Monday 29th June 2015 marked the start of the biggest development in the history of Sciennes Primary since it opened its doors on 5th June 1892. Thank you to everyone who has worked to make the playground improvements a reality. Happy holidays everyone!
What a fabulous P7 Leavers' Dance on
Wednesday 24th June! Thank you to Ms Christie and all the Pupil Support
Assistants for the superb Dining Hall
decorations, table settings, Photo Booth and balloons.
Mr Howie led
the ceilidh dancing and span the iPod discs to get the Hall jumping. It was joyful to see everyone joining in with the
Graduation dancing.
Haddows Delicatessen
set up their magnificent mobile barbecue van, serving 100
people burgers, chips and juice with ice cream to
follow.
Thank you to all the staff who came along to support and to all the
families who enjoyed the photo call at Mrs Nowell's Photo Booth as much
as we did.Wonderful to welcome back Mrs Linda Young and Mrs Morag Crolla
to join in the fun.
More photographs of the Leavers' Dance on the Class of 2008 page (which can also be accessed from the LINKS button on the school website).
Thank you House and Sports Captains for Grange, Lauder, Sienna and Tanatllon.
Well done to Lauder House for achieving most House Points throughout the year.
Our P7 House and Sports Captains have been excellent
role models and ambassadors for Sciennes throughout the year. Indeed all
our P7 pupils have been admirable role models, setting high standards
for themselves and younger pupils by the way they have conducted
themselves. An excellent year group who can be justly proud!
Alika's illustration has been adopted as the inspiration for the new
logo for eJASS. Alika received an Amazon voucher, kindly donated by Ian
Forder, JASS Director at Friends of the Award (FOTA).
Thank you to software developer Steve Moore, who has worked with pupil
focus groups and P7 classes throughout the year to pilot his online
version of the Junior Award Scheme for Schools - JASS (formerly know as
the Junior Award Scheme Scotland but now is used throughout the UK).
What a year! This video captures just a glimpse of another busy year at Sciennes - and one of extraordinary fundraising for playground improvements, which are set to begin on Monday 29th June 2015! Well done to all our pupils, staff and families for working so hard together to make 2014-2015 such a successful, happy year. Pupils return on MONDAY 17th August. Best wishes to all our families for a safe and happy summer.
Take part in the Tesco Summer Reading Challenge at libraries across the city, including Newington Library. Happy reading!
What is the Summer Reading Challenge?
The Summer Reading Challenge takes place every year during the
summer holidays and Sciennes is promoting this great scheme again this year. You can sign up at your local library, then read six
library books of your choice, collecting stickers and other rewards
along the way – all FREE.
Contact Newington Library for more details.
And now, all year round, the Summer Reading Challenge website helps you keep track of your reading, find new books to read, take part in competitions and play games.
Once a year we all come together in the Hall - twenty two classes from
Primary 1 to Primary 7 - for our End of Year Assembly, led by Headteacher Mrs Alison Noble. We were delighted
to welcome Parent Council representatives: outgoing Chair, Claire Wheeler, new Chair Kristel Torokoff, outgoing Convener Fundraising and Events, Aileen Nimmo, as well as Fiona Denvir, Clubs. Mrs Noble thanked Claire and Aileen for the huge contribution they have made to the school throughout the year, in an extraordinary year of fundraising and events.
Headteacher, Mrs Alison Noble, led the End of Year Assembly
Thank you to outgoing Chair of Parent Council Claire Wheeler for her huge contribution to the life of the school. Claire now joins the national body SPTC (Scottish Parent Teacher Council) who will certainly benefit from her expertise and talent.
Thank you to outgoing Parent Council Fundraising and Event Convener Aileen Nimmo for her dedication and commitment in supporting school developments, which have led to an extraordinary year of fundraising and activities for the whole school community.
Team Sciennes
Mrs Noble thanked the entire Parent Council as well as families, pupils
and staff who have successfully worked together to achieve our ambitious
plans to improve the playground. Mrs Noble was able to announce that
work begins on Monday 29th June! Thank you to SportScotland for match
funding and to City of Edinburgh Council for pulling out all the stops
to progress playground improvements so that we can maximise the window
of seven weeks' summer holiday.
Mrs Noble led everyone in our fond farewells to staff and pupils who
are moving on.Pupils sang "We Wish You Well" and watched a montage review of the year.
Ms French invited everyone to take part in her 'Extreme Reading Challenge' over the summer holiday by emailing a photograph of reading in an unusual place to P6astore@hotmail.co.uk so that they can be posted on the P7 Book Review Blog. There is a book token prize for the best photograph from each class. Mrs Noble reminded everyone of the Tesco Summer Reading Challengetaking place at libraries across the city, including Newington Library.
Ms Wendy French explained the Sciennes Extreme Reading Challenge
Mrs Noble reminded pupils about the Tesco Summer Reading Challenge - sign up at your local library.
Miss Dougal led the School Choir in an uplifting medley, sung beautifully.
Miss Dougal leads Sciennes School Choir
Our best wishes to Nikolina, Anna and Phoebe as well as all our other pupils who are moving on from Sciennes this year.
Our very best wishes to Mr Terry Anthony who has taken up a new post as Class Teacher at Gylemuir Primary School. Mr Anthony was unfortunately unable to attend the Assembly, but met with staff the previous evening. He was thanked in his absence by Ms Gaffney and Ms Gallagher for his huge contribution to Sciennes, working with classes throughout the entire school this year. A very cultured, knowledgeable, versatile and charming teacher, we are very grateful to Mr Anthony and will miss him as a close colleague and friend.
Mr Jonathan Wallace
It was with a heavy heart, but all
our very best wishes, that we bade
fond farewell to Mr Jonathan Wallace, our Active Schools Co-ordinator
for James Gillespie's High School Cluster, who takes on an exciting new
role, with additional responsibilities, in the Royal High School
Cluster.
Mr Wallace has been a crucial member of our staff:
facilitating and co-ordinating all the morning, lunchtime and after
school Active Schools Clubs based at Sciennes and various venues;
providing curricular coaches and activities for classes throughout the
year; supporting JASS in school and all EPSSA sporting events;
assisting with trials for EPSSA events; accompanying us to Benmore and Lagganlia; working with Ms Kennedy to
provide activities for Fun and Frolics and running the highly successful
P7 Cluster Transition Days at Meadowbank over the last four and a half
years. Based at James Gillespie's High School, Mr Wallace has also provided sterling support to all six cluster primary schools: Sciennes, Tollcross, James Gillespie's Primary, Preston Street, Royal Mile and Taobh na Pairce.
The Active Schools programme is highly prized and the Active Schools Cluster Co-ordinator is a very
demanding role: we are indebted to Mr Wallace for his commitment and
expertise and will miss him very much. We are certain he will make as
much of an impact in his new post and we wish him continued success in his career.
Pupils presented Mr Wallace with a Memory Book capturing some of the highlights from his time with us at Sciennes. Keep in touch, Mr Wallace!
Sciennes Memory Book for Mr Wallace, with new Chair of School Council Kristel seated to the right.
Euan Morrice – Sports Development Officer with the City of Edinburgh Council Sports and Outdoor Education Unit - presented P6 pupil Yash with two engraved trophies which he can keep for a year for winning first place in BOTH Badminton and Table Tennis tournaments this year.
Euan Morrice, CEC Sports Unit
Yash won First Place trophies for both EPSSA Badminton and Racquet tournaments earlier this year.
Magnificent Sevens
We also wished fond farewell to our magnificent Primary Sevens, so proud of
their confidence and readiness for the next steps to secondary school
and beyond. Mr Howie, Mrs Barker, Ms Sellar and Mr McKenna provided an end of term
treat with their surprise video of staff dancing to "Walking on Sunshine". It was lovely to watch the Primary Seven pupils perform
"You Can Count on Me" at Assembly and we truly have been able to count on them as magnificent role models for the rest of the school.
Always able to count on P7.
Mr Howie thanked our Magnificent Sevens pupils and Ms Gallagher thanked our Magnificent Sevens staff: Mr Howie, Ms Sellar, Mr McKenna, Mrs Barker and Mrs Nowell.
Mrs Noble rang the bell and led them out in
procession as the other classes lined the stairwell on the last day of term. Keep in touch,
Primary Seven! Remember to save the date of your special invitation back to Sciennes to see the new playground - "S1 The Return" on Friday 28th August 1pm.
(Photographs of end of term events for P7 will appear on the Class of 2008 page which can also be accessed from the LINKS button on the school website.)
Wishing all our families a safe, HAPPY and relaxing holiday. We look forward to welcoming pupils back to Sciennes on MONDAY 17th AUGUST.
Staff are less likely to boogie for our end of term surprise video if we
publish online, so here is the next best thing: Pharell Williams'
"Happy."Keep smiling!
Former parent, Nicki McGregor (Convenor of the Edinburgh Schools Swimming Association) has informed us that this year's swimming championships will take place at Ainslie Park Leisure Centre on Sunday 22nd November 2015.
P6/7 club swimmers who can submit recent minimum swim times, are able to use starting blocks and compete at a high level will be contacted early next session with
details of the entry process. The closing date for entries will be 2nd October 2015.
What a stunning Graduation show on Monday 22nd June from our
Magnificent Sevens! The pupils' confidence and joy in performing shone through and we were all
so proud of them. Mr Howie, Ms Sellar, Mr McKenna and Mrs Barker worked as a close knit team to plan, rehearse and produce a remarkable show and we are
grateful to Cat Perry, Director of Dance Division,
and Vanessa Robertson for providing fantastic choreography. Thank you to Mrs Barker for all
her
musical input and accompaniment, to Mr Howie for technical wizardy and video editing and to Ms Sellar and Mr McKenna for tight direction and high production values.
Thank you to former parent Lorna Irvine for superb input to the pupils' poetry - in her writing workshops and in polishing their performance. Photographs and video of the show will appear in due course. We
also recognise and value the support of all the parents and carers
who have worked with us throughout the last seven years. We pass on
every best wish to all our families and hope to hear news of the pupils'
continued success. Keep in touch!
House Points have been counted and verified and the winning House this year is Lauder who will have an afternoon of Fun and Frolics on the Meadows on Tuesday afternoon 23rd June, organised by Ms Kennedy and Mr Wallace. Ice lollies all round!
