Education Resources
Executive Director Jim Gilhooly
Townhill Primary School
Headteacher – Julie McGowan
October/November 2015
Dear Parents/Carers,
What a busy month or two we have had in school! It’s hard to believe we are almost
at the end of November! December is another exciting month in Townhill with lots going on as we
all begin the countdown to Christmas! Please remember to keep checking your child’s bag and our
new website www.townhill-pri.s-lanark.sch.uk for more information.
STAR OF THE WEEK
The following children received a Star of the Week Award in October and November:
Room 1
Room 2
Room 3
Room 4
Room 5
Room 6
Room 7
Room 8
Room 9
Room 10
Room 11
Room 13
Room 14
Sophia Lamont, Alfie Crawford, Megan Ritchie, Lukas Russell, Evie Magilton, Faith Lowe
Emma Wilson, Payton O’Donnell, Cassie Winn, Nathan Black, Cameron Lees, Jack Drennan
Jordan Hendry, Roxanne MacSween, Karis Jones, Noah Gebbie, Rory Thomson,
Gracie Campbell
Freya Williamson, Rhys Spence, Greig Monie, Rachel Reid, Charlie Finlayson,
Milly Jordan
Dylan Hunter, Alyssa Clegg, Jay McDonald, Evan McDermott, Abbie Cochrane,
Carmen MacSween, Harvey Elson
Erin Kelly, Anna Lowe, Charlie Morrison, Aaron Corke, Gracie Bradley, Katie Winn,
Ryan Watson
Tom Kane, Ross Murray, Rowan Jamieson, Harris Mason, Max Jordan, Jacob Campbell,
Jack Summers
Erin Govan, Theo Duncan, Amelia Daly, Millie Baxter, Ryan Black, James Jackson,
Laurie McCormack
Fraser Fitzgerald, Kirsti Caldwell, Hannah Kulke, Rebecca Keatings, Katie Hampson,
Kieran Brunton
Hayley Paterson, Kara Gilfillan, Amy Louise McInally, Ashley Smith, Nicola McDonald,
Bruce Lyon
Rachel Jones, Nathan Simpson, Ian Kane, Aaron Cochrane, Tegan Ashcroft, Lara Bowman,
Carlin Gibbs, Chantelle Gibson
Nedas Adomaitis, Katie Goodwin, Ellie Whitworth, Jessica Ritchie, Scott Morcos,
Josh Barbour
Syma Aslam, Jennifer Lowe, Bilaal Javed, Ava Jones, Robbie Dick, Emily Cosh
Melfort Road, Hamilton, ML3 9UR Phone: 01698 284776 Fax: 01698 458978
Email: [email protected]
HARVEST ASSEMBLY
We held our Harvest Assembly on Friday, 9th October and as usual we were
joined by our Primary 7 pupils’ grandparents. Thank you very much for the very
generous donations of food items which we were able to distribute to the
residents of Miller Park Sheltered Housing and the Hamilton District Food
Bank on behalf of all our pupils and families.
P6 RESIDENTIAL EXCURSION/ACTIVITY WEEK
Our Primary 6 pupils enjoyed their residential visit to Abernethy Outdoor Centre from
Monday, 19th –Thursday, 22nd September. They thoroughly enjoyed a wide range of activities
including raft building, abseiling and team challenge. A big thank you to Miss Neilly, Mrs Miller,
Mrs Allan, Mrs Winton and Mrs Sempie for accompanying the children on this excursion. For
those children who preferred to stay at home, they also enjoyed a packed Activity Week. Thanks
very much to Miss Douglas for organising this.
Please read on to find out about P6’s exciting week in their own words ~
On Monday 19th October I woke up ready to go to Abernethy, Nethybridge. When we got to the school
we got on the bus and then we left. On the bus I sat next to Lara and we watched Paddington and
The Never Ending Story. There were 5 teachers who came with us and they were: Miss Neilly, Mrs
Miller, Mrs Allan, Mrs Winton and Mrs Sempie. There were 42 children that went. The bus
journey took 3-4 hours. We arrived and we went to our rooms/chalets. I was in a chalet with
Niamh, Abby, Eve, Faith, Elina, Amie and Lara. Our teacher in the chalet was Mrs Sempie. I was in
a room with Lara. We unpacked and then we went for lunch. After lunch we went to the theatre to
find out our activities. The first day I did Silver Maze. The people in my group were: me, Lara,
Katie, Emma Mc, Bradley, Matthew, Bruce, Zak and Lewis and our teacher was Mrs Allan. We
finished our activity and then we went swimming, it was free play. Then we went for dinner and
after that we did a quiz. I went in a team with Elina and Lara. We won the quiz and I got a packet
of Haribo minions. After that it was Explore. At Explore you sang a song, played a game, read a
story, and did a historical figure. The Explore team was Jessie, Matt, Lauren and Sam. We went for
supper then to bed. The next day we woke up and got ready and went to breakfast. After breakfast
we went to the theatre and found out what our activities were, we joined up with group 1 Adventure
Course and Raft Building. Then we did swimming and then dinner. We went
to Explore and then we had supper. After that we watched a move called
Despicable Me, then bed. The next day we got ready and went for breakfast
and then archery, canoeing/ kayaking, abseiling and climbing. After our activities we went
swimming and had dinner. We had Explore and then a camp fire, then bed. The last day we got
ready, had breakfast and found out our activity. Our activity was Bush Craft and then we had our
lunch and then we left. I had a good week. Rachel Jones, R11
I stayed at Activity Week with Kara, Aaron, Tegan, Chantelle, Nicola, Ayley, Kirsten and
Chantelle. It lasted Monday 19th till Thursday 22nd October. On the first
day we did arts and crafts, baking and Den making. I loved the ice
skating. Me and Kara were the first one to get on the ice. On Thursday
everyone went bowling, cinema and McDonalds. For the cinema we went
Melfort Road, Hamilton, ML3 9UR Phone: 01698 284776 Fax: 01698 458978
Email: [email protected]
to see Hotel Transylvania 2. It was good, I sadly came last in bowling but the chicken
wrap really cheered me up! Lol . It was really fun to be with everyone although I felt
sorry for Aaron because he was the only boy. Anyway I also liked the rope swinging. It
was fun, me, Kara and Aaron climbed up the ladders and swung from them. We also
played the Wii and we got the big footballs out. Georgia Slevin, R11
SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Congratulations to Elise McQueenie, Primary 7, who represented Townhill at the South
Lanarkshire Schools Swimming Championships in Larkhall Leisure Centre on Wednesday, 4 th
November. Elise swam brilliantly and won a Gold medal for 50m backstroke. She also came 4th in
both the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly. A great result! Well done, Elise!
CHILDREN IN NEED
Thank to everyone for supporting Children in Need again this year, on Friday, 13th
November! We were able to send off a cheque for £668. A fantastic result!
A big thank you to Mrs Henry, Miss Lindsay, Miss Ballantyne and P7 for organising a
fun filled day! Well done, everyone!
FLU IMMUNISATIONS
All children in P1-7 will receive their Flu immunisation on Wednesday, 2nd December.
For more information, please see www.immunisationscotland.org.uk
ENGINE IDLING CAMPAIGN
South Lanarkshire Council will soon commence their engine idling campaign. Children are more
vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe 50% more air per pound of body weight than
adults. Engine idling occurs near schools everyday when children are dropped off and picked up
and this coincides with the time when children are concentrated in these areas. To target these
“hot spots” of pollution, officers will be undertaking patrols during the winter months. Vehicle
idling is an offence. Officers will warn any driver found to idle their vehicle unnecessarily and if
the driver fails to turn the engine off they may be issued with a £20 fixed penalty notice. The
officers will also distribute information and educate drivers about the harmful effects of engine
idling.
You may remember that our ECO group took part in filming for this
campaign last year and their film will be shown again in local cinemas to
highlight this important safety message.
PTA
Thank you very much to the members of the PTA for organising a fabulous Hallowe’en Fun Day.
Everyone in P1-7 thoroughly enjoyed the day and had lots of spooky fun! A great success!
Thank you very much to everyone who donated a gift for one of our Christmas Hampers on
Trading Thursday!!! We have a wonderful selection of hampers this year full of fantastic gifts,
thanks again to your generosity. Raffle tickets are now on sale and the draw will take place at
the Carol Concert on Friday, 4th December. Please see the Parent Area of our website for more
information.
Melfort Road, Hamilton, ML3 9UR Phone: 01698 284776 Fax: 01698 458978
Email: [email protected]
The PTA Christmas Movie Night will be held on Friday, 27th November from 6.00-8.30pm. We
hope as many of children as possible will come along to get in the Christmassy
mood and watch a well loved Christmas film. We look forward to seeing you
there!
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Wednesday, 25th November
Primary 1 visit to The Tall Ship, Glasgow
PM: Netball Team to Jock Stein Sports Centre
Friday, 27th November
Fruity Friday
Tuesday, 1st December
Room 6 visit to Stirling Castle
Wednesday, 2nd December
Flu Immunisations
Thursday, 10th December
PM: Mrs McVean (DHT Calderside Academy) to P7
CHRISTMAS DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Thursday, 26th November
9.30-12noon: P6 Bubblegum and Fluff Event
Friday, 27th November
6.00-8.30pm: PTA Christmas Movie Night
Thursday, 3rd December
7.00pm: Carol Concert
Friday, 4th December
9.30am: Carol Concert
Tuesday, 8th December
6.00pm: P7 to Kings Theatre Pantomime (Snow White)
Wednesday, 9th December
Christmas Lunch in the Dinner Hall
Friday, 11th December
Christmas Jumper Non Uniform Day
Monday, 14th December
AM: M&M Productions “Robin Hood” for Primaries 1-6
Friday, 18th December
9.30am/1.30pm: P1-3 Nativity
Tuesday, 22nd December
10.00am: P4-7 Christmas Service, Hillhouse Parish Church
PARTIES
Thursday, 10th December
1.15-3.00pm: Primary 6
Melfort Road, Hamilton, ML3 9UR Phone: 01698 284776 Fax: 01698 458978
Email: [email protected]
Friday, 11th December
1.15-3.00pn: Primary 5
Monday, 14th December
7.00pm: Primary 7
Tuesday, 15th December
1.15-3.00pm: Primary 4
Wednesday, 16th December
1.15-3.00pm: Primary 3
Thursday, 17th December
1.15-3.00pm: Primary 2
Monday, 21st December
1.15-3.00pm: Primary 1
CHOIR EVENTS
Saturday, 5th December
Selected members to Hillhouse Parish Church – more information to follow
HOLIDAYS
School closes for Christmas on Wednesday, 23rd December at 2.30pm and re-opens on
Tuesday, 5th January at 8.55am.
As always, please contact me at school should you have any questions or queries.
Julie McGowan,
Head Teacher
Melfort Road, Hamilton, ML3 9UR Phone: 01698 284776 Fax: 01698 458978
Email: [email protected]