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Head Teacher: M.R.Tremmel Gullane Primary School Muirfield Terrace Gullane EH31 2HL Tel/Fax: 01620 843455 [email protected] http://edubuzz.org/blogs/gullane Dear Parents/Carers Well, week one went without a glitch! Staff all returned as did our pupils. It was really good to see everyone and the children seem to have had a good break. Some of our families have had to move out of the area and we welcome our new families to Gullane Primary and hope they enjoy their time with us. My daughter’s wedding was lovely and thank you to all who have asked and then been forced to look at some photographs! The Primary 1 children have all settled in really well. Thank you to mums, dads and grandparents. We operate a policy whereby the children are able to come into school without lining up. We usually open the doors around 8.40 am. Please do not come in to the cloakroom areas with the children. It is too busy and can unsettle some of our pupils. Thank you. Please remember that the lack of lining up does not mean that children are able to come in late! Lateness There will be occasions where families are late for a number of very good reasons but we have a number of pupils who are regularly late for school. Children are missing the start of each day in class – registration, check ins, daily briefings and such like. This is not a positive way to start the day. All lateness is recorded, as is all absence, and these figures are discussed each month with the attendance officer for the area. If your child is not going to be at school please let us know as soon as possible and before the start of the school day. A message on the school answering service on the first day of absence is adequate. If you do not call us we are duty bound to track you down to find out why your child has not arrived at school. We will use our text service where possible.

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Page 1: Gullane Newsletter August 2014 doc

                                                                                                                                                                   

Head Teacher: M.R.Tremmel Gullane Primary School

Muirfield Terrace Gullane

EH31 2HL Tel/Fax: 01620 843455

[email protected] http://edubuzz.org/blogs/gullane

Dear Parents/Carers Well, week one went without a glitch! Staff all returned as did our pupils. It was really good to see everyone and the children seem to have had a good break. Some of our families have had to move out of the area and we welcome our new families to Gullane Primary and hope they enjoy their time with us. My daughter’s wedding was lovely and thank you to all who have asked and then been forced to look at some photographs! The Primary 1 children have all settled in really well. Thank you to mums, dads and grandparents. We operate a policy whereby the children are able to come into school without lining up. We usually open the doors around 8.40 am. Please do not come in to the cloakroom areas with the children. It is too busy and can unsettle some of our pupils. Thank you. Please remember that the lack of lining up does not mean that children are able to come in late!

Lateness There will be occasions where families are late for a number of very good reasons but we have a number of pupils who are regularly late for school. Children are missing the

start of each day in class – registration, check ins, daily briefings and such like. This is not a positive way to start the day. All lateness is recorded, as is all absence, and these figures are

discussed each month with the attendance officer for the area. If your child is not going to be at school please let us know as soon as possible and before the start of the school day. A message on the school answering service on the first day of absence is adequate. If you do not call us we are duty bound to track you down to find out why your child has not arrived at school. We will use our text service where possible.

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If your child has an appointment then please let us know in advance where possible. If the appointment means that you require to collect them during the day please come to the front entrance and speak to the school office staff. The P3 children class know that they are allowed to play in the P3-7 playground. They do enjoy the change of scene and the range of play areas. The new basketball hoop for the upper area and the stand for the early years’ pupils should be here soon and will be installed as soon as possible. There is a range of new outdoor play equipment. Thank you to the PTA for funding this. The PTA has asked about other items and I will meet with them soon to agree a list. The children have already identified and requested a range of authors for the library. Staffing We welcome Miss Brannan to P1/2 who joins us from Ormiston Primary. Mrs Johnston is with P6 and Mr McEwan is now full time with us and is taking P5 this session. Mrs MacIver has taken over the role of Support for Learning teacher as well as covering classes on occasions. We also have a new PE teacher, Mr Cairney who joins us from Mid Lothian. He will be working here on a Wednesday and works in Pinkie St Peters and Wallyford the rest of the week. Welcome aboard Mr Cairney. While Mrs McGrane is not with us Mr John Dagger will take up the role of Principal Teacher(Acting). This will be a temporary post and reviewed as per ELC policy. I know Mr Dagger is keen to support the school in a broader sense and I know his contribution will be valued by all. Communication Mr McEwan will continue to monitor and manage our website. He is keen for you to set up message alerts and keep track of the work going on in school. We will keep a copy of our newsletters and policies on this website so it is worth checking it out from time to time. The PCC discussed having certain areas password protected and we are looking into this as soon as we can. It means that parents can feel secure that others are not accessing named pupils and their achievements. The address is http://edubuzz.org/blogs/gullane If you are unfamiliar with any policy I ask that you read over these as soon as you can as we will only send out hard copies to those who request them. This saves a great deal of time, paper and funds. Thank you in anticipation. We will continue to send out paper copies of our newsletters but there may come a time when this is too costly (budget cuts hit hard!). It would be usual to receive one newsletter per month but it may be that we can reduce this slightly.

Meet the Teacher Monday 1st September 6.45-8pm. Nursery - P7 We tried something different last session and it didn’t go down as well as we had anticipated. So… we will have a general whole school introduction in the hall at 6.45 and then class based talks, along the more usual lines, from around 7/7.10. We will ring a bell at 7.45 and we hope to be clear by 8pm.

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All class teachers prepare an information sheet to be given to every family. They will include all their own relevant information to ensure that you keep up to speed with timings, themes, expectations and such like. Class teachers will note any family who has not been represented and send out information at a later date. This newsletter comes to you with pieces of information that will require some action from yourselves. There are some forms for some classes to be returned to school and this will need to be done as speedily as possible so that we are able to manage the associated administrative tasks.

• Internet usage forms. We normally send these out at the start of term but we have been in discussion with the PCC and feel that we need to broaden the ‘scope’ of the information on these forms so will hold talks with ELC IT department before we design a more up to date form to cover a range of internet usage concerns.

• Data capture forms are attached. These are very important and must be returned by

Monday 1st September please. Please check your contact details and mobile numbers. Return every form even if there are no changes so we can check the names against registers. Just sign and return with either changes or no changes. We use the mobile number to contact parents through our text service. It is important that the mobile number is up to date. Please select the mobile you wish to receive texts on. We are unable to facilitate both parents in most instances. Thank you.

• We have photograph/web permissions and unless there are changes from parents we will

hold these as a current up to date record of your wishes. New pupils will receive the letter and please complete and return as soon as possible.

• Parent Volunteers – please complete the form to let us know what you may be able to support us with this session – there are many areas where support is gratefully received and lots of opportunities for parents to be in and around school. Please return as soon as you can. We do value your input.

• East Lothian Council has insisted that all volunteers who transport pupils in their own vehicles must have business insurance. This often does not cost any extra on the insurance premium. If a parent wishes to be a pupil transport volunteer and you are charged a fee for this insurance please speak with me and we will reimburse families provided there is a receipt. May I thank the parents who transported all the various classes to many sports events last session – saved a huge amount of time and work for us in school.

• If there are parent volunteers who would like to go through the PVG system (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) I am willing to fund some of these. The cost is around £50-60 per person. Please get in touch with me or Mrs Mancey if you think this is something you would feel beneficial for your role in school. A PVG is extremely useful if you transport pupils to events and is an excellent safeguard.

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• Local area permission forms. Following a change in policy in East Lothian Council, in line with national guidance, parents will be asked to complete one Parental Consent Form (PC1) at the beginning of the session. This form will act as information for any out of school trip/visit- including trips out of the local area- for the whole session negating the requirement for parents to complete one for each and every outing – much more sensible!

When a class/group are going out of school the forms will be taken by the lead person on the visit. We will send out letters as per usual and it is imperative that parental signatures are returned otherwise we will be unable to allow your child out of school. (The signature acts as your approval and agreement) Any costs for that visit must be paid prior to the outing.

On Line Payments East Lothian Council have piloted on line payments for schools. This information came to us right at the end of session and went ‘live’ last Monday!

As you can see there are two headings under the primary school payments options/banner. Within www.eastlothian.gov.uk/payforit against “Primary School Payments” and “Primary School Milk Payments” all primary schools will be available in the drop down list for parents to make payments against. When parents pay for anything other than milk they must select the ‘Primary School Payments’ option and pay on line for any school trip, outing, school cost, uniform etc. It is extremely important to only pay for school milk under the School Milk heading as Mrs Mancey would not be able to retrieve this if it was an error. If you pay online then please retain your records as we will not be sending out receipts for the online monies. Please keep as ‘proof of purchase’. School lunches are not available within this system as yet – this is an entirely different company! As this is a completely new system for school admin and no training has been provided at all I hope that this all makes sense to you and to us! This new system shifts work back to the school office as this was managed by Mrs Cameron prior to the break. Here’s hoping this makes life simpler for you.

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Money/Payments If you choose to pay via school, please put any monies in an envelope clearly marked with your child’s name and class + purpose. The class teachers do not handle money and if money is not clearly marked the office staff find it difficult to keep track of things. Thank you in anticipation. I must ask that families ensure that their child has their lunch money each day. We spend a great deal of time chasing this up on a daily basis. You can pay by cheque each week – please make cheques payable East Lothian Council Medical/Medicine If your child requires medication in any form it is a requirement that parents/carers complete a form to allow school staff to administer even a dose of Calpol. If your child requires an inhaler/epipen or other such specialised medication then it is necessary for us to draw up a care plan which you will draw up with us and be required to sign. If your child has to use an inhaler they should have 2 in school – one in our emergency medicine cabinet and one on their person. It is worth discussing with your GP about how and when it is appropriate for a child to manage themselves. Younger pupils will be supported in school by a member of staff if needs be. Medicines have a ‘use by’ date so please ensure that we have medicines that are up to date. Scooters/Bikes Most, if not all, of the pupils in the primary section of the school know that they must dismount their scooters/bikes BEFORE they enter the school playground. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all parents that children (or grown-ups) must not scoot or cycle in the playground. There have been a few mishaps where folks have been knocked over by over-zealous riders!

May I also remind parents that the school car park is not be used during the day to pick up and drop off. Please also be mindful about your speed around school and park safely.

School Times Monday to Thursday P1 and P2 children start at 8.45am each day and finish at 2.45pm. Their lunch break is from 12.25 until 1.15pm P3-7 children start at 8.45am and finish at 3.20pm. Their lunch break is 12.30 until 1.20pm Friday P1 and P2 children start at 8.45am each day and finish at 12.15pm. P3-7 children start at 8.45am and finish at 12.25pm.

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Nursery There are new timings for both nursery sessions. There is a window of ten minutes at the start of each session means that once the 10 minutes is ‘up’ the staff are then able to focus on the children and not on answering the door. This is also the case for the ends of sessions. We have two times for afternoon children and staff will need to know which one you are selecting. The nursery newsletter expands on this information and there is a return slip for you to complete. The children must be collected on time. Staff have tasks to complete such as setting up the room for the next session, prepping resources, planning and having a lunch break. Staff in nursery classes do not have a coffee/snack break so their lunch is important. They only have a 30 minute window for lunch. Nursery parents should not bring buggies/prams into the cloakroom. It is a busy place and it gets crowded very quickly at peak times. Dress Code I complimeted the children on how smart they all looked on Thursday morning and thank you to parents for ensuring they dressed within our dress code. If you require school uniform – sweatshirts, polo shirts, cardigans, jackets – please send your order in to the school office. The order forms are on our website. We are keeping a stock in school as well so things should be quicker for all. We also have t-shirts in house colours. Great for PE. We have super sweatshirts for nursery children– all colours for all tastes! The nursery sweatshirts are available from the nursery not the office. We have book bags for sale - £3.50. They last a long time and take away the need for a bulky school bag. We also have very durable gym bags for £3.00 each – again they should last the bulk of your child’s time in primary. Each item has a space for a name. Head Lice It is imperative that all families check hair of not just the pupils in school but all of the family. Speak to your pharmacist re products. We did well last session and there were limited cases of this wee nuisance. Labels on Belongings! I cannot stress enough how important it is to name your child’s belongings. No need for name labels if you haven’t time to source – just write with a pen on the label and then they can be returned to their rightful owner when left lying around. (I know, I say this every year) Playing on the way to school If a pupil brings a ball to school – football in particular – then please ensure they carry it in a poly bag. My reasons for this ‘rule’ are to preserve safety on the journey to and from school. Please remind your children that they need to be vigilant when out and about and keep themselves safe.

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PE Kit Please ensure that the children have a PE kit in school – indoor footwear is essential – plimsolls are fine. The children should not wear trainers, worn generally outside, for indoor PE. Please limit jewellery. Very small stud earrings

are fine but must be taken out for PE. Necklaces can be hazardous. If an item goes amiss then we are unable to take responsibility for reuniting it with its owner. Cloakrooms and Belongings Pupils who need money in school for any reason, e.g. lunch money, must remember to take it to the classroom and not leave it in the cloakroom. It is also wise to take their snack and put it in their classroom trays. It is helpful if children have a water bottle in school. Children have access to fresh water throughout the day and are able to refill if need be.

Mobile phones are not necessary in a primary school setting but if it is essential for any specific reason, I ask that the mobiles are handed in to the school office or the

class teacher at the start of the day. Thank you. Sport in School East Lothian Council have a programme for sporting activities which complements our own PE and sport timetable. There are a range of sporting activities on offer depending on age/stage including Tennis, Basketball, Hockey, Swimming, ClubGolf and Cross Country. Many of the activities are run by Active Schools and there are a reduced number of coordinators this session so we will see what we are offered. Staff may offer an after school club depending on whether they have time. There is a charge for transport for many events and we are mindful of the impact on families of these additional costs. If you are able to volunteer to transport pupils please speak to me regarding any costs incurred in insurance and fuel if you offer to be a nominated driver.

Eco Work Textile Recycling Please remember that we have a textile recycling bank in the playground near the early years’ entrance. Please recycle your textiles here at any time. Battery Recycling The eco group have organised a battery recycling box in school again. They will remind children as often as is possible but please send old batteries along for our collection box. Charity Work We fully understand that it can be difficult when school asks for money towards various things – especially if you have a big family. Please know that we do understand this and we will continue to limit our charity work and ensure it is appropriate and meaningful.

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This session we are hoping to support the following:

• The MacMillan Coffee morning will go ahead again this session. Friday 26th September from 1000-1100. Donations of time and baking needed! Please see attached slip for volunteers.

• Harvest Assembly Thursday 9th October 2014. We have been asked if we would like to do

the shoe box appeal this year. This is with the Blytheswood Shoebox Appeal. A member of our local community has written to me and the children would like to do this. More details will follow but securing a shoe box and covering it – separate lid and box please – would be a great start!

• The Pupil Parliament wish to focus on raising money for Shelter Box. They cost £590 per kit and these kits can be sent anywhere in the world following a disaster such as a tsunami, earthquake or flood. More news on how they plan to raise the monies after they have met.

I would like to welcome our new PTA for this session. The chair person is Mrs Clare Cavers ably supported by Mrs Herkes as depute chair. The treasurer is Mrs Slater, Assistant Treasurer is Mrs Hill. The secretary is Mrs Leslie. There are about another 15/16 members who will work together to promote our parent partnership and bring our community together in a variety of ways. Any funds raised go directly to support the work of the school and the whole staff team are very grateful for their input. PTA Dates – so far

Saturday 27th September 2014 Quiz Night – Quiz night is to be held in the Village Hall Monster Mash Thursday 30th October 2014 up to and including P2 first hour and P3-7 the second hour. More details to follow with times and costs.

Please remember to let us know if your child has done something out of school no matter how small or large – we love to know and we put up a card in school and mention the child and the achievement in our newsletters. We are happy to accept the text for the information via email. Well done to …Calumn and Skye Sievwright, Stanley and Gilbert McLelland, Hannah McCluskey, Joe Bratko Dickson, Freya Walker and Lucy Mitchell. They swam a mile in open water at Foxlake and raised over £1200 for the Gullane Sports Development Trust! They were amazing. It is very different swimming in open water and they rose to the challenge beautifully! :-) Please email/call/write with any thoughts or any feedback or to ask questions – we value your opinions and comments.

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I know much of the information in this letter has been said before and I appreciate your patience.

Remember to return any forms as soon as possible – thank you.

Kind regards M. R. Tremmel 28th August 2014

Community News and Information Instead of many flyers going home and adding to a paper mountain we put all such events in this section. If you are organising an event please write what you would like as information and we will endeavour to include in this section for you. We do not take any responsibility nor do we screen the quality of any the community projects and events advertised here. We want to offer your pupils the chance to be part of a production of Oliver! in the beautiful surroundings of the Edinburgh King's Theatre from 3 - 6 March next year. Southern Light Opera is looking for boys and girls aged between eight and twelve years for our production and we would like to invite children from in and around Edinburgh to an audition at the Festival Theatre on Saturday 3 September. Being part of full-scale production like this is a fantastic experience and our young members learn a lot about responsibility and gain so much confidence from the experience. If you think any of your pupils would be interested in taking part we'd be delighted to hear from them. They can register their interest by emailing us at [email protected] and if you or they have any questions for us I'd be happy to answer them, please just get in touch.Sheila Aitken President, Southern Light Opera Company

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Diary dates known so far There may be changes from the school calendar published in December 2013 – just check!

August 2014 24/8/14 Drama Session for P2 pupils 28/8/14 P4 Badminton Taster in school September 2014 1/9/14 ‘Meet the Teacher’ 6.45-7.45pm 2/9/14 P7 Visit from Greywalls Chef re charity dinner 10/9/14 Parent Carer Council AGM 7pm in the Golf Hotel- all welcome 12/9/14 Holiday 15/9/14 Holiday 25/9/14 Courier P1 Photographs – Special edition on sale this date.

12/9/13 and 15/09/13 September Holiday (Friday and Monday)

25/09/14 Group playing in Simmers Cup – Golf. 26/09/14 Macmillan Coffee Morning 10-11am in the school hall 27/9/14 PTA Quiz Night in Village Hall October 2014 2/10/14 Harvest Assembly – Shoe Boxes Collected – in school hall 9.15am 7/10/14 Parent/Teacher Consultation Evening – 1800 – 2030 hrs 7/10/14 Individual/Family Photographs in school. – All day. 8/10/14 P2 Year Group – visit to Edinburgh Castle 9/10/14 Whole School Flu Vaccination Day – separate letter to follow 9/10/13 Parent/Teacher Consultation Evening 1630 hrs – 1900 hrs 9/10/14 East Lothian News P1 Photographs – Special Edition published.

Half Term Break from Monday 13th October 2014 until Tuesday 21st October 2014. 20/10/13 In- Service for staff 21/10/13 Pupils Resume 29/10/14 P7 Charity Dinner with Albert Roux. Tickets on sale now £20 per head – great

evening! There are only 75 tickets so be quick! (P7 parents first!) 30/10/14 PTA Monster Mash in school hall. November 2014 Early November Poppies on sale December 2014 The diary for December is a full one so more details later. The school concert dates are Wednesday 3rd December 2104 pm for P1&2 concert item (not P3-7). Then P1-7 will all be together for the concert in the evening. Thursday 4th December 2014 the concert will be for P3-7 pupils only. No P1&2 pupils perform on the second evening. Nursery Nativity will be Tuesday 9th December 2014 in the morning. Church will be Tuesday 16th December 2014 at 9.45am. I know parents have busy diaries so thought best to give you these dates.