Dear Parents and Friends

Following on from the dramatic start to our term, with the staff room fire, school routines have been set up and the term is well underway.  A big thank you to you all for dressing the children so smartly in Andover sweatshirts, new shoes and jackets etc.  Our first spot check on named uniforms revealed very few jumpers without names which is most encouraging.  Please check name tags again once clothing has been in the wash!

Pupil Council

Two representatives have been chosen democratically for each class and the second meeting will take place this week.  The agenda will include—school discos, Christmas good turns, Health Week and a slot for pupil suggestions.  Council  Representatives are:-

• P1 Max McCulloch & Sarah Baker
• P2 Lauren Watt & Roan Harrison
• P2/3 Zara Torrie & Devon Durward
• P3 Stuart Cameron & Zofia Golicka
• P4 Chloe Allison & Cameron Ritchie   
• P5M Eden Kennedy & Isaac Chaffer
• P5B Kerris Black & Glen Ford
• P6 Natasha Laing & Logan Henderson
• P6/7 David Platt & Shannon Young
• P7 Kennedy Pyper & Ross Alexander

Peer Supporters

At Andover we encourage our children to be resilient and deal with any challenges they encounter in an age appropriate fashion.  This does sometimes mean asking a friend or an older pupil for help.  Mrs Barrow has once again trained a large group of P5 and P6 pupils as Peer Supporters.  These children will take turns in the playground to help and support their peers and they have been trained to be good listeners, observe body language and seek advice from an adult if necessary.  We hope all the children will make use of these supporters who can be recognised by their fluorescent yellow vests.

Morrison’s Tokens                                

We are now collecting tokens/vouchers from Morrison's which can be exchanged for seeds and gardening equipment for our garden.  Any tokens will be gratefully received at the School Office.

Learning Contexts              

In line with a Curriculum for Excellence each class will be using a context for the next few weeks, through which the skills for several curricular areas will be taught, (mainly Maths, Science, Language).  The children will have already discussed with their teacher which areas they wish to find out about and although these topics are child centred, the teacher will of course direct the children.

The context for each class is listed below and as you can see many are closely linked to our School Health Week.  Any artefacts or books connected to each context would be appreciated and if you can spend some time talking with your child about their learning. This will have a positive impact.
Contexts are:-

• Nursery Health → Harvest
• P1 Teddy Bears Picnic
• P2 Healthy lifestyles
• P2/3 Healthy lifestyles
• P3 Emotions & feelings
• P4 Being active
• P5B Being active
• P5M Being active
• P6 The human body
• P6/7 Exercise & the body
• P7 Healthy bodies, healthy minds
• Launch Pad Castles

Spelling

In Primary 1, 2 and 3 we will be continuing to use ‘Jolly Phonics’ to teach letter sounds and initial spelling patterns.  This year we are reviewing our spelling policy as the standard of pupil’s spelling is not particularly high and there does not appear to be a link between the marks in ‘tests’ and everyday writing.  We will continue to look for correct spelling but at present will not be giving lists of words for homework.  Pupils will receive other subjects instead of spelling.

Homework         

Throughout the School homework is given on a regular basis.  Our homework policy was reviewed last year and should you wish further clarification please ask to speak with a member of the Management  Team.

Homework diaries have been revamped this year to include showing the Make Ten total each week and spaces for a summary of the work covered each week, to be written by the child.

Your comments at the end of each week would be appreciated and all very helpful to us.  PLEASE sign the diary each evening once you are sure that your child has completed their work.  Your signature shows us you have seen the work.  You may wish to give advice if your son/daughter has a problem or has made a mistake.

P.E.

Mrs Sheila Brown is our specialist PE teacher who will be in school most Mondays.  Mr G Reid will take P1-P3 for PE on a Friday.  It is essential that all children have PE kit and that it is kept in school.  Crop tops and skimpy shorts are not acceptable.  Again, all equipment should be named.

Jewellery should not be worn on PE days as we cannot guarantee to store it safely once removed.

School Links

I am delighted that we have several volunteers helping out in Andover again.  Mr P.Neve is working during Golden Time on a photography project and has managed to procure disposable cameras from Semi-Chem free of charge.  Many thanks to Semi-Chem for their donation and to Van Werninck Studio in Montrose for a supply of card frames and backing paper.

Please, please if you have any spare time and could help out with craft work, wall displays or general support please let Mrs Lindsay at the Office know (assistance is particularly required for Golden Time on a Friday afternoon).

Congratulations

Martha Grieve has designed the ‘Andover School’ picture for our new Green Cards.  Well done Martha.  Green cards are awarded to pupils by any adult in school for good manners, being helpful, working hard, improvement and excellence in any area of school life.  These are given out at assemblies each week.

The P3 sports for cluster schools were held at Andover two weeks ago.  Well done to Jamie Baxter, Magdalena Tracz and Malone Edwards for achieving the most points.

Andover Make Ten System

The aim is to achieve ten points by Friday.  All pupils start a week with 5 points.  Each Friday a social skill is explained to all the children.  This could be ‘being cheerful’, ‘lining up quickly’, ‘putting litter in the bin’ etc.  Ways of carrying these tasks out are explained.  Children who comply with the rule  along with other positive demonstrations of good behaviour/attitude receive a point.  Points may be removed for failing to bring in homework, continual misdemeanours or bad behaviour.
This session the total points for a week will be made available in the homework diaries. For each block (about 6 weeks) the four pupils in each class with the highest score will receive a treat. (previous treats have included an outing to the park, bouncy castle, cooking and a mini cinema afternoon).

On the whole this system works well and the majority of children strive to achieve points.  Our Golden Time system is linked into ‘Make Ten’.  5 points = 30 minutes of Golden Time.

House Captains

• Strathmore Andrew Johnston/Laura Ewen
• Panmure Liam Swanson/Caitlyn Tough
• Dalhousie Cameron Clark/Sophie Goodwin
• Southesk Ben Harper/Nadia Anderson

Several House Events are planned for this term.  Watch this space!

HANDS UP SURVEY

Between 7th and 11th September 2009 all of Scotland’s school pupils will have the opportunity to take part in the national Hands Up Scotland Survey—the largest and most comprehensive survey of travel-to-school behaviour in the UK.  Pupils will be asked to indicate their mode of travel and this will provide up-to-date information for the Scottish Government

Open Door Policy

• Nursery Mrs Kennedy, DHT
• P1-3 Miss Fitchett, PT (Infant Area)
• P4+5 Mrs Kennedy, DHT (Middle Area)
• P6+7 Mr Tough, PT (Upper Area)

Head Teacher’s Surgery

School Holiday Dates

Parent Council AGM

Dear Parents

Andover Fire

New Pupils and New Staff

• Nursery - Mrs Claire Thompson
• P3 - Miss Natasha Travis
• P7 - Miss Caroline Duncan
• Primary Assistant - Mrs Shari Hill
• Primary Assistant - Miss Caroline Ather (Maternity Cover)

Sadly, Mrs West is still on sick leave.  Mrs Lindsay will continue to act as Senior Clerical every morning assisted by Mrs Morrow and Mrs Dunbar.  I am very grateful to our office staff pulling together and working so hard to ensure the ongoing efficiency in the office.

School Health Week

Uniform

Scottish Executive visit to Andover

School Lunches