Sciennes 2013 PTA Christmas Fair

Volunteer for Sciennes Christmas Fair using online form

You can use this on-line form to volunteer at the Sciennes PTA Christmas Fair. Lots of volunteers needed so please get involved. Thank you!

Sciennes 2013 PTA Christmas Fair

The Christmas Fair which is taking place on Saturday 30th November, 2-4pm.  This a fun-filled event which includes a magic show, craft activities,  tombola, home baking, face painting, lucky dip, hamper raffle and lots, lots more. Santa will be making an appearance.

• You can order your entry tickets and magic show tickets NOW on Wisepay
• Please bring donations of home baking into school on Friday 29th November (items to be individually wrapped please)
• Volunteers are needed to make the event a success – CLICK HERE to go to the online volunteer sign up form.

From anytime NOW you can drop off the following items at school reception:

• Send in bottles for the Tombola
• Send in fiction/non fiction, children’s & pre teen books – good quality only please
• Send in CDs/DVDs/Computer Games/Toys – good quality only please
• Send in a box of mince pies for the refreshments stall
• Wrap and send in small gifts for the lucky dip, value 50p, please label ‘girl’ or ‘boy’
• Donate something for the Silent Auction

Thank you!
Sciennes School Council PTA

Edinburgh 1:1 Mobile Learning Evaluation

Sciennes Primary took part in a National Pilot of 1:1 Mobile Learning with seven other schools from across Scotland which was evaluated in this report from Hull University. Sciennes also took part in City of Edinburgh 1:1 Mobile Learning pilot with three other city schools.

In August 2012, the City of Edinburgh Council commissioned Hull University to evaluate the impact and potential of mobile technologies for learning across the four 1:1 pilot schools. These schools were Sciennes Primary School, Broomhouse Primary School, Forrester High School and Gracemount High School. The evaluation took place over academic session 2012-2013 and was conducted by Dr Kevin Burden and Dr Trevor Male from the Faculty of Education at Hull University. The evaluation focused on the impact of mobile technologies on teaching and learning, challenges to traditional patterns of teaching and learning and leadership, logistics and infrastructure.
The evaluation is now complete and is available from City of Edinburgh's Digital Learning Team website by clicking here.
Some of the key findings of the evaluation:

• Levels of engagement and motivation amongst students rose across each of the pilot schools
• Student autonomy was considered to be an immediate benefit arising from the allocation of mobile devices
• Leadership and visible support from the senior management team was identified as a critical factor in the success and sustainability of the project 
• The use of personal mobile technologies engaged staff in wider CPD opportunities and activities which changed their attitudes to the use of technology in learning
• There is evidence that teachers are shifting their practices in ways which might prove to be very significant. These include different patterns and means of communicating with students to support their learning beyond school; changing relationships between students particularly in regard to the traditional knowledge giver role of the teacher; and new models for organising learning such as the ‘flipped classroom’
• All four schools in this project remain positive and optimistic about the benefits and opportunities to be gained from using mobile devices on a personal basis 

This evaluation will be incredibly useful for any school or establishment interested in, or already implementing, 1:1 mobile learning.

Local Catchment Primary School Open Day 5th November

The City of Edinburgh is promoting an Open Day for all Primary schools on Tuesday 5^th November for catchment families to visit their local school prior to their child joining Primary 1. 

We will welcome families between 9.30 – 11.30 and 1.30 – 3.00 for a tour of the school with our P7 House and Sports Captains. 

More about the Open Day here:
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/primaryschoolsopenday

Open Day times for schools here:
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/879/school_and_nursery_places/1805/school_open_days/2

Eco Reps

Congratulations to our new Eco Reps who were elected by their classmates. This year P3 pupils will be working together leading a separate Eco project throughout the year, so only P4-P7 Eco Reps will be involved in the whole school meetings. Mr Kearton and Mrs Nowell met with new and old reps on Friday 25th October. Mrs Mackay, Ms Christie and Ms Gallagher will also support the work of the Eco Committee and everyone looks forward to maintaining and building on all the excellent work undertaken by the group.

P4 Evelyn, Sarah, Lyla
P5 Rose, Sophie, Laiba
P6 Theo, Ava, Jessica
P7 Dylan, Eva, Iona

Pupil Council Election 2013 -2014

Thank you to Ms Lindsay Dodds, P3 Class Teacher for leading the election of our new Pupil Council representatives.

All pupils wishing to stand for election gave speeches in their own classes. Then on 31st October all pupils in school were given an opportunity to visit the polling booths. Thank you to Mrs Sally Nowell who acted as Presiding Officer and Returning Officer for counting the votes and duly electing our new representatives. Congratulations to all who took part and to our successful candidates. These are the new Pupil Reps for P4-P7:

P4A Rose
P4B Chirag
P4C Sara

P5A Sean Garottii
P5B Yash
P5C Anna Granville

P6A Evie
P6B Daniel
P6C Olivia

P7A Lucia
P7B Reda
P7C Ruby Shanks

PTA Wine Quiz

Well done to the Sciennes School Council PTA and the highly committed wine samplers who raised an impressive £480 in the space of 2 hours at the Wine Quiz, 25th Oct 2013. Thank you to Chair of the PTA Aileen Nimmo for sterling organisation of such a successful night and to Tim Pask and Jacqui Wright for their valuable support. Special thanks to Richard Melvin for a superb evening of entertainment.

Food Focus

The whole school has been filled with delicious aromas as Food Focus has taken hold at Sciennes. Here are some pictures taken in our new kitchen (partly funded by the PTA) showing what culinary delights the children have been creating. More photographs can be viewed on the Class Pages. Well done Ms Pearmain for driving forward this initiative and many thanks to all the families who came along to the PTA stall at Parent Consultations and so generously donated to the 'Kitchen Wedding List', raising an incredible £450 in donations!

P2 Baking Bonanza

Cupcakes galore!

Lots of parent helpers in P4 have been really appreciated

Yummy soup

Enjoying the soups of their labours

P5 cooking up sensational stovies

Great co-operation, following the recipe carefully and being careful with equipment

A welcome visitor to P1 - meet Charlotte!

Lots of learning about farming in P1 as part of Food Focus at Sciennes

School Lunch Menu

Autumn/ Winter Lunch Menu
The Autumn/Winter menu will run from after the October break until the Easter holidays. This menu offers a few new dishes to try, such as veggie haggis and chicken and ham pasta, as well as all the usual favourites!
All our menus comply with the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 and are nutritionally analysed so you can be sure healthy choices are on offer at lunch times.
Thank you to everyone who contacted us about school meals, your comments are welcome and help us continue to improve the service.

• Prices
  The cost of a primary school meal is £1.80.
  For this price your child can have a two course meal - either soup and a hot main meal, or a hot main and a pudding plus vegetables/salad and bread. A drink is also provided with the meal.
  

Special Diets and Allergies
Please let your school know if your child has any special dietary needs. 

0. Free school meals Your child may be eligible for free school meals if you receive one of the following:
   
• Income Support
  
• Income-Based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  
• Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance
  
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  
• Child Tax Credit, but not Working Tax Credit (and your annual income is less than £15,910)
  
• Both maximum Child Tax Credit and maximum Working Tax Credit with an Income below £6420
  Please ask your child’s school for an application form or contact the school Grants, Awards and Placements.
  Tel: 0131 469 3471
  e-mail: school.grants@edinburgh.gov.uk
• Further information on how to apply for free school meals and assistance with schoolwear: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/899/schools-grants_and_benefits/956/free_school_meals_and_assistance_with_schoolwear
• Application form to apply for free school meals and assistance with schoolwear: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/10505/free_school_meals_and_assistance_with_schoolwear_2013_2014
  

Further Information
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/855/schools-catering/418/food_in_schools/2

Get Going
Worried about your child’s weight? Want to help them lead a healthy, happy, active life? Then let’s Get Going! Get Going is a free family healthy lifestyle programme which supports children to work towards a healthy weight. It’s about working together as a family to make small lifestyle changes. Supported by a trained coach, you’ll learn more about eating well
and being more active. Children will get the opportunity to take part in fun, active games, while parents share ideas and experiences. To find out when the next courses are available in your area or for more information please contact:
Get.Going@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
0131 537 9209
http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/getgoing/
Get Going! Your local Get Going Co-ordinator is: Jodie Montgomery: jodiemontgomery@edinburghleisure.co.uk 0131 458 2147 

Primary 1 Enrolment Day at Sciennes

SCIENNES PRIMARY ONE ENROLMENT for 2014-2015

THURSDAY 14th NOVEMBER

If your child is 4 years old by 28^th February 2014 and due to start school in August 2014, please come along on Thursday 14^th November, 9.00 – 11.30 or 1.30 – 4.00 to complete an enrolment form and have a tour of school. 

Please bring the following with you: 

• Child’s birth certificate
• Name, address and telephone number of doctor
• Council Tax payment book or Council Tax letter
• Names, addresses and telephone number of three emergency contacts. 

Please feel free to bring your child but this is not essential if s/he is attending nursery. There will be transition and induction opportunities for your child to visit school in the summer term.

Local Catchment Primary School Open Day

The City of Edinburgh is promoting an Open Day for all Primary schools on Tuesday 5^th November for catchment families to visit their local school prior to their child joining Primary 1. 

We will welcome families between 9.30 – 11.30 and 1.30 – 3.00 for a tour of the school with our P7 House and Sports Captains. 

More about the Open Day here:
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/primaryschoolsopenday

Open Day times for schools here:
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/879/school_and_nursery_places/1805/school_open_days/2

Sciennes Primary School: Easyfundraising

We have already raised over £1000 just by using this EasyFundraising site when you make an online purchase with e.g. Amazon or John Lewis or M&S. Genuinely no catches or spam.
All is explained in this short YouTube clip produced by the School Council Communications Group:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ZhTJEdGDI

Thanks


Raise money for Sciennes Primary School PTA - Edinburgh, just by shopping online with easyfundraising.org.uk. There are no catches and it's completely free to use.

It's really simple – just shop online via easyfundraising.org.uk with over 2,700 well known retailers like Amazon, Argos, M&S, eBay (and many more!) and whenever you buy something online, the retailer makes a donation to your chosen good cause.

It doesn't cost you a single penny extra.

You can sign up to raise for Sciennes Primary School PTA - Edinburgh too, or choose from over 55,000 good causes across the UK.

Over £5,000,000 has been raised so far, so it really does work!

Get started now – http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/invite/22RMTR/

Plus, if you register before 1st November you'll automatically receive one entry into a free prize draw to win a Samsung 32" F5500 Series 5 Smart TV courtesy of Viking!

Happy fundraising!

The Legendary Sciennes PTA Wine Quiz!

If you enjoy a good night out, look no further! The Sciennes PTA Wine Quiz organised by Sciennes School Council is taking place on Friday 25th October, 7-9.30pm. For the bargain price of £10 you can enjoy:

• a glass of cava on arrival
• wine tasting (4 white and 4 red) supplied by Henderson Wines
• crackers and cheese
• an evening compered by Richard Melvin

You don’t have to be a wine expert – the quiz provides lots of opportunities for lucky guesses and it’s all for fun. Take along a few £1 coins if you fancy ‘investing’ your money with the chance to win some extra cash along the way. You can also buy tickets for (adult) friends and family who are not connected to Sciennes.
Tickets are available on wisepay now! All profits will go to Sciennes Primary School.

Sciennes Recycling Food Waste Pilot

Tackling waste at lunch time

An exciting new recycling scheme is set to be piloted in four Edinburgh schools. Food waste is to be collected and recycled to help reach the Scottish Government’s environmental targets. The trial will to help find out how much food waste there is in our schools. Pentland and Sciennes Primaries have been choosen as sites for the pilot so far.

If successful, food waste recycling will be rolled out across the city. Vice-Convenor of Transport and Environment Councillor Jim Orr supports the scheme. He said:

In order to meet our targets of recycling at least 50 per cent of our rubbish we all have to make more of an effort. Collecting leftover food from schools will send a fantastic message to pupils – the future generation of recyclers.

The collected food will be recycled by anaerobic digestion at Scottish Water’s Deerdykes facility. As well as reducing landfill waste this type of recycling can turn waste food in to a fertiliser or a fuel-source.

http://edinburghbrightfutures.com/2013/10/11/round-up-friday-11-october-2013/

Girls' Football Success

Congratulations to our P6/7 Girls' Football Teams who came First and Second in a recent tournament.

Ninjas team took the First Place Trophy with the Golden Eagles  team securing Second Place. Fantastic results!

Here is a report from Megan Wynn, P7:

On Saturday 5th October 2013 both Sciennes' Girls' Football Teams played a tournament for the Autumn Cup. The Sciennes Golden Eagles won all of their games as well as The Sciennes Ninjas. Therefore both teams played against each other in the Final! The girls share the cup together because they were both representing the same school.

The Sciennes Golden Eagles played four games, one against Mary Erskine's, one against St Mary's, one against James Gillespie's and one against Bruntsfield Blue. Then of course, The Final! The Ninjas played the rest of the participating schools.

Throughout the games there was a small tent that sold cakes, cookies etc for families and friends to buy. Thank you to the people who donated cakes.

The tournament ended at 12.30ish, each game being 16 minutes long. Once the Final finished both teams came for a group photo to celebrate their victory and got to pick a treat out of the sweetie bag.

WELL DONE SCIENNES!

For winning the Autumn Cup!

Megan Wynn, P7

Ninjas First Place

Golden Eagles Second Place

P6/7 Girls' Football

Amazing Harvest Appeal

Well done to all the families who contributed to Sciennes' Harvest Appeal led by P3 and Ms Anstruther. Here is a very kind email we received from Ewan at the Edinburgh North West Foodbank:

Many thanks for your help and support this morning as Tom and I collected the remainder of your Harvest Collection. I can confirm that your school has donated an amazing amount of food totalling 372kg, which is by far our biggest collection for any school since we opened in November 2012.  This donation will allow us to feed over 37 individuals or 18 families with a nutritionally balanced food pack supplying at least three meals for three days.  We will confirm this in writing to you soon.

Sasha and Linda will keep you posted with developments of our new Central foodbank and the possibility of the school being further involved in the work of our foodbanks in the future.

We are encouraged when we receive such wonderful support for what we are doing to reduce the impact of food poverty and thank you again for this amazing donation. 

Kind regards,

Ewan

Ewan Walker | Operations Manager | Edinburgh North West foodbank

www.edinburghnw.foodbank.org.uk

New Kitchen

If you’re in school for the Parent Consultations this week, please have a look at the new kitchen which has been part-funded by Sciennes PTA and is a fantastic addition to the school. An added incentive is this is where teas and coffees will be served. In the hall area (just before you go into the Gym Hall) there will be information about Sciennes School Council and sign up sheets for anyone keen to get involved. There are a lot of exciting ideas and developments that just need parent volunteers with a bit of time and enthusiasm!

School Council Communications Group

Edinburgh Councillors at Lagganlia

P7 at Sciennes were joined on Wednesday by a delegation of Edinburgh Councillors led by Councillor Paul Godzik, Education Convener, with Councillor Cathy Fullerton, Councillor Denis Dixon, Councillor Maureen Child, Councillor Sandy Howat and our very own former Sciennes' parent Councillor Melanie Main. It was commendable that they took the time to make the trip to see first hand Lagganlia's excellence in outdoor education and spend time with some of our pupils.

Ian Ross, Head of Lagganlia and Benmore Centres, Councillor Cathy Fullerton, Councillor Maureen Child, Councillor Sandy Howat, Councillor Paul Godzik, Councillor Denis Dixon and Councillor Melanie Main

Underway from Lagganlia!

Fantastic P7! Slick and super organised pupils and staff this morning meant we were underway by our target 9.30am. We are now beginning to be able to get a signal more easily so we will continue to post travel updates on our P7 Lagganlia blog. Please check there rather than calling the school office. It's been a wonderful week and we are all extremely proud of the children. See you soon!

http://scienneslagganlia2013.blogspot.co.uk/

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Gorge Walk in the River Feshie

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Tuesday in the Sunshine

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