January Newsletter

Welcome back everyone, we hope you all had a lovely Christmas break and are ready for the new term.

Christmas Performance and Church Service

Thank you to everyone for their support and fantastic feedback after the children performed the ‘Wriggly Nativity’ and the P4-7 Christmas Cracker, in the school hall last month. It was lovely to see so many of you in Ayton Parish Church. The PFA raised a wonderful £425.90 with raffle sales and book sales, this is going towards funding for the Trim Trail. Many thanks for all the support with fundraising.

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 page 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 use 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.

Breakfast Club/Morning Drop Off

Breakfast club starts at 8:00am until 8:30am and costs 50p per day. This can be paid 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.

P6–7 Pickleball Club

Pickleball will be starting up again on the 8th of January 3:15pm to 4:15pm. Children will be joined by our parent helpers in the gym hall. Please make sure that we know whether your child is to walk home or is being picked up by an adult after the session has ended.

Library Van

The SBC Library Van will be visiting on Thursday 18th January. Please bring in any books that need to be returned.

P4–5 Ayton/Reston inter-generational project with Borders Youth Theatre

We have secured funding for all Primary 4 and Primary 5 children across both schools to be involved in an inter-generational social studies/drama project with Borders Youth Theatre Trust. The first session will start on Wednesday 17th January and there will be an opportunity before the end of term for the rest of the school and P4–5 parents and carers to watch the final performance.

Curriculum Overviews

Curriculum Overviews will be issued to parents on Friday 19th January. These detail 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.

Robert Burns Celebration

On Thursday 25th January we will be celebrating Robert Burns in School. 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.

PFA

Ayton PFA will hold their next meeting on Tuesday 6th February at 6:30pm and will be held in the school.

P1 and P7 Dental Inspection

Letters were handed out to parents of P1 and P7 at the end of last term, to let parents know that the NHS Dental team will be doing dental inspection on Tuesday 16th January. Any parent who wishes to withdraw their child from the survey should write to the NDIP team (contact details in the letter) detailing their child’s name, school, and class. Parents can also hand in a written letter to the school office.

Reminders

• Breakfast club is available from 8:00am until 8:30am every morning. Please ensure your child enters school through the school hall entrance. Breakfast club costs 50p per day and can be booked via Parentpay. Thank you
• 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 are noticing that several children have been arriving later in the mornings. Please try to ensure your child arrives in 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. Thank you.

Break time

Please remember to provide your child with a snack at break time and a water bottle for use in class. Water bottles should be labelled with pupil name and can be filled at break time.

P1 Stay and Learn Sessions

P1 Stay and learn sessions will be available for all P1 Parents and Carers during Monday 29th, Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31st January. We will also have availability during Monday 5th February, and Tuesday 6th February. You will shortly receive a sign up letter if you wish to come into school on these dates.

P7 Parents Information Evening

P7 parents/carers are invited to meeting at Eyemouth High School on Thursday 1st February at 6:30pm. Please note this is a change of date due to the High School S1 parents consultations being on the original date of 31st January in the letter you received in November. Thank you.

School Uniform

Please label all items of school uniform including gym kit. Children are actively encouraged to wear school uniform in line with Scottish Borders Council’s School Dress Code. In the interests of safety, the wearing of jewellery other than a watch and stud earrings, is not allowed. We would like children to wear black school shoes.

(School uniform guide)[/uniform/]

Dates for Diary

• Monday 8th January: All resume
• Tuesday 16th January: P1 and P7 Dental Inspection
• Wednesday 17th January: P4–5 Youth Theatre Workshop begins
• Thursday 18th January: Library Van
• Friday 19th January: Curriculum Overviews to be issued
• Thursday 25th January: Robert Burns Celebration — wear something tartan
• Monday 29th January, Tuesday 30th January and Wednesday 31st January: Stay and Play for P1s
• Thursday 1st February: P7 Information Evening at Eyemouth High School at 6:30pm
• Monday 5th February and Tuesday 6th February: Additional dates for P1 Stay and Play
• Tuesday 6th February: PFA Meeting in school — 6:30pm
• Monday 12th to Friday 16th February: School closed to ALL — February break
• Monday 19th February: In Service Day, school closed to pupils
• Tuesday 20th February: School open to all
• Thursday 7th March: World Book Day
• Friday 22nd March: P1–7 School Reports to be issued
• Thursday 28th March: Last day of term for Easter holidays
• Monday 15th April: School open to all staff and pupils