Happy New Year to all our learners and families!
2020 has started so well, with staff training and a range of experiences planned for the block ahead. We have all particularly enjoyed learning about all things Scottish and sharing this learning with families.
We look forward to continuing to share our learning at our House Folio Coffee Mornings. These start on Friday 31st January with learners in Balfour House welcoming their families to Lorne to share their learning progress.
If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact school to arrange an appointment.
Susan Leach
Vision and Values
Vision –
Lorne Primary School aims to provide high quality learning and teaching in a safe and nurturing environment, leading to success for all.
Values –
Diversity
Equality
Achievement
Respect
Rules
The rules at Lorne are;
- Ready
- Respectful
- Safe
The rules are easy to remember and contribute to the ethos of the school. We regularly revisit what it means to be Ready, Respectful and Safe in and around school.
Maths Magician
We are excited to introduce a new award to Assembly. Teachers will be looking for a learner who has shown determination in Numeracy and Mathematics and will be nominating their Maths Magician. Pupils will have the chance to share their learning at assembly and will receive a certificate to show their achievements.
Monthly Sumdog Competition
The Mathematics and Numeracy Pupil Voice Group (P4-7), in collaboration with Sumdog are organising a monthly Sumdog competition. A different aspect of Mathematics and Numeracy will form the focus each month. We are hoping that learners will login at home as well as in school.
The first competition will be shared on Friday 31st January and will have a times tables focus. Winners will be announced in assembly on Friday 28th February.
Cake and Words
‘Cake and Words’, our new book group for parents/carers on Wednesday mornings, has started well with both parents and facilitators feeding back that they have really enjoyed the sessions so far. These are open to any parent/carer or family member who would like to listen, relax and unwind to some chat, a croissant/pastry, listening to a story and a poem and a chance to meet other parents. It takes place in our Learning Hub between 9-10am each Wednesday.
English Class
We have had our first English class for parents and carers which is also on Wednesdays in the Learning Hub, but from 10-11am. This is a drop-in session (you do not have to come every week) and we will aim to meet your needs in developing your use of the English language (listening, talking, reading or writing). You are welcome to bring any younger children with you to either session. This session is led by Caroline Gordon, one of our EAL teachers.
Coorie In
‘Coorie In’ continues to grow – the children are so enthusiastic in their listening to a story and the related craft they do afterwards! It would be great to see some new faces too, so those of you with children in P1, P2 or P3, come along to the Learning Hub on a Wednesday afternoon from 3-3:30pm. If your child is in P3, we can collect them from class early to come and join you for ‘Coorie In’!
Book Clubs
We have now also launched a lunchtime book club for children in P4 to P7. Our name may be something around ‘The Crazy Book Club’ or ‘Read Like Crazy’ – watch this space!
And, so as not to feel left out, we are continuing with our popular Staff Book Group once a month on Friday afternoons, with a focus around quality children’s literature!
Book Week
Book week is approaching (Monday 2nd – Friday 6th March) and we have lots of plans including:
- Bedtime Story & Storytelling theme – children will be invited to bring in their favourite bedtime story to read with their buddy, and to come to school on World Book Day (Thursday 5th March) in their PJs/onesies!
- 2nd Book Bonanza event on Friday afternoon, with greater focus on our older children
- Mystery Readers – we’d like to invite parents/carers to come into school to read to and/or do some storytelling with our children, during the week
- Blackwells Pop Up Book Shop
- Book Swap
- Guess the Teachers’ Favourite Book
- Introducing children to a variety of different genres and authors through rotations within levels
More details to follow after the February holiday 😊
Reading for Enjoyment
We had children benefit from reading to business volunteers from Willis Towers Watson (P1, P2 and P5) and from reading to a therapet (Bruce the dog, and his owner, Ian, who come into school once a week). Our children have restarted Buddy Reading once a fortnight, where older children link with younger ones to share a book, and our Reading Café initiative continues, again on a fortnightly basis. Having had some parental involvement around book selection, we await the final compilation of around 60-70 Story Sacks for children in our Nursery and P1 classes – once ready these will be available to borrow from school, to support reading and playing games with your child at home.
Arriving
Please remember that the playground is unsupervised in the morning before school. The teachers will arrive on the playground to collect children at 8.55am.
Parking Outside of School
Please can you ensure that you park safely around school if you are driving to drop off/pick up. Neighbours are reporting double parking and cars being left running. It is important that all learners are safe coming and going from Lorne and we appreciate your support with this.
School Uniform
Having pride in being a Lorne learner is an important part of our school and it is great to see so many of our children in their school uniforms. All children should wear school uniform Monday to Friday. Jumpers, cardigans, fleeces, white polo t-shirts all with the Lorne Primary School badge and house gym t-shirts can all be purchased online at;
www.superlogo.co.uk/shops/schools/lorne-primary-school-edinburgh
Lorne Primary School is on Twitter. We can be found @LorneSchool. On Twitter you can find out about exciting things that are happening in school, we are also trying to ensure that important dates and events are shared too.
Attendance/Lateness
We are closely monitoring attendance and lateness and will do this over the session. A reminder that if your child is late to school, please sign them into school at the front entrance.
Parent Pay
We are absolutely thrilled with the number of families that are now using ParentPay. Meals should be booked via ParentPay. Meals need to be booked by midnight on Wednesday the week before you would like your child to have school meals. Please come to school if you would like further assistance with this.
School Calendar
All term dates and times can be found on this link;
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20074/schools/20/term_dates