Newsletter Friday 15th November 2019 @TowerbankPS

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Some fantastic outdoor art created by P6 in the Figgate Park this week. Inspired by Andy Goldsworthy but very much Towerbank originals!

Charlie (P3) raced in the Mini-Mo run on Saturday at Holyrood park in support of Movember, a global organisation looking to change the face of Men’s health. He even wore his rugby boots to avoid slipping in boggy conditions and took 30seconds of his time last year and got a Cracking medal!

Portobello Christmas Fair, which is happening at Bellfield on Sunday 1st December from 10.00am - 2.00pm. There are 36 Stalls & 4 local choirs attending too! This is the link for the event! https://www.facebook.com/events/575534232943396/?ti=icl

Johnny built an amazing lego safe and shared it this week

P6 have been creating worry monsters as part of our home learning. They are designed to help us get rid of our worries. Here are some examples from P6A.

Our Library Book Boat - 'Floaty McBookface' Our lovely library picture book boat was named in a vote last year by the Library focus group. And the favourite name was.....

Thank you to Mrs Brown for helping the library focus group with this, and to talented parent Victoria Johnstone-Cooke for painting a beautiful name plate for the boat. Floaty McBookface was built for Towerbank by Danny and Charlie from Edinburgh Tool Library's 'Tools for Life' Programme. The Tools For Life programme is a Tool Library funded intergenerational mentorship programme. This means that donations to the tool library for memberships, or even for us making things like Floaty McBookFace help contribute to the running of the project. The programme takes an older person, who may be socially isolated, or with a lot of spare time on their hands, and pairs them with a young person who may need a little bit of guidance in their life. The idea is that through woodwork they learn from each other, and both benefit. What results is better connectedness with a community for both mentor and mentee, and an increased confidence in the young person. They are often disconnected from society, either because of disability, the effects of homelessness, long term unemployment, mental ill-health or other life challenges. In the long term, we want to produce people who are closer to their community, and ready for work. Danny and Charlie, who made Floaty McBookFace, have been working together for some time, and we are delighted to see the skills and confidence Danny has developed. So much so, that he has now finished on the programme, and is coming in to the workshop as a maker, producing beautiful oak coffee tables.

Towerbank Parent Group Book donations: We are looking for donations of as-new condition books you no longer read at home for use in our school library. In particular, we are looking for fiction for older children; graphic novels & annuals; non-fiction; dual & home language; and dyslexia friendly books. For a full list of books specifically needed and those the library has plenty of, please see the recent Parentmail. Any books that aren’t suitable for the library will be sold at the school fair or donated locally. Any questions or suggestions for the library, please get in touch at towerbanklibrarygroup@gmail.com Christmas fair & raffle: Towerbank Christmas Fair is taking place on Saturday 7th of December 2- 4pm. However, the fair and raffle can’t be a success without a fabulous team of volunteers. Selling raffle tickets; running a stall; helping on the day; there are lots of roles and many hands make light work. If you think you could help in anyway, no matter how small, please email towerbankchristmasfair@gmail.com Dates for your diary:

• Week beginning Monday 18th November: Book donation week

• Thursday 28th November: TPG meeting in the school, 6.30-8pm. Everyone welcome

• Saturday 7th December: School Christmas fair

• Every Friday: Tidy Fridays in the Library. If you’d like to find out more, drop into the library on Friday morning or email the Library group at towerbanklibrarygroup@gmail.com.

You can keep up to date with all TPG meetings and dates, as well as information about sub-groups, parent-run activities and fundraising by checking out the new TPG website: https://towerbankparentgroup.wordpress.com/. If you need volunteers or have key dates you would like included in the TPG's weekly update, please email Alisonapayne@gmail.com

Primary 6 had a visit to Portobello High School this week to complete their Pizza Challenge. We were given a chance to see some of the school, take part in some challenges from different subjects and make a tasty pizza in FTT. “It was very fun going up to the high school and seeing all the older kids. A lot of things surprised me but overall it was very fun.” – Charlotte “I thought that making the pizza dough was challenging because you had to make sure you had the right amount of ingredients and I thought it was really fun!” – Aaron “It was a really enjoyable experience at the high school and it was really hard not to eat the pizzas on the way back!” – Mairead “Making the pizza was hard because we had to mix it with a knife! When we put it on the silver tray we had to use our palm to spread it out. This was a new experience for me.” – Milly “I really enjoyed it. It was an excellent experience and a great opportunity for cooking.” - Hamish

Ivor at the Beano On Thursday I went to DC Thomson in Dundee, which publishes the Beano. There were lots of booths where people were editing it. I saw the original artwork of this week's The Bash Street Kids which I was reading on the train! Gary, a graphic designer, let me draw Dennis The Menace on his computer! Then I got my drawing printed with The Beano masthead. I also made two speech balloons for a comic being published on the 8th of January 2020. It was so exciting that I can’t stop talking about it!