Febru

ary 20

18

Queensferry Crossing We were fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the Transport Scotland Building in South Queensferry

to hear all about the New Queensferry Crossing. Our bus driver was kind enough to drive over the new

bridge and back which gave us a bird’s eye view of the other two bridges. When we arrived we were

shown into the viewing room which was amazing. Elaine Barrie, an engineer, was our host for the day and

made our experience most interesting. The children took part in workshops where they designed their own

bridges, learning techniques to ensure the towers they built were as tall and as strong as possible. As well

as learning lots about the new bridge, Elaine was able to give us information about the Forth Road Bridge

and the Forth Rail Bridge. The children were given the chance to dress up in the PPE (Personal Protection

Equipment), which employees use when working on the bridge, they then had to

complete a worksheet specifying why each piece of safety equipment was important

and what it was used for. It goes without saying that everyone had a great time.

Blackness Primary School www.blacknessprimaryschool@falkirk.gov.uk tel: 01506 834239

Head Teacher Mrs Rosalind Veneroni Depute Head Teacher Mrs Elizabeth McGuire Principal Teacher Miss Smith

Our values Wisdom, Justice, Compassion, Integrity, Respect, Kindness & Commitment.

A great attitude becomes a great day which becomes a great week which be-

comes a great month which becomes a great year which become a great life.

Achievement Assembly At the beginning of February we held an achievement assembly where we recognised the academic

achievements of several children, Adam for talking & listening, Joseph for reading, Felix for measuring,

Moray for improved behaviour and Glen and Cole for their own wise choices. Mrs McGuire invited the

children’s parents in to see them receiving their well deserved certificates.

Winners of the Scottish Poetry Competition

As promised I am pleased to announce the winners of the above competition: Katy, Nina, Blair, Finlay

and Torin. They each received a fabulous Scottish book. The runners up were: Fern, Oliver, Tom, Glen,

Rhuairidh, Sarah, Ella and Felix they all received a mini bottle of Irn-Bru.

Rag Bag Collection

On Monday 12th March our Nathans Waste recycle bin is due to be emptied. I will send out a recy-cle bag for you to fill if you can. Remember this is a good way for us to make money for our school fund, so go on have a good clear out.

Book Illustrator

Far From the Madding Crowd Bookshop arranged a visit from Natasha Rimmington, the illustrator of the book “Max & Zap at the Museum”. She shared all about her work as an illustrator and brought several signed copies of the book with her. Natasha involved the children in a robot challenge just like the characters in the book. The children found this all very interesting and one or two mentioned that they would love to do her job. We still have a few copies of the book in school which we are selling at a reduced price of £5. If you would like to buy one speak to a member of staff.

World Book Day

On Thursday 1st March we will be celebrating “World Book Day”. The children can come to school in their pyjamas and bring their favourite book with them.

Potato Planting

Mrs Fulton and the Eco group will soon be planting in the raised beds. The children are busy prepar-ing the soil for planting seed potatoes and onion sets. Watch this space, we hope to have a good crop later this year.

Reward Trips Once again Mr Booth and Miss Reid chose 9 pupils to have the privilege of going to Mannerstons Café as a reward for working well and behaving at all time in school. Mrs Fulton and Mrs Snedden accompanied the children, they decided to have their ice creams outside as it was a lovely afternoon.

New Playground Equipment

We have bought new play equipment for the playground which will be put out now that the better weather is on it’s way. We will designate different areas in the playground for these activities, having a sand play area, football area with new goals, a drawing area, and traditional games ie. skipping, hoops, small ball games etc.. These activities will be changed as we go through the term giving a va-riety of things to keep the children interested.

We would ask you to reinforce that all the equipment including the sand trays are to be used during break and lunch time only and not before or after school hours.

New Eco Litter Bin

Earlier the month we held an Environmental Project competition to design a cover for a new Eco Lit-ter bin for the playground. Designs were submitted and a winner chosen. This will be a nice surprise when we take delivery of the bin later this month with the winners name and design printed on it.

Paper Bank Notes Information From the 1st March 2018 all paper Scottish £5 and £10 bank notes will be removed from circula-tion. The paper £10 Bank of England note will also be removed from circulation on the same date.

As of the 1st March Falkirk Council will no longer accept paper £5 and £10 notes. If you find you have any of these notes after 28th February you should take them to the bank to exchange for polymer notes.

School Information

The Senior Leadership Team SLT is in the process of meeting with all of our teachers to discuss the attain-ment of our pupils and to ensure all children are achieving their best and that all necessary supports are in place. Our teachers will be working collaboratively and challenging one another through peer to peer discus-sions related to the tracking of pupils in their classes. We track the children's progress to ensure they are making progress within the level they are working towards; Early, First or Second. You will also shortly be sharing your child's learning when they bring home their assessment jotters and work wallets, so ask them what they have been learning in class. Having support from home helps to build children's confidence in their learning and allows parents to share in their child's successes and achievements.

As part of staff personal development and continuing professional learning all our staff take part in a small scale professional enquiry which allows them to study a small area within their day to day work in more detail. This involves making a plan around a question they may have regarding their pupils' learning for example in maths, PE, reading, health. Once they have decided on an area of enquiry they will research what is already known in that area and how this also links to policies (school, local or national) and per-haps source journals or other texts to create a bigger knowledge base. A plan will be created, implemented over a period of weeks and regularly evaluated to assess pupil learning and their own professional learning and the impact in the classroom.

As you are all aware we have our school vision, values and aims that our pupils and staff incorporate into our daily lives at school. . All pupils displaying our values are rewarded with dojo points and house points as well as positive affirmations from their friends and teachers

Remember to look at the school twitter feed and class dojo to see the latest updates from school.

Regional Collaborative - Forth Valley and West Lothian

On 22 January 2018 I represented Bo'ness Cluster Primary Headteachers at the New Regional Improve-ment Collaborative Summit at Alva Academy. Robert Naylor our Head of Service is currently seconded to lead the Forth Valley and West Lothian (FVWL) Regional Collaborative and this conference was the first time representatives from across the four Local Authorities of Clacks, Stirling, Falkirk and West Lothian gathered to hear speakers Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Graeme Lo-gan, Director of Education Scotland and John Swinney Deputy First Minister of Scotland. Mr David Istance who formally worked for the OECD shared current research with Graeme Logan sharing the expectations for school inspections from Her Majesty's Inspectors of Education (HMIE) and Mr Swinney DFM presenting and taking questions about the intentions of the draft plans for the Regional Collaborative.

The purpose of the Regional Collaborative is to gather teams of professionals who have the singular focus of helping teachers to improve their practice. These teams will include sector and curriculum area specialists as well as additional support for learning experts such as educational psychologists. This regional approach will involve decentralising some Education Scotland resources to support improvement closer to schools. It will also involve local authorities sharing resource at a regional level to ensure an enhanced improvement capability.

The Regional Collaborative is in its infancy at the moment and as I receive more information and how it will impact on schools I will share this information with you.

Positive Behaviour and Discipline Maintaining a high standard of pupil conduct in our school is fundamental to allowing the most effective Learning and Teaching to take place. We aim to instil in our pupils a sense of self-discipline, self-control, respect and consideration for others as well as a positive work ethic.

The discipline system in our school is based on Restorative Practice and agreed class/school rules. These are prominently displayed in classrooms and in public areas of the school. Breaches of the rules will result in loss of Golden Time or Breaks. Each class uses Class Dojo to monitor pupils’ behaviour and maintain satis-factory standards.

We recognise that for some pupils achieving self-discipline is more difficult and that there will be incidents of indiscipline where some form of sanction will be needed. When dealing with misdemeanours or inappropri-ate behaviour, teachers will always take individual circumstances into account.

Bullying, in any form, is not tolerated. Children, as well as parents, are urged to speak out if they have knowledge of bullying, or experience it.

In the event of a child misbehaving in the classroom or playground, the parents will be informed if the mat-ter is serious or if the offences become too frequent. The Headteacher or Depute Headteacher will ask the parents to attend a meeting to discuss the problem and to consider strategies to improve the child’s behav-iour. We always strive to work together with our families so we can resolve any difficulties and that the child’s behaviour improves.

School Rules It is essential to have a number of school rules to protect children to ensure that they are protected and to allow effective learning and teaching to take place. They are also necessary if we want to maintain a re-spectful, well organised and attractive school to work and learn in.

Rules cover things like noise, movement around the building, games in the playground, behaviour in the toi-lets and most of all physical confrontations. Children are familiar with the rules and are encouraged by staff to show respect for themselves, for others, and for property. We also expect children to show proper respect to all adults in the school and understand that the adults are there to support and guide them.

Please encourage your child to know and follow the school rules to make our school a happy and safe place for everyone.

Our School Rules

Do be gentle – don’t hurt anyone

Do be kind and helpful – don’t hurt other people’s feelings

Do work hard – don’t waste time

Do be honest – don’t cover up the truth

Do look after property – don’t waste or damage things

Do listen to people— don’t interrupt

Diary of Events Wednesday 28/2/18 6.30pm Parent Council Meeting

Thursday 01/3/18 Sharing the Lesson Session Parents Welcome

Thursday 01/3/18 World Book Day

Monday 05/3/18 Visit to Bannockburn & Stirling Castle

Friday 09/3/18 P1-3 Assembly Parents Welcome

Monday 12/3/18 Rag Bag Collection Day

Tuesday 20/3/18 World Story Telling Day

Wednesday 21/3/18 P4-7 Visit to Hippodrome Cinema

Wednesday 21/3/18 Parents Evening 3.30pm—7pm

Monday 26/3/18 Easter Service at Grange PS Parents Welcome

Tuesday 27/3/18 P7 Away to Broomlee

Thursday 29/3/18 P7 Home from Broomlee

Thursday 29/3/18 Easter Holidays School Closes 3pm.

Monday 16/4/18 School Re-Opens 9am.

Twitter

Don’t forget to keep up with what’s happening in

our class by following us on twitter/class dojo

@BlacknessP

Sick Children

Children with diarrhoea and or vomiting should be kept off school until at least 48 hours after their symptoms have gone in order to prevent infection to others in school.

Safety in the Playground

In the interest of health & safety we insist that you

keep your children at your side until you leave the

school grounds at 3pm. Children are not allowed to

play in the parking area

Accidents at School

In the event of you child having an accident at school

where they incur a bump to the head, a member of

staff will phone you as a matter of courtesy. This may

or may not result in you having to pick up your child

early from school.

Please make sure we have an updated phone number.

Keeping in Touch

If your child is off school for any reason please telephone before 9.30am and follow up with an absence note

on their return

Please remember to check your child’s schoolbag for letters and any information we may send you.