Tuesday 31 May 2016

Area Strings Concert Wednesday 1st June


The Primary 5-7 children who are performing at the Area Strings Concert at Marchmont St Giles, Kilgraston Road on Wednesday 1st June, will rehearse in the afternoon and should arrive in the evening by 6.45pm. Programmes are available from the school office or can be purchased at the door - £5 or £3 concession.

Sports Day Friday 3rd June 9.30am Meadows


A warm welcome to all families on Friday 3rd June at 9.30am on the Meadows. The Parent Council also welcome you for refreshments from 8.45am in the dining hall. Please note there is no entrance / exit from Millerfield Place.

P1C - Edinburgh Marathon Festival Runner Zoë

Huge well done to Zoë who ran the children's 1.5k on Saturday!
http://www.edinburghmarathon.com


Monday 30 May 2016

Highland Dance Club at Perform at Camilla House

June Underwood's Parent Council Highland Dance Club troupe performed for the residents of Camilla House on 20th May.

Thank you to all the families who came along to the performance on Thursday to mark the end of term for the club. We are so very fortunate to have June Underwood as Dance Teacher and for the many opportunities she provides for our dancers to perform and demonstrate their skills. Recently the dancers performed for the residents and staff at Camilla House and St Raphael's Care Home and their visit was a real highlight.

P3 Twins in Edinburgh Marathon 1.5km!




Another amazing weekend of running for the Edinburgh Marathon Festival with several Sciennes parents competing. P3 twins Catie and Andrew took part in the 6-8 yr old 1.5 km race on Saturday with 358 competitors. They were delighted to smash their times from last year with Andrew in 42nd place in a time of 6:55 and Catie in 61st place in a time of 7:11. Catie was a little bit disappointed that she didn't break 7 minutes, but then discovered that she was the 7th fastest girl overall. An amazing achievement for 7 year-olds! They are looking for any Sciennes buddies who like to join them in the same race in 2017!

Thank you very much to Dr Alison Hulme for sharing lovely news and photos.

Sunday 29 May 2016

International Dance Workshops at Summer Fair 2016


dance workshopsDance yourself to delight!
Come dance your shoes off at the Sciennes Primary’s International Summer fair on June 4th 2016 between 12-3 pm! 

Here is an opportunity for children to try multicultural dance forms in a workshop setting, offered by experienced instructors, from various dance schools all over Edinburgh. Take your pick from Scottish country dancing, Chinese dancing, Belly dancing, Bharathanatyam (Indian classical dance), Ballet, Street dancing or, better yet, try as many as you like! 

The spaces are limited for this free event, so, please visit wise-pay to make your booking to avoid disappointment. See you there! 

Belly Dance (4-8 years) 12-12:30pm
Belly Dance (9-12years) 12:30-1:30pm
Street Dance (all ages) 1:30-2pm
Ballet (4-8 years) 2-2:30pm
Ballet (9-12 years) 2:30-3pm
Scottish Country Dance (all ages) 12-12:30pm, 12:30-1pm, 1-1:30pm
Chinese Dance (all ages) 1:30-2:30pm
Indian Dance (all ages) 2:30-3pm

The workshops are offered by the following dance schools: Borders Arabic Dance, Dance Division, Grange School of Ballet, Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society, Chinese Community, and Dance Ihayami.

Summer Fair – How You Can Help


5 Ways You Can Help With The Summer Fair
 
1. DONATE. As always lots of stuff is needed for the stalls at the Summer Fair. Bring in any old, reusable toys, school uniforms, plants, children’s book, items for tombola,and baked goods. These can be dropped off in the main office at the school anytime before Friday.
 
2. BID. The Silent Auction has started and the bidding is heating up. See what great deals are to be had, from meals out to event tickets to art work. Just follow the link to JumbleBee.
 
3. REGISTER. There are lots of great FREE events taking place at the Summer Fair, but space is limited to you need to sign up on WisePay. Do it now before it’s too late.
 
4. BAKE. The Great Sciennes Bake Off is back by popular demand. Bring in your favourite (international) baking and enter to win a cash prize. Be sure to label your bake with name, contact details and ingredients. Cakes can be dropped off at the school on Friday or by noon on Saturday.
 
5. VOLUNTEER. Just an hour of your time can make a real difference to the success of the Summer Fair. It’s a great way to become more involved and get to know people. Just follow the link
Any questions? Contact events_fundraising@yahoo.co.uk

Sciennes International Summer Fair 2016

international fair

SCIENNES INTERNATIONAL SUMMER FAIR 2016 

Saturday 4 June, 12-3pm at Sciennes Primary School

Admission is FREE

At this year’s Summer Fair there is more going on than you can possibly keep track of, and that’s why we’re sending out this handy little guide.

Silent Auction
Online this year and better than ever! You can start your bidding now by following the link to Sciennes Summer Fair at JumbleBee. Items include lunch at the Witchery (yes, please), priority tickets for the Festival Fireworks or Opening Night tickets for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, we guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. 
Acitivities that you need to register for ahead of time on WisePay (FREE)
  • Bilingualism Matters – A Talk by Antonella SoraceProfessor of Developmental Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh and Director of Bilingualism Matters.
  • Bilingualism Matters – A Talk by Pavel Iosad, Lecturer in Theoretical Phonology at University of Edinburgh
  • Dance Classes: Scottish Country Dance, Indian (Bharathnatyam), Street Dance (please note – I do not see Chinese, ballet or belly dancing on Wise Pay)
  • Worldwide Storytelling – stories from Shetland, Ireland, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia and Russia
  • Korean Cooking Classes
  • Relax Kids
  • Chinese Music and Dance Performance
Drop In Activities (FREE)
  • Passport (£1)
  • Mass Translation of a much-loved children’s book – but what book is it?
  • Flag Quiz
  • Proverb Competition
  • Map Our Connections
  • Fallas (Junk Modelling)
  • Calligraphy
  • Origami
  • Treasure Hunt
Old Favourites
  • Plant Sale
  • Toy Sale
  • Bake Sale
  • Ice Cream
  • Tombola
  • Football
  • Great Sciennes Bake Off – International Edition

Saturday 28 May 2016

Sciennes Summer Fair Silent Auction

Get your skates on to grab some bargains in the Summer Fair Silent Auction…before they're going, going, gone! All funds raised are for Parent Council supported initiatives which include trip subsidies, sporting opportunities e.g. swimming & tennis, library resources and classroom IT equipment.
Attached is a list of the auction lots, plenty of bargains still to be had! Place your bids at:
http://www.jumblebee.co.uk/summerfair2016silentauction

There is still time to pack your summer full of amazing goodies and experiences for you and the family. Just think, 6.5 weeks is a long time isn't it? Whether it's lunch at the Witchery (yes, please), priority tickets for the Festival Fireworks or Opening Night tickets for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, we guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

So, always fancied exploring, laughing, learning, singing, eating, drinking (in moderation), self-improving and generally being amazing by supporting our school? Then go on - just do it! You know you want to…

http://www.jumblebee.co.uk/summerfair2016silentauction

Fantastic International Storytelling at the Summer Fair Sat 4th June

CEC Multi Sports Summer Programme

The City of Edinburgh Council Sports Development Team is running a Multi-Sports Holiday Programme in the Summer Holidays.

Bookings are being taken now.

The programme consists of 4 Multi-Sports Holiday Camps taking place at 3 different venues in the city:
-          Forrester/St Augustine’s Community Sports Hub (west Edinburgh)
-          Holyrood High School (east Edinburgh)
-          Broughton High School Community Sports Hub (central Edinburgh)

Euan Morrice
Euan.Morrice@ea.edin.sch.uk
The Sports Development Team.   
Sports and Outdoor Learning Unit, Children and Families, City of Edinburgh Council.


Volunteer for the International Summer Fair Sat 4th June


The Parent Council International Summer Fair will soon be upon us and there are lots of fabulous classes, performances, food, quizzes and a whole lot more to entertain you.

We are looking for a number of volunteers to help make it a big success so if you have some time to spare then please consider volunteering.

The link to sign up is below.

http://esurv.org/online-survey.php?surveyID=LMEEOH_bc468a00

If the link doesn't work then please try copying and pasting into your browser.


Many thanks in anticipation

Sciennes Parent Council Events and Fundraising Group

Parent Council Highland Dance Club at St Raphael's Care Home

One of June Underwood's Parent Council Highland Dance Clubs put on a performance at St Raphael's Care Home. The children then chatted with the residents afterwards. The audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as did the youngsters.

Thank you to parents Lyndsay Murray and Judith Peacock for sharing information and photos.




P2/3 Winners of Spring Cup!



Morrison Construction Safety Assemblies 27.5.16






On Friday 27th May Kirsty and Gary from Morrison Construction - who are building our new Dining Hall - gave an excellent presentation at both P1-3 and P4-7 Assemblies. They not only explained very clearly how to stay safe near a building site, they also described many of the jobs involved in the construction industry.

P7 House Captains congratulated pupils on recent achievements and Ammar revealed that the grand total for Unicef Day for Change was £377! It took P7s a long time to count all the loose change! Thank you to everyone who donated so generously.

We also wished,"Adios!" and said "Muchas, muchas gracias" to Ana Vidal, our final year Primary Bilingual Student from Madrid University.

Lots of love and best wishes to our wonderful Principal Teacher Shona Pearmain, who began her maternity leave today.

Article 19

You have the right to be protected from being hurt or badly treated. 

Sunday 22 May 2016

Sciennes International Fair Saturday 4th June 12pm-3pm


Grateful thanks to parent James Chow for his amazing artwork and to Thomas Elliott for his wonderful drawing of Sciennes:


Saturday 21 May 2016

HOLIDAY on Monday 23rd May



A reminder that Monday 23nd May is a school holiday. All resume on Tuesday 24th May.

Friday 20 May 2016

Sciennes P6/7s and P2/3s with the Spring Cup Winners' Trophy!


Saturday 14th May 2016, The Meadows, bright sunshine. Thirty girls' football teams from across nine Edinburgh schools competed in the Sciennes Spring Cup.

Around 2 hours and 135 goals after the first kick off, in what was an extremely closely fought competition, Sciennes P2/3 and P6/7 teams lifted the trophies for their year groups, with P4/5s only narrowly missing out from making it a clean sweep. An amazing performance all round.


All the girls gave their best and did themselves proud in an exciting and at times nail-biting morning's football. Congratulations all.

P4-7 Assembly UN World Day for Cultural Diversity

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Sciennes World Culture and Diversity P4-7 Assembly 20.5.16 from Sciennes Primary School

On Friday 20th May at our P4-7 Assembly we celebrated all the fabulous Language learning that has been happening at Sciennes, so ably led by Ms Bethan Owen, and thanked our three wonderful Language volunteers, Isabel, Sergio and Miguel, as well as our excellent final year Bilingual Primary Education student, Ana Vidal, from Madrid University.

We made suggestions for cultural activities that our children might get involved in over the weekend to celebrate UN World Day for Cultural Diversity on May 21st and were delighted to note so many of our children already take part in similar activities to the ones suggested.

We also looked forward to Sciennes Parent Council's exciting International Fair on SATURDAY 4th JUNE 12pm-3pm and found out more about the mysterious yarnbombing phenomenon, which has decorated our playground overnight!

Next week, each class will contribute to City of Edinburgh's 1+2 Twitter campaign and we used some examples of Tweets already happening this week, to give everyone ideas!

We started the day at 8am with a 'Walking Bus' and ended it at 12pm with an ECO Schools Clean Up Campaign. P6 pupils Laura and Arooj explained very clearly and confidently how these two events helped us make a difference in tackling Climate Change (Global Goal 13).

It was wonderful to welcome the team from Nourish Scotland to school on Thursday 19th May, who were gathering children's views about The Right to Food' for Tam Baillie, the Children and Young People's Commissioner.

Unfortunately we ran out of time to hear from our Sports Captains on the presentations they have created about Olympic Values and Fencing, and the Day for Change count is still ongoing! Another very busy week at Sciennes!


Article 30

The right to enjoy your own culture, practise your own religion and use your own language.

Wednesday 18 May 2016

Daniel P7 Select Team Soccer Sevens Win the National Final!

Congratulations to P7 pupil, Daniel Hart, and the rest of the City of Edinburgh P7 Select Team for winning the national Soccer Sevens Final on Wednesday 18th May!


Daniel is wearing the medal he won playing for the Edinburgh Select Team. He plays in goal and helped his team win the Scottish Schools Inter-Association Sevens Tournament.
Daniel is the third best goalkeeper for his age group in Scotland.
 


The City of Edinburgh Council - Sports Development Team took the Edinburgh P7 select squad to their final tournament of the 2015/16 season last Wednesday. The squad finished 1st with a huge 80 points total

There were 7 other regions competing over the last 3 tournament days including Glasgow, Aberdeen + Dundee! Finishing 1st is a fantastic achievement for the Edinburgh P7 select squad.

Below is a list of the players and which schools they attend:
SCHOOL
NAME
Bonaly PS
Aaron Marcel-Waller
Bonaly PS
Ben Lamont
Bonaly PS
Sam Lovie
Bruntsfield PS
Torrance Bradford
Corstorphine PS
Lewis Foster
Cramond PS
Sean Burrell
Davidson Mains PS
Rui Black
Duddingston PS
Tom Angus
East Craigs PS
Patrick Ramage
George Watson's PS
Bruno Davidson
Gylemuir PS
Taylor Steven
Longstone PS
Jacksen Lynch
Parson's Green PS
Ben Bookbinder
Queensferry PS
Aaron Cameron
Sciennes PS
Daniel Hart
South Morningside PS
Murray Johnson
St Johns PS
Bailey Dall
St John's PS
Jack Egan
St. Mary's Leith Links PS
Jack Mason
Stenhouse PS
Brodie Devine
Trinity PS
Harvey Cummings

Thanks and Regards

Euan Morrice
The Sports Development Team.   
Sports and Outdoor Learning Unit, Children and Families, City of Edinburgh Council.

Sunday 15 May 2016

Erin and Isla 3 Legged 5K Walk for the Yard




Very well done to Isla and Erin who walked 5K on three legs around Arthur's Seat on Sunday 15th May to raise money for The Yard.


Clean Up Litter Pick Friday 20th May 12.05pm-1.00pm

Sciennes' ECO Team has organised a clean up campaign in the local area around the school on Friday 20th May between 12.05pm and 1pm. Meet outside the school Hall to be given a tabard, gloves, a litter picker and bin bags.

Please email admin@sciennes.edin.sch.uk if you are able to come along and help out.
Thank you.

Fun in the Sun at the Grange Fair







Dancing, singing and playing in the sunshine at the Grange Fair, Newington Library, on Saturday 14th May. Thank you to Ms Anstruther for the great photos.

Thanks to June Underwood for the great choreography of her Highland dancers and Linda Carson and Sarah Davis for leading the Acapella Choir. Also thanks to Aileen Nimmo for forwarding these photos:





Walk to School Week

Week beginning Monday 16th May is WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK.

Thank you to everyone who is supporting our School Streets pilot and thank you to Living Streets Scotland for their recent Tweet:


Saturday 14 May 2016

Unicef Day for Change 13.5.16




On Friday 13th May at the P4-7 Assembly we reflected on our Rights Respecting Schools Level One Inspection on Wednesday 11th May. We celebrated achieving a Level One Award and all the positive feedback we received. We also thought about some of Unicef's recommendations for our next steps towards the Level Two Award. We thanked everyone for generously donating their loose change to Unicef on the 'Day for Change' and thought about what we could change to help us make sure everyone knows about children's rights - at Sciennes and in other countries.

P7 Captains took on the task of collecting and counting the loose change. There was so much that they will have to resume counting next week! Thank you very much to everyone who donated. P7 Captains told us about the crisis in Syria and how children's rights are being affected. The money raised today will help Unicef support Syrian refugee children and the total will be doubled by the UK Government.

Mr Howie showed a video 'If the world were 100 people' to continue to help us think about equal rights. P7 Captains congratulated pupils on recent achievements. Next week's assembly will be at 9.50am and will focus on CEC 1+2 Languages for World Diversity Day.


Article 42 All adults and children should know about the UNCRC
Article 29 You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for others’ rights and the environment. 



Thursday 12 May 2016

Sciennes' P7 Football Team Reach Semi-Finals of Inspectors' Cup!

Congratulations to Sciennes P7 football team who have reached the semi final stage of the Inspectors' Cup after qualifying from the second round on 11th May with two wins and two draws, conceding zero goals. The semi finals are two weeks from now on 25 May.

The squad involved in both rounds so far:

Stephen Tiplady (captain)
Ewan Hutchinson (gk)
Ciaran Cortes (gk)
Archie Mackintosh
Matthew Ross
Saul Sztor
Santosh Rowe
Matthew Caldwell
Alasdair Shirridan
Jonathan Ellen
Andrew Matrundola

Sciennes won the very first competition in 1893, a year after the school opened. And the whole school had a half day holiday! Good luck boys - but no holiday on offer if you bring home the trophy!

 Read more about the HISTORY OF SCIENNES.

The Sciennes’ School Football Team June 16th 1893 “In honour of the football team of this school having been successful in the first competition for the  H.M. Inspectors’ Cup the school was granted a half- day holiday.” The cup is in the Headteacher’s room. This photograph shows the stone staircases that originally led to the Boys’ and Girls’ entrance doors. You can still see the outline of the doorways if you look above the roofs of the extensions added to create our current Janitors' Office and Care Zone.



Thank you for all the teams that took part in the second round of The Inspectors Cup last Wednesday.
It was fantastically supported by parents, coaches and pupils.
The winners and runners up of each group were as follows:
 
Group A  Winners  Stewart Melville         Runners Up Davidson’s Mains
Group B  Winners  Blackhall                         Runners Up  Cramond
Group C  Winners  Bonaly                             Runners Up  Sciennes
Group D  Winners  Duddingston                Runners Up  Liberton
 
The next round will be on Wednesday 25th May at Meggetland.  Coach to register their team by 5.30pm and games to start at 6pm
There will be two group of 4 teams with the winner of each group going through to the final on Wednesday 15th 2016
 
The two groups for the Semi Final  will be
 
Group A
Stewarts Melville
Cramond
Bonaly
Liberton
 
Group B
Blackhall
Davidson’s Mains
Sciennes
Duddingston
 
 
Good luck to all the teams taking part in the next round.
 
Greg Dimeck
Headteacher
Gracemount Primary School

Monday 9 May 2016

Sciennes Star Fundraisers



We did it! We completed our 130km/81 mile challenge, the equivalent of cycling from Sciennes Primary to Arbroath via Dundee. 

We were so nervous yesterday morning that if it hadn't been for the amazing support both in terms of donations received and kind words we have had so far I don't think we would have made it off the starting blocks!

So thank you to everyone who has donated thus far but if you haven't already and would like to then please click on either of the links below or alternatively you can hand a donation into the school office. 



Fiona Denvir and Bethan McEwan, Sciennes Parent Council


Sunday 8 May 2016

P5 Boroughmuir RFC Train With Scotland Rugby Legend Chris Paterson!


The Sciennes P5 Boroughmuir RFC contingent had a fantastic training session with the ex Scotland Rugby legend Chris Paterson followed by a tour of Murrayfield stadium. 

Grateful thanks to parent Susan Jackson for making this truly fantastic experience for the boys possible and to parent Jack Cadell for the super photo of delighted boys!

Saturday 7 May 2016

Rights Respecting Schools Inspection Wed 11th May

Article 42 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child
Governments must make the Convention known to children and adults.

Sciennes: A Rights Respecting School

Sciennes Primary began our journey towards Level 1 accreditation of Unicef's 'Rights Respecting Schools Award' in September 2015. We applied to be considered for the programme in October 2015 and were awarded a Level of Commitment Certificate soon after. Our blog:

http://sciennesrrs.blogspot.co.uk

documents our progress towards ensuring that everyone in our school community becomes aware of the Convention of the Rights of the Child and that we use it to underpin our values in embedding Rights Based Learning.
We will receive an inspection visit from Uncief's Rights Respecting Schools on Wednesday 11th May, aiming to achieve a Level One Award.