ARGYLL and BUTE COUNCIL
Comhairle Earra Ghàidheal agus Bhòid
Community Services
Executive Director: Cleland Sneddon
Head Teacher: Jacqui McLarty
TAYNUILT PRIMARY SCHOOL
Taynuilt, Argyll, PA34 1JE
Tel: 01866 822343
e-mail: enquiries@taynuilt.argyll-bute.sch.co.uk
09 February 2016
Dear Parents/Carers
Welcome back to the start of the winter term.
This term’s “What’s On” is attached with this letter and you can see that it is
going to be a busy and fun time! Thank you in advance for all your support
with our school activities and we look forward to seeing you at many events.
Welcome
We are delighted to welcome Miss Kathryn Pennock and Mrs Joy Jeffery as
they join the Nursery and P1/2 class for their student placements. They will be
in class every Monday and Tuesday. Mr Garside will be rejoining us in
November to teach in P2/3 for 4 weeks.
PTA Hallowe’en Disco
Tonight, Friday 30th October, the PTA is hosting their annual scary
extravaganza at the Village Hall! We invite all children and parents to put on
their most frightening faces and spine-chilling outfits, and join the fun from
6.00-8.00pm.
The PTA are appealing for help with donations of baking or raffle prizes, but
also, particularly, with volunteers to help decorate the hall from 5.30pm
onwards and for helping with the different activities. If you can spare a little
time that evening to help run the event, whilst your children join in the fun, it
will be much appreciated. The event cannot happen without your support.
Parent Council and PTA
The next Parent Council meeting is at 6.30pm, on Monday 2nd November.
The next PTA meeting is at 7pm on Monday 9th November.
Both of these bodies give immense support to the work of the school, to
enhance the learning opportunities for your children, but they rely heavily on
the goodwill of their parent, family and community members to function.
At the moment, both groups are suffering from a lack of members and
urgently need your help. The work of both groups is varied and valuable and if
there are sufficient volunteers, the work is spread out and is not at all
onerous. Leaflets explaining a little more about the Parent Council and PTA
are attached.
On behalf of Bhavani Narayanaswamy, the Acting Chair of the Parent Council
and Anita Goldie, the Chair of the PTA, we warmly invite all school and
nursery parents and friends to come along to either (or both!) of the meetings
without commitment, to see what they are all about. We look forward to
seeing you.
PGDE Student Workshop
On Tuesday 3rd November teaching students from UHI will be having a PE
workshop in school. P4/5 pupils will be working with them in the afternoon, so
we would be grateful if you could ensure that the children have PE kit in
school on that day.
Nursery Open Morning
Next Friday 6th November at 11am, the Nursery are hosting an Open
Morning where we welcome parents to come in and look at the work and
activities that the children have been enjoying since August. Mrs McLarty, Mrs
Mitchell and Mrs MacInnes will be available to chat to parents about the
children’s work and progress. If you would like to arrange a more private time
to talk, please contact the Nursery staff and this can be arranged. We look
forward to sharing all our interesting work with you.
Dunollie Museum Workshop
Our Primary 2 children have been offered the chance to take part in a
workshop with staff from the Dunollie Museum. This will take place next
Friday 6th November at the Corran Halls.
The children will be accompanied by Mrs McLarty and Mrs Cleave. We will
travel by minibus and staff car, leaving school at about 12 noon. On arrival at
the Corran Halls we will have lunch. The workshop will start at 12.45 and run
until 2.45pm. The workshop is based on the theme of the Brooch of Lorn and
during the workshop, the children will be making different decorations and
adornments which will be sewn on to two garments, which will be worn at the
Community Fashion Show in the Corran Halls that night. We will return to
school by 3.15pm.
The children will need to wear school uniform and bring a packed lunch (no
glass bottles or fizzy drinks, please). Please could you return the attached
permission slip. Thank you.
The children will be given Free Entry tickets for themselves to the Fashion
Show. Tickets for adults will be £5.
Pack Up Your Troubles Remembrance Day Event
Our P4-7 pupils have been learning songs to sing at the Pack Up Your
Troubles Remembrance Day Event at St Conan’s Kirk on Wednesday 11th
November at 7pm. Our choir will be singing two songs jointly with Dalmally
School and one song themselves. The fantastic trench scene made by Miss
Carlton’s class in 2014 will also be on display. This will form part of a whole
evening’s entertainment in commemoration of members of our communities
who took part in the World Wars.
We hope as many of our children as possible will be able to come to this
event and we should be very grateful if you could indicate on the slip below if
your child will be able to attend and how they will be taken. As this is an out of
school event, an adult should be responsible for your child at all times.
P6 Cycle Training
P6 pupils will continue their cycle training with Kathleen MacFarlane and her
helpers every Wednesday. They will be having their Assessment in theory
and practical road test on Wednesday 18th November.
Good Work Assemblies
As part of our celebrations of the efforts and achievements of our pupils, we
are pleased to welcome parents to our monthly Good Work Assemblies. If
your child is to receive a certificate we will send an invitation to you in the
week beforehand and look forward to seeing you in school.
First Aid Training
Mrs Macmillan will be attending a 3 day First Aid Training course from
Tuesday 24th to Thursday 26th November. This will have an effect on the
school office. We will endeavour to ensure that the phones are answered at
all times, but cannot guarantee that email communication will be checked
regularly. We should be grateful for your help in ensuring that, if you need to
let the school know important information about your child, absences or home
time arrangements, you contact the school by phone only on these days.
Thank you for your help.
Book Bug Sessions
Our Nursery and P1 children have been invited to take part in the annual
Book Bug sessions. There will be stories, actions and songs with a pirate
theme.
P1 and Mrs Cooper will visit the morning session at the Oban Library on
Tuesday 24th November. They will leave school at 9.00am travelling to Oban
by minibus to arrive for the session start at 9.30am. The session lasts an
hour, returning to school by 11.00.
The Nursery will visit the afternoon session at Oban High School on
Wednesday 25th November. Morning and afternoon children are invited to join
this session. They will travel by minibus with Mrs Mitchell and Mrs MacInnes,
leaving school at 12.30pm to arrive for the session start at 1.00pm. The
session lasts an hour, returning to school by 3.00pm.
We ask that the children wear school or nursery uniform. Please could you
sign and return the attached permission slip. Thank you.
Didbook
Oban High School are introducing Didbook, a new online system for pupils to
record their learning journey, setting targets and recording evidence of their
skills and achievements in and out of school with reflections on their learning.
Teachers will also contribute to this record. This system is also being rolled
out to primary schools in the Oban cluster, initially in the upper primary years,
to help the transition process by forming an important part of the P7 profile.
Eventually it will be used across the primary school as a method for pupils
and teachers to record learning in all its forms, regularly sharing with parents.
As this is a web based platform, we should be grateful if parents would read,
sign and return the attached consent form. Thank you.
Lunchtime Library Club
Angela MacDougall and Mandy Cameron have very kindly offered to run a
lunchtime library club. We are delighted that this will enable the children to
make even better use of our new library area and change their books
regularly. Angela and Mandy have plans to have reading activities in the
future. The Club will be every Friday lunchtime from 12.30 until 1.00. There
will be a rota of dates for the classes to come and change books. We also
have a rota of P6/7 volunteers to keep our library tidy.
If any families have any children’s books or magazines that have been read,
enjoyed but are no longer required, then we would be happy if you would be
willing to donate them for our Borrow and Swap box. Thank you very much.
Christmas Carol Concerts
Our After School Choir has been invited to take part in two local carol
concerts in December. Emma Bubberman is happy to take the choir to these
events if parents can take and collect their children. The events are the
Churches Together Carol Concert in Taynuilt Village Hall on Saturday 12th
December at 6.30pm and the Oban Rotary Club Carol Concert in the Corran
Halls at 3.00pm on Sunday 13th December. We should be very grateful if
parents could indicate on the slip below if they are willing to take their child to
the events, so that we can let the organisers know that the choir is able to
attend. Thank you.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns at any time, please do not
hesitate to contact me and I would be delighted to discuss them with you.
Yours sincerely
Jacqui McLarty
Jacqui McLarty
Head Teacher
Enc.
Parent Council Leaflet
PTA Leaflet
Dunollie Museum Workshop Permission slip- P2 pupils only
Pack Up Your Troubles attendance return slip- P4-7 pupils only
Book Bug session permission slip- Nursery and P1 pupils
Didbook consent form- all P1-7 pupils
Carol Concerts return slip- After School Choir only
Village Hall AGM Flyer
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Pack Up Your Troubles- Wednesday 11th November 7pm St Conan’s Kirk
Name of Child/ren________________________________________
Class___________
I confirm that my child will be able to attend.
I will be bringing my child
I will arrange for another adult to bring my child
Name of adult_________________________________
Signature of Parent______________________________
****************************************************************************************
December Carol Concerts- After School Choir
Name of Child _______________________________Class _____________
I confirm that my child will be able to attend:
Churches Together Carol Concert- Sat 12th Dec 6.30pm
Oban Rotary Club Carol Concert- Sun 13th Dec 3.00pm
Signature of Parent __________________________________