Tinto Times
September 2015
Inside this issue:
Head Teacher’s Report
1-2
Parent Council
Fundraisers
3
4
Head Teacher’s Report
It has been a busy month. All the new pupils and staff are settled and the classrooms and hall
displays are looking great.
JRSO: The successful applicants for the posts of Junior Road Safety Officer were Josh
Davidson, Rory Hill and Aiden Lally. The boys had to attend an interview and answer the questions they had been given to prepare - important life skills for the future. All of the candidates did
very well and are now enthusiastically organising assemblies and competitions. The JRSO's attended a training event at Chatelherault and enjoyed this very much. Thank you to Mrs Shanks
for being one of our interviewers.
House Captains: The P7 pupils who wished to run for House Captain posts had to deliver
a speech to both the P1-3 and P4-7 assemblies explaining why they would be good House Captains. The pupils then voted. Again, these are important life skills for the future and allow the children to participate in election style activities. Congratulations to all the candidates, the speeches
were excellent .This years House Captains are:
Clyde
Forth
Tay
Farah Conn & Fraser Harvie
Scott Boyd and Victoria Lyon
Sean Leslie and Alistair Rogers
Open Afternoon: Thank you for attending the Open Afternoon, it was busy in all the
classrooms and there was a lovely buzz about the lace. The children enjoyed the opportunity of
taking their families around the school. It was also a lovely way for new staff to meet parents for
the first time.
AGM: Thank you for attending the AGM - although the turnout was very disappointing this
year. The Chair of the Parent Council, After School Club and Tinto Fund Raisers gave their annual report on activities and funding. These will be on the website shortly. I would like to take this
opportunity of thanking all committee members of these parent groups for their generosity in giving of their time to organise events for the pupils and fund raising to buy additional resources. It is
very much appreciated by all staff and the pupils.
Swim safe: P5 pupils attended the Swimsafe event this month where they had the opportunity to try some rescue activities in the pool and some first aid skills during the "dry" session.
The children also participated in activities concerning safety near and in water.
Clydesdale Football Festival: Some of our P4-7 pupils participated in the football festival,
along with a number of other local schools. Seven matches were played by each school in a
"Round Robin" approach. Whilst I always emphasise that it is the participating and team work
that is the most important feature of these events it is very nice to be able to say that Tinto won
all their matches! Well done to all the players. Thanks also to Mr Dougall and Mr Harwood for
accompanying the children to the event and organising the teams.
Tinto Times September 2015
Page 2
Limelight: Many of the parents will remember that the children had the opportunity to work
with Limelight for two years and the amazing concerts that were put on at the end of the sessions.
It is now the turn of the Nursery Class to experience singing, dance and story telling each week
with the Limelight team. The Nursery will be working with Limelight throughout the school year,
every Friday and there will be occasions where parents will be invited along.
Apologies: In the last newsletter I listed the ex Tinto pupils who had been recognised for
their success at the Biggar High School Awards ceremony. Some were inadvertently missed out.
They were:
Rachel Hill
S2 Excellence
Niamh Baxter
Rotary Award for Endeavour
Katrina Finlayson
Special Prize German
Claire Cowan
S3 Bronze Girls Relay SLC Athletics Championship
Congratulations to them all, it is wonderful to see so many Tinto pupils achieving at this high level.
Future dates:
Harvest Assembly
24.9.15
1.30 p.m. in the church
Parents Evening
7.10.15
P7 Parents Evening
at Biggar High School
8.10.15
Half Term
w/b 12.10.15
Return to school 19.10.15
Please do contact the school if you wish further information about any items in the newsletter.
Tinto Times September 2015
Page 3
Parent Council News
Thank you to everyone that came along to support the Parent Council at our AGM on 15th
September however, I would have liked to have seen a few new faces. I know that there are stigmas surrounding being a member of the parent council but we won’t bite and we won’t ask you to
do anything that you don’t want to. All we ask for is a couple of hours of your time to attend six
meetings a year to share your thoughts and opinions about the school and its activities. Our job is
to support the school by representing the views of the parent group, with that in mind the more
members we have the more likely we are to accurately represent the parents. In light of the upcoming redevelopment of the school now is a great time to get involved. The Parent Council will
be involved in each step of the process and will ensure the comments/concerns of the parent forum
will be communicated to South Lanarkshire Council. Please come along to our next meeting on 3 rd
November at 7pm with no obligation to ‘sign up’, I like to keep the meetings fairly informal with
plenty opportunity to comment on any item on the agenda. I will also be lurking in the hall for a few
hours on parents’ night if you would like to speak to me. As I don’t live in Symington I’m not often
in the school so there are many parents that I do not know, please feel free to introduce yourself.
A copy of the annual report from the AGM will be posted on the website and a paper copy will be
pinned to the noticeboard in the school entrance. Previous minutes are also available.
The rescheduled Tinto hill climb was a huge success and well attended. Thankfully the weather
was much improved which made it a much more enjoyable experience for all. Sponsor money is
still coming in and I would like to say a huge thank-you to all who participated. The funds are to be
used towards the cost of another c-touch screen for the school.
As the more organised of us will already be thinking about the festive season here’s a little reminder to use the ‘easy fundraising’ website for any online shopping that you may be doing. It is a fabulous way to raise money for the school without it costing you anything, click on the quicklink for the
‘PTA Webshop’ on the school website and follow the steps to register.
The Parent Council is still looking for a new clerk; this position involves taking minutes at our six
meetings per year and carries a payment of £7.20 per hour. Meetings are usually no more than 2.5
hours long. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in this position.
The Google calendar on the website is regularly updated and is a valuable tool for parents to check
what’s happening in school.
If you have any questions or comments about anything mentioned here please get in touch via
email to [email protected] or send a note into school to be passed onto me.
Kind regards,
Lisa Shanks
Chairperson
Tinto Times September 2015
Page 4
TINTO FUNDRAISERS
Sponsored Tinto Hill Climb.
Many thanks to all who participated in the sponsored climb up Tinto Hill. The weather was ideal
and the children did extremely well with many nursery-P3s making it to the top!
A fantastic £955.34 has been raised. Congratulations!
Halloween Parties
The Halloween party and disco will be held on Wednesday 28th October. Nursery to P3 party
from 4.30-6pm followed by the P4 to P7 disco at 7pm until 9pm. Cost will be £2.50 per child. Payment for a maximum of 2 children per family, 3rd plus get in free. All children will get a drink and a
packet of crisps and there will be a tuck shop at the evening disco for additional goodies.
Fancy dress is optional but there will be a prize for the best costume! Please contact me if you are
able to help out at either the party or disco.
If any new parents would like to become involved with Tinto Fundraisers and would like to be included in group emails please contact me on 07814378394 or [email protected]
Diane Laing
Tinto Fundraisers coordinator