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East CraigsPrimary School

September, 2017

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD TEACHER’S DESKWelcome to our September newsletter. We have had a very busy start to our new session, with lots of exciting learning and events happening around school. Please read on to find out more about these, and about forthcoming events.

October HolidayThe school closes on Friday 13th

October for the October break. The school remains closed to pupils on Monday 23rd October for In-Service Training. Pupils should return to school at their usual times on Tuesday 24th October.

In-Service TrainingOur staff team will be engaging in professional learning focusing on the use of Education Scotland Benchmarks in assessing pupils’ progress, and meeting in our school improvement groups. We will also be agreeing which Community Learning Teams we will be offering this session.

Parent Pay WorkshopOn Tuesday 3rd October at 1.30pm, Mrs McIntosh, our administrator, will be running a workshop to help parents and carers who are experiencing difficulties getting registered for, and using, Parent Pay. She will help people to log in and will demonstrate how to order school meals and pay for excursions. If you are planning on attending this workshop, please return the tear off slip on the letter, which you should have received last week. This will allow Mrs McIntosh to prepare login details in advance.

Dogs in the PlaygroundIt has come to my attention that dogs are continuing to be brought into the school grounds. I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and carers that dogs are not permitted to be in the playground as per City of Edinburgh Policy.

East Craigs Curricular EveningIt was fantastic to see so many of our parents and carers attend our

0131 339 7115www.eastcraigs.edin.sch.uk

http://www.eastcraigs.edin.sch.uk/


September, 2017Curriculum Evening on Wednesday 13th September. We have received some very positive feedback about how our Curriculum Framework has been embedded over the last year. Class teachers shared their plans for this term which are available on the “Sharing Our Learning” pages of the school website.

House Captain ElectionsFollowing the recent elections, I am pleased to inform you that the following pupils have been elected as our House Captains for this session:-

Almond Ryan Byrne Caitlin Walsh

Maybury Jennifer Reid Arnav Chakka

Barnton Brydon Douglas

Hanna Kelly

I should like to congratulate the successful candidates who I am sure will rise to this leadership role admirably. I should also like to commend all our pupils who took part in the elections and who accepted the results with such grace and resilience.

Review of Homework PolicyAs part of our on-going commitment to self-evaluation and improvement, we have listened to parent and carer feedback regarding homework at East Craigs. We have, therefore, decided to issue a survey which will gather the views of the whole school community about the amount and type of homework given, the range of models used for issuing and collecting homework and also the amount of support needed to complete homework activities. The survey will be available on the school website from the 23rd October 2017 and will remain live for two weeks. The results of the survey will be used to inform the development of our Homework Policy moving forward.




September, 2017Open DayOur Open Day for prospective new Primary 1 parents & carers for Session 2018-19 will be held on Thursday 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 week will take place during week commencing 6th November. All parents & carers should register their child at their catchment school.

Absence RecordingI would respectfully ask that you contact school, on the absence line, as early as possible, if you know that your child will not be coming to school. This allows Mrs McIntosh to update our SEEMIS registration system and then to notify parents and carers quickly if their child has not been accounted for. Many thanks.

Car Parking I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and carers that the safety of our children is paramount. We have had a report of a child almost being knocked down, when

driving away from school at speed. We would encourage families, where possible, to avoid bringing their cars to the school gates, and to consider parking slightly further away and walking in. Thank you for your support in this matter.

FootballsPlease note that children are not allowed to bring footballs from home to school. We have footballs in school, which are suitable for use on the field. Some footballs are extremely hard and by using our softer school footballs, we can minimize the risk of serious injury and damage to property.

East Craigs Parent CouncilMany thanks to Mrs Susi Isler for the following article:-

We held our first meeting of the year on 19 September – many thanks to all who came along. We were pleased to see that we had parents come along from all year




September, 2017groups – from nursery to P7, but would love to see more parents come along to these informal meetings so we can make sure we’re hearing everyone’s views and to share information across the whole Parent body.At our meeting, we confirmed appointments for this year with Christina Rigby and Susanne Isler continuing as co-chairs, Mrs Alison Reid has kindly agreed to continue taking Minutes at our meetings and Mrs Fiona Kenny was confirmed as Treasurer to ECPC.We discussed a range of other items including Homework policy, parking at drop off and pick up times and how important it is to be vigilant, observe road rules and help keep our children safe, Absence Reporting policy and Parent Pay as well as an informative update from Ms Reid. We will be uploading the Minutes of the meeting to our section on the school website shortly.Our next meeting is scheduled for 7th November @ 18.45. Please do get in touch if there’s any items you would like to discuss at the meeting and also please continue to drop us a note of any positive feedback from your day to day interaction with the school or anything that your child might come home raving about, as we know there’s a lot of good stuff that goes on every day and we love hearing about and sharing it with the school staff.

Contact us via email [email protected] or via the school office.

East Craigs PTA Many thanks to Mrs Jane Adams for the following update from the PTA.

NEW MEMBERS REQUIREDWe are always looking for new members. If you would like to be part of our PTA and help raise essential funds for our school or if you would like more information of what this entails please get in touch at: [email protected] We understand that life is busy and that you may not feel you have time to commit to being a member of the PTA. If you can help just once at any of our events throughout the year, please let us know. All help is very much appreciated. Please email your name and contact number to the above email address and we can then keep you on our files to contact prior to any event.

Our next PTA meeting is 4th

October 2017 at 6.45pm.

BAG TO SCHOOL – 26th

OctoberPlease look out your old clothes etc for our Bag To School collection on 26th October. Bags will be given to your child in the week before this. Bags can be brought up to the school on the



mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


September, 2017morning of 26th and left outside the main entrance by the metal fence.

PTA DONATION TO SCHOOLWe are pleased to let you know that the PTA have given the school a Cheque for £9500 for funds raised in the school year 2016/2017. Thanks to all of you who have helped to achieve this fantastic amount.

PTA BINGO NIGHTOur bingo night held on Wednesday 20th September was a fantastic success. We raised around £542.15. Many thanks for those who came and joined in the fun and to those who contributed baking also.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING EVENTJust a reminder that our Christmas Shopping Event held at St. Thomas’ Church is early this year being held on Friday 3rd November 6-9pm. A great opportunity to kick off your Christmas shopping and get organised well in advance so you can relax and enjoy December when the celebrations begin.

SCHOOL UNIFORMOrders for uniform can be made at any time. Just fill in the form which is available at the school office or online via the school website under ‘Parents’ Zone’ and school uniform. The PTA will collect these orders weekly and process them.

EASYFUNDRAISINGThis is a great way to earn funds for our school when you order any goods or services over the internet. Go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk and search for our cause: East Craigs Primary PTA. Register with them and then every time you order online go to the easyfundraising site. You then go to the website you are ordering from eg Argos via the easyfundraising site and they will donate money to our school. You can earn the school up to 4% of your sales from various retailers.

Parents’ & Carers’ ConsultationsWe look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming Parents’ & Carers’ Consultations on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th October between 4:00-7:00pm on each evening. Appointments will be issued to everyone from P1-P7 on Thursday 5th October.



http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/


September, 2017

Lagganlia P7 Residential ExcursionOur Lagganlia Information Session was held in school, for P7 parents & carers, on Thursday 21st September, in preparation for the P7 residential excursion on Monday 23rd until Friday 27th

October. Excitement is building amongst our pupils (and staff!) who are busy making their preparations. I look forward to sharing more news about the experience with our community in my October newsletter.

Nursery NewsMany thanks to Mrs Caroline Young for the following article:-

The nursery children are currently learning about Autumn and are having lots of opportunities to learn about this season as it unfolds before our very eyes. We

have started to explore our local area looking for signs of Autumn and collecting objects to bring back to nursery. Our ‘Learning Wall’ display shows what we know already and we are now using our Talking and Thinking Floor Book to answer some of the children’s questions about this season. The children are also learning about Autumn through songs, stories, art and snack activities and from information books. Do take a look at our Learning Wall and Floor Book to find out what they have been learning.All of our nursery parents and carers are very welcome to join us on Friday, 13th October for our Nursery Open Sessions. These sessions will take place in the nursery from 8.30 till 11.30 for our morning children and 12.20 till 3.20 for our afternoon families. We hope that you will be able to come along and share a typical day in the nursery with the children and for them to share what they have been learning with you all.




September, 2017

Pupils’ AchievementsPlease read on to hear about the fantastic range of achievements our pupils have shared this month.In P2A, Luke Newby has earned a silver medal at his very first Judo competition whilst Tommy Foster, also in P2A, climbed Dumyat in Stirling, measuring an impressive 1317 feet. Lekya Akisetty, in P2A, participated in the Natyanjali Dance Festival in support of Cancer Research.In P2B, Billy Young was chosen as ‘Player of the Week’ at his football camp. Aimee Taylor, also in P2B, took part in the Glasgow Mile with her Mum and Gran and earned a medal for her running. Together they raised money for different charities.In P2/3, Olly Henderson has taken part in a 5K run round Arthur’s Seat as part of the Big Family Run whilst Dominic Dewar, in the same class, completed a 2-mile obstacle course.

Also in P2/3, Robbie Snedden has been working hard at Beavers and was awarded ‘Beaver of the Week.’ He was also awarded his Blue Stripe at Taekwondo.Blake Hatfield, in P2/3, has won a medal at a Judo competition for successfully winning fights against two different competitors.Olivia Henderson, in P2/3, earned a medal for moving up a level a swimming and Olly Henderson, also in P2/3, gained his Yellow Stripe in Taekwondo.In P2/3, Olly Conner, has won a silver medal for running a 5K race with his Mum. He also earned a medal at Judo.Katie Matthews, in P2/3, has completed her Level 10 at gymnastics, earned her Pre-Primary Class Award at dance and achieved her Stage 3 certificate in swimming. What a lot of achievements, Katie!In P3A, Sandy West, along with Gregor Lennon and Euan Livingstone from P3B, earned a medal with their rugby team, ‘Forresters’ at the Penicuik Rugby Tournament. Sandy also climbed two Munroes, Driesh and Ben Ghlas, with his sister, Isobel West in P6B, and then canoed to an island on Loch Tay to camp. Zoe Linn, in P3A, was chosen as the Spartan’s ‘Player of the Week’ for goal tackling, matches and good listening.Kuba Paterek in P3A and Mati Paterek in P3B, both earned gold




September, 2017medals for their performance at their football club.Zak Adam, in P3B, took part in the Big Fun Run and managed to run 3 miles.Also in P3B, Hannah Kelly completed the MacTuff Challenge whilst Euan Livingstone scored three ‘tens’ at archery.Abi Black, in P3B, has achieved Levels 1 and 2 at ‘Starlite Ballet.’ She has also completed the Animal Agents Summer Reading Challenge. Abi has also successfully completed the John Thompson’s piano course.In P4A, Kyle Anderson helped his team, Hearts Pro-Youth, to win the cup with his excellent goal scoring.Also in P4A, Nathan Sherry, completed the ‘Wee Jaunt’ cycle from Edinburgh to Linlithgow and raised £170 for the MS Therapy Centre. His sister, Rachel Sherry in P7B, also took part and cycled an extra 1000m! Alex Reid, in P4A, earned a medal for taking part in the Drumbrae Karate Competition.In P4B, Taylor Kavanagh and Ewan Gilmour earned a silver medal and a trophy at the Drumbrae Judo Competition. Fantastic boys.Also in P4B, Gregor Gilhooley was awarded a gold medal at the Helping Hands Community Football match.

Amelia Isler McCurdy, in P4B, walked across the new Queensferry Crossing with her family and was very proud to show us her photo ID!Lucy Cameron, also in P4B, has completed the John Thompson’s piano course.Finally from P4B, Sophia Gerrard has moved up a level at both swimming and gymnastics.In P5A, Maggie Wilkinson, her sister, Mum and Dad were also lucky enough to get tickets to walk over the Queensferry Crossing. Also in P5A, Olivia MacMillan achieved both a gold and silver medal at her dance classes.Liam Davidson (P5A) and George Deighton (P5B) have moved up to the adult class at Karate whilst Jack Miller, in the same class, was in the guard of honour at the Edinburgh versus Dragons rugby match.Libby Martin in P5A has moved up to Improvers at swimming whilst Isla Tyrell in P5A has had the good news that she is to be in the Edinburgh Gang Show this year.In P5A, Tosia Kotz was featured on TV when she was on holiday in Poland. She was speaking to Donald Trump on his visit to the country.Liam Davidson in P5A came in with his trophy which he was awarded when he came 1st place in the Drumbrae Karate Competition.




September, 2017In P5B, Rachel Newby earned a gold medal for her part in a Judo tournament. She also received a trophy for being the most improved player.Kaci MacDonald in P5B has learned how to do a handstand and has also joined the dance club.Emma Bradley, in P5B, has completed a ten mile cycle during the ‘Peddle for Scotland’ charity race and then went on to do a 13 mile cycle round Loch Leven with her Dad.Cole Malcolm in P5B, was awarded both gold and silver medals in the Taekwondo Champions League whilst Blythe Lennen in the same class, has now moved up to Stage 3 at gymnastics.Ciara Dillon in P5B, has been awarded 5 different medals in a recent Irish Dance Competition.Murray Thomson in P5B, came 1st

place in his ‘pool’ at Badminton. It was the first day that he had attended too! In P5B, Cameron Stewart completed the MacTuff Kids Challenge.Harshika Patnaik in P5B, took part in an Indian cultural show and danced in front of more than 300 people.In P6A, Hope Hinchcliffe has been so inspired by her class topic about the Titanic that she begun to complete her own research. Whilst doing that, she found a

photograph of her Great, Great Grandparents and their children leaving from New York in 1916 on the Camaronia ship.Also in P6A, Holly Ross was an excellent citizen. She and her family found a dog trapped in a toilet cubicle at the John Muir Country Park. She telephoned the SSPCA and contacted 111 to get help for the dog. The dog is now happily reunited with its owners.In P6B, Kirsty Laws successfully completed the Outward Bound Trust Challenge whilst Jamie Thomson has finally managed to land his first back flip on a trampoline. Also in P6B, Emily Cramb took part in the Kick Master Karate Competition, beat 20 people and took first place. Rhys Cooper in P6B has completed Clubhouse Stage 1 at Turnhouse Golf Club whilst Madison Leask, in the same class, has earned a rosette for her first dressage competition on her horse, Sally.Ellis Sinclair in P6B, is also very pleased because she has learned how to do a back-bend.In P7B, Josh Newby has earned a silver medal at a Judo tournament whilst Mounika Pasupulate has climbed another 10 Munroes!Simone Isler McCurdy, Katie Starkey and Abigail Kidd, all in P7B, walked over the Queensferry Crossing on the 3rd September.




September, 2017They had a great time. Katie has also heard that she has been successful in getting a part in the Edinburgh Gang Show this year.Finally, Michael Kenny in P7B has achieved his Grade 2 Guitar exam as approved by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.

Well done to all our pupils on their fantastic achievements!!

Jackie ReidHead Teacher

Dates for Your DiaryTuesday 3rd October – 1.30pm Parent Pay Workshop

Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th October - 4-7pm

Parents’ and Carers’ Consultations

Friday 13th October – 9.15am P6 Class Assembly “Titanic”

Friday 13th October: 10.15-11.00am 2.00-2.45pm

Nursery Open Day for AM families

Nursery Open Day for PM familiesFriday 13th October Whole school Harvest Assembly

(pupils only)Friday 13th October School closes for October Holiday

Monday 23rd October In-Service Training (School closed to pupils)

Monday 23rd October P7 pupils to Lagganlia

Tuesday 24th October Pupils return to school at usual times

Thursday 2nd November Open Day for new P1 parents & carers Session 2018-19 (9:30-10:30am & 1:45-2:45pm)

Week Commencing Monday 6th November

Registration week for new P1 intake Session 2018-19




September, 2017



Documents

Welcome to our - eastcraigsprimary.files.wordpress.com€¦ · Web view12/09/2017 · Message from the HEAD Teacher’s desk. ... parking at drop off and pick up times and ... Olly