Head Teacher: M.R.Tremmel

Head Teacher: M.R.Tremmel

Gullane Primary School

Muirfield Terrace

Gullane

EH31 2HL

Tel/Fax: 01620 843455

Dear Parents/Carers

How lovely to see all the children again. They all looked great! The summer could have been drier but we did have some good days and it was never really all that chilly. We had better watch that the snails don’t go for world domination as they seem to have overrun (overcrawled really) most of the plants and gardens!

The staff have also settled in very well! Mrs Mancey is getting to grips with all things office based and Miss Robertson is enjoying her placement with us. Mrs Herdman has returned from her maternity leave this week and will be working with P4 on a Tuesday and with the nursery on a Wednesday morning and a range of classes on the Wednesday afternoon.

Mrs Forbes has been in touch and she has sent a message for the newsletter…

‘Dear Parents and Children

Thank you cannot express how much I appreciated the gifts and good wishes that you gave to me when I left Gullane PS at the end of term.I enjoyed my many years atGullane and found it very hard to leave as I feel it was like an extension to my family. I will miss everybody, but it is now time to concentrate on the rest of my life and my family. I wish you all well for the future and I am sure I will bump into some of you in and around the county. Many thanks. Catriona Forbes’

Some of our families have not returned to school having moved during the summer but we also welcome some new families. The school roll has fallen a little but things should level off soon.

We have started our Primary 1 children now and they have all settled beautifully. Thank you to mums, dads and grandparents for being brave and letting their child come in and get on. It is also helpful if you don’t ‘hang around’ after the children go into school.

Thank you for being on time. We have started our softer start in the mornings again and I think parents and children prefer this. Please do not come in to the cloakroom areas with the children – just too busy.

The P3 children in the P2/3 class know that they are allowed to play in the P3-7 playground. They do enjoy the change of scene and seeing their other classmates.

There is a lot to get through in this letter. For the ‘old timers’ - I am sorry if this is old hat to you!

Communication

The staff are keen to use our website to organise homework and such like. Mrs McGrane trialled this last session and it worked very well indeed. Staff will inform you if they are using this vehicle to keep you informed.

Meet the Teacher 30th August – First session from 6.30 until 7.10 and the 2nd session from 7.15 until 7.55pm.

Building Refurbishment

At last! Seven years of phone calls, meetings and nagging have finally borne fruit! The upper boys’ loos are now refurbished and they look great! I am delighted and many of the boys have said how great they are. That means the boys will no longer have an excuse – their cloakrooms and loos shouldalwaysbe lovely.

The remainder of the windows have now been replaced as well.

I would think that wiring and two more toilet spaces are the key building projects left. The school has begun to look and feel a lot smarter and we are keen that our environment is as pleasant for all users as is possible.

As is usual, this newsletter comes to you with pieces of information that will require some action from yourselves. There are forms to be returned to school and this will need to be done as speedily as possible so that we are able to manage the associated administrative tasks.

All revised and current policies are on our website- -as is the updated school hand book. I ask that you read over these as soon as you can as we will only send out hard copies to those who request them. This saves a great deal of time, paper and funds. Thank you in anticipation.

The website is undergoing a refresh and we hope you will make more use of it this session.

• Internet usage forms.This applies to all pupils P3-7. This is to ensure that you are aware that the children will have internet access under the strict policy operated by East Lothian Council – staff discuss and gothrough the policy with their classes. Only new pupils will be asked to complete the forms. A copy of the policy is on the website and I urge you to read it over and understand the importance of the content. If you do not have access to the internet there are copies available in hard copy. Just ask.

• There are data capture forms attached. These are very important and must be returned by Monday 27th August 2012. Please check your contact details and mobile numbers. Return every form even if there are no changes so we can check the names against registers and such. We use the mobile number to contact parents through our text service. It is important that the mobile number is up to date.Thank you.

• We have photograph/web permissions and unless there are changes from parents we will hold these as a current up to date record of your wishes.

• Local area permission forms – these forms will allow staff to use the immediate local vicinity to access outdoor learning opportunities. I am afraid we must send out forms for every other out of school trip outside Gullane. A lot of paper but it is a requirement. I am trying to think of a legal and better way to do this.

• Parent Volunteers – please complete the form to let us know what you may be able to support us with this session – there are many areas where support is gratefully received and lots of opportunities for parents to be in and around school. Please return as soon as you can. We do value your input.

• East Lothian Council has insisted that all volunteers who transport pupils in their own vehicles must have business insurance. This often does not cost any extra on the insurance premium. If a parent wishes to be a pupil transport volunteer and you are charged a fee for this insurance please speak with me and we will reimburse families provided there is a receipt. May I thank the parents who transported all the various classes to many sports events last session – saved a huge amount of time and work for us in school.

Medical/Medicine

If your child requires medication in any form it is a requirement that parents/carers complete a form to allow school staff to administer even a dose of Calpol. If your child requires an inhaler/epipen or other such specialised medication then it is necessary for us to draw up a care plan which you will draw up with us and be required to sign. If your child has to use an inhaler they should have 2 in school – one in our emergency medicine cabinet and one on their person. It is worth discussing with your GP about how and when it is appropriate for a child to manage themselves. Younger pupils will be supported in school by a member of staff if needs be. Medicines have a ‘use by’ date so please ensure that we have medicines that are up to date.

Wheeled Transport

Most, if not all, of the pupils in the primary section of the school know that they must dismount their scooters/bikes BEFORE they enter the school playground. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all parents that children must not scoot or cycle in the playground. There have been mishaps which cause unnecessary distress.

I am in the process of having a bike park area with shelter placed in the early years’ area up by the gate. Until such time please leave scooters/bikes at the gate to the side. This includes all nursery children. Thank you.

School Times

Monday to Thursday

P1 and P2 children start at 8.45am each day and finish at 2.45pm. Their lunch break is from 12.25 until 1.15pm

P3-7 children start at 8.45am and finish at 3.20pm. Their lunch break is 12.30 until 1.20pm

Friday

P1 and P2 children start at 8.45am each day and finish at 12.15pm.

P3-7 children start at 8.45am and finish at 12.25pm.

Nursery

Monday to Thursday

MorningStart = 08.40 – 08.50 Pick-up times = 11.35 – 11.45

AfternoonStart = 12.55 – 13.05 Pick-up times = 15.00 – 15.15

FridayStart = 08.40 – 08.50 Pick-up times = 11.30 – 11.40

The window of ten minutes at the start of each session means that once the 10 minutes is ‘up’ the staff are then able to focus on the children and not on answering the door. This is also the case for the ends of sessions.

The children must be collected on time. Staff have tasks to complete such as setting up the room for the next session, prepping resources, planning and having a lunch break. Staff in nursery classes do not have a coffee/snack break so their lunch is important.

It is also helpful if the nursery parents do not bring buggies/prams into the cloakroom. It is a busy place and it gets crowded very quickly at peak times.

It can be a challenge to manage all these different times for your children especially those families who have a nursery, a P1 and a P3 child- it does seem a lot of waiting etc. Please be assured there has been much time spent considering the options. No better solution has been found.

Development Plan/School Improvement Plan/Standards and Quality

Staff meet each session to review the work of the school matched against set criteria. The criteria are taken from documents entitled ‘How Good is our School?3’ and ‘Journey to Excellence’. In our last evaluation session we benefited from the input of two of our parent body. From the completed audit the school staff prepare a set of priorities for our school for the following session. This plan is approved by ELC and monitored by the school team as well as our Quality Improvement Officer.

Our key objectives this session are:

• Maths – in particular, competence and confidence in computation. From being secure in recognising and ordering numbers, understanding how a number may be ‘made’ e.g. 3+2 = 5, 4+1=5 and so on to security with number facts such as tables. It is about the facts being automatic and secure. Confidence and automaticity give confidence which then leads to being able to apply skills and knowledge and being able to tackle increasingly challenging mathematical problems. All other aspects of maths are still very important. We will meet on a regular basis and discuss progress across classes.
• We will be maintaining a keen focus on assessment across all curricular areas. This focus was on our plan last session but it is a huge area to manage.
• Comprehension in reading is also a key feature. This is coupled with our continuous focus on spelling skills, handwriting-legible and fluent, all types of writing – functional, imaginative and personal.
• We also wish to focus on our links with the wider community as well as our links with our parents. We are looking into the ways we communicate with you, the quality of the information you receive from us, your access to teaching staff- always a challenge as they are with your children all of the time. We would also like to develop the parent/teacher consultations-this needs a brave leap!
• Global Citizenship – our links with our school in Malawi.
• Eco/Health targets are also in our plan.

On the subject of the eco agenda you will have noticed that the 9m high wind turbine is no longer with us. I raised serious concerns that the damaged blades would be unsafe and the council team agreed with me. The council are unable to fund the cost of a replacement set so the only option was to remove the whole turbine. The parts will all be recycled and reused. We have kept the solar panels as they seem to be working fine.

There are many themes that we require to maintain and this means that we have to use our time wisely. Our plan will be on our website soon and we are always keen to receive feedback from our parent body.

In order to begin the work on Rights Respecting Schools we will be looking for parents and members of the community to join our committee. The meetings will be minimal and we would negotiate how we communicate and discuss things. This is a whole cluster initiative and we are aiming to secure a Recognition of Commitment in this session. The themes fit very well with our ethos here in Gullane. If you feel this may be something that you would wish to commit a little time to please let me know. An email will suffice or a telephone call. Once you have the details please don’t feel that you are committed to the project just because you asked for information! One meeting a term possibly.

Lateness

There will be occasions where families are late for a number of very good reasons but we have a number of pupils who are regularly late for school. Children are missing the start of each day in class – registration, check ins, daily briefings and such like. This is not a positive way to start the day. All lateness is recorded, as is all absence, and these figures are discussed each month with the attendance officer for the area.

If your child is not going to be at school please let us know as soon as possible and before the start of the school day. A message on the school answering service is adequate. If you do not call us we are duty bound to track you down to find out why your child has not arrived at school. We will use our text service where possible.

We are continuing with our open door start. From 8.40am the outer doors will be open but they will be closed sharply so please be on time.

If your child has an appointment then please let us know in advance where possible. If the appointment means that you require to collect them during the day please come to the front entrance and speak to the school office staff.

Dress Code

Thank you to you all for turning out a very smart set of youngsters. If you require school uniform - sweatshirts, polo shirts, cardigans, jackets - please send your order in to the school office. We are keeping a stock in school as well so things should be quicker for all. We also have t-shirts in house colours. Great for PE.

We have super sweatshirts for nursery children– all colours for all tastes! The nursery sweatshirts are available from the nursery not the office.

We have book bags for sale - £3.50. They last a long time and take away the need for a bulky school bag. We also have very durable gym bags for £3.00 each – again they should last the bulk of your child’s time in primary. Each item has a space for a name.

Head Lice

I highlight this pesky issue as often as possible. Head lice continue to be an ongoing problem. It is imperative that all families check hair of not just the pupils in school but all of the family. Speak to your pharmacist re products.

Labels on Belongings!

I cannot stress enough how important it is to name your child’s belongings. No need for name labels if you haven’t time to source - just write with a pen on the label and then they can be returned to their rightful owner when left.

(I say this every year and we still have large bags of school kit – very good quality too – left lying in school with no name and no apparent owner.)

Playing on the way to school

If a pupil brings a ball to school – football in particular – then please ensure they carry it in a poly bag. My reasons for this ‘rule’ are to preserve safety on the journey to and from school.

Please remind your children that they need to be vigilant when out and about and keep themselves safe.

PE Kit

Please ensure that the children have a PE kit in school – indoor footwear is essential – plimsolls are fine. The children should not wear trainers that are worn generally outside for indoor PE. Please limit jewellery. Very small stud earrings are fine but must be taken out for PE. Necklaces can be hazardous! If an item goes amiss then we are unable to take responsibility for reuniting it with its owner.

Cloakrooms and Belongings

Pupils who need money in school for any reason must remember to take it to the classroom and not leave it in the cloakroom.

It is also wise to take their snack and put it in their classroom trays.

It is helpful if children have a water bottle in school. Children have access to fresh water throughout the day and are able to refill if need be.