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Hillhead Primary School - Newsletter


At Hillhead we aim to make our children successful learners. Our pupils will value themselves
 as individuals and strive to achieve their full potential. We will provide them with a variety of
 stimulating learning experiences in a caring environment.

DECEMBER 2005

Dear Parent,
This is the final regular monthly newsletter of 2005, Once again lots of items to pass on to you and some important information and dates for you and your children.

CHRISTMAS SERVICE
The Christmas Service will take place in Wick Old Parish Church on the evening of Tuesday 20th December. It will commence at 6.30pm. Children should arrive for 6.15pm. This year, the Pupil Council have decided that collection at the door will go to the West African Famine Appeal.

In recent years there have been difficulties both with seating and noise. These matters have been drawn to the attention of the school and the School Board. The issue of seating arrangements for the service was discussed at the School Board Meeting held last Wednesday and at a subsequent visit to the Church attended by members of the Board. A number of changes have consequently been made this year. These are:

Each family will receive two tickets along with this letter which will allow them in to priority seating in the church. This should ensure that each family has two good seats from which to view the service. Please look after these tickets carefully and remember to take them with you to the service.

An area of the church will also be available for those individuals who do not have a priority ticket.

Parents are asked not to bring children who are not yet of nursery age. The church doors will not open until 6.00pm. I attach relevant information on Highland council’s policy of filming or photography at school events.

In line with the guidance issued by the Director, Headteachers should therefore confirm to parents that they must advise the school if they do not wish their child  to be photographed or filmed by any spectator or member of an audience at a school event. If any parental objection is received then unofficial photography/filming should not be allowed.

Please advise me if you have any such objection. I hope these new arrangements for the Christmas service will ensure a fairer footing for all parents who attend the service.

WINNING SCHOOL AIM
Many thanks to all those parents, staff and pupils who took part in the recent vote for an encompassing school aim. The winner which was written by Primary 5 teacher Mrs Falconer is shown above at the top of our newsletter. It covers much of what the school hopes to achieve with its pupils.

As well as a central display of this statement, each classroom will also display this overall aim. The pupils will shortly be involved in producing some illustrations of the school achieving this aim. Congratulations to Mrs Falconer who wins a £10 Woolworths token for her winning entry.

HIGHLAND SCHOOLS SWIMMING
Hillhead pupils, pictured below, did remarkably well at the Highland Schools Swimming Championship which was held in Inverness on Wednesday 23rd November. Six pupils from Primary 6 and 7 travelled to the event. Their performances were as follows:

Rona Plowman: 1st Backstroke (personal best time), 1st in Butterfly. Lauren Sinclair 1st in Breaststroke, 4th in Freestyle (both times were personal bests) .Naomi Sutherland 2nd in Breaststroke .Rachael Munro 2nd in Freestyle with a personal best time, 5th in Butterfly.

Robyn Hughes: a personal best time in both the Freestyle and Back stroke events. Liam Macleod:
a personal best time in the Freestyle event. Erin Mackay: a personal best time in the Freestyle event.

In addition the Hillhead girl’s relay team won gold in the Under 12 relay. Rona Plowman, Lauren Sinclair, Rachel Munro and Erin Mackay made up the winning team.

It now seems likely that a number of these swimmers will have qualified to swim in the Scottish Schools Swimming Championship to be held in Glasgow next year.

ART COMPETITION WINNERS
Hillhead has had a great success in the recent art competition which was organised by Dounreay UKAEA. The competition asked pupils to draw pictures for a 2006 calendar of what Caithness might look like in the future. Three Hillhead pupils drew winning pictures which will appear in the calendar. Erin MacDonald drew February which showed a Wicker marrying a Martian. Chloe Sinclair drew September showing a midgie zapper. Sarah Graham drew December showing Santa being beamed in to  houses Star Trek style. Not only will the girls’ pictures appear in the 2006 calendar but each of their winning pictures has secured a whopping £750 for the school. Combined with a £250 payment for entering the competition, this means that Hillhead has obtained the sum of £2500 through this art competition. The girls’ win will be acknowledged at the end of term assembly.

HILLHEAD KITCHEN ACHIEVES SUCCESS
Hillhead is one of only 20 schools which have won through to the McDougall’s Healthiest School Food Award finals. This success is all the more notable given that there were an overwhelming number of entries for this national competition. The school is delighted at the success. It is a well deserved accolade for the kitchen staff who work so hard to enliven the school meals provided. Mr Green puts in a great deal of time and effort to produce his imaginative food displays. In the next round of the competition Mr Green has to submit a week’s menu for nutritional analysis. . 

ABSENCE INFORMATION: Could you please ensure that you telephone the office to advise us if you child is off school for any reason.

READATHON
Congratulations to the staff and pupils who organised and participated in the Readathon activity. Pupils from Primary 3 to 7 took part to raise funds for two charities which both deal with children with serious illnesses- the CLIC Sargent and the Roald Dahl foundation.. A very impressive total of £456 was raised. A big thank you to Mrs Begg and Mrs Sinclair who organised this activity.

MATHEMATICS CHALLENGE
Pupils in Primary 6 and 7 have recently taken part in the Primary Mathematics Challenge. This is a maths competition which covers a broad range of maths topics. It is organised by The Mathematical Association.

Edward Wardle and Rona Plowman shared top spot, both achieving a score of 25 out of 30. Other pupils who scored 20 or over were; Sarah Paterson, Anna Falconer, Rachel Munro, Alexander Macleod, Emma Evans and Rachael Steven. These pupils will all receive a certificate at the end of term assembly. Primary 6 pupils also competed in a Mathematics Challenge. Gold awards went to Fiona Boyle, Mark Graham and Reece Byrne. Silver Awards were obtained by Kimberly Lewis, Jack Fraser and Ryan Aitken. Bronze awards went to Jamie Bacon, Andrew Dunnett and Liam Macleod.

DIARY DATES
A few important dates for this term.
Wednesday 14th December: am Whole school to Parish Church for rehearsal. No nursery in the afternoon.
Thursday 15th December Whole school Christmas Lunch
Monday 19th December 1.30pm Primary 3 and 4 Christmas Party
Tuesday 20th December 9.30am –11.30am Nursery Christmas Party (no nursery in afternoon)
Tuesday 20th December 6.30pm Christmas Service in Wick Old Parish Church
Wednesday 21st December 1.30pm Primary 1 and 2 Christmas party
Wednesday 21st December 6.30pm 8.00pm Primary 5, 6 and 7 Christmas Party
School breaks up for Christmas Holidays, normal time on Thursday 22nd December. School resumes after Christmas break on Monday 9th January 2006.

Yours faithfully

A Budge