My News
As the end of the school session fast approaches, I must take this opportunity to thank people who have spoken to me informally on receiving the news of my intended retiral and who wanted to comment on my contribution to the school. It has been my privilege to play a leadership role in such a strong, confident and responsive learning environment and, as previously mentioned, I shall do all in my power to effect the smoothest possible transition for my successor. As I begin to consider taking my leave, I recognise that I should like to leave something behind that captures the population of Aberlady Primary, as at 3rd July 2015. I have an idea for a brick road – yes, really!Unfortunately, it won’t be a yellow one but it will be one that can be followed!
I am proposing to have a delivery of bricks broughtto the school – in time for early in the new school session. These bricks/setts will have been engraved with the names of all the pupils and staff associated with the school this session and they will, with help from East Lothian Council’s groundcare staff (and our own pupils), be incorporated into a special pathway leading from the tarmac path to the Owls’ Nest.
As you will be aware, the recruitment process for my successor is well underway and two members of our Parent Council are playing key roles in this exercise. All being well, an announcement about the new headteacher should be able to be made just before the summer break and I would intend that one additional brick be engraved with my successor’s name to reflect our collective philosophy that the school can and will move forward confidently and seamlesslyon its journey.
I must stress once again that it is my earnest hope to leave quietly and without fuss. I make no presumptions here and I write this with all due sensitivity. Had you been intending to mark my departure in some tangible way, might I ask that you consider gifting to your usual charity – or to the Nepal Earthquake Appeal? That would gladden my heart and be far more fitting at the present time. I did truly mean what I said in my letter last month. I shall most certainly carry away with me from Aberlady a rich store of memories that will stay with me for always. There is no greater gift.
P7 Camp
Special thanks to Mrs Peaston and Mrs Sergeant for their huge contribution to the success of our P7 camp last month. Our pupils enjoyed a fantastic week at Dounans Outdoor Education Centre near Aberfoyle and were ably supported throughout the week by both colleagues and by each other. This was a great experience and offered our pupils a further opportunity to mix with pupils from Gullane, Dirleton and Athelstaneford primaries ahead of the set Transition Days later this month. I had the opportunity to visit Dounans midweek and was very impressed by the way in which our P7 pupils were making the most of the experience – both its challenges and its opportunities.
P3/4 and P4/5 Show
I’m sure those parents and community members who were able to attend the P3/4 and P4/5 presentation of “The Last Monster in Scotland” will join with me in congratulating both classes on a very successful and hugely entertaining event. Our extremely talented pupils wanted you to know that they raised £55.00 from the collection at the door and they have decided to donate this money to the SPCA.
Eco Week – a Great Success!
We’d like to say a huge thank you to all members of the school’s Eco Committee for organising a highly successful Eco Week which started with a whole school assembly giving a brief presentation from our Eco Committee and ended with a very successful “Pass it on” session in our GP room. Our pupils, in P1 to P7 groups, were challenged to recreate (from junk) items to be used in our Litter Olympics, as well as having input from the Marine Conservation Society for our P4-7 pupils and a Professor Eco show for our Nursery – P3 pupils. Everyone has had a lot of fun cooperating in this range of learning experiences.
Walk to School Week – 11th – 15thMay
Our JRSO’s were busy again this year organising some events for this year’s WTSW. On Tuesday 13th May, they held a cake stall at lunch time where pupils were able to buy cakes for 20p. They also invited pupils to wear funky footwear to school and at one point in the week they held a “Can you guess the staff footwear?” competition. All proceeds from these events has been added to the fundraising for the CLIC Sergeant Children’s Cancer Charity.
Wig Wednesday
We enjoyed seeing the range of wigs and headgear sported by many of our pupils and staff on Wig Wednesday last month. Thanks to all who supported this special day – organised by Mrs Arbuckle and supported by the school’s Charity Committee. All monies raised from this event were directed to the CLIC Sergeant Children’s Cancer Charity and, at the last count, the total had reached £241.32. We were keen to support this event mindful of Mrs Arbuckle’s grandson, James.
Charity Committee Update
As we move towards the end of the school year, we are, as usual, collecting donations for the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home. All donations are very welcome: toys, grooming equipment, food, and especially towels and blankets.Please place your donation in your class collection box, to be collected each Friday morning by Charity Committee members. Each person who makes a donation will receive a raffle ticket for a Prize Draw to have the chance to be selected to deliver our donations to EDCH at the end of term.
Parent Council Meeting
The final meeting of our Parent Council for session 14/15 will take place on Wednesday 17th June. Please note that all members of the Parent Forum (all parents/carers) continue to be most welcome at such meetings. If there is any matter you would like to have raised at this meeting or which you would like to bring to the attention of members, please contact any PC member. Contact details are on our school noticeboards.
PTA News
The next PTA meeting will be held on Wednesday 17th June 2015 at 8pm in the Old Aberlady Inn. This meeting will focus on planning for the Autumn Fair (scheduled for 19th September 2015).
Special thanks must go to our PTA for protecting £1000 for pupil-directed projects and for organising a Dragon’s Den to aid the selection process. This took place just before the Easter break and all classes from Nursery to P6/7 entered into the spirit of this occasion with great enthusiasm. The outcomes were shared with the school at an assembly. Special thanks are due to all the dragons (Mrs Bradley, Mrs Usher, Mr Gilhooly & Mr Guild) for their commitment to their roles and their wise debate. The successful bids included:
- Wet area replanting in the school grounds (near the northern pedestrian gate)
- A Fischy Music workshop (in September – to aid new class identities & sense of community)
- An espalier fruit tree at the Owl’s Nest & some strawberry plants for the raised beds
- A book trolley with some new fiction as a small-scale lending library
Road Safety Issues
Our Junior Road Safety officers would like to remind all parents about parking in safe places around the school grounds and also about being considerate to our neighbours. We have had a few complaints recently of cars being parked in front of or very near to driveways, obstructing access. We do need to keep the roads safe for our children to cross but also need to be aware of access to residents’ properties. Thank you for your help with this matter.
Parking restrictions around school
Families will be aware of the notices that have been posted around the perimeter of school. At this point there is no indication as to when these restrictions will ‘go live’. We are awaiting the necessary lines to be drawn and hope for more information soon.
School Session dates
East Lothian Council has now published the School Session dates for 2015/16 which can be found on our school website and at the end of this newsletter.
Homework ceases as Gala Week starts
As in previous years and in response to parental requests, homework (for anything other than Reading practice) will cease this week ie with effect from Friday 5th June. This should, hopefully, allow pupils to engage fully in the range of Gala Week events and, in the few remaining weeks of the term, give some space for more family time and other extra-curricular events at the end of the school day.
Reporting to Parents
It is our plan that end-of-year reports will be sent out on Tuesday 23rd June ie just before P7 commence their Transition days at NBHS. The format of the reports will be broadly similar to last session’s format with the notable addition of a progress level (Early, First, Second – developing, consolidating, secure) for each curriculum aspect. Details of staffing allocation to classes will, we hope, be able to be advised then also.
Achievements, Celebrations, Thanks & Good Wishes
Well done toElodie Kauffmann (P2)who has taken part in her first dancing show at the Brunton Theatre. She performed two routines (one ballet and one tap) on two consecutive evenings. She loved the whole experience!Congratulations go to Bree Thompson (P6)whorecently won a bronze medal in the Highland judo competition and won a gold at her club's own competition in Tranent. Bree is a very happy girl this month. Well done indeed!We are pleased to advised that Murdo Jardine (P5) passed Level 6 after a week long course at Midlothian ski centre during the February break. Both Murdo and his brother Brodie (P6) are now skiing parallel quite happily from top runs! In early March Brodie achieved 10th Mon at his judo. Well done, boys. You’ve both been busy!
Congratulations go to Madison Gray (P6) who has recently passed her Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Grade 3 with Distinction. We have also been advised that Madison has secured a place with Scottish Ballet and will be attending their classes over the next few weeks. Well done, Madison! A great achievement and an exciting opportunity to take ballet on to even greater things in the future!
Special thanks to all our pupils who represented the school so well at Meadowbank last week in the small schools’ Athletics Competition. Although we did not win this year, everyone enjoyed the experience and, as one of our altruistic competitors said on his return, “we really did have to let someone else win this year – just for a change!” Thanks, too, for all the coaching support given so freely by Mrs Paterson, our wonderful PE Specialist, and a special mention to Mrs Jarron and Mrs Thomson for accompanying our athletes and supporting them so well. And finally, our thanks to those parents who went along on the day and cheered loudly from the stands!
Appointment of Pupil Office Bearers for Session 15/16
The recruitment process for key office bearers for next school year will take place soon so that there is time for our current group of hardworking pupils to give an informed handover to their successors. Committee membership will also be refreshed before the summer. These efforts should make for an efficient start to session 15/16.
Pupil Progress Reviews
The summer term pupil reviews took place on Monday 11th May. This was the last such scheduled occasion in the school year and it gave an opportunity for teachers to meet with me to reflect on individual pupil progress and highlight any areas of concern.
Teacher:pupil consultations
These one-to-one consultations took place during week commencing Monday 26th May and they have given class teachers time and opportunity for gathering pupils’ views on their year’s progress as well as their comments for end-of-year reports.
Child Safety Week
Child Safety Week (1 - 7 June 2015) is the Child Accident Prevention Trust’s flagship community education campaign. Through Child Safety Week, they hope to raise awareness of the accidents that seriously injure or kill children and how to prevent them.Their emphasis is on helping families make informed decisions about safety rather than wrapping children up in cotton wool. Each year their campaign encourages thousands of community groups, nurseries, children’s centres and schools to cover events to highlight child safety. They also get practical safety messages out to families through the media. In this way, they reach millions of familiesacross the UK.
You can find out more at
Parent Involvement Survey
As mentioned in a recent email, East Lothian Council have asked that schools contact parents to invite them to take part in this Survey. There is a link attached to this email to allow you to do so. They would like to extend their thanks to the parents who have assisted them in compiling this survey. The link is
The information from this survey will assist East Lothian in the updating of their Parental Involvement Strategy. The deadline for completing the survey is Monday 15th June.
ELC’s changes to school Quality Assurance procedures
Mr Scott, our Quality Improvement Officer (QIO), will not visit us this term to review our progress. He is sampling schools across his two clusters (Musselburgh & North Berwick). Aberlady Primary has not been selected for inclusion in this sample. As part of east Lothian’s new Quality assurance procedures, I have met with Mr Scott and other QIOs on two occasions this session in the company of other head teachers of schools of broadly similar size and pupil catchment. On these occasions we have each given account of our school’s progress and shared best practice.
Within our own setting, all staff have worked on updating the school’s Improvement Plan (which will be presented in close-of-year format to PC members later this month) and we are in the process of reviewing our self-evaluation documentation. The latter is organised under three HMIe questions:
- How well do children learn and achieve?
- How well does the school support children to develop and learn?
- How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
Our responses to these questions will, once again, form the basis of Aberlady Primary’s Standards & Quality Report for 2014/15 – which will be distributed to all members of Parent Forum.
Headlice
We have had a case of headlice reported in school in recent days so would like to remind all parents to check their child’s hair regularly. We have also been advised by one of our parents that, if you ask at your local pharmacy about the Minor Ailments scheme, you will be given an "extremely effective" metal comb & Headrin lotion completely free of charge! This treatment would be well over £10 to buy. It is reportedly easy to use & seems very effective. Hopefully this will be helpful to other families, if not now then at some point in their school life!
Parentzone
The Parentzone Scotland website (developed by Education Scotland) provides ready access to high quality information on education in Scotland. It offers content on learning in Scottish schools, learning at home, additional support needs and how to get more involved in your child’s school. It also gives examples for parents on how they can support their child at home with literacy, numeracy and science, as well as helpful information if they have a child with additional support needs. It also links to other relevant parent information sites.
It can be found at
Forthcoming Events!
In addition to those dates/events already highlighted, you may wish to note that P5/6 & P6/7 will host their Summer term Production entitled “Alice the Musical ” on the evening of Tuesday 23rd Junein Aberlady Community Hall at 6pm. Our Transition morning (when pupils meet their new teacher) and intending P1 parents have a welcome meeting in the School Hall will take place on Thursday 25th June at 9am. Nursery Sports will take place on Wednesday 24th June from 11.00am to 12 noon. Our Primary Sports Day is due to take place in the afternoon of Tuesday 30th June (or Wednesday 1st July, in the event of bad weather) and our P7 Valedictory will take place, weather permitting, outdoors in our school playground on the last day – Friday 3rd July at 11am – attended by the whole school and families of our P7 leavers. Details on all of these will follow soon.
Notes/Adverts from outside Agencies
3 Harbours Arts Festival – Port Seton
Scottish Opera is packing up its theatre on wheels and bringing three pop-up operas out on the road to the 3 Harbours Arts Festival. Performed by a storyteller, singers and instrumentalists, and supported by a set of colourful illustrations, each show gives a fantastic introduction to opera.