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Newsletters |
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Session 2000/2001 |
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April Newsletter |
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Dear Parents Welcome to the (belated) April Newsletter.
Time is at a premium at the moment and this is one of the jobs on the back
burner. But we’re here now, so let’s go !! Story Sacks |
The March Newsletter
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Parents Welcome to latest edition of the newsletter. Last week was a complete disaster as far as we were concerned, but I'm sure the children thought differently. We tried on Friday to have a snow-man competition but the snow was not suitable. All that snow and we couldn't make a decent snow-man...the snow would not stick together !! Only a few items this time but all very important. Ceilidh The PTA Ceilidh will take place on Friday evening in the village hall. Tickets can be obtained from the school. £5 for a family ticket i.e. two adults and as many children as are in your family. ( 2 x adults - £5 Children-free ). Comic Relief As is usual the school will be supporting Red Nose Day. This year it will take the form of Stars in Their Eyes. The children have been informed about the event and we are hoping for a big entry. The show will take place next Friday March 16th. Children will pay £1 to enter or £1 to see the show. Adults can pay £1 to enter ( contact Mrs Lauder for details ) or £1 to see the show. Times to be announced. We hope that there will be the usual tremendous support for this very worthwhile cause. Maths Workshop Mrs Lauder, with input from Mr Lavery, will be running a Maths Workshop on Monday 12th. March from 6-7pm. The focus will be specifically Level B which will be of particular interest to P1-4 parents, but will deal with mathematical processes common to all levels, and will detail how the Maths programme works from P1 through to P7. This is a one off workshop but may be extended if there are issues brought up by parents which would be beneficial to explore. Access & Safety The Community Council, along with Norman Hampshire, the local county councillor, were at the school looking at the issues of access for parents and children, and the safety aspects of the playground ,specifically at the front next to the road. There are various proposals being looked into and as soon as any decisions have been reached I will inform you. Meanwhile, if you have any ideas how to make access to the school easier, especially at pick-up times, please let me know. Auxiliary We are hopeful that we can finally appoint a successor to Mrs Coventry this week and that our support team will be complete again. Robert McDougall Unfortunately I have to inform you that Mr McDougall will be leaving West Barns Primary at the end of March to take up a new post in Pinkie St. Peter's Primary School in Musselburgh. Mr McDougall now lives in Edinburgh and the opportunity to work nearer to home, and the lure of a fresh challenge, have persuaded him that it is time to move on. Naturally we are sad to see him depart, but appreciate his efforts for West Barns in his time here, and wish him all the best in his new appointment. P6/7 We will be appointing a new teacher to the staff for next session, but as it is so late in the year, and to avoid disruption to P6/7, I will be taking the class on a full time basis when Mr McDougall leaves. This will alter the way the school operates a little, and will mean that I am not as available during the day although I'm sure that we will all manage. Any parents wishing to discuss the change are welcome to contact me at anytime. That's it for this month David Wharton Headteacher |
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The January Newsletter |
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Parents Welcome to the first newsletter of the year. The Christmas holidays are just a distant memory as we head towards the second Parental Consultation of the session. There are a few items for you...so off we go. Sick Kids The collection for Sick Kids after the Christmas Assembly raised an astonishing £101.62. We have received a certificate from the hospital which we will display on the notice board. Milk Money The next instalment of £2.10 will be due when we return from the February break...26th. February. Internet Contracts Could you please return the signed contracts to the school as soon as possible. So far only 30 children in the school are eligible to use the internet. Website Our new website is taking shape and our senior and junior pupils are busy working on their personal web pages. We are keen to have local organisations such as the Community Council, Football Club, Gala Committee, etc use space on our site as part of the school's policy of taking an active role in the community. If you are active in such an organisation, or know someone who is, please get in touch with the school to check out the possibilities. Ceilidh The PTA ceilidh will take place in the village hall on March 9th. Keep the evening free. Details will be coming out from the PTA shorly. Football The football team started their league campaign agaist a strong Gullane team. Although we lost, there were youngsters playing and the future looks bright. That's the first game out of the way and we will keep you up to date on their progress. Holidays The pupils start their February break on the 15th. And return to school on 26th. Staff will have an in-service day on the 16th. Parental Consultation The consultations take place on the 12th. and 15th. February. The Monday consultations are in the afternoon, and the Thursday in the evening. If you have not yet returned a form can you do so as quickly as possible. As usual if your time does not suit please feel free to swap with another parent, but please inform the school. Anne Frank As part of their Environmental Studies P5/6/7 visited the Anne Frank exhibition at the City Arts Centre in Ediburgh. The visit was a great success and the children benefited from the visit. Check out the website to see their Anne Frank poster. School Auxiliary It is hoped that we can be back to our full compliment after the February break, and we can have a sttled staff for a while. Orienteering P5/6/7 will be trying out Orienteering on the 27th. February. Bread Mark James was in school making bread with P5/6/7. It was great success ( I had a piece...delicious ! ). If you wish the recipe I'm sure we can provide it for you. If any parents, relatives or friends have a skill that they would like to share with our pupils please get in touch with the school. Computers The school has just taken delivery of two Dell computers which have been donated to the school by Blue Circle. Many thanks to them. The computers will be going into the Nursery where they will be well used. We are waiting for 4 new laptops to be delivered to the school from ELC which will bring our ration of computers to pupils in the Primary to approx 1:6, plus our 26 Alphasmart word processors. That's it for this month David Wharton Headteacher |
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The November Newsletter |
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There has been a lot going on in school recently and we are coming up to a very busy time. There are a few dates for your diary along with other items. Money A small plea from Mrs Salisbury. Could money be sent to school be in an envelope with the child’s name and reason on it, please. It makes it so much easier to keep track of. School Fayre This takes place on Saturday the 9th. December from ten to twelve o’clock. The usual stalls will be there...bottles, home baking, children’s craft, games/books,raffle, face painting, Santa’s Grotto, etc. Dynamic Earth Mrs Lauder’s and Mr Lavery’s classes are visiting Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on the 14th,. December. The visit is linked to Environmental projects on the weather which were done by the two classes. Classroom Assistant Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, Mrs Wnuczek is leaving us at the end of this term. She has been a great asset to in the school in her time with us and she will be greatly missed. We hope to appoint her replacement in the near future. Auxiliary Mrs Diane Stewart has joined the staff as an Auxiliary, and is already proving herself to be a valuable addition to the school personnel. Young Children We have productions coming up ( the Infant Nativity and P6/7 Musical ) as well as the closing assembly. May I ask that very young children are not present at these as they can be very off putting for the children who are performing and can spoil adults enjoyment. They are more than welcome at the dress rehearsals Here is the final week of term programme Monday 18th. P1/2 Nativity Dress Rehearsal at 11.15. P1/2 & P2/3/4 Christmas Party from 1.30 until 3.30 Tuesday 19th. The Nursery are off to see the Happy Gang in the morning. P4/5/6/7 Christmas Party from 1.30 until 3.30. New Community School Cluster Disco for P7 children at Dunbar Grammar. Wednesday 20th. P6/7 Musical Dress Rehearsal 11 o’clock School Christmas Lunch P6/7 Musical doors open 7.15 Wine and nibbles provided by the PTA. Performance at 8 o’clock. Thursday 21st. Infant Nativity at 11.15. P6/7 Musical doors open 7.15 Wine and nibbles provided by the PTA. Performance at 8 o’clock Friday 22nd. Closing Assembly at 11 o’clock. Enrolment It is the time of year when parents of children who will be five years old before 28th. February 2002 should be enrolled in school. If you know someone who meets this criteria and has not yet been up to the school would you please remind them. Please remember that children can be placed on our Nursery waiting list when they are two years old. There is no catchment for Nursery children which makes it very important that children in the catchment of the school are placed on the list as no priority is given. Lunch Money Lunch money should be sent to school on Monday unless there are is a pressing reason. Lunch is banked on a Monday and money coming to school in dribs and drabs can cause some problems. Security You will soon notice that the school is lit up like a Christmas tree. There is video surveillance on the premises and the new lighting will enable this to work at night. That’s all for now. There will be a final newsletter for the year before the Christmas break.
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The December Newsletter |
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Parents This is the last newsletter of the year and we can look forward to the new millennium beginning in January ( not so as you will notice ! ). There are one or two items to finish off the year. Musical Last night was the first performance of
Sleeping Beauty which went extremely well, the children performing their
socks off ! There are special thanks due to Mrs Stewart for the work which
she put in on the costumes which were tremendous. And a big thank you to
the PTA for providing the pre-show refreshments, especially Catherine
Miller who fetched, carried and served. I am happy to tell you that Pamela
Coventry will taking up the post of CA in the new year. Mrs Coventry has
been working in the school for some time and the staff are delighted that
she is taking on this new role. However pleased we are for Mrs Coventry,
we are somewhat sad to lose Nancy Wnuzcek as she has been a valuable
member of staff in her time with us. We wish her well in all she
does. The end of term assembly will begin at 11
am tomorrow. Parents will be able to take their children away at its end.
The bus for transported pupils will be at the school at 12.10 pm approx.
If your child is taxied home could you please inform the school if this
will be required tomorrow. |
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