I hope that this finds you very well and that you all have a lovely long weekend last week. It has been another busy fortnight since my last update and I feel as if we managed to pack a full 10 days’ worth of learning and fun into the 9 that we had in school!
Visit to the Silurian
In the last update, we promised pictures of the fabulous trip to the Silurian and, thanks to Miss Fraser, you can now see them in the Gallery here: https://www.tayvallich.argyll-bute.sch.uk/visit-to-the-silurian/
P7 to S1 Transition
Following the Google Meet with Mr Turnbull last term, our P7s had a very informative and nerves-reducing visit to the High School on the afternoon of Tuesday 9th May. The staff who were involved with the visit fed back that their behaviour and engagement were exemplary and that they were a credit to the school and families.
The next part of our transition programme will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 16th May when Mr Turnbull, will visit the pupils in Tayvallich and give them a further idea of what teaching and learning at the High School will be like.
ELC to P1 Transition
Staff have been preparing information about moving from Early Years Learning to Primary 1 and Mrs Rowe will be sharing that, along with key transition activity dates, this week.
Sunshine
After my last reminder about coats, it is now time for a reminder about sun, which has been a very welcome addition to our outdoor experience in the last few days.
This is the information about skin protection in our school handbook: (page 25, link on the website here https://www.tayvallich.argyll-bute.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Tayvallich-School-Handbook-2023-2024.pdf
Skin Protection
Your child’s skin may be affected by exposure to the sun, especially over the lunchtime period and other outdoor activities. It is a good idea for your child to wear a sun hat. If they have one, please put it in their school bag.
You should ensure your child has sunblock applied prior to arriving at school in periods of hot weather and if you wish them to have further applications at lunchtime then you should send in sun-cream/block and we can help your child apply it.
Patch Project
Emily from the Patch Project came in for her final workshop of the year with our P6s and P7s looking at personal safety and boundaries on Friday. As ever, the pupils engaged very well and showed a good understanding of the themes that arose. We are very grateful to Emily for her input this session and look forward to working with her again in the future.
Parental feedback
Many thanks indeed for your feedback via the latest Google Form; we received 6 responses this time.
It was very encouraging to see so much positivity around many of the key areas of school life. In terms of areas for improvement, we now have a clear idea of our areas of focus moving forward into school session 2023/24. We will update you on these next month.
School Day consultation
Many thanks for those who responded to the consultation on the proposed changes to length of the school day. 60% of you responded positively to the proposal that we finish at 3.15 instead of 3.30 and it looks highly likely that we will make this change as of the start of the August term. We have re-assured the pupils who are concerned about having less play time with their friends that we will find other ways of ensuring that they get this at other times in the day.
Fantastic Fundraising at the Coffee Morning and Carwash
It was great to see so members of the school and wider community at the Parent Council fundraiser on Saturday morning. Car washing, mug sales, a raffle, a bottle stall, a draw for a Venture West trip and coffee, cakes and bacon rolls all helped to raise an incredible £1564.21.
The fantastic new range of mugs on sale have been produced by our Parent Council working with all of our children to provide 2 designs each that link to wildlife in the local area. The quality of the mugs is beautiful and many flew off the shelf when they were launched on Saturday. If you were not able to get there and would like to purchase a mug (£10 each) or set of 4 (at a discounted price), do not worry as there are still supplies; please just contact a member of the Parent Council to find out more. You can see images of the mugs in our Gallery here:
https://www.tayvallich.argyll-bute.sch.uk/new-tayvallich-school-and-elc-mug-range/
Also at the fundraiser at Saturday, you could find our very hard-working P7 pupils with a stall of goodies that they sold to raise funds for their P7 residential, which is taking place at the Lochranza Centre on Arran in June. Their fabulous cakes, artwork and jewellery went down a storm and will certainly have helped to bring down the cost of the trip.
Many thanks to all of the Parent Council members and volunteers who put in such a lot of time and effort to arrange this lovely event.
Flower Show
Preparation of entries for the Tayvallich Flower Show is well underway. The show takes place in August and our children are being encouraged to enter the growing, art and photography sections. The updates sent to you from Bob Moyes will have helped you navigate the challenges of growing the marigolds, sunflowers and potatoes at home.
Class teachers will be working with the pupils in school on their entries for the art and photography sections and local photographer Steve Carter (also my husband) will be delivering workshops with all of the children on capturing images of flora and fauna.
Coming up
SSPCA visit
We are very excited that we have an education officer from the SSPCA (Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals coming to run a workshop for each of our classes on Tuesday 16th May. Primary 1 to 3 will be taking part in Rabbit Rescuers and Primary 4 to 7 will be taking part in Animal Adventures, which we be outdoors (weather permitting).
There is a very helpful video here about the work of the SSPCA which it would be helpful for you to watch with your child as it may help prompt questions they can ask the knowledgeable SSPCA education officer!
PLEASE NOTE: This video contains footage that some children may find distressing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K91CGoajQQs
P1 to 3 Trip
After the success of the recent trip to the Silurian, Mrs Rowe is in the process of arranging a class trip for the P1 to 3 class on Tuesday 20th June. More information and consent letters will follow very soon.
We will also look to arrange a trip for the P4s before the end of term.
Reminder
School and the ELC are closed to pupils for an Inservice Day on Friday May 26th and to all staff and pupils on Monday 29th May for the Bank Holiday.
As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need to.
