LPS Newsletter

As we reach the end of a long hard term, we look forward to a well earned rest and time with our friends and family. Pupils have persevered throughout this term to reach their goals in learning both in class, outdoors and at the many after school and lunch clubs run this term. We are proud of all our young Leithers for having a goal and sometimes just having a go. Learning is a life-long process and developing a great ‘can-do’ mindset in primary school can set you up for success throughout life. Go Team Leith!

Sleepy Leithers Count Their Winks

Thank you to those of you who supported your young people with our big Leith Bedtime Tracker project. Lots of you shared with us that you are getting the recommended amount of sleep for your age. Here is a reminder of the durations that are recommended by health professionals for optimal brain development:

Age	Recommended Number of Hours Sleep Needed
0-3 months	14 – 17 hours
4-11 months	12 – 15 hours
1-2 years old	11- 14 hours
3-5 years old	10 – 13 hours
6-13 years old	9 – 11 hours
14 – 17 years old	8 – 10 hours

Pupils shared that when they do not get enough sleep, they feel grumpy, fed up, have more fall outs with friends, do less well in their learning, feel less well, forget more and make fewer good behaviour choices. We also know that it can play a big part in poor school attendance. An ongoing lack of quality sleep means that the brain is unable to retain and organise information, the body cannot repair muscle tissue and the immune system is weakened leading to more chance to catching viruses and getting unwell.

Common reasons for difficulty with getting enough sleep include, sharing a room with a noisy sibling, noisy neighbours and neighbourhood noises, irregular sleep routines, worries about family and friendships, having access to screens in the bedroom or too much light in the room. Some of these factors are out of anyone’s control and it can be really difficult to break poor sleep patterns as a result. Our Family Support Worker, Danni, can support with sign posting parents to agencies who can help with housing matters or concerns at home. Danni is also a trained sleep consultant and can help you with establishing good sleep hygiene at home.

Top Tips for Better Sleep:

Keep to the same bed time each night, even at weekends if possible. Regular sleep and wake up times are much better than some early nights, some later nights and long lie ins. Taking naps for too long can also affect night time sleep.
As much as possible for your family, try to keep bedtimes calm, quiet time. Keep TV and family chatter at softer noise levels to help kids to nod off.
Although popular, watching screens in bed can keep the brain active and make it more difficult to enter deep sleep later on. Reading or being read to, listening to audio books, soft music or brown/green/white noise are much calmer activities for the brain than watching a favourite movie, Youtube or TikTok. Phones, tablets and consoles are best kept out of bedrooms away from midnight temptation and distracting pings as many of us adults know!
Keeping active during the day is a great way to support children’s overall health and wellbeing and promotes the need for rest later on. Staying still for large parts of the day, even if busy mentally, might make for a restless night.
If nighttime bed wetting or very frequent toilet visits is still an issue for your child, try increasing the amount of fluids drunk during the day. This can help the bladder become used to holding on to slightly more fluids overnight without accidents. Our school nurse, Mel Davidson, can help advise on night time enuresis if this is a concern.
Bed time is often when children decide to tell grown ups about all the worries of the day which can then lead to upset and delay to falling asleep. Try to set aside a time slot earlier on for talking about concerns or sharing stories from the day if this often causes issues. Let your child know that this is the time to share their worries when you can spend more time listening and helping.
If you are concerned about any aspect of your child’s sleep such as frequent waking, reluctance to be left alone, unplanned co-sleeping, night terrors or anything else, please get in touch with Danni Taylor at school or go to the Sleep Scotland website for advice and resources.
If you are concerned about other aspects of your child’s learning and development such as difficulties with making progress, friendship issues or reluctance to go to school, consider if a lack of sleep might be the main issue.

P6 Team Takes Part in Euro Quiz

Well done to our group of four P6 pupils who entered into the first round of the Scotland-wide Euro Quiz. The group had to answer lots of tricky questions about things to do with European countries, culture and languages. Whilst they did not reach the final, they represented Leith Primary School very well and we are so proud of their competitive spirit and impressed with their general knowledge.

Eco Group Support Wee Wilding Project in Leith

Our wonderful Eco Team have started working with the Thriving Green Spaces Team to help create re-wild a small part of Leith Links to encourage biodiversity. MSP Lorna Slater came along to promote the project and our Eco Team joined in with tree planting. We look forward to see how this project develops.

Leithers of the Week

Well done to everyone who has worked hard and tried their best over the last two weeks.

Mio	Primary 1a	Mio is always a very kind friend and this week has been making beautiful artwork for other people, just to make them smile! You’re a star, Mio!
Lilly	Primary 1b	Lilly is a very kind and polite member of our class who always takes turns and shares with others. Well done Lilly for trying your best, we think you are a star!
Ariana and Jayden	Primary 2	Ariana and Jayden were showing great teamwork this week. Together they designed and created a house with lots of different resources and then presented this to the class. Great team work Ariana and Jayden!
Lily	Primary 2/3	Lily did an amazing job this week, as our Eco rep. She showed great teamwork whilst planting trees for the school’s re-wilding project then confidently spoke to the class about the work they had done and future work that was planned. Well done Lily!
Rahim	Primary 2/3	Rahim has put a huge effort into his writing activities. He’s beginning to use Non-negotiables more frequently and is writing at a quicker pace and producing more wonderful writing. Well done Rahim, all that hard work is helping you to achieve great results. Keep it up!
Evan	Primary 3	Evan displayed a fantastic growth mindset this week in our numeracy lesson. She worked hard using trial and error to solve a number problem and persevered, even when others in the group had given up. Well done!
Alisa	Primary 3	Alisa is making fantastic progress at Leith Primary. She is participating in class and making new friends. Well done Alisa.
Abed	Primary 4a	Abed has been very respectful in group work and has worked hard to learn new skills.
Erin	Primary 4b	Erin has made a fantastic effort to settle into Leith Primary. He is already making super progress with his reading and writing, keep up the good work Erin!
Polly	Primary 4b	Polly has been working really hard this week. She takes great care with her work and has been thinking about her next steps in writing. She has also made fantastic progress in maths recently. Well done Polly!
Anuj	Primary 5	Anuj has been showing kindness and responsibility supporting his classmates in maths. Well done
Mario	Primary 5	Mario was showing resiliency and perseverance when completing his work this week. He has increased his focus and tried his best at his writing and his maths. Well done Mario
Christopher	Primary 5/6	Christopher has made fantastic progress in literacy and maths this school year. Recently he has picked up lots of new strategies when working with fractions and created a fantastic poster to teach others how to use these.
Jonathan	Primary 5/6	Jonathan has made excellent progress across the curriculum this year. He has particularly improved his writing, his nomination this week is for his fantastic football story
James	Primary 6	For his progress in reading. James has become a much more confident and fluent reader and has enjoyed chairing his group’s literature circle. Well done!
Kayla	Primary 7	Kayla has been writing some very descriptive narrator lines this week for a scene of our Lion King play which we will perform at the end of the year. Well done Kayla!
Ella	Primary 7	Ella confidently sang in front of the class which was wonderful. She has quite a few solos in our P7 performance and she overcame some initial nerves to perform successfully. Well done Ella!

Easter Break

We would like to wish you and your families all a very happy and restful Easter break and Ramadan Mubarak. All pupils and staff return in Monday 17th April at 8.50am. We look forward to welcoming you all back then for a busy summer term.