Walker Road School
September 2015
School News
Hello and welcome back
I cannot believe that we are in September already and that the summer weather, what little we
had, has gone replaced firmly by Autumn winds and rain!
I am very apologetic that this is the first newsletter I have managed to put out to you all but the
start to the session has been a very busy one for every one here . There have been a lot of new
people to get used to and a new building also!
This newsletter is shorter than normal as I have some very important points to tell you and so
there are not our usual dates for the diary. I will issue that separately next week. This letter will go
up on the BLOG where it can be translated in to your preferred language.
So …what’s been happening?
Goodbye to….
The railings and the holes in the floors! Over the summer break there was a lot of work done on
the main building to get rid of the old fashioned rails and holes in the floor than ran down the
middle of the classrooms. They have now gone and we are very happy with the extra space that
this has given us.
Hello to …..
Some new faces at Walker Road. Welcome to Mr Dalgleish (P2) Miss Giffen (P 1) Miss Brannan
( P5) Miss King ( P3 ) and a welcome back to Mrs Connon (P2) who has returned after having
her little boy. They have all settled in with their classes and the children and they are working well
together. A big hello to our P1 children who have now come into school full time and have even
managed their first lunch time !
Lunch System
We have as you are aware been the pilot school for the cashless card lunch system. This has
been very successful and is nearly ready to roll out across the city. However they have asked us
to try slightly new way of ordering the lunches. They have asked that this does not happen in the
classroom, as it does now, but rather it is done before the day starts. This will be possible with a
few changes. These changes will take place on Monday 7 th September.
What will this mean to your child and yourselves?
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PSAs will be putting in the classes in the morning. This means there will be no teachers
at the lines in the morning. They will be upstairs in their classrooms. If you need to
speak to your child’s teacher please see them at the end of the day or make an
appointment. If the matter is urgent please go to the office and they will pass the
message on.
The children will then either go straight to the class room because they have a packed
lunch or will go to one of 6 ordering station in the dining hall or beside their classrooms to
order lunch. This will be supervised by PSAs who will be on hand to help.
This way of working will take a little while to bed in and so I am thanking you for your cooperation
and patience in advance as I know how supportive you all are of the occasional changes we
make to the running of the school. There will be a reminder group call with a shortened version of
this information
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Big Noise
Big noise has returned to us having had a very successful summer school with many of our
children. They are now back in the Primary 1 and 2 classes working hard and making lovely
music.
Lunch clubs
The lunch clubs are staring soon with the ever popular Zumba with Mrs Sadler and Highland with
Mrs Brown retuning. They are being joined by anew club. Tennis will start very soon at lunch time
for those who are interested.
And finally ….
Autumn weather has started and winter weather is a coming!
Can we again please remind you that it is essential for all pupils to come to school with a
waterproof and warm jacket. This is particularly true as we enter the time of year when there is a
likelihood of wet windy weather and all too soon, snow. Some of our children still turn up in the
most atrocious weather without a jacket on and are soaked to the skin before they start school!
School uniform and lost property
It is so lovely to see nearly everyone in their school uniforms at the start of the year. I am a big
fan of school uniform for several reasons
 It is a cheap and easy way to clothe your child for school.
 There are no fights in the morning over what to wear – it is simply your uniform
 The children look smart and neat and ready to work – and proud to be part of the Walker
road Team!
We always start the year well and then the party clothes start to appear. It is hard for your child to
concentrate on their work if they are worried about their latest fashionable clothes not being as
good as someone else’s or getting dirty. Let’s make this a good year for uniform. Our House
Captains will be making this part of their work this year- more of that later.
We have already started to gain quite a lot of lost property. Can I say very strongly please put a
name on your child’s clothes. They are very similar in size and style and we cannot tell them
apart – especially at the P1 stage.
I look forward to working with you this year in order to make sure your child gets the best from
their time with us at Walker Road School
Kind regards
Jill Merchant
Head Teacher
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