NOVEMBER 2013 NEWSLETTER
SCHOOL CLOSED: Please remember that school will be closed for pupils on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th November for staff training.
ENROLMENTS: Primary 1 Enrolment for session 2014-2015 is week commencing 18th November. There will be further details in the local press. Please collect an enrolment pack from the school office or Nursery during that week if you have a child who will be 5 years old before 28th February 2015.
Nursery Enrolment for session 2014 – 2015 will be in the week commencing
17th February 2014.
EGG BOXES NEEDED: Please send in any cardboard egg boxes (half dozen size) you have at home as soon as possible. Mrs Whillans is going to make an egg box Christmas tree!
HALLOWE’EN ART COMPETITION: Evan from P4E organised a ‘Draw a Spooky Character’ competition which raised £35.50 for school funds. The money will be spent on games for the classrooms. Well done Evan. The winners were: Jenny, P1A; Lexy, P1B; Maja, P2S; Rihanna, P2/3; Aimee, P3B and Carly, P4E. Well done everybody.
FACEBOOK: The Parent Council surveyed parents’ views on setting up a school Facebook page at the open evening, however, there seemed to be little or no interest in using this form of communication and the Newsletter came out as the most popular method of sharing information.
We realise, however, that many parents do use Facebook as a means of communicating with friends so we would like to share the guidance we received recently which suggests
‘Parents should not post anything on Facebook that they would not put on the school notice board or in the newsletter.’
As always, we would prefer parents to share their concerns with us directly so that we can deal with any issues promptly.
PUDSEY BRING & BUY SALE: To raise money for Children in Need we are holding a Bring and Buy sale for pupils only, tomorrow Wednesday 13th November. If you (or your children) have any unused toys, or want to supply some baking, that would be great! The sale will be just after breaktime, so if your child has any spare pocket money, the can attend the sale at that time.
PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS: The Hallowe’en Disco organised by the parent council raised £150. Well done to everyone for the fantastic range of costumes. It was very difficult to choose winners as everyone had been very creative. Thank you to all the parents and teachers who helped on the night.
MORRISON’S LET’S GROW VOUCHERS: Morrison’s store has now stopped giving out the Let’s Grow vouchers, so please have a look in purses, pockets etc and send in any vouchers you have. Please could we have all vouchers in by Wednesday 20th November? Many thanks to everyone who has sent vouchers in to school. This will help us buy equipment and plants for the school grounds.
LUNCH WITH A BANG!: Mrs Wood our school cook served up a fantastic lunch to celebrate Bonfire Night. Pupils tucked into Soup, a tasty Baked Potato or a Hot Dog to celebrate this winter festival. Many thanks to Mrs Wood, Mrs Linton, Mrs Grant, Mrs Whillans and Mr Tierney for making this lunch go with a BANG!
(A few children missed out on this special lunch because they didn’t get their order in on time. Mrs Wood has to order the food the week before the event, so can’t take last minute orders. To avoid disappointment next time, please send in the order sheet by the due date. Many thanks.)
NEIGHBOURS: It has been brought to our attention that some local residents have suffered damage to their gardens and fences. Unfortunately, we have been informed that some of these incidents have involved pupils from Drumlanrig School. In situations like this, I recall an advert which used to be on TV: ‘Do you know where your child is tonight?’ With the dark nights upon us, I would ask parents to be aware that incidents like this are being monitored by the police and it may be worth having a conversation with your child about the right way to behave, not just in school, but out of school too.
PRIMARY 7 RESIDENTIAL: You may be aware that the P7 children and their parents are participating in a number of fund raising events in order to cover some of the costs for their residential trip. The first event was a Roller Disco which raised £194.62. They have also held a Dress Down Day which raised £247.13. The most recent event was a sponsored walk which raised £645.37. At the end of November they will be packing bags in Morrison’s so we hope to raise more money to add to the pot!
HAPPY DIWALI : Pupils in Primary 1 and the Nursery have been learning about the Hindu festival of light called Diwali. Pupils in the Nursery have tasted Indian foods and pupils in P1 have been finding out about the story of Rama and Sita and how they returned to the city safely by following the rows of lighted divas. Pupils in P1A and the Nursery also visited each other’s classrooms to share their work and to dress up as characters from the story.Well done to all of the pupils, you are Successful Learners for finding out about the festival of Diwali!
NESTLE BOXTOPS: The collection of Box tops is coming to an end, so if you have any at home, please send them into school as soon as possible to enable us to claim money for the school. Thank you.
STAFF NEWS: We are delighted to announce that Mrs Millan, our P6 teacher is expecting her first baby at Easter time. Our best wishes go to her and her husband. Primary 6 parents will be kept informed about arrangements for Mrs Millan’s replacement nearer the time.
AUTHOR VISIT: Ms Jackson came with Badger the Mystical Mutt to read us a chapter ofthe first book in the series. The pupils were very pleased with a personal appearance by Badger and many of the pupils have ordered some of the books. We were delighted to receive 5 free copies of her books for our library.
SWAP SHOP IN P1: As the final part of their E.S Topic work on 'Animals' pupils in P1 held a series of swap shop sessions with their peers in other classes and in the Nursery. The pupils were able to share the different jotter work, posters and models they had made with their friends and to show them round the classroom to look at the different resources they had used throughout the different class topics. Well done to all of the P1 pupils and Nursery for sharing their knowledge and fun facts with their friends. You really are Successful Learners and Confident Individuals!
BOOK FAIR: Once again we had a very successful Book Fair. The children enjoyed browsing and buying the super selection of books. From the commission earned, we will be able to spend £876.24 on books for the school library. Many thanks to Mrs Beattie, who ‘manned’ the fair all week.
CYCLING/SCOOTING TO SCHOOL: In order for children to travel safely to school, we introduced a Cycle/Scooter contract last year, which is only given to children who have successfully completed appropriate training. When signed by the child, parent and school, the child will then be given permission to ride to school on their own and to store their bikes/scooters at school. The cycle pods are only for children who have a permit so we can ensure their safety and the safety of others. We feel that younger children have not yet developed their road sense sufficiently to be responsible for riding to school on their own. Cycling contracts will only therefore be given out to those children who have completed Bikeability Level 2 Training. Scooter contracts will only be given to those in P5 and above. If your child is younger and does travel to school by scooter or bike, then parents/carers must take responsibility for their child and travel with them. The children will not however be allowed to use the cycle pods, so you will need to take their scooter or bike back home. I am sure that you will understand that this decision has come as a result of our care and consideration of the children and or efforts to keep the children and other pedestrians safe on their journeys to and from school.
NURSERY: October has been another busy month in the Nursery, with work continuing on our topic of The Number Zoo. This has been a very stimulating and rewarding topic for all involved, and has not only increased the children’s awareness and recognition of numbers, and of a wide variety of animal life, but also resulted in some beautiful artwork and super writing in the class Floor Books.
To round off the month of October, we had our annual Hallowe’en party on Wednesday the 30th October. The Nursery was transformed into a spooky fun house, and we saw all sorts of witches, ghosts and ghouls arrive for the celebrations!
P1 ARE PERFECT PUPILS AT THE PET SHOP: As part of their studies on ‘Animals’ pupils in Primary 1 visited Libby’s Pet Shop. The pupils took part in a Treasure Hunt game where they had to identify and find different items related to pets and animals. The pupils were very observant and found all of the hidden items. Libby and her team showed the pupils different pet items for sale in the shop. The pupils also saw the many guinea pigs, birds and fish that were on sale too. All of the pupils were perfectly behaved and a credit to our school. Many thanks to Libby for letting us visit her shop and to Mrs Collins, Mrs Douglas and Mrs Scott, our parent helpers.
CAR PARKING: Please remember that, now the sun is setting lower along the Loan, and dark evenings are drawing in (and not forgetting the rain of course!) children are even more difficult to see as they leave school. Do not make it even more dangerous for them by stopping or waiting close to the school entrance on the yellow zigzags or double yellow lines. Recent excuses given include “I am only here for a minute!” and “I only collect them once a fortnight.”
No Parking, No Waiting, No Excuses. A child’s life is not worth the risk.
Please let those who only occasionally pick up children know this.
AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS:
Football: Football training continues throughout the winter months. Please ensure that your child is properly dressed to take account of the colder and wetter weather. New players are always welcome at training:
Boys - Wednesday 5-6pm Astroturf - pupils to make their own way to training.
Girls - Friday 4-5pm – pupils will be accompanied down to the Astroturf.
P2 – Wednesday lunch times in school.
Rugby: On Saturday 9th November, Drumlanrig won the P4/5 Christy’s Quaich against Wilton Primary in a close final and the P6/7 team won the Keown Shield, again against Wilton. Well done to all the children who played and thank you to everyone who came to watch. It was a cold but very enjoyable morning of rugby.
There will be no Friday afternoon training sessions or Saturday morning games until after the Christmas holidays.
Cricket: Cricket Training for P4-P7 pupils started w/c 21st October. Until the Easter holidays, training takes place on Thursdays after school until 4:30pm in the school hall. After Easter, training will be at the Hawick & Wilton Cricket Club pitches. Sessions will be lead by award winning Hawick & Wilton CC coach Allan Moffat. All pupils who attend training will be chosen to play for the school teams in the Hawick Primary Schools' Cricket League. New players of any experience and ability are always welcome.
BADMINTON: Mrs Gordon and Mrs Grant are offering P7 children the chance to play badminton on Tuesday afternoons in November and December. P6 will get the chance in January and February prior to the Borders competition. Letters have been sent home to P7s with details.
Computer Club: The school website is being run by P7 pupils. To see examples of children’s work, photos of school events, news of events, meetings etc log on to -
www.drumlanrig-st-cuthberts.scotborders.sch.uk
DRUMLANRIG PRIMARY - DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
2013 / 2014Thurs 14th & Fri 15th November / School Closed - In-Service Days
Monday 2nd December 2013 / School Closed - St Andrews’ Day Holiday
Friday 20th December 2013 / Last day of term
Monday 23rd Dec 2013 - Friday 3rd January 2014 / School Closed - Christmas Holiday
Monday 6th January 2014 / Spring Term Starts
Friday 7th February 2014 / School Closed - In-Service Day
Monday 10th February 2014 / School Closed - February Holiday
Monday 7th – Friday 18th April 2014 / School Closed – Easter Holiday
Friday 2nd May 2014 / School Closed - In-Service Day
Monday 5th May 2014 / School Closed – May Holiday
Friday 6th June 2014 / School Closed – Common Riding
Monday 9th June 2014 / School Closed – Casual Holiday
Friday 27th June 2014 / Break for Holidays
SCHOOL INFORMATION:
Drumlanrig St Cuthbert’s Primary School 01450 373521
Drumlanrig Nursery 01450 379046
Email:
Website: www.drumlanrig-st-cuthberts.scotborders.sch.uk
Drumlanrig Out of School Club 01450 379722