Carmunnock Primary School Newsletter

Carmunnock Primary School Newsletter

Carmunnock Primary School Newsletter

August 2014

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Headteacher’s Letter

Dear Parents

Welcome to the first newsletter of session 2014-15. The children have arrived refreshed, happy and enthusiastic after their summer break. All seem happy to be back at school and are ready to work hard in their new classes.

A very warm welcome to all our new starts in Primary 1 and to any new families who have joined us. I am sure the children will be an asset to the school.

Please do not hesitate to contact myself at the school if you have any comments or concerns about your child’s education. When home and school work together children achieve more.

Kind regards,

Margaret Macleod

Headteacher

Staffing

P1–Miss Emma Aitken

P2 – Mrs Rosemary Mathie/Miss Karen Aitchison

P3 – Miss Lesley Barr

P4 – Mr Sean Gilchrist

P5 – Mrs Rachel Hastie

P6 – Mrs Shona Fraser

P7 – Mrs Morag Donaldson/Mrs Zahida Din

Admin Support: Mrs Geri Murtagh/Mrs Irene McGown

Pupil Support Assistants:Mrs Lorraine McKale; Mrs Katrina Aitchison;Mrs Julie Chisholm

Janitor: Mr Brian Ashe

Staff News

We are delighted to welcome new long-term temporary teachers to the school.

Mrs Rosemary Mathie is teaching P2 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Mr Sean Gilchrist is teaching P4 and Mrs Donaldson is teaching P7 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. We can think of no better school for them to work in – we are sure they will agree after meeting the children.

Uniform

It is great to see all the children looking very smart in their new school uniforms. We are proud of our uniform at Carmunnock and encourage this very high standard to be kept throughout the year. Please remember that hoodies and trainers are not part of school uniform.

Please ensure names are clearly marked on all items of uniform. If ties or jumpers are found they are handed to Brian. Items which are marked with a name can then be immediately returned to the children.

Attendance

We are delighted that Carmunnock Primary had a 97.3% attendance rate last session with many children achieving 100%. However we have lost our number 1 position within the city and hope to gain back the title this session. Our attendance target for every child this session is 97% or above. It is a legal requirement that parents send their child to school every day unless ill or in exceptional circumstances when permission from the headteacher must be sought in writing.Unauthorised absences may result in families being referred to the Attendance Council and onto the Children’s Reporter.

You may find the following link useful when planning family holidays to ensure your children maintain good attendance:

Link for school holiday dates 2014/2015

If your child is absent from school, please telephone the office on the first day. If we do not know why a child is absent we will contact you either by text or telephone. Please send in a written note on their return. Without this your child’s absence will be recorded as unauthorised. It is imperative that the school keeps an accurate record of attendance and reasons for absence for both monitoring and legal purposes.

Parents In Playground

Please remember that for safety and security, adults are not allowed in the playground. Parents of P1 children have a “pass” until their children are confident to come into the playground by themselves each morning. We aim for this by the end of October.

Parking

The safety of our pupils is paramount and I ask that all parents continue to show common sense and patience when picking up or dropping off their children. If you have not yet signed up to Carmunnock Parking Code, please do so. Copies are available on request or on the school website.

Parents’Information Evening

A Parents’ Information Evening will be held on Wednesday 3rd September. Infant and Upper School workshops at different times to enable parents with more than one child to attend those relevant. Further details to follow soon.

Breakfast Club

Our breakfast Club is run by Cordia and a great service. A healthy breakfast of toast, cereal, milk and fruit juice is served daily from 8.00 – 8.45am at a cost of £1. Children who are eligible for free school meals do not need to pay. A reminder that Cordia require all children to be in the Breakfast Club by 8.20am where they will remain supervised until 8.45 before being allowed into the playground.

School Lunches

Remember the cost of a school lunch has risen to £1.50 a day as from 13th August. Please send lunch money in purses or wallets with your child’s name clearly marked.

Mobile Phone Policy

As part of our child protection policy we discourage children having mobile phones/camera phones in school. If your child needs to have their mobile with them, parents must send in written permission for this. Phones will be the responsibility of the child and must remain switched off in schoolbags at all times.

Money for trips etc

Please send money for trips/visits etc on Wednesdays only. This helps the admin staff with the school’s banking system.

Term 1Diary Dates

20 August – Parent Council Meeting – 7pm

21 August – P7 swimming starts

25 August – P4 Soccer 4’s coaching programme begins

1 September – P1 in full time

3 September – Parents’ Open Evening

16th September – House Captain Elections

18/19th September – Inservice Days – school closed to pupils

25th September – McMillan Coffee Afternoon – all families invited

26- 29September – September Weekend Holiday

3 October – P3 Class Assembly – 9.30am

10 October – Harvest Service – Carmunnock Church – 10am

13 - 17October – School Closed October week holiday

Most of our families are now enjoying newsletters by email. If you would like to, please complete the slip below and return it to the school. This will help the school with production costs and supports our work as an Eco-School.Remember to update us if your email changes!

Please include me in your email distribution list for future newsletters.

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