Publication April

Carrongrange School www.carrongrange.falkirk.sch.uk

Newsletter April 2009 Dear Parents/Carers, Welcome to our end of April/beginning of May Newsletter. I hope you enjoyed the Easter Holidays and the May holiday weekend. Scottish Education Awards – as you will know from the previous newsletter, we have been shortlisted again for The Most Enterprising Special School Award. We are one of three schools, which is absolutely wonderful. We had a visit from two judges from the Scottish Education awards last week and they were very, very impressed with everything that they saw here. We will attend the Awards Ceremony in June and find out then which school, is the winner. Well done to everyone for their hard work and Enterprising attitudes! We have a large number of pupils coming to join us in S1 after the summer holiday and we look forward to meeting them during the Induction Days which are taking place during the month of May. We also have three Open Afternoons for Falkirk Council staff to visit the school and to find out more about what we do here – these are on 26th, 27th and 28th May. Our PALS group are heading off to Pitlochrie Youth Hostel on 12th May – we hope they have a great time and that the sun shines! There are also many summer activities planned – details will follow. We are all delighted that Marie Lochrie has made such a great recovery from the surgery that she had earlier this month. You may have read in the Falkirk Herald that, as Marie had her surgery in Newcastle, funds that were raised were not required for her to go to the States. The school has received a wonderful donation of £5,000, which will be used for fun and leisure activities for the pupils. Many thanks again to all of you who supported Marie in so many different ways, and very many thanks to Marie and her family for their generous donation. Grateful thanks also to Class 98 for their very generous donation to the school to support our Prizegiving. Swine Flu – I am sure you are all aware of the precautions everyone should be taking at the moment. We have been asked to complete a daily return to education services, informing them of numbers of staff and pupils who are absent due to ‘flu-like symptoms’. It would be very helpful if you could be as specific as possible about symptoms when you phone to let us know that your child is absent. Could you please also ensure that the school office have up to date emergency contact details. If you have any concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact your GP. As you know, we have an extra In-service Day this month on Monday, 18th May. We now have confirmation that these additional days will be added on in August 2009 and 2010. This means that pupils will begin school on Wednesday 19th August, 2009 and Wednesday, 18th August, 2010. Please see reminders below about Assembly dates – we very much look forward to seeing you there. With Best Wishes, Gillian Robertson Headteacher

Assembly Dates Sports Day Wednesday 17th June

Monday 11th May Monday 1st June

All assemblies start at 9.15 a.m. All Parents/Carers are welcome to attend and join us for a ‘cuppa’ afterwards.

Tuesday 23rd June—Reflections Assembly—2.00 p.m.

Inservice Day Monday 18th May

Wednesday 24th June—Prizegiving—9.30 am

Awards May Birthdays

1A—Liam Nolan 1J—Grant Waplington 3R—Callum Watters 4M—Kenneth Clark 4R—Paul Murray 5H—Mark Cruickshanks 5S—Martyn Donnelly 5W—Douglas Logan, Dean Miller 6N—Agnes Blair

Bronze Awards

1A—Liam Nolan, Nicole Sligo 1J—Ian Anderson, Grant Waplington 1M—Melissa McIntyre, Scott Morton, Zoe Murphy, Ashleigh Taylor 2M—George Le Hardy, Declan McArthur, Benjamin Oliver, Ross Paget, James Rollie

The Award System is as follows 6 Blue Cards = Bronze Award 5 Bronze Awards = Silver Award 5 more Bronze Awards = Gold Award

2R—Kieran Graham, Adam Ure 3B—Jean Davidson, Kenneth Forbes, Jamie Gibson, Erin Quigley, Jamie Reid, Graeme Whiteside 3/4LR—Amy Aitken, Louise Brockie, Katie Dunbar, Alan Farquhar, Zain Ul-Abadean 3R—Karina Notarangelo, Kenneth Steen, Ellaine Swan, Jack Wilson 4M—Glenn Close 4R—Christopher Millar, Roseanne Murray, Joe Ure 5S—Martyn Donnelly, Reggie Fernie, Callum Hunter, Andrew Snedden 6M—Lynne Cameron, Zunera Ijaz, Marie Lochrie, Damon Thomson

Silver Awards

1M—Craig McCallum, Jordan Montgomery, Scott Morton 3B—Alastair Jack, Christopher Miller 3/4LR—Lindsay McCormack, Zain Ul-Abadean 3R—Ellaine Swan 4R—Frances Blair 5S—Hayley Chapman, Martyn Donnelly, Robyn McDonald, Andrew Snedden 6W—Douglas Adamson, Steven Muir, Dayle Ross

Gold Awards 3LR—Katie Dunbar 6M—Lisa York Page 2

Carrongrange School

Bruce House

PUPIL OF THE MONTH Scott House

Wallace House

Enterprising Fridays Out and About Group Mrs Jones’ Out and about Group have had some enjoyable visits. We went to the Town Centre Box Office and the information Centre at the Falkirk Wheel to find out what’s happening in the local area. We also went to local leisure centres to find out what they offer. Of course we enjoy sampling the café fare wherever we go, a roll and sausage being most popular! The highlight of this term was the visit to Falkirk Stadium. Murray McIntyre is a great tour guide and he even locked us in the cells! Alex Totton came to chat with us and we went into the ground and up to the Board Room.

Outdoor Education in April We only managed two outings this month. On the 3rd we went to Aberfoyle for a coffee and then walked up the lower part of Ben Venue. On the 24th we walked up Ben A’an in record time. Next time the pupils will be carrying rocks in their bags to slow them down!

The Human Body in Action Pupils are enjoying the new opportunity to learn in more detail about the ‘Human Body’. Pupils learn to take blood pressure, heart rates and about the function of the human lungs. All pupils must contribute to theory lessons, before taking their new knowledge into a practical lesson in the gymnasium and fitness room.

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Carrongrange School

News and Events National 5 a-side Football Championships 6 pupils travelled to Glasgow to take part in the football held at Glasgow Green. There were 12 teams in our section and although at one point it looked as though we would not make it through to the next round, we Battled hard and thanks to some great play and goal-keeping skills, we Made it to the final and were pipped at the post into 2nd place by South Lanarkshire. Our footy stars were—Jamie Gibson, Conor Hay, Mark McColl, Christopher Millar, Liam Richardson and Graeme Whiteside. Carrongrange Boy’s Group “Little steps lead to giant leaps” This group has been running since November ’08. The facilitators are PC Ally Moreland, School Based Police Officer and Judy Weir, Family Support Worker with the Integrated Learning Community. The objective of the group is to educate and inform young people on ‘staying safe in the community’. Invited speakers have presented information on; fire raising and drug misuse. The boys have enjoyed an outing to the local Fire Station and Airth Golf Range. The programme has been varied, lively and thought provoking. It has been encouraging to witness an increase in confidence and an emerging team spirit amongst the boys in terms of the support given to one another. Our motto (above) relates to an achievement award scheme. The boys each have a pair of climbing boots on the point’s mountain. Points are gained for; wearing uniform, good time-keeping, participation in the program, respect for others and property etc. Points may be added if a particularly good report is received from a community police officer, school staff or parents/carers. On the journey to the mountain top, bronze, silver and gold certificates are awarded. On reaching the top a special award will be presented. Of course, points may be lost at any time!! The boys remain enthusiastic, engaged and positive regarding the group. The program will continue to be ‘needs led’ and flexible whilst adhering to the aims and objectives mentioned above. PC Ally has been promoted and is therefore being replaced by PC Sarah Marshall. We shall miss PC Ally but look forward to PC Sarah’s contribution. Thank you to all parents/carers and school staff who continue to support this valuable ILC initiative. Judy Weir – Family Support Worker, Larbert ILC

Education Services Annual Parents’ Conference—Saturday 16th May 2009 Victoria Primary School The theme this year is Read it! Write it! Say it! Learn it! Please see enclosed leaflet for full details.

Parent Council Andy Foreman from The Action Group gave a very informative presentation about the work they will be doing with pupils from school who are nearing the end of school life. Falkirk Council have provided funding for two years and, if successful, it is hoped that additional funding will be provided after the initial pilot. This was the last meeting of the school year and, as a result, a vacancy exists for a parent member. This is very worthwhile and informative. It requires attendance at around 4-6 meetings each year. Please contact Carole Knight in the school office if you are interested.

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Well done to Conor Hay—5W who has been chosen to play for the Scotland in a football tournament in Denmark in May.

Rag Bag Collection Thank you to all who contributed to the ‘Rag Bag Collection’ . We received a cheque for £55.00 towards school funds.

Carrongrange School