Please read this letter from Alistair Gaw, Director of Children and Families about School Provision from August (dated 12th June 2020).
Please also check our School Closure: Useful Documents & Links page for up to date guidance and support for families during school closure.
Keep up to date with all current national advice through NHS Inform and the Scottish Government website.
Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher
Abbeyhill Ambassadors met this morning to discuss some big questions before meeting with Lesley McMillan from Architecture & Design Scotland on Monday who will be helping us as we think about what our future playground could look like. Having Lesley’s involvement will be very helpful as we think about the design of our outdoor classroom and also begin to think about what we can do in the small playground once the janitor’s house is demolished. As part of our preparation we were asked to think about the book ‘Campfires in Cyberspace: Primordial Metaphors for Learning in the 21st Century’ by David Thornburg but once we’d decided what it was all about we got slightly off topic by discussing the best resipes for smores!
Earlier in the week, we had our second Parent Literacy session and the parents who attended really enjoyed hearing how Literacy is taught in the Early years from Mr Hamilton. Ms Howson will talk about strategies used in further up the school on Monday next week at the third and final session. If you missed out on a place this time then please consider coming next time we run these sessions as parent feedback has been very positive.
On Tuesday I attended a meeting for all Edinburgh Head Teachers. We meet regularly and it’s a good opportunity to discuss our different schools, share ideas and hear the important messages of the day. Raising attainment is always at the forefront of our minds and this had a suitably lengthy agenda slot with a lot of discussion around the Edinburgh Improvement Plan 2020-23; this will have a significant influence on all school improvement plans for next session.
On Wednesday I was lucky enough to take P5 to the Reid Concert Hall as part of the Edinburgh University Music Society’s Education project. Together with P5 pupils from Dalry Primary School, we learned about all the different instruments in the orchestra, the science behind their different sounds and even got a chance to play the percussion instruments and conduct! The orchestra played some well known pieces of music that we were able to sing along to and everyone agreed that it had been a fantastic experience.
Next week, P3 are looking forward to their trip to the Royal Botanic Gardens on Monday; expect sore legs (they’re walking!) and happy faces by the end of the day! We are also looking forward to seeing as many families as possible for Parents’ Evening next week. If you feel unwell, please follow up to date guidance and email the school to arrange an alternative appointment at a later date.
Coronavirus
Please follow all current advice with regards to Coronavirus from reputable sources; the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and Health Protection Scotland. The City of Edinburgh Council is in daily contact with these organisations and advice for staff is being updated constantly. Anything that will affect our school community will be communicated to you immediately.
Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher
Our classes have been busy this week and I was lucky enough to spend a day in P7 this week and even more luckily, on a day when a trip was planned! P7 are working with staff at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on a project based around Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches which are currently displayed there and it was a pleasure to see their own sketchbooks which they have created as well as witness the time and effort they put into creating their own emblems, inspired by Leonardo.
Over the next two weeks, they will visit with P2 and help their younger buddies to make dragon masks so watch this space for some photos!
P1 have been out on the hills as usual (luckily for them the rain didn’t start until after school) and have been using natural resources to help them with their current Maths topic of time. Well done P1!
P2 planted Mirabilis Jalapa perennials in their own alphabet pots which they had made. Not only will they look lovely as they grow in the classroom but they might even be able to be transplanted into our outdoor planters which will form part of our Outdoor Classroom and Community Garden which was launched on Monday! It was fantastic to get so many parents and lots of really useful suggestions for how we can get started, from landscapers to project managers and practical tips for growing with the children. I can’t wait to see it all begin to take shape and I’m confident there will be a lot of discussion about it at Parent Council next week.
P3 have also had a busy week as they have made pancakes in the Cooking Classroom which included recipe writing, measuring and munching! (None made their way to Mrs Ketchin’s office I notice…). They even found time to design and make their own wooden boats before testing them in the water tray and YES they all floated!
P5, 6 & 7 had a visit from Generation Science yesterday and learned all about electrical circuits.Everyone now knows what electrons, atoms and negative charges are, as well as how to build their own ammeter!
On Tuesday I was on a Child Protection course to update my qualification in this area. We discussed some hard hitting topics and examined practice from across Education, Health, Social Work and the Police. Online safety was discussed at length with advice for parents (and practitioners) to think of the internet as a place when you are trying to decide whether to let your child use a particular app, game or website. Just like the real world, the internet is a wonderful, diverse place with amazing things to see and do but also with plenty of hidden dangers that young people need to be guided to navigate and deal with. Would you let your child go to Waverley Station, speak to as many strangers as possible, swap phone numbers and get on an unknown train? This is the reality of what many apps and games encourage children to do with TikTok being one of the most toxic apps available at the moment.
Next week, our Parent Literacy course starts on Monday and the tutors plus teachers are looking forward to sharing tips and strategies that we use in school to help you help your child. We have a Parent Council meeting on Wednesday and I shall also be at a cluster Head Teachers meeting where P7 transition to high school will be a strong agenda item – not long now! Mrs Watt and I shall be holding interviews for citywide Pupil Support Assistant posts and the Abbeyhill Ambassadors will be crossing their fingers that they get a reply to their letter to a local soup kitchen offering to spread kindness round the community.
And finally…
There have been no reported cases of coronavirus in Scotland yet but if you are concerned about anyone in your family, please do not come to school or send your child to school but seek advice from NHS 111 immediately. Do not physically go to your GP. In the meantime, the usual good hand hygiene practices and caution about seeing anyone who has travelled to an affected area will help to keep your family healthy. The Easter holidays are still 5 weeks away but it is worth checking your travel insurance in case you have trips booked to any of the affected countries which you may be advised to cancel.
Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher
Abbeyhill Primary School 