Welcome back for tomorrow!

Trust all have had a good break and are ready for the new term. Mr Lyon and the team will make it as smooth and carefree as possible while you await your new head teacher. There will be some staffing changes as we negotiated to have one of the Principal Teachers out each day alongside Mr Lyon as there will be no DHT in the mean time. All staff covering are well known to the school and have taught in these classes before – I was determined to get experience and continuity for your children. A prepared Dojo message is ready for classes affected and teachers, when they are back at work tomorrow and have organised the learning for the day, will send on to parents so you are aware of any changes. No Dojo means your child’s class is not affected by any of the changes!

There is so much to look forward to this term between Sports and health week, leadership celebration for ELC, P3 and P7 pupils, transition events, a whole school maths and numeracy home learning experience and everything else in between. I trust you will all engage in learning and will continue to support the life and work of the school, the learners and all parents, carers and the community.

The Parent Council is doing a fantastic job and you are all in safe hands with them making decisions about future leaders here. Do ask them if you need reassurance about the process and what is happening. I can’t thank them enough for all their care and determination whether it’s a walk to school policy or disco entrance and exit ideas.

The new website is looking good – although I didn’t get as much done as I’d hoped – that’s for the new person but please sign up ready for it to go. Thanks, again, to Chloe for giving her time to set this up.

Smithtonprimary.co.uk who is going to be first to sign up??

Fraser in P7 was an absolute star over the holidays. I liked his stylish ‘man bun’ but he got it chopped off for charity! Over £400 went to Little Princess Trust. So proud of you, Fraser.

Please note we have a new dance club starting P4-7 on Thursdays in the hall 3-4 with Nicola Barclay. Please sign up using the extra curricular form here and if anyone wants to start one of the other clubs please add your child’s name as Mr Lyon and the office staff will be redoing the attendance registers for this term. You do not need to add your child’s name if they are already attending the club – only if this is a new club for them or for dance P4-7.

Finally, then. Thank you having me, some of you for 16 years and some of you for only a few months. This is, indeed, the best job in the world and there is no other school I would want to work in. As you know I was leaving Highland Council and will now be working for a charity that enables 14-30 year olds to get the best out of life. Believe and you will achieve – alongside hard work, determination and confidence. We all want this for our children. Above all and at the root of everything is strong relationships – know you are loved.

Aileen Mackay, HT

Farewells All Round

Smithton is really sorry to see a few people go today. Mrs Nicholson and Miss Spriggs from the nursery are moving on. They have been terrific supports for the nursery and will be a huge loss. We wish them well going forward and trust that their next steps will be just right for them. The children as well as staff will really miss them.

Rose from the PEF Family Team is also leaving today. Her knowledge and insight from the very start of this family growing has been inspirational and helpful to both staff and families. Rose continues to work with young people in her other job so families are not missing out altogether.

I’m still in denial as I have two weeks during the school holidays to still be here and I’m also still sorting out a few changes which I will let you know about once they are all finalised. Mr Lyon and I will be working to ensure there is continuity and easy transition…hopefully you won’t notice any difference in the running of the school in the first couple of weeks back…well Mr Lyon will probably not wear the high heels but you get my point…

There will be a new blog and website starting in the new term as well thanks to Roewen’s mum! More details once I have checked all the content is correct and it’s easy to sign up for the updates too.

It’s the start of the holidays. Enjoy each other’s company and here’s hoping we can all get out and about. Clocks go forward this weekend so more sunlight is what we are hoping for! Take care of each other and rest up. Safe travels to those who are going away and I will have a final blog just before you go back to school 15th April.

Know you are loved.

Aileen Mackay, HT

Schoolwear Swap Shop Today

Apologies for another message but i forgot to remind you about the swap shop school jumper time from 2.30pm in the playground today. Feel free to give a small donation or just take for free!

Aileen Mackay, HT

Lovely News!

Mrs Parke gave birth to a wee (not so wee!) boy this morning. Thomas and Mrs Parke are doing well and Mr Parke is in recovery! So delighted for them all as a family.

By now all parents and carers will have received the letter from the area manager, Fiona Shearer, to say that Mr Lyon, DHT will be the interim head teacher with the interviews planned for the first week back after the holidays for the new Head Teacher.

Thank you to all families who took part in the ‘What does Easter Mean to Me?’ display today! No wonder so many children are creative if that is what their families can do.

Here’s hoping for two good last days. Easter assembly at the Smithton Free Church on Thursday at 9.30am to which all parents and carers are warmly invited.

Aileen Mackay, HT

The Last Friday Round Up By Me….

Calling all dads, uncles, grandpas and male step relatives!

It’s been the usual busy week at Smithton ELC and Primary but a good week, too. All four seasons in one week but that didn’t stop tennis, woodwork, fire service visit, cross country meet and learning in class as well. I appreciate the mud coming home this week must have been a pain and it’s easy for me to say they were having fun when I’m not washing the clothes…we discovered one child’s full coverall suit in his bag when we went to change him out of his head to toe muddy gear! My annual apology for this mud but we continue to learn from the outdoors.

Talking of outdoors the gardening group have come out of hibernation and started bringing colour to the grounds of the school – a huge thank you to Elaine and other helpers over the year who have given up time to bring colour and order to our environment. (See photos in the slideshow.)

We’re looking forward to Monday’s P7 enterprise event and have said please no more than £3 per person. Tuesday is our ‘What Does Easter Mean To You?’ display and on Thursday we finish for the holidays with an Easter assembly at Smithton Free Church 9.30am to which all parents are most welcome. We’ll also be presenting a new award gifted by the Parent Council for leadership across the school and to be honest, there are so many children to choose from as so many look at what they can do to support the whole school – a truly great group of children and young people across the school. School finishes at the usual time on Thursday and restarts on Monday 15th April (no in service day).

As yet we are still to hear who will lead and manage the school after the holidays but I’m ever trusting that the area manager has this in hand.

As I look back at my career as a head teacher for the last time on this blog I go back to what has shaped me for who I am. Like most people I have experiences and upsets in life and these resulted in me becoming independent and determined. (Just ask Mr Grandison about my thinking face…) My experiences as a child in school mean I know exactly the tricks they all get up to and they are amazed when I can call them out or express that I know that feeling. I’ve had the privilege of working in a variety of schools with a variety of people but nothing has been as good as being the head teacher at Smithton Primary. Every day there’s something new I’ve learned or something amazing that a child can now do. Staff kindness towards each other as well as to parents and young people is so entrenched that it becomes the norm until new people come or supply staff come in and comment on the warmth amongst the staff. We’re all tired and needing a break (yes, even staff need a break – it’s not just the children!) but everyone keeps encouraging each other. It makes a very complex and exhausting job the best in the world. It has been a real privilege to work with you all and, despite my failings, you’ve all encouraged me throughout the years. Forgive those failings and know that I have tried my best on a daily basis. I will be giving my all until next Thursday – but in the meantime – thank you for my time here at Smithton and know you are loved.

Aileen Mackay, HT

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What does Easter mean to you?

Our annual ‘What does Easter mean to you?’ family homework display will be next Tuesday. If you are Nursery – P3 please come to the fire door outside the nursery main building and P4-7 to the music room door from the main playground. (Children will know and keep you right!)

You can work together as a family to create either an Easter egg, a poster, a bonnet, a powerpoint or a 3D model of what Easter means to you as a family. All families taking part will receive a certificate of achievement and the items will be on display for all classes to come and view all day Tuesday. Please put your family name on your item and collect again at 2.45pm or 3pm from the same room.

Happy creativity!

Aileen Mackay, HT

Another Busy Week

We have lots of appointments available at our Smithton Church blood donation session.   Whether you’re a new or returning donor we’d love to give you a warm welcome.

Book online at scotblood.co.uk or call 0345 90 90 999. You don’t need to be a superhero to save lives!

With massive thanks and very best wishes,

Gill.

Gillian McCauley
Donor Recruitment & Publicity Officer

School Uniforms

We are now running a 15% discount on all online orders until 31^st March 2024, the discount will be applied automatically at checkout. The discount only applies online, Please could you forward this to your Parents/Carers – this is available for all schools that we supply – so if anyone has kids in High Schools or Academy and need any accessories like Pinafores or shirts  – then these can be ordered at the same time.

If you could check that the garments are correct on the below first , before sending out

Smithton Primary – Schoolwear Made Easy

We will also have school uniforms for swap/donations 27th March from 2.15pm in the playground. If you have school uniforms that are too small and you have no one to hand on to please send into school and we’ll have them ready for swapping.

Comic Relief – thanks to everyone who took part today and for all your efforts. Look at P2 AM acrostic poem in the slideshow to see what it means to them. As always, despite money being tight Smithton parents have raised £260. Thank you!

Thank you to the parents who attended the special Parent Council meeting on Monday night where we discussed attainment, how we support learning and assessing learning as well as what it means now there will be no Principal Teachers in the school. It’s obviously still very concerning to all that there is no head teacher appointed as yet but I’m sure the area manager has a plan. The staff will keep all policies and practices going and ensure consistency but the school does need someone to drive it all and to keep all the communication going. The Parent Council members are working very hard behind the scenes so if you have any queries or concerns please contact the Parent Council or me.

The things children and young people say…I could write a book! I want to mention a few things children have said over the years and how they have led me in certain directions:

I was playing with a few children in the nursery one day making ‘cup cakes’. We got talking about Harry Gow’s, what people do for a living, etc and I asked a girl what she wanted to do when she grew up. Her reply was to be a head teacher! (Where is she now?? Council will surely accept her application!) When I asked why she replied, ‘Because you get to play in all the classrooms.’ And she’s absolutely right. I get to monitor, take part, celebrate and get involved in the life of the school. This helps shape how and what we do to improve as well as provides support to staff who are trying to meet the needs of children. It’s my responsibility to budget well to provide resources so each class can run smoothly.

Another classic: when a child moved to our school from a small school she opened up about something to her teacher and me. She then said, ‘You know, when I first saw the school I thought it was like a scary mansion but then when I got inside and met people it was like a cottage with roses around it.’ Do we get it right all the time? No. Do we try to create a family atmosphere where there are high expectations of looking out for each other and resolving issues so that we can get focused on the learning? Yes. Like all of you trying to build and maintain your families it’s really hard work but because we love and care we are relentless in our determination for Smithton Family.

One more: Someone once asked me in the playground how old I was. I replied, ’84.’ the child said, ‘Wow – that’s older than my granny!’. What did that teach me? Not just that perhaps I needed an early night but that I was, indeed, no longer a young teacher. Rather than getting morbid about it I started to consider what I was doing with my experience and where my focus lay at work. Continuing to learn from current, reliable research rather than going with educational fashions I’ve been able to lead the staff into being critical about what we do and to encourage healthy debate about the things we do. This ‘distributed leadership’ means other staff (PSAs, EYPs and class teachers) lead on things and children pick up on this to the point where they are leading clubs, organising areas in the school and becoming supporters in the playground. (See my slideshow for my three SHANARRIs – helping to keep children and young people safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible and included in the playground.)

Enjoy looking at the photos from the market place event we had on Wednesday for ‘No Smoking’ day – and check out the information about passive cannabis smoking, the P5s rotational symmetry activities, Easter experience, star awards and assembly shot of hairstyles today.

Have a good weekend,

Aileen Mackay, HT

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Comic Relief tomorrow

Crazy hair, dress as you wish and if you have a little you can give, please send in a donation for Comic Relief. When you are helping with your child’s hairdo please check carefully for nits and lice. I’ve heard there are lots of schools affected in the area and I know there have been outbreaks in many of our classes. When you have treated your child’s head remember to go back after a week and use the comb and conditioner to check for any nits (the eggs).

Thank you!

Aileen Mackay, HT

Keep on running…

Well done to the runners of Smithton primary and their families! Thanks, Jenna for all your organisation and enthusiasm.

Hope to see you tonight at 6pm for the extra Parent Council meeting online – click here for link

and also at the Market Place event in the hall from 1.45 for the children or 2.30 for parents, carers and community

and finally with your crazy hair do and dress as you want day on Friday for Comic Relief. Any donations will go straight to Comic Relief.

It’s very strange at school this morning without Mrs Parke! We’re so excited for her and Mr Parke as they get ready for the arrival of their baby. She’s promised to keep coming back to see us so expect some photos here when she visits.

Have a good Monday! Aileen Mackay, HT