MID – TERM HOLIDAY
The school will be closed on Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th February.
It will re-open to pupils on Thursday 15th February at the usual time of 9 a.m.
INSET DAY 4
The school will be closed for staff in-service on Wednesday 14th February.
FREE SCHOOL MEAL ENTITLEMENT
Children of parents who receive the following benefits are entitled to a free lunchtime meal for their child.
Income Support, Universal Credit, Job Seeker’s Allowance (income based), Employment and Support Allowance (income related), Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit (where your gross annual income does not exceed £6,420 as assessed by the HM Revenues and Customs), Child Tax Credit only (where your income does not exceed £16,105 as assessed by the HM Revenues and Customs) or receive support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
We would encourage all parents of children who are in receipt of any of the above benefits to take up this opportunity of having a meal provided for their child when they are at school. Parents may also be eligible for assistance with school clothing.
Applications can be made online: www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/info/200153/benefits.../school...free_school_meals/2
SNAPSHOT JOTTERS
On Monday19th February the children will be bringing home their ‘Snapshot’ Jotters, these are a snapshot of the work your child has been doing in class. They contain pieces of work and other evidence collected from Monday 5th February to Friday 9th February. Please take some time to look through and talk about the jotter with your child. You may see some ‘Ask me about’ sentences; this is to allow your child to tell you about the work in a little more detail. We hope you enjoy sharing in your child’s learning journey.
HOMEWORK
This term the children will be issued with 2 new homework challenges.
The First Minister’s Reading Challenge
Our school has signed up to take part in the First Minister’s Reading Challenge, an exciting reading initiative for children in Primary 1-7, delivered by Scottish Book Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government. Your child will bring home a Reading Passport to keep track of their reading journey during the Challenge. There is space for them to fill in their thoughts about a book when they record it in their passport; this could be a few sentences, a picture or they can simply leave it blank and colour in a number of stars to show how much they enjoyed it. They will have the opportunity to create their own reading challenges, as well as taking part with the wider school. You will find information about how you can support your child on the Reading Challenge website, Readingchallenge.scot.
Mental Maths Challenge
To develop your child’s instant recall of number facts we will be including flashcards as part of your child’s maths homework. Flashcards have been proven to be the best way to support a child with their number work and instant recall of facts. Your child will work through their own programme of work by moving on to the next set of flashcards when they reach the target.
INDOOR FOOTWEAR REMINDER
The system whereby the children change into gym shoes when in school, works well.
The pupils are more comfortable, the carpets are kept clean and the noise level is reduced when pupils move around the school.
As with all aspects of children’s clothing, gym shoes become too small and/ or worn fairly quickly.
It would be most helpful, if you could ask your child/children if their gym shoes need replaced and ask them to bring them home one evening for you to check.
Suitable gym shoes are essential for taking part in physical activity both for comfort and for health and safety purposes.
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
A number of extra-curricular clubs will be running over the next few weeks.
P4-7 Football takes place on a Wednesday 3pm -4pm. (This day may change due to coach availability.)
Thursday 1st February – Thursday 8th March, 3pm -4pm P1-3 Football Club
Monday 19th February – Monday 26th March, 3pm -4pm P4-7 Karate Club
ABSENCE REPORTING - REMINDER
We would ask you to phone the school before 9:15 a.m. if your child is going to be absent. Prior to 9 a.m. a message can be left on the school’s answering machine. (This is available 24 hours a day)
Pupil’s safety is our main concern and we make every effort to contact all parents/carers who haven’t reported an absence, this helps us to ensure pupils are safe and well. (Please note: If parents/carers are unavailable, emergency contacts will be phoned.)
Your support in all these matters is vital. Thank you!
CONTACT DETAILS
IT IS VITAL THAT OUR CONTACT RECORDS ARE KEPT UP TO DATE. PLEASE NOTIFY THE SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES TO CONTACT NAMES OR NUMBERS.
PARENT COUNCIL
The next meeting of the Parent Council will be held on Tuesday 6th March 2018 at 6pm in the meeting room.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
5th February P1-7 Zoo Lab Workshops
5th February UWS delivering Health Promotion sessions
5th February ASD Parent and Family Information session (4.30pm - 5.30pm)
6th February P1 Book Bug session
12th & 13th February Holiday
14th February Inset Day 4
19th February Snapshot Jotters home
23rd February Room 1 Assembly and Showcase @9.30am
23rd February R3 Visiting Blackwood Library
2nd March Football Festival at Blackwood Primary
6th March Parent Council Meeting at 6pm
15th March P7 Transition event @ LHS
20th March Parents Evening (3:15pm -5pm and 6pm -8.30pm)
27th March Room 4 Showcase Event @1.30pm
28th March Spring Assembly at 9:30am
29th March School closes at 2:30pm for Spring Break