St Mary’s RC Primary School
A school where everyone matters
February 2016 Newsletter
Dear Parents, Carers and Friends,
DIARY DATES
FEBRUARYTues 9 Parent Council meeting 7pm
Wed 10 Mass at St Mary’s RC Church at 10am
PTA Valentine Discos (new date)
Fri 12 All break for holiday
Mon 22 Staff in-service day – pupil holiday
Tue 23 Pupils return
MARCH
Tues 1 P1 & P7 Group photos
Thur 3 World Book Day / Sat 12 PTA Jumble Sale 1 – 3pm
Wed 16 SSPCA Workshops
Thur 24 All break for holiday
APRIL
Mon 11 All return
MAY
Mon 2 May Day Holiday
Mon 23 Staff in service Day – pupil holiday
Tues 24 Pupils return
WELCOME
Welcome back everyone. Christmas seems a long time ago now!
ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to Massimo in P3. Massimo and his parents have been invited to the Children’s University Graduation Ceremony at Queen Margaret University to celebrate his achievements whilst taking part in the Children’s University.
Well done to Scarlett P6 who has received her Stagecoach Bronze Medal for a 3 year uninterrupted attendance at Stagecoach Theatre Arts School.
Remember, if your child has achieved something outside school do let us know so we can celebrate with them
WORLD BOOK DAY
World Book Day takes place on Thursday 3 March. The children can come to school dressed as a character from a book which
they must bring with them and we would like the children to be able to talk a little about their book. Please ensure their name is on the book.
We suggest that the children come in their costumes but have their uniform with them to change into so outfits don’t get spoiled when they are outside playing.
Please don’t feel that you have to go and buy something as the homemade costumes are much more fun and you can keep it very simple. However if you don’t have time there is no need to worry.
SCOTTISH WEEK 25 – 29 JANUARY
Our Scottish Week celebrations were enjoyed by all. Children and staff joined together on Thursday to enjoy a Burns Assembly with singing and poetry from the children followed by our Burns Supper in the afternoon. The whole school Ceilidh took place on Friday 5 February and great fun was had by all!
CHRISTMAS 2015
Thank you to everyone who supported all our Christmas events.
Our SCIAF ‘Real Gifts’ appeal raised £85 which will provide families in some of poorest regions of the world with chickens and goats
to enable them to not only feed themselves with fresh eggs and milk but will give them an income to provide money for other essentials such as school books/pencils and medicine. Thank you.
Both performances of our Christmas Concert were very well supported by family and friends. We hope you enjoyed the show! Our Christmas Fair was also well supported and thank you to the parents who donated cakes, biscuits and crafts to sell. Your support helped to raise over £1200 for school funds.
The East Lothian Women’s Aid has asked the school to pass on their thanks to everyone who gave Christmas gifts for the local children for their generous support once again. Thank you everyone!
PTA
The PTA would like to thank everyone for their very generous donations towards the Christmas Hampers and the East Lothian Foodbank. The school raffled the hampers at the Christmas concerts and raised £542 towards school funds.
The East Lothian Foodbank was delighted to receive the donations from St Mary’s. The volunteers were keen to tell us about their work and about how the foodbank provides three days’ supply of emergency food for local people in crisis situations. You can find out more at http://eastlothian.foodbank.og.uk
Finally a BIG THANK YOU to the staff and pupils for all their hard work in making all our Christmas events a big success.
PTA VALENTINE DISCO
The Valentine Discos will be held on Wednesday 10 February (new date) in the Movement & Dance Studio. Entry £1.
P1-3 6.30 – 7.30 pm
P4-7 7.40 – 8.40 pm
JUMBLE SALE
The PTA will be holding their annual jumble sale on Saturday 12th March. This is our biggest fund raiser of the year and its success depends on donations and volunteers on the day. Please put the date in your diary. We ask for donations of jumble, tombola prizes and home baking and also for volunteers to help set up at the Corn Exchange on Friday 11th March from 4-9pm and on the Saturday from 9:30am onwards. The jumble sale is from 1-3pm and we will need helpers to man stalls and help clear up. In previous years your generosity has helped make our jumble sale a great success and raise a lot of money for our school. Your help again this year would be much appreciated. No amount of help is too little.
O’DUO PERFORMANCE
The P6/7 class recently had the opportunity to take part in an exciting drumming/percussion project called ‘Crash, Bang, Wallop, with the world class musicians O’Duo. The pupils worked with O’Duo over two workshops in school and then joined them for a performance involving pupils from five other primary schools at the Brunton Theatre.
The project was a great success and the pupils taking part gained from the experience.
We would like to thank Creative Scotland and the Youth Music Initiative for organising this project and the pupils and parents who attended. Our pupils excelled at the evening performance both in participation and in behaviour!
LUNCH MONEY
Can parents please ensure that their child has the correct lunch money for school each day, currently £1.90 for P4-7. In the event that a child does not have any/enough money a note will be sent home. Please may we ask that outstanding money is paid promptly to the school office. Unpaid lunch money is deducted from the school budget on a monthly basis and as you will appreciate this can impact on the school’s ability to provide resources. Please help to avoid this situation by ensuring prompt payment. Thank you.
SICKNESS BUGS
The Norovirus is particularly prevalant at this time of year.
This virus is easily transmitted and symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, high temperature, headache and aching limbs. Good hygiene is important in helping to prevent the spread of the virus. This includes thorough handwashing and the need for those who are affected to remain away from school for 48 hours after symptoms have stopped.
If you need any further information please look at the following link:
www.nhsinform.co.uk/norovirus
Or call the NHS inform helpline free on 0800 22 44 88.
HEAD LICE
Head lice are not the result of dirty hair or poor hygiene and they can’t be prevented but regular checking ensures early detection and treatment if necessary. We are not allowed to put out class alerts but can remind everyone to check. If we all check we can reduce outbreaks!
· The best detection method is wet combing.
· Parents and carers should aim to check their children’s hair once a week during hair washing.
· You need your usual shampoo, ordinary conditioner and a louse detection comb.
· Remember that you are looking for living, moving head lice – the only evidence that your child has a head lice infection.
· The comb must be fine enough and robust enough to catch the lice.
· Your pharmacist will be able to recommend a suitable one.
· There is more detailed information on this NHS site.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Head-lice/Pages/Introduction.aspx
E-MAIL COMMUNICATION
If you wish to receive newsletters, flyers and other appropriate information via e-mail please complete the slip below and return to school. If you have already given us your e-mail address please ensure it is uptodate and use the form for any changes.
CAR PARKING
Can we please remind parents and carers that during school hours the car park is for staff use only, with access for disabled children and adults, emergency vehicles and deliveries. This area is used by pedestrians walking to and from school and inconsiderate driving and parking is putting pedestrians, including pupils at the school, at risk. Please do not park, drop off or pick up children in the area of the car park. Thank you
SCHOOL SESSION DATES
The school session dates for 2016-17 and 2017-18 can be accessed on the School website, the East Lothian Council website or you can request a copy from the school office.
http://www.edubuzz.org/st-marys/
www.eastlothian.gov.uk
Claire V Graham
Head Teacher