Abington Primary School
December 2016 News Letter
Dear Parents / Carers
It is with real pleasure that I write this final newsletter of 2016 as the official Head Teacher of Abington
Primary School. I would like to thank you all for the messages of support before and after my appointment
which I really appreciated. I look forward to working in partnership with you to ensure your children are
given the best possible opportunities to aim for the highest developing skills for learning, life and work. It
has been a very busy month with all the Christmas preparations in school. The children have worked really
hard but have had fun as well. They will be ready for their holidays which this year last until 9th January
2017. I wish every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Book Fair: We had a book fair at the end of November beginning of December with Scholastic books.
Thank you very much to all of the helpers who took time out to run the book fair in
particular Dee. Also many thanks to parents and friends who bought books from our school
fair. It was a very successful event raising £446. The school have been given commission
on our sales to buy books which we intend to spend on new reading material for classroom
teaching. Thank you one and all for your support to raise such an amazing total.
Lunch Club: Our P1-3 pupils participated in a lunch time games club with April Forrest and
Leah our Active School Coordinators. They worked alongside Crawford Primary pupils and
had great fun. They played an assortment of games mainly in the muga but also in the hall.
Panto Visit: On Monday 12th December all pupils and staff travelled to Lanark Memorial
Hall to see a show called The Wizard of Oz. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show which was a
professional pantomime. Pupils and staff were very impressed with the performance. Thank you to our
Parent Council who paid for the buses to the show which helped us to keep the costs down.
Artsnet Safe and Sound: We have been notified officially that our P5-7 pupils have been
invited to take part in SLC’s Artsnet performance on Wed/Thurs 1st /2nd March. There will
be practices that week in Hamilton for our pupils. Our pupils will make up part of the
chorus but I am delighted to announce that Cheryl in P5 has been invited to be a principal
in the show. Well Done Cheryl!
Christmas Lunch: On Wednesday 14th December Rosie cooked a lovely Christmas lunch for everyone.
The hall was decorated with Christmas tablecloths, napkins and crackers. The staff served the children
their meals for a change. It was great fun and enjoyed by everyone. Thank you Rosie!
Brass Band: On Tuesday 13th December our pupils who take brass music
instruction with Mr Fraser joined together to play Jingle Bells in front of both
schools. This was excellent as most of the children have only been learning their
instrument since August. Rory Hunter (CPS), Robbie, Rowan and Eilidh, our more
experienced players, then played White Christmas. Both pieces were beautifully
done. Hopefully at Easter the children will feel confident about performing in front of a larger audience.
Christmas Party: Our pupils and staff enjoyed a lovely Christmas party on
Friday 16th December in our school hall. We had a lovely time playing games
such as musical arms, corners and pass the parcel. There were also some team
games which were lots of fun. We had plenty of party food to eat. We were very
lucky that Santa was able to take time out of his busy schedule to make a special
visit to our party. Each child was given a gift from Santa. A good time was had by
all! Thank you to Eilidh in P7 for organising the programme this year.
Nativity: On Monday 19th December the pupils in Abington Primary performed their
annual Nativity called ‘Lights Camera Action’. This was based on Strictly Come
Dancing so was quite different from previous years. The children thoroughly enjoyed
performing for the audience and had worked really hard learning songs, learning lines
and learning dances. It was so lovely to have a large audience to perform to and I
would like to thank you for coming to support the children. I would also like to thank
Dee and Margaret for serving teas and coffees and all parents who supplied baking. We raised £22 from
donations for the teas which will go to Save the Children which is the charity chosen by the children for this
year.
Church Service: On Tuesday 20th December staff and pupils walked to the church for our joint carol
service with Crawford and Leadhills Primary Schools, courtesy of Rev Nikki Macdonald. Each school chose
two songs from their Nativity to share with the other schools. There were poems and readings about the
Christmas Story performed by children from all three schools. Thank you to Eilidh, Robbie, Harmony and
Kaameel for reading out their poem retelling the Christmas story. It was well done. Rev Nikki Macdonald
presented prizes to the winners of her magazine cover competition. In Abington Primary School Holly
Brown (P1) and Callum Smillie (P5) were our worthy winners. Congratulations Holly and Callum.
Adverse Weather: As we are in winter season we may expect wintry weather so it is
important that the school has up to date information on addresses and telephone numbers
as we operate a system where the school will inform you of early closures or school
closures in the situation of inclement weather. Staff will endeavour to contact parents of any
school closure before your child is due to leave for school. Bus companies will inform the
head teacher if the buses are not running.
Diary:
Please take a note of these dates
Thurs 22nd Dec – School closes 2.30 p.m.
Mon 9th Jan – School reopens 9 a.m.
Mon 16th-19th Jan 2017 – Enrolment Week
Wed 18th Jan – P6 Day in Biggar HS
Thurs 19th Jan – P7 Stem Day in Biggar HS
Mon 23rd Jan – Parent Council Meeting 6 p.m.
Thurs 26th Jan – Library Van to visit
Mon 30th Jan – Parents Workshop (Maths) 6 p.m.
Mon 6th Feb – Netball Festival P6/7
Fri 10th Feb – Pyjama Day
Mon14th /Tues 15th Feb – Holiday
Wed 16th Feb – Inservice Day
Mon 27th Feb– Wed 1st Mar – Artsnet rehearsals
Wed 1st March – Artsnet performance 6-9 p.m.
Thurs 2nd March – Artsnet performance 6-9 p.m.
Thurs 16th March – Cross Country Competition
Fri 17th March -Swimming begins (P5-7 pupils)
Tues 28th March – Parents appointments
Thurs 30th March – Easter Church Service
Thurs 31st March – Close 2.30 p.m.
Tues 18th April- School term begins