We heard the fantastic news on Tuesday confirming the return of our P4-7s on Monday 15th March. We are so excited at the prospect of a full school again! I will confirm timings of the school day for P4-7 next week. In the meantime, remote learning will continue for a final week although P4-7 teachers will go off-line on Thursday afternoon to give them time to prepare their classrooms for the return.
Assembly
Today at assembly we had special guests because it was World Book Day yesterday. Nicola Toner and Heather Lindsay from Kirkliston Library spoke about reading and accessing books/libraries from home and reminded us thatanyone can join the library for free from home via the Edinburgh Libraries website. She also mentioned the kindness postcards project and more information about this exciting initiative will follow. We were also sent 3 challenges which you can do at home:
World Book Day Activities
P1-3 have enjoyed lots of different activities related to books this week and there has been a wonderful buzz about the school, talking about and enjoying books.
P1 have had the opportunity to make lots of crafty creations relating to under the sea themed stories, such as The Rainbow Fish, including puppets to retell and create stories with. They have also been sharing lots of Julia Donaldson stories and thinking about rhyming.
P2 have shared their thoughts and opinions about books in book reviews and created new front and back covers for some of their favourite stories. These have become part of some wonderful displays around the corridors, which I am really enjoying stopping to take a closer look at! They have also done a lot of work around the Izzy Gizmo stories, linked to their topic.
P3 have been inspired by some of the World Book Day activities on the website, including lots of arts and crafts. They have thought about the role of the illustrator, learned about non-fiction books and focussed on activities around some favourite books, such as Harry Potter!
Pupils also really enjoyed our Book Bug hunts – when they found the Book Bugs hidden in their classroom they swapped them for a book prize. Some chose favourites that they knew and didn’t have a copy of, others chose stories they didn’t yet know, but all were delighted with the prizes!
World Book Day isn’t just for the children though – adults have also been sharing books that they are currently reading or would recommend to others on the Kirky Families Connect Facebook group. If you haven’t already joined, it is worth joining for some reading inspiration and general positive Kirky connections.
Anti–bullying and Equalities Ambassadors Meeting
The Anti-bullying and Equalities Ambassadors had a meeting to discuss how we can stop people being unkind to other people who may be different to them. We thought a good place to start would be to educate our pupils about as many differences as possible. These include: gender, race, religion, disability, family groups, age and we know that there are many others. We have decided to invest in books, which explore these subjects, to put in each class library. Our next task is to come up with a catchier group name that will fit nicely on a badge. Please let us know if you have any suggestions.
Along with all other schools in Edinburgh we are working hard to improve all equalities issues. Our School Renewal Plan sets out the actions we expect to achieve this session. They include better ways of tackling racist incidents and reviewing our curriculum. One of the most important actions for us is to improve pupil voice in this area. Our Anti-bullying and Equalities Ambassadors will be leading this work. They, and our staff Equalities Coordinator Mrs Henderson will be in touch soon to ask for your support. If you are interested in getting more involved, a city-wide Staff Reference Group for Equalities has been formed and you would be very welcome to join. Please contact Annemarie.Procter@ea.edin.sch.uk to find out more.
Pupil Council Meeting
Our next Pupil Council meeting will be on Monday 8th March at 11am.
KPSA Meeting
Our next KPSA meeting will be on Monday 8th March at 7pm.
Survey re school session dates 2022/23 and beyond
The council have asked us to gather the views of parents/carers, pupils and staff on future school session dates for 2022/23 and beyond.
The link to the survey is:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/schsd2022
The survey is open from Monday 1 March to Thursday 1 April 2021.
Kiki and Kit
This week Kiki finds out that she is going back to school on the 15th March. Click on the link to read all about it.
https://sway.office.com/bTpOSf2di0OfNWGY?ref=Link
Reminder of School Day Timings
|
|
Drop-Off Window |
Finish time |
Friday Finish |
|
P4-7 Mini-School
|
8:40-9:10am |
3.05pm |
12:15pm |
|
P1 |
8:50-9.10am |
2:50pm |
12:10pm |
|
P2 and P2/1 |
8:50-9.10am |
2:45pm |
12:05pm |
|
P3
|
8:40-8:50am |
2:55pm |
12:15pm |
Nursery/ P1 Transition
Transition events for children and families will be planned throughout the coming terms, and we would like to start with a Parent/Carer Information Event. This will take place on Microsoft teams (please see links below). These sessions will be led by Nikki Kiely (Acting Depute Head Teacher, Kirkliston Primary School) and Ula Lach-Mikrut (Senior Early Years Officer, Kirkliston Nursery School). They will focus on general information about Kirkliston Primary School, what to expect when starting P1, and how you can support your child through this transition.
There will be two sessions, please use the links below to attend whichever is most convenient for you:
Thursday 11th March, 7pm
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Friday 12th March, 2pm
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
This week in Nursery …..
We have had fun celebrating World Book Day. Some children chose to dress up as their favourite book character and we have created our own stories and made bookmarks. As we have been focusing on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the children suggested we should try porridge for snack this week. All the children had a taste of the porridge and fruit for snack. Every child managed to share information about: their favourite book from home, who gave them the book and what they like about the story.
The children have been thinking of their own rules for their play rooms and talking about why it is important we have rules for everyone to follow. The children have made emotion stones to help them discuss rules and their emotions in nursery. As the sun was shining on Monday the Rainbow Room children at enjoyed their first snack of the year outdoors in our garden.
Community events and other news
Happy World Book Day everyone!!!, the author interview with Glenn Carter (Operation Sabre) had now been posted on both Kirkliston and South Queensferry Library’s Facebook pages and link also shared via Twitter.
https://www.facebook.com/KirklistonLibrary/videos/182764883349913
Thank you for your continuing support.
L Henderson