Looking back, looking forward

Thank you to Russell McLarty who led our Remembrance Assembly for P3-7 on Monday. He was supported by P6 who had completed a beautiful piece of commemorative artwork which everyone was then able to contribute to by sticking a handmade poppy to the field. The whole school, from Nursery to P7, observed the 2 minute silence at 11am and were respectful towards the occasion.

Switch Off Fortnight

The Abbeyhill Ambassadors have been stalking the corridors and classrooms as part of Switch Off Fortnight to complete their audit of electronic equipment left on standby and other energy wastes going on in our school. The results will be shared in assembly on Monday…watch this space!

Children in Need 

Thank you so much to everyone who donated toys and books for our Toy Sale and who entered into the spotty spirit of BBC Children in Need today! At the last count, we had raised just under £260 which is absolutely fantastic. A special thanks goes to Miss Macdonald for organising the whole event, as well as the Abbeyhill Ambassadors, Mrs Paxton and Mrs Peters for supporting on the day. We’ll be proud to add our donations to those that are already pouring in for such a worthwhile cause.

Anti-Bullying Week

This week was national Anti-Bullying Week and on Monday in assembly we’ll be recapping class discussions, sharing tips on how to deal with bullying behaviour and what to do if it happens to you. If this is something you’re worried about, please contact your child’s teacher in the first instance. It’s common for children to hide what’s going on, for multiple reasons, but the more people there are who are aware and able to look out for your child, the faster everyone can work to improve the situation.

Into Film Festival 

Lots of us have had the chance to visit the cinema this week as part of the Into Film Festival this week and it’s been great to see the excitement on everyone’s faces as they have headed off as well as hear all about it on their return.

Book Week Scotland 

Book Week Scotland starts next week and we have exciting plans, led by Ms Howson! Look out for book tasting, extreme reading, secret books and much more…come back next week to find out more about what we get up to.

Have a great weekend!

Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher

What a great week! (Oh no it wasn’t, OH YES IT WAS!)

Panto time!

It’s a little early for pantomime but we never let convention put us off at Abbeyhill and so we were delighted to welcome M&M Theatrical Productions into school on Wednesday who gave us two fantastic performances of ‘Dick Whittington’. Everyone from Nursery to P7 absolutely loved it and it was hard to keep everyone calm for the rest of the day! While we recognise and embrace the benefits of going to the theatre, this was an easy and cost-effective way for everyone to enjoy this experience together. Living in this wonderful city provides opportunities through festivals and our Artists-in-Residence programme throughout the year to experience live performances in more formal settings.

Winter Windows

It’s congratulations to Michael in P7 who was one of only a handful of winners of the City of Edinburgh Council ‘Winter Windows’ competition! Michael’s design on the theme ‘Festive Welcome’ will be made into a stained glass window style light box and will be displayed in West Parliament Square over the festive period. Please have a wander up the Royal Mile to see it, as well as all the other fantastic designs by other children across the city. As Michael is the first Abbeyhill student (in our memory) to win, P7 will go to visit the window and have a hot chocolate to celebrate his achievement. Well done Michael!

Parent Council

Thank you to everyone who attended Parent Council on Wednesday; we had a bumper session combining the AGM and a regular meeting. Congratulations to the post holders who were (re)elected and thank you to the wider Parent Council and school community for supporting all of their efforts. Most recently, Parent Council organised and run yet another set of brilliant Halloween parties. As usual, the children threw themselves enthusiastically into the spirit of the event and some wild and wonderful costumes were on show!

Switch Off Fortnight 

Switch Off Fortnight starts on 18th November and we’re embracing the key theme of ‘Goodbye, standby’. The Abbeyhill Ambassadors will be carrying out an audit of all the electronic items in their classrooms over the next week, mainly looking for items that are left on standby or left on without being in use. We’ll be bringing everyone’s attention to it from the 18th so expect vigilance in your home around TVs on standby, lights left on and phone chargers left in the wall. Sorry in advance! Of course, the 18th November also marks the start of Book Week Scotland and teachers will be communicating our plans for that once we have put our finishing touches to them on Monday (there might be another photo competition coming up….cameras at the ready!)

Next week

Monday is Remembrance Day and as always at Abbeyhill, we will be marking the occasion with a 2 minute silence at 11am and a special assembly led by Russell McLarty and P6. Everyone is always very good at understanding the solemnity of the day and I expect this year to be no different.

Also on Monday, I will be visiting Ratho Primary as part of my Leading Learning Partnership group where the participating Head Teachers will be sharing good practice and supporting each other with tips and advice. I’ll then be at a Head Teacher’s Conference all day on Tuesday before supporting the authority with an audit on enrolment and capacity planning on Thursday. Hopefully I’ll have time to speak to staff and children in between times!

On Friday Miss Macdonald and the Abbeyhill Ambassadors will be running the Toy and Book Sale for Children in Need; thank you for all the donations that have been sent in so far. I think I’ll get quite a bit of Christmas shopping done! If your child is having a clear-out in preparation for this, please check what they are donating before it leaves the house in case they have got carried away and have something of sentimental value or that you otherwise want to keep in their bag.

Thank you and have a lovely weekend.

Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher

 

A whirlwind week!

Phew, we made it – what a week we’ve had at Abbeyhill! On Monday and Tuesday, we were delighted to welcome 15 Chinese Language Education students into school to observe learning and teaching as part of their Edinburgh University course. On Wednesday, we welcomed 16 Panamanian teachers for the morning who came to observe and compare the Scottish curriculum and teaching practices with what they do at home. I had a fascinating conversation about the challenges we each face and they left with a very positive impression of life in a Scottish school.

Also on Wednesday, we had lots of prospective P1 parents who came to look round Abbeyhill as their catchment school for starting P1 in August. The Abbeyhill Ambassadors showed everyone around and answered questions about what it’s like to be an Abbeyhill pupil and I’m delighted at the positive feedback that they got. It’s only November (just) but I’m already looking forward to seeing all our new P1s next year!

We had Parents’ Evening on Tuesday and Thursday and as always it was a pleasure to welcome families into school to catch up on what their children have been learning and how they have been progressing. Our Parent Council Uniform Exchange took its highest total yet so thank you to everyone who supported it.

In amongst all of this, P7 managed to sneak out for a bit of peace and quiet and went to ‘The Art of Listening’ workshop at The Hub, home of the Edinburgh Festival. They were treated to live operatic and piano performances and engaged in a little mindfulness (something that we’re very good at) and visualisation before heading home full of classical music inspiration.

 

And finally, today is the day that everyone has been waiting for and Halloween parties are raging on downstairs as I type! Every year this event is planned, organised and run by the Parent Council and it’s always very much enjoyed by everyone who attends. Thanks as always to Mrs Pender and Ms McCourt for their support as well as all the other staff who have donned a spooky costume and headed into the party!

Thankfully, next week is a little quieter but Parent Council is on Wednesday evening; please feel welcome to come along and join in with what is always a very enjoyable discussion about how to make Abbeyhill an even better place to live and learn!

Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher

Primary Schools Open Day 30.10.19

Is your child due to start P1 in August 2020? Is Abbeyhill your catchment school? If so, please come and visit us on Wednesday 30th October between 0930 and 1030, or 1330 and 1430. We’ll be pleased to show you round, answer any questions that you may have and share key information about the school.

 

Hitting the ground running, as always!

It’s been a short week for pupils but the staff returned from the October holidays on Monday and packed a lot of work into 2 days before normal service resumed. We completed First aid training, explored the new Dyslexia Guidelines, refreshed our knowledge of leading and managing trips near and far, attended a cluster Maths event (led in part by Miss Macdonald), recharged with some Mindfulness and had a discussion about staff wellbeing and workload. As soon as the children returned on Wednesday it was back to busy normality with Forest Adventures in the Nursery, a ‘Give Racism the Red Card’ workshop in P7, the start of an Edinburgh University Music project and the start of intense rehearsals for the choir in the run up to the festive season. I had an Abbeyhill Ambassadors meeting this morning and prepared them for a high level of duties next week…see below for everything we have got going on!

 

On Tuesday evening, a group of Abbeyhill-ers represented the school at the centenary celebrations for Save the Children. Along with Ben Macpherson, Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development, they paid tribute to the charity which supports children all over the world to grow, develop and become who they want to be – and has done for 100 years. We have personally benefited at Abbeyhill as Mrs Lyall and Mrs El Sarrag have delivered the StC ‘Families Connect’ programme for the last two years which has had positive feedback from all the families involved. Thank you to the parents and staff who went along on the night and supported as well.

 

© Sandy young Photography 07970 268944 100 years of Save the Children’s work in Scotland. E: sandy@scottishphotographer.com W: http://www.scottishphotographer.com

© Sandy young Photography 07970 268944 100 years of Save the Children’s work in Scotland. E: sandy@scottishphotographer.com W: http://www.scottishphotographer.com

© Sandy young Photography 07970 268944 100 years of Save the Children’s work in Scotland. E: sandy@scottishphotographer.com W: http://www.scottishphotographer.com

© Sandy young Photography 07970 268944 100 years of Save the Children’s work in Scotland. E: sandy@scottishphotographer.com W: http://www.scottishphotographer.com

© Sandy young Photography 07970 268944 100 years of Save the Children’s work in Scotland. E: sandy@scottishphotographer.com W: http://www.scottishphotographer.com

© Sandy young Photography 07970 268944 100 years of Save the Children’s work in Scotland. E: sandy@scottishphotographer.com W: http://www.scottishphotographer.com

If you enjoy the festive season and keep an eye on the Edinburgh’s Christmas website to see what’s coming up, you might have spotted that Abbeyhill is going to be part of Community Christmas and we’re very proud and excited to be one of only two schools in Edinburgh selected to take part. Our special night is going to be Thursday 12th December so watch out for more information as the time comes closer. Our choir will be performing and the outside of the school will be transformed with a magical light show.

I hope everyone comes back to school rested and refreshed and ready for a very busy week next week; we have Parents’ Evenings, P1 Open Day, a visit from some Panamanian teachers AND the Parent Council Halloween Parties. Not to mention the fact that most of the staff will be embarking on the October step-count challenge…there’s already a lot of competitiveness coming to the surface between the teams and it hasn’t even officially started yet! 

Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher