Welcome back!

Happy New Year! It’s been lovely to have the children back in school for the last few days and we’re all looking forward to our first full week next week.

Covid

Guidance is changing rapidly so please keep your eye on information from the Scottish Government as well as anything sent via school from the City of Edinburgh Council. If you are ever in any doubt, contact Test and Protect for advice.

In school, we continue to:

• Keep classrooms ventilated
• Wear face coverings (staff) when moving around the school and if working closely with learners
• Encourage good hand hygiene for all with the use of hand washing facilities and sanitising points
• Maintain 2m distance between adults
• Carry out lateral flow tests several times a week (staff)

We would ask that you continue to:

• Stay outside the playground, with the exception of Nursery, P1 and P2 parents and carers
• Wear face coverings if you are in the playground, unless exempt
• Adhere to social distancing guidance
• Keep up to date with government guidance around testing and self-isolation

Friday play sessions at The Collective

Friday afternoon outdoor play sessions will continue starting next Friday (14th January) and will be on every week during term time. This is a great opportunity to get out and have fun in the fresh air (with the play shelter as a base), exploring a part of the city which not everyone knows about!

You’ll learn about weather systems and the biodiversity found at The Collective and the surrounding areas. Wrap up warm and stay cosy with a hot chocolate at the top!

School Uniform Bank

Further to Lorna French’s letter which was sent to families on Wednesday we have been asked to share some more information about the Edinburgh School Uniform Bank to explain how this organisation can support families.  More information is available on their website  https://edinburghuniform.org/

Have a lovely weekend,

Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher

Campfires in Cyberspace?

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 

Imagination is the key

What a treat we’ve had today! We all went to the nearby Meadowbank Parish Church for a special concert with Fischy Music and heard the debut performance of ‘Imagination’ which P4 wrote from scratch and recorded with Margaret and Christy from Fischy. P4 (or ‘Baby Alien’ which is their official band name) gave a fantastic performance and managed not to be distracted by the fact that they were being beamed up onto big screens for everyone to see. We all had a brilliant time, dancing and singing along – including the staff and parents who managed to join us!

Of course, some of us had our Pudsey ears on as it is BBC Children in Need today. Mrs Brotherston and Mrs Pender got into the spirit of it as always and have had a bit of extra attention from the traffic as they have carried out their lollipop duties! Thanks also to Miss Macdonald, Mrs Lyall and Mrs Macdougall for organising our Children in Need toy sale yesterday; we raised £135 and all leftover toys will go to a local charity as suggested by Luca as part of our ‘Make a Difference’ assembly block.

Yesterday, I was delighted to welcome a small group of parents for our first ‘Parents Lunch’. It was lovely to have a sociable lunch together whilst giving them a chance to experience what their children do each today, including lining up and being reminded what they had ordered! They gave good feedback on the food and the experience and next time I plan to run it at the same time as the school lunchtime to give families a rare opportuntity to enjoy a weekday lunch together!

On Wednesday, we had our Parent Council Annual General Meeting (AGM) and there will be an opportunity to vote for new post holders at the next meeting in January. Thank you to Vlad who has stepped down after doing a sterling job as treasurer for several years, as well as to all the parents who have joined us and are doing such an amazing job of supporting the school.

Also on Wednesday, I spent the day at a National Improvement Framework conference for all Edinburgh Head Teachers where the new ‘Edinburgh Learns’ policy was launched and discussed at length. Edinburgh Learns encourages a renewed focus on learning and teaching which is the core business of all schools. Although we all felt the pressure that being out of school for the day brings (not least in the mounting pile of unanswered emails!), we all agreed that it was a valuable professional experience. As a staff, we shall explore Edinburgh Learns over the coming weeks and months.

Next week I am going to Buckstone Primary for a reciprocal visit following my hosting a group other Head Teachers a few weeks ago and I’m looking forward to seeing further good practice and having follow up professional dialogue. Back in school, it’s Book Week Scotland and Mr Martin will be launching an exciting week of activities in assembly on Monday. Check back next week to see what we get up to!

Sally Ketchin, Head Teacher

P3 visit the Talbot Rice Gallery

Primary 3 thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the Talbot Rice Gallery at the University of Edinburgh last Monday.  The pupils loved seeing the sculptures of Wojtek the bear and hearing all about how he helped the Polish soldiers in World War 2.  The magic piano was definitely a highlight, and the pupils also loved seeing how the beautiful stained glass window installations changed the light, colour and mood of each room in the gallery.  We ended our visit by making our own stained glass windows using an alphabet code to make them all individual to our own names.

Coming Home Exhibition – Art Workshop

Primary 4 were invited to participate in an art workshop with the artist, Jan Bee Brown, at St. Margaret’s House. Jan told the class the story of the people who lived on St. Kilda. This was the inspiration for the exhibition. The class were able to make 3D paper houses which then became part of the exhibition. There was also the opportunity to create ‘envelope art’ and to draw a scene that depicts home. Primary 4 really enjoyed the session and were also invited along with their families to the opening of the exhibition on Sunday 4th January at 2pm.