Happy Halloween!

It’s been a spook-tacular week at Abbeyhill with lots of scary decorations appearing round the school, hot chocolate, marshmallows and scary stories around the firepit and of course it was all topped off by the Halloween Disco Daily Mile this morning! Well done to everyone who dressed up – I think some of you must have been up very early with the face paints! Apologies to any of our neighbours who were treated to the theme of Ghostbusters thumping out at 9am…and thank you to the Parent Council who donated prizes for the best spooky dance and best scary face in each class!

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Thank you to one of our parents, Jennifer, who is working tirelessly to refresh and tidy our library which after lockdown and building work in the school had become a bit of a sorry state. Keep up with Jennifer’s progress on Twitter @jennifertamu

Adventures in Abbeyhill Library with @jennifertamu

I was lucky enough to spend time in P2 and P4 this week and did some research on behalf of the Abbeyhill Ambassadors who will meet next week to work on their own version of the School Improvement Plan. Common consensus across the classes was they they liked learning (most curricular areas came up in this conversation which was encouraging), school dinners (pizza and veggie hotdogs are the favourites), playing outside and being with their friends. Top dislikes were anyone who is unkind and litter in the playground. Suggestions for improvements ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous (a candy floss bouncy castle is unlikely to feature in the playground any time soon) and a clear focus for both the Ambassadors and Parent Council is emerging. Watch this space and follow @AbbeyhillPupilC on Twitter to find out what happens next!

Our weekly email update went out to families today which featured safety information from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service over bonfires and fireworks, details of the Covid bus location for next week and a fantastic offer from the Collective on Calton Hill who are starting Collective Play on Friday afternoons from 5th November. Donations are welcome but there is no charge and there will be hot drinks, water and snacks provided. Sessions will be outdoor and child-led with a focus on weather systems and biodiversity. Sounds great!

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Have a lovely weekend and please stay safe (and dry) if you are out trick or treating.

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

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

 

Welcome home!

Return of the campers!

The P7 campers have had a fantastic time at Lagganlia and arrived back safe and sound at lunchtime today (although maybe slightly grubbier than when they left on Monday) and we can’t wait to hear all about it next week. Activities have ranged from bouldering and canoeing and everyone took the opportunity to throw themselves into new experiences. Thank you to Mr Hamilton, Mr Martin, Miss McCourt and Miss Graves for taking them once again.

 

Halloween

Now that autumn is well and truly upon us, you may have seen the posters up for the Parent Council Halloween Party on 1^st November. Posters will be going up in school next week so expect to hear a lot more about it from your children! As always there will be a separate quiet area with drawing and crafts for anyone who gets a little overwhelmed by the spookiness! Thank you to the Parent Council who lead this very successful event every year.

Spotlight on…P6 with Miss Stamati 

Following our outdoor activities and visits in September, P6 have expressed their love for nature, and curiosity as to how various natural systems operate. Our first step into Science found us discussing the crucial role of water in our environment, as well as our bodies.

Did you know that about 71% of the Earth’s surface is water (lakes, rivers, oceans, ice)? And that up to 75% of our body as young people (up to 60% for adults) is also water? We were so impressed when we found that out!

The water on Earth is found in three different states: gas, liquid and solid. Can you think of any examples?

We decided to conduct scientific experiments to explore the “Water Cycle”; How are clouds formed? Why do we get rain? What are the droplets of water that are created on a mirror when we take a hot shower?  – These were only some of the questions that led us to this experiment and to the creation of our Scientific Hypothesis: The cycle would not be possible without the sun!

Sun is our natural source of light and heat, through Solar Radiation. The warmer and brighter the sun, the more water will evaporate in the form of gas from the sea, lakes and rivers, and will transpire from the leaves of trees. When the gas reaches the colder temperatures in the atmosphere, it creates clouds through a process called condensation. Too much condensation in the clouds makes them really heavy, which results in precipitation, or else, rain! This rain reaches different parts of the Earth’s surface, and eventually will run off to the sea, or infiltrate in the soil.

We call it the water cycle, as the process begins again and it keeps repeating itself, like going around in circles!   

To conduct the experiment:

1. Draw your version of the water cycle on a clear sandwich bag or bottle.
2. Fill up with ¼ cup of water. Seal well.
3. Place your water cycle model on a window and record your observations over time! To gather more information through our experiment, P6 also placed water cycle models in dark places to observe what happens when solar radiation is missing.

Keep an eye out for our observations and conclusions to the experiment!

Some strong homework efforts!

 

Parents’ Evening

Next week we will send out the link so that you can book your Parents’ Evening appointments for the end of the month. It’s so worthwhile to take the opportunity to discuss your child’s academic progress but if you can’t make either of the dates, please feel welcome to contact your child’s teacher to make an alternative appointment.

Holiday reminder

Remember that next Friday (11^th) we break up for the October holidays. School and Nursery resumes for children on Wednesday 23^rd October.

Halloween-tastic

Last week went extremely quickly as we had so much going on at Abbeyhill. A packed week culminated in the Halloween parties that were organised and put on by our Parent Council; thank you to them for all their hard work and the fantastic decorations. Never have so many toilet rolls been put to such great use…!

On Monday, a group of Head Teachers visited me as part of our Leading Learning Partnership programme and we toured the school with a focus on ‘How Good Is Our School?’ quality indicator 3.2 (with a theme of attainment and equity). You can download a copy of the HGIOS document here . My colleagues commented favourably on how engaged each pupil was in their learning and the fact that they all knew what they were working towards. I look forward to my reciprocal visit to Buckstone Primary School later in the month.

On Wednesday, our doors were open as part of the city-wide catchment schools Open Day which gives parents of children who will be going into P1 in August 2019 to come and see our school and ask any questions. Thank you to our House and Vice House Captains who did a super job of giving tours, even though the temptation to show off every room, down to the last storage cupboard, proved too much for some!

On Wednesday and Thursday, Margaret and Christy from Fischy Music came in to work with our P4 class as part of the Year of Young People 2018. Our P4s wrote and recorded a song with Margaret and Christy and it was a fascinating process to watch. I sat in with the class for an hour and had the privilege of pitching a few of my ideas in too! The song will be formally launched at a concert with the rest of the school later this month.

On Thursday, P6 and P7 spent the day at Drummond High School and took part in a STEM event (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). Engaging with Drummond is part of transition process for P6 and P7 as they approach high school age and allays some nerves for the P7s who have realised just how close they are to leaving primary school!

On Friday, the Pupil Council counted all the straws that we’ve collected so far and the result will be announced on Monday at assembly so please keep an eye on Twitter for the final total. All I will say for now is that we had underestimated how many there would be and the result shocked us all…