Dear Parents, We are now over the worst of the winter weather and as signs of spring start to appear in this last week of the term, pupils and staff are starting to turn their thoughts to the Easter break which starts this coming Friday. However, before we go off to enjoy what will hopefully be a relaxing fortnight with some nice weather thrown in, it’s time to reflect on all that has taken place in school during the past 13 weeks. We’ll start off first of all with some nursery news. “Build a Bear” Visit The visit to the Build a Bear Factory on 17 th March was a resounding success with the children bringing home to the nursery Mummy, Daddy and Baby Bear whom they had “built” during their visit.This visit was linked to their Fairyland topic which you have no doubt all heard about from the children at home and also during the Showcase evening. Mummy, Daddy and Baby Bear now have pride of place in St Ninian’s Fairyland! Read on, now for an update on what’s been happening in school. Showcase Evening The Showcase Evening which took place on 10 March provided an opportunity for parents to really see the amount of hard work that is put in by pupils and staff to ensure that learning experiences in social studies are meaningful and relevant. The children were fully involved in decision making throughout the topics, having a say in what should be displayed, including the content of written work, the materials that were used to produce the displays and then how they were put together for maximum effect. In doing so, the children had to show a level of understanding of their particular topic and the quality of the of displays were evidence of their learning. The evening was a resounding success and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the very positive comments written in the evaluation forms and for the positive e-mails I have received since. “How will you top this?” was a quote in one of
Transcript
Dear Parents,
We are now over the worst of the winter weather and as signs of spring start to appear in this last week of the term, pupils and staff are starting to turn their thoughts to the Easter break which starts this coming Friday. However, before we go off to enjoy what will hopefully be a relaxing fortnight with some nice weather thrown in, it’s time to reflect on all that has taken place in school during the past 13 weeks.
We’ll start off first of all with some nursery news.
“Build a Bear” VisitThe visit to the Build a Bear Factory on 17th March was a resounding success with the children bringing
home to the nursery Mummy, Daddy and Baby Bear whom they had “built” during their visit.This visit was linked to their Fairyland topic which you have no doubt all heard about from the children at home and also during the Showcase evening. Mummy, Daddy and Baby Bear now have pride of place in St Ninian’s Fairyland!
Read on, now for an update on what’s been happening in school.
Showcase EveningThe Showcase Evening which took place on 10 March provided an opportunity for parents to really see the amount of hard work that is put in by pupils and staff to ensure that learning experiences in social studies are meaningful and relevant. The children were fully
involved in decision making throughout the topics, having a say in
what should be displayed, including the content of written work, the materials that were used to produce the displays and then how they were put
together for maximum effect. In doing so, the children had to show a level of understanding of their particular topic and the quality of the of displays were evidence of their learning. The evening was a resounding success and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the very positive comments written in the evaluation forms and for the positive e-mails I have received since. “How will you top this?” was a quote in one of the messages. Who knows? Let’s wait and see!
Euro QuizOn 11th March, four of our senior pupils, Robb Calder, David Gakamsky, Michael Wards and Katie Rafferty represented our school in West Lothian’s Primary Schools Euro Quiz in Howden Park Centre. The children answered many questions correctly
and were an impressive team –well done to all four!
Sacrament of ReconciliationTwenty three of our Primary 3 children received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on the evening of
15th March. The service conducted by Father Kevin, the music, the meditations by Mrs Howley and the singing of the children made the evening a very holy experience for children, parents and staff.
Primary Secondary TransitionThe above programme continued on Thursday 17 March when Mr Jim Cameron, Head Teacher of St Margaret’s Academy, along with a member of staff and former pupils,
visited our Primary 7 pupils to “whet their appetite” for transferring to secondary school. The children enjoyed hearing about life at St Margaret’s and the visit certainly increased their enthusiasm for moving on.
French PlayOur Primary 3 pupils who participated in L’institute Francais’ “Performance of a French Play” event, excelled themselves on 21 March with their performance of “Boucle D’Or et Les Trois Ours”, the French version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Although the competition is open to all West Lothian Primaries only 3 schools took part - ourselves, Simpson Primary and Midcalder Primary schools. It is not an easy task for children to speak at length in French and all those who took part were praised for the high
standard of their performance. I am delighted to inform you that the children were outright winners, securing the prize
of £100 for the school! Thank you to Mrs Keegan and Mrs Caskie for preparing the children so thoroughly and to Erin Hail, one of our Primary 6 pupils who assisted with the music. Although they did not attend on the day, thanks must also go to Erin Dyden who assisted the children with their French pronunciation and Lee Nicolson who produced a powerpoint which will be used as a backdrop when the children perform the play for the whole school Well done everyone!
School CampMr Todd, Mrs Craig and I, along with
our Primary 7 children set off for school camp at Dounans Residential Centre near
Aberfoyle on Monday 21st March, all set to experience a week’s programme of outdoor activties and what a week it was! The weather was beautiful, the activities were most enjoyable and also assisted in developing problem solving skills and by far, the most pleasing aspect of the week was how the children conducted themselves not only when participating in the activities but also during their free time. They were a credit to their parents and to their school and contributed to making the week very worthwhile for themselves and also for the adults present. Well done and thank you to all our Primary 7 pupils!
National Spring Clean Day On Thursday 24 March, the school grounds and surrounding areas
benefitted from our involvement in the National Spring Clean day when the children tidied up by picking up all the
litter. This has now become an annual event and as well as contributing to our Eco Programme, brings home to the children how important it is to be responsible citizens by looking after our environment. This year we had some thank you letters from local residents which we all appreciated –well done children!
Swimming ProgrammeThe Primary 5 and primary 6 swimming programme began on Friday 25 March
and will continue through until Friday Jul1. This is a worthwhile programme which assists the children in learning to swim or to become stronger swimmers if they have already developed this skill.
Parent’s EveningsThank you to all those parents who attended our Parents’ Evenings on 30th
and 31st March. I enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with many of you and it was pleasing to see so that so
many of our Primary 3 children attended the interview along with their parents. This initiative, where staff consult with both parents and children, was set up a few years ago and has positive impacts for the children. A vote of thanks also goes to a number of our Primary 7 pupils who ensured that in most classes, parents were not kept waiting too long to meet with their child’s teacher.
GoodbyeMarch 31 was a very sad day in school when we all said good bye to Mrs
Fairlie and Mrs Hoy, two of our pupil support workers who had been part of St Ninian’s
Family for 11 years. Both ladies opted to take early retirement and will be sorely missed in school. I know that they would wish me to say thank you to you all for the lovely gifts they received. We wish them every good wish for the future
“Dangers of Fire” PresentationOn Monday of this week, our Primary 7 pupils were given a presentation by both the fire and the police services on the dangers and also the
consequences of wilfully starting a fire. This really brought home to them just how serious such actions can be, not only in
terms of the extreme danger involved but also what the consequences are for anyone who is involved in starting fires. Although the presentation was delivered sensitively it certainly put the message across effectively.
Primary 7 Fun DayAlong with Primary 7 pupils from other local primary schools, ten of our own Primary 7 pupils will attend a Fun Day
at West Lothian College this Wednesday. During the event the children will be involved in art and craft, technology and engineering activities. Read all about it in the next newsletter.
Battle of the BandsThis Thursday will be an exciting day for our Primary 7
pupils when they participate in “Battle of the Bands”. This event will be a culmination of the work they did with Mrs Baxter, music teacher from St Margaret’s Academy. During their sessions with her the children learned to play guitar, drums and pitched percussion instruments. I have listened to some of the children play during these past weeks and have been impressed by the high standard. I am looking forward to hearing them but not looking forward to judging as I know how difficult a task this will be!More information in the next newsletter.
Moving on from school news for a moment to request your assistance.
MoneyPlease ensure that all monies brought
to the school by the children are placed in an envelope or a money bag labelled with the amount,
the child’s name and class and also what the money is for. This will assist office staff in ensuring that all money is dealt with correctly and quickly each morning.
Lunch MoneyOnce again I request that if you are short of change in the morning, rather than send the children to school without lunch money please give them a packed lunch. We have only a small amount
of money in the school office and on the odd occasion when a child has forgotten their lunch money we can assist by lending them the cost of a lunch. However, I am sad to say that there are large numbers of children coming to school expecting to be given lunch money and in many instances this money is not repaid. This situation cannot continue.
Messages for Pupils If you telephone the school to request that a message is passed on to your child please
ensure that you actually speak to a member of staff rather than leave a message on the answer machine which may be checked too late for the message to be given in good time.
Late- ComingThe large numbers of children who are arriving late has been growing this term, causing serious disruption to learning
and teaching. Please ensure that your child arrives at school at least 5 minutes before the school bell rings at 8.40am. After the Easter break I shall be writing to parents of regular late-comers, in accordance with West Lothian Council’s policy on this matter.
Collecting Children From School At the End of the School DayI would ask those parents who collect children at the end of the school day to be punctual and arrive at the school on or before 3.00pm. Often there are no members of staff available at 3.00pm to supervise children as a result of planning and preparing learning experiences, attending meetings or in-service training courses, all of which take place after the children’s school day ends.
Car ParkThank you to the majority of parents who drop the children off in the Lizzie Bryce car park and surrounding area. In recent weeks there have been only one or two parents who have entered the school car park and I would like to remind those parents that in the interests of the safety of our children DROPPING OFF CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOL GROUNDS IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!!
I thank you in anticipation of your co-operation in the serious issues outlined above.
Recently I issued a questionnaire to a random selection of parents, the results of which are at the back of the newsletter. Thank you to those of you who took the time to complete and return these. As a staff we take time to read and discuss the responses and do our best to take on board your comments and suggestions which will assist us in improving the school. The results, as in previous years, are again positive. I have also included a questionnaire with the school responses to some of the issues raised.
Now, as I come to the end of this round up of school news I leave you with a short list of dates when the school will be closed after the Easter break.
Friday, 29 April – Royal Wedding Monday, 2 May - May Day
Tuesday 3 May – In-Service Day
Monday 23 May – Victoria Day
Now all that remains is to wish you and the children a happy Easter and a relaxing break. I look forward to welcoming the children back to school on Tuesday 26 April when we will
