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School Newsletter November 2017
Half Way There!? …. Well here we are at the half way point this term! So much has happened and even more to come over the next 4½ weeks!! All our new staff have now started and are settling in well to our school. As you know the weather has turned very wet and another wee reminder about children remembering to bring warm outdoor coats as we do try to get them out as much as possible at break and lunchtimes. Children are very welcome to change into indoor shoes in school in wetter months and indeed many of our older children bring trainers to change into at playtime and lunchtime to keep their school shoes ‘nice’! We have a very busy few weeks ahead and need everyone fit and well – if your child is under the weather please keep them at home until they are better and then we will all be ready for Christmas on 22nd!
Parental Engagement Strategy Thank you to all who came along to our Parental Consultations earlier this month – of those who were able to attend we had 96% attendance which is fantastic. Thanks also to everyone for participating in the consultation about the East Lothian Parental Engagement Strategy – at a first look it was extremely positive – results to follow. Pupil Parliament Our Pupil Parliament and Council Groups have had their first meeting with the next one planned this week. Group are working hard to develop blogging, rights respecting schools, eco and our school vision, values and aims. Our first feedback to everyone about what each group is doing will take place in December.
Issue 3
Twitter Miss Millar and her Pupil Parliament Group launched our Twitter account and we have been tweet happy ever since – You can find our Twitter account by simply searching for: @Athelstaneford4 Our latest tweets will also appear on the homepage of our school website. Don’t forget to follow us, like and retweet our tweets. The aim of this is to be able to share updates, photos, events and achievements of our pupils on a daily or weekly basis. If you are unsure about how to use twitter let us know and we can plan for Miss Millar and the Twitter group to give a master class! Fundraising Events We have had two fundraising events this term:
Sick Kids Silly Sock Day:
All of the children came to school wearing their Silly Socks and donated £1 to do so – thanks to all that contributed we were able to hand over the grand sum of £48 to this fantastic charity.
Children in Need: On Friday Miss Millar and P1/2
organised a fantastic morning to raise money for Children in Need. Everyone came to school dressed in their pyjamas and onesies and looked fantastic. A huge thank you to everyone who donated homebaking for their bake sale – very much enjoyed by all!! The school were then all split into groups and because of their fantastic team work all managed to make amazing Pudsies of their own. We managed to raise a massive £214!! – well done everyone Make sure to have a look at our twitter page for photos and check out this week’s East Lothian Courier – we hope to be in it.
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What’s been happening ……….. The nursery children have been very busy learning all about ‘People who Help us’. They found out all about the jobs of Police Officers, Doctors, the Fire Service and Nurses etc …. They were delighted to welcome Sam’s mum into the nursery to learn all about the role of a Police Officer. Thank you Mrs MacPhee.
Primary 1-2 In P1/2 we have been learning all about weather and seasons through our topic. We have been able to write stories exploring how the weather makes us feel and P2 have been thinking of some amazing vocabulary to describe the weather. We are also learning a Highland Dance to perform at our St Andrews Day celebrations and have also started learning our songs for our Christmas Show.
Primary 2-4 are learning to compare life in the Victorian days to life now and are looking forward to their Victorian Dressing Up Day on 28th November. We are also learning about Road Safety and how to describe ourselves in French.
Primary 5-7 have been learning about democracy. We have learned lots about Westminster and political parties. We have now split into our own parties to represent areas of our school community that we feel strongly about. Primary 6/7children enjoyed taking part in a hockey festival at North Berwick High School – all children showed great sportsmanship and were a credit to themselves and the school.
Primary 1-7 We had a great day at Yellowcraigs orienteering on 1 November. We have to say a huge thanks to the Outdoor Education team and the parent helpers who made the morning possible. Lots of great skills were on display – not least the wonderful team work and support shown for each other by the children.
Can you HELP? We are looking for help in a number of ways across the school – if you think you might be able to spare any time please get in touch with myself or Mrs Cameron – thanks in advance
Bikeability – in order to deliver bikeability to our P5-7 children we are looking for interested parents to be trained and then deliver this to the children. Maths Games – we have some maths games that need copied, cut out and laminated. If you have an hour or two to spare please let us know. Library – Mrs Cameron is working very hard to categorise our library into genres. It is a huge job and she would appreciate a couple of parents for an hour towards the end of day to help with this task. Miss Millar is looking for help in the P1/2 classroom on a Monday and Tuesday from 11am – 12pm. Christmas Show – we will be needing help with costumes and props for the Christmas Show’s.
Dates for your Diary November 23rd P7 to STEM College Event (8.10am – 4pm) 26th 11am St. Andrew’s Church Service (all 27th 28th 30th:
children have contributed art work for display at the church)
P1-7 Open Afternoon P2/3/4 – Victorian Dress Up Day 6.45pm: P7 Camp Meeting at Gullane PS St. Andrew’s Day celebrations (PM)
(You should all have received an invite – please make sure you RSVP so we have enough seats, tea, coffee and biscuits for everyone )
December 1st P7 camp payment due Christmas Wreath Workshops nd 2 Parent Council Christmas Fair (Village Hall) 5th P1-7 National Youth Choir of Scotland Taster Sessions 12th P5-7 Election Assembly 13th 14th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd
(Parents/Guardians welcome from 9.15am)
Christmas Show’s (6.30pm – Village Hall) Christmas Lunch P4-7 Christmas Party P1-3 Christmas Party P1-7 Panto at Brunton Hall Nursery Christmas Party 11.30am – Nursery Sing –a-Long Church Service – All welcome!
As ever if you have any concerns or queries please do not hesitate to contact me. Sarah Morgan, Head Teacher. S:\Admin\Newsletters\17~18\November 2017.doc
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