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East CraigsPrimary School November, 2016

MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD TEACHER’S DESKWelcome to our November newsletter. We continue, as always, to be very busy in school with a range of learning opportunities and events. Please read on to find out more about these and about our forthcoming plans for the Festive Season. You should have received our separate communication detailing diary dates throughout December. I have included these again for you at the end of this newsletter. These are also available on our school website.

Pupil Health and WellbeingI would greatly appreciate your support in ensuring that your child does not bring nuts, or nut-based products, to school. We have a number of children who are allergic, and for whom contact would have very serious consequences. Many thanks.

Official Opening of Games HallMany thanks to Mrs Johnston for the following article:-

Classes are now thoroughly enjoying the use of our new gym hall and are still amazed at all the space that they have for PE lessons!We are looking forward to the official opening of our new hall which will be held on the afternoon of Monday 19th

December. It will take the format of a whole school assembly with some ‘special guests’ invited along to speak to the children and officially open our new games hall. Both the games hall and our new building will be open for parents and carers to come and have a look around at the end of the school day on the 19th. We will also open the hall and new building from 6-7pm on the same day to allow families who were not able to make it during the day. Everyone is most welcome to come and have a look. A letter with further details will follow.

0131 339 7115www.eastcraigs.edin.sch.uk

http://www.eastcraigs.edin.sch.uk/


Christmas HolidaysThe school will close for the holidays on Thursday 22nd December, 2016 at 12:00 noon for all pupils, including Nursery. Pupils return on Tuesday 10th January, 2017 at the usual times.

Nativity PerformancesOur P1 pupils will be performing their Nativity to parents/carers on Friday 16th December at 9:30am, then again at 11:30am. Further details regarding obtaining tickets will follow under separate cover.

Our Nursery pupils will perform their Nativity on Wednesday 14th

December 10:30-11:30am (AM pupils) and 1:45-2:45pm (PM group).

P2 Singalong PerformancesOur P2 pupils will be performing their Singalong on Tuesday 13th

December and Wednesday 14th

December, both at 2:00pm. Again, a separate communication will be issued with further details.

Christmas PartiesThe dates of our Christmas Parties are detailed on the Diary dates sheets and at the end of the newsletter. A party snack and drink will be provided for your child by the school. Arrangements for your child changing into party clothes will be as per the individual class teacher.




Christmas PantomimeI am delighted to inform you that we have M & M Productions performing “Peter Pan” for our whole school in our new Games Hall, on Tuesday 20th December. We hope that having the Panto come to us, rather than having the children travel, limits the risk of inclement weather, and any other unforeseen circumstances, causing disappointment to pupils through us being unable to attend. This also enables our Nursery pupils to attend for the first time. Many thanks to our PTA who are providing a drink and snack for each child, to mark this special event. A letter will follow under separate cover with further details.

Church Service You are warmly invited to join us at the Church Service at Craigsbank Church on Wednesday 21st December at 1:45pm. Please

arrive promptly, as the service is always very busy. A separate communication will be issued to ascertain details of pupils’ end-of-day collection arrangements. We look forward to seeing many of you there.

Class AssembliesOur P6 and P4 classes delighted packed audiences with their performances of their Romans and Egyptians Assemblies respectively. The events were made extra-special as they were performed in our new Games Hall. Many thanks to our staff members who supported pupils in preparing for the performance.

P6 WorkshopsWe were privileged to be joined by volunteers from Business Community Scotland, and employees from Lloyds Bank, who delivered workshops focusing on the World of Work and entrepreneurial skills, on Tuesday this week. Feedback from staff and pupils was fantastic, particularly around the way in which pupils were challenged to




think critically. We look forward to continuing to build on this highly positive business partnership.

Open Day Our Open Day for prospective new Primary 1 parents & carers for Session 2017-18 was held on Wednesday 2nd November, with highly positive feedback from those who attended. Our House Captains were excellent ambassadors for our school as they talked to our visitors about what it was like to be a pupil in East Craigs focusing on their learning and the leadership opportunities they have available.

East Craigs Parent CouncilMany thanks to Mrs Susi Isler and Mrs Christina Rigby for the following article:-

ECPC Update – November 2016Many thanks to everyone who came along to our recent Parent Council meeting on 7 November and a special thank you to the teachers who came along – we appreciate that this makes it a long day “at the office” for you!We had a good meeting covering a range of topics and the minutes

from the meeting will be made available on the school website shortly.We are still very keen to have parents and carers from all classes/year groups come along to our meetings to ensure we have a good representation of opinions and views from our parent body. Our meetings are open to anyone with children at East Craigs and are very informal; they give us the opportunity to hear directly from our Head Teacher and Senior Management Team on what is going on in the school and affects our children’s education. There is no time commitment involved other than attending the meeting, and equally no need to speak unless you want to, but it’s a great way of supporting the school and being involved in your child’s school life.As noted previously our Parent Council Secretary Mrs Crosbie is currently on secondment to the Centre and we are looking for someone to take over the Secretarial duties to East Craigs Parent Council. If you are interested in helping out and would like to have a chat, please contact either Christina or Susanne by email at the email address below or via the school office.Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 24th January @ 18.45 – 20:00 in the staff room, please let us know if there’s any agenda items you would like discussed. Contact details: [email protected] or via the school office please mark “For



mailto:[email protected]


Attention of Christina Rigby or Susanne Isler”

Dates of Future meetingsTuesday 24 January

Wednesday 15 March

Tuesday 16 May

Timing: 18.45 – 20.00

East Craigs PTA The Shopping Evening held at St. Thomas’ Church, on Friday 18th November, was again a huge success. It was a lovely community event with an excellent attendance which led to an amazing £1403.99 being raised. We also enjoyed a fantastic performance from our school choir, led by Mrs Graham, which really got us all in the Festive spirit. The choir will be performing during the month of December, as detailed on the Diary dates sheet issued, and at the end of the newsletter.

Many thanks to all who attended for supporting our community and to our PTA members who organised the event.

Our Christmas Fair is being held in school this Saturday, 3rd December between 10:00am -12:00 noon. Again, this is a wonderful community event with loads on offer, including some fantastic raffle prizes. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Future Dates

Friday 2/12/16 - Fair Set-up 2:00-4:00pm

Saturday 3/12/16 - Xmas Fair 10:00am-12:00 noon

Wednesday 18/1/17 - PTA Meeting 6.45pm

Wednesday 1/2/17 - Bingo Night 7.00pm

Wednesday 1/3/17 - P5/6 Disco 7.00pm

Wednesday 3/5/17 - PTA Meeting 6.45pm

Friday 9/6/17 - Fair Set-up 2:00-4:00pm

Saturday 10/6/17 Summer Fair 10:00am-12:00 noon

You can contact the Chair of our PTA, Mrs Lynn Wallace, at:-




East Craigs PTA [email protected]

Nursery NewsMany thanks to Mrs Caroline Young for the following article:-

Preparations are well underway for our Christmas Nativity show “Mary’s Knitting.” You are all invited to come and enjoy this show, which will be on Wednesday, 14th December 10.30am to 11.30am for the morning and 1.45pm to 2.45pm for the afternoon group. The children come in at the normal time. All parents/carers are invited. Please help your child by learning the words to the songs at home, song sheets have been sent home with all the children. All costumes will be provided.

Christmas parties will be on Monday, 19th December for both the morning and afternoon groups. Please note the change of date for this. Mr Boom – “A Children’s One Man Band from the Moon!” has been booked for both parties. There will also be another

special visitor coming. If you would like to see Santa giving your child a present you can come at 10.45 if your child is in the morning nursery or at 2.15 if your child is in the afternoon nursery. The parties are for children only and normal nursery times will apply that day. The children are welcome to come dressed in party clothes if they like. All costs for these parties have been covered by Nursery Funds.

The school PTA have organised a Christmas Fair that will take place in the school on Saturday, 3rd December from 10.00am to 12.00pm. The nursery will have a stall and the children have made wonderful decorations to sell at the fair. Please do try to come along and help raise money for the school and if you are able to help on the nursery stall with your child please do sign up for this.

Pupils’ AchievementsPlease read on to hear about the fantastic range of achievements our pupils have shared this month.





Once again there are lots of fabulous achievements throughout the school.In Primary 1/1Prawanya Geddam earned a certificate for dancing, whilst Lekya Akisetty also gave a fabulous dance performance in the Telugu Association of Scotland’s Diwali Celebrations. Olly Conner also in P1/1 earned his 2nd Kai at Judo.In Primary 1/3 William Hinchcliffe achieved his Level 1 belt at Judo. He also was extremely brave crossing the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge in Northern Ireland with his family. Well done William.In Primary 2B Gracie Molloy earned a certificate of achievement for her gymnastics whilst Kerr Masterton won a trophy for the “Best Costume” when he dressed up as “The Destroyer”. Hannah Kelly, also in P2B was delighted to be going in a limousine with her family to meet Forth Radio’s Boogie and Arlene because her sister, Laura in P7B won the “Design a Christmas Light” competition. Well done Laura!In Primary 2/3 Jessica Morrell took part in a performance at her dancing school. She was a fantastic werewolf! Lily Mather won a medal playing football for her team and Abbie Black managed to climb the monkey bars at Edinburgh Zoo. Well done P2/3 girls.There have been lots of achievements in P3A this month with both Jasmine Pilkington and Ayla McLeod making their

Brownie promises. Ayla was also chosen to carry the Brownie flag at the Youth Service at Craigsbank Church on the 6th

November. She has also been busy earning her first Brownie badge – Healthy Heart.Abbie Dryden in P3A was delighted to tell us that she has now finished her time at Rainbows, made her promise and got a lovely shiny new badge to keep.Alex Reid in P3A has been awarded a badge at Beavers for being a Team Leader – excellent Alex! James Brodie has also been busy at Beavers and has now earned an amazing 11 badges! James has also teamed up with Aaron Williams and David Pullen from his class as well as Jack Buyers (P3B) and Gregor Gilhooly (P3B) to challenge themselves to climb higher at the Clip ‘n’ Climb at Ratho and collectively have now climbed higher than our school building! Excellent work boys!Lucas McIntyre in P3A has earned his red stripe belt at Tae Kwon Do. Nathan Sherry (P3A) was a good citizen in Sainsbury’s after seeing someone lose their keys. He made sure that they were safely returned to their owner. In P3B Amelia Isler McCurdy has completed her Level 3 at skiing. Well done Amelia.In Primary 4A Lucas Key has achieved his yellow belt (8th Kup) at Tae Kwon Do.




In Primary 5B Jamie Thomson won the Craigielaw medal tournament by getting the lowest number of shots, whilst Madison Leask earned a medal for her solo performance in both lyrical and jazz dancing.In Primary 6A Sarah Whiten was awarded a cup for being ‘player of the week’ for her football team. In Primary 7A Navya Geddam danced at a cultural festival celebrating diversity. Mounika Papsulate P6B was excited to tell us that she has now managed to break a wooden board with her elbow and has been moved to the adult class in Karate! What a great achievement Mounika.Sophie and Niamh both in P6B sat their Grade 2 Modern dance exam and can’t wait for their results. They both feel that it went really well and are hoping for distinctions. Fingers crossed for you girls.Also in P6B Simone Isler McCurdy has completed her Level 3 skiing. Great news Simone. In P7A Katrina Stove donated some money to the Marie Curie Foundation after holding a fundraiser.Mia Henderson, also in P7A, completed the McTuff Kids Mudder assault course with her family. Angelina McCaskey (P7A) was awarded a trophy by her football team – Hearts Under 11s. Well done Angelina.

Community Learning TeamsOur Community Learning Teams have now had their second meeting in school. You should have received my separate communication detailing what we hope to achieve through this learning opportunity. I am delighted to say that we have had some parents, carers and relatives come forward to say they would like to be members of the teams, which I am delighted about. As is the case with the Volunteer Policy, we don’t have parents/carers within their own child’s class, but you are most welcome to come along and support any of the other teams. Below is a reminder of the teams currently running, which will continue into next term. Next session, we will review the teams on offer in order that our pupils can make a different choice of team, if they wish.




1. Digital Leaders2. World of Work3. Film-making4. Forest Schools5. School Communication 6. Cookery as a Life Skill7. Rights Rangers8. Outdoor Learning9. Eco & Sustainability10.Community & Citizenship11.One World, One Language12.Eco Upcycling13.Community Garden Force14.Mindfulness15.Performance

Remembrance Service I attended the Annual Corstorphine Remembrance Service on Sunday 13.11.16, accompanied by Rebecca Scott and Rebecca Dillon, two of our House Captains to lay a wreath on behalf of our school community. I received a letter from the organisers of the event commending our House Captains for their dignified conduct, who were again excellent ambassadors for our school.

Communication From LBA After School ClubsI have been asked to include the below information by the organisers of the below after-school care provider.

LBA AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS

REGISTER NOW FOR 2017

We run a Breakfast Club for East Craigs and Corstorphine Primary Schools and an After School Club for East Craigs, Corstorphine and

Clermiston Primary Schools.

Clubs currently operate from Craigsbank Church and The

Munro Centre

CONTACT US OR REGISTER ONLINE




01313391490

www.lbaafterschool.club

lba after school club - home

www.lbaafterschool.club

“Welcome to Edinburgh's most exciting and modern

after school activity club for children. Run by the same

team who brought you 'Leaps

and Bounds Nursery' at Drum Brae ...”

[email protected]

Jackie ReidHead Teacher

December Dates For Your DiaryDecember 2016

Saturday 3rd Dec 10-12noon Christmas School Fair

Wednesday 7th Dec P6 SU Christmas Workshop at East Craigs Church

Centre AM only 1.30pm P5 Party

Thursday 8th Dec 9am P3 Christmas Party 11am P4 Christmas Party

Monday 12th Dec Christmas Post Starts – post box at main office

Tuesday 13th Dec 9.30-10.15 Choir Group 1 singing at Tesco 11-11.45 Choir Group 2 Singing at Tesco 2pm P2 Christmas Sing Along Performance 1

Wednesday 14th Dec

Nursery NativityAM group – 10.30 – 11.30

PM group – 1.45 – 2.45 11-12.30 P6 Christmas Party 2.00pm P2 Christmas Sing Along Performance Choir Carol Evening at Craigsbank Church 7pm

Thursday 15th Dec 9am P7 Christmas Party 1.30pm Nativity Dress Rehearsal to pupils

Friday 16th Dec 9.30am Nativity Performance 1 to parents 11.30am Nativity Performance 2 to parents

Monday 19th Dec 9am P1 Christmas Party 11am P2 Christmas Party PM Official Games Hall Opening Last day of Christmas Post Box




http://www.lbaafterschool.club/




Tuesday 20th Dec M and M Productions present “Peter Pan” to whole

school in Gym Hall AM Nursery Party with Mr Boom PM Nursery Party with Mr Boom

Wednesday 21st Dec 1.45pm Church Service at Craigsbank Church P1-7

and Families

Thursday 22nd Dec 12noon End of Term January 2017

Mon 9th Jan Staff InserviceTues 10th Jan All Pupils Return



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