EAST RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Note of the meeting of the Primary Pupil Council held on
Wednesday 5 October 2016 in Our Lady of the Missions Primary School
Present:
Gerard McLaughlin, Quality Improvement Officer
Loraine Lawrie, Facilities Management Quality Manager
Anne McLean, Quality Improvement Officer
Pupil Council Representatives
Harris Watt, Braidbar PSAliah Afzal, Kirkhill PS
Zoha Yousaf, Braidbar PSHamnah Shafiq, Kirkhill PS
Zara Steven, Busby PSKhadidja Chaher, Netherlee PS
Ben Cohen, Busby PSMacKkenzie Fensom, Netherlee PS
Shira Coughlan, Calderwood Lodge PSPhilippa Taggart, OLM PS
Daniella Gabbay, Calderwood Lodge PSEve McDowall, OLM PS
Daniel Langford, CarolsidePSMhairi Kelly, St. Cadoc’s PS
Phoebe McBain, Carolside PSMatthew Madsen, St. Cadoc’s PS
Lachlan Kerr, Eaglesham PSRuth Johnstone, St. Joseph’s PS
Sam Gilchrist, Eaglesham PSNatasha Cameron, St. Joseph’s PS
Ellie McDonald, Giffnock PSHarry McCarthy, Thornliebank PS
Claire Gibson, Giffnock PSAli Kazmi, Thornliebank PS
In Attendance:
Aileen Vance, Admin Assistant (acting)
- INTRODUCTIONS
G McLaughlin made introductions to the group and gave apologies for M Shaw.
- MATTERS ARISING
No matters arising
- SCHOOL & NURSERY VISION & VALUES
Eaglesham Primary School spoke about how they are working towards creating a new vision statement, they have asked parents, pupils and teachers for ideas via citizen space.
G McLaughlin suggested they make sure the whole school are aware of what Vision and Values means and maybe using a catchy statement would help that.
- PUPIL VOICE
Calderwood Lodge Primary School spoke about their pupil voice. They have put suggestion and worry boxes each of their classrooms. At each Monday morning assembly the four best suggestions are selected and actioned. Last week there was the suggestion of playing music in the dining hall at lunch time, this was actioned and both the pupils and the teachers agreed it was a good idea.
- RICE CHALLENGE
Giffnock Primary School took part in the Rice Challenge, they sold the rice in plain bags and they sold double the amount of rice they needed to and raised £540.00. Taking part in this challenge links with their RRSA Level 1 and their Eco School green flag award. Other schools that took part in the Rice Challenge were; St. Joseph’s, OLM, Braidbar, Carolside, St. Cadoc’s and Thornliebank.
- SCHOOLS MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS 2016-17
Our Lady of the Missions Primary School gave a presentation on the schools main achievements and explained how they are working towards their RRSA Level 1. They spoke about their Chestnut Garden and all the work and help that had gone into tidying it up. The P7 children have now been trained in peer mediation and this has been helpful for younger pupils.
They have a new House system, this involves competitions, prizes and involves pupils and adults. They make 3 house videos per year and take part in team building exercises in science or outdoors.
The pupils took part in School to Market, they made jam and designed a label and packaged in old jars brought from home. The jam was sold at Whole Foods and it all sold out in the first morning. The pupils voted to do this again so they made chutney and sold it at their Christmas market.
- OUR GOALS 2016-17
Next yearOur Lady of the Missions Primary School hope to look at the Rights of the Child out with their own school. They plan to create a school newspaper and this will be distributed it in the school and local community.
They also want to start Healthiest House - they will get stars for making healthy food choices at lunchtime and cleaning up. The stars they collect will go towards their house points.
- ORGANISING A CHARITY DAY
Braidbar Primary School is planning to do a charity event each term, but they are doing 2 events in their first term. They are going to take part in the Blythswood Shoe box appeal as well as selling Poppies for Remembrance Day.
- FIRST MINISTER’S READING CHALLENGE
Braidbar Primary School are also taking part in the First Minister’s Reading Challenge. The P4-7 are taking part and they will share what they have read with the P1-3 pupils.
- FIRST MINISTER’S READING CHALLENGE
St. Cadoc’s Primary school are also taking partin the First Minister’s Reading Challenge. They are excited about their new reading projects and they are looking forward to involving parents in reading with P1-3 in school. This week P4-7 will be taking part in activities; swap shops, borrow boxes, review folders, older pupils reading to younger pupils and 15 minutes of reading at the end of each day.
- THE YEAR OF MERCY ART PROJECT
St. Cadoc’s Primary School spoke about the Art Project they were taking part in. There will be a special prayer service on the 8 December in all denominational schools. They have created a calendar to help celebrate the Year of Mercy. PSAs provided funding to get workshops put together, the P1-3s will take part in drama workshops and the P4-7s will be doing workshops around Superheroes and how you can be one in society. G McLaughlin suggested they invite M Shaw.
- USE OF IPDAS IN SCHOOL
Carolside Primary School spoke about how they want to make better use of their digital devices. They will record lessons to see what can be improved. G McLaughlin suggested that they keep these recordings as evidence for their RRSA Awards.
They are also recording a video for their Head Teacher who is leaving soon. This will be presented at a future assembly.
- RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL
Carolside Primary School are working towards their RRSA Level 2. They have a mascot which was designed at Build a Bear Workshop.
- RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOLS INITIATIVE
Thornliebank Primary School gained their RRSA Level 1 last year and want to get Level 2. They have made their Class Charters eye catching and they have special assemblies to share advice. Thornliebank then asked the group if they had any advice?Carolside and Calderwood Lodge said they both used different themes when doing their class charters and made them bright.
- OLYMPIC DAY
Thornliebank Primary School also spoke about their Olympic Day. Their Active Schools Coordinator, M Baxter, spoke to them about the recent Olympic and Paralympic games in Brazil. They then took part in different workshops; Bollywood, football, botcha, etc. The aim was to inspire the pupils to take part in more sport. The pupils all enjoyed it.
- DEVELOPING THE YOUNG WORKFORCE
Kirkhill Primary School spoke about their DYW event next week. They will have visitors from the local community and parents, who will talk about their jobs and the skills and qualifications required to do those jobs. G McLaughlin suggested C Creighton, QIO might be interested in attending this event.
- PUPIL GROUP APPLICATIONS AND SELECTIONS
Kirkhill Primary School also spoke about all primary stages taking part in writing applications for jobs throughout the school. Successful applications will get an interview. These candidates will get interview training and the pupils will decide who gets picked for the job. Letters will be sent out to all successful candidate. The best application wins a prize.
- SCHOOL GARDEN
St. Joseph’s Primary School received a grant form Food for Thought. This was used to get the school garden up and running. The school intend to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers, they have also bought bird feeders for the garden. The pupils described it as a nice area for the pupils to relax and enjoy. A representative from the local Co-operative store will be visiting the school and helping with healthy eating ideas and gardening tips. G McLaughlin suggested they contact C Johnston, QIO, as he will be able to put them in touch with other people who could help too.
- BUDDYING
St. Joseph’s Primary School also spoke about their Buddy system. They feel this is a valuable experience as it helps the P1s gain confidence. The pupils describe the way in which Buddies show P! pupils around the school and teach them about the school. Other schools in the group said they take part in buddying too.
- P7 LEAVERS ELECTIONS
Netherlee Primary School spoke about how their P7s are house captains and group captains. They need to complete an application for the role they want and all pupils get the chance to vote for who they want. The successful candidates get announced at assembly. This process helps with leadership skills in later life.
- VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES IN SCHOOL
Netherlee Primary School also spoke about how their volunteering helps encourage P7s to be involved in the school community. They have the Munch Bunch, who help the P1 at lunchtime with eating and tidying up, the Tidy Team who keep the lost property from overflowing and make sure the school is a safe environment, the Stone Circles, who read to younger pupils at 8:50am every morning and the Young Leaders, who teach games at break time.
This helps the P7s gain skills for later life. They also get star badges from the Head Teacher. G McLaughlin said this tied in with the Volunteering that the Secondary Schools did.
- ASSIST CONFERENCE
Busby Primary School spoke about attending the Assist Conference. It helped them develop skills for life and work. The pupils gave a short presentation about their work in school. The pupils also presented at a recent conference to over 200 people.
They had a stall displaying work from Nursery to P7. The pupils felt it was a great experience and they got great feedback. Gary Johnstone from Education Scotland said their presentation was fantastic.
L Lawrie will send Busby Primary School the pictures from the conference and a photo of the award. L Lawrie was at the event and praised the pupils for how well they presented.
- AOCB
Braidbar Primary School had an assembly on Monday for P4-7 regarding the council consultation. They are going to complete and online survey this week and the pupil council will meet to collect the data.
L Lawrie let the group know that the menus would be changing after the October holiday and she asked if the pupils could give her feedback on the new food.
G McLaughlin asked the pupils to update M Shaw with all their achievements when they next meet in March 2017.
- DATE OF NEXT MEETING Wednesday, 1 March 2017, Mearns
Primary School