October 2017

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School Newsletter October 2017

Issue 2

Autumn is here ….

I can’t believe we are at the end of our first term – the time has gone so fast! We have been so lucky with this autumnal weather so far but it is now so much chillier outside and therefore the need for the winter coats is here and we would be grateful if you could ensure that your child(ren) are sent to school with a warm jacket each day.

Staffing Update As you know we have had a couple of very emotional days sending off Mrs Darrie and Mrs Gray. The children were so kind to both of them on their last couple days here and I am sure you will join me in wishing them the very best of luck in all their endeavours.

Behind the scenes the recruitment process has been underway and we are pleased to be able to let you know that we have now offered Mrs Allison MacNeill and Mrs Maureen Bailey the posts of Classroom Assistant which of course is subject to references.

Mrs MacNeill will be with us Monday to Friday mornings and Mrs Bailey Tuesday to Thursday morning. We are hoping that they are both able to start with us as we return after the October break and are looking forward to working with them.

Another goodbye today to Mrs Hardie who has been working with our P2/3/4 class on Thursday and Friday’s – although Mrs Hardie has only been with us a short time she has been invaluable and we have loved having here and wish her much success in her new ventures. Mrs Nicola Cunningham will be taking over as Class Teacher on a Thursday and Friday and likewise we are looking forward to meeting her and working with her after the October break.

We are also delighted to say that Mrs Allan returned to work today. We would like to give our grateful thanks to Mrs Playfair for her commitment to the nursery during this time.

Hand washing As we approach the winter months it is important that we all revisit the importance of hand washing, making use of soap and warm water.

Guidance provided to us advises that handwashing should take 15 seconds (the time it takes for our children to sing Happy Birthday twice! –yes we may hear this coming from the toilets.

An issue related to this is sickness absence from school. Based upon NHS guidelines it is advised that all children are kept off school for a period of 48 hours from their last bout of sickness or diarrhoea to prevent infection spreading. We would kindly ask that we all follow these guidelines to avoid unnecessary absence for both children and staff over the winter months and thank you for your support in this.

Pupil Equity Fund Following our correspondence in August looking for your views regarding the allocated money (called the Pupil Equity Fund) by the Scottish Government to help ‘close the attainment gap’ our proposals have been: Mrs Overmeer will attend a 2 day training course at North Berwick High School about a reading programme called Read Write Inc: Fresh Start. This will allow Mrs Overmeer to help deliver a programme to support children with reading and purchase the resources to enable the programme to be rolled out successfully.

Mrs Overmeer and Mrs Little will be employed for an additional 5 hours per week to help support for learning to individuals and small groups throughout the school.

The funds will also enable us to purchase licences for an online spelling and reading programme: Nessy.

We will of course continue to keep you updated on the success of these initiatives and as such if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

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P1-7 Orienteering We are looking forward to a whole school outing to Yellowcraigs on 1 November.

Along with Mrs Robertson our PE Specialist, Outdoor Learning are going to lead a morning in outdoor pursuits and orienteering.

Information and permission forms have already been sent home so if this hasn’t made it home yet please contact Mrs Cameron to request another form. All children will need warm, possibly waterproof clothing and comfortable walking shoes.

Sign Along Training Following on from our In-Service Day Sign Along Training in August, Miss Millar, Mrs Reavy and Mrs Cameron are looking forward to taking it a step further by signing up to a 7 week course in November. We are looking forward to sharing what they learn and hope to be able to pass some of this knowledge onto your children.

Class Updates The nursery children have all settled in extremely well and are exploring lots of learning opportunities by exploring Under the Sea.

Primary 1-2 have had a very busy term and have settled in really well to the new routines so much so it’s like they have always been here. They are learning lots about their school and community and have even interviewed a few members of staff just to clarify who everyone is and what their jobs actually are.

Primary 2-4 have had a great term using the opening of the Queensferry Crossing to explore bridges in a variety of ways.

They have designed and built bridges, tested strength and explored art.

Primary 5-7 Have started the year learning about native America and have demonstrated great group work skills in their learning tasks. They concluded this week with a great input from the Outdoor learning Service and undertook fire building and cooking)

Parent Council and Fundraising The Parent Council started their fundraising endeavours with a Ladies Night. Sadly this event was not well supported, however the small group of ladies who were there had a great evening and enjoyed the beautifully decorated hall. A small profit was made for which we are always hugely grateful.

Thanks to all who ordered Christmas cards etc I am sure we will make a super profit from this.

Please put the Parent Council fundraising events in your diary and come along and support these events – the Fundraising Team to a huge amount of work and the success of these events depends on your being there!

Dates for your Diary October 24th 27th 31st

Back to School  P7 camp payment due P6&7 Hockey Festival at NBHS

November 1st P1-7 Orienteering at Yellowcraigs th 7 P1 Enrolment Morning Parental Consultations 9th Parental Consultations th 10 Parent Council Pub Night (Village Hall) 28th 6.45pm: P7 Camp Meeting at Gullane PS th 30 : St. Andrew’s Day School Lunch St. Andrew’s Day celebrations (PM – tbc) December 1st 2nd 13th 14th 19th 20th 21st 22nd

P7 camp payment due Parent Council Christmas Fair (Village Hall) Nativity and Christmas Show (PM – tbc) Christmas Lunch P1-3 Christmas Party P1-7 Panto at Brunton Hall P4-7 Christmas Party Break for Christmas Holiday

January 8th

Back to School 

As ever if you have any concerns or queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sarah Morgan Head Teacher.

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