Issue No. 47
September 2012
 0141 955 2212

0141 775 2375
email office@holyfamily.e-dunbarton.sch.uk
www.holyfamily.e-dunbarton.sch.uk
Community Excellence Award 2008

AIMING FOR EXCELLENCE
In Holy Family Primary School, we are actively engaged in the pursuit of excellence. It
is our purpose to provide a Catholic education of the highest quality that will enable all
our young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible
citizens and effective contributors.
We aim to:
 Create an ethos of achievement within our learning community and so raise
standards of educational attainment in all areas of the curriculum.
 Support and develop the skills of all staff to ensure the highest standards of
learning and teaching.
 Use enterprising learning and teaching practices that encourage enthusiasm,
creativity and ambition enabling each individual to reach their highest standards
of achievement.
 Work in partnership with home and parish to build a sense of Christian
community where all members are held in high respect and their dignity, worth
and individuality are respected.
 Welcome parents as active participants in the life of the school to help all
children develop physical, social, spiritual, mental and emotional health and wellbeing.
 Ensure the deployment of excellence by fostering high quality leadership at all
levels.
Mission Statement
At Holy Family School, within a framework of mutual respect and Christian values,
pupils, staff, parents and parish work together to create a supportive and happy
environment characterised by the highest standards of learning and teaching.
Welcome to all new parents and children who
have recently joined our school community.
Every school has to produce an annual report
on the progress made over the last year and
identify areas for improvement, which then
make up our school Improvement Plan for the
current year. Visit our website
www.holyfamily.e-dunbarton.sch.uk
to view a copy of our 2011-2012 Standards &
Quality Report and our 2012-2013
Improvement Plan. Please use the tear-off slip
on the back page of this newsletter for any
comments you may have regarding the
reports.
This year the school roll is 328. We had to
move the library upstairs to accommodate an
extra class on the ground floor.
P1a
P1b
P2a
P2b
P3a
P3b
P4a
P4b
P5a
P5b
P6
P6/7
P7
Mrs Campbell
Miss McEnaney
Miss Reynolds
Miss Rourke
Mrs Crossan
Miss McGeachie/Mrs Kenny
Mrs McGuire
Ms Pollock
Mrs Gordon/Miss McManus
Mrs Giovannetti
Mrs Miller
Mrs Crawford
Mrs Wood
Support for Learning – Mr Tom Holmes
Tuesday- all day
Music – Mrs Jones – Wednesday
Percussion –– Mrs Bryson Wednesday pm (P4
pupils for 12 weeks)
Head Teacher – Mrs O’Connell
Acting Depute Head Teacher P1-3 – Mrs
Young
Depute Head Teacher P4-7 – Miss Reynolds
Staff News
Congratulations to Mrs Doran on the birth of
her baby girl. Mum and baby are both doing
well.
Starting from Wednesday 26 September Mr
Harkins will be seconded to East
Dunbartonshire Council to the post of P.E
Development Officer. This is a temporary
position until June 2013. Mr Mc Mahon will
cover Mr Harkin’s post; there will be no
disruption to the children as classes will
continue as before. We wish Mr Harkins luck
in his new post.
Every class is timetabled for two sessions of
P.E. a week and children should bring a t-shirt,
shorts and a pair of gym shoes or trainers. In
line with East Dunbartonshire’s policy no
football strips should be worn.
In the interests of safety, I would remind you
that jewellery of any kind, including stud
earrings, must be removed before any
activity. Earrings larger than studs represent a
safety hazard at other times and should not
be worn to school. Please send your child’s
P.E. kit into school every Monday and
encourage them to bring it home for washing
on a Friday. In line with guidance from the
Scottish Government, we are committed to
delivering two hours of physical exercise for
every child each week. All children must take
part unless there is a medical reason to
prevent them from participating, in which
case you must inform the school in writing.
Classroom Assistants
Mrs Christie (Mon-Wed), Mr McDaid (ThursFri), Mrs Hutchinson, Mrs Hinshelwood, Mrs
Cameron-Smith (mornings)
P1a
P1b
P2a
P2b
P3a
P3b
P4a
P4b
P5a
P5b
P6
P6/7
P7
Support for Learning Assistants
Mrs Walker, Mrs Lamond (full-time) Mrs
Gunning, Mrs Hutchinson & Mrs Weir
(mornings).
Primary/Secondary Liaison
During a six week period starting on Tuesday
2nd October all primary 6 and 7 children will
have three ½ day visits to St Ninian’s High.
Office
Mrs McDaid (full-time) Mrs Curle
(Wednesday, Thursday & Friday), Mrs
Patterson (Mon, Tues mornings)
Arrangements for Wet Weather
On wet mornings (Tuesday-Friday) the
children will be allowed into the school at
8.45. We cannot allow them in on Monday
mornings as we have a staff meeting and no
teachers are available to supervise.
Site Coordinator
Mr Tait
Tuesday & Friday
Monday & Thursday
Tuesday & Friday
Wednesday & Friday
Tuesday & Friday
Tuesday & Thursday
Monday & Wednesday
Monday & Thursday
Monday & Friday
Tuesday & Thursday
Wednesday & Thursday
Wednesday & Thursday
Monday & Wednesday
Nut Allergies
Thank you for supporting our children who
suffer from this potentially severe allergy by
not allowing your child snacks or packed
lunches containing nuts.
Parent Council
The next meeting is on 3rd October after the
Parent Partnership Evening. All parents are
welcome to join the meeting.
Book Week
Water
We encourage children to drink water during
the day. Please supply fresh water daily.
Dogs in the Playground
A reminder that dogs (irrespective of size) are
not allowed in the school grounds. At the end
of the school day, the playground and paths
leading to the buildings are very busy and
noisy –definitely not a good place for dogs.
Our annual celebration of reading will take
place week beginning Monday 8th October
and Mrs Young has planned a week of exciting
activities. The children will have the
opportunity to purchase a book at the
Scholastic Book Fayre, which will also be open
to you on both parents’ evenings. All money
raised from the sale of books will be used to
purchase books for our lending library.
News from our Committees
Pupil Learning Council Members
Parents’ Evenings
Staff are looking forward to meeting you on
either Wednesday 10th October or Thursday
11th October. Your child will bring their folder
of work home on Friday 5th October; these
should be returned to school the following
Monday morning. Children are welcome to go
to the ICT suite while you meet with their
teacher, after the interview you can visit their
classroom where they will tell you about the
work they have been doing in class. As part of
our Book Week celebrations, every child will
have a book report on display at the entrance
or on the wall outside the hall.
You may park in the lower playground but I
would ask that you enter and leave the school
by the main door.
P1
Beth Carey and Dylan Jones
P2
Freya McLean and Beth Carey
P3
Lucie Goold and Jenna Seetohil
P4
Louis Brownisky and Lewis Innes
P5
Maria Docherty and Naomi Jenkins
P6
Christopher Watson and Aiden
Bryson
P7
Lucie Duffin, Rhiannon Storrie, Liam
Motherwell and Aiden McNamee
Pupil Learning Council office bearers are:
Lucie Duffin (Sept-Jan)
Rhiannon Storrie (Feb-Jun)
Parent Partnership Evening 3 October 2012
Chairperson
Please pencil this date in your diary. The choir
will perform and there will be the opportunity
to view the DVD Miss Pollock made to
celebrate the success of the Science Lab
Partners Project. You can also find out about
the many different ways you can work in
partnership with the school. I will give an update on how the school has spent the PTA
funds and there will be the opportunity to say
what you think we should fund raise for this
year.
PTA
The Halloween parties will be held on
Thursday 25th October: a letter will be issued
soon. The total funds raised last session will
be revealed at the Parent Partnership
Evening. Next PTA meeting is on Tuesday 23rd
October in the library. All parents are
welcome to join us.
Secretary
Liam Motherwell
Events
Organisers
Aiden McNamee,Christopher
Watson and Aiden Bryson
My Name is Rhiarron Storrie and I am one of
the new Chairpersons of our Pupil Learning
Council. Lucie and I both wanted to be the
chairperson so Mrs O’Connell suggested we
share the post over the year.
Members meet on the last Friday of every
month to discuss and set the agenda and then
we meet with Mrs O’Connell on the first
Tuesday of the month. There are two
representatives from P1-6 and three from P7.
The first out of uniform will be on Friday 16th
November.
Rhiannon Storrie P7
Health Committee
Eco Committee
We are delighted to introduce our new Eco
Warriors for 2012.
They are:
P1
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
P7
Ben King and Kate McKay
Kian Besnier and Emily Watson
Maddison Patterson and Eva Simpson
Calum Kilpatrick and Lauren Taylor
Christopher Lavery and Mark Allport
Kate Bamford
Rebecca Newall, Emma Walls, Olivia
McKenna & Sean Cartwright
The new Eco Committee is now established.
Eco duties have been devolved to include
every class and share responsibility for
maintaining our Eco Code.
We are encouraging a reduction in waste
produced in school through the ‘Waste
Wednesday’ initiative. Please support us by
providing packed lunches in reusable rather
than disposable containers. We will record
the weight of waste produced on our
Wastemeter!
Work has begun on the garden and a variety
of vegetables and spring flowers have now
been planted.
We have submitted our application for our 4th
Green Flag and are waiting to hear the
decision from Eco Schools.
We have a held a joint meeting with the Fair
Trade committee as we prepare for the
MacMillan Coffee morning. Our continued
thanks go to the parents who have helped us.
The Eco Committee
This year the following children have been
elected onto the Health Committee.
P1 Gabrielle Jamieson and James Carr
P2 Lennon Ward and Virginia Knapp
P3 Peter Conroy and Richard Brooks
P4 Aidan Maguire and Maria Boyle
P5 Keir Malcolm and Ethan Frame
P6 Maia Leslie and Krystina Gillhaney
P7 Murron Doherty, Hilary Cusack,
Robyn King & Bronwyn Donohue
Above are the names of our new Health
Committee. Recently we had our first meeting
with Miss Reynolds and Mrs Crossan to
discuss our responsibilities and jobs for this
year. We hope to get the Healthy Tuck Shop
up and running in the next few weeks. Any
information and updates about the Health
Committee will be on our website. We hope
to have a healthy, happy and successful year.
Bronwyn Donohue P7
Fair Trade Committee
The Fairtrade Committee have new members
who are all keen to carry on the fantastic
work of last year. They are:
P1
Dominic Kelly and Dylan Jones
P2
Michael McCarthy and Rebecca
Gilbride
P3
Alyssa Hendry and Callum Nelson
P4
Rebecca McKay and Jack Thomson
P5
Maura McCarthy and Megan
McConnell
P6
Gordie Morrison-Stewart and Josh
Egan
P7
Cristiana Dinardo, Collette Bamford,
Lisa Michelini and Alex McClelland
Our aim is to promote Fairtrade to our school
community and also to the wider community.
Our first big event this year is our Coffee
Morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
This will be held in our dining hall on Friday
28th of September at 9:15. Please come along
to try some delicious Fairtrade tea, coffee and
home baking all in aid of a great cause! Pupils
can also support us by bringing along any
extra pocket money as cakes will be on sale at
lunchtime.
Alex McClelland P7
Dates for your Diary
Friday 21 September – Holiday
Road Safety Officers
Monday 24 September –Holiday
This very successful scheme is continuing and
this year our Junior Road Safety Officers are
Crystal Limjap and Shannon Wilson. The girls
have a notice board outside Mrs Young’s
room and recently gave a Crossing the Road
Safely powerpoint presentation at assembly.
Tuesday 25 September - P1 in full day
Thursday 27 September-P2a & P2b Visit to St
Ninian’s Church
Friday 28 September- P3b Falkirk Wheel
Friday 28 September – Big Coffee Morning for
Macmillan Cancer Relief
Wednesday 3 October-Parent Partnership
Evening
Parking
We appreciate that parking near the school is
very difficult and it is tempting to slip into the
school car parks however these are for staff
members only.
Communication
Mrs Moore (Clerical Assistant) is off on long
term sick leave and as a result, we are short
staffed in the office. Recently there has been
a marked increase in the number of parents
phoning the office to ask staff to remind
children where they are going at the end of
the day. Please use your child’s homework
diary to highlight if there is a change of
arrangements.
Thursday 4 October - National Poetry Day
Friday 5 October-Folders of work home
Monday 8 – Thursday 11 October -Book
Week
Wednesday 10 October 6.00-8.00pm &
Thursday 11 October 3.15-5.15pm - Parents’
evenings (SFA football is cancelled this
evening)
Tuesday 9 October –P2a Library Visit
Thursday 11 October- P2b Library Visit
Friday 12 October - In-service day- no pupils
Monday 15 - Friday 19 October – October
break
Thursday 25 October – Halloween Parties
Saturday 27 October – Running Club at
Grangemouth
Book Amnesty
I would also ask you to check at home for any
school books (library of textbooks) you may
have from last year. Please return to the office
as soon as possible.
Wednesday 12 December Nativity Play- P1a,
2a & 3a
Thursday 13 December –Nativity P1b,2b & 3b
Monday 17 December – Pantomime visiting
the school – Funded by PTA
Friday 21 December – School closes at
2.30pm for Christmas holidays
Monday 7 January 2011 – School re-opens
SUMMARY OF IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2012-2013 – see website for more details
No
1
Improvement Priority
Curriculum for Excellence
Targets

To develop a coherent and progressive approach to social subjects and sciences.

To continue to develop strong and secure achievement in RERC, with a consistent approach to learning &
teaching and assessment in all establishments.

To continue to develop strong and secure achievement in numeracy with a consistent approach to learning
& teaching, assessment and moderation in all establishments.
Attainment and Achievement
2
Cluster RERC Initiative
Attainment and Achievement
3
Cluster Numeracy Initiative
Attainment and Achievement
4
Cluster Health & Well Being
Initiative
 To audit existing practices in P.E. and Food and Health and make recommendations for development needs.
5
Cluster Literacy Initiative
 To review existing profiles and associated evidence and make recommendations for next steps.
 Link the profile to the relevant literacy outcomes.
6
Global Education
 To continue to promote Fair Trade message through the promotion of Fair Trade products at school and
community events.
7
Health & Well Being

To develop the well being and emotional resilience of the children.

Work in partnership with parents to develop the school garden and play areas.
September 2012 Newsletter Response Slip
I am happy with the contents of the newsletter
I am happy with the contents of the Standards & Quality Report and the Improvement Plan
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Feedback on the Standards & Quality Report, Improvement Plan and newsletter would be appreciated
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Pupil’s name
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Signature of Parent / Carer
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Class
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