Tuesday 28 February 2017

Your 20mph Update





Phase 2 of the rollout of a 20miles per hour (mph) speed limit goes live on 28 February 2017.   The second phase is the largest construction phase in the scheme  stretching from Granton to Portobello, Duddingston to Morningside, Gorgie to Murrayfield.

You can find out if your street is changing to 20mph by checking our interactive map.

The introduction of the new 20mph limit relies on signage and road markings alone.  Existing speed humps or other traffic calming will remain unchanged.  Larger 20mph signs will mark the entrance and exit of a 20mph area where the speed limit changes.  These signs will be supplemented by smaller repeater signs or road markings with speed limit roundels.  

While many cities in the UK, Europe and beyond have already brought in 20mph (or 30km), Edinburgh is the first city in Scotland to roll out 20mph limits in this way, with many other areas, including East Lothian, keen to bring in slower speeds. 

Slower speeds bring many benefits to places and people. They help to reduce the risk and severity of collisions, encourage people to walk and cycle and spend more time in an area. The project extends 20mph speed limits to approximately 80% of Edinburgh’s streets, while retaining a network of roads at 30mph and 40mph on key arterial routes.    



Further information is also available on the Council’s website at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/20mph and on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/edin20mph
Regards
20mph Team


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Sunday 26 February 2017

P5 Growth Mindset Workshops Postponed

Hopscotch Theatre Company contacted this morning to make us aware that regrettably they have to reschedule the P5 Growth Mindset workshops (due to take place tomorrow Monday 27th February) as a result of unforeseeable circumstances outwith their control. We look forward to welcoming the team later in the year.

Saturday 25 February 2017

Remembering Mr Hewitt




On Friday 24th February we held special Assemblies to remember our dear friend and colleague, Mark Hewitt, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly during the mid term February holiday,

Sciennes is a happy, vibrant school where we are frequently fortunate to be able to celebrate many exciting and interesting achievements and events. It is also a strongly united community where we can come together as one family in challenging times and we have witnessed that first hand this week as families, staff and the children themselves have responded with tremendous sensitivity, kindness and care to the very sad passing of Mr Hewitt. We are very grateful for, and extremely touched by, all the warm wishes and support extended, including those from colleagues around the city, which Mrs Noble has been able to pass on to Mr Hewitt's family.

At the Assemblies, we recalled and celebrated Mr Hewitt's many qualities and passions: his great love of literacy and drama which so motivated his pupils' interest in reading and performance; his dynamic, motivational approach to teaching which highly engaged his class; his sociability, great interest in people and his upbeat, fun outlook. Mr Hewitt loved to sing and we paid tribute to him by singing Fischy Music's "You Are An Inspiration" at the P4-P7 Assembly and "You Are A Star" at the P1-P3 Assembly.

We are carefully considering appropriate ways that we can continue to honour Mr Hewitt's memory in the future and invited pupils to contribute their ideas.

Mr Hewitt was instrumental in designing a 'Random Acts of Kindness' P5 project which went ahead throughout this week. At the Assembly, we watched a short film "The Life Vest: Kindness Keeps the World Afloat" and encouraged the children to maintain acts of kindness and make a difference to others, particularly in the weeks to come.



Growth Mindset workshops (delivered by Hopscotch Theatre in Education Company) are taking place on Monday 27th February for all three P5 classes, and this was another area of particular interest for Mr Hewitt. We congratulated P6 pupils on their 'can do', positive approach during their recent residential week at Benmore Outdoor Education Centre where they certainly showed a Growth Mindset approach to all the many new experiences.

World Book Day is on Thursday 2nd March and staff shared with the children that Mr Hewitt had planned to dress up as Miss Trunchbull. We encouraged the children to feel able to share their own stories of Mr Hewitt with us and with their families. It has been a comfort to staff to be able to recall and share our many fond memories of Mr Hewitt who, though with us at Sciennes for only a short period of time, made such a huge impact and touched the lives of so many. We will continue to prioritise support for Mr Hewitt's class and our thoughts are with Mark's family at this very sad time.

Sciennes Senior Leadership Team

Wednesday 22 February 2017

P4/5 Disco Postponed

A reminder that our annual P4/5 Disco, due to be held Thursday 23rd February, has been postponed until Thursday 16th March 6.30pm-8.00pm.

Ceilidh Kids P1-P3 event – A wee reminder

ceilidh-barn-dance
Friday 24 February 2017 in the school hall between 12:30 pm – and 2:15 pm
  • The event is meant to be veryfamily friendly, particularly, for families with young children – siblings, both older and younger, are more than welcome.
  • It’s meant to be a socialising event for the entire family – Parents are most welcome to join in the fun .
  • Tickets can be bought at the door on the day as well as pre-booked at the school office
o   Cost: £3 per person and £10 for the family ticket
o   If pre-booking please write child’s name & class and how many tickets on the envelope and hand it to the school office
  • The school has kindly agreed to allow us to have a picnic lunch from 12 pm to 12:30 pm. Please remember to bring in your packed lunch (children can bring in the packed lunch from school)!
o   We can picnic at the playground (weather permitting)
o   If the weather is not pleasant let us head into the gym-hall
  • Drinks and a light snack is included in the tickets.
  • It’s meant to be a social event for P1-P3 and fun for the whole family. Hope to see many of you there on Friday.
o   Why not make it as a class get-together?
Looking forward to seeing many of you on Friday!
Jay & Aileen
EFG, Sciennes Parents Council

Sunday 5 February 2017

Hopscotch Theatre 'Nation of Innovation'

Many thanks to Ross, Hannah, Marianna and Brian from Hopscotch Theatre for bringing yet another high quality 'Theatre in Education' production to our school.  "Scotland - The Nation of Innovation" fitted perfectly with our whole school Scotland Week and was a fun and engaging exploration of Scottish Inventors and Innovators for our 655 P1-P7 pupils on Friday 3rd February. We particularly liked the Growth Mindset theme and song and we are looking forward to welcoming Hopscotch back soon to deliver Growth Mindset workshops to our P5 classes. 







Singing along to "I just can't do it YET!"




An INVENTION can be defined as the creation of a product or introduction of a process for the first time. INNOVATION on the other hand, occurs if someone improves on or makes a significant contribution to an existing product, process or service.

Key Learning Outcomes

  • Helping pupils and teachers to develop a greater understanding of intrinsic motivation and resilience in pupils, encouraging a ‘Growth Mindset’ approach to learning
  • Pupils will learn about Great Scottish Inventors and Innovators, cultural heritage and global legacy
  • Pupils will have a great appreciation of Scots' influences in design and technology

Saturday 4 February 2017

Take Part in IDEAL Research Project


IDEAL is a University of Edinburgh research project investigating how smart technology can help people find ways to use less gas and electricity in the home. It uses sensors to record energy use and details like temperature and humidity, and gives feedback to help reduce energy use, while maintaining comfort and convenience.
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There is no cost to participate in the project, which has proved popular with staff at the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Parliament.

If you would like to take part, further information can be found on this website, contact IDEAL@changeworks.org.uk, or call 0131 539 8610.


Drew Murphy
IDEAL Project Manager

Changeworks
36 Newhaven Road
Edinburgh EH6 5PY

Changeworks ~ Inspiring change for people and the environment

T 0131 468 8669
F 0131 555 2768

Working hours: Mon | Wed | Thurs 9:00 - 17:00