WEST KILBRIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL
HUNTERSTON ROAD, WEST KILBRIDE, NORTH AYRSHIRE, KA23 9EX
Tel: 01294 822353
Fax: 01294 823905
westkilbride@ea.n-ayrshire.sch.uk
www.westkilbride.northayrshireschools.co.uk
Head Teacher:
Parent Council Chair:
Out of School Care:
Sheena Savage
Oliver Reid
Doris Stevenson
Tel: 01294 822 353
odreid@btinternet.com
Tel: 07776 426 364
NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2013
Dear Everyone,
REPORTING TO PARENTS
Please note that our next formal Reporting to Parents Meetings will take place on the
evenings of Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 March between 6pm - 9pm. A crèche,
supervised by OSC staff in the OSC Room, will be available at a small fee of 50p per
child. A Book Fair will also be available during both evenings. We look forward to
welcoming as many parents and carers as possible.
VALENTINE’S DISCOS
Members of the Parent Council and parent helpers will run Valentine’s discos on Friday
15 February. All children from P1 - P7 are invited to attend. Entry (including tuck) will
be £1.50 for P1-5 pupils. P6 and P7 pupils will be charged £1 entry and may bring their
own tuck shop money. Parents should be aware that the tuck shop sells sweets and
flavoured drinks. If you would prefer your child not to have any sweets, please discuss
this with the adult at the entrance.
If you are able to help supervise, please contact the school office or a member of the
Parent Council. The following times have been agreed with the Parent Council:
P1 & P2
P3, P4 & P5
P6 & P7
6.30pm - 7.15pm
7.30pm - 8.15pm
8.30pm – 9.15pm
All children and parents are asked to enter via the Main Entrance and exit via the P1
door to the right of the main entrance. Please collect very young children directly from
the hall. No child in P1 - P5 will be allowed to leave the building unless escorted by an
adult.
REGISTRATION FOR ADMISSION TO PRIMARY ONE IN 2013
We have registered 47 children for next Session’s Primary 1 classes. If you know of
anyone who has missed the registration dates, please encourage them to come to the
school immediately as the school has to submit numbers to NAC.
FEBRUARY MID-TERM BREAK
Please remember that North Ayrshire schools have a mid-term break in February.
Families can enjoy the holiday from Monday 11, Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 February.
Everyone returns to school on Thursday 14 February.
IN SERVICE DAY
During the In Service Day on Wednesday 13 February, staff will learn about how to
better support the needs of children with ADHD and Dyslexia.
OUT OF SCHOOL CARE
The West Kibride Primary School Out of School Care (OSC) facility operates out of
school premises each Monday to Friday and provides quality childcare before, and after,
school. The OSC also offers day-care during almost all school holidays. Times and rates
are as follows:
before school/breakfast care
7:45am – 9:00am
£3.80 (Mon-Fri)
after school care
3:15pm – 5:30pm
£6.50 (Mon-Fri)
3:15pm – 6:00pm
£7.65 (Mon-Fri)
3:15pm – 6:15pm
£8.85 (Mon-Thu)
school holidays
8:00am – 6:00pm
£23 per full day
After school each evening, West Kilbride pupils are collected directly from their
classrooms and safely escorted over to the Out of School Care building where they can
have a snack, complete homework and engage in a wide range of interesting leisure
activities. The OSC facility is regularly inspected by The Care Inspectorate who praise
the care offered by the qualified and caring staff. The OSC facility is available to any
local parents requiring either regular, or casual, care for their children. There is an
admissions policy and, in certain circumstances, discounts apply. For further details,
please contact Doris Stevenson on the number at the top of this newsletter, or ask for a
leaflet at the school office.
The rates charged to parents are very competitive as the Not-For-Profit OSC
Committee try to keep the charges as low as possible by applying for grants. However,
as you will be aware, it is increasingly difficult to obtain grant funding so the Committee
have requested that the school hold a “dress down” day to support them in purchasing
new equipment, etc. We will hold a non-uniform day during the Summer Term.
Contributions would of course be entirely optional.
P6 & P7 BURNS COMPETITION
The final of our P6 & P7 Burns Competition will take place in school on the afternoon
of Friday 1 March. A panel of judges will decide on a winner in each of three
categories: singing, playing, recitation. From these, an overall winner will be chosen.
We are very grateful to Mrs June Kerr for providing the prizes.
WORLD THINKING DAY
Any members of the local Associations such as Brownies, Rainbows, Scouts, BBs who are
participating in World Thinking Day on Friday 22 February are very welcome to wear
their association uniforms to school that day. It would be good if one or two of them
could help to tell other children about the aims of World Thinking Day 2013 which has
the theme of “together we can save children’s lives”. Any children who wish to do so
should let Mrs Bell know.
HUNTERSTON ROTARY, WEAR PURPLE DAY
The school supports Hunterston Rotary in its international campaign to eradicate polio.
To help raise funds and support the Thanks For Life campaign we will hold a “Wear
Purple Day” on Friday 22 February. All staff and children are asked to wear some purple
items of clothing instead of normal school clothes and to bring in as much loose change
as possible – the coins that lie at the bottom of purses and at the back of drawers. (We
are aware that this date coincides with World Thinking Day - participating children
could still wear something purple, e.g. a scarf, a bracelet, a hat.)
PRIMARY 4 GAELIC ARTS PROJECT
All Primary 4 pupils are studying “Scotland” as their main theme this Term. They have
been very fortunate in benefitting from also being involved in a Gaelic Arts Project
organised by NAC Education & Skills. The children are learning about Gaelic Art,
Language, Singing and Animation from native Gaelic speakers. The singer working with
the children has recently finished performing at Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Parents
of Primary 4 children have been invited to learn alongside their children during any of
the workshops and there will also be the opportunity for parents and children to learn
some basic Gaelic during a series of after-school workshops.
GROWING & CHANGING (SEXUAL HEALTH EDUCATION) PARENTS MEETING
All interested parents and carers are invited to a meeting in our P7 activity area on
Monday 4 March at 7pm. The meeting should last about 60 - 90 minutes. During the
meeting our School Nurse, Evelyn Irvine, will outline the content of the sexual health
lessons that will be delivered to P6 and P7 pupils. We ask Mrs Irvine to deliver this
aspect of the curriculum because she has developed an excellent programme of lessons
and because children have told us that they prefer an external professional delivering
the content. Parents of children at any stage of school are welcome to attend. Please
note that this meeting is not intended for children. If childcare would prevent you from
attending, please let the office know.
PRIMARY 2 VISIT TO DEAN CASTLE
This Term, Primary 2 pupils are learning about “Long, long ago”. They have
visited West Kilbride Museum to help them learn about the recent past and
now that they are studying life in castles, they will visit Dean Castle,
Kilmarnock on Wednesday 27 February. Dean Castle is an excellent visit
for our children as the castle illustrates all the aspects of castle life that
the children have learned about in the classroom.
PRIMARY 7 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Over the past few weeks, Primary 7 pupils have been receiving expert basketball
training during their PE lessons. To celebrate their new skills the children will
participate in a Basketball Tournament at Inverclyde Sports Centre on the morning of
Wednesday 27 February.
P6 & P7 CHILDLINE WORKSHOPS
Over the next few weeks our Primary 6 & 7 pupils will benefit from participating in a
series of talks and workshops provided by the Childline charity. The theme of the
workshops will be “keeping yourself safe”. Topics will include internet
safety, anti-bullying, who to contact for support.
PRIMARY 3 VISIT TO HARBOUR ARTS THEATRE
Primary 3 pupils have been studying how World War II affected the lives of ordinary
people. They know about evacuees, rationing, etc. and have learned several songs from
the era. On Monday 25 February the children will visit the Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine
to see a wonderful play called “Sadie & Maggie’s Hoose”. The play is set in World War
II and will help bring to life some of the facts that the children have been learning.
SCIENCE WORKSHOPS FOR P6 PUPILS
On Friday 22 February scientists from Generation Science will visit
from Edinburgh to involve all of our Primary 6 pupils in a “Lego
Mindstorms Challenge”. The challenge will involve the children in
working in teams and using their logic, inventiveness, skills and
scientific knowledge to solve problems and make discoveries.
SCHOOL MEALS – MEAT PRODUCTS
North Ayrshire Council has taken immediate measures to ensure that the suppliers of
meat products used in school meals can verify that their beef, lamb and pork products
are not contaminated with horsemeat. The Council has also received verification about
the purity of halal foods. The following is an extract from a statement received from
Scotland Excel (the full statement is available on request from the office):
Scotland Excel is the Centre of Procurement Expertise for the local government sector
in Scotland. As part of its remit, Scotland Excel develops and manages collaborative
contracts on behalf of local authorities, including a range of framework agreements
which feature food and drink products. The annual value of these contracts is c. £50m.
The purpose of this document is to provide local authorities and other stakeholders with
information about the steps being taken by Scotland Excel and its suppliers to review
supply chains and provide assurances in relation to current concerns on meat products.
Since concerns were first raised in relation to the authenticity of meat used in
processed food products in mid-January, Scotland Excel has worked closely with
suppliers to its food and drink frameworks to implement supply chain traceability checks
and issue assurances to local authority stakeholders.
All suppliers of meat products to local authorities through Scotland Excel contracts
including Brakes, Green Gourmet, Campbells, McClays, McWilliams and Apetito have
issued statements confirming that their supply chain does not include any of the
abattoirs or companies known to be affected by the current crisis. Scotland Excel is
liaising closely with catering and procurement colleagues within local authorities to
answer questions and provide regular updates and reassurances.
In particular, as the main supplier to schools, Brakes has undertaken an extensive review
of its supply chain as well as precautionary DNA checks on beef burger products, all of
which returned negative results. To allay any further concerns, Brakes are now
implementing testing of their beef products and are auditing all their processed beef
manufacturing sites. Scotland Excel has also ordered independent testing of key meat
products available from Brakes, and results are expected w/c 18 February.
Scotland Excel is confident that rigorous tendering and auditing processes ensure that
its food and drink suppliers comply with all legislative requirements and maintain the
highest food standards. We will continue to monitor the current situation in regards to
the authenticity of meat products and keep our stakeholders informed of all new
information that arises.
PARENT COUNCIL MEETING
The next Parent Council Meeting will take place in the Community Centre on Thursday 14
March at 7:30pm. Items on the agenda will include The Summer Fair, School Grounds
Improvements, School-Run Parking. Recently, concern has been raised by a parent about
the inconsiderate and, in some cases, unsafe habits of some drivers near the school
gates at drop-off/pick-up times. The local police have been consulted for further
advice and our Junior Road Safety Officers will also meet to discuss the issues. In the
meantime, can I please ask that drivers take every care at these particularly busy times
so that children do not get injured.
Please:
o do not park in the bus layby in Portencross Road
o do not park on, or near, the zigzags on Hunterston Road
o do not double park
o do not drive into the staff car park
 do walk whenever possible
 do park a little further away from the school and walk to meet your child
 do drive at 5mph in the immediate vicinity of the school
If you have any suggestions for effective ways to improve safety near the school gates,
please let us know by text or telephone.
Yours sincerely
Sheena M Savage
Head Teacher
February Diary
1 Friday
1 Friday
4 Monday
4 Monday
5 Tuesday
6 Wednesday
6 Wednesday
6 Wednesday
6 Wednesday
8 Thursday
8 Thursday
11 Monday
12 Tuesday
13 Wednesday
13 Wednesday
Pre-School Registration Day
S Savage to Assessment Focus Group, Ardrossan Academy,am
Dr Freeman Presents Burns Workshops for P6 Classes, am
R Knox to GIRFEC Training, all day
S Savage to LAC Co-ordinators’ Meeting, GTC, pm
S savage to LAC Review, Irvine, am
Gaelic Singing Workshop for P4 Classes, pm
L Bell to Literacy Co-ordinators’ Meeting, 3:30pm
Staff Collegiate Meeting, 3:30pm–4:30pm
L Bell to Nurture Approach Training, GTC, all day
H Philips to Janitors’ Meeting, Largs, pm
HOLIDAY
HOLIDAY
HOLIDAY
IN SERVICE DAY (HOLIDAY FOR PUPILS)
14 Thursday
14 Thursday
15 Friday
15 Friday
18 Monday
19 Tuesday
19 Tuesday
19 Tuesday
20 Wednesday
21 Thursday
21 Thursday
21 Thursday
22 Friday
22 Friday
22 Friday
22 Friday
25 Monday
26 Tuesday
27 Wednesday
27 Wednesday
27 Wednesday
27 Wednesday
S Savage to LAC Review, Glasgow, am
Childline Workshops for P6 & P7 Classes
S Savage to LAC Review, Kilbirnie, pm
Valentine Discos, P1-2 @ 6:30, P3-5 @ 7:30pm, P6-7 @ 8:30pm
Netball Team to League Matches, 3:15pm
S Savage to Cluster Meeting, Ardrossan Aacdemy, am
R Knox to GIRFEC Training
S Savage to Corporate Complaints Procedure Training, pm
Staff Collegiate Meeting, 3:30pm-4:30pm
P7 Staff to P7 Transition Review, Ardrossan Academy, all day
Childline Workshops for P6 Classes, am
S Savage to IT Meeting, Dalry, pm
Generation Science Workshops for P6 Classes
Childline Workshops for P7 Classes, am
World Thinking Day
Wear Purple Day, “pennies” donation please
P3 Classes to Sadie & Archie’s Hoose, HAC, pm
K Graham & M Wilson to TLC Facilitators’ Training, 3:30pm
P2 Visit Dean Castle, Kilmarnock
P7 to Basketball Tournament, Inverclyde Sports Centre, am
Gaelic Singing Workshops for P4 Classes
Staff Moderation Activities, 3:30pm-5:30pm