St Ninian s Primary School Staffa Street Gourock PA19 1SL Tel 01475 715853 Head Teacher Mrs Lesley A McCabe Corporate Director of Education, Communities & Organisational Development : Mrs Wilma Bain twitter: @saintninians Webpage: http://st-ninians.inverclyde.sch.uk Email: InStNinians@glowscotland.onmicrosoft.com Dear Parents/Carers, This last month of the school term is particularly busy so I ve attached a list of dates for your diary at the end of this Newsletter. I have also attached a list of the holiday dates for the new school year. As the weather promises to be good, please remember to apply sun cream to your child and give them a hat for wearing outdoors. Staff News At the moment our complete staffing has still to be confirmed, however we are delighted that Miss Oliver and Mrs Erskine have been appointed as permanent members of our staff team. Two Newly Qualified Teachers have been appointed to St Ninian s this year. We look forward to welcoming their enthusiasm and energy. We say goodbye to Mrs Dobson and Mrs McLellan who are retiring in June after a considerable number of years teaching in St Ninian s and also across Inverclyde. We thank them for their contribution to our school community. Through their commitment and dedication they have ensured that many children have become Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Effective Contributors and Responsible Citizens. We wish them well in their retirement. Communication Here at St Ninian s we strive to get it right for all of our children, and we hope that parents/carers know that we appreciate their input and support to help us get it right. We value the opinions of our parents/carers and work hard to promote a friendly atmosphere in our school, so that parents/carers feel welcome. We operate an open-door policy so that parents/carers feel comfortable in communicating with the school. Please feel free to contact me, either by phone or email, or arrange to have a meeting with me if there are any issues you would like to discuss. It is important to us that our parents/carers know that we want to work in partnership to provide the best experiences and outcomes possible for our children. If you feel we could do something better, or want to voice a concern, we re happy to hear from you. Thank you also to our parents who have supported our recent workshops working in partnership to ensure the continued success of our school. First Holy Communion Both of our First Holy Communion Masses were wonderful celebrations. The First Communicants enjoyed their days and were very prayerful and reverent throughout Mass. Our thanks go to our older pupils who attended Mass to sing and read Holy Scripture. Thanks also to Monsignor Gallagher and Canon Berry for leading us in our Mass celebrations and to Mr Campbell for playing the piano so beautifully. Respect Honesty Friendship Inclusion
Carfin The pupils of P4 are looking forward to their retreat to Carfin on Thursday 8 June. Please continue to pray for them as they continue on their faith journey. Primary 4 Mass of Thanksgiving Our Mass of Thanksgiving for the First Holy Communicants was a lovely event where the children and their families came together to give thanks for receiving the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. The children also enjoyed their Garden Party celebration recently (indoors because of the rain) to celebrate receiving their Sacraments. Thanks to the Parent Partnership for funding this event. Confirmation Our P7 pupils received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop John and Father Gerry on Thursday 1 June at St Mirin s Cathedral, Paisley. It was a lovely event enjoyed by pupils, parents, sponsors, families and staff. Please continue to pray for our pupils as they continue their faith journey through life. The children enjoyed a lovely sunny day for a retreat in Schoenstatt last week to help them prepare for their special sacrament. Class Masses This term we have been very lucky to have Fr Gerry in each class to celebrate Mass with the children. This gives the children the opportunity to participate more fully in the celebration of Mass. Each class has chosen a theme for their Mass. Father Gerry has been very impressed with the pupils responses and singing. Please continue to take your child to Mass on a Sunday providing them with the opportunity to engage in celebration and worship. Primary 7 Mass of Thanksgiving Primary 7 would like to invite their parents, sponsor and family members to a Mass of Thanksgiving for celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation on Tuesday 13 June at 2pm. Charities Day Our charities group are having one final fundraising event on Thursday 22 June. Children can wear their shorts and shades and bring 1 for our chosen charity of Mary s Meals. P7 Leavers Assembly Our P7 pupils would like to invite their families to a Leavers assembly on Friday 23 June at 2pm where they will reflect on their wonderful seven years in St Ninian s Primary. School Reports Our end of year reports will go out on Monday 5 June 2017. Next year we are hoping to re-structure the reporting system, where termly reports will be given out to parents. This will allow teachers to work with chidren to set targets and for parents to have a greater understanding of what their children are working on as well as their achievements throughout the school year. As we approach the end of the school year we reflect on the hard work of all within our school community. As we have journeyed through the school year we have been delighted with the high level of achievement of pupils in St Ninian s and the progress that each child has made. Thanks to our wonderful staff, commitment from children, and the strong partnership we have with parents we have ensured that our children continue to be the best they can be! St Columba s Transition Events
Our Primary 7 pupils have participated in a number of Cluster Transition Events which have provided the children with the opportunity to meet new friends from St Andrew s and St Joseph s Primary. Pupils will attend two Induction days in St Columba s - Wednesday 7 June and Thursday 8 June. Pupils will walk with St Ninian s staff to St Columba s from St Ninian s Primary after they have registered at 9am. At the end of the day, St Ninian s staff will walk with pupils from St Columba s back to St Ninian s for 3pm. Children who are entitled to a free meal in St Ninian s will still be entitled to a free meal in St Columba s. Children are able to bring their own snack for interval and packed lunch for lunch time. Information on school meals has been sent out with pupils. Parents of P7 pupils are invited to attend a meeting in St Columba s at 7pm on Thursday 8 June at 7pm. New Entrants Our new Primary 1 pupils have already been visiting St Ninian s over the last month. They have been working with our current Primary 1 pupils, who have been leading them in aspects of learning. P1 Induction Day Wednesday 7 June 1:45pm 3pm Children visit their Primary 1 classroom and meet their Primary 1 Teacher. Parents/Carers attend information session in the Hall. Buddy Activity Days Thursday 15 June Friday 16 June 1:30pm 2:45pm Groups of Pre-school children will visit their P6 Buddy for Buddy Activities on one of these dates. Sports Day Our sports day this year will be held on Wednesday 14 June. Parents and pupils have asked us to return to the traditional Sports Day this year. Each child will have the opportunity to participate in 3 races. The upper school (P4-7) will be held in the morning from 9.15 12.15 as there are more classes, and the infants (P1-3) will be held in the afternoon 1.15 3.00. All events will be held in the MUGA. All families and friends are welcome to come along to support our pupils. As our children will be enjoying a full day of sporting activities we ask that they come to school dressed in suitable clothing. Groovy Smoothies I m delighted that our Groovy Smoothies Enterprise group have been awarded a Social Enterprise in Education Award and will visit Edinburgh on Wednesday 21 June to be presented with their Award by John Swinney. Musical Extravaganza What a performance! Our fabulously talented children entertained us all with their breathtaking singing and musical skills. All of our invited guests and audience thoroughly enjoyed the talent, enthusiasm and confidence of our performers from Primaries 3-7. A huge thanks to Mr Campbell and all of the staff who worked so hard to make our showcase so successful. Our thanks also go to the friends of St Ninian s for their continued support to allow our pupils to shine; Mr McKinnon for dressing the stage and providing the lighting and sound to make the
experience as professional as possible. CDs of the Musical Extravaganza will be available shortly. After School Clubs Our children have been very lucky this year to have had the opportunity to take part in various after school clubs. Our sincere thanks to the school staff who gave of their time freely to provide the children with these opportunities. Our thanks also to the staff from Active Schools who organised many sporting after school events. Ear Piercing I would like to encourage any parents/carers who are thinking about having their children s ears pierced, to consider doing this at the start of the summer holidays, allowing ears time to heal and earrings to be removed before August. Children are not allowed to wear any jewellery at all during physical activity in schools, and if ears are pierced during the school year, children miss out on participating in physical activities during PE lessons. Please consider the beginning of the summer holidays as a more suitable time for ear piercing so that children don t miss out on PE. Book Fair Lots of you supported our Book Fair and as a result, we will be able to buy a selelction of novels for classes next year. Thanks so much for your support. Next year, we will only have one visit from the Book Fair and this will be during the week of the March Parent s Nights. Classes for Next Year It is hoped that information regarding classes and class teachers for next year will be made available to parents/carers in the next week or two. Some teaching posts have yet to be filled, and as soon as they are we will be able to allocate teachers to classes and inform you. Foodbank Appeal 2017 Gourock Schools and Chaplains together have organised a foodbank collection for the weekend of Friday 23 June. Pupils can bring in any food donations from Monday 19 June. School Trips Most classes have enjoyed a school trip as part of their learning throughout the year. A few classes have arranged trips for this term. Information on school trips/ permissions will be given out to individual classes. P7 enjoy an additional farewell trip, paid for from the profits of their Calendar sales. If you can help with a school trip, or to walk to church, please contact the school. Recycling Blazers The fundraising committee have asked that if anyone who is transitioning to high school or has outgrown their blazer that they be brought to school to be re-cycled for other families. We understand the cost involved in buying new blazers and some families may benefit from using a re-cycled one. Thank you for your support with this venture. School Motto You will be receiving a letter asking you to consider a new school motto for St Ninian s. We feel this an important time for us to revisit our vision and to make it unique to our
school. Having a School Motto will help us to summarise our values and priorities. Thank you for taking the time to work in partnership with us. School Uniform We are very proud of our school uniform in St Ninian s. In fact, during recent visits outwith the school, our school uniform was commented on, as well as the manners and behavior of our children. Please continue to wear full school uniform including school shoes as we continue to approach the summer holidays. I have attached below dates for your diary until end of term and a copy of next year s holidays. Diary Dates Monday 5 June Wednesday 7 June Thursday 8 June Tuesday 13 June Wednesday 14 June Thursday 15 June Friday 16 June Tuesday 20 June Wednesday 21 June Thursday 22 June Friday 23 June Tuesday 27 June Thursday 29 June School Reports out Primary 7 transition to St Columba s High 1.45pm New Entrants Meet the Teacher Primary 7 transition to St Columba s High Primary 4 visit Carfin 7pm Information Evening for P7 Parents/Carers at St Columba s High School 2pm Primary 7 Mass of Thanksgiving Sports Day 1.30pm New Entrants Meet Buddies 2pm Primary 3A Showcase of Learning 1.30pm New Entrants Meet Buddies 7pm 9pm Family Quiz Night 9.15am Primary 6A Showcase of Learning Groovy Smoothie Enterprise Group visit Edinburgh Shorts and Shades Day in aid of Mary s Meals Foodbank Appeal donations uplifted Primary 3 visit Greenock Ocean Terminal and the Caribbean Princess 2pm Primary 7 Leavers Assembly End of Term Achievement Assembly 10am Mass in St Ninian s Church 1pm Close for Summer
Inservice day - Tuesday 15 August 2017 Inservice day - Wednesday 16 August 2017 Return date for pupils - Thursday 17 August 2017 SCHOOL TERM DATES 2017/18 Schools close - Friday 01 September 2017 Local holiday - Monday 04 September 2017 Return date for teachers - Tuesday 05 September 2017 Return date for pupils - Tuesday 05 September 2017 Schools close - Friday 13 October 2017 First mid-term - Monday 16 October 2017 - Friday 20 October 2017 (inclusive) Inservice day - Monday 23 October 2017 Return date for pupils - Tuesday 24 October 2017 Schools close - Wednesday 20 December 2017 Christmas holiday - Thursday 21 December 2017 - Wednesday 03 January 2018 (inclusive) Return date for teachers and pupils - Thursday 04 January 2018 Schools close - Friday 09 February 2018 Second mid-term - Monday 12 February 2018 - Tuesday 13 February 2018 (inclusive) Inservice day - Wednesday 14 February 2018 Return date for pupils - Thursday 15 February 2018 Schools close - Thursday 29 March 2018 Good Friday - Friday 30 March 2018 Easter Monday - Monday 02 April 2018 Easter holiday - Monday 02 April 2018 - Monday 16 April 2018 (inclusive) Return date for teachers and pupils - Tuesday 17 April 2018 May day - Monday 07 May 2018 Return date for teachers and pupils - Tuesday 08 May 2018 Schools close - Thursday 24 May 2018 May holiday - Friday 25 May 2018 - Monday 28 May 2018 (inclusive) Inservice day - Tuesday 29 May 2018 Return date for pupils - Wednesday 30 May 2018 Schools close - Thursday 28 June 2018 Summer Holiday - Friday 29 June 2018 - to be confirmed