Welcome to our

October, 2016

Message from the HEAD Teacher’s desk

Welcome to our October newsletter. I hope you all had a restful, and enjoyable, October break. Our pupils have been sharing the many different holiday experiences with their usual enthusiasm, which is a pleasure to observe.

Please read on to find out about our most recent school news and about forthcoming events and developments.

Meeting our school needs in the future – Building Update

Many thanks to Mrs Johnston for the following article:-

On the last day of term, our long awaited gym hall was handed over to us. It looks absolutely beautiful with its stunning green feature wall as you enter the corridor. It is a bright space with fantastic new AV facilities, new staging and a state of the art ventilation system. This week the finishing touches are being added, including basketball hoops and shelving for our PE equipment.

Primary 6 will be the first year group to have their Year Group Assembly in the new hall on Friday and I’m sure that Parents and Carers are looking forward to this event.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Morrison Construction and ESH Border Construction teams for their hard work and commitment to delivering two excellent new facilities for East Craigs.

There will be an official opening of the new gym with details following in a separate communication.

Staffing News

You will have read in my previous correspondence that Mrs Crosbie, our school administrator, is undertaking a seconded post to develop the On-line Payments system for schools. We would all like to wish Mrs Crosbie every success with this excellent opportunity, but will miss her greatly here in East Craigs. Mrs McIntosh, our current clerical assistant, will be covering Mrs Crosbie’s post for the duration of her secondment. We would greatly appreciate your support in posting any letters, Dinner orders etc in the post box in the school foyer, which will help us to deal with enquiries more quickly.

Mrs Lorraine McKenzie, one of our Pupil Support Assistants in school, is moving on from East Craigs to take up a post in a school in Midlothian Council. We would like to wish Mrs McKenzie well for the future and would like to thank her for her commitment during her time in school.

Professional Learning

On the October In-Service day, our staff team continued to lead improvement work in the following aspects:- Outdoor Learning, Reading, Numeracy & Mathematics and ICT through the RACI groups. They then engaged in consultation to agree the Community Learning Teams which will run in school this session. You will find out more about these teams later in my newsletter.

Open Day

Just a reminder that our Open Day for prospective new Primary 1 parents & carers for Session 2017-18 will be held on Wednesday 2nd November. There will be 2 sessions running:- 9:30-10:30am and 1:45-2:45pm. This will provide an opportunity to ask any questions about school life, as well as receiving a tour from our new House Captains, which will be one of their first leadership roles in school.

Primary 1 Registration

Primary 1 Registration will take place on Thursday 10th November between 9:00-10:30am and 2:00-3:30pm. Enrolment forms will be issued in advance to East Craigs Nursery Parents & Carers. It would greatly help us if you could please come to the registration sessions with your form already completed and with the required documents. Many thanks. All parents & carers should register their child at their catchment school.

CEOP Input On-line Safety

As per my previous letter, we will be hosting the above event here at East Craigs Primary School in our brand new gym hall on the evening of Wednesday 2nd November at 6:30pm. The input will be delivered by PC Tara Adam who is one of our Community Police Team, based at Corstorphine. Please return the tear-off slip on the letter issued if you are able to attend. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Sharing Our Learning Class Pages

Please take a look at your child’s Sharing Our Learning page on our website to see their learning in action over the last term. We will be uploading our new “What Will My Child Be Learning?” 4 Contexts sheet for Term 2 imminently.

East Craigs Parent Council

Many thanks to Mrs Susi Isler and Mrs Christina Rigby for the following article:-

Many thanks to all the parents who attended the joint ECPC and PTA.  We are delighted that the new gym hall has been completed on time so thanks to everyone who helped make this possible. 

If you would like to find out what is happening in the school then please come along to our next meeting on Monday the 7th of November at 6.45pm in the school Staff Room as we would very much welcome parent representation from all classes.  Alternatively you can email us at (eastcraigspc@live.com) or contact Susi or Christina Rigby via the school office.

Dates of Future meetings

Monday 7 November (Change of date from Wednesday 9 November)

Tuesday 24 January

Wednesday 15 March

Tuesday 16 May

Timing: 18.45 – 20.00

East Craigs PTA

The P3/4 Disco was a huge success again this year with an excellent turn-out and our pupils having great fun taking part in games and dancing the night away!

Our PTA also organised an opportunity for Family Photographs to be taken in school on Wednesday 9th November. This was very popular and was attended by a number of our families. There will be an opportunity to view the photos, for these families, in school on Thursday 17.11.16 between 3:00-5:30pm.

Huge thanks again to our PTA members for organising these events.

Just a reminder of the dates of meetings for PTA. Please note the change of date for the P1/2 Magic Show.

Wednesday 9/11/16 - P1/2 Magic Show 6:45pm (Change of date from Monday 7/11/16)

Tuesday 15/11/16 - PTA Meeting 6:45pm

Friday 2/12/16 - Fair Set-up 2:00-4:00pm

Saturday 3/12/16 - Xmas Fair 10:00am-12:00 noon

Wednesday 18/1/17 - PTA Meeting 6.45pm

Wednesday 1/2/17 - Bingo Night 7.00pm

Wednesday 1/3/17 - P5/6 Disco 7.00pm

Wednesday 3/5/17 - PTA Meeting 6.45pm

Friday 9/6/17 - Fair Set-up 2:00-4:00pm

Saturday 10/6/17 Summer Fair 10:00am-12:00 noon

The Christmas Shopping Evening is Friday 18th November between 6:00-9:00pm at St Thomas's Church, Glasgow Road.

You can also contact the Chair of our PTA, Mrs Lynn Wallace, at:-

East Craigs PTA EastCraigsPTA@hotmail.com

Parents’ & Carers’ Consultations

Our Parents’ & Carers’ Consultations on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th October were very successful and well attended as always. If you were unable to attend for any reason, please contact the office should you wish to make an alternative appointment time with your child’s teacher. Primary 2A’s consultations are being rescheduled, with notification of new dates being issued to parents & carers imminently.

Dalguise Residential Excursion

Our P7 pupils had a fantastic time at camp during the week before the holidays. It was wonderful to see their resilience, determination and growth mindset develop as a result of the experience. I hope our parents & carers also enjoyed their week too!! Huge thanks goes to Mrs May, our Excursion leader, Ms Donaldson, Miss Duncanson & Mrs Cann for their enthusiasm and commitment to ensuring our pupils got the very best out of their excursion. Please take a look on the P7 Sharing Our Learning Page to see photos of our pupils and staff in action!

Nursery News

Many thanks to Miss Bianca Murray for the following article:-

In the nursery we have all been enjoying the recent Autumnal weather and the children have had lots of opportunities to actively learn outside. By using our senses to explore the school’s grounds, listening to Autumnal stories and by pretending to be Autumnal animals the children have been actively learning about the season of Autumn. We have made a “Talking and Thinking Floorbook” which shows all the things we have learnt. The book is in the entrance corridor to the nursery room, please take some time to look at it.

The pre-school children have also started experiencing our weekly trips to explore the local woodland areas. These Forest Walks have been a great success, with children, staff and parents all really enjoying themselves. The children will be using their senses to explore the natural environment. They will have the opportunity to develop their physical skills as they balance, climb and walk on uneven surfaces. Imaginative play has also been actively encouraged as the children are allowed to freely explore these areas under adult supervision. We do not plan to go on these walks in the winter months of December or January, but will start again in February. Please do try to come along with us if you can.

Thank you to all of the parents who attended our Open Nursery sessions. Both the morning and afternoon sessions were very well attended and we hope that you got as much out of them as the children did and an insight into your child’s life at nursery.

Once again thanks to the support of so many parents, especially with your help selecting books every day for the child to take home in their book bags. Please can we also ask all parents to keep renewing their Bedtime Story books every day with their child. It really makes a huge difference to your child's development if they hear a story every night and we hope that you are enjoying this nightly experience with your child.

The Nursery Team

Pupils’ Achievements

Please read on to hear about the fantastic range of achievements our pupils have shared this month.

In P2A Gemma Wallace has moved up to Improvers 1 at swimming. Her swimming teachers are very pleased with her progress.

Ethen Lyon is now a member of the RSPB Wildlife Explorers club and is enjoying looking for birds.

Hannah Kelly in P2B earned a medal at the MacTuff Kids Mud Run – sounds great fun Hannah!

Sandy West, of P2/3 climbed his first Munro, Beinn a’ Ghlo (Carn Laith) from near Blair Atholl. It took 5 hours and was just under 1000m high!

In P3A Aaron Williams held a bake sale with his sister, Kimmie, raising £36.00 for Cancer Research.

Aaron Campbell was chosen by a wizard in Harry Potter Land, Florida, to do a trick. He now has his own wand and is practising tricks.

Heidi Fieldhouse and Abbie Cavens both made their Brownie promises and are now members of the ‘Hedgehogs.’

Abbie Dryden gained a certificate during the holidays for participation in the ‘Coin Game’ and ‘Mini-Golf.’

James Brodie earned a medal for being a ‘great team member’ in rugby at Stewart’s Melville.

In P3B Ewan Gilmour climbed 3 Munroes with his family.

Charlie Watson passed Level 2 at swimming and can now competently swim 25m in both front and back stroke.

Rhiannon Ludwig earned a medal for her swimming.

Amelia Isler-McCurdy achieved the Class Award, Primary Level for Ballet. She was especially pleased because her certificate was signed by Darcey Bussell!

In Primary 4B Emma Bradley cycled from Fountain Park to Ratho with her Dad – 8.5 miles!

Blythe Lennen completed the Helping Hearts 5K run around Arthur’s Seat with her brother Gregor in P2B and little sister, Faye in the Afternoon Nursery Class.

Ethen McGurk was a mascot at Hibernian FC on Saturday 1st October – what a lucky boy!

Ciara Dillon won a medal at Gaelic Football, she also won 4 medals for Irish dancing.

Melissa Evans won a merit for floor and vault as well as a gold medal for her gymnastics.

Joanna Rigby earned her Number badge at Brownies.

In Primary 5B Rhys Cooper won a ‘ball maker’ pitch fork for his performance in his group, playing 6 holes.

Jamie Thomson won a Tiger Cub medal at Golf. He was awarded a pitch repairer and a marker.

Ayaana Agili has moved up to Level F at Kumon.

Katie Gordon has moved a level at swimming, working very hard at different strokes.

Madison Leask has had good news that she will be performing in the King’s Theatre pantomime – ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’

Isobel West climbed her fist Munro, Beinn a’ Ghlo (Carn Laith) from near Blair Atholl. It took 5 hours and was helped by a nice sunny day and a few snacks along the way!

In Primary 6A Chloe Reid had just started Highland dancing and has been chosen to perform a solo in the show.

Sarah Whiten gave a very impressive performance in an assessment of English and Maths and has also completed a 14.8 mile walk from Lochearnhead to Killin.

Daisy Hill danced in the World Famous Taste of Scotland Show 2016 for 26 weeks!

Katie Marie Tallis has attended an Emergency First Aid Course.

Libby Keenan completed the Kilt Walk for the BBC Foundation.

In P7A Jamie Stewart has gained promotion to the Spartan’s Higher Juniors. Well done boys.

In P7B Evan Stove walked 14.8 miles from Lochearnhead to Killin.

Community Learning Teams

During this term, and term 3, we will be running our Community Learning Teams in school, which is an aspect of 3-year Strategic Curriculum Map. The teams which our staff team have agreed will drive forward improvement, together with enabling our pupils to develop their leadership skills, are as follows:-

1. Digital Leaders

2. World of Work

3. Film-making

4. Forest Schools

5. School Communication

6. Cookery as a Life Skill

7. Rights Rangers

8. Outdoor Learning

9. Eco & Sustainability

10. Community & Citizenship

11. One World, One Language

12. Eco Upcycling

13. Community Garden Force

14. Mindfulness

15. Performance

A communication will be issued to you, explaining the rationale for the teams, under separate cover.

Remembrance Service

I will be attending the Annual Corstorphine Remembrance Service on Sunday 13.11.16 accompanied by two of our House Captains to lay a wreath on behalf of our school community. The event starts at 10:50am. You are most welcome to come along to join us, if you wish.

Poppies are currently on sale in school at the office for a small donation.

Measles Advice for Parents & Carers

I have been asked by Education Services to share the following Health information with you:-

“Measles infection in Lothian

Measles cases have been confirmed in Lothian over the past month in teenagers and young adults.

Please do not send your child to school if they have any symptoms suggestive of measles infection.

Symptoms

The symptoms of measles include fever, lethargy, runny nose, conjunctivitis, cough and a red, blotchy rash which starts at the head spreading over the chest and limbs. The rash generally fades within ten days. 

If your child has developed symptoms suggestive of measles, you should keep your child at home and contact your General Practitioner for further advice by phone (or NHS24 if out of hours on tel. 111). 

This is very important in order to avoid the spread of measles to other people.

People with measles are infectious from around five days before the rash appears until four days after the rash appears and should self isolate at home during this time.

MMR

The best protection against measles is two doses of MMR.

http://www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/vaccines-and-diseases/mmr.aspx

NHS Lothian Health Protection Team October 2016”

Jackie Reid

Head Teacher

Dates for Your Diary

Wednesday 2nd November

Open Day for new P1 parents & carers Session 2017-18 (9:30-10:30am & 1:45-2:45pm)

Wednesday 2nd November

CEOP On-line Safety Parents’ & Carers’ Event 6:30pm in new school games hall

Thursday 3rd November

1 in 5 Poverty Awareness Parents’ & Carers’ Workshop 1 1:30-2:45pm

Friday 4th November

P6 Class Assembly “The Romans”

Thursday 10th November

Registration for new P1 intake Session 2017-18 9:00-10:30am & 2:00-3:30pm

Thursday 10th November

1 in 5 Poverty Awareness Parents’ & Carers’ Workshop 2 1:30-2:45pm

Sunday 13th November

Annual Corstorphine Remembrance Service 10:50am

0131 339 7115

www.eastcraigs.edin.sch.uk