Numeracy and Mathematics Evening 27.4.17

Ms Carolyn Anstruther DHT led Sciennes' Numeracy and Mathematics Evening

Ms Anstruther introduced (her former pupil!) Mr Ben Lewis, Head of Mathematics Faculty, JGHS

Mr Ben Lewis, Head of Mathematics Faculty at James Gillespie's High School

Thank you very much to all the parents, pupils and staff who attended and supported Sciennes' Numeracy and Mathematics Evening on Wednesday, led by DHT Ms Carolyn Anstruther. Grateful thanks to Mr Ben Lewis, Head of the Mathematics Faculty at James Gillespie's High School, for delivering such comprehensive presentations on methodology and progression in mathematics for our families. Wonderful to see so many of our pupils volunteering to take part at the evening event and providing such confident and clear explanations of approaches in mathematics and numeracy at Sciennes! An excellent turnout and thank you to all families who took the time to come along and engage.

P4-7 Shakespeare Assembly 28.4.17

Sciennes Shakespeare Assembly 28.4.17 from Sciennes Primary School

On Friday 28th April at the P4-7 Assembly we explored Shakespeare's legacy to commemorate the anniversary of his birth and death on 23rd April. Our three P7 classes have just begun preparations for their end of year show which this year will be a musical entitled "Shakespeare Rocks!" from Musicline.




Our P7 House Captains thanked pupils and staff for leading numeracy sessions for families on Thursday evening so successfully, and thanked Ms Anstruther for co-ordinating and inviting Head of Maths Faculty Mr Ben Lewis to give presentations to parents. They congratulated pupils on recent achievements, which included a Princess Diana Award certificate for P5 pupils Rory, Isla and Ella in recognition of their efforts in donating hundreds of Easter eggs to Foodbank on National Kindness Day (31st March). Swim and Dive team pupils also received EPSSA certificates.

House Assemblies will take place next week led by P7 House and Sports Captains, Mrs Noble (Tantallon), Ms Anstruther (Grange), Ms Gallagher (Lauder) and Mr McKenna (Sienna).

M.G. Leonard at Sciennes!

We were extremely excited to welcome acclaimed and bestselling author M.G. Leonard to Sciennes to give a presentation to P5A, P5B and P4C pupils on Thursday 27th April

Copies of her book then were on sale centrally outside the Hall with an opportunity to meet the author and have copies signed and dedicated, for those who wished.

Many thanks to Waterstones for arranging this fantastic opportunity for the children.

A signed copy of Beetle Boy and Beetle Queen are available in our school library for borrowing

P4A, P5A and P5B also have a signed copy per class for their Class Library

SSAA Kirkcaldy Cross Country 22.4.17

Very well done to Robert, Sam, Jonty, Cai, Millie and Olivia who competed in the Scottish Schools Athletics Association (SSAA) national Cross Country event at Kirkcaldy High School on Saturday 22nd April. Robert ran particularly well to achieve 14th place in his race with the P7 Boys achieving 8th place overall in their race. Well done to both our P7 Girls Millie and Olivia who came within the Top 50.

Grateful thanks to the families who escorted the children, allowing them to participate. Superb experience and terrific results in this very high level competition. Thank you also to the event organisers, particularly Ron Hunter.

Fabulous Baker Boys Raise Amazing £190 for DEC Yemen Appeal

A very big thank you to all of the Sciennes families who came along to support Jay, Sam, Fraser C, Henry and Caspar's bake sale on Saturday morning. The boys were doing the sale as part of the 'Me and My World' section of their JASS (Junior Award Scheme Scotland), and were delighted to raise almost £190 for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Yemen Appeal.

Grateful thanks to the boys' families who supported them in this commendable endeavour.

Fourth Eco-Schools Green Flag!

Fourth Green ECO Schools Green Flag! Well done Team Sciennes!

PUPIL ECO TEAM
P4 Bethan, Catie, Isla
P5 Jim, Nina, Sophie
P6 Michael. Faye, Ali
P7 Evelyn, Caitlin, Laura
JRSOs Amelia, Josh and Declan

Sciennes Earth Day Green Flag Assembly 21.4.17 from Sciennes Primary School

On Friday 21st April at the P4-7 Assembly we reflected on 'Earth Day' (22nd April) and watched a video "Man Vs Earth" to help us think about issues affecting the planet and how we can work together to make a difference.




We looked back at our ECO Schools journey since 2008 and what pupils, staff and parents have achieved together. Addressing issues facing the planet is not just the responsibility of the ECO Pupil and Parent Groups and our JRSOs. Each of us has a responsibility, individually and as part of the school community.

In the last few years we have been working towards our Fourth Green Flag, focusing on Litter, School Grounds and Active Travel. We were delighted to be able to announce today that Sciennes has just been awarded our Fourth Eco Schools Green Flag which Mr Hutchison unfurled ceremoniously during Assembly. Miss Gallagher, Mr Hutchison and Mrs Dickson have led the Pupil ECO Team extremely well throughout the year. We congratulated and thanked everyone throughout school who has contributed to Sciennes receiving this prestigious award. Well done Team Sciennes! Particular thanks to Phoebe Cochrane, Kirstin Unger, Laura Bird, Corinne Kirk and all the parents who support the ECO work of the school and commendation to the indomitable spirit and relentless enthusiasm of our wonderful Business Manager, Angela Christie, always a key driver in all things ECO.

We have already begun to plan how we can achieve our Fifth Green Flag, taking on two new ECO topics + Litter and continuing our focus on the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Global Goals.

Caspar, Jay and Henry spoke about their fundraising plans for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Appeal for Yemen and we reminded everyone about Pedal on Parliament, taking place on Earth Day, Saturday 22nd April.

Tremendous achievement and we thank Stephen Harland, Education Support Officer Keep Scotland Beautiful -Eco-Schools Scotland, Kerr McConnell, Education and Learning Co-oridinator and all at Eco-Schools for their support and encouragement. Read their kindly positive report below:

Article 29

You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for others’ rights and the environment.

World Renowned Author Nicola Morgan at Sciennes Monday 8th May 7pm

Sciennes Mental Health Focus Week 

^{Monday 8th May 7pm}

As part of our Mental Health week, we have managed to book Nicola Morgan, world-famous author of “Blame My Brain”. Many parents and teachers who have heard Nicola speak have said, “I wish had heard that years ago!” Some reviews are given below.

Nicola Morgan is an engaging speaker. Her talk would be most suitable for parents of children of all ages, not just for those approaching the teenage years, but for those interested in the child development and parenting in general. This is an exciting opportunity to hear an international speaker. Numbers are restricted, so book early to avoid disappointment.

Signed copies of her book will be available at the end of her talk.

Date: Monday 8^th May 7pm

Venue: Sciennes School Hall

Cost: £3 per ticket via Parent Pay

Some reviews

British Medical Journal, Lesley Morrison, GP: “Written for teenagers but invaluable reading for those coping with them – parents, doctors, and teachers – Blame My Brain, a guide to the biology behind teenage behaviour, is informative, accessible, interactive, and fun.”

“Although she states clearly that she is not a scientist, she is well qualified to communicate scientific material about “the amazing teenage brain.” Her message to teenagers is subtle but clear: “You might even decide to respect your brain and treat it a bit better, once you know what’s going on inside it.”

“Blame My Brain is pro-teenager without being anti-adult, sympathetic without being sentimental, sensitive and funny.”

“It is very rare that an author succeeds in writing a book for teenagers which is also a “must read” for their parents and teachers. Nicola Morgan has done just that with her Blame My Brain. It does not seek to excuse anti-social teenage behaviour, but it certainly goes a long way to explaining it. There is no adequate text book for parents and their children, but this one fills an important gap, and Morgan deals with all the issues with good humour. … she ends on an optimistic note, emphasising that the brain is indeed a wonderful thing, and that while a small number of teenagers do suffer greatly during their teenage years, the vast majority come through relatively unscathed. Blame My Brain can only help them do that.”

Nicola Morgan recommends parents read the three documents below, ahead of attending.

Carolyn Anstruther | Depute Headteacher
  

Grange Fair Sat 6th May 1pm - 4.30pm

All Resume TUESDAY 18th April

We hope everyone has enjoyed the Easter break and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on TUESDAY 18th April.

We appreciate pupils returning equipped with well stocked pencil cases - sharpened pencils, coloured pencils, small and large ruler, sharpener, eraser, glue stick - as well as full P.E. kit which should include a change of labelled clothes and indoor gym shoes in a gym bag.

We are grateful for continuing parental support in ensuring all our pupils wear school uniform and details of this can be found in our School Uniform Policy:

Sciennes School Uniform Policy

WordPress P1 Class Page

We are experimenting with converting our Blogger pages to WordPress.

 This is the P1 Class Page in Wordpress:

https://2016sciennes.wordpress.com