DAILLY PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

March 2019 Dear Parents / Carers, We have made it through the winter and to the end of a long 12 week term. We have kept the children and yourselves very busy with Scottish celebrations, World Book Day, Comic Relief as well as a trip to the Science Centre, SSPCA visit and Parents’ night. School BLOG It is now live so please go and have a look. You will find it at https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/sa/daillypsandeyc/ We have created a new BLOG and Twitter account so that we can share information, photos and successes with our Parents/Carers. Each class has its own area and the staff will continue to update it with information about the class and their activities as well as whole school events. We have also been using twitter to share some of our achievements. All of our tweets appear on our BLOG to keep you updated.

Download Twitter APP and follow us on @daillyprimary

Curriculum Mock Court project

Primary 7/6 participated in a Mock Court Project. The children were supported by Mrs Kirkwood and a visiting solicitor. Each child was assigned an important role as part of the case and they had the chance to visit Ayr Sheriff Court to participate in a mock court case with other schools. This was a cross-curricular project which used a court case to encompass a range of class room subjects from art to journalism, debating and writing skills. They had to produce art work and newspapers and make the gowns to wear in court before presenting their case to a real Sheriff at Ayr Sherriff Court. They all had key role including being a witness, solicitor, court artist or note taker. It was a great experience for them being in an actual court room and it was great that they were supported by their parents/carers.

Science Centre

P1-7 visited the Science Centre on Wednesday 30th January as part of their curricular studies and the school’s focus on Science. They had the opportunity to explore a wide variety of Scientific displays and develop their scientific knowledge through the interactive resources.

P1-3 and P4/3 visited the Planetarium to see into space and P5/4 and P7/6 visited the Imax to see Born to be Wild in 3D.

Scottish Celebrations

We held a Scottish concert for Parents/Carers in February where all classes from the Early Years Centre through to P7 performed songs and the winners from each class recited their poems. As always Davie Hunter had given up a lot of his time to work with the children and to support them on the day. All of the children worked very hard to learn their poems and songs as well as completing their projects. We were delighted that two members of the

Dailly Jolly Beggars were able to come along and judge the winners prior to our concert. The winners were presented with prizes, which were donated by the Dailly Jolly Beggars, for the poetry recitations, art work and personal projects during the Scottish Concert. The Jolly Beggars are very generous in donating money every year to support us in recognising the work that we do in promoting the Scots’ language and love of Burns.

Awarded for Excellence in poetry Primary 1 Grace Barr and Charlie Curran Primary 2 Indi McCleary and Sarah Nelson Primary 3 Keron Suiviste and Derry Sharkey Primary 4 Emillie Cairns, Maci McLeary, Rachel Ross Primary 5 Darcy Alexander and Lochlan Rae Primary 6 Arianna Mwarandu and Reagan Agnew Primary 7 Logan Stevenson and Aiden Curran

Awarded for Excellence in project work on Robert Burns Primary 5 Darcy Alexander and Alisha Elliott Primary 6 Arianna Mwarandu and Blake Murchie Primary 7 Danna Fraser and Emma Nelson

Awarded for Excellence in Art work Primary 5 Andrew Nelson and Logan Wason Primary 6 Archie Clark and Robbie Hutchison Primary 7 Lennon Eaglesham and Taylor Curran

This year four of our children, Emilie, Maci, Arianna and Logan went onto represent the school at the Ayrshire Association of Burns’ Club Competition in Ayr where they performed their poetry to a very high standard and were presented with certificates of merit.

Burns’ Supper As part of our Scottish celebrations Primary 5,6 and 7 organised and hosted a very successful Burns’ Supper on Thursday 7th February and were joined by Parents/Carers and invited guests. It was a huge undertaking organisng such an event including the tickets, invitations, programmes, placemats and decorating the hall, as well as practising the songs and poetry. All of P6 and 7 had key roles throughout the night in chairing, delivering the toasts, and performing which all made the event a huge success. We were delighted to be joined by Mr Hutchison, (Our Director), Councillors Clark, Fitzsimmons and Henderson as well as Mr Scobie and Mr and Mrs Brown from the Dailly Jolly Beggars and Davie Hunter providing the musical accompaniment at the Burns’ Supper.

William and Harry were also chosen to perform their excellent, ‘Address to a Haggis’, at the Alloway Burns’ Supper at Ayr Town Hall where they joined Primary 7 pupils from a number of schools in South Ayrshire participating in this very special event.

Girvan Pipe Band

We also had a visit from the Girvan Youth Pipe band and they played a selection of Scottish and modern music, sharing with us their skills on the drums and pipes. It was lovely to see some previous pupils who had started learning the chanter and drums with us and have continued it into secondary.

Health and Well-being

P7 transition programme

This term Primary 7 have been participating in a special transition programme at Girvan Academy organised by the PE department. The pupils were split into mixed classes which was a great opportunity for them to meet other young people from all of the cluster schools and develop their sporting skills.

Swimming

Primary 5 have been attending their block of swimming lessons at the Quay Zone and had a fantastic time. All the swimmers gained confidence throughout their 10 week block.

Outdoor learning

P3 and 4 pupils have been participating in outdoor learning sessions with Mrs Mitchell, Miss Fenton and one of our parent helpers Lorna Gillies.

Primary 3 and Primary 4 had several busy, wonderful afternoons Outdoor Learning within our local environment. The children had the opportunity to try out Orienteering, Transient Art (using Natural materials), climbing, running, jumping, Problem Solving, sketching and Photography but most of all they enjoyed the freedom they had to Risk Assess and be children enjoying nature!

STEM

The whole school and the Pre-school children had a block of 4 weeks where they focused particularly on Science and technology activities. They worked within their levels of Early, First and Second, giving them the chance to work with children in different classes.

EARLY IDL - Pre-school and Early Years

Through creative play, I explore different materials and can share my reasoning for selecting materials for different purposes. SCN 0-15a Early Level (Pre-school/P1) spent the past few weeks investigating Waterproof properties of fabrics. First, we discussed ‘predictions’ of what we expected to happen then tested our ideas, we had fun making funny hats and testing the materials to see if our hair got wet or stayed dry. Finally, we designed an umbrella using straws to create a frame and wax paper which would ‘repel’ the water.

Primary 2 and 3

Week 1 We created marshmallow shooters using a balloon and a cardboard cup. We used pompoms instead of marshmallows. We tried shooting with different sizes to see which one went the furthest. We also measured how much force was needed to make the pompom fly the furthest. Week 2 We moved onto small catapults. In pairs the children tried to design a catapult using only 6 elastic bands and up to 10 lollipop sticks. Only Adam managed to create a working catapult.

They then each followed video instructions and created their own. Some children modified theirs by adding an extra long arm or by using a higher stack of lollipop sticks to make the lever more flexible. They used a plastic lid as a dish for the marshmallow. The aim was to produce the best launch possible. They discovered that if the stack of lollipop sticks was pushed right in, the angle was better for shooting distance and not just height. Week 3 We discussed two-dimensional shapes and their properties. We looked around the room to identify objects shaped in different ways. We discussed right angles and how to show this.

We discussed how architects, builders, designers and engineers make good use of all the basic shapes found in this activity to build structures and design products. We then created our own shapes using bottle tops and correction fluid. Week 4 The children completed their patterns from the previous week, creating some artwork. Then they participated in a catapult challenge in the hall.

Primary 4

They learned the names and uses for a variety of science apparatus and got to carry out experiments using magnifying glasses and droppers. They practiced reading scales on force meters and test tubes and recorded the results of their science experiments by drawing tables, diagrams and writing short reports.

P5,6 and 7

Using the STEM resources from Lego Movie 2. We researched Space Exploration and designed rocket ships taking into account weight and aerodynamics and finally launched them using catapult propulsion. There are some action clips on twitter.

SSPCA

We had a visit from the SSPCA and they spoke to the children about caring for animals and delivered a couple of workshops. P2/1 and P4/3 had a workshop called Rabbit Rescuers and P5/4 and P7/6’s workshop was called Pawsitive Pets. The P5-7s had great fun with programming animal robots.

World Book Day 2019 We celebrated World book Day Thursday 7th March 2019. The theme this year was Share A Story. All children from EYC to P7 were involved in a range of activities throughout the week including :

Children brought in their favourite books (Stories, magazines, comics, factual books) from home to share with their peers.

Parents came into school to share some of their favourite stories they had read with their own children.

Online Author Masterclasses where writers shared and talked about their favourite books.

Bookworm program

Sponsored Read at home and in school which will provide new books for the school.

Pupils and Parents (Optional) to come dressed as their favourite book character.

Big Book quiz

Bookmark making

Parent workshops to look at online resources to support learning in class and at home.

Active Schools Badminton Our Badminton team : Logan Stevenson, Blake Murchie, Lauchlan Rae and Andrew Nelson, got through to the final of the Cluster competition against Ballantrae. It was an extremely close competitive match which they finished as runners up. Mr Woods very kindly took them for fish and Chips afterwards. Handball As part of their handball training, Mr Rennie entered the P6 and 7 pupils into a South Ayrshire cluster competition at the Citadell in Ayr. They played very well and had a great time. Well done to our team and thank-you to Lynda Connelly for volunteering to provide transport. Jack Barr, Aiden Curran, Taylor Curran, Lennon Eaglesham, William Higgins, Arianna Mwarandu and Logan Stevenson.

Ethos and life of the School

Pupil Voice Groups P2-7 have been working on their action plans within their Pupil Voice groups and last week each group presented the work that they have been doing at a special Pupil Voice Assembly. The children had produced posters, powerpoints and the ECO group even brought along their new bins to show us. Thank-you to Olivia Lee, Jillian Nelson and Lorna gillies who have been helping out with these groups. We would love some more Parents/Carers to join our groups so please contact the school if you would like to volunteer. The Pupil Voice groups meet every second Friday afternoon from 1.00-2.00pm. Personal Achievements On a Friday at Assembly, we celebrate personal achievements. We really enjoy having lots of things to share and celebrate so please encourage the children, with the support of yourselves to share some of their personal achievements. We have promised Mr McLachlan that we will e-mail him regular updates and some photos of the exciting things which appear on our Achievements board. Please remember to share your child’s personal achievements, via e-mail (mail.dailly@south-ayrshire.gov.uk) or by sending in information with your child. Nurture room We have used some of our Pupil Equity funding to develop our Nurture room. This is a calming, therapeutic and homely space where children from the Early Years through to P7 can use it as part of group or individual sessions to support their mental health and well-being. Mrs Eaglesham, Mrs Cameron and myself visited Ikea to re-design the room. Mrs Eaglesham has been the lead designer with her flair and vision.

ICT We have developed our open area upstairs to make it more of a focused IT area. We have extended the work surface along the windows and invested in trunking with computer and electrical points. This will allow us to have 14 desktop computers and a printer. This was a substantial investment but is is an area that the whole school can use as well as an area that we are hoping to use for Parents/Carers to be able to access IT training next session. We are also getting 10 new desktops and 5 laptops provided by the Authority as part of their re-fresh programme. Girvan cluster is also next on the list to be provided with wi-fi to enable us to connect our i-pads to the internet which will mean that we can download a lot more apps to support the children’s learning. Parents Zone Pupil and Parent surveys

The pupils in P4-7 completed surveys about the school and we have looked at the questions where the children’s answers were not as positive. During assembly we split the children into small groups and as part of a carousel they wrote down their suggestions as to how we could improve. The Class Teachers then followed this up in class with them to make sure that we captured all of their ideas.

One of the key areas that the children wanted to discuss was homework, bullying and online safety. There were also a lot of children that felt they did not get consulted on what they learn in school so we are going to look to address these areas.

Parent surveys were also generally very positive. The key areas which less than 90% parents agreed or strongly agreed were :

The information I receive about how my child is doing reaches me at the right time (84%) The school organises activities where my child and I can learn together (84%)

We will work with the Parent Partnership to address these.

Safety

Thank-you very much for your cooperation in relation to coming into the playground to collect your children at 3pm. Parents/Carers have been coming into the EYC playground which has meant that staff can ensure that the children in P1-3 are collected by an adult. Parents/Carers collecting children in P4-7 in cars need to supervise your own child crossing the road as we do not have a Crossing Patroller and our Janitor cannot be responsible for this. Please remember that unless you have been asked by another Parent to collect a child from school, please do not offer to take that child home as there may be other information communicated to the office and we need to account for all of the children. Uniform

We have finalised the design for the new school tie and we have a sample of it in the school office if anyone wishes to see it. We have ordered a tie to give to every pupil if they would like one. We understand that some children will prefer to continue wearing the polo shirts and sweatshirt or the dresses which some of the girls wear. This is absolutely fine as the tie is just another option and children do not have to wear it. We have asked the supplier to look at offering v-neck sweatshirts so that the tie can be seen. Please continue to support your child in wearing the school uniform. It is a practical option for school and also looks very smart. BE SCHOOL WEAR (Border Embroideries) provide our uniform for the school and Early Years Centre. http://www.border-embroideries.co.uk

PE Kit

This term there are still quite a few children coming to school without their kit. PE is an essential part of the curriculum and all children need to have the appropriate clothing to participate. All children are encouraged to bring a gym bag to keep their change of clothes and shoes in.

P1-3 can do P.E in their polo shirts but P4-7 children will probably need a change of t-shirt as their sessions can be very energetic.

Please ensure that children do not wear any jewellery on P.E days as it takes too long for them to take it off and there is a risk of losing things. Earrings are not permitted during P.E sessions so again please ensure that these are not worn on gym days.

Please label all clothing and belongings with your child’s name.

Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club has been very popular this term. Please encourage your child to attend as they have the opportunity to enjoy breakfast with their friends in a relaxed and welcoming environment. Children who are entitled to a free school meal can attend the Breakfast Club free of charge. All other children should pay £1 a day. Mrs McCrindle runs the breakfast club each day in the Early Years Centre from 8.15-8.45am. Once they have finished eating breakfast they are provided with some activities before going out to the playground. Please encourage your children to come along.

Breakfast Choices Toast / bread and pancakes with butter and / or jam

Rice Crispies, cornflakes, Weetabix or porridge with Milk Fruit, yoghurt, raisins Milk, Fruit Juice, water

Water All children should bring a clear drinking bottle which they are allowed to refill during the morning and lunchtime break. As we are an ECO friendly school we are trying to cut down on the use of disposable plastics so we no longer provide children with plastic cups. Try to discourage your children bringing disposable plastic bottles as part of their packed lunch as well.

Healthy and Balanced diet We have been actively promoting healthy choices for snacks and lunch whether choosing a school lunch or bringing in a packed lunch. It is vital that children have a balanced diet to enable them to maximise their learning potential.

Foods high in fat, salt and sugar should be eaten less often and in small amounts. These foods include chocolate, cakes, biscuits, sugary soft drinks, butter and ice- cream. They are not needed in the diet so should be eaten less often and in smaller amounts.

Please note that Nuts or any food containing traces of nuts (Nutella) is not allowed in any South Ayrshire schools due to the risk for children who have a nut allergy.

The link below will take you to the NHS website and the Eatwell Guide which shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/goodfood/Pages/the-eatwell-guide.aspx House points and termly treat The Winning house for this term is Kilkerran This week we have held the termly treat in line with their class points with each class being split into four groups, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze according to the number of points each child has gained in the term.

The termly treats this term were: Platinum – Quay Zone (Swimming) Gold - Outdoor Learning, Campfire and toasting marshmallows Silver – Baking Bronze – Puzzles, Crosswords and wordsearches The children had great fun at all of the activities which were fully funded by the school. Parent Partnership (Parent Council) We now have a newly formed Parent Partnership with 13 members so far which is fantastic after having a period of no Parent Council. Chairperson - Lynda Connelly Secretary - Jillian Nelson Treasurer - Jan Vance Committee members : Pauline Eaglesham Olivia Lee Fiona Matthews Nicola McDowall Claire McLeary Laura McMillan Lyndsey Murchie Denise Robertson Alison Ross Megan Scobie Please feel free to approach the any of the members with suggestions or feedback in relation to the school. We welcome positive feedback as well . Easter Eggs Thank-you to all of the Parents/Carers who have very kindly donated to our Easter raffle which we will be running the first week back after the holidays. We have had a lot of donations so far which we really appreciate. The more donations we have the more prizes the children can get. Andy McFarlane at McColl’s will also be providing an Easter egg for every child which is fantastic.

The Easter service will be on Wednesday 17th April at 9.30am in Dailly Parish Church followed by tea and coffee at the school. This is the first time we will have been in the Church since it closed for restoration work. It will be very nice to be back but I am sure that you will all agree that it will not be the same without Mr McLachlan there to lead the service. P5/4 will be leading the service and we will be joined by Rev. Edgar Ogston. Please extend a warm welcome to friends and family to come along and join us. I would like to wish everyone a very happy holiday and hope the weather is nice and you can all enjoy some relaxing, fun time outdoors.

DAILLY PRIMARY DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

TERM 4 2018

Week 1 Mon 15th Staff and Pupils return to school Wed 17th Easter Service in Dailly Parish Church followed by tea/coffee at the school Thurs 18th Education Scotland Thematic Inspection Fri 19th Good Friday (HOLIDAY) Week 2 Mon 22nd Easter Monday (HOLIDAY) Thurs 25th Celebration Assembly 2 (Please send in personal achievements before this date) Pupil voice groups – Parents welcome to join the groups 1.00-2.00pm Week 3 Mon 29th P1-7 Skiing and tubing at Newmilns Dry ski slope Tues 30th P5 and 6 ACE day (Beach Adventure and Rockpooling Wed 1st May Induction Day 1 new P1 Parents/Carers Thurs 2nd May Parents meetings 3.00-8.00pm (Pre-school to P7) Fri 3rd Pupil voice groups – Parents welcome to join the groups 1.00-2.00pm Week 4 Mon 6th HOLIDAY Wed 8th Family BBQ and music evening provided by Mr Welsh and his percussion group as

well as some percussion medleys from P7 Thurs 9th P6/7 Football tournament with Girvan and Sacred Heart Fri 10th Pupil voice groups – Parents welcome to join the groups 1.00-2.00pm Week 5 Inter house sports activities and P6+7 Championship events Thurs 16th Ante-Pre-school Induction Day 1(Details to follow) for all new 3 year olds starting Aug. Fri 17th P7 ACE Day (Canoe raft building) Week 6 Tues 21st P6 Transition event Girvan Academy Thurs 23rd Outdoor classroom Day – Parents/Carers open day for all classes Fri 24th Celebration Assembly 3 (Please send in personal achievements before this date) Pupil voice groups – Parents welcome to join the groups 1.00-2.00pm Week 7 Mon 27th HOLIDAY Tues 28th INSERVICE P7 Residential with ACE at Dolphin House (2 days) Fri 31st P5,6,7 ACE day Team building

Week 8 Mon 3rd EYC and School sports Day (If wet weather it will be the next available dry day) Wed 5th P7 transition days at Girvan Academy Thurs 6th P7 transition days at Girvan Academy Fri 7th P7 transition days at Girvan Academy Week 9 Mon 10th Thank-you afternoon for Parents/Carers and Educational Partners who have

supported the school throughout the year. Tues 11th P7 Transition days at Carrick Academy Girvan Academy Parents evening 6pm Wed 12th P7 Transition days at Carrick Academy Thurs 13th School reports issued

P7 Transition days at Carrick Academy Whole school Bump up Day EYC to P7 Ante Pre-school Induction Day 2 Fri 14th P7 Transition days at Carrick Academy Week 10 Wed 19th Girvan Academy concert for P7s Thurs 20th P7 Leavers’ show and whole school Prize Giving Week 11 Thurs 28th Termly Treat pm Fri 28th Close for holidays 1pm

Feedback Name of Parent: _____________________ (Optional) Child’s Class / Classes __________________ (Optional) Please use the space below to provide feedback on any of the many activities which your children have been involved in during last term. We are also always looking for new ideas and ways to improve the learning experiences for your child so please provide any helpful comments below. ____________________________________________________________

(Please detach from the Newsletter and return to the school)