Kippen Primary School
Newsletter
October 2016
Dear Parent/Carer,
Welcome back to Term 2 of 2016-17. I hope that you all had a restful October holiday. Pupils settled back into school very quickly and have been hard at work so far.
Kippen Primary Food Education – Recipe Collection
If there’s one thing that can start a conversation or bridge the generations it’s our love of food. Food is about bringing families and communities together, preserving tradition, promoting artistry and celebrating cultures the world over. For this reason we would like to invite you to become a part of our Food for Thought Project 2016. We would like our school pupils, families and the wider community to submit your own recipes so that we can collate these into one special collection.
With a mind to food as a part of a healthy diet, in this Olympic year we will award a Gold, Silver and Bronze Award to the recipes that are judged to be both tasty and healthy by our judging panel. We would also like to hear what are your own particular family favourites. Feel free to add a few lines by way of introduction to your recipe contribution.
Please put your recipes in the box by the front door or email your recipe to by 11th November. We hope to try to make some of the recipes once our new kitchen equipment arrives.
The Backpack Project – We need your help!
This is a really worthwhile project which the Pupil Council is organising this term with the help of Mrs Julie Smith. We would like as many people as possible to help us collect Backpacks which we will then donate to the Scottish charity, Mary’s Meals. Further information of this fantastic charity can be found on their website, www.marysmeals.org.uk
The backpacks will be given to children around the world to help and support them with their learning and help them have a good chance at school. Very often this will be the first present they have ever received so you can help make a very real difference to someone’s life with your donation.
What to Pack…
Each backpack should contain:
• notepad • pencils • pens • crayons • eraser •
• ruler • sharpener • pencil case • towel • shorts or skirt •
• t-shirt or dress • flip-flops or sandals •
• small ball e.g. tennis ball • soap • toothbrush •
• toothpaste • spoon
Handy hints…
Clothing for children aged between four and 12 years is suitable.
• Second-hand items are fine as long as they are in good condition.
• Please label your backpack to show whether it is suitable for a boy or girl and
suggest what age.
• Please don’t be tempted to put in other treats such as toys or sweets as this can cause
problems with Customs during delivery.
The Mary’s Meals website gives all details of things to pack https://www.marysmeals.org.uk/get-involved/the-backpack-project/
Remember
You can donate a filled backpack, an empty backpack, or any of the individual items on the list –
We welcome good quality, second-hand items and you can drop any of these items with us during October, November or December. Mrs Smith has kindly offered to store the Backpacks and she will collect them from the school.
Thank you
The Pupil Council
The Dragon Project
As you know, all classes have been involved with literacy and expressive arts work involving the theme of The Dragon. All parents and families are invited to join us on Friday 28th October at 2pm. We plan to have all guests in the hall at 2pm for each class to present a short performance, followed by all classrooms and areas being open to visitors. The dragon mosaic which was made last month is due to be installed this week on the wall by the ramp. We can’t wait to see it and share our work with our visitors.
Flu Vaccination
These will take place in school on the morning of Wednesday 26th October for those that returned consent forms. Please note that the vaccine is a nasal spray and has not caused any anxiety to pupils in the past.
Pop Up Tuck Shops
To fundraise for the Pantomime, The Pupil Council will be running themed tuck shops on the following dates:
Wednesday 26th October – Halloween
Wednesday 30th November – St Andrews Day
Friday 16th December – Christmas Jumper Day
Please bring between £1- £2 on these days if you wish to visit the tuck shop
Work Experience
Anna Warren, a senior Balfron High School pupil is joining us on a Monday morning for work experience and Sarah Oswald is working with Mrs Stirling in P1/2 on a Monday & Tuesday until January as part of a Forth Valley College course.
Parent Council
The next meeting will be on Thursday 3rd November at 6pm. All parents are welcome to attend.
P5-7 Football Club
The P5-7 Kippen Primary Friday Football Club, run by parent volunteer Mr Goodwin and Active Stirling Modern Apprentice Russell Allan, has been training on a Friday after school and have played in matches at Balfron High with schools from our Learning Community. Thank you very much to Mr Goodwin and Russell for their time and commitment in delivering these sessions and to pupils and parents for taking part in the Balfron High Fun Fridays. Further sessions at Balfron High are in the calendar.
P4 Olympic Club
P4s After school Olympic club started on Wednesday 7th September and runs every Wednesday till 23rd November (apart from the October holidays). This club is delivered by Active Stirling’s Russell Allan.
P3 Olympic Club
A P3 Olympic club will start on Tuesday 25th October and run for 5 weeks. This will be delivered by Parent volunteers Mrs Marshall and Mrs Dymott, supported by school staff.
Sports Leaders Lunch Clubs
Senior pupils from Balfron High school will be running lunchtime clubs on a Monday lunchtime until the 14th November. There are sessions for P1&2, P3&4 and P5-7 and all pupils are welcome to participate. Pupils do not need to get changed for these sessions though we recommend that they wear sensible footwear.
Start Up Stirling
Many thanks for all the donations for Start Up Stirling’s food bank that were handed the week before the holidays. These were much appreciated.
Parent Pay - our new online payment service. Please activate your account.
We are now accepting payments online for items such as dinner money and school trips using the secure website ParentPay. You can pay online using your credit or debit card. ParentPay is our preferred method of making payments to school. Payments to other providers (such as photographers) will need to continue to be made through their usual methods. Thank you to the families that have already activated their accounts.
We are no longer using the weekly lunch slips to order meals as ordering through the computerized system is done on a daily basis. Pupils need to tell their teacher their choice on a daily basis. Please support your child by reminding them their choice daily. Teachers will remind pupils of each tray choice before selecting. On days where there is a baked potato as an option, there is no facility to select a choice of filling so the kitchen is supplied with a selection. There is no guarantee that pupils will receive their first choice of filling. There were no issues with this so far, though if your child will not eat an alternative to their first choice of filling then we would recommend selecting an alternative tray on baked potato days.
What are the benefits to parents and pupils?
• ParentPay is easy-to-use and will offer you the freedom to make online payments whenever and wherever you like, 24/7
• The technology used is of the highest internet security available ensuring that your money will reach
school safely – offering you peace of mind
• Payments can be made by credit/debit card or also through PayPoint
• Full payment histories and statements are available to you securely online at anytime
• Your children will not have to worry about losing money at school
What are the benefits to our school?
The more parents that use ParentPay, the greater the benefit is to our school.
You can help us reduce workloads for all staff, creating more time to lend to educational support and the smooth running of the school.
Using ParentPay also ensures that all financial transactions are safe and secure - helping us to remove costs associated with us having to manage cash securely on the school premises.
How to get started with ParentPay If you’ve yet to activate your account
You will already have received your account activation details before the holidays. Just follow the instructions in the letter to get started with ParentPay. If you want to find out more about ParentPay go to: www.parentpay.com/Parents
Kind regards
Carole Logan
Head Teacher
www.kippenschool.org twitter @kippenprimary
Please see Diary Dates below
Diary Dates October - Dec 2016Friday 21st October / 4-6pm / Fun Friday Football at BHS (selected teams)
Saturday 22nd October / 7pm / Parent Council Safari Supper
Tuesdays
25th October –22ndNovember / 3:15-4:15pm / P3 Olympic Club
Wednesday 26th October / Break time / Pop Up Halloween Tuck Shop
Wednesday 26th October, 2nd November & 9th November / 2:15-3:15pm / P4 Basketball with Active Stirling
Wednesdays
26th October – 23rd November / 3:15-4:15pm / P4 Olympic Club
Thursday 27th October / Evening / Parent Council Halloween Discos - Details to follow
Friday 28th October / 2pm / Sharing The Learning Event – The Dragon Project.
All visitors welcome.
Friday 28th October
weekly except on Fun Fridays / 3:15pm / Kippen Friday Football Club
Monday 31st October / 1:15pm / P3 and P4 visit from a representative from the Scotland Squad for European Curling Championship
NOVEMBER
Tuesday 1st November / 6pm / Kippen Cubs Bonfire –all welcome
Thursday 3rd November / School day / Childline Assemblies P1-7 and workshops P6&7
6pm / Parent Council Meeting
Friday 4th November / 10am – 5pm / P5-7 Velodrome Trip - Track Cycling World Cup
Friday 11th November / 2-3pm / Visit from Arnprior Nursery – Play Session
Wednesday 16th November / 6-8pm / Parent Consultation with Teachers
Thursday 17th November / 4-6pm / Parent Consultations with Teachers
Friday 18th November / 4-6pm / Fun Friday Football at BHS (selected teams)
Monday 21st November / 10-3:15pm / P3 and P4 Trip to Curling European Championships at Braehead Arena
Tuesday 22nd November / 10-1pm / P4 Basketball Event at Balfron High (indoors)
Wednesday 30th November / Break time / Pop Up Tuck Shop – St Andrews Day
Wednesday 30th November / 2:15-3:15pm / P6 Athletics with Active Stirling
Thursday 24th November &
Friday 25th November / School closed to pupils. Staff INSET days
DECEMBER
Wednesday 7th December / 2:15-3:15pm / P6 Athletics with Active Stirling
Monday 12th December / 2pm / P1-3 Nativity – tickets on sale end of November
Tuesday 13th December / 2pm / P1-3 Nativity – tickets on sale end of November
Tuesday 13th December / 10-1pm / P6 Athletics Event at Balfron High School
Wednesday 14th December / 6pm / Kippen Community Christmas Concert – Kippen Parish Church. All pupils involved.
Thursday 15th December / 1:30pm / P5-7 Christmas Party
Friday 16th December / 9-3:15pm / Christmas Jumper Day (£1 donation to Save the Children)
Breaktime / Pop Up Christmas Tuck Shop (£1-£2)
Lunchtime / Catering Services Christmas Lunch (To Be Confirmed)
Monday 19th December / 1:30pm / P1-4 Christmas Party
Tuesday 20th December / 1:45pm / Christmas Panto in school ‘Peter Pan’
Wednesday 21st December / 11am / End of Term Service at Kippen Parish Church
(To be confirmed)
Wednesday 21st December / Lunchtime / End Of Term 2
School closes at 1:15pm.
Children may go home with adults after Church Service, leave at 12:15pm for a home lunch or leave at 1:15pm
JANUARY
Thursday 5th January 2017 / 9am / School re-opens for Term 3