August 2012 Newsletter

School Newsletter August 2012

Issue 1 Welcome back!

One week in and I’m delighted to say how well everyone has settled back into school life. We are delighted to welcome our new P1’s, who have settled incredibly well from day one.

The children have been re-establishing and building their communities in each of the classes, so vital for effective learning to take place. In addition, we have been also been working in classes to get our library up and running with a focus on what makes reading enjoyable and what are our preferences across the school. There is a real buzz around the school about reading and we hope to continue this enthusiasm as the year progresses.

School Uniform The children look super in their new school uniforms and I know you will all continue to support the school in ensuring that all children continue to wear this. Mrs Cameron has a limited supply in school but can assist with ordering new sweatshirts etc. Please ensure that all items that come into school are clearly labelled with your child’s name. As we approach the winter months and wetter weather can all children please ensure that they have indoor shoes to change into if necessary – their gym shoes are fine for this purpose.

School Library We are now ready to fully launch our new school library. All books we have in school have now been added to our new library system and the children have been given their own cards for borrowing books.

Primary 5/6/7 have been working this week on identifying what books we currently have and what we need to buy in order to give more choice suited to the children’s needs.

This will be used to buy additional books to enhance what we already have.

We would also welcome any donations of books you have at home that are no longer being used. These should be handed in to Mrs Cameron.

School Day Children should be ready to come into school at 8.50am. They line up in their school houses and the children are all aware of where this is. We appreciate your support in ensuring children are ready on time and likewise, we shall do our very best to have your children ready to be collected at 3.15pm for P1/2 and 3.20pm for P3-7.

Attendance If your child is unable to attend school for whatever reason, please let Mrs Cameron know by 9.30am on the day. Any absences not reported to us will be followed up and if we cannot contact you, this is then referred to the Attendance Team at East Lothian Council.

Assembly and Awards The awards system that was introduced to school last session continues this year and our chidlren are currenly working towards their Bronze Awards.

In classes, we have been discussing that children will be demonstrating our school values (Friendship, Respect and Excellence) and will be awarded stamps when demonstrating these values around our school.

We have identified dates thorughout the year where awards will be given at assembly. When your child has achived their award, a letter will be sent home inviting you to the assembly to see your child receive this.

School Web-site/Blog The school blog is once again up and running and will be updated regularly by staff and pupils. Please check it out to share in all the fun and learning that is taking place. It really is very easy to leave a comment and the children really appreciate comments that their parents may have left for them and their class. http://edubuzz.org/blogs/athelstaneford S:\Admin\Newsletters\1213\Newsletter 1.doc

Primary 7 Residential Excursion Primary 7 parents received information at the end of last session about this event. There has been a change in terms of date and venue.

The children will now be going to Loch Insh from Monday 22 April. Further details will be issued to you in the next week.

Information Evening Mark the date in your diary – Tuesday 11 September.

Find out more about how the curriculum here is changing and more information on our plans for school improvement this session.

An interactive and informative night is planned.

More details to follow in due course.

Health and Wellbeing - Creating Confident Kids Last session we held an information evening about this new resource. This forms part of the learning children will undertake in Health and Wellbeing and involves our whole school community in developing their understanding of feelings and how they affect learning, behaviour and well-being.

We began our first topic called ‘Fresh Start ‘ this week and an information leaflet will be sent home detailing the main points being covered at each stage together with a home learning activity to be completed as a family. Further details of this will be available at our Information Evening on 11 September.

Coffee and Chat Coffee and Chat are times in the school year where I meet informally with parents and carers to discuss what is happening in the school and for you to share anything or ask questions.

This is an open forum so issues that relate specifically to your child should be discussed in the first instance with the class teacher at a more convenient time.

Each session commences at 9am and planned dates are as follows. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

Friday 29 September, Friday 26 October Friday 7 December, Friday 25 January Friday 22 February, Friday 26 April Friday 31 May, Friday 21 June Parent Council The next meeting of the Parent Council will be on Monday 3 September at 7pm in the P5/6/7 classroom of the school.

All parents and carers are welcome to attend.

School Improvement Plan We have now completed our school Improvement Plan and a copy is available as always from Mrs Cameron in the school office for anyone who wishes to read the full document. For those of you who are happy with a summary:

Priority 1: Literacy We will continue to develop our approaches to reading across the school and agree a framework for learning and teaching in reading from nursery to P7.

Priority 2: Maths and Numeracy We want to develop children’s understanding of number with a real focus on mental calculations and ensuring children have the depth of knowledge before moving to more complex calculations. We will also be looking to embed the East Lothian signposts for maths and numeracy into our practice as a way of tracking children’s progress and ensuring all aspects are taught progressively.

Priority 3: Health and Wellbeing Implementation of Creating Confident Kinds across the school and identifying what aspects of Health and Wellbeing are taught as part of daily routines in classes.

We will also start our journey towards becoming a Rights Respecting School.

Priority 4: Curriculum Design We will begin implementation of our topic clusters from Social Studies, Health and Wellbeing and Science in collaboration with Staff at Dirleton Primary. We will also be developing the use of achievement folders across the school and agreeing with all involved the purpose behind this.

Parent and Carers Consultations Please note the dates for the first set of consultations.

They are Wednesday 10 October and Thursday 11 October. Further details will be sent to you in due course.

After School Club Programme We are currently in the process of identifying the programme for the year and will be writing out in due course to let you know what will be on offer. Clubs will begin running from after the September weekend.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, or would like to help run a club, please let Mrs Cameron know in the school office.

French Madame Swan will again be working in school on a Thursday morning. This year she will be teaching French to Primary 6 and 7 only.

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3rd 10th 11th 17th 25th 28th

September

Dates for your Diary

Parent Council Meeting (7pm) Ragbag Collection Information Evening 7pm School Closed (September holiday) P4 Badminton Festival Coffee and Chat (9am)

2nd 10th 11th 12th 23rd

October P6/7 Hockey Festival Parent/Carer Consultations Parent/Carer Consultations End of Term Pupils Return to School

CLASS NEWS Nursery The nursery have been busy working on settling the children back into the routines and also helping our new children learn all about what happens in nursery. The main theme this term will be around the farm and the children will be outdoors experiencing more about what happens. They will also be planting spring bulbs and winter pansies. As we move into autumn the children will begin looking for signs of this in and around the nursery and will also be taking part in an autumn walk with a country ranger. The children will also be learning more about Rosh Hashana - the Jewish New Year. A very busy term ahead for all.

P3/4/5 Our interdisciplinary learning this term is called 'Moving to Mars' where we are developing our understanding of what a community is and using this knowledge to create our own communities on Mars.

We will be sharing these new communities with the some of the children at Dirleton towards the end of term.

In maths we are looking at pattern and sequence in colour, shape and objects and also angles. We will also be developing our knowledge of different strategies for mental calculations. In literacy, we are reading both short stories and poems and beginning to develop a deeper understanding of the text through questioning.

P1/2 Our interdisciplinary learning this term is Our Environment and what lining things need to grow and survive. We will be working closely with e P1/2 class at Dirleton to share what we have been learning and to learn from each other. In maths we are looking at shape will be starting to develop our knowledge of number. In literacy we will be focusing on personal writing and we will be sharing lots of stories and developing how we engage the reader when sharing what has happened to us. In RME we will be learning more about the church and other special places in other World Religions.

P5/6/7 P5/6/7 has not one but two interdisciplinary learning topics this term.

Like P3/4/5 we will be learning more about what it takes to make a community and will be helping a number of people access the best services in our local area according to their needs. We will also be finding out more about the work of the Scottish Parliament and using this knowledge to participate in our own elections for the different committees across the school. In maths and numeracy, we will be exploring angles compass points and coordinates together with developing and mental strategies and speed of calculations. Literacy work this term involves persuasive text and investigating what language is used by different writers. We will also be creating our own persuasive text and participating in a number of debates.

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Please remember to keep an eye on the school blog http://edubuzz.org/blogs/athelstaneford/ for the most up to date information. As ever if you have any concerns or queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Scott Lavery Head Teacher

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______________________________________ of Class _________ has successfully participated in ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Signed:

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Date:

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