Merrylee Primary School
Newsletter 3
November 2011
Dear Parent/Carer
Eid Mubarak to all in our community who will be celebrating Eid-ul-adha. We hope you have wonderful time with your families and friends.
Prayer room
Please note that although Mrs Deans has now moved into the time out room, anyone wishing to find a place to pray at any time should speak with Mrs Mahindru. One of the management offices will be available for this purpose as required.
News
We are delighted to welcome Nadia Cannon and her family to Merrylee. Nadia has joined Mrs Sutherland’s P7 class and has settled in well. We hope she enjoys her final months in primary with us.
Thurs 13th October P5
To deep sea world at North Queensferry
The children thoroughly enjoyed their visit and it has helped them in their study of the oceans in class.
Thurs 13th October P6/5 to Vikingar at Largs
P6/5 learned about the huge impact the Vikings had on Scotland. They were amazed at the things we learned from their time in Scotland. The children dressed in Viking clothes and saw long boats.
Dress as you please Friday 14th October
Thank you so much for your support in fundraising for our chosen charity ‘Improving learning in Malawi’. We raised the fabulous sum of £272.25. Well done to all who participated.
Mon 24th Oct P6/5 The eggs arrived!
26/10/11 27/10/11 27/10/11
Some eggs hatched Big enough to hold P1 visit the incubator
P6/5 took delivery of 11 eggs and have successfully reared 10 lively chickens from them. They had to look after the chickens and made sure they had enough heat, water & food. The class has learned so much about this life cycle and have shared their knowledge with other classes in the school. We have all been so excited to see the chicks daily and watch them grow. P6/5 invited P5 from Our Lady of the Annunciation Primary School to come into their class to see them. Their friends from next door were treated to a lesson by the children and they were delighted to have this great opportunity. Our P6/5 pupils have been invited to visit the P5 in OLA some time.
Mrs Embleton, Mrs Cunningham and all the pupils took their chickens to a small holding near Killearn on Monday to set the chicks free in a large field where they can enjoy the rest of their lives. Well done to all for taking care of these creatures so well.
Tues 25th Wed 26thOct P7/6 Working with David Sherry on an Inspirations project
David has helped the class in their media skills development. The class is looking forward to presenting their own movies to parents and friends on the 14th of November.
Thurs 27th Oct pm Whole school theatre production in school. ‘Pinocchio’ by M&M theatre group
This was a great theatrical presentation for all classes. It is fabulous for children to experience live theatre.
Fri 28th October P3/2 Leading the assembly 2pm
P3/2 introduced us all to our new paper recycling bins. We look forward to using them and to reducing our waste as they have made us more aware.
Fri 28th Oct P4/3 ‘The King has Horse’s Ears’ Inspirations festival project
P4/3 pupils were treated to a storytelling session by a professional story teller. It certainly inspired them to tell more exciting stories of their own.
Mon 31st Oct P7 ‘Join the beat’ Inspirations musical project
It was fabulous to welcome Rosina Bonsu back to Merrylee. She worked with the p7 pupils on a joint dance and drum project. This experience of the expressive arts was thoroughly enjoyed by every pupil.
Parent Consultations 1st & 3rd November
Thank you for your fabulous support as always during these sessions. I am very grateful to you for engaging in such open dialogue with staff. It is a great opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, express any opinions you may have and share the responsibility for your child’s learning. I am grateful also to staff who naturally find these sessions tiring after a day in the classrooms but they also appreciate your kind words of support and encouragement.
Book Fair
We are delighted to report that Book Fair sales for last week came to just over £1,800!!
Thurs 3rd Nov P5 To the King’s Theatre. Inspirations festival project
P5 were thrilled with their behind the scene view of the theatre during their visit. They learned about how the theatre is managed, how the various departments support each other and also the important skills used during performances. They even learned how to direct a follow spot on the stage. Mrs Campbell reckons this was an excellent experience and one which the children can build on when they plan their own concert next term.
Fri 4th Nov Cross country area finals
24 senior pupils participated in the south area cross country finals and enjoyed great success. They all thoroughly enjoyed the experience through the mud and hills of the Cathkin Braes. The children enjoyed competing against others as individuals and did so with great enthusiasm and sense of determination.
Fri 4th Nov Glasgow badminton Quaich competition
Once again Merrylee enjoyed great success in the badminton competition. This is with thanks to Mrs O’Donnell for her great enthusiasm and superb coaching. Some of the children have made it to the overall finals. Well done!
P5 cake fundraising stall for Mary’s Meals in Malawi
Congratulations to Primary 5, Mrs McKillop and Mrs Campbell as they raised the fabulous sum of £140.63 for Mary’s Meals at their cake stall. Thanks also to Mrs McKillop and Ms Lupton for taking the after school baking club which provided many of the lovely things on sale.
Pupil council
As we eagerly anticipate our forthcoming Pupil Council Elections, I would like to take the opportunity to offer my personal thanks to our outgoing Pupil Council. They relentlessly raised the profile of the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices at every Monday morning assembly and organised an excellent art and joke competition: raising funds for their chosen charities and offering challenge and fun for everyone! They helped informed changes and practice in the school. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with last session’s Pupil Council members – their enthusiasm has been boundless, their ideas inspiring and their contribution to both fundraising events and the life of the school commendable; well done and thank you for allowing me to be a part of your council.
I very much look forward to working with our newly elected Pupil Council.
Caroline Deans DHT
Merrylee Health Committee
The committee has been working very hard to promote healthy snacks. They have worked closely with the Parent Council to reintroduce Fruit Break. I am sure most of you will have received the fabulous Fruit Break flyers at parents’ evenings this week. The committee has carried out a survey of snacks and made graphs to show the results. We are pleased to report our campaign has been successful. The most popular snack is fruit. We hope that everyone will continue to bring a piece of fruit to school every day and enjoy fruit breaks in the class. The committee would also like to thank Sainsbury’s, Muirend for their generous support. Sainsbury’s are providing many of our pupils with free fruit once a week. Sainsbury’s staff also enjoyed an afternoon of training in our school. As sponsors of the Paralympics 2012, they demonstrated a few of the Paralympics sports to classes. They have kindly donated the games kit to the school for our own use. Colette Haddock DHT
Parents/Carers
We are so lucky to have so many wonderful people willing to share their knowledge, skills, interests, professions with our pupils. There is no better way to learn but from real life experts. Please, if you are able to offer some time, please contact me.
Property
Sorry but once again I need to address the issue of lost property. There are still some pupils whose name is not on all of their belongings. Please check that your child has everything labelled. Please ensure that all lunch boxes and water bottles are also labelled.
Gardening help request
Thank you for the offers of help with tending the school grounds. I would like to thank Scott McMillan and his mum who planted the large tub at the front of the school. It is looking great! Thanks also to Stuart, our crossing patroller, for clearing some of our tubs at the back for winter and for providing us with some winter flowering plants. Thanks also to George, our regular volunteer, for laying new slabs to try to help combat the very wet and muddy patches at the edge of the grass.
Children with allergies
Please do not allow your child to have any food in school which contains nuts as we have several children with severe allergies. Thank you for respecting this request
Shopping tokens
Please keep collecting the Nestle cereal tokens. If you have any Morrison vouchers please send them into school ASAP as they have to be counted and sent away. From your collections last term we have received fabulous resources for our outdoor learning, gardening and cooking.
Ragbag
Please remember that we collect unwanted clothes, shoes, curtains, bedding, books etc in the collection box at the front of the school. When this is emptied we receive money for the collections which will fund our eco developments this session.
Parent’s email address
If you have changed your email address recently please notify the school office in writing. As of December if we have your email address on file we will send all Newsletters to that address.
Dates for your diary
Mon 7th Nov New Pupil Council elections!
Tues 8th Nov P7 WW2 talk by Rev David Hood
Wed 9th Nov P7 Continuing Inspirations ‘Me & my city’
Fri 11th Nov P1s To Pollok Park
P4 To Ibrox stadium with OLA P4s. SOS input
7.30pm Ladies Pamper Night run by PA. All most welcome.
Mon 14th Nov P7 To Summerlee museum
P3/2 & P4/3 To Strathclyde University Science festival
6.30pm P7/6 night at the movies for their families
Tues 15th Nov P1 open afternoon for early year’s staff
Wed 16th Nov P4 & P4/3 To Stirling Castle
Fri 18th Nov P5 Fundraising obstacle course for Mary’s Meals in Malawi
Tues 22nd Nov P2 To Strathclyde science festival
P5 To Couper library
7pm Launch of the school travel plan. Joint event with OLA. Friends and family welcome to attend.
Week beg 28th Nov Puzzle week!
Tues 29th Nov P5 Scottish Ballet workshop am
7pm Adult & child football night. Meet Stephen Thompson of St Mirren, formally Burnley, Cardiff, Rangers & Dundee United.
(All football enthusiasts most welcome. Informal chat and Q & A session
Sat 3rd Dec 10-12 School Christmas Fair. All welcome
Wed 14th Dec /Thur 15th Dec 1.45pm Primary 1 Nativity (1st & 2nd performance)
Thurs 22nd Dec 10am Christmas service Merrylea Parish Church
Lots more dates for your diary will be issued soon.
Yours faithfully Liz Mahindru Head Teacher