September Newsletter
Welcome back to everyone, the summer holidays have passed very quickly. I enjoyed seeing many of you at the recent ‘Meet the Teacher’ evenings. I hope these evenings assisted in getting to know your child’s teacher better and raising your awareness of the work of the school. My thanks go to the parents who volunteered at very short notice to make and serve tea and coffee.
It is also good to see so many of our pupils wearing school uniform and looking so smart. As parent of three school aged children, I know that this requires a lot of hard work by parents and carers and I extend my thanks to all who have made this possible.
BUILDING NEWS
A tremendous amount of building work was undertaken during the school holidays.
New Temporary Units
The new Temporary Unit with four classes is in place. The class teachers have been very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the unit. I know a number of parents took advantage of the ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening to visit the new classrooms and were suitably impressed.
School Hall
The hall is currently being transformed by the installation of a retractable wall. This will allow the hall to be divided into two separate large spaces and ensure that, as the school roll grows, all classes will have access to an appropriate space for PE and Physical activity. This work is due to be completed by early October.
Fire Prevention Measures
A new alarm system was fitted during the holidays as well as extensive structural work to increase the effectiveness of fire containment and evacuation.
YEARLY CALENDER
You will find attached to this newsletter a sessional calendar. We have tried to include all significant school events until June 2008. We will endeavour to update this at the beginning of each term.
Milk
For those parents/carers who have not paid milk money for the year please note milk money is due termly and the cost is £9.50 per term. Milk money must be paid between Monday 7 January and Friday 18 January for term 2. Tuesday 8 April and Friday 18 April for term 3. No payment will be accepted after the closing dates.
Dunbar Environmental Committee
If you are interested in joining the above please get in touch with Morag Haddow or Penny Rounce. Meetings are held on Tuesdays at 2.00pm.
ECO Club
This is starting on Thursdays from 3.30 to 4.30pm. Our focus this year will be health promoting schools, improving the dining room environment and continuing our work on recycling.
Trading Cards
I have noticed that trading cards eg Dr Who are still very much in evidence at the start of the school year. I would strongly discourage children bringing these cards into school, as well as anything of value eg Nintendos, etc. The school can not assume any responsibility if they go missing or are damaged.
Active Schools
If you are interested in volunteering to help with Active Schools please complete attached form and return to the school office.
P7 Cluster Camp
Our P7’s are looking forward to the annual residential trip to Dounans at Aberfoyle from 1st to 5th October. This is the start of our P7 transition programme with our cluster schools and has been very successful in past years with a lot of new friendships being made. Fingers crossed for a dry, sunny week!
FIRST DAY ABSENCE
As a result of recent child protection training, the school is putting in new measures to increase pupil safety. From Monday 25 September all parents should contact the school on the first day of a child’s absence. I know most of you do this already, however if any child is reported as being absent by the class teacher and the school has not been made aware, a member of staff will contact the parent/carer. If contact cannot be made, this matter will be passed to the Dunbar Cluster’s Family Support Worker (Attendance) who will decide on the next course of action, this may take the form of a home visit. With all new systems there may be a few ‘teething problems’ and I would ask for a degree of patience until the procedure ‘beds down’.
PARENT COUNCIL
A very successful meeting of the Parent Council took place on Monday 3 September with over twenty parents present as members or in attendance. The first officer bearers were elected: David Carter (Chair Person), Gordon Saunders (Vice Chairman) and Moira Winning (Treasurer). I am sure that once the Parent Council gets up and running it will be communicating with you on a regular basis. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 18 September at 7.30pm and all parents are welcome to attend.
REMINDERS
Healthy Snack
Would anyone be willing to help preparing and selling fruit for one day or more. If you are interested please contact the school office.
Enterprise
At DPS we aim to embed Enterprise in Education into our everyday teaching. Building on the work we have done over the past few years, a programme linked to our Personal/Social Development has now been implemented at each year stage. This work aims to help pupils develop a better understanding of themselves and encourage a positive attitude towards their learning. The RU Engaged? leaflet outlines the areas each class will cover. A resource box for staff is now in action in school. This includes soft toys, posters for class use as well as information books for class development.
Watering the Brain!
Research has shown that drinking water through the day improves brain activity and concentration. We encourage children to drink water (not juice) regularly during the day and to this end it would be helpful if you could provide your child with a clear bottle with a sports top as this prevents spillage over all their important work! There are a number of water dispensers throughout the school so the bottles can be refilled during the day at the teachers discretion.
D Scott
Headteacher
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