Breakfast Club

Last year the Parent council

asked parents to suggest

initiatives that would improve

aspects of the school. One of

these suggestions was the

provision of a Breakfast Club.

Alan Watt has taken charge of

researching this.

Should the Breakfast Club

proceed it will provide young

people with a free or

subsidised breakfast and

incorporate a range of

additional social, health,

education and childcare

elements into healthy

breakfast provision.

The role of all Breakfast

Clubs, is to improve the

health and health behaviours

of young people as well as

the staff and volunteers who

become involved, and so

underpins the goals of the

‘health-promoting school’.

Breakfast Clubs can help

e n s u r e t h e m o s t

vulnerable children have

regular access to a

nutritious breakfast as

well as encourage school

attendance, reduce late-

coming.

The Council’s Education

Department have given a

strong indication that

Oxgangs will qualify for

Panto Bad weather had an affect

on many things during

December, including the

school trip to see the

Pantomime.

The school were extremely

fortunate to have the panto

come to us in January so

the children did not miss

out. Despite the lack of

stage lighting etc., the

show was a great success

and well enjoyed by the

youngsters.

Unsung Hero—Ian McQuarrie 2

Branding 2

PDG - Update 3

PTA - Update 3

Quiz Night 3

Next Meetings 4

Contact List 4

After School Activities 4

Inside this issue:

Oxgangs Primary School

News

PARENT COUNCIL

February 2011 - Spring

funding

to set up

and run

the club.

T h e

P a r e n t C o u n c i l a r e

considering the practicalities

of running the club,

c on s i d e r i n g p o t e n t i a l

demand, location, times and

ongoing communication with

parents.

Once we can confirm this

funding we can begin to plan

to start up the club and will

keep parents appraised of

plans and progress through ,

it is a wonderful opportunity

to the school to provide a

service with the aim of

increasing the number of

primary school children

eating a healthy breakfast

before school begins and

through this help improve

their general health.

Apologies from the Editor

Due to the bad weather in December and other difficulties, the newsletter was not produced last term

REMEMBER: When thinking of making a purchase remember to look at the Buy 4 Schools website where both you and the

school and earn a little. For further details go to the school

website and click on the logo below.

Page 2

Unsung Hero

OXGANGS PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS

SPECIAL MESSAGE TO P1s

Welcome to Oxgangs

We trust you will enjoy your time with us and we look forward to seeing you grow, learn and become involved in school life

The recognition of our unsung

hero is well overdue. He plays a

pivotal role not only within the

school but also the local

community.

Married to Helen and with

three, sons, two of whom

attended Firrhill High School,

Ian McQuarrie joined Colinton

Mains Parish Church back in

1993. He joined what was then

called the Oxgangs School

Board in 1995 and remains a

co-opted member of the school

Parent Council.

Regretfully, the Editor was set

out to interview him for this

piece. He being a Catholic, got

it all wrong, despite his own

partner being the daughter of

Church of Scotland Minister.

The first mistake was calling

Mr McQuarrie Reverend. The

second was referring to the

Sunday service as mass. The

clanger was Catholicism! While

committed to the Church of

Scotland, his mother was a

Catholic.

So who is this chap that

provides pastoral care to the

children and runs the school

chess club?

While keeping his age a secret,

Ian disclosed his love for

football and to being a fan of

Rangers. His musical

tastes surround those

of Bob Dylan and he

loves walking. When

questioned on home

life he confessed to

being a DIY dodger

and that it is his wife

who attends to this.

His DIY skills, he

claims is related

solely to demolition.

The Church is where

he spends a great

deal of his time. In addition to

the usual services you would

expect, the Church is very busy

servicing the community needs.

Anchor Boys, Junior Brigade,

Brownies, Rainbows, Company

Section, Scouts, Mothers and

T o d d l e r s , G a m b l e r s

Anonymous and a music and

Drama group and just a part of

what goes on each week.

Ian is keen to interact with the

youth and was for a while

working together with the

Morningside Baptist Street

Team on the Hot Chocolate

Rota, a group that goes out to

meet the youngsters with flasks

of hot chocolate, emphasising

caring within the community.

Surprisingly perhaps, they are

very well received.

Humour is never far away. One

Christmas Service saw Ian

arrive at Church in his pyjamas

and he stayed that way

throughout. Yes there was a

serious message, but in a light-

hearted way.

Ian has green credentials … of

sorts. Whether it is to stop folk

lingering or to save pennies on

the power bill. At one

gathering he filled the urn with

50% hot water and 50% cold

and omitted to plug it in. The

tea was awful.

When the Editor visited the

Church he was allowed to

follow Ian into the main hall.

Greeting him was the organist,

bathed in 40 watts of energy

saving light. Being December

it was cold and he couldn't help

notice she was physically

sitting on an old oil heater. The

Organist claimed that in

addition to playing in the dark,

until recently, she had to bring

in her own hot water bottle!

Last year Ian visited Russia as

part of a drug rehabilitation

programme. His parishioners

decided it was time to play a

little prank on him and left a

notice on his office door

advertising his position as

vacant.

If you think Ian can help with a

problem, he is happy to speak

to see if he can help. His

interest in our community is

what he cares most about.

We are fortunate at Oxgangs to have a very high

quality of teaching staff and an excellent reputation .

The Parent Council examined ways of enhancing the

School's image further and decided that it would be

beneficial to produce a top quality “School Folder” to

hand out to the parents of prospective pupils and to

have available in all nurseries in the area to try to attract

more children to the school.

With a combination of wording from historical

archives, the school and the Parent Council a draft was

put together. Photos were added and the folder was

designed and produced by the Melville/Young

Partnership who gave their services free.

The end product is superb and reflects all that is good

about the school

OXGANGS PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS

Another successful quiz night was held

in the Colinton Bowling Club in early

February. Despite the cold weather, the

event was well attended. Steve was our

magical Quizmaster for the evening

doing what he could to help the parents

overcome the teaching staff. Despite the

best efforts of those attending the

teachers continued with their winning

streak.

The evening continued into the night

with a little disco and a chance for some

to dust off those cobwebs.

The PTA made a healthy profit for the

school of £228. Many thanks to all who

bought tickets and joined in the raffle.

Page 3

Play Ground Development Group T h e P l a y g r o u n d

Development Group is like

an arm of the PTA; a mix

of parent and teacher

volunteers who are keen to

improve the school

grounds, for the benefit of

the pupils. We also try to

raise gardening/outdoor

awareness in the school.

We raise funds by holding

a successful plant stall at

the May Fair each year and

make regular applications

for grants from a variety of

bodies. We also run a '100

club ' wi th monthly

payments of £1 from

parents and staff, past and

present. There is a

guaranteed jackpot every

month and if you would

like to be one of the lucky

winners, pick up your application from the front

door notice board or school

web-site. Annual payments

of £12 can also be handed in

to the school office, clearly

ma rked ' P lay ground

Development Group'

So far in this playground we

have funded painted

playground games, flower

tubs, grassing part of the

infant playground, pavilion,

cycle lines, tree planting and

other projects in the

Environmental garden.

For our next project we aim

to either:-

provide further play

equipment/structure for the

infant playground

Or

overhaul the bed at the front

door to improve the

welcome to the school.

The next event is a work

squad session after school on

24th March when we do a

Sp r i ng t i d y on the

Environmental Garden. All

help gratefully received,

especially muscles with

wheelbarrows, to moves a

few tons of fresh compost to

help everything grow better.

Small hands can also help

with sowing wildflowers and

p l a n t i n g b u l b s .

Wine/beer/juice and nibbles

will be served at the end,

around 5.30, as a thanks to all

who come participate.

Why not help us decide?? Drop a line to Miss Buckle in

school. Any suggestions for

other improvements are

always welcome and we will

always be grateful for any

new members, or occasional

helpers....with or without

green fingers!!.

PTA Fundraising Most of you will be aware that the main role of the PTA is to raise funds for the school (as

well as organise social events) which in turn benefits all our children in some shape or

form. Funds raised from our many activities provide things which would not be possible

from regular school funds, which as you know will become more of an issue in this

current economic situation.

Where does it comes from?

The May Fair is always our biggest event of the year and normally raises between £3,000-

£4,000, a huge amount for a school our size, thanks to great support from the whole

school community, past and present. Smaller events such as tuck shop and occasionally

sales of promotional items can raise approx. £100-300. This year many of you will have

bought the Spree voucher booklet and we did the personal Christmas cards for each child,

which was a great success. In the past we've done mugs, tea towels etc. The PTA

volunteers also organise school uniform orders, family Christmas parties and social nights

for parents, but these are done without profit to keep costs to a minimum .

Where does it all go?

Every year PTA funds provide the buses which take the whole school to the Christmas

pantomime and also the P7's to school camp. From this year (2010-11) the PTA will also

contribute to the P7 leaving party which will be in June. After that, we discuss with the

school what extra activities or equipment they feel would most benefit the pupils. This

year, as with last, the PTA will fund the whole school visit by the Science Festival in

April. Money will also be given to help buy equipment for brass tuition for P4-7's. In

recent years, funds have also been used for:-

● school sports tops for athletic competitions,

● assisting with the pavilion in the environmental garden,

● purchase of whiteboards for classrooms.

So, you can see that all our children benefit and that every little helps make Oxgangs the

great wee school our kids are so pleased be part of

Quiz Night

Page 4 OXGANGS PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS

Activities

For further information please contact; Mr Ken Timmins (Chair) P7 Email: kenneth.timmins@virgin.net Mr Gerald Murphy (Vice-Chair) P3 Email: gmurphy@cmcb.co.uk Mrs Philippa Leask (Clerk) P2&4 Email: philippaleask@aol.com Ms Carol Munro (Treasurer) - Email: Carol.Munro@ea.edin.sch.uk Mrs Mari Yiannopoulos P7 Email: mariyian@yahoo.com Carolyn Hargest P6 Email: carolynhargest@sky.com Rachel Pickett P2&4 Email: rachel@nbct.co.uk Alan Watt P2 Email: alan.watt@blueyonder.co.uk Alan Fisher P2&5 Email: al@nfisher.com

Sub-Committees: PTA: Mrs Audrey Timmins (Co-Chair) P7 Email: audrey.timmins@virgin.net Mrs Mari Yiannopoulos (Co-Chair) P7 Email: mariyian@yahoo.com Rachel Pickett (Secretary) P2&4 Email: rachel@nbct.co.uk Mr Michael Mcleod (Treasurer) Email: PDG: Mrs Audrey Timmins (Secretary) P7 Email: audrey.timmins@virgin.net

Parents and teachers working together for a better future and a better school

PARENT COUNCIL

PARENT COUNCIL

8th MARCH The next Parent Council

meeting is on 8th March at the

school at 7pm. Every

parent/carer is very welcome

and if you have an issue which

is really bugging you or would

just like to find out what goes

on at the meetings get yourself

along. There is a lot going on,

including the "breakfast"

club, the term dates for the

coming school years, the

budget being set by the

council and any issue you

want to raise. If you cannot

make the meeting but you

have a question make sure you

contact one of the Parent

Council members whose

details are shown in the

newsletter. The job of the

Parent Council is to represent

your views so please let us

know them so that together we

can make our children's

experience at school even

better.

PTA

2nd MARCH Meeting starts at 7pm in the

staff room. All Welcome.

Topic - May Fair

PDG

24th MARCH Meet Environmental Garden

after school.

Next Meetings

* Charge applies

Contact school office for registration details / times etc