences are like for your children. At the learning event, we asked the following questions and the feedback given is detailed below:
What did I learn? Learned a completely new approach to number How children look after themselves and others emotionally Really helpful to understand reading, writing and number A deeper understanding of how children are taught There is more interaction in class from children Ways to ask questions that may illicit answers How children are questioned to think about texts The methods of counting and the use of number lines
What additional sessions could we run?
Soft Start Our first Soft Start will take place on Thursday 29 November from 9am to 9.30am . This is your chance to come in and learn alongside your child. The theme for the day will be around art and design and we look forward to welcoming as many of you into school on the day.
Community Event
How do we continue to assist children’s progress Help with P1 homework A home learning session Follow up sessions on how improvements have impacted on children’s learning
At Parent and Carer consultations, we asked:
What are we doing well?
Always available and happy to talk over any issues Appreciate the dedication and personal attention Teaching and learning is based on real life Children see how learning is appropriate now and in the future Keeping us informed Approachable staff who listen Motivating the children Helping parents feel involved Maintaining links with the community
Messy Church at Christmas! - Sunday 2 December 3.30pm – 5pm Athelstaneford Village Hall Messy Church is for ALL the family. It’s a time when families come together to enjoy being together, making things together (getting messy doing arts and crafts!), eating together (a Christmas party tea), learn about Jesus and celebrate God together through stories and songs.
Come and join us and have lots of fun and bring your families including grandparents!!
As a result of the feedback, the main theme is around home learning and accordingly, I plan to run two sessions next term to give parents and carers more information and also answer any questions you may have. Dates for these have to be finalised and I will write out once this has happened.
(For families with preschool and primary school children. Children must be accompanied by an adult over 16yrs old)
For more details contact: Sue Camburn Tel: 880321, martynsue@yahoo.co.uk Pat Robinson Tel: 880387
What can we improve? Better explanation of home work More explicit instruction on how parents can guide children in homework
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13th 13th 14th 16th 19th 25th 30th
November
Dates for your Diary
P1 Enrolement Parent Council Meeting (7pm) Tempest Photography (Family & Individual) Children In Need P5 Basketball Festival at NBSC Saltire Celebrations in Village Saltire Flag Raising
1st 10th 18th 19th 20th 20th
December
Christmas Fair (Village Hall) School Pantomime (Beauty and the Beast) Parties – Nursery AM and P1-7 PM School Nativity (Village Hall 1.30pm) Church Service - Parents/Carers all welcome! End of Term
As ever if you have any concerns or queries please do not hesitate to contact me. Scott Lavery Head Teacher Please keep using Edupayment for Christmas presents purchased on-line.
Shop and raise school funds! If you buy online there is now an easy way to earn vital school funds. By visiting eduPayment.co.uk and locating a participating retailer our school will earn commission from your purchases. Leading online brands are participating in the service including, HMV, Amazon.co.uk & New Look. You pay no more, there are even special offers to help you pay less. Please visit www.edupayment.co.uk for more information.
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