Janu

ary 20

18

It is lovely to see everyone back after the Christmas holidays. We hope you all had a

relaxing time over Christmas and New Year.

Miss Reid and Mr Booth organised a New Year celebration in the classroom, the children

had Irrn-bru and shortbread. They heard about old fashioned Scottish traditions such as

“First Footing” with a piece of coal and they sang “Auld Lang Syne”. Staying with a

Scottish theme, Miss Reid’s class have been learning about Bagpipes, Bogles and Beasties

amongst other weird and wonderful things. I am sure your child will be able to explain.

Everyone is busy practising their Scottish poems for the poetry competition on Burns

Day, we will announce the winners very soon.

During our “Mental Health Week”, Mr Booth’s class had a visit from Mr S Turnbull, he

gave us some good tips about learning to cope with different situations, he also intro-

duced a “Gratitude Box” which the children are using in class. P4-7 are practising their

French language skills in the morning and I have to say getting rather good at it.

Mr Booth and Miss Reid will give you more details of what is happening in class in the

next teachers class newsletter.

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.

Scottish Saying “A nod’s as guid as a wink tae a blind horse”,

meaning, explain yourself properly, and make your meaning crystal clear.

Snow, Snow and more Snow During the middle of January we encountered some adverse

weather but the children made the most of it, having great fun in the snow with organised games such

as measuring and comparing our footprints, building snowmen and lots more.

NSPCC Assemblies.

The NSPCC’s work in schools helps encourage conversa-

tions about staying safe. The staff provided child-friendly

appropriate assemblies for both classes and also a work shop for primary 6&7. With the help of their

friendly mascot “Buddy” they relayed important information about “speaking out & staying safe”. If

you would like to know more please visit their website at nspcc.org.uk/schools

This Term’s Topics

This term Miss Reid’s class are learning all about “Castles” and Mr Booth’s class are learning about

“The Scottish Wars of Independence”. Both teachers have arranged to

swap classes on occasions for particular lessons. They are all finding this

very interesting so with this in mind we have arranged a visit to Stirling

Castle and The Bannockburn Heritage Centre for early in March. More

details of this will follow in due course, and we will let you know all

about our journey back in time in our next newsletter.

Specialists in School

We continue to have Mr Reid our PE teacher coming in on a Monday, he is teaching them gymnastics

moves and hopefully they will be able to put on a gymnastic display. We have music with Mr McKin-

non on a Tuesday, at the moment he is teaching them Scottish songs to celebrate Burns Day. The

children taking Violin lessons with Miss Bradley are making great progress and Music with Pat on a

Friday is always something to look forward to.

Bo’ness Fair Preparations are underway for this year’s fair. We have had a good response to our

letter regarding “Fair Characters” and will be in touch with parents whose children have shown an in-

terest in taking part.

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 31/1/17 P7 Bo’ness Academy Visit.

Thursday 01/2/18 P1 Child Health Height & Weight

Friday 02/2/18 P1 & P7 Dental Health Checks

Wednesday 07/2/18 Queensferry Crossing Visit

Friday 09/2/18 Holiday

Monday 12/2/18 Holiday

Tuesday 13/2/18 In-Service Day

Wednesday 28/2/18 6.30pm Parent Council Meeting

Twitter

Don’t forget to keep up with what’s hap-

pening 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.

Thank you for your cooperation.

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 ,

following an incident where a child ran

through the car park as a member of staff

was reversing their car out of 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.