Author: Ms Craig

In our Friday Assembly, we reviewed the learning we have done in our Building Resilience Unit: Talk Things Over. We know that it is normal for us all to have worries, especially at times like this, and it can help to share them with a trusted adult. This term, all pupils have identified a trusted adult within the school who they know they can talk to if ever they are upset or worried about something. Pupils can also use the Worry Monster or Worry Box in their classroom to let their teacher know that they are feeling worried and would like to talk. A problem shared, is a problem halved.

COVID 19 – Omicron Update

As you will have seen, the First Minister has warned that the new variant of COVID is spreading quickly across Scotland. If anyone in your household tests positive for COVID 19, everyone must self isolate for 10 days, irrespective of vaccine status or negative PCR test. It remains very important for us all to observed FACTS and to ensure pupils do not come to school if they display the common COVID-19 symptoms. Further school-based mitigations may be necessary in the days to come. We will keep you informed as regularly as is necessary. Please make sure we have your most up-to-date contact details.

Well Done to Our Leith Learners!

Vivienne	Primary 1/2	Vivienne always has a positive attitude towards her learning and loves to be challenged! She should be so proud of all that she has achieved since the start of P1. Well done, Vivienne!
Matthew	Primary 1a	Matthew has been trying particularly hard in phonics this week and has made excellent progress. Well done Matthew!
Momen	Primary 1b	Momen has been a super kind member of our class this week. He always looks out for others and makes sure no one is left out when playing. We are so lucky to have you, Momen!
Blake	Primary 2	Blake quietly quietly and conscientiously gets on with things, always trying her best, never making a fuss – truly a responsible and independent learner 🙂
Felix	Primary 3a	Felix has a fantastic attitude towards his work. This week he has been working hard on the formal method for addition, he is always ready for a challenge and helps his peers when they need it.
Adela	Primary 3b	Adela has shown a lot of kindness to others in the class this week and is a lovely classmate to have.
Jakub	Primary 4a	Jakub has been working really hard in class. He is trying his best in all tasks and has both written some excellent stories and challenged himself in maths. keep up the great work Jakub 🙂
Patryk	Primary 4b	Patryk has created some amazing homework this term!  He put a massive effort into the research and presentation of many of his activities and was very proud of his work.  This is a fantastic achievement Patryk, well done!!
Isla	Primary 5a	Isla has demonstrated responsibility in group this work this week and has persevered with her independent tasks making great progress with her numeracy. Well done Isla!
Nathan	Primary 7b	Nathan is in the Recognition Book for his perseverance in maths. He had some difficult problem solving questions to solve. He worked hard and kept going.  I was very impressed with his resilience. Well done Nathan!

Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre Offer

Well done to all this week’s hard working Leith Primary pupils

Holly	Primary 1/2	Holly loves exploring writing through her play and has produced some fantastic pieces of independent writing this week.  You are star, Holly!
Napiu	Primary 1a	Napiu has been working especially hard this week to share his thoughts and ideas with the group during play and also during carpet sessions. We are so proud of you, Napiu! Well done.
Dorcas	Primary 1b	Dorcas has been trying her best during literacy and maths this week. She brings a lot of enthusiasm, especially when singing, and always shows she is ready to learn. Great work Dorcas, keep it up!
Keira	Primary 2	Keira is a responsible person who consistently makes positive choices and challenges herself in her learning.
Annabelle	Primary 3b	Annabelle has made some really great contributions to our work on climate change this week.  Well done!
Kieran	Primary 4a	Kieran has been experimenting with logging on and using word in ICT. He wrote an excellent story with lots of detail and description. He also edited it using spell checker. Great work Kieran!
Taya	Primary 4b	For the care and effort she puts into the presentation and content of all her pieces of work.  Well done Taya, you’re an inspiration to your classmates!
Joseph	Primary 5a	Joseph successfully created a table top Advent wreath applying problem solving skills. He has also persevered with his numeracy and literacy tasks. Great work Joseph!
Rory	Primary 5b	For perseverance!  He worked hard to ensure he had corrected all of his work in maths.
Niko	Primary 6	Niko has engaged really well with maths problems involving fractions. He has also made inciteful contributions to our class discussions on our class novel ‘Holes’.
David	Primary 7a	David has been doing a great job in maths multiplying decimals.  He is challenging himself and supporting other pupils in their learning.  Well done David!
Joe	Primary 7b	Joe is in the Recognition Book for his excellent spooky story. He created suspense and used detailed description all the way through to keep the reader’s interest. He used onomatopoeia effectively and had a fantastic unforeseen ending. Well done Joe!

Enormous congratulations to our wonderful new Pupil Council. These pupils from P4-P7 were successfully voted in by their classmates after presenting reasons why they would be the right people to represent the views of the class at council meetings. The new Pupil Councillors will be involved in the School Development Process, evaluating the things that are going well in school and helping to identify what can be done better. We are all very excited to work with them.

Vaccination Information

Larger venue

Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Vaccination Centre, Ingliston. Everyone over 12 can attend this drop-in clinic as well as utilising booked appointments.

Smaller local clinics 

Leith: Ocean Terminal, 74 Ocean Dr, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6JJ. Mon-Sun, 11am-7pm, Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca all available. This clinic is also open for 12-15 year olds. You can get your first dose or your second, as long as it’s been more than eight weeks since your first.

Leith: Leith Community Treatment Centre, Junction Place, Edinburgh, EH6 5JQ. Mon-Fri, 8:30am-12pm / 1pm-6pm. Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca all available. This clinic is also open for 12-15 year olds. You can get your first dose or your second, as long as it’s been more than eight weeks since your first.

Christmas Dates

How can it be that time already? Our Christmas activities will be low key again this year due to ongoing COVID restrictions. The focus will be on giving and doing good rather than getting and wanting. Classes will have a Random Acts of Kindness Advent Calendars and we will be recognising all types of Kindness and Responsibility each week at our assemblies. In this spirit, we would like to request that if children or parents were thinking of giving a small gift to a member of staff, they choose instead to donate to the collection we will be doing for a local charity (details tbc).

Thu 9^th December – Christmas Lunch

Fri 10^th December – Christmas Jumper Day (if you have one, wear one – donations welcomed for local charity but not necessary)

Tue 14^th December – Afternoon Christmas Online Show (with snacks kindly provided by LPPC)

Wed 15^th December – Christmas parties in classrooms (PM)(classes to be texted)

Thu 16^th December – Christmas parties in classrooms (PM) (classes to be texted)

Fri 17^th December – Pupils’ Christmas Variety Show Reel. End of Term

Equity

Some of you may have seen the news report this week featuring some of our pupils at the Citadel Youth Centre with Cabinet Secretary for Education, Shirley-Anne Somerville. Ms Somerville announced that the Pupil Equity Fund for schools will continue in Scotland for another four years. This means that we can continue with the great support we receive from people like Liz and Danni, our Family Support Workers from the Citadel, maths support from Mrs Clarkson, support with play-based learning from Ms Weir and Ms De La Cruz and from January, nurture-based mental health support for pupils from Elspeth Richards.

In today’s assembly, we discussed the difference between equality and equity. Many of are used to hearing the phrase, “it’s not fair”. Equality is when we make sure that everyone is treated equally but being treated equally sometimes does not make things fair for everyone. Equity takes into account people’s needs and circumstances so that they can be treated fairly. Leith Primary continues to work towards both excellence and equity for all pupils.

In This Week’s Recognition Book

Ivy	Primary 1/2	Ivy has a wonderful attitude towards her learning and has enjoyed challenging herself this week! Ivy is kind and respectful to everyone and we are so grateful to have you in our class.
Zerin	Primary 1a	Zerin has shown fantastic perseverance this week as she became more confident speaking in front of the class. We are so proud of you, Zerin!
Ediz	Primary 1b	Ediz is an extremely helpful member of our class and always tidies up after himself and others. He shows respect by listening and sitting beautifully on the carpet. Keep up the good work, Ediz!
Tania	Primary 2	Tania brings so much enthusiasm and creativity to everything that she does, independently taking responsibility for her own learning, that is really inspiring.
Aleksander	Primary 3a	For working hard on his targets this week and for some super progress in his reading and number work. Well done Aleksander!
Seren	Primary 4a	Seren has been working hard and making good progress with using formal method to both add and subtract. She also focused on her layout and it made a big difference. Great work Seren, keep it up 🙂
Nico	Primary 4b	Nico for his excellent focusing and fine motor skills, during the ‘speedy paperclip join’ challenge.  Well done Nico!!
Zarko	Primary 5a	Zarko has made a real effort to be Ready, Respectful and Safe. He is also working hard on his literacy and numeracy. Well done Zarko!
Arthur	Primary 5b	Well done Arthur for working really hard in maths this week. Great job!
Mya	Primary 6	Mya has challenged herself both in Drama and in Maths over the last few weeks. Well done for pushing yourself and trying new things!
Harleigh	Primary 7a	Harleigh has been working hard in Maths this week converting decimals into fractions and adding and subtracting decimals. Well done Harleigh, keep up the good work.
Edgar	Primary 7b	For his great biography of Barack Obama. He made use he met all the steps to success and is developing a great style of writing. Well done Edgar!

This week we have being sharing One Kind Word with each other, the theme of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week. Kindness is such an important value to us at Leith. It has been lovely to hear how our pupils have shown kindness towards each other. Some of them have even made it to today’s Recognition Book.

New Staff

At this week’s LPPC meeting, we were delighted to announce the long list of new staff who have been recently appointed at interview.

Six new Pupil Support Assistants have been appointed: 

• Ms Sara Gatton* 
• Ms Sabia Begum*
• Ms Julia Gavilan
• Ms Yvonne Thomas
• Mr Stuart Paul
• Ms Sara Shafiq 
• Mr Kevin Matthews* (until Christmas)

Additional CEC funding for support with play-based pedagogy in schools means that Mrs Stewart from nursery will support Primary 1 with learning through play and Ms Clodagh Weir will begin supporting Primary 3 with learning and development from Monday in addition to the PSAs currently in those classes.

Plans for additional support groups targeting numeracy, literacy, social, emotional and communication skills across all year groups have been made to start as soon as new staff are in post.

Elspeth Edwards has been successfully appointed as our new PEF funded Pupil Support Officer with a remit of supporting targeted nurture and positive mental health interventions for pupils and linked support for parents.

An additional PEF funded class teacher will soon be appointed to enable class release for teachers to lead on a range of school improvements including: 

• Embedding the Leith Primary School Learning and Teaching Toolkit 
• Development of pupils’ numeracy skills in P4 and P5
• Developing Outdoor Learning opportunities for pupils
• Driving forward digital learning across the school and nursery
• Targeted support for Primary 5 with social & emotional skills and writing 
• Further targeted support for Care Experienced pupils and Young Carers
• Raising pupils’ aspirations for lifelong learning and the world of work

Congratulations to Mrs Kean who has been successfully promoted as the new Business Manager at Lorne Primary. Ms Cathrine Rose will join us as the new Office Administrator on Mrs Kean’s departure. Congratulations also to Mrs Kelly, one of our longest serving PSAs, who has also been successful in being promoted to part-time Office Administrator at Stanwell Nursery. We wish both very well in their new promoted posts.

*already started in post

External Supports and Parenting Programmes

The Parent and Carer Support Team have transferred valuable information on free or low cost programmes, activities and groups available for families which were previously listed in their booklets and leaflets to this online version. They hope this will make it much easier for parents and professionals to find support when it is needed. 

Find up to date information on the support and activities available for families across Edinburgh at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/supportforfamilies

If you need help finding support for you or your child, email supportingparentsandcarers@edinburgh.gov.uk

#EdinSupportingFamilies

Parent-Teacher Consultations

Many thanks again to parents and carers for attending the first parent-teacher consultation this month. We would appreciate if you could take a few minutes to give us your feedback so we can take your views onboard when planning for the future. Please click HERE.

Well Done to Everyone in Today’s Recognition Book

Martha	Primary 1/2	Martha is always kind and respectful to her classmates and goes out of her way to make others feel included. Thanks for bringing a little bit of sunshine to our class every day!
Libby	Primary 1a	Libby has been trying particularly hard this week to be a kind friend, using kind words and actions. Well done Libby!
Freya	Primary 1b	Freya has been extremely kind this week, making sure she holds doors for her classmates and remembering to thank those who hold the door for her. She also showed kindness to a new member of our class by offering to play with her. Well done, Freya!
Aaron	Primary 2	Aaron applied his learning from our reading sessions to improve his writing, taking responsibility for himself – well done!
Sunny	Primary 3a	This week when we were sharing kind words about each other so many people mentioned Sunny as someone who is kind, caring and thoughtful. What a great friend you are Sunny!
Shaniah	Primary 3b	Shaniah always tries her hardest to be kind to everyone in the school. She is helpful and friendly and always cheers others up.
Alexa	Primary 4a	Alexa is always willing to help. She is kind to everyone an very caring. She noticed what might need to be done and always offers to do it. Well done Alexa 🙂
Hadley	Primary 4b	Hadley has recently made fantastic progress with his reading.  Great job Hadley, well done!
Arthur	Primary 5a	Arthur for his kindness in supporting others to learn new skill in our PE this week.
Amna	Primary 5b	For always being a kind and considerate member of p5b
Steven	Primary 6	Steven showed kindness and consideration towards his classmates when he came up with an idea to share his group reward with other pupils if they had not had a chance to have this reward yet! This was a very kind and generous thought, which others have also said they will take up.
Murray	Primary 7a	Murray is always willing to help to undertake any jobs that need doing in the classroom and around the school.  He often supports with handing out lunches and does this responsibly.  Well done Murray!
Autumn	Primary 7b	For always treating people with kindness and a caring attitude and for demonstrating respect and responsibility in her perfecting role.

Tomorrow marks World Kindness Day and I have been delighted to see so many acts of kindness amongst our pupils this week, especially as it is one of our important school values. Kindness comes in many guises, whether it is holding the door for each other, showing consideration for a classmate in need or helping a friend with a problem in the playground, our pupils have demonstrated this value in spades this week.

Anti-Bullying Week

Next week, is Anti-Bullying Week. Our Rights Respecting School reps met with Miss Wilson this week to talk about how the school will highlight this important matter which they have linked to Article 19 of the UNCRC – the right to be protected from violence, abuse and neglect. This year the theme is One Kind Word, demonstrating that what we say to someone can make all the difference and lead to the spread of more kind words.

Remembrance Day

As always, pupils were encouraged to observe a one minute silence on Thursday at 11am. Many classes engaged in learning about the two World Wars and the significance of the poppy. A poppy wreath was laid on our school War Memorial to mark the falling of ex-Leith Academy pupils.

Lost Property

As we move into the colder months, it is very important that all pupils come to school wearing a warm waterproof jacket with a hood. Please remember to mark all items of clothing, including jackets, with your child’s name. We continue to collect large numbers of un-named school sweatshirts and jackets after lunchtimes. Our Lost Property rail is now located at the main entrance. Please feel free to collect your child’s missing items from this area, observing physical distancing and mask wearing at all times.

Pre-loved sweatshirts are free-to-take and are stored in boxes labelled by age on the large windowsill in the main entrance. All pupils should continue to wear school colours every day and not ‘weekend’ clothes. Our thanks for supporting the school with this.

Achievements

Today in assembly, we spoke about what is involved in achieving something. All the pupils in today’s Recognition Book have demonstrated a Growth Mindset, which is a vital part of being a successful learner. Well done to them all!

Alex	Primary 1/2	Alex enjoys learning every day and perseveres when faced with new challenges. We love having Alex as our classmate in P1/2 and we are so proud of him!
Alyn	Primary 1a	Alyn has been working really hard to make excellent choices and be a very helpful member of the class this week. Well done Alyn!
Skand	Primary 1b	Skand always shows he is ready to learn by sitting beautifully on the carpet and making sure he is listening. He worked really hard this week during our phonics time and even managed to write the word “box” all by himself as he played. Go, Skand!
Jakub	Primary 2	Jakub has made an excellent return to class after being off, taking responsibility for his own learning and treating all of his classmates with kindness.
Jamie	Primary 3a	For working hard on his money tasks this week and for showing some strong leadership skills whilst organising class games and challenges!
Jack	Primary 3b	Jack tries his best at all tasks and always wants to challenge himself further.  Well done!
Sofia	Primary 4a	Sofia has worked very hard in literacy this week. She wrote a lovely poem about her favourite type of weather and experimented with using technology to support her writing.
Fraser	Primary 4b	Fraser has shown great organisational skills and has done a great job being our RRS Rep!  Well done Fraser!
Dina	Primary 5a	Dina has persevered with subtraction strategies and has become more confident when applying and explaining them.
Jack	Primary 5b	For spelling, he practised double the amount of words he was set
Ashaz	Primary 6	Ashaz has had a great first week in Primary 6. He has persevered with new tasks, begun make friends and worked very hard. well done Ashaz1
Blake	Primary 7a	Blake has been working well with his prefect class this year and taking the responsibility seriously.  He has also been working hard in Maths and has grasped converting fractions into decimals well.  Great work Blake!
Isla	Primary 7b	For being unrelentingly cheerful, helpful and kind

It has been a really positive week of learning in school. Classes continue to make the most of the outdoor space on our doorstep and children have enjoyed playing with the Autumn leaves.

Parent-Teacher Meetings

Thank you to all of you who attended your child’s virtual Parent-Teacher consultation appointment this week. It was great to see a very good level of attendance online. We continue to look forward to the time when we can welcome parents back in to school.

Seesaw

We shared with you a few weeks ago that we were looking into a system that was a better fit for pupils sharing their home learning and for parents communicating with teachers. Seesaw is a system that many schools use successfully to do these tasks. We continue to develop our ambition to train all pupils in P3-P7 to use Microsoft Teams however these accounts are for the exclusive use of the pupils. With Seesaw, parents can communicate with their child’s class teacher in the same way that they have done using OLJ. The system represents much better value for the school meaning that we can direct the money saved to purchasing new learning resources for pupils. More information on Seesaw will be sent to you in the next few weeks. Until then, please use the email address your child’s class teacher has provided you in the most recent class newsletter or the school admin email address.

Calling Any Experienced Football Coaches!

Are you an experienced football coach who would be willing to start a school football team? Our older children would love to be part of a competing school football team but do not yet have a coach. If this is something you have experience of running or you know someone who does, please let us know.

School Houses – Parent Vote

Parents and carers, please give us your views on whether we should reintroduce our school house teams again. To vote, please click here.

Well Done to All These Hardworking Leithers This Week!

Farewell to Robert!

Primary 4 pupils said farewell to Robert Stewart, our long-serving Crossing Patrol Guide last Friday. The school Parent Council gave Robert a trophy for all his hard work over the years and the girls presented Robert with a card signed by all the children at Leith Primary. We all wish Robert a very long and restful retirement and thank him for his cheerful service.

Welcome back to our Autumn Term! I hope everyone had a restful October week and remembered to put their clocks back on Sunday morning.

As the weather gets colder, I would ask that all pupils are sent to school in a warm, waterproof jacket or coat and suitable footwear. If anyone would like support with purchasing these items please speak to Danni or Liz, our Family Support Workers who will be very pleased to help.

COVID mitigations remain the same in school and we have been advised that parents should only be in the school building by prior arrangement. We kindly request that parents try to remain out of the school playground at drop off and pick up times and that nursery parents use the black gate

Teachers are looking forward to meeting with parents and carers virtually again on Thursday and Friday this week. If you have not yet booked your slot with your child’s class teacher, please do so on https://parents-booking.co.uk/leithprimary

P1 Registration for August 2022

If your child’s date of birth is between 1 March 2017 and 28 February 2018, 

they are due to start Primary 1 in August 2022.

Please register them online between 1^st to 19^th November 2021

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/p1registration

Adult Education resuming a limited face to face programme – with a few courses 

Courses available are:  

Activity	LVL	Start date	Day	Time
Art(PR): Drawing & Painting – All – (8/11) – LCC12311N	ALL	08/11/2021	Monday	10:00 – 12:00
Yoga: Gentle – All – (9/11) – LCC65852N	ALL	09/11/2021	Tuesday	17:30 – 19:00
Russian – Beginner – (9/11) – LCC55512N	BEG	09/11/2021	Tuesday	15:00 – 17:00
Russian – Post Beginner – (9/11) – LCC55752N	PBG	09/11/2021	Tuesday	18:00 – 20:00
Writing Creative: Life Writing – All – (9/11) – LCC64652N	ALL	09/11/2021	Tuesday	18:30 – 20:30
Art(PR): Drawing & Painting – All – (10/11) – LCC12313N	ALL	10/11/2021	Wednesday	10:00 – 12:00
Yoga – All – (10/11) – LCC65753N	ALL	10/11/2021	Wednesday	17:30 – 19:00
Art(PR): Drawing & Painting – All – (10/11) – LCC12353N	ALL	10/11/2021	Wednesday	18:00 – 20:00
Discover: Archaeology Today – All – (11/11) – LCC32614N	ALL	11/11/2021	Thursday	15:00 – 17:00
Art(PR): Drawing & Painting – All – (12/11) – LCC12315N	ALL	12/11/2021	Friday	10:00 – 12:00
Dressmaking – Beginner – (12/11) – LCC33515N	BEG	12/11/2021	Friday	14:00 – 16:00

You can book on our website: www.joininedinburgh.org

Great Job Done By All These Fabulous Learners Last Week!

Ada	Primary 1/2	Ada is a very kind and caring member of our class who enjoys playing and learning with all her classmates. This week, she made a big birthday card for a friend in the class and managed to write it all by herself. You are a star Ada!
Ayda	Primary 1a	We have been working on using good manners this week and Ayda has been working especially hard on remembering these when lining up and going to the lunch hall. Well done Ayda!
Aaron	Primary 2	Aaron persevered when face with a difficult challenge and realised that with a little help from his friends and a lot of encouragement he can achieve more than he imagined possible.
Samira	Primary 1b	Samira always shows kindness to her classmates and loves to help other people. She worked really hard during our Autumn hunt and even offered to help take pictures of everyone working really hard. We are lucky to have you, Samira!
Billi-Louise	Primary 3a	Billi-Louise has worked really hard on her targets this week and is making super progress. She has also been very helpful completing lots of class jobs. Keep up the good work Billi!
Tempy	Primary 3b	Tempy has shown real perseverance this week in her work. She kept going during PE even when she was finding it tricky and didn’t give up. Well done Tempy!
Zaynb	Primary 4a	Zaynb has worked really hard in Literacy this week. In particular she wrote a great poem using repetition and thinking carefully about the structure of it. I’m looking forward to reading your next poem 🙂
Adrita	Primary 4b	Adrita for her excellent work on her Autumn Poem.  She checked and amended this independently and the presentation of her work was fantastic.  Well done Adrita!
Oran	Primary 5a	Oran as made excellent observations and valuable contributions to our class discussions this week. Thank you Oran!
Titan	Primary 5b	‘For working independently and producing great work in our space uplevelling writing challenge.
Alex	Primary 6	Alex has achieved great things in maths this week, persevering with challenges in fractions of amounts and when comparing fractions. Well done Alex! Good work!
Melody	Primary 7a	Melody has created an amazing portrait of Rosa Parks using so many different shades of colours which makes her picture incredibly detailed.  Well done Melody!  Keep developing this talent of yours.
Rahul	Primary 7b	For always setting a good example to others. For always giving 100% effort into each piece of work and for always focusing on the task at hand. Well done.
Daisy B	Primary 7b	For being an enthusiastic and kind member of the class. Daisy is always keen to help and shows kindness and respect when working with others. A great example! Well done!
Ruby	Primary 7b	For being a fantastic class member of P7B.  Ruby is always kind and considerate of others, gives her best effort in everything she does and sets a fantastic example for younger pupils. Well done!

Benji	Primary 1/2	Benji has been working so hard in phonics this week and is always excited to learn new tricky words! Benji tries his very best everyday and is a wonderful role model in our class. We are so proud of you Benji!
Jess	Primary 1a	Jess has been working really hard in number this week and always tries her best to be a kind friend. Well done Jess!
Finlay	Primary 1b	Finlay has been very creative this week! He reused different shapes of cardboard to make a little person and could even tell me the names of some of the 3D shapes he used. Although his “eye” fell off a few times, Finlay persevered and managed to fix him again. Keep it up, Finlay!
Layla	Primary 2	Layla has been showing kindness and responsibility, tidying up and getting our classroom ready sensibly and independently without needing to be reminded. Well done Layla!
Fatima	Primary 3a	Fatima worked hard this week on her writing based on our class story. She used punctuation and connectives, well done Fatima!
Kamil	Primary 3b	Kamil has been working hard all week to make sure his work is beautifully presented. Well done!
Keira	Primary 4a	Keira always set a good example of a Leith Pupil. This week she wrote an report this week about what is needed to stay safe and be prepared in any type of weather. She used subtitles and facts to structure her work. Well done Keira 🙂
Isabelle	Primary 4b	Isabelle has done a fantastic job being our class Eco Rep.  She took notes at the meeting and confidently fed back information to the class.  Well done Isabelle!
Amber	Primary 5a	Another fantastic member of P5a! This week Amber demonstrated skills in creating a papier mache planet and developed her ideas in her creative writing about a space landing.
Jude, Jack, Mia and Maddison	Primary 5b	For being the FIRST people to volunteer to help with cleaning the art room.  Thanks for doing a great job!  Also thanks to all of the other people who helped, you were brilliant!
Andrew	Primary 6	Andrew wrote a beautiful poem for his green pencil award entry. He always gives his full attention, is happy to try new skills and approaches each task with creativity and enthusiasm. Well done Andrew!
Zak	Primary 7a	Zak tries hard in all lessons.  He supports his classmates well and works well in a team!  Well done Zak.
Louisa	P7b	Louisa has demonstrated responsibility by her willingness to support others and the school with her problem solving attitude and good ideas. Well done Louisa!

Dear Parent/Carer

As we approach the end of this first term, I would like to remind you that we break for the October week on Friday 15th at the usual time and will resume again on Tuesday 26th October.

Parent-Teacher Consultations will again be held virtually via Parents-Booking.co.uk on Thursday 4th November from 4pm and Friday 5th November from 1pm. Details of how to book your appointment will be sent out separately. 

Once again we thank you for your continued patience and understanding this term. Like many other schools and businesses, we have had numerous unavoidable absences across our staff team. We appreciate the impact and frustration disruptions like this can bring and want you to know that we will continue to do our very best for our pupils and their families during this time. Please bear with us if some tasks take a little longer!

You will appreciate that our wonderful parent council are unable to run the Halloween Disco again this year due to ongoing restrictions. We know how much some children enjoy dressing up so are happy if they choose to wear something Halloween themed on Friday 29th October. I would ask that parents use their judgment about what pupils bring to school and request that no overly gory or frightening masks or props are brought in. 

Thank you to everyone who responded to our text alerts about the Foodbank and about the P5-P7 ski trip. We will be in touch after the October break with further information about both.

On Friday, we will release the first edition of the pupil-led School Newsletter on Sway. Each edition will be sent out at the end of each term and will focus on two of the Wellbeing Indicators [Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, Included]. The first edition will focus on the themes of Health and Safety.

From next term, there will be a weekly Head Teacher update on the school website to keep parents and carers more regularly informed about events in school.

I would like to wish you all a restful October week next week and look forward to welcoming our young people back on Tuesday 26th October.

Best wishes

Fiona Craig
Head Teacher