Head Teacher’s Blog 24th June 2012

Having been retrospective last week, perhaps it is appropriate to look forward , for this, the last blog for this term. What have we planned for 2012/13? The short answer to that is probably- more of the same.
We hope to continue our journey on Curriculum for Excellence by exploring planning formats best suited to give us scope to provide the children with quality learning experiences. That’s quite a mouthful, but really means- the best way to deliver the curriculum.
We would like to continue with our HATS Days as we can see the benefits for all in this- the children enjoy the themes and working in different groupings; the staff enjoy planning and working together; and the different dynamic of the two schools together can be a worthwhile challenge.

We also hope that we can get specific groups together- maybe year groups or committees- to share learning or ideas. The logistics of transporting smaller groups should make this possible.
As always the effectiveness of communication is key. We continue to look for the best way to get all news and information out there. Currently Jacky Baillie is compiling a list of email addresses for Saltoun parents so that we can communicate with everyone quickly and efficiently. If you haven’t already given Jacky your email address, please do so before the end of term. Who knows we may become slightly more eco-friendly in terms of paper usage as a result.
The profiles remain a work in progress and we intend to amend and adapt them to encompass suggestions from parents and from staff.
Humbie already has plans for further Community Cafes with the first planned for 28th September in aid of St Columba’s hospice. I am exploring a similar idea for Saltoun. I am sure there are many people in the village who would welcome the chance to come out for a cup of tea and a blether in the hall occasionally- especially over the winter months. If we can plan for this (or indeed any other community project) in a sustainable way, then it would be a viable and rewarding task for the school. If you have any suggestions or thoughts around this please let me have them.
We hope this year, once the new staff team has settled in, we can offer some after school activities. We already have parent support for a couple of these and would be delighted to have more offers. I would like to get a football team going and play other schools, so if there is a budding coach out there, please get in touch.
We have two residential stays booked at Innerwick in May- one for P4’s from both schools and one for the older children.
Various seasonal events are planned and we will let you have a calendar of those in August. The first to go in your diaries should be curricular evenings in September- 11th for Humbie and 12th for Saltoun. The main purposes of these will be to meet the teacher, find out how you can support your child’s learning at home, see the new reading/writing resource and we can add to that any suggestions from yourselves.
The diary looks pretty busy, we have been able to plan more in advance this year and we are looking forward to hitting the ground running in August. First though, a well-deserved break for all. I wish you a long, hot and enjoyable summer- written with a certain amount of wistfulness as the rain pelts down again as I write this!
Hopeful,
Lindy Lynn