After School

Cafe - 29 January 2008

I am sorry to have to introduce a negative note but I have had a number of complaints raised about the behaviour of the children in our After School Club café. Please can I ask parents of those children attending the cafe to ensure that they do not run around the dining hall while other activities are going on. Thank you for your support in this important matter.

Collecting children after school - 27 September 2006

A safety concern has arisen at the end of the school day.  Boys have been found playing out on the street, while waiting for their parent or guardian to pick them up. We completely understand that sometimes it is difficult to pick up exactly at 3.25 pm due to unforeseen circumstances, and we have instructed the boys to return immediately to the reception area of the school should that happen. There they will be looked after safely until you arrive.  With the approaching dark nights, we feel this is a very important safety concern, and we would greatly appreciate your support in this.

Collecting children after school - 17 May 2006

Our After School Activities programme was highly commended by HMIE, and I hope that we will be able to continue to improve and expand on what we already offer. My colleagues put a great deal of work into the activities they offer at the end of the day, so I would greatly appreciate if you could help by picking up your children on time. The majority of clubs finish at 4.15pm, with the exception of the Cricket Club, which finishes promptly at 4.45pm. Some children are not being picked up until well after the finishing time.

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Building work

22 april 2008

Thank you to you all for helping make this a very smooth start to term, particularly in relation to the building works, which are restricting access to the campus. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. We are hoping that warmer and drier weather will prevail during the coming week, both for the sake of the Primary 5s who depart for camp today and so that we can make use of the back pitch again as a playground. Here’s hoping!

15 April 2008

Work on the new Nursery and After School Centre has gone very well over the holiday period and to date, they are on schedule to complete for the end of August. If you are interested in seeing how the finished building will look, there are images of the new building here.

construction work - 11 March

Day 1 and the building of the new Nursery and After School Centre has begun! We hope that the inclement weather will not continue and will allow work to progress to time, with the completion date still scheduled for the end of August. Following a meeting with the contractors this morning, I am confident that all site arrangements are now in hand, which most importantly covers all health and safety requirements. Details of exactly what these are will be displayed for parents to see in the reception area of the school. Primary 3-6 children will no longer use the front playground as a play area and we will make use of the back pitch, come rain or shine! I look to your help in ensuring that all these children have trainers in school for playtime.

If you have any further questions or queries regarding arrangements for the new build, please do not hesitate to speak to me.  Once again, I make a plea to all parents, with the inevitable increase in construction traffic, that you park on Inverleith Place and walk up to the school entrance from there.

construction work - 26 february 2008

The end of this week sees the start of our very exciting new development here at the Junior School; that is, the building of our new Nursery and After School Centre. The first task will be to erect fencing around the construction area to ensure the safety and security of the children at all times. I will be issuing plans of how the fencing will impact on the playground area to parents of Nursery, Primary 1 and Primary 2 pupils, so that you are all fully aware of any parking restrictions which may have to be put in place. Once the demolition of the house has taken place, work will begin in earnest and Dunne, the contractors who have been appointed, still hope to complete on schedule for the beginning of next session.

construction work - 15 January 2008

The programme for the demolition of the Headteacher’s House to prepare for construction of the Nursery and After School Building has begun. The demolition began on Saturday and the process will be completed this weekend. As soon as I know when work is to begin in earnest on site, I will inform the school community and keep you fully up to speed with the comprehensive Health and Safety procedures which will be put in place.

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Co-education

19 June 2007

On Tuesday afternoon, we welcome our new pupils, both boys and girls, to the school, when they will have the opportunity to meet their new classteacher and their new classmates. We do hope that they all enjoy the afternoon and will be able to make a few contacts, whom they might be able to meet during the long summer holiday. It would be wonderful if you could encourage your son to look out for these new pupils. Class lists will be issued. At the last count, we have 7 girls now coming into Primary 1, 3 into P2, 3 into P3, 7 into P4, 3 into P5 and 2 into P6. This is a tremendous demonstration of faith in the Academy and the direction it has chosen to take.

15 May 2007

Members of the Parents' Association have asked if I might give an update of how things stand with regard to the arrival of girls in the Junior School in less than four months time.
All is on schedule and, as you know, we have not had to make a lot of  changes to the actual buildings except for the installation of girls' toilets. These are in the advanced stage of planning and are due for completion over the summer. As for the number of girls, there are twenty enrolled for the start of next session throughout the various year groups; by all accounts, this is an extremely good figure for a transition year. Visits have increased threefold in comparison with the equivalent period last year, and they still keep coming, which makes it difficult to predict at this stage precisely what the figures will be on 29th August.  Our new admissions registrar, Sonia Last has had a challenge keeping up with the ensuing paperwork but we are not complaining!
I would like to thank those of you who have been spreading the good word, as there is no doubt that word of mouth is the very best recommendation we could hope for.

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Communications

18 September 2007

Having just been awarded our Eco Schools Scotland Silver Award, thanks largely to the efforts of Mrs Becher, we would like now to try and further reduce our paper mountain, thereby increasing our chance of obtaining the Gold Award by the end of the session. If you do have an email address by which we could communicate, please could you inform the office if you have not already done so. Many thanks for your support in this important matter.

11 September 2007

We would like to start emailing the bulletin to you so if you have not, as yet, given your email address to the office, I would be most grateful if you could do so as soon as possible.

Email News Sheet - 16 January 2007

We are hoping to follow the Senior School's example of sending copies of the News Sheet to Parents electronically.  This would be very much in line with our Eco Schools initiative and we hope that the majority of Parents would agree to receiving the News Sheet in this way. However, if you have difficulties receiving electronic mail and would prefer to have a hard copy, I would be grateful if you could let Mrs Maguire know in the Junior School Office.
Thank you, as always, for your support and co-operation

Email - 6 September 2006

A plea to you all as we strive to become more eco-friendly and reduce our paper mountain, if you do have an email address and have not yet submitted this to our Junior School office, I would be most grateful if you could do so as soon as possible.

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Health

Illness - 30 January 2007

If your child is returning to school after a bout of ill-health, we would greatly appreciate if you could write a note to the classteacher/school nurse, clearly indicating whether or not your child is fit for Games and PE.

Healthy eating - 8 February 2006

Our new Healthy Eating Tuck Shop (EATS) has started off well too with all profits being donated to our chosen charity this year, The Yard.

(7 June: It is wonderful to report that the boys managed, over the course of the year, to raise over £1600 for The Yard (a local playground for children and young people with disabilities), which has been one of our chosen charities this year. A cheque was duly presented last week to Mr John Busby, who has kindly invited the P6 boys to visit and be part of a group responsible for the creation of a rainforest mural. This will soon be a new feature at The Yard. Thanks to all who contributed to this wonderful sum. )

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Road Safety

13 May 2008

It is Scottish Walk to School week, and we are encouraging the children, particularly the older boys and girls, to persuade Mum and Dad to park a bit further away, and allow them to walk independently into school.

6 May 2008

It has been reported to me that the one item most often reported on in this weekly bulletin is the subject of parking! Unfortunately I have to raise this matter again as this week I received two letters from residents of Kinnear Road and Kinnear Rise complaining of parents parking across their driveways and double parking. They feel, and I share that concern, that there is ‘an accident just waiting to happen.’  Thank you to those of you who now walk the short distance from Inverleith Place; I would urge those of you who still insist on double parking in Kinnear Road to resist the temptation and please park further afield.  Thank you for your anticipated support.

22 april 2008

Thank you to those parents who are following our plea about pick-up in Inverleith Place, rather than outside the Junior School.  If all can spread that word and establish a standard practice, it will be a contribution by all the Academy community which is hugely appreciated.

15 April

On an important safety point, may we make a joint plea to all parents who drop off and pick up outside or near the Junior School.

During the holidays, we received an official reply from the Council, stating that they would no longer be painting a single yellow line down the East side of Arboretum Road.  It was considered to be against the Safer Routes to School policy, which is actively encouraging alternative means of transport to school.  The Council also pointed out that it has created a pedestrian crossing at the Inverleith Place/Arboretum Road junction, which should enable parents to park a couple of minutes away from the school and walk the short distance to the entrance.

Respectfully, but firmly, may we ask this:

Junior School parents: please adopt this practice – i.e. park away from the school and walk to the entrance. 

Senior School parents: after games, please pick up pupils on Inverleith Place, not outside the Junior School gates or on Kinnear Road.  Double parking and congestion are a worrying hazard, and we do ask for your cooperation.

13 november 2007

Parking is once again proving to be an issue, especially at the end of the day, when parents are picking up their children. I would greatly appreciate if you did not double park; I know that traffic wardens are now aware of the situation and may be patrolling Arboretum Road more regularly than before. In the meantime, both Mrs Pugh and Mr Paxton are monitoring the situation, and we will look at ways in which we could possibly improve the system of pick up and drop off. Thank you for your understanding in this very important matter.

6 November 2007

Since this is Road Safety Week, it is apt that we should remind all the children of the need to be extra careful when going home on these dark nights. It is greatly helped if parents can also help by refraining from double parking. Our newly appointed Junior Road Safety Officers will be out and about to help Mrs Pugh and myself ensure that all of us are following the rules of the road!

11 September 2007

I am sorry to have to start off the session on a rather negative note, but I am afraid I have already had complaints from our neighbours in both Kinnear Road and Arboretum Road about the way in which some parents are parking. Please do not park in the driveways as this causes considerable inconvenience to the residents.

12 June 2007

Please could I respectfully remind parents to park sensibly outside the school gates. It may be necessary to park further away on occasion. Please do not be tempted to park in our neighbours' driveways, or worse still to double-park.  We may have to send our Junior Road Safety Officers out to patrol the beat

6 March 2007

Some of you will have noticed a Statutory Notice in the paper yesterday indicating that there were to be roadworks outside Arboretum Road for the next 18 months and perhaps reacted with horror!
You will be pleased to know that this is in fact to be the implementation of a yellow line, extending approximately for 130m  outside the school down the East side of Arboretum Road, which should  prevent commuters parking outside the school all day. Although the situation is manageable at the moment, we are very conscious that come July, when the extension of CPZ2 is complete, the cars currently parked on Inverleith Place will migrate northwards to Arboretum Road. The yellow line, although not ideal, is a step in the right direction and we are hopeful that when the Council come to review the situation in 18 months time, they will seriously consider including us in the Controlled Parking Zone. There are also moves afoot to install a controlled crossing at the mini-roundabout at the bottom of Arboretum Road.
If you have any further concerns regarding the parking situation outside the school and in the campus, please direct them to me. I hope you would all agree however that Mr Paxton has been doing a sterling job directing traffic flow within the campus.  Many thanks to him.

23 January 2007

There is a public meeting to be held on the the new parking zone in Inverleith on Monday 5th February, between 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm. We are hoping that the Controlled Parking Zone will be extended to include Arboretum Road.  If you are able to attend this meeting, it would be very helpful. However, an email directed to ricky.henderson@edinburgh.gov.uk would also help the cause!
In the meantime, however, can I urge you to resist parking in the driveways of our neighbours.

16 January 2007

Undoubtedly, one of the challenges  here for us at Arboretum Road is the Parking.  A big thank you to those parents who have demonstrated their support and understanding of what we are attempting to do to alleviate some of the congestion outside the school, which has been caused by the extension of the Controlled Parking Zone.  Unfortunately, the situation is not going to improve as I have had confirmation from the Council that the remainder of Inverleith Place will be zoned in July of this year.
Mr Paxton has been doing a sterling job, and I would ask parents of elder children to ensure that they cross at the crossing by the barrier and then progress into the school by the dining room. Those who arrive between 0800 and 0820 will go to Early Birds as normal, but those who arrive at 0825 will still go into school via the dining room, ready to be in their class by 0830 for registration. This will negate the need for children to be walking in the front playground while cars are present.

21 November 2006

We have had confirmation that the Controlled Parking Zone will not be extended to include Arboretum Road, as had been previously rumoured - raising our hopes! I shall be writing to the Council again to express my real concern about how this might adversely affect us all at the Junior School. I will also be exploring other avenues as to how we might persuade the Council to reconsider their latest decision. In the interim, I will shortly be writing to you to explain how we might all try and alleviate the congestion which I believe may be inevitable.
I will endeavour to keep you fully informed of developments.

Walking up the road to Denham Green - 27 September 2006

The subject of this morning's assembly has been 'Safety' and I do hope that the boys listened sufficiently well today to take home a very important message. We are becoming increasingly concerned about the numbers of boys, accompanied by an adult, who are walking up the road to Denham Green in the morning instead of using the designated path. Our school mini bus legitimately has to use this road every morning, transporting our boys and St George's girls to and from School.  To ensure your child's safety, please can I ask you to use the path at all times.

20 September 2006

Unfortunately I have had a complaint from one of our most supportive neighbours. The family have once again been inconvenienced by very inconsiderate parking by a minority of our parents. Parking in someone else's driveway, for however short a time, cannot be allowed to happen. Our Junior Road Safety Officers will be on the lookout!

Walking and scootering to school - 8 February 2006
I am pleased to hear of the increased number of boys who are now walking to school as part of our Safer Routes to School campaign, but I would greatly appreciate the support of parents of those boys who are now scootering to school! Please could we ensure that they do so safely: that they still use the pavements and do not 'play' on the driveways or roads, where cars are entering and leaving the school grounds. 

2 November 2005

With the advent of winter and the dark mornings and evenings, I would be grateful of your support in ensuring that you are parking sensibly outside the school, even if it does entail parking some distance from the school gates. Mrs Pugh does not return from holiday until next week so we all require to be extra vigilant in ensuring our boys are safe as they enter and leave school.
Our School Travel Plan, which will be officially signed off this month by the council and our local community police officer, will be published shortly on our website, and there you will find our plans for how we aim to cope with the traffic challenges which all of us will have to face in the coming months.

Junior Road Safety Officers - 28 September 2005
Junior Road Safety Officers receive their official 'badge' of office from our local community police officer this week, so beware: they might be out and about outside the school gates to check up on whether we are all obeying the rules of the road!

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Educational issues

New deputy head 22 January

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Ben Dean to the position of Deputy Head of the Junior School, with effect from the beginning of next academic session. Ben is currently working out in Queensland, Australia, and is planning to return to his native Edinburgh with his young family in July. Previously, he had been Assistant Head of the Junior School at George Watson’s College. There will be opportunities later on in the year to pay a fitting tribute to Andrew Dickenson, who departs for Kelvinside Academy Junior school in August.

30 October 2007

Thanks to all of you, who attended our recent Educational Seminar on Homework last week. This is the sixth such seminar which we have run, and we were delighted to note the increasing numbers of parents who are attending. It may be that word is spreading that, apart from the opportunity to get together socially, they are also very beneficial from an educational point of view, further improving our partnership with parents. A big thank you is due to Mr Dickenson, who masterminded the whole evening.

8 May 2007

A big thank you to all who attended Tony Hurlin's excellent seminar on Wednesday evening. The seminar, entitled 'Talk and Thought: Taking it Forward' followed a series of very successful seminars run by Tony Hurlin. It was a small but enthusiastic group, who I hope will spread the word about some of the exciting initiatives which are currently under way.

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Eco-school project / Outdoor classroom

21 may 2008

Our Eco Day was fantastically successful, and I would like to thank the many parents who contributed to its success in so many different ways, whether it was digging the garden or giving talks to the children on different environmental issues. We hope that this will all go towards our Green Flag, which should be flying at the Junior School before very long.

8 May 2007

Another huge thank you is due to those parents who very kindly gave up their time on Saturday to help Mrs Becher and Mr Paxton with the Outdoor Classroom. Great progress has been made, and we are all indebted to those parents for helping make this new facility possible for the benefit of the children.

24 april 2007

The older children are enjoying our new adventure playground, which opened for business last week; we plan to have an 'official' opening ceremony later on this term to thank all those who have been involved both in this new facility, and also those who have worked and continue to work on the completion of our new outdoor classroom. We are most grateful.

6 February 2007

There was a lot of activity in the Junior School playground last week with work starting in earnest on both the Adventure Playground and the Outdoor Classroom; for the latter we are delighted to report that we have received some funding from Scottish National Heritage. This will aid its early completion.

20 September 2006

On Friday, we had a visit from the MSP, Robin Harper, Co-convenor of the Green Party. He came to talk to the boys, in particular the Eco Committee, about environmental issues and to help them in their efforts to be able to fly the Green Flag at the Junior School by the end of this academic session.  It was wonderful to receive from him a letter of thanks, which commented on the enthusiasm of the boys and their well-informed attitudes, describing them as a tonic! He was also  very impressed by all the facilities on offer, and he hoped to be able to support us in our various environmental initiatives - in return, he would welcome any contributions to his acorn fund!  So if you have any oak trees in your garden, we would be very pleased to receive your acorns!

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Inspection

10 May 2006

We hope that you received your copy of the HMI report early in the week. If there are any points in the report about which you would like to ask specific questions, I would be delighted to answer them. I hope that you agree that it paints a positive picture.

25 January 2006

Another week has sped by and, having gone through the rigours of an inspection, I am sure that all my colleagues felt in need of much R & R over the weekend; but here we are again at the beginning of the week with much to look forward to.
The boys certainly were a credit last week, making our visitors feel very welcome, and many positive comments were made about their behaviour and ability to engage in lively conversation! I am sure they gave the inspectors plenty of food for thought.

18 January 2006
The boys have given our 'special' visitors this week a warm welcome and looking at the schedule of activities for this term, there have certainly been plenty of things to observe. The After School activities are once again in full swing and there are some notable new additions to look out for in the programme.

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Safety at School

Scooters - 24 October 2006

Once again, on the issue of safety, the use of scooters within the school playground is not permitted, although they can still be used, indeed encouraged, as another means of transport to school.

Snowballing - 8 March 2006

I predicted the return of winter last week, and we did indeed end the week with a very snowy scene, which as you can imagine caused great excitement amongst the boys at the Junior School. However, we do have to remind everyone that, should the snow return this week, we do have a policy of not allowing the boys to throw snowballs at any time. We do not wish to be spoilsports but we do have the boys' best interests at heart here and would ask them to leave that sort of activity for home.

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School Buses

25 September 2007

Our school bus service has now been in operation for more than a year now and by and large, the service is running very smoothly. We would like to draw your attention to another route which has been added and that is one, which starts in the Colinton area of the city. If you would like to make use of this service or indeed are interested in using any of our other routes, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mrs Annette Chambers, in our Junior School office. 0131 624 4971.

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Uniform

sports uniform 15 January 2008

For those of you who are still awaiting items of Sports Uniform, a reminder that the Enterprises shop, in the Mills Suite at Henderson Row, is open again this Saturday, from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon.

Correct uniform - 13 February 2007

I would appreciate your support in ensuring that the boys are wearing the correct uniform. The older boys (P4-6) have been wearing their 3-in-1 coats in the recent cold snap, but unlike the younger boys, who wear the duffle coat instead of their blazer during the winter months, they can continue to wear their blazers throughout the year. However, if they have chosen to wear the 3-in-1, they should still come to school and return home wearing the entire garment, and not just the fleece as some are now doing. In dry weather, it is permissible for the boys to wear the fleece only when they are out in the playground: we do not encourage boys to use their blazers as goal posts! Thank you for your support

lost uniform items - 5 December 2006

Can I make a plea to all those of you whose sons have lost items of uniform in recent weeks.  Despite numerous reminders and threats of fines, which would be put towards our Sudan appeal, we have had no reduction in the size of our clothing mountain!  If these items are not claimed before the end of term, they will be given to the clothing exchange or recycled!

Winter Coat - Junior School - 4 October 2006

As half-term now approaches, some of you may be thinking of purchasing our new 3 in 1 winter coat. For clarification, for all P1 - 3 pupils, they will be expected to wear either the duffle coat or the new 3 in 1 coat, from October onwards instead of their blazer.  Both of these items should be purchased from our official outfitters and it is advisable to order in advance to ensure that your child's particular size is in stock.  For the older boys, the winter coat is still optional. It is only compulsory in the sense that if they do choose to wear a winter coat, it must be one purchased from either Aitken and Niven or Clan House. We will be strongly recommending the boys wear such an item during the cold winter months.

naming blazers - 13 September 2006

Having commented last week very favourably on the school uniform, I would now like to make a plea to ensure that all these smart looking blazers are clearly named!  We have had one or two cases already of boys losing blazers and we have found these difficult to locate due to the fact they have not been named.  Indelible ink will suffice, if woven nametags are not available!
Last week, the first of our Primary 6 classes visited the Scottish Parliament.  According to many sources, they were a credit to both themselves and the school, being stopped several times en route up the Royal Mile by tourists to be photographed. They even got a special mention in the debating chamber, whilst ministers were debating ......education!

looking smart - 6 September 2006

The start of term has been particularly impressive on two counts. One is that all the new Primary 1 boys appear to have settled in to school life incredibly well, added to the fact that they had to cope with the novelty of a trip down to Senior School for the whole school photograph, which was an unqualified success.  Secondly, didn't all the boys look smart? Well done to all for succeeding in negotiating the minefield that is the buying of uniform, especially when it is the full set! I have received many positive comments from both the Academy community and outwith.

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