Garnetbank Primary
NewsletterJanuary 2016
Welcome to the first Garnetbank Newsletter of 2016! Read on to learn of how we rounded 2015 up and of what exciting events we have been involved in since returning to school for the start of a New Year!
Firstly, we wish to express our thanks to everyone who made a donation to the homeless in appreciation of Miss Douglas’s knitted nativity scene, on display during our two Christmas Assemblies when P1 performed The Nativity. Some pupils and teachers also made a contribution to The Wayside Club Centre (instead of sending one another Christmas Cards) from whom we have received a lovely letter thanking us for our donation of £150
On the subject of money, Mrs Kerr and P6 held a “swop shop” on Friday 22nd January and raised £142. This money has to be split evenly between the “With Kids” charity and the school fund. Thank you to all the parents and children who supported this event. Good fun was had by all who attended.
We would now like everyone to look ahead and think about how they can support Unicef’s Day for Change…….
Day for Change
Day for Change is Unicef UK’s annual fundraising campaign for Unicef’s work to keep children around the world safe.
This year it's for everyone and we've got a challenge for you.
The challenge is to collect as much loose change as you can from January to May - from around the house, down the sofa, your pockets - and anywhere else you can think of!
The big change drop-off day will be onFriday 13th May.
All the change you collect will go directly to Unicef’s Children's Emergency Fund to save and protect children caught up in emergencies around the world.
Children are the hardest hit in emergencies. When conflict or disaster strikes, they are put in terrible danger. Many lose their homes, their schools, even their lives. By donating your change today you can help to keep more children safe around the world.
- £8 can supply high-energy food for a malnourished child for one week
- £26 can pay for a winter kit for a child, including a hat, scarf, gloves, thermal wear, winter boots, underwear and a baby quilt.
- £100 can provide support for three children who have suffered the distress of war.
So please think about collecting all that loose change that gathers in your pockets and purses, saving it in a jar or tub and we’ll collect it in school on Friday 13th May. It may surprise you just how much you can collect by then!
We continue to work hard on Glasgow’s Improvement Challenge to raise attainment in numeracy. Mrs Akhtar, our challenge leader of learning, delivers numeracy lessons to classes on a Wednesday and class teachers model these lessons throughout the week. Mrs Akhtar is also delivering parent workshops to help you support your child’s learning at home and has been attending special training events to support her in her quest to help us improve children’s attainment in numeracy.
Mrs Morison is very much enjoying her work with the Local Improvement Group discussing and trialling ways to improve the nursery/primary transition process for young children starting school for the first time.
Mrs Adams and Mrs Morison have been busy reading and discussing with class teachers their plans for this term and indeed the homework challenges they have planned for this term. Please remember the homework challenges are a different way for parents to support their children’s classroom learning by allowing them to put into practice, in a different setting, some of what they have been learning in school.
We are delighted to be working with and supporting a number of teaching students who always bring an invigorated and fresh dimension to our work.
P7 and Our Rights Respecting Schools Group under the auspices of Mrs Simpson and Mr Hogan will be presenting an assembly to the whole school on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th January.
Our ECO schools group have been thinking very hard about our building and the way we use it. They have considered very carefully what could make it more environmentally friendly and have arranged for a meeting with Mr Duff who is in charge of the forthcoming refurbishment of the school building to ensure that what is planned will improve our carbon footprint.
The Pupil Council are running a competition for all the pupils in the school to design a PE Kit for the school. At the time of going to print, they have still to meet to examine the entries and decide a winner. The winner will be announced at the Monday morning assembly on 1st February. It will then be the job of the pupil council to contact our uniform supplier to check if it’s possible for them to produce such a kit. The winner of the competition will win one of the new PE Kits.
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We continue to work with our partners at The Clydesdale Bank and St Aloysius School on a regular basis. Staff from the bank visit the school on a Wednesday and a Thursday at lunch time to support pupils with numeracy and literacy skills. Senior pupils from St Aloysius College, who are following the Arrupe programme, visit Garnetbank on a Wednesday afternoon to help out wherever they are needed. We appreciate and very much value these partnerships which support and benefit many of our pupils.
Children at Garnetbank are certainly having lots of experiences to help them stay healthy and adopt healthy life styles in the future….
We are very grateful to Miss Hearn who arranged with Glasgow Caledonian University for every class in the school, to visit the university and design for themselves a healthy lunch using the “eatwell” plate as a model.
During the week beginning 18th January, two classes each day walked to the university, had a tour of the new building including the state of the art library, and after a short talk from the catering manager about healthy choices, had the opportunity to choose and enjoy a healthy lunch following the “eatwell” plate model. Everyone enjoyed this and we are grateful to those parents who gave of their time to help with escorting the children to GCU and back.
Most classes in the school are undertaking the “mile a day” challenge and are beginning to see an improvement, not only in their fitness, but in the ability of the children to focus and concentrate. Well done everyone! Keep it up!
On top of all of this, we have three after school clubs delivering multi-sport, two lunch time clubs delivering Taekwando and curriculum basketball, soccer4s, and swimming, all under way!
Despite this being our first month back at school after the Christmas and New Year holiday, we have still managed to fit in a few excursions to further promote and support classroom based learning…
- P5 visited Scotland Street Museum where they experienced working in a Victorian classroom with a very severe Victorian teacher who liked to be addressed as,“Ma’am”
- P7 visited the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh
- P2a visited Botanic Gardens where they were on the hunt for mini beasts
- P3 displayed their knowledge about Knights and Castles when they invited friends and family to a medieval banquet!
We are sorry to report that Mrs Leslie who visits Garnetbank on a Wednesday to teach English as an Additional Language is suffering terrible pain as a result of a problem with her knee and has been absent since just before Christmas. She is awaiting a consultation with a specialist to hear what can be done to help. We are all missing her cheery disposition and wish her well.
Important dates for your diary include….
Chinese New Year Assembly…….
Tuesday 9th Feb 2pm – P1-P3
Wednesday 10th Feb 2pm – P3/4 – P7
Monday 15th Feb- HOLIDAY
Tuesday 16th Feb – HOLIDAY
Wednesday 17th Feb – In Service Day – Children should NOT attend.