9 Jan 2007 - January Newsletter
Dear Parents and Families
On behalf of everyone here in school I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and a warm welcome back to school for the start of the new term.
We do hope that everyone had a happy Christmas and New Year holiday and that we are all ready for a hard working, busy term. The children certainly seem to be settling in and getting on with things!
Our value for the coming month is to be Wisdom. We will be thinking specifically of how wisdom is about having experience and knowledge and how we learn to use these in our everyday life thoughtfully and intelligently.
Our Value Tree is growing with branches indicating all the ?Values? we uphold for our growing children. Your support in discussing their relevance with your child is greatly appreciated.
Thank You Again, on behalf of all the staff, can I thank you for all the cards and gifts sent into school. They were greatly appreciated by all the staff. Now we will have to work at working off those inches!!!
Christmas Events
Our end of term Nativity and Christmas Services were a great success in their own way. Thanks to all who were able to come along and share the terrific work put in by the pupils and all the staff. We will be putting out a questionnaire early this term to get your views so that we can plan ahead for next year. Thanks as always to Mr Simpson for all his support.
It was lovely to see so many of you joining us for our ?Thank you? refreshments after our Church Service. The children enjoyed meeting and looking after you all and I?m sure you?ll agree, they made us very proud of their confidence and sense of responsibility.
Our Christmas Fair was also a great success and really brought the community together. Thanks again to all who helped and those who came along on the day.
Thanks also, for all those who managed to join the choir singing carols at Scotmid at the end of term. Mrs Wraith, Mrs Leitch, Miss Nock and the children made us very proud yet again. They raised £50.76 and this will be going to Save the Children. Your kind donations made this possible.
Enterprising Christmas Activities
Thanks once again to Mrs Ellis and P3/11 who ran a bric-a-brac stall in school following the Bazaar and raised £50. They have yet to decide where this money will go but I?m sure that they will enjoy making this decision as much as they enjoyed helping to run the stall and they will let us know.
Thanks also to Mrs Stewart and P2/5. Following the success of their Christmas Card Venture last year, I asked the class to design cards that we could send to all our cluster schools, Education Officers and also all people in the community who help us with all kinds of support. These designs received lots of very positive comments.
Primary Two Sponsored Spell
On behalf of all the Primary Two staff and myself, thank you for your terrific generosity in your support for the Sponsored Spell for the Hearing Dogs. The total raised was £208.55. The Primary Two children will feel very proud of their donation for this worthy cause. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People will also take any old postage stamps to help raise funds for their cause. Please keep any postage stamps and hand them in to the office at any time. Thank you.
Finally, thanks to the Pupil Council who helped with so many events over the Christmas period, from giving out programmes to designing invitations and serving refreshments. They always give of their very best.
This Term
Staffing ? Our staffing this term is unchanged except for a swap of roles in P1 and P2. Mrs Shenagh Richardson is to move to the Nursery Nurse post in P1/1 and Mrs Lynn Gray is to take up the temporary position of classroom assistant working with P2s mainly and also in the playground. This position is currently being advertised. We are very grateful for Mrs Gray helping out meantime and having her company and skills with us a little bit longer.
Yellow Pages
Our collection is going really well this session. We have already surpassed last year?s total and we still have until Friday 19th January to continue our collection. Ask around and let?s see if we can contend for the Woodland Trust ?Seeds to Trees? kits and also cash prizes.
Clubs
These will be restarting as soon as we get arrangements set up. Due to their popularity we have to organize blocks of sessions to make sure all the children interested can be involved. Our lunchtime Clubs ? Choir and Tennis will be held again on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Library Club
This will again be on a Tuesday after school and any parents who can offer support would be greatly appreciated.
Games Club
This will be restarting on a Monday with Miss Swaney. This has been for P2s so far but we may look at extending it to other age groups.
Basic Moves Club
Look out for a letter about this club starting up with Mrs Richardson.
I.T. Club
Look out for information and letters coming out from Mrs Gardyne about these clubs. Due to the nature of the clubs only small groups can work together at any one time but we will try to accommodate as many as possible.
Karate Club
Very successful After School Club on a Tuesday evening ? come along if interested.
East Lothian Choir
This is for P3 age children and it is a terrific opportunity for our pupils. It is held on a Wednesday between 4.15 and 5.15p.m. here in our school. The children learn about music and singing through a games approach. I went up to their Christmas evening and was so impressed by the quality and fun. Please consider this opportunity for your child and come along in January. I know you will be welcomed.
Country Dance
This will be starting on Wednesday lunchtimes later this month. It will be open to all P2 and P3
children from 12.30 ? 1.00p.m. Children will later take part in the Country Dance Festival. It is great fun.
School Grounds
Last term we applied for a Lottery grant to help us develop a garden area in the playing field and we are delighted to say that we were successful in our bid. We have been awarded £5,194 which we will use to create a vegetable garden and wildlife area. If you are interested in taking part in this work please let us know as we?d be delighted to have lots of families involved.
Eco-Defenders
Our Eco-defenders carried out an environmental review recently. As a result we are going to be thinking about how we can start composting again and also about any other ways we can recycle things we use in school. We will soon be able to apply for the Bronze award for Eco-schools and we hope to be able to send you good news about this by the end of this term. We have an Eco-defenders notice board in the corridor outside P2/5 so please keep an eye on it to see what we are up to.
P.T.A.
As usual we will be meeting on the last Wednesday of each month at 7.30p.m. in the Parents Room in school. We discuss how we can raise funds for the school and run fun activities for the children. The informal meetings give a great opportunity to meet other parents and teachers. We are really keen to have some new faces along to our next meeting on Wednesday 31st January at 7.30p.m. If you have any suggestions about an event you would like to see then please let Mrs Gardyne know as we are always looking for some fresh new ideas.
Sing-a ding ding CD
Our debut as singing sensations has gone very well and we are delighted to say that we have sold lots of copies. Currently we have raised nearly £300. We hope to spend this on resources
or equipment for our computers. Copies of the CD are still available to order from Mrs Harris in the office for £10. Thank you very much for supporting us in this way.
Packed Lunch Project
Marjorie Shepherd our Development Officer for Healthy Eating is to be looking at Packed Lunch menus with a group of P3s. This will then be offered as taste sessions for P1 families initially. More details will come out about this.
Robert Burns Competition
This has now become a P3 tradition! Later this month they will have the opportunity of reciting a piece which will be judged by some of the Burns Club members. We will be getting this organized as soon as we can so that the children have as much time as possible to select and learn their poem.
Breakfast Club
Sadly, I was informed just on the last day of term that this terrific facility is to close in our school due to the small take up of places. I have contacted our local councilors and I will be discussing it with the School Board as I feel very strongly that we should fight to keep this great facility available in our school. Please contact us with your views and support. More information will come out as I have it.
Lost Property
It?s growing again! We?ll put a table out during week of 15th January. Please take a look with your child. You?ll be surprised at the lost items.
Reminders
Milk
Payment for this term?s milk is £9.50 and is due this week. Please send it with the tear-off slip provided BY FRIDAY 19TH JANUARY if you wish your child to have milk this term. No late payments can be accepted after that date.
Monies
All money coming into school should be in a named envelope etc, to help with administration and avoid causing upset to your child. Dinner money can be paid weekly. This is such a help in speeding up the dinner queue for all our hungry youngsters!
Assemblies
A list of dates etc will come out to you as soon as possible but in the meantime we will start the term with a New Year Welcome Back Assembly on Friday 12th January at 9.00a.m. to which you are all warmly invited.
Fruit Barrow
A separate letter coming out will indicate the great need for support for this really worthwhile activity. We really hope we will get enough interest and help to keep it going. Look out for the letter and please respond.
Parent Workshops
More planned for this term. Please look out for the letters coming out and come along. Whilst very informal they are planned to inform and allow time for discussion.
P1 Friday Welcome
Just a reminder to P1 parents that the P1 classrooms continue to be open from 11.55 ? 12.15p.m. on Friday mornings. This is a time for you to share the world of school with your child. They can take you round their classroom and they love doing it!
Spare Clothing
Just a plea for any spare girls/boys socks and undies, shorts and trousers, skirts. We seem to have let our supplies run down. Many thanks for your support with this. They can just be popped in to the office.
Dates for your Diary
Jan
Fri 12th New Year Welcome Assembly
Wed 17th P2/5 families will be welcomed for lunch.
Wed 17th Parents Workshop ? Enterprise
Mon 22nd School Board Mtg 7-9p.m.
Fri 26th Games Morning 11.15-12 noon
Tues 30th Packed Lunch Taste Sessions
{letter to follow}
Feb
Fri 2nd Walk to School Friday.
Thank you for reading this Newsletter.
Jean Gardner
Head Teacher
On behalf of everyone here in school I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and a warm welcome back to school for the start of the new term.
We do hope that everyone had a happy Christmas and New Year holiday and that we are all ready for a hard working, busy term. The children certainly seem to be settling in and getting on with things!
Our value for the coming month is to be Wisdom. We will be thinking specifically of how wisdom is about having experience and knowledge and how we learn to use these in our everyday life thoughtfully and intelligently.
Our Value Tree is growing with branches indicating all the ?Values? we uphold for our growing children. Your support in discussing their relevance with your child is greatly appreciated.
Thank You Again, on behalf of all the staff, can I thank you for all the cards and gifts sent into school. They were greatly appreciated by all the staff. Now we will have to work at working off those inches!!!
Christmas Events
Our end of term Nativity and Christmas Services were a great success in their own way. Thanks to all who were able to come along and share the terrific work put in by the pupils and all the staff. We will be putting out a questionnaire early this term to get your views so that we can plan ahead for next year. Thanks as always to Mr Simpson for all his support.
It was lovely to see so many of you joining us for our ?Thank you? refreshments after our Church Service. The children enjoyed meeting and looking after you all and I?m sure you?ll agree, they made us very proud of their confidence and sense of responsibility.
Our Christmas Fair was also a great success and really brought the community together. Thanks again to all who helped and those who came along on the day.
Thanks also, for all those who managed to join the choir singing carols at Scotmid at the end of term. Mrs Wraith, Mrs Leitch, Miss Nock and the children made us very proud yet again. They raised £50.76 and this will be going to Save the Children. Your kind donations made this possible.
Enterprising Christmas Activities
Thanks once again to Mrs Ellis and P3/11 who ran a bric-a-brac stall in school following the Bazaar and raised £50. They have yet to decide where this money will go but I?m sure that they will enjoy making this decision as much as they enjoyed helping to run the stall and they will let us know.
Thanks also to Mrs Stewart and P2/5. Following the success of their Christmas Card Venture last year, I asked the class to design cards that we could send to all our cluster schools, Education Officers and also all people in the community who help us with all kinds of support. These designs received lots of very positive comments.
Primary Two Sponsored Spell
On behalf of all the Primary Two staff and myself, thank you for your terrific generosity in your support for the Sponsored Spell for the Hearing Dogs. The total raised was £208.55. The Primary Two children will feel very proud of their donation for this worthy cause. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People will also take any old postage stamps to help raise funds for their cause. Please keep any postage stamps and hand them in to the office at any time. Thank you.
Finally, thanks to the Pupil Council who helped with so many events over the Christmas period, from giving out programmes to designing invitations and serving refreshments. They always give of their very best.
This Term
Staffing ? Our staffing this term is unchanged except for a swap of roles in P1 and P2. Mrs Shenagh Richardson is to move to the Nursery Nurse post in P1/1 and Mrs Lynn Gray is to take up the temporary position of classroom assistant working with P2s mainly and also in the playground. This position is currently being advertised. We are very grateful for Mrs Gray helping out meantime and having her company and skills with us a little bit longer.
Yellow Pages
Our collection is going really well this session. We have already surpassed last year?s total and we still have until Friday 19th January to continue our collection. Ask around and let?s see if we can contend for the Woodland Trust ?Seeds to Trees? kits and also cash prizes.
Clubs
These will be restarting as soon as we get arrangements set up. Due to their popularity we have to organize blocks of sessions to make sure all the children interested can be involved. Our lunchtime Clubs ? Choir and Tennis will be held again on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Library Club
This will again be on a Tuesday after school and any parents who can offer support would be greatly appreciated.
Games Club
This will be restarting on a Monday with Miss Swaney. This has been for P2s so far but we may look at extending it to other age groups.
Basic Moves Club
Look out for a letter about this club starting up with Mrs Richardson.
I.T. Club
Look out for information and letters coming out from Mrs Gardyne about these clubs. Due to the nature of the clubs only small groups can work together at any one time but we will try to accommodate as many as possible.
Karate Club
Very successful After School Club on a Tuesday evening ? come along if interested.
East Lothian Choir
This is for P3 age children and it is a terrific opportunity for our pupils. It is held on a Wednesday between 4.15 and 5.15p.m. here in our school. The children learn about music and singing through a games approach. I went up to their Christmas evening and was so impressed by the quality and fun. Please consider this opportunity for your child and come along in January. I know you will be welcomed.
Country Dance
This will be starting on Wednesday lunchtimes later this month. It will be open to all P2 and P3
children from 12.30 ? 1.00p.m. Children will later take part in the Country Dance Festival. It is great fun.
School Grounds
Last term we applied for a Lottery grant to help us develop a garden area in the playing field and we are delighted to say that we were successful in our bid. We have been awarded £5,194 which we will use to create a vegetable garden and wildlife area. If you are interested in taking part in this work please let us know as we?d be delighted to have lots of families involved.
Eco-Defenders
Our Eco-defenders carried out an environmental review recently. As a result we are going to be thinking about how we can start composting again and also about any other ways we can recycle things we use in school. We will soon be able to apply for the Bronze award for Eco-schools and we hope to be able to send you good news about this by the end of this term. We have an Eco-defenders notice board in the corridor outside P2/5 so please keep an eye on it to see what we are up to.
P.T.A.
As usual we will be meeting on the last Wednesday of each month at 7.30p.m. in the Parents Room in school. We discuss how we can raise funds for the school and run fun activities for the children. The informal meetings give a great opportunity to meet other parents and teachers. We are really keen to have some new faces along to our next meeting on Wednesday 31st January at 7.30p.m. If you have any suggestions about an event you would like to see then please let Mrs Gardyne know as we are always looking for some fresh new ideas.
Sing-a ding ding CD
Our debut as singing sensations has gone very well and we are delighted to say that we have sold lots of copies. Currently we have raised nearly £300. We hope to spend this on resources
or equipment for our computers. Copies of the CD are still available to order from Mrs Harris in the office for £10. Thank you very much for supporting us in this way.
Packed Lunch Project
Marjorie Shepherd our Development Officer for Healthy Eating is to be looking at Packed Lunch menus with a group of P3s. This will then be offered as taste sessions for P1 families initially. More details will come out about this.
Robert Burns Competition
This has now become a P3 tradition! Later this month they will have the opportunity of reciting a piece which will be judged by some of the Burns Club members. We will be getting this organized as soon as we can so that the children have as much time as possible to select and learn their poem.
Breakfast Club
Sadly, I was informed just on the last day of term that this terrific facility is to close in our school due to the small take up of places. I have contacted our local councilors and I will be discussing it with the School Board as I feel very strongly that we should fight to keep this great facility available in our school. Please contact us with your views and support. More information will come out as I have it.
Lost Property
It?s growing again! We?ll put a table out during week of 15th January. Please take a look with your child. You?ll be surprised at the lost items.
Reminders
Milk
Payment for this term?s milk is £9.50 and is due this week. Please send it with the tear-off slip provided BY FRIDAY 19TH JANUARY if you wish your child to have milk this term. No late payments can be accepted after that date.
Monies
All money coming into school should be in a named envelope etc, to help with administration and avoid causing upset to your child. Dinner money can be paid weekly. This is such a help in speeding up the dinner queue for all our hungry youngsters!
Assemblies
A list of dates etc will come out to you as soon as possible but in the meantime we will start the term with a New Year Welcome Back Assembly on Friday 12th January at 9.00a.m. to which you are all warmly invited.
Fruit Barrow
A separate letter coming out will indicate the great need for support for this really worthwhile activity. We really hope we will get enough interest and help to keep it going. Look out for the letter and please respond.
Parent Workshops
More planned for this term. Please look out for the letters coming out and come along. Whilst very informal they are planned to inform and allow time for discussion.
P1 Friday Welcome
Just a reminder to P1 parents that the P1 classrooms continue to be open from 11.55 ? 12.15p.m. on Friday mornings. This is a time for you to share the world of school with your child. They can take you round their classroom and they love doing it!
Spare Clothing
Just a plea for any spare girls/boys socks and undies, shorts and trousers, skirts. We seem to have let our supplies run down. Many thanks for your support with this. They can just be popped in to the office.
Dates for your Diary
Jan
Fri 12th New Year Welcome Assembly
Wed 17th P2/5 families will be welcomed for lunch.
Wed 17th Parents Workshop ? Enterprise
Mon 22nd School Board Mtg 7-9p.m.
Fri 26th Games Morning 11.15-12 noon
Tues 30th Packed Lunch Taste Sessions
{letter to follow}
Feb
Fri 2nd Walk to School Friday.
Thank you for reading this Newsletter.
Jean Gardner
Head Teacher