I am delighted to let you all know the results of our interviews for permanent teachers earlier this week. Congratulations to Miss McLean who will replace Miss Miller, a member of our permanent staff here at Currie, who has been on a secondment over the last 5 years working first for the Digital Learning Team and for the last couple of years iTeach. Miss Miller has decided not to return to teaching for the moment and recently resigned from her post creating this additional position.

We are also looking forward to welcoming Mrs Fulton to our staff to replace Mrs Callander in P1/2. Mrs Fulton currently teaches at Dean Park and will take up her post here at Currie on Monday 13 March 2017.

In addition to these two appointments the PVG checks have finally been completed for Mrs Rubatto our new Music teacher and she will take up her post after the February break working in school on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Congratulations to our Cross Country team who took part in a cluster Cross Country event up at Harmeny yesterday with all the schools in the area taking part. Everyone ran really well with a number of our pupils coming in the top ten of their race. A special well done to Theo in P7 who came first in the P7 boys race!

We are delighted to let everyone know that our Currie family is continuing to grow as Mrs Cunningham is expecting a second baby, a little brother or sister from Eve in June 2017. Mrs Cunningham is keeping well and is planning to work up until the end of May 2017.

This week’s expression of the week or ‘expression de la semaine’ is

‘Pas de problème’

which means no problem. Once more we would be grateful if you could s’il vous plaît encourage the children to use this plus our previous expressions / words of the week at home as well as in school – merci beaucoup!

After a lengthy consultation on homework or home learning beginning in October 2016 with the questionnaire almost all of our parents and carers completed on parent’s evenings and discussions we have had with pupils and as a staff, we have made some changes to the way homework / home learning will be issued at Currie Primary School, which will start after the February break.

As a result of the homework survey in October 2016 we gathered examples of the types of home learning other schools both in Edinburgh and across Scotland are doing and used these to create a grid style of homework which will allow pupils to have more choice in what they do. In January 2017 a representative group of children from P4 to P7 looked at and approved these grids before a group of parents and staff met to look at the grids and agree a way forward. The grids have also been seen and discussed by our Parent Council.

From week beginning 20 February 2017 reading and spelling home learning will be issued as normal. We acknowledge that spelling home learning can often be the most difficult piece of homework to get children to do but it is something we feel is vital to work on at home as well as in school and we have a set list of patterns to get through in each year stage. However, we will keep trying to come up with different and creative ways to issue spelling home learning and are open to any suggestions you may have on this – please send any ideas or examples you have in to your child’s teacher.

In addition to reading and spelling a grid will also come home with a list of suggested activities, websites etc. to do that your child can pick and choose from. These activities will complement work planned for the class for the term or block. The grids will vary in style with P1 and P2 having a similar style, P3 – P5 sharing a similar style and P6 and P7 following similar formats. Each grid will contain information for children and parents on suggested numbers of activities to complete each week, how to record activities completed and when to bring the work into school to share.

Thank you to everyone for taking part in this survey and to the parents who came into school to meet with us to discuss and agree a way forward with home learning.  The collated results will be available on our website later this week in the ‘About our School’ drop down menu then ‘Documents and reports’ tab as well as an updated Home Learning Policy. As you will see from the results of the survey homework is a difficult thing to get right for everyone but we are hoping this new style of homework will give everyone what they would like to see in particular the children, who during consultation asked for ‘funner’ homework! We will monitor, review and adapt as appropriate the grid style homework as we go on over the next few months.

Han and Adam from P7 represented our school yesterday in the Primary School Burns Festival organised by Edinburgh & District Burns Club Association and both boys did themselves, their parents and our school proud. Adam did really well in the P6-7 Recitation competition reciting ‘To a Mouse’ brilliant. A huge congratulation to Han who won not only the P6-7 instrumental section playing ‘A Red Red Rose’ and a Burns reel on the violin but for also winning the best overall instrumental performance across both age ranges. Han now goes on to represent Edinburgh in the National Finals!

Currie CHS Parents in Partnership Group have worked with staff and pupils in the school to submit a bid for funds to promote equality and inclusion and tackle all forms of discrimination in the Currie Community, including racism and Islamophobia.

We hope we will receive funds to help us create a wonderful Art installation for the school foyer which promotes these values as well as organise an Equality Conference and create a new award called the Equality Champion Award which will be presented at our annual Award Ceremony in June.

For our bid to be successful, we need as many votes as possible.

Please support this excellent initiative to make our school, the wider Currie Community and Edinburgh as a whole safe  for everyone. Voting is available online (www.scotland.police.uk/shared-vision-your-decision) and in local libraries across the city. (www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries).

registration-voting-form is also available from Currie High School office.

Doreen MacKinnon

Head Teacher

Currie Community High School

Dolphin Avenue

Edinburgh

EH14 5RD

Tel 0131 449 2165

                This weeks word of the week in school is

‘Merci beaucoup’

which means thank you very much. Once more it would be great if you can encourage your child to try and use this phrase at home as too. We will continue to let you know each week what our ‘Word of the Week is!

I am delighted to let everyone know that we appointed Mrs Rushworth and Mrs Laing as permanent members of our Pupil Support Assistant team here at Currie Primary School after their successful interviews last week. We are also welcoming Mrs Zhao to our permanent PSA team and Mrs Gent on a temporary basis until the end of this school session. Mrs Zhao and Mrs Gent will take up their positions as soon as their PVG checks come through.