Hatton of Fintray School Newsletter

Our Values at Hatton of Fintray School: Community, Happiness, Achievement. Respect, Lifelong learning, Individuality and Everyone looking after each other.

It has been a very busy term with still so much to do before the summer holidays. We wish all our families a safe, happy and relaxing summer break.

Congratulations to Mrs Mackenzie. Her family welcomed Angus to the world in early May. Staffing Update: Mr Galloway has resigned his post with the Inverurie Cluster to take up a full-time teaching post with a school in Aberdeenshire. We wish him all the best! In the meantime, we will have to cover his role internally until his post is filled. We are delighted to welcome Miss Marilyn Smith to our school. Originally from Kintore she is returning home from teaching in Bishopbriggs. She will be teaching with us full-time for the 2019/20 session. She has visited the school, will be coming again during the last week of term and has already met some if the children. She is looking forward to joining us in August. Mrs Dempsey will be leaving us at the end of this session after working with the school for 11 years! We greatly appreciate her contributions to Hatton of Fintray and wish her all the best. We may still see her around occasionally as she will remain on the PSA Relief Staffing List and has assured us she will gladly return to help us out when needed. As a way to help shape the children’s geographical knowledge of Scot- land and the wider world, we would really appreciate it if you or your family travels anywhere over the summer, to send a postcard to the school (it can be addressed to themselves—its always nice to get mail!) or if they buy one during their travels, bring it to school the first week back to share. We would like to create a world display over time.

Summer Reading Challenge

Aberdeenshire Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge is a fun and accessible activity for children of all ages. The organisers design the challenge to ensure that children of all abil- ities can take part and encourage participants to read their own choice of books from their local library, listen to audiobooks or download and read eBooks/eAudiobooks over the school summer holiday period. All children need to do is to read or listen to six suitable books between Friday 21st June and Saturday 24th August, and they can win a prize of a book or a pencil to keep (there are a small number of other prizes available). The challenge can be done up to three times.

As well as the reading challenge, our libraries also run a creative competition during the Summer Holidays, to design a bookmark, entries can be as creative as entrants wish them to be

A book token/gift card will be awarded to the “Star Reader” from each Library in Aber- deenshire. This year, we will also be awarding a prize to an overall Aberdeenshire Star Reader from these and the prize for this has been kindly donated by Mackie’s of Scot- land - £100 Book Gift Card and a year’s supply of Mackie’s Ice Cream!

Library Activities

The Library will organise a number of activities over the course of the school holidays, alt- hough the programme is yet to be finalised it will include a visit from Techfest on the morning of Wednesday 31st July. Some activities will have a small charge to them. Keep an eye on posters and Kintore Library Facebook page for more details, or just ask at the Li- brary

We hope to see lots over you over the holidays!

Janet Newberry Senior Library Assistant

Kids Corner As part of our self-evaluation process, I have asked the children to reflect on their learning experiences over the session—thought it would be nice to share a small selection with you!

P1: I really like choosing and Maths. Choosing because I like to play with my friends and Maths because I’ve gotten better at it and I’m good at adding. I like counting in 2s and have gotten faster and really like switchers: it's like 6+2 = 8 if you see 2+6 you know it's also 8 - its like 2 in one! P1: My favourite thing was reading. I really liked learning to read. If you couldn't read and you were called to an office and you had to read a book, you wouldn’t know how to do it and you would have to ask for help. I really liked the book “At The Seaside”. I really liked the topic under the sea too because I liked the creatures under the sea.

P2: I liked learning about police because police are my favourite thing. In PE I liked everything because it helps me be healthy. I like maths because I thought I couldn’t do taking away but now I think I'm good at it. I really like doubles! I can count in 2s and 5s which mean I can use them in times tables.

P2: I liked building a car when we did I’m an engineer. I liked the art too when we painted it. I like maths and now I can count in 10s and Big Writing - I was proud of my Engineering poster. I like the books I’m reading too. P3: I really enjoy writing because I like making my own stories up. I am proud of my writing, grammar and spelling. Maths has been challenging because I’ve had to learn lots of new things. P3: I have really enjoyed learning about emotions and using a movie to help learn about how we act. I am proud that my writing has gotten neater and I have gotten good at fractions. P4: I have enjoyed learning about different artists and doing different types of art work. I think I have really improved in my times tables - next year I want to get even faster! P4: I really liked the Romans topic and learning about soldiers. I think I have gotten better at maths and writing because I practise. P5: I really liked learning about the Romans because they were exciting and I learned some interesting facts. I think I have improved the most in maths because I have gotten faster at times tables, doubling and adding. P5: I have really enjoyed maths and like division and times table the best. My handwriting has gotten much neater. P5: I liked our Spain topic because we learned a lot. My favourite part was for the Sol y Luna artwork. I really liked building the cars for engineering and seeing how fast they went. I have definitely improved in mechanics. P5: I enjoyed so much this year—WW2, Maths, Spain topic, Enterprise and Newsround. They improved my knowledge in many ways. I improved in Maths because I took my time and I enjoyed it more. P6: I particularly enjoyed our Enterprise topic because it involved a lot of STEM and creativity. It was really amusing and one of my favourite topics so far. I also really enjoyed the Generation Science Robo Constructors because it was really educational and fun; I learned a lot from that session. Play leaders has been amazing. I was really excited to start and I love doing the games with the new P1s; it was so lively and enjoyable, I would definitely do it again!

P6: I really enjoyed our Spain topic, writing brochures and learning about the 17 regions. I have gotten better at de- scriptive writing and understand algebra now too.

P7: I have learned lots of new things in P7 but the things that make me feel most proud are, improving my maths in gen- eral but mostly fractions and multiplication. Also my spelling has gotten a lot better through homework practise. I enjoyed the primary seven transitions because I met new people and baking because we got to try new food and make new things and finally golf-that was great!

IMPORTANT We have a new school phone number. It is: 01224 472 920 Our old school number is disconnected. Our school email address remains the same.

Adverse Weather Parents Information Line: 03700544999 Pin Number 02 1860 Website: www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/closures Assemblies Sharing some of our learning experiences... P3/4/5 do The Romans

P1/2 share Under the Sea

P5/6/7 describe World War II Mr Smith visited us to share a Bible Story.

Our House Team Charity Assembly

Pupil Voice Groups Charity Assembly Each House team has chosen a charity focus this session; they are: Berwick-Cancer Research Kinaldie—The Heart Foundation Balbithan-CLAN Cothal—Aberdeen Cyrenians On June 12th, representatives from the above charities were invited to attend our assembly to accept their donations from the fundraising supported by the FSA and from the children’s fundraising efforts. Three of the charities were represented on the day. Each charity received a donation of £228.35. Some of our fundraising in action!

Bikeability Thanks to our parent helpers and Miss Laverty, we were able to offer level one and begin level two Bikeability this session.

Bikeability is today’s cycle training programme. It’s like cycling proficiency, but better! It’s about gaining practical skills and understanding how to cycle on today’s roads. Bikeability gives everyone the skills and confidence for all kinds of cycling. P6 and P7 will complete level two through a full day experience during the first day of health week on Monday, July 1st, 2019. Please remember to bring your bikes and helmets—no BMX helmets please. Please ensure your bikes still meet the bike check stand- ards that were previously emailed.

Our Playground We have spent some time this session doing a tidy and adding to the play equipment in the playground. The FSA have provided two new play boards, a badminton set and netball trainer. We also have a movable basketball net. We have done some litter picking and have asked to borrow some litters pickers from Ab- erdeenshire Council for the final week of term. Our shelter shed in the playground has also been resurfaced and repainted. We hope to gather some budding artists next session to paint a mural on the exterior to brighten it. We have tried some new things in our playground and have played with Nerf Howlers and Hacky Sacks—our pupils are always up for trying something new. Our P6 pupils have successfully completed their Play Leader Training and ran a session for our new P1 pupils and P1/2 class. They will be able to lead games for the P1 to P3 pupils next session and we hope to establish a Play Leader rota.

GRUB Club Many thanks to our volunteer, Moira, who has given her time and experience to help offer our pupils cooking experiences in all classes. P1/2 have made pizzas, wraps and smooth- ies, P3/4/5 have made turkey pitas and P5/6/7 have made some recipes from World War II. Cooking is always a great opportunity to apply some maths, reading, team-work and problem solving.

Marks & Spencer A big thank you to a team from Marks & Spencer Inverurie for donating their time to build a new greenhouse for our school and painting our picnic tables. It was a cold and rainy day but they per- severed and got the job done! A lovely thank you has been written by Molly and Nathanial.

Thanks to Mr Gerrard as well for moving the water butt and for finishing the greenhouse. We are ready to begin growing next session.

A message from P3/4/5 A pupil-led initiative... Dear Parents, Following our successful science open afternoon last term, pupils in P3/4/5 asked me if they would be able to use the electrical circuit equipment further. Unfortunately, the kits we had for our open afternoon were borrowed from another school within the cluster and had to be returned. The pupils also mentioned that if we had our own kits then they could be utilised by all classes, our lunchtime STEM club and be incorporated into our weekly STEM starter of the day activity. As a result of this, the pupils were given the opportunity to write a letter to local companies asking if they would be willing to sponsor some science equipment for our school. We have chosen a few letters that represent our 3 year groups and now we wish to distribute them. Therefore, if you work for a company who may be interested in receiving one of our letters, can you please let us know as soon as possible so we can arrange the best method of sending a letter to them. Should you have any further queries regarding this matter, please get in touch. Thank you, Mrs Robertson

Developing the Young Workforce Homework Thanks for all your contributions to our whole school homework task. There have been some great presentations and work submitted! Lots of great research on the many careers that interest the children. Next session we hope to host a World of Work day.

JASS

Congratulations to Abbie Grant, our first recipient of the Bronze level JASS award. The Junior Award Scheme for Schools (JASS) is a progressive learning programme for young people which has been designed to recognise wider achievement. JASS develops the whole individual by offering recognition in four key areas – regular physical activity (Get Active, Stay Active), exploring a personal interest (My Interests), working for the good of the community or the environment (Me and My World) and completing an outdoor activity or challenge (Adventure) and is designed so that participants move through the levels with increasing commitment, learning, and challenge. We have met with our P5 and P6 pupils with a view to grow the programme next session. Many of the pupils are keen to participate.

Junior Road Safety Officers Our JRSO team welcomed a speaker to their assembly this term. She was the Strategy Develop- ment Officer with the Strategy Unit, Infrastructure Services, Aberdeenshire Council. She was able to share some important messages with us about travelling to school safely. She also launched our school banner competition. We were very pleased to welcome her and appreciated the reflective lights she gifted us. School Banner Competition Winners: We are pleased to an- nounce that our winners of the school banner competition are: Lauren in P3/4/5 and Lewis in P1/2. Their entries are now being made into real banners!

Thanks to all who entered. All entries are displayed on the JRSO noticeboard. I’m an Engineer — Car Challenge! All children in school were involved in building a car with the design challenge that it had to move a distance of one meter. We carried out surface testing and design before actually building. We had a STEM engineer kick off the topic with us by talking about risk assessments and the role of an engineer. To finish the project, most groups also had to complete a ‘Lessons Learned’ presentation to reflect on the whole project. We wish our P4 pupils good luck when they participate in the Cluster Car Competition. Thanks to our parent volunteers for helping us out! Thanks to Asda!

Asda donated some gardening supplies to us and thanks to our new school volunteer we were able to do some planting outside. Mrs Watson donated some Strawberry plants so we are hoping they will grow in our planting bed and we can try some of the fruits of our labour! Asda also kindly donated water and fruit for us for Sports Day. Due to the cancelled Sports Day, the children enjoyed the fruit during Free Choice Friday. Hatton of Fintray School

It's always great to see our support making a difference in the local community – so I was delighted to be sent these photos of children from Hatton of Fintray School using their gardening tools Asda donated.

Posted by Fiona Cumming from Asda Dyce (Shared on the Asda Community site)

Classes next session: We have arrived at our class arrangements for next session now that we have our staffing confirmed. Our children will have a ‘moving up’ session on June 28th at 11:15.

 Miss Marilyn Smith will teach P1/2/3 which will be located in the portable classroom to allow the children to use the outdoor space by the classroom.

 Mrs Robertson and Mrs Smith will teach P4/5. This class will be located in the current P1/2 classroom.

 Miss Laverty will teach P6/7 and will remain in the same classroom.

 Mrs Andrew will continue to work with us one day a week to support learners.

 Mrs Brand will continue as our PSA. Communication Over the next session, we will try to use Marvellous Me more effectively. We have discovered that we can attach files on this app and the messages can be stored.

We will begin to phase in more contact this way however, if you feel over time, that you prefer another communication method, please advise us.

Holiday Programme

Fancy an adventure this summer? Have a look at our holiday programme. Get involved in Mountain Biking, Gorge walking and Coasteering to name but a few. Have a look at all the exciting sessions we have available. Search on Eventbrite which has all the descriptions and booking information.

Gray’s School of Art Short Course Provision

There are currently various short courses, weekend courses and day courses on offer in- cluding a reintroduction of Young Artists 5 – 16 years workshops. Visit www.rgu.ac.uk/ shortcourses for more information.

A Summer Suggestion…

If you are looking for something else to entertain the kids over the summer, have a look at: https://www.oorwullie.com/the- trail/

FSA

The next FSA meeting will be on September 18th, 2019 at 7pm in the school. It will be the annual AGM. All are welcome and your attendance is appreciated. We will be looking for some new candidates to assume office bearer roles. Active Schools Please see the link below relating to the new Active Schools Parental Volun- teer recruitment drive that will run from today until 5th July 2019. The aim is to increase the number of parent volunteers and in turn look to share out volunteering duties and make volunteering in sport something that parents feel that they can contribute to whilst their child/children are at school. The link below shows a video of volunteer opportunities. https://youtu.be/r2NgyWysfI8

The video can also be found at https://www.facebook.com/ActiveSchoolsAberdeenshireCentral/? epa=SEARCH_BOX

Many thanks Malcolm

Malcolm Grant Active Schools Lead Coordinator- Central Aberdeenshire & Inverurie Acade-

Every couple of years, as a result of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, all Local Authorities have a statutory duty to consult and plan with appropriate stakeholders.

As a result of this, Aberdeenshire Early Learning and Childcare are running a consultation on the flexibility of early learning and childcare provision and we are looking for support from settings to promote it. From today to Friday 5 July 2019, we would appreciate it if you could please complete the survey. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NGXJDK3

The survey is for parent/carers, professionals and other interested stakeholders so if you could include this in any group emails, newsletters, Facebook pages, etc, it would be very much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Lost Property We have some unnamed items in school (school jumpers mostly). If you are missing items, please let us know and we can have a look! Health Week 2019 During the final week of term, we will be Activities hosting a Health Week. Monday 9:30 P6/7 Bikeability During this week, all pupils and staff are encouraged to come to school dressed to Lawn Bowling be active—uniforms are not required. Badminton Wear appropriate sport clothes and please refrain from wearing Football stripes, Tuesday crop tops and jewellery. As we will be Whole School Trip to ASV spending time outside, please ensure you have sun cream, hats and water bottles. Wednesday Judo While we have some people who have vol- Sandpiper Trust unteered their time to deliver activities for our children, thanks to the FSA, we have been able to book some providers Allan's’ Magic Show– STEM through Active Schools. focus

I have included the current list of activities however, this is subject to change. Thursday Hockey/Running

Boxercise

End of Term Assembly at 2pm in the Hall Parents/Carers welcome! Friday Skipping and games

P5/6/7 Golf 9:30 – 11:30 at Newmachar Golf Club

Baseball P4-7 OR Movie and popcorn

Have a look at this website if you’d like some ideas to support Maths at home. https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/Documents/IAmAMathematician120517.pdf

Have a look at this website if you’d like some ideas to support Science at home. https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/learning-at-home/Supporting%20science%20at% 20home

Third time’s a charm! Despite being rained out on two dates, we finally managed to hold Sports Day. The weather was lovely and the children were great. Many thanks to our parent helpers, our teachers, our staff who volunteered their time to support us and all the parents and family members who came out to watch us and enjoy the sunshine! The house team points are being calculated and will be announced at the final assembly.

Kintore Library

Kintore Primary School Castle Walk Kintore AB51 0RU

Kintore Library will be organising a series of craft events on Monday after- noons during the holidays, from 2.30 – 4.30. On Mondays 8th and 22nd July and 5th August these will be taken by Tracey and will have a small charge, booking is advisable as numbers are limited. On 15th and 29th July and 12th August these sessions will be drop in between 2.30 – 4.30 and will be ar- ranged by Library Staff and there will be no charge.

On Wednesday 31st July Techfest will be at the Library with STEM Through The Ages .

History is all around us but have you ever considered how Science, Technolo- gy, Engineering and Maths have impacted on the ancient world? Investigate the challenges that civilisations overcame to make their environments safer. Discover how they were able to navigate incredible distances successfully and learn how to do it yourself. (There are four parts to this workshop cov- ering Vikings, Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks the library will have two of these). There will be a small charge and numbers are strictly limited, so booking is advisable

For parents and carers with younger children Bookbug sessions will take place on Friday 12th and Tuesday 23rd July at 2pm and on Saturday 3rd Au- gust at 9.30 am

The Library will be open throughout the holidays for you to pick up your Summer Reading Challenge collectors cards, and “We`re Going on a Bear Hunt” spotters cards.

Thank you!

Active Schools Inverurie— Summer 2019 Holiday Programme Here is a snapshot of the flyer or check out their Facebook page.

School Holidays 2019/2020 Children return to school after Summer Holidays on Wednesday 21/08/19 (19/08/19 & 20/08/19 are in-service days) October Break— 14/10/19—25/10/19 Christmas Break — 23/12/19—03/01/20 Easter Break — 06/04/20—20/04/20 Summer Break —06/07/20—14/08/20, In-service day 17/08/20 returning to school on 18/08/2020 Public Holidays—17/02/20, 08/05/20 In service days— 11/10/2019, 18/11/19 & 19/11/19, 18/02/19 & 19/02/19 Occasional Days—have yet to be confirmed by Aberdeenshire Council. A full calendar with diary dates will be issued at the start of next session.

Save the date...for Sheltie Stakes! The final meeting and equipment check before Sheltie Stakes is August 20th in the Village Hall at 7:30pm. Sheltie Stakes will be held on Sunday, September 1st, 2019.