September 2017 Volume 2 Volume 1

1Supporting and motivating learners in a friendly environment to be successful and achieving

Duncan Forbes

The latest news and updates from Duncan Forbes Primary School…

Dates for your diary…..

04.10.17 – Harvest Assembly, 11.00am at Barn Church

05.10.17 – SHSAA Cross Country Competition, P6&7 team to be selected

06.10.17 – Term 1 finishes at 3.00pm

23.10.17 – Term 2 starts

27.10.17 – Individual Photos P1-7

15.11.17 – Nursery Individual Photos

21.11.17 – Book Fair all week

22.11.17 & 23.11.17 – Parent Appointments

30.11.17 – M & M Productions - Pinocchio Panto

08.12.17 – Christmas Fayre, 9.30 – 11.45

14.12.17 & 15.12.17 – Christmas Shows

In this month’s newsletter –

Breakfast Club

Absence Reporting

Open Afternoon Feedback

Classroom Cafes

Barn Church Lunch Club

EQ Sports

Autism Awareness

Parent Council Update

Drop-in Sessions

Duncan the Coo

Countryfile

www.duncanforbesprimary.wordpress.com

September 2017 Volume 2 Volume 1

2Supporting and motivating learners in a friendly environment to be successful and achieving

Breakfast ClubOur new breakfast club is proving very

popular! It is currently running in the Nurture Room from 8am. For £2 children get a

selection of toast, cereal, yoghurt, fruit, fruit juice, diluting juice, milk and water. We can

take up to 25 in the room but if demand increases we can look to moving to a larger room. If you have booked a space and no longer need it then please let the school

know.

Barn Church Lunch ClubOne of our Primary 5 classes has begun inter-generational work with The Barn Church Lunch Club. This is something we are eager to continue to develop. The benefits for all will be evident to see. Primary 5AM selected some table top games to take along. It was a huge success and the children cannot wait for their next visit! They are busy selecting new games to play. The children engaged eagerly in conversation and their behaviour was

AbsencesPlease notify the school as soon as possible if your child is absent from

school for any reason. We have a dedicated absence telephone line on which you should leave a short message detailing your child’s

name, class and a brief reason for their absence. The number to call for this is 01463 796020. Following our recent updated Child

Protection training, it is imperative that we follow these guidelines in order to ensure the safety of all the children in our school.

Attached is a letter being sent out to all pupils from Jim Steven, Head of Education, in relation to absences during school term time.

Duncan Forbes Primary

Keppoch RoadInvernessIV2 7NY

Absence Line 01463796020

September 2017 Volume 2 Volume 1

3Supporting and motivating learners in a friendly environment to be successful and achieving

Drop-in SessionsWe are considering a plan to hold a series of

drop in sessions for parents and carers to come along to school and experience some of the

topics and content that the children are learning about beyond literacy and numeracy. You will also have the opportunity to see some of the resources and methods we use to teach

these areas of the curriculum. Details will follow as the plans progress. Please let the

Classroom CafésNext term we will be opening our Classroom

Cafés. Parents, carers, grannies, grandpas and the wider community will all be invited in to watch our class assemblies and to join the

children for afternoon tea. This will provide the children with experience of and develop skills

in; performing, catering and conversation.

EQ SportsThanks to one of our parents we won a day of input at school. The infants took part in laser tag and the upper school had a ball with bubble balls! We have had a great time and hope it leads to more opportunities for EQ Sports to come in for things like health and fitness week, etc. Keep an eye out for photos on the school blog

Clubs

We have a number of clubs taking place at lunchtime which are organised by the children themselves. This is an opportunity for them to develop their organisational and social skills. It is lovely to see them working together and enjoying themselves.

Good CitizenRecently we heard about one of our pupils who had noticed that a local cash machine had ejected cash with no one to receive it. She immediately ran into the local Co-op to raise the alarm. Well done Emma! We are very proud of your honesty and quick thinking. Thank you Danny for being such a good friend to Emma at the time also

Parent Council

The Parent Council AGM will be held shortly The Parent Council welcomes any new parents who are able to come along.

The date of the Parent Council Hallowe’en Disco will be announced shortly.

September 2017 Volume 2 Volume 1

4Supporting and motivating learners in a friendly environment to be successful and achieving

Highland Council School Closure Emergency Number08005642272School Pin Number041940http://www.highlanhttp://www.highland.gov.uk/site/custom_scripts/school_closures.php

I can’t believe the October holidays are almost upon us! We have had an extremely busy first term. The children have demonstrated outstanding behaviour and have participated with enthusiasm and eagerness in all aspects of their learning. Have a wonderful break and we will see you all refreshed and eager for the new term! Mrs Mackay

Countryfile

We were all so proud of Logan on his TV debut! Logan was on a recent episode of Countryfile to help promote their Countryfile Ramble. He

spoke so eloquently and is definitely a TV presenter in the making. At school we are considering how we can become involved in this very

worthwhile event.Playground Equipment

As you will be aware we were recently given a donation of £720 from our local Co-op. The money was raised due to the sudden and tragic death of one of our dear parents who was also a long standing member of staff at the local shop. We would like to again say a huge thank you to all who helped raise such a large sum and to tell you that

Greenhouse

We have recently purchased a new greenhouse for the school. Hopefully it will soon be filled with delicious fruit and vegetables.

Autism Awareness

A very kind parent in the school whose child has a diagnosis of ASD has sourced leaflets for all parents from the National Autistic Society

called ‘What is Autism?’

I hope you find them useful in celebrating the diversity within our

society. Those who receive their newsletters electronically will receive

one via the school bag.

Duncan the Coo and Forbes the Westie

You may have noticed our lovely Duncan is making an appearance around the school now. We also have a draft of Forbes the Westie. We have ordered some staff polo-shirts with Duncan on them so you can see what it looks like. We

are also setting up a Moochandise Enterprise Group to create more Duncan items.

Duncan will also be setting up his own Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and Blog accounts in the coming months. Look out

for him!