I hope that this finds you very well and that you all had a lovely long weekend last week. It has been another busy fortnight since my last update and I feel as if we managed to pack a full 10 days’ worth of learning and fun into the 9 that we had in school!
P7 to S1 Transition
Following the Google Meet with Mr Turnbull last term, our P7s had a very informative and nerves-reducing visit to the High School on the afternoon of Tuesday 9th May. The staff who were involved with the visit fed back that their behaviour and engagement were exemplary and that they were a credit to the school and families.
The next part of our transition programme will take place on the afternoon of Thursday 18th May when Mr Neil Cinnamond, Art Teacher at Lochgilphead High, will visit Glassary and deliver a workshop to the P6 and P7 pupils about what Art at High School will be like.
Sunshine
After my last reminder about coats, it is now time for a reminder about sun, which has been a very welcome addition to our outdoor experience in the last few days.
This is the information about skin protection on page 25 of our school handbook:( link also here)
Skin Protection
Your child’s skin may be affected by exposure to the sun, especially over the lunchtime period and other outdoor activities. It is a good idea for your child to wear a sun hat. If they have one, please put it in their school bag.
You should ensure your child has sunblock applied prior to arriving at school in periods of hot weather and if you wish them to have further applications at lunchtime then you should send in sun-cream/block and we can help your child apply it.
Water
Almost all pupils are now bringing in water bottles which is hugely important to us being able to keep their brains and bodies hydrated throughout the day. In the P4 to 7 class, pupils are expected to have their bottles on their desk and in primary 1 to 3 we have a space on a table in the corner where all water bottles are placed at the start of the day and can be accessed when needed. If you cannot provide a bottle for your child, please drop me an email and I will provide one. I have purchased spares which are plastic and neutral-coloured.
Patch Project
Emily from the Patch Project came in for her final workshop of the year with our P6s and P7s looking at personal safety and boundaries on Friday. As ever, the pupils engaged very well and showed a good understanding of the themes that arose. We are very grateful to Emily for her input this session and look forward to working with her again in the future.
Parental feedback
Many thanks indeed for your feedback via the latest Google Form; we received 6 responses this time.
It was very encouraging to see so much positivity around many of the key areas of school life, with the vast majority of the 18 ranked questions scoring 4 (Agree) or 5 (Strongly Agree).
In terms of areas for improvement, we now have a clear idea of our areas of focus moving forward into school session 2023/24. We will update you on these next month.
In terms of immediate priorities, we know that high levels of teaching staff turnover and difficulties in recruiting staff to vacancies has been an area of concern over a number of years now. I am in constant communication with Education Heads of Service around this and we are optimistic that this can be addressed. In the meantime, please help us by sharing this advert for a full-time one year classroom post teacher as widely as possible: https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/councils/argyll-bute-council/jobs/class-teacher-328929
Staffing
As many of you will now know, we will reach the end of the era in June as our longest-standing staff member and much-loved clerical assistant Sylvia Bolwell will be retiring from her post with us in the summer.
We will be in touch soon about how we will mark this but in the meantime, may I ask that you circulate the following advert as widely as possible:
https://www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/councils/argyll-bute-council/jobs/clerical-assistant-329018
School Day consultation
Many thanks for those who responded to the consultation on the proposed changes to length of the school day. 80% of you responded positively to the proposal that we finish at 3.15 instead of 3.30 and it looks highly likely that we will make this change as of the start of the August term. We have re-assured the pupils who are concerned about having less play time with their friends that we will find other ways of ensuring that they get this at other times in the day.
Furniture
Related to the above, we are extremely fortunate that we have received funding from the central education team so that all of our classroom furniture is going to be replaced later this month to provide us with a more suitable environment and storage for play activities and equipment. Both classrooms will be fitted with wooden furniture from Community Playthings, an approved supplier of high quality furniture for educational settings across Argyll and Bute.
The furniture will, be delivered on our Inservice day, 26th May and after that we will be looking for homes for our pre-loved chairs, table and storage furniture. Please let me know at your earliest convenience, if you would be interested in giving any of the furniture a new home.
Teatowels
We are delighted that all of our pupils have now completed their “self-portraits” for the fund-raising tea towels and that they will be now be sent off by the Parent Council for production.
Coming up
SSPCA visit
We are very excited that we have an education officer from the SSPCA (Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals coming to run a workshop for each of our classes on Tuesday 16th May. Primary 1 to 3 will be taking part in Rabbit Rescuers and Primary 4 to 7 will be taking part in Animal Adventures, which we be outdoors (weather permitting).
There is a very helpful video here about the work of the SSPCA which it would be helpful for you to watch with your child as it may help prompt questions they can ask the knowledgeable SSPCA education officer!
PLEASE NOTE: This video contains footage that some children may find distressing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K91CGoajQQs
Street Drumming
This Friday (May 19th) will sadly be our last session with Martin, our amazing street drumming tutor who has been making fantastic music with the pupils over the last six weeks.
You are cordially invited to join us from 9.30 onwards this Friday to hear and watch the children showcase their playing with Martin. This will be weather dependent as the P4 to 7s will need to play outside, due to space restrictions. At the time of writing there is no rain forecast! P4 to 7s will play first, from 9.30 to 10 and then the parents/carers of our Primary 1 to 3s can move inside to hear and watch them in their classroom.
We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to join us.
I will email on Thursday night with a confirmation as to whether the weather looks like it will be kind to us!
Reminder
School is closed to pupils for an Inservice Day on Friday May 26th and to all staff and pupils on Monday 29th May for the Bank Holiday.
As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need to.
