January 2026 Newsletter

Dear Parents/Carers

I hope this finds you all well and I hope everyone had a lovely festive period. There is lots of great learning planned for the term ahead and the rest of this academic session. The staff and I look forward to sharing this with you all as the term progresses.

Best wishes for 2026,

Mrs Jill Horsburgh
Head Teacher

Christmas Performance and Church Service

Thank you to everyone for their support and fantastic feedback after the children performed the ‘Magical Christmas Jigsaw’ in the school hall last month.

It was lovely to see so many of you in Ayton Parish Church. Many thanks to all staff, Mrs Susan Patterson, Primary 7 pupils, and Mr Andrew Taylor, class teacher from Eyemouth Primary School for their support during these events.

Winter Transport

Please remember that during the winter months our School Transport team now use the Scottish Borders Council website to provide updates on school transport affected by weather or road conditions. The webpage can be found at https://www.scotborders.gov.uk/wintertransport, and will be updated from 7.30am as and when required.

It is important to remember that in normal circumstances children should not wait more than 15 minutes for the bus, but in severely cold weather please make your own judgement. If you decide to take your young person to school yourself, you will be expected to collect them at the end of the school day.

Reminders

• Breakfast club is from 8.15am until 8.30am and costs 50p per day. This can be booked via ParentPay, please book in advance. The playground is supervised from 8.30am, please do not drop your child off before this unless they are attending Breakfast Club. On mornings where weather is poor, the door to the school will be open and children should head straight to their classrooms.
• If your child is absent from school or if there is a change in circumstances regarding pick up arrangements, please call the school office or email/groupcall so that the relevant member of staff can be informed.
• School starts at 8:45am, we notice that several children have been arriving late in the mornings. Please try to ensure your child arrives at school on time to start their learning for the day. There is playground supervision from 8:30am with Miss Davidson, Mrs Virtue and Miss Sword.
• School finishes at 3:10pm, please be mindful that staff have meetings/preparation to do before they leave work at the end of their working day and would appreciate your cooperation in collecting your child on time.
• Please remember to provide your child with a snack at break time and a water bottle for use in class with water. Water bottles should be labelled with pupil name and can be filled at break time. Children are also welcome to bring in a fruit fix snack for the afternoons if they wish to.

P.E.

P.E. days for all children are Tuesday and Thursday. Children are to have P.E. clothes to change into before their P.E. lesson. P6/7 should come changed for PE on a Tuesday morning with their school uniforms in their bags for afterwards. Thank you

Primary 6 Greenpower STEM event

All children in Primary 6 in the Eyemouth Cluster have been invited to take part in a STEM activity with our colleagues from Eyemouth High School and Eyemouth and District Rotary. This starts on Friday 9th January at school. The project involves designing portfolios, the body work for the Greenpower Car.

Library Van

The library van will be visiting school on the morning of Wednesday 14th January. Please ensure all books currently out on loan are brought in to school for this date.

P5 and P6 Bikeability

The Bikeability team from the outdoor learning department will be in school for P5 and P6 on the 19th, 20th and 21st of January. Helmets and bikes will be provided for pupils to learn with the gentlemen from Bikeabilty. More information will follow shortly in a separate letter.

Curriculum Overviews

Curriculum Overviews will be issued to parents on Friday 23rd January. These include key information about learning which will be covered in class this term. If you have any queries about any aspect of your child’s progress, please contact their class teacher in the first instance. There are paper copies displayed on the inside noticeboard as well for your information.

Primary 7 Residential

The next payment in the payment plan for the Primary 7 residential is due to be paid by Friday 23rd January. Please log into ParentPay and make payment before this date. Thank you.

Robert Burns Celebration

On Thursday 22nd January we will be celebrating Robert Burns in School. Please make bookings for our Burns lunch in advance. Please note this is different from previously posted menu. Children are invited to wear something Scottish/tartan to school to celebrate the Scottish Poet. We will be holding a special celebration in school with Burns poetry.

P7 Crucial Crew

We are delighted that the Crucial Crew Event for Primary 7 pupils across the Scottish Borders will return this session. It will be held at Springwood Park, Kelso on Tuesday 27th January 2026 for children at Ayton and Reston. Further information will be issued to parents/ carers next week with a consent form.

P5-7 Cross Country

Our Active Schools team have organised the P5-7 cross country to take place on Thursday 5th February from 10am until 12 noon at Eyemouth Primary School. Transport will be provided and children will be back in school for lunchtime. Children should come dressed in warm outdoor P.E. clothes with a water bottle and snack. Further information and permission forms will be issued via Parents Portal nearer the time.

Dates for Diary

• Monday 5th January 2026: All resume
• Wednesday 14th January: Library Van
• Friday 16th January: Primary 6 - Goblin Car Cluster Project commences until half term.
• Friday 23rd January: Curriculum Overviews to be issued
• Tuesday 27th January: P7 Crucial Crew at Springwood Park, Kelso
• Thursday 22nd January: Robert Burns Celebration assembly– wear something tartan
• Friday 23rd January: Curriculum Overviews to be issued
• Thursday 5th February: P5-7 Cross Country
• Tuesday 10th February: PFA meeting in school 6:00pm
• Wednesday 11th February: Library Van
• Thursday 12th February: Cross Country reserve day
• Friday 13th February: Last day of term for February break
• Monday 16th to Friday 20th February: School closed to ALL – February break
• Monday 23rd February: In Service Day, school closed to pupils
• Tuesday 24th February: School open to all
• Wednesday 25th February: Generation Science workshops P5-7
• Friday 27th March: School reports will be issued to parents / carers
• Thursday 2nd April: Last day of term for Easter holidays
• Friday 3rd April to Friday 17th April: School closed to ALL – Easter holidays
• Monday 20th April: All resume