Windygoul Primary School Newsletter
September 2011
School Website
In our last newsletter, we mentioned that we were in the process of updating our school blog. Unfortunately there were some technical problems with Edubuzz, which meant that the system was offline for some time and therefore our progress was slower than we had hoped.
We are pleased to say that it is now up and running and we hope you will log on to http://edubuzz.org/windygoul/ to see how we are getting on. We have changed the layout and added some new features that we hope will help you as parents and carers to stay informed of what is happening here at Windygoul. Classes are working on their pages and these will be visible in the coming weeks. We have also added a Google calendar (under All About Windygoul) which will be updated regularly with dates for your diary e.g. class trips, assemblies, Christmas parties, holidays etc. We will keep working on it over the next few months and welcome your suggestions about what you would find useful on there.
Our Playground
Throughout this session we are looking to make improvements to the break time and lunchtime experience for our pupils in the playground in line with our Work, Play, Shine motto.
We have started by looking at the different areas within the playground and zoning these to offer access to different activities e.g. football, basketball, quiet games, play zone etc. We have issued some new equipment to each class and skipping appears very popular amongst pupils of all ages. We are also trialling Wheelie Fridays for P5, P6 and P7 on a weekly rota basis. During their rota week, these pupils have the opportunity to bring their skateboards, scooters and rollerblades to school for use within the wheelie zone on a Friday break time. All pupils must wear a helmet to participate but over the past 2 weeks we have seen some great stunts and pupils have really been enjoying this treat.
We are looking into getting scooter racks alongside our current bicycle racks so that equipment can be stored safely. We hope to expand the zones with further opportunities throughout the year and will work with the Pupil Council to take forward suggestions made by the pupils. We will keep you informed about how we are getting on via the blog and through future newsletters.
May we remind you that NO dogs, apart from guide dogs, are allowed in our playgrounds.
Pupil Elections
We have recently voted for our various pupil groups within the school. Lots of children put themselves forward for the elections, many preparing fantastic speeches to encourage their peers to vote for them. The successful pupils were:
House Captains
Bruce: Captain – Teigan McIntrye Vice Captain – Olivia Lambert
MacGregor: Captain – Jack Kemp Vice Captain – Adam Cull
Stewart: Captain – Rose Murdoch Vice Captain - Jake Beveridge
Wallace: Captain – Sarah Russell Vice Captain – Cameron MacBeth
Pupil Council
Primary One Pupil Council elections will take place later in the year.
P2a Owen Terris P4/5 Amy Gossner
P2b Harry Gray P5 Sam Lambert
P2/3 Freya McKechnie P6a Emma Beveridge
P3a Holly Bacon P6b Sarah Chalmers
P3b Grace McManus P7a Sean McLeish
P4a William Goodluck P7b Megan Kivlin
P4b Jemma Calder
Eco Group
P2a Louis Pearson P4/5 Archie Ferguson
P2b Dylan White P5 Marcus Stewart
P2/3 Sam Baillie P6a Emily Deng
P3a Jamie Archibald P6b Sam Bowman
P3b Ellie McMillan P7a Lois Fairley
P4a Aaron Harper P7b Owen Golightly
P4b Abigail Russell
Junior Road Safety Officers
Congratulations to Samuel Scanlon, Jake Beveridge, Ross Herkes and Megan Blair.
Road Safety
It has been brought to our attention that people are not parking in designated spaces and this is causing health and safety issues for our pupils, staff, parents and carers. If you must bring your child/ren to school in a vehicle, please park responsibly and use the drop off zone whenever possible. We also have a number of parents who have Blue Badges and they find it very frustrating when they are unable to park in the disabled spaces. Look out for information from our new Junior Road Safety Officers this session and, together, we will ensure the safety of all members of our community.
Bags2school
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this venture. The money raised will be used by our Eco Group to improve the Courtyard and outside spaces.
P4/5 Bake Sale
Lauren Burnett, Sophie Johnston and Archie Fergusson had a bake sale on Friday, 16th September, 2011. They raised £216.23 for the RSPB to save the birds of prey. Thank you for the delicious caked and sweets!
Windygoul Stars
* Phoebe Davies gained medal for ‘games’*
*Adam Gillie and Dylan Mason won trophies for joining in Tranent Colts Football Festival*
*Ellie Dalrymple took part in a Highland Dancing Competitions in Dunoon and Bute – 1st place and 2nd place*
*Well done to Danni Lee. She passed Grade 2 with merit from the Royal Academy of Dance*
*Sam and Annie Bowman and Charlotte Noon took part in Pedal for Scotland. They cycled Glasgow to Edinburgh for Maggie’s Centre and Cancer Research*
*Daniel Steadman won 3 silver & 2 bronze medals in a swimming competition*
*Callum Wilson attended Judo comp in Perth and won 7/7 fights*
*Finlay Hart, Taylor White and Robbie Sheilds participated in Tranent swimming club competition and won lots of medals*
*Neve Ewing was awarded 3rd place in a karate competition
*Rachel Currie gained 5th place in the junior girls section of the Great North Run*
*Hannah Leslie gained a Junior Green Belt in karate
*Well done to Keiran Leslie who has been awarded an Adult Green Belt in karate
P.E. Kit
Please ensure that children bring a full gym kit, shorts, t-shirt and gym shoes, to school in a named bag. P.E. kit is kept in school.
FREE SFA EARLY TOUCHES TRAINING FOR WINDYGOUL PARENTS
Active Schools are delivering free training in partnership with Hearts FC, the SFA and Sports Development with the intention of starting up more FREE FOOTBALL activities at Windygoul Primary School.
Alan White, a parent at Windygoul PS, Community Manager for Hearts FC and an employee of the SFA for over 10 years has kindly offered to run this training for free for Windygoul parents alongside working in partnership with Active Schools to develop a new FREE football activity for Windygoul children. Alan has been heavily involved in the SFA coach education programme throughout the years and has an SFA Advanced Children’s Licence and Youth Licence Diploma.
WINDYGOUL PARENTS WE NEED YOU!
The SFA Early Touches Certificated Course will take place over two week nights:
Thurs. 3rd and 10th November from 6pm-9pm at Windygoul PS
(both dates must be attended)
If you are interested in attending the SFA Early Touches training and becoming a volunteer coach for the new football activity at Windygoul please register for the course by contacting:
Lesley Nicholson - Active Schools Coordinator
Email – , Tel. 07976 378 469
Before 28th October 2011
(All volunteers will be disclosure checked throughout this recruitment process)
Diary Dates – Terms 1 & 2
October /November
/ December1st P7 Car Wash 9am /
4th Chit Chat Group 9am
/ 2nd Chit Chat Group 9am17th P4b Assembly 11am
/ 8th P4/5 Assembly 11amP7 Winter Market
/ 12th P2-P4 Christmas Show
/ 13th Christmas Lunch
P2/3 & P3 Party
7th Chit Chat Group in aid of Macmillan Cancer 9am / / 15th P6a Assembly 11am
P1 Nativity 1:30 & 6pm
Christmas Lunch
/ 16th P2 Party
/ 19th NurserySingalong 11:15
P4-P5 Party
10th – 14th Scottish Week / 20th
Nursery-P5 Pantomime
P6 & P7 Brunton Hall Panto
Nursery (pm group) Peter Pepper
P1 Party
11th & 13th Parental Interviews
Scholastic Book Fair / 21st P5-P7 Church Service 9:30 All Welcome
PM Nursery Party
17th–21st Holiday Wk / 22nd AM Nursery Party
24th In Service Day / 22nd Term Ends
Diary Dates - Term 3
January / February / March9th In Service Day / 3rd Chit Chat Group 9am / 1st P5 Assembly
9th P4a Assembly 11am / 2nd Chit Chat Group 9am
12th P7 at Risk Factory / 10th School Open Morning / 13th & 15th Parental Interviews
23rd P7 at Benmore Camp / 13th-17th Holiday / 15th P2a Assembly 11am
26th P3b Assembly 11am / 22nd P3a Assembly 11am
29th P2/3 Assembly 11am
30th Term Ends
Diary Dates – Term 4
April / May / June17th All Resume / 3rd P2b Assembly 11am / 1st Chit Chat Group 9am
4th Chit Chat Group 9am / 4th Golden Jubilee Holiday
8th In Service Day / 7th P1c Assembly 11am
10th P1d Assembly 11am / 13th & 14th P7 Transition Days at Ross High School
24th P1a Assembly 11am / 14th P6b Assembly 11am
18th-22nd Health Week
26th School May Fair / 20th P1-P7 Sports Day
31st P1b Assembly / 29th Session Ends
Dates may be subject to change throughout the year