St John’s RC Primary School

Newsletter Friday 20th January 2017

Dear Parents and Carers May I extend my very best wishes to you and your families as we begin 2017. Many thanks for all of the cards, gifts and good wishes which the staff and I received at Christmas. We very much appreciated of of your kindness. The term ahead ... Friday 27th January will be the our focus on the Scottish Culture, and a Scottish Assembly, for all pupils. The children can wear something tartan at this assembly. Catholic Education Week runs from 20th -25th February- the theme is “ Developping as a Community of Faith and Learning “ Fair Trade fortnight begins w/b 27th February . More details to follow on all of these events on our website and in our next newsletter.

Dates for your Diaries for Term 2 Fri 20th Jan Pupils Assessment sent home Fri 27th Jan Scottish Assembly Fri 10th Feb February break P7 Class Assembly Mon 20th Feb All return Catholic Education Week W/B 27th Feb- Fairtrade Fortnight Wed 1st Mar Ash Wednesday – venue tbc Frid 3rd Mar World Book Day w/b 6th Mar Financial Ed Week Wed 22nd Mar Parent/Child Consultations 4-7pm

Fri 24th Mar Parent/Child Consultations 1-3pm Fri 31st March Term ends

More details will follow on all of these events.

Pupil Self-Assessment and targets

Pupil Targets for Term 2 will be issued today and should be returned by Friday 27th January . They will be evaluated and issued again prior to the Parent/Child consultations in March.

New Year’s Resolution A gentle reminder that school starts at 8.50am for all pupils and I would be pleased to see every child lining up with their class and entering the school building when the bell rings. Increasingly before the Christmas holiday there was a significant amount of children arriving late for school and missing valuable teaching input. Similarly, at the end of the school day it is important that parents of pupils in P1 and P2 are waiting in the playground on time for a 3pm dismissal. Arrival beyond this time causes distress to the children. The time from 3pm–3.20pm is protected for planning, preparation and marking for infant staff and as you can appreciate when this is taken up with teachers supervising children, this has a knock on effect for every child in the class. Whilst I appreciate that this may happen in an emergency, I would ask parents to contact the school and inform them if you are held up unavoidably.

January Birthdays…. Happy Birthday to all who

celebrate their birthdays in January.

Weather Please ensure that your children come to school with

hats, gloves and scarves and wrapped up warmly. It is also important that pupils wear the appropriate footwear i.e. wellington boots or other non-slip shoes/boots.

Medication Just a reminder that parents

who require their child to have medication in school must complete the appropriate forms which are available from the school. Please ensure that your contact details are up to date.

Head Lice Please continue to check your

child’s hair. If you do discover instances of head lice, please let the school know.

Active Schools A letter has been sent home detailing the Clubs which will be running under the Active Schools banner. Apologies for the glitches with the registration. Hopefully everyone is now able to book on for an activity

Meetings with Senior Management Team Appointments with myself or Mrs Kelly should be made

through the office team. We are always happy to meet and discuss issues with parents but this needs to be done in a planned way, as our diaries are very full. Please be aware it is not possible to meet with

parents/carers immediately. An appointment system will ensure that a meeting or a phone call will be offered to you at a mutually convenient time.

AthleticsNews P3/4AthleticswillrunonThursdaysatLunchtime–aflyerhasbeensenttoparents/carers.Thisisanewcluborganisedby3verykeenparentsandwearehopingthatitwillboostthefitnessofourP3/4pupils . Looking forward to seeing it up andrunningnextweek… Children’s Parliament investigates Bullying Both Nicholas Carr and Rehan Arif ( P 6 pupils ) will represent St John’s producing a film and some short film clips on the project and on the themes of HUMAN DIGNITY -EMPATHY - KINDNESS and TRUST. at Summerhall on Thursday 19th January between 9am-2:30p.m. This will be a brilliant opportunity for the children to be involved in framing their experiences through the medium of film We are looking forward to seeing this showcased very soon. Feast Day Mass

Many thanks to all of the children ifor a wonderful celebration at our Feast Day Mass, on the first Friday back. We were indeed very proud of the respectful manner that the pupils demonstrated. Particular thanks to P5 pupils for leading us in the celebration. Below are listed Masses for the P3 and P4 year groups on Sunday 22nd January

Message from Arlene and the Parish teams

Primary 4 - St John’s 9.30 am ‘Do This In Memory Mass’.

St John’s 9.30 am

Primary 3 – St Mary Magdalene’s -11am ‘Rite of Illumination Mass’ and Children’s Mass.

St Mary Magdalene’s 11.15 am

Many thanks for your continued support and co-operation.

Ms Barbara A Service Head Teacher