We would like to make you aware we now have a number of reported cases of slapped cheek syndrome in P2A. 

Unless you or your child is feeling unwell, there is no need to stay away from school once the rash has developed, as the infection is no longer contagious by this point.

However, please be aware of early symptoms and let us know immediately if your child has the infection, so other children can be spotted quickly and vulnerable people can be made aware that they may need to get medical advice.

Please follow the link for further information and advice –

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/slapped-cheek-syndrome/

Please remind your child to wash their hands regularly and bring in plenty of tissues during this winter period.

Many thanks.

The Parent Council meeting for this evening (Wed 17/1/18) has been cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions.  An alternative date will be advised in due course.

Lochardil Primary is remaining OPEN.

Please do not phone the school office for an update but please check the adverse weather line Tel : 0800 564 2272 school’s pin number 04 2500.  We will be updating the weather line again at 1.30pm.

ENROLLING FOR PRIMARY 1 & EARLY LEARNING AND CHILDCARE IN A SCHOOL CAN NOW BE COMPLETED ONLINE

Primary 1

If your child will be five years of age on or before 28 February 2019, they are eligible to enrol for Primary 1.

P1 enrolment week is Monday 29 January to Friday 2 February 2018.

Early Learning & Childcare

Children born between 1 March 2014 and 29 February 2016 are entitled to a funded Early Learning and Childcare place.

For Early Learning and Childcare places enrolment week will be Monday 12 February to Friday 16 February 2018

Children must be enrolled into their catchment school. Check your catchment area.

The enrolment process for school or early learning and childcare, can now be completed online. The enrolment form and further information on completing the online form, the enrolment process, catchment areas, Gaelic Medium education, school transport and placing requests can be found online at www.highland.gov.uk/schoolenrolment or visit your local primary school during enrolment week.

Once you have enrolled your child online, the school will contact you to arrange an induction.

A paper copy of the enrolment form can still be completed during enrolment week. If you require a paper copy please contact the school office on 01463 230250 to request an enrolment form. Please note that if you are enrolling in person at a school, you are required to take your child’s birth certificate and proof of your address (council tax bill) with you.

Happy New Year everyone!  We hope you have all had a wonderful festive break and that the year 2018 brings with it health, happiness and fun to us all!  The children and staff are already in full swing at the start of a long, hard working term.  

The Highland Council is considering offering 4 weeks of Summer Childcare Provision at local schools and would like to assess demand.  Please can you follow the link and complete the ELC Summer Provision Parent Survey.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fp5zpUV-gmrLAueDPFO0lj3hrVRVS9L5sHsOtbNmsAE/edit

At present the proposed schools include Ben Wyvis, Miller Academy Primary, Milton of Leys, Merkinch, Aviemore and Inverlochy. This may be subject to change. Parents can access the service at any school based on availability.

Kind Regards

Miss C.Mackenzie

Childcare Manager

All the staff here at Lochardil would like to to wish all parents, pupils and the wider community of Lochardil, a very Merry Christmas!  We hope you all have a wonderful festive break and that Santa is very good to you all!  Take care everyone and see you all again on Monday 8th January 2018!

Important info for new year

Information email for parents Lochardil version

We kindly ask for any available Parent Volunteers to help escort us along to the Culduthel Christian Centre for our Christmas service on Thursday 21st December. We plan to leave the school at approximately 9.20am in order to be at the Centre for 10.00am.  We should be back at school for about 11.15am. Thank you again for supporting us in this way, it is always very much appreciated.

Just a quick reminder of when our Nursery – P7 Parties are taking place this coming week:

Parties            AM         PM      EVE

Mon 18th       P6            P5

Tues 19th      P4            P3       P7 (7pm-9pm)

Wed 20th       P2           P1

Thur 21st      ELCC     ELCC

Looking forward to seeing you all in your party frocks!

The IRA Transition Ceilidh planned for Pr 7 today has been cancelled. All pupils will be dismissed from Lochardil Primary at 3 pm as normal.

Article 27
You have the right to food, clothing, a safe
place to live and to have your basic needs met.
You should not be disadvantaged so that you
can’t do many of the things other kids can do

The Pr 1 and 2 Nativity was a super success. Thank you to the community, family and friends of Lochardil who came along to support us.

We appreciated your generous donations of £258.88 for Moray Firth Radio Cash for Kids and the Highland Hospice. What a great way to celebrate the season.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Girls Poster Little Dribblers New Booking Form

Weather

Bag a bargain!

A reminder to all parents/carers that a second hand uniform stall will be available at the open afternoon tomorrow, Thursday 7th December.  School logo polo shirts & sweatshirts will be available, along with grey/black trousers & skirts and winter jackets.  Uniform items will cost no more than £2 each and jackets £5 each.

Thank you to everyone who has donated items for this stall.

The stall will be manned by parent helpers between 13.45 & 15.00.  Proceeds to school funds.

We look forward to our School Christmas lunch on Wednesday 13th December.  We are now in the tradition of wearing our best Christmas clothes to celebrate! Look out your Santa hats, tinsel  T-shirts, festive footwear or a jolly jumper to wear to school.

We have our Christmas Concert in the afternoon so we look forward to a very special day.

Just a reminder about our OPEN AFTERNOON.

Thursday 7th DECEMBER 2017

2.00 pm – 2.45 pm  

Numeracy and Maths focus.

Looking forward to having you along to see our range of work and to share in our learning.

UNCRC Article 28   You have the right to education.

Please ensure that you park sensitively if you are bringing the car and are mindful of local businesses and residents. Thank you 

Christmas Flier

Coffee and Carols Hampers Raffle – donations welcome!

December 9th 2017 11.00 am – 12.15 pm

The themes for the hampers are:

Wine hamper

(and biscuits for cheese – no cheese please!)                                                    ELCC (rainbows),                                                                                                           P7A & P7B

Foodie hamper

(anything that’s a bit of a treat; jams, preserves, tea,

coffee, biscuits…..)                                                                                                         ELCC (buttercups),                                                                                                                P3A, P3B

Pamper hamper

(men’s/women’s toiletries, make up, nail varnish,

bubble bath..)                                                                                                               P1A, P1B, P4

Saturday Night In hamper

(anything to make a good night in;

DVDs, games, crafts, popcorn…)                                                                           P2A, P2B, P5/4

Chocoholic hamper

(anything chocolate!)                                                                                               P5, P6/5, P6

Please could each family donate at least one item which would be suitable for the hampers.  Donations should be made by Thursday 7^th December at the latest, and can be dropped off at the school office.  We have allocated classes to hampers to try and get an even spread.  If you have children in more than one class, take your pick. Or if you have something more suitable for another hamper, we will take anything!  The only requirements are that the item is new, unused and in date for the Coffee & Carols on Saturday 9^th December.

We need your help to make this a success again!

Thank you

? Santa’s helpers wanted…..?

Could you spare an hour from 1.45 – 2.45pm this Monday 11th December to set up and serve teas to our guests after the P1&2 Senior Citizens Nativity Performance? ??

Please e-mail lochardil.primary@highland.gov.uk if you can help. Thank you! 

P1 and P2 parents…. The Nativity tickets are due to be sent home tomorrow, Tuesday, so please send any final ticket request forms in with your child in the morning. 

Parent Council:  COFFEE and CAROLS 

SATURDAY 9th DECEMBER 2017

11 am – 12.15 pm

School Dining Hall

Entry £3 /£2 concession. Children free

Includes tea/coffee with mince pies  and shortbread. Entertainment will be provided by the GLEE Club.

Raffle tickets on sale.

In aid of School Funds

Lochardil Primary 7

Are Proud To Present

Happily Never After – It’s Panto Time!

• Thursday 14 December at 7:00 pm
• Friday 15 December at 1:45 pm
• School Hall

Donations are welcome for our school trip

UNCRC Article 29 I have the right to an education which develops my personality, respect for others rights and the environment. It should develop my personality and talents

The next Parent Council  meeting is Thursday, 23rd November at 7.00 pm in the school.

The agenda is now available on the Parent Council section of the school website.

All welcome

It is that wonderful time of the year again, when the P1-P2 children perform our school Nativity.   This year it is called ‘Whoops-A-Daisy Angel’. The dates have now been confirmed in the school calendar section of the website and here are the dates below for your information:

Monday 11th December – Senior Citizens Afternoon Nativity Performance at 1.30pm

Tuesday 12th December – Parents/Carers Morning Nativity Performance at 9.30am

Tuesday 12th December – Parents/Carers Afternoon Nativity Performance at 1.30pm

We are delighted to announce that Bookbug will once again be gifting a Bookbug Primary 1 Family Bag to every P1 child in Scotland during Book Week Scotland 2017. The Bookbug P1 Family Bags are produced by Scottish Book Trust in partnership with Education Scotland and the Scottish Government as part of ‘Read, Write, Count’ which is a literacy and numeracy campaign aimed at children in P1 to P3.

P1 children will be receiving their ‘Bookbug Bags’ which help to create a lasting link between reading at school and at home on the morning of Wednesday 29th November at 9.45-10.15am. All P1 parents and carers are welcome to attend our ‘Books and Buns’ session where you can share what is inside the Bookbug P1 Family Bags with your child whilst also having a taste of some of our lovely buns!

A local Bookbug Librarian will also be visiting our P1 classes to give us a Bookbug Session later on in the term on Tuesday 19th December.

Thank you to everyone who purchased from the recent book fair.  We are delighted to share with you that the commissioned earned allows us to purchase books for the school from Travelling Books to the value of £510.77!

Happy reading everyone!

Congratulations to Mrs Angela Armstrong who won the Highland Heroes award for Classroom Assistant (Pupil Support Assistant) of the Year on Thursday last week.  She brought her award in to school to show the pupils, and we managed grab a photo!!

Mrs Armstrong would like to thank all those who voted for her.

The pupils and staff will all have their fingers crossed tonight for Mrs Angela Armstrong when she finds out if she has won the Highland Hero Award for Classroom Assistant of the Year.

We are all very proud that Mrs Armstrong has been nominated for this award by our parents.  Have a fantastic night at the awards ceremony Mrs Armstrong. You are our superhero!

Filled boxes for the Blythswood Appeal should be handed in to the school office by Friday 10th November 2017.

The date previously intimated for Children in Need day was incorrect.  The correct date is Friday 17th November.  Further details will follow.

We wish to say a big thank you for the huge support given for our fundraising Dress Up Disco. We hope to use the money to offset costs for a future Term 4 trip.

The costumes were great and everyone was well behaved. It was great to see so many there. Thank you for coming along.

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Remembrance poppies will be available for pupils to purchase, by donation, from Wednesday 1st November.

A public consultation meeting in relation to the proposed primary school at Ness Castle will be held in Holm Primary School on Wednesday 8th November at 19.00.

Further information can be accessed at https://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/download/1490/ness_castle_school_consultation

Pr 7 are looking forward to welcoming you all to our DRESS UP DISCO on Thursday 26th October 2017

Nursery and Pr 1 – 5.00 pm  – 5.45 pm £2

Pr 2 – 3 6.15 pm – 7.15 pm £3

Pr 4 – Pr 6 7.45 pm – 9.00 pm £3

Stalls are included for Pr 2 – 6. If you wish to take part in more fun at the stalls bring along an extra £1 for 5 more shots. See you there.

Please queue at middle door and get collected from the reception doors.

Well done to our super Cross Country runners who did so well today at the South Highland Schools Event. The boys team came back with silver medals and the girls enjoyed some great finishing places. The race is for Pr 6/7’s and about 180 pupils run in each event. Our sincere thanks go to Mr Ross Nixon who runs the club from week to week and to  the parent helpers who supported today. Mrs Rodgers was down at the Bught setting out the course at 7.30 a.m. today. As ever, these events depend on the willingness of volunteers. Super teamwork everyone.

Free swim sessions available for pupils in P4 – S2 with a physical/sensory/learning disability.  Please contact Charlie Forbes for more more information or a booking form

charlie.forbes@highlifehighland.com

P1 are trying to build a collection of resources to aid our teaching and learning in Numeracy and Literacy. They are all things that you may throw out or could be lying unused in drawers and cupboards. If you are having a clear out during the holidays P1 would be delighted if you could donate any items from the list below to us.

Thanks for your help!

Airline blindfolds

Empty 2L bottles- the fizzy drinks type

Empty 500ml fizzy drink bottles

Milk bottle tops

Bottle tops

Boxes, pots etc for junk modelling

Pipe cleaners

Corks

Pine cones

Shells

Small smooth stones

Metal nuts, washers, screws

Glass beads (the type used in vases for decoration)

Empty Bonne Maman Jars

Baskets- straw/cane natural ones

Wood slices- we can add numbers, letters, dots etc

Any Word Games or Number Games or Listening Games which your child no longer uses

Picture book stories on CD suitable for age 4-6

Just a wee reminder that all parents/carers are invited to our Open Morning tomorrow between 11 and 11.45 am. We have a Literacy/Writing focus this time.

Please ensure that you park sensitively if you are bringing the car and are mindful of local businesses and residents.

We hope to see you tomorrow morning but please remember that there will be other opportunities to come into school to share your child’s learning throughout the year and we do try to vary the days and times.

To avoid parents/carers having to pay any late return charges, all photograph orders must be returned to the school office by 9.30am on Wednesday 4th October 2017.

Have you ever got to work/school and realised you are wearing odd shoes? Your jumper is inside out? Your top is back to front? Ashie House Captains have organised an Odd Outfit Dress Up Day for Friday 6th October, giving you the perfect excuse if you get it wrong on Friday! Use your creativity to make your outfit as odd as you can, the odder the better! Watch this space for photographs.

If you wish to dress up please bring a donation to support Ashie’s charity fundraiser. The House Captains are trying to raise money for their friends at Drummond School who are hoping to buy costumes to allow them to put on a Shakespeare play at Eden Court Theatre next term. The current P7 have a very good relationship with Drummond School as they attended the school one afternoon per week last year and are hoping to raise lots of money to help their friends.

FEIS A’ BHAILE – Mon 16th – Friday 20th October 2017

Looking for something fun and rewarding for the kids to do during the October holidays?  Look no further than Feis a’ Bhaile, a jam packed week of music and activities for kids aged 8 and over held at Millburn Academy during the second week of the school holidays.

No previous musical experience is necessary.  The Feis gives complete beginners and more advanced players alike the opportunity to try new instruments, gain new skills and develop existing ones, play with others and learn from a fantastic array of Tutors including Lauren MacColl, Ali Turner and Brigade Chaimbeul.  Instruments include fiddle, whistle, bagpipes, drumming, guitar, accordion, keyboard, mandolin and singing.  There’s also art, drama and shinty and a final concert to show off all the new skills that have been made.

When: Monday 16th – Friday 20th October 9.30am – 4pm every day

Where: Millburn Academy, Inverness

Cost:  £85 for one child and £80 for siblings

For more information and to book please see the Feis a’ Bhaile website or Facebook page or contact Rachel on 07763 144453 or rmac_campbell@hotmail.com

Come along to our  Autumn Dress Up Disco on

Thursday 26th October 2017.

Nursery and Pr 1 : 5.00 pm – 5.45 pm  £2

Pr 2 and Pr 3: 6.15 pm – 7.15 pm            £3

Pr 4,5,6:  7.45 pm – 9.00 pm                     £3

Pr 7 will be running the disco in the hall and stalls for Pr 2-6 will be in the Dining Hall. Entrance Fee will include 5 tickets for the stalls. 5 extra games will be £1. 

Queue and enter Disco at the middle door. Payment at the door. Collect from main entrance please. Thank you for supporting our Pr 7 enterprise fundraising. We hope to use the money to offset costs for a forthcoming educational visit.

The Lochardil Hotel have written to inform us that they are experiencing problems with parents from Lochardil School parking inconsiderately in the hotel car park. This is making it difficult for hotel patrons to get parked and is also causing difficulty for delivery drivers who need access to the hotel. The hotel has requested that THE HOTEL CAR PARK IS NOT USED to drop off and collect children from the school. We have always had a very good relationship with the hotel and they have been very supportive to the school over the years. We would kindly request that parents do not park in the hotel car park. The Pharmacy, who are also very supportive of the school are also experiencing problems for their customers, so please do not park there either.

Our school JRSO’s (Junior Road Safety Officers, there is a rep in each class) will be encouraging our pupils to adopt healthier ways to travel to school and we have also approached Safer Routes to School for advice and suggestions to help us resolve these parking issues.

Thank you all for your support in keeping our children safe.

We were all treated to a performance of ‘Rights of the Child’ by the Hopscotch Theatre Company yesterday. The play helped us all to understand how important our rights are and what might happen if we didn’t have any rights. It also helped us to recognise that we need to respect the rights of others. Everyone enjoyed singing along to the catchy songs, we may even adopt one of them to sing at assembly. The cost of this performance to enhance the learning and teaching experiences of all children in P1 to P7 was met by the School Fund.

Dear All

I thought you and your pupils might be interested in our event later this month, featuring children’s author Lari Don. As part of the RSE @ Inverness Launch Event, Lari will be appearing at Eden Court for FREE storytelling sessions and other interactive activities.

The event is open to all and Free to attend but if you need further information, please just let me know.

Chapel Room – Meet the Author

Lari Don reads from her books and talks about the Scottish folklore which inspires her fiction.

 10.30 am – 11 am:                          Tam Linn (suitable for ages 4 – 7 yrs)

11.30 – 12 noon:                             The Fabled Beast Chronicles (suitable for ages 8 – 12 yrs)

1 – 1.30 pm:                                     The Secret of the Kelpie (suitable for ages 4 – 7 yrs)

2 – 2.30 pm:                                     Spellchasers – Adventure Series (suitable for ages 8 – 12 yrs)

3 – 3.30 pm:                                     Lari Don tells a Viking legend and talks about researching Norse saga tales for her collection The Dragon’s Hoard (suitable for ages 8 – 12 yrs)

Maclean Room – Meet the Scientist Talks

Main room for short talks – all c. 20 – 30 mins

10am                     Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell                      We are Made of Star Stuff

11am                     Professor Iain Stewart                                   Title TBC – BBC Presenter and Geologist

12noon                 Professor Martin Hendry                              Exploring the Dark Side of the Universe

1pm                       Professor Jeremy Smith                                Scots & English

2pm                       Professor Iain Stewart                                   Title TBC – BBC Presenter and Geologist

3pm                       Professor Martin Hendry                              Gravity Sang and LIGO was Listening

6:30pm                 Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell                      We are Made of Star Stuff (as part of evening reception)

SGL Room – Meet the Scientist

Displays / Interactive activities from the following people;

Gravitational Waves Display        Prof. Martin Hendry

Marine Science                              Prof. Paul Thompson

Health / Wellbeing                          Prof. Ian Megson / Centre for Health Science

Forensic Chemistry                          Prof. Niamh Nic Daeid    Afternoon only

Also available in the room (when not talking) – Prof. Iain Stewart / Prof. Jocelyn Bell Burnell / Prof. Jeremy Smith

Kate Kennedy

Outreach Officer

22-26 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2PQ

Tel +44 (0) 7502 111 610

Please find a newsletter attached below from Highland Council Childcare Services. It contains lots of useful information about the services which are on offer.

Child Care Summer 17 Newsletter

The Inverness Courier have emailed to inform us that the photograph of our P1 classes will be published next Friday, 29th September. The photo will be part of a P1 Supplement showing photographs of all the P1 classes in Inverness and the surrounding area. It usually sells out quickly so get to the paper shop early to get your copy!

Please remember to scrub up well and wear your best uniform and smile for the school photographer  on Friday. There are two photographers coming to take individual and family photographs of all Lochardil pupils. Unfortunately it will not be possible to have family photographs taken with children who are not pupils in the ELCC or school.

It’s not that I want you to wish your lives away, but I have added a list of important calendar dates to the blog! You can find it on the Calendar Dates 2017-2018 tab above this message at the top of the page. Please be aware that some dates may need to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Please sign up for the school blog to receive an email message each time a new post is added to the main page. Just click on the ‘follow’ button and add your email. Unfortunately, class blogs are unable to have this facility, please just keep an eye on them as we aim to add something new each week to keep you up to date with what is happening in class.

More dates may be added to the calendar as the year progresses!

This sounds like fun! I have attached a flier with more information below.

‘We would be delighted if you, your pupils and their friends and family were able to join us for the launch of the RSE @ Inverness Outreach Programme – a new two year programme of FREE activities and events for schools and the public.

Our ‘Ask the Experts’ Family Event will be taking place at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness on Saturday 30 September, 10am – 4pm.  RSE Fellows and other experts will be offering interactive displays and activities, Q&A sessions and short talks on topics including marine science, health and wellbeing, geology, earth sciences, space science, astrophysics, forensic chemistry, language and storytelling.

Further information about this event can be found on our website www.theRSE.org.uk or by contacting Kate Kennedy on kkennedy@theRSE.org.uk

Ask the Experts Leaflet_FINAL

Come and play some indoor tennis every Tuesday from 6-7pm in the IRA games hall.  Suitable for children aged 5-8yrs, all equipment provided. Classes run in term time.

For more information contact Lizzy.Burke@btinternet.com, call 07983116947 or pop along to try a session.

Lizzy

Due to essential whole school staff training, the school phone line will be diverted to the answering service at 3.10pm tomorrow, Tuesday 12th September.   Any messages left on this service will be dealt with on Wednesday morning.

Apologies for any inconvenience

As part of our project, P2B are learning about how we can care for our planet. Today we learned about recycling. We would love to use some recycled products in our artwork.

WE NEED BLUE AND GREEN BOTTLE TOPS AND CORKS.

If anyone has any at home that they could let us recycle , can you please bring them into school? There is a tray outside the office to put them in.

Thank You for your help.

The first Parent Council meeting of the session is on Thursday 31st August at 7 pm. The agenda can be found on the Parent Council section of the blog.

The Parent Council is a great way to get to know other parents and also a great way to find out more about what is going on. It would be lovely to see as many parents/carers there as possible.

A photographer from the Inverness Courier is coming to school this Friday morning to take a class photograph of our P1 pupils. I thought that you would appreciate a warning about this as I know you’ll want your child looking their best in their uniform. We will do our best to let you know when the photograph will be published in the paper.

To help you plan holidays, the school term dates for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 can now be found in the ‘Parents’ section of our blog. If you need dates for 2019 – 2020, these dates are available on the Highland Council website.

P1 Parents are reminded that they are invited to an Open Afternoon on Friday 18th August from 2.15 pm in their child’s classroom. Come along and have a look at what we have been getting up to in class this week and share your child’s learning.

We hope that you have had a lovely holiday! School has seemed really empty today without you all. Everyone is looking forward to welcoming you back to school tomorrow morning at the usual times and hearing all your news. Have a good night sleep and we will see you all in the morning!

P4 – P7:  8.50am

P2 – P3: 9.00am

P1 have separate arrangements for tomorrow and Wednesday then 9.00am from Thursday morning.

The Big Friendly Read, Tesco Bank Summer Reading Challenge Scotland officially launched in Scottish libraries on Saturday 25 June!

If you’re in Scotland you can now sign up to take part in the Challenge – just visit your local library to get started! Borrow and read any six books from the library over the summer to collect limited edition rewards and a very special prize for completing the Challenge.

Create a profile on this website to keep track of the books you’re reading, write reviews, share what you’ve been up to at the library and chat to other book fans.

This is a great initiative to get our children reading over the holidays. Everyone from P1 to P7 can join in!

Do you have any  books belonging to the school lurking in your house? There seem to be some library books and reading books missing from our stocks. We are going to have a book amnesty over the next two days. Please return any books to the school- no questions asked!

There is a huge selection of items in the lost property boxes. P7 had a good try at sorting and handing it back today but there is still lots left. Please come in to have a look if you are missing any sweatshirts, polo shirts, trousers, skirts, lunchboxes, water bottles etc. Any items not claimed by Friday will be donated to our Blythswood charity bin.

Thank you to everyone who returned their slip to reserve your seats for tomorrow’s performance. This allowed us to get an idea of how many seats were needed. It is looking to be a great night. The show will start at 6:45pm in our hall. Please come and join us for a sing along.  Pupils in Glee to arrive at 5:30pm for a rehearsal before the performance.

Pupils in P6 have organised a fun day on Friday 23rd June to raise money for the charity ‘Girls not Brides’. They have been learning about gender equality as part of work on the Global Goals and were shocked to discover that each year 15 million girls under 18 are forced into marriage.

On Friday 23rd June there will be a ‘PJ Day@ for a donation of £1. P6 would be delighted if you could wear pyjamas to school for the day if you wish.

During break and lunch there will be stalls run by the P6 pupils, such as Face Painting, Beat the Goalie, Hoop It, Nail Painting, Bake Sale etc. The cost of all stalls will be 20p.

Miss Macarthur and Miss Maclean have also volunteered to be sponged, which will also cost 20p a go!

Good luck to P6 with their fund raising!

What an exciting day we had at the Baillie Cup last Thursday! Team Lochardil finished in second place overall. This Athletics Competition is for children in Primary 1 to Primary 4, with three girls and three boys from each year group selected to run either 70m, 150m or 600m for P2-P4 and 60m, 120m 0r 400m for P1. There were also two new events for P4 this year, long jump and ‘javelin’. Every member of the team ran, jumped or threw to the best of their ability, showing real determination and pride in their school. Thank you very much to all the parents who came along on the day to help out with the team, your help was very much appreciated and it was lovely to see you all!

The team were Ava Young, Grace Watt, Sarah Hunter, Daniel Clayton, Iain Macleod and      Harry Marshall from P1; Lillie MacLachlan, Erin Anderson, Tyla Watson, Robbie Bremner, Thomas Coutts and Ryan Elsie from P2; Lyla Bain, Freya Soden, Melissa Smith, Finn Munro, Cian MacKenzie, Calum Douglas, from P3; Emma Alderson, Mia Haywood, Ciara MacKenzie, Jayden Jackson, Michael Miller, James Knight, Toryn Eaglesham and Ellis Morrison from P4.

Well done to you all!

The Parent Council have organised a fun disco next Tuesday 27th June for all pupils.

Nursery and P1: 5.00 pm – 6.15 pm

P2, P3 and P4: 6.30 pm – 7.45 pm

P5, P6 and P7: 8.00 pm – 9.15 pm

All children should be dropped off/taken into the disco through the main office door. All children must be collected from the canteen rear doors to avoid congestion at the office entrance.

There will be temporary tattoos available, please ensure that your child knows if he/she is allowed.

The cost is £3.50 per pupil to include juice, snack, tattoos, glow stick, wristband. No tickets will be issued, please take the money along on the night.

We still need more Parent volunteers to run the discos. Please get in touch with the school if you are available to help at any of the sessions.

Congratulations to our swimming team who performed very well in the Inverness Swimming Club Team Relays last Wednesday evening. Finlay Joy, Abbie Houston, Calum Sutherland and Iona MacDonald did themselves proud, placing an impressive second in their heat. Thanks to their parents who came along to support the team on the night.

“Oh what a night its going to be!” 

We are so excited that we are able to be part of this fabulous production that TFX Performing Arts Academy are putting on next Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th of June . It is going  to be a night to remember!

My name is Marcus and I am part of the Musical Theatre class on a Saturday. We have been practising super hard to make a brilliant show . TFX Musical Theatre is a dancing, singing and acting class on a Saturday .

My name is Lucy and I am part of the Acro class on a Friday night. We have been practising a lot to show off our skills for the show .

TFX is a club that not only teaches us these skills, but it is fun, builds our confidence and is a place for us to make friends .

We would love you all to come and watch so, if you have time, book your tickets at Eden Court Theatre and we’ll see you there!!!!

by Marcus (P7) and Lucy (P6)

I was totally proud of all our Junior Leaders tonight they all played a magnificent part in an excellent Celebration of Dance.

To the boys Josh and Jack thank you for being my excellent Personal Assistants and providing these photos and videos as always you did an amazing job.

Thank you to our amazing staff for coming along to support us Mrs. Kellacher, Mrs. Murray, Miss Macdonald and Miss Macarthur.  We all appreciated your support.

Thank you to all our wonderful parents we couldn’t have done it without your support.

Here is a video of our whole Group Dance.

I failed sorry I will have to consult with our IT expert Mrs. Rodgers.  I’m not quite sure how to download a video.  I do have good videos of both dances thanks to my boys.  So watch this space.

To all our Junior Leaders and the boys you were all totally amazing tonight thank you so much for all your hard work and effort and for putting up with me.  Love you Lots Mrs. A.

Both sports tomorrow and the ELCC’s the following day will all be held on the community grass green space directly behind our school field, next to the Pharmacy. Many thanks to the members of the community who have kindly agreed to let us ‘borrow’ their grass!

P4-P7 Sports – Wednesday 14^th June at 9.30am.

P1-P3 Sports- Wednesday 14th June at 1.30pm.

The ELCC Sports will be on Thursday 15th June at 10am and 1.45pm.

Children may wear a tee-shirt in their ‘house’ colour if they wish but no football tops please. Sports clothing may be worn to school tomorrow.

Hopefully the weather will be kind to us!

As you can see our pupils were very productive in our Sewing/Cross Stitch Master class.  It’s amazing what you can produce in only 3 weeks.  We were very impressed with the final results.  Well done guys, glad you all enjoyed it, and you should be proud of yourselves.  I know for some people it was their first ever attempt at sewing. We had a fab time helping you too.  Thank you for taking part.  Have a lovely summer.

Below are some photos of our final Mini Fit Sessions a fantastic time was had by all as you can see.  Such good fun.  Well done to all our Amazing Junior Leaders.  Have a lovely summer.

Hi,

Just a wee note can all Junior Leaders taking part in the IRA Dance Platform meet me at the IRA entrance at 5.30 p.m.  A classroom area will be available for our school group to use prior to the event from 5.30 p.m.  We will be able to do any preparations we need for for the dance outfits, makeup hair etc.  If the Junior Leaders could bring a drink and snack with them if they wish too.

Parents, friends and family are welcome to come along to watch, doors will be open at 6.15 p.m.  There are no tickets, however a donation can be given at the door if you choose.

There are approximately ten dance performances. Lochardil has two performances entered.  This Dance Platform is not a competition it is a Celebration of Dance and a sharing of our local talent and for the children to show their creativity through dance.  Enjoy your evening.

Thank you for your help and support to all your children during our rehearsals and through out our Mini Fit Programmes.  The Junior Leaders created lovely fun sessions for our little people.  It has been a pleasure working with all of them, in their turn they have supported me as much as I have supported them.  Have a lovely summer holiday  guys.  To the P7’s going I’m going to miss you all so much it’s been such a pleasure lovely young people.  Mrs A.

Thank you Sarah for all your support couldn’t have done it without you.

Please find a link to our latest edition of the Nursery Handbook in the Nursery tab above!

We have been informed about a special event to be held at Queens Park for children in P1 on Monday 19th June after school. Please read the sheet attached for more information.

Primary 1- Run Jump Throw Event – Queens Park 2017

Well done to Calum MacLeod and Ross MacLeod who came first overall in the Hampton Trophy 2017, a golf competition for primary aged pupils. Calum came 2nd in the individual competition and Calum was 4th equal.

Well done to the Badminton Team who competed in a team competition in Tain on Friday. We are very proud to report that they all came home with a medal which is an amazing achievement as it was the first time that they had played together. A huge thanks to Mr Barrie for taking the team to Tain and looking after them so well. Special congtratulations to Sophie for her award, read about it below. Read Mr Barrie’s report below!

The “Count-back” kids.

Sophie Barrie P7, Abi Barrie P4, Aaron Boyd P6 & Iain Sillars P6 made up the school team which travelled to Tain Academy on Friday to play against teams from Milton of Leys, Merkinch, Loch Carron & two teams from Culbokie Primary School.

Lochardil started in a pool with Culbokie B & Merkinch. We beat Merkinch on games but drew with Culbokie B on games so it went to a points “Count-back” to decide who went through as winners of the pool. Culbokie won the “Count-back” so we went into the semi final against Loch Carron. The team drew with Loch Carron 3 games all so “Count back” to decide who went forward to the final.

L.C. won the “count-back”  but we had a 3rd-4th place play-off against Culbokie B. We knew we could get a draw from them and we did but could we turn the points “Count-back” situation around?

YES, a tough match but Lochardil got 3rd place over-all

A mixed doubles tournament was then played and Sophie/Aaron were runner up finalists with Abi/Iain being runner up finalists in the consolation tournament.

Sophie was awarded the tournament “fair play award” for her positive attitude towards her opponents and helping with umpiring and supervising some of the less experienced players.

Just a quick reminder that there is an Open Morning tomorrow from 11am till 11.45am. We hope that you will be able to pop in to see what we have been getting up to this term.

Well done everyone for an amazing fire drill this morning! You certainly all deserve a certificate. It has taken us all year to remember what we need to do when the siren goes off and this morning it was absolutely perfect. People walked sensibly to their meeting point, there wasn’t a sound from any classes while the registers were taken, with the boys and girls from the ELCC leading the way. Thank you all for trying so hard, it’s amazing what we can achieve when we work as a team!

Now that we have set the standard, let’s see if we can start the new session in August with another perfect fire drill!

An enormous thank you to Pam O’Hara and her wonderful team of volunteers who arranged the catering for the Inter-school Sports last Saturday and ran the stall on behalf of the Parent Council on the day. They raised the magnificent sum of  £906.85!

A big thanks to Hastie & Dyce butchers, Ness-side Tesco, Harry Gow and all the parents who donated their time or items for the stall, what a spread there was!  A special thank you to Hannah O’Hara from P2 who helped on the day and made a fantastic job of selling the cakes, Developing the Young Workforce in action!

All the labelled containers that had baking in them are now back at reception waiting to be collected.

Watch this space to see how the money is spent to benefit the children in our school. If you have any suggestions as to how the money could be best spent, please get in touch.

Thank you for your patience regarding our Sports Day this year. We have experienced some difficulties regarding a suitable location and date for the sports for a number of reasons. Both sports and the ELCC’s the following day will all be held on the community grass green space directly behind our field.  Hopefully we will make it the best we can!

We can confirm that the P4-P7 Sports will be held as originally went out in the 1^st Newsletter at the start of the session on  Wednesday 14^th June at 9.30am.

P1-P3 Sports will be 1.30pm.

The ELCC Sports will be on Thursday 15th June at 10am and 1.45pm.

Hopefully the weather will be kind to us!

INTERSCHOOL SPORTS Bught Park 27.5.17

Some fantastic achievements today at the Inter School Sports. Congratulations to our Pr 6 and Pr 7 teams who had virtually no place or opportunities to prepare for their events but left with quite a respectable collection of medals. Everyone took part in a positive way and they were all very encouraging and supportive to each other. We appreciated the time given by parents to come along  and for the willing team organised by the Parent Council who kept everyone well fed and watered throughout the day. Thanks also go to Mrs Rodgers for her time to get the teams together and for her input on the day with the points and scoring. A willing and enthusiastic team.

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JUNIOR JOBS DAY

We were delighted to welcome 13 representatives from the “world of work” to our Junior Jobs Day. This was organised by our Developing the Young Workforce Working group and coincided with the latest parent information leaflet via schoolbag mail this week.

We were supported by – Jewsons, Morrisons Supermarket, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Housing Alliance, a Librarian from UHI, Rev A. MacLeod, PC Matthew Watson (Police Dog Handler), Fish Processor, SSE, Lifescan, Dietician, World of Work and A and I Quality Butchers.

Classes learned about the skills they need for their jobs, some of the equipment they use, what they do  and answered questions. We were given lots of freebies including piggy banks, water bottles, aprons, vouchers, leaflets and stickers. We saw an octopus, lots of big knives, pressed burgers, watched a salmon being cut up and ate some fruit.

A huge thank you to the local businesses and individuals who came along to support this event. We appreciated your valuable time and for helping us to learn about some jobs.

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Unfortunately there have been a few accidents in the playground at home-time recently involving bikes and scooters which have resulted in children being hurt.

Please ensure that your child does not cycle or use their scooter or skateboard in the playground when arriving and leaving school. All bikes, scooters and skateboards should be walked or carried out of the playground until it is safe to use them properly.

Just a wee reminder from Parent Council that they would love some home-baking for the stall they are running at the Inter-school Sports on Saturday. Please bring any home-baking to the school before 3 pm on Friday. Thank you!

If anyone has a spare hour on Saturday between 10 am and 4 pm please get in touch with the school office as we could do with a few more volunteers to man the stall. Hope you can help.

The Primary 6 pupils on the Edinburgh trip are on their way home and should be arriving back at school about 7.45pm.  Please spread the word amongst the P6 parents/carers.

Thank you

Lizzi Burke has sent the following message!

‘We have had a great few weeks at Tennis Tuesday at the school with lots of children joining me on the muga!

There is an open day this coming Saturday at Inverness tennis and squash club, free sessions for all ages so if you fancy giving tennis a try or want to bring the children along please sign up on the link below.’

https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/OpenDays/InvernessTennisSquashClub/599f7604-1ea3-46d1-b628-03f4dc51dfe4

Huge apologies from Mrs Rodgers for the delay in putting up this post.

Many thanks  to Anna Miller who sent the following match report and photographs.

“On Saturday 7^th May a team of boys from P4 and P5 were crowned winners of the annual Cairn Cup football tournament! Playing a total of 8 matches, the team only conceded 1 goal in the whole tournament and went on to beat Milton of Leys in the final game! The annual competition is one of the largest of the year in Inverness, with over 500 children competing from P2/3s, P4/5s and P6/7s.

I think the school might need a bigger trophy cabinet to accommodate this trophy as it’s huge!

Well done to Gavin Thomson, Sean Kavanagh, Brodie Zineldin, Kyle Neill, Rorie Soden, James Young, Ellis Morrison, Michael Miller and Toryn Eaglesham who worked brilliantly as a team, with fantastic attitude and behaviour throughout.

A big congratulation to the P2/3 team who also retained the P2/3 Cairn Cup for another year.”

Our football success over the last few weeks has been fantastic! Thanks to everyone involved in the children’s success.

Well done to all of our pupils who took part in the Scottish School Gymfest, this Saturday. It was an early start with those on the bus leaving Inverness at 0715 to get to Perth for registration.All school gymnasts  performed well and  worked co-operatively with others in creative and imaginative group work. Everyone in the team display their talents to family, friends and other gymnasts in a non-competitive, stress-free and enjoyable setting. We were lucky enough to see a performance from former Britain’s Got Talent contestants: The Spartans and got lots of ideas for next year.  Mrs Kellacher and Miss MacDonald joined Hazel and Sophie to support the team and were very proud of all involved in making gymfest such a positive success. Official photographs taken at the event can be viewed and ordered online. If you are interested please speak to Hazel (Coach) who will give you more information.

This week, we will join thousands of children across the country celebrating the benefits walking brings.

We know that walking to school makes children feel healthier and happier, while reducing congestion and pollution outside the school gates. Yet less than half of primary school children, in Britain, currently walk to school.  We want to reverse this decline and see every child that can, walk to school.

The JRSO team have provided each class with challenge packs which we hope will motivate all pupils to walk all or part of the way to and from school. This year’s challenge will take pupils on an imaginary journey from the dramatic skylines of the city, via rolling countryside, to charming coastal areas. Each day, activities and games will enable pupils to explore key features of each environment, whilst also enjoying the many benefits of a daily walk to school.

HAPPY SHOES DAY

On the Tuesday (16^th May)  of Walk to School Week,  we invite pupils, parents and teachers to wear their “happy shoes” in order to bring attention to our feet and promote walking.

Your happy shoes can be: Shiny, decorated, colourful, cartoon, gorilla feet, Dads slippers, sleek runners- whatever brings that smile on your walk to school. No Studded shoes/boots or wheelie shoes please.

Four children from the school were invited to play at this competition in Perth last weekend, where they all played very well. Sophie Barrie and Abigail Barrie played in the girls singles and doubles, while Sandy McArthur played in the boys singles then the boys doubles accompanied by Ewan McArthur.  Everyone won their pool stage of the competition but were unfortunately knocked out in the quarter finals. The children reported that they all had a great day and were happy with their performance. Many thanks to their parents who took the children along to the competition.

What an exciting day the P5/6 Football Team had yesterday! They came runners up at the Scottish Seven a Side Football Competition at Hampden.

Their coach Ross Nixon sent us this report from Hampden, ‘All kids played fantastically to come runners up at today’s tournament. They won their group and played strongly in the final but were beaten 2-0 by Fintry of Dundee. Boys have been great ambassadors for the school.’

We are absolutely delighted that the boys did so well, they should be very proud of their achievements in this competition. Thanks from the school to all the coaches and parents who took the boys along to the competitions and supported them on the day. Watch this space for a report by the boys in the next few days.

Well done to the boys P2/3 Football Team who won the Cairn Cup on Saturday 6th May at Millburn Academy. The team were, Aiden Mcgillvary, Calum Douglas, Ollie Crichton, Jamie Cameron, Cole Thomson, Cian Mackenzie, Finn Munro and George Matheson.

The boys topped their group scoring 13 goals and conceding only 1 then proceeded to the semis beating Cradlehall 2 – 0. Then they put in a great team performance clinching a well deserved win in the final by beating Culloden Moor 2 – 0.

A fantastic result boys, well done!

What a wonderful atmosphere we had in school last Friday afternoon. I’m sure the children’s enthusiasm could be heard all over Lochardil as they counted down to the gunging of Mrs Kellacher and Mrs Eaglesham by our oldest and youngest pupil in the school. A massive well done to both of them for being such good sports. A very special Lochardil well done to Gary Warren, Inverness Caley Thistle captain, who was invited along to help gunge our brave volunteers but ended up getting totally in the spirit of the day (with a little persuasion from the children) and being gunged himself, even although he didn’t have a change of clothes! The custard was specially made in the school kitchen to be nice and lumpy for the occasion, thanks cooks! We are delighted to report that the magnificent sum of £400 was raised for Highland Hospice, thank you to our whole school community for supporting this event.

Ellen in p6/7 is being very brave and inspirational and is getting some of her hair chopped off , in school, tomorrow (by a hairdresser) to donate to the Little Princess Trust who make wigs for children who have lost their hair. In order to support Ellen and raise funds for the Little Princess Trust , we are having a crazy hair day tomorrow. If you would like to come to school with a wacky wig or crazy hair please bring a donation for the Lottle Princess Trust. There will be cakes, raffles and nail painting durning break in the p6/7 building. Prices will range from 10p-50p. Thank you for your support. Well done to Ellen, Holly and Eva in p6/7 for organising the event .

Great Lochardil Litter Pick Up

Help Required!

The 21st Lochardil Scout group have organised a litter pick in the Lochardil area on Monday 8th May at 7pm, leaving from the Green Drive Hall. They would like to encourage as many extra volunteers as possible to come along and help keep our community beautiful.

A very belated congratulations to our P5/6 football team who won the second round of the Scottish Soccer Sevens at Dundee and now go on to represent the school at Hampden next week.

Mr Nixon was delighted with the boys and said, ‘Full credit to the boys for their behaviour, attitude and performance throughout the day, they were exemplary.’

We are very proud of you all hope you perform just as well next Tuesday at Hampden, what an exciting opportunity!

The photographer will be in school on Tuesday 2nd May to take class photographs. Please ensure that your child is wearing full school uniform that day.

A wee reminder that the school and nursery are closed on Monday 1st May for the holiday and also on Thursday 5th May for the in-service day.

We will also be closed on Thursday 8th June due to the premises being used for voting in the General Election.

You might have noticed that we have been very quiet for the last few weeks. There has been a problem with our website but I am delighted to report that we are now back up and running!

There is quite a backlog of information which we need to share, so this will be the first of quite a few posts!

Tomorrow we are asking everyone to wear yellow or a little bit of yellow for a come as you please day and donate £1. We are hoping to turn our school yellow to support two of our parents, Laura Eaglesham and her dance partner Scott Macleod, who are contestants in STRICTLY Inverness this year and are fundraising for Highland Hospice and the Inverness Ice Rink. The very best of luck to you both.

The children are encouraged to donate any spare change during assembly tomorrow afternoon to see Mrs Kellacher and Mrs Eaglesham take part in the Highland Hospice ‘Custard Challenge’ i.e. have custard gunged over them on camera! (Watch this space for photographs!) We will then share photographs on social media with the hashtag #wearyellow to encourage others to do the same and donate to the Hospice. If any parents would like to donate to this challenge they can text their donation by sending WYHH47 £5 (or any other amount) to 70070.

We look forward to seeing everyone dressed in yellow tomorrow and hopefully welcome back Bobby Bee the Hospice mascot.

A very belated congratulations to our Badminton Team who did very well in the Highland Badminton Competition last Thursday morning at UHI. Sophie Barrie and Abigail Barrie took first and third places in the girls singles and played together in the girls doubles which they won. Both girls now go on to the next round of the competition, which is the Scottish Schools Competition, in Perth in May. Lucia Ireland and Lucy Kelly played very well in the girls doubles and although they have not qualified for the next round, they both showed determination and an excellent sporting attitude. Ewan McArthur and Sandy McWilliam also played very well in their boys doubles, placing third which  qualifies them to play in the next round. Sandy was fourth in the boys singles and has also been invited to play in the next round. Watch this space to see how they get on!

In the Highland Badminton Group Competition at the weekend, Sophie won the girls U12 singles and along with Abbie won the girls doubles. Well done girls!

The Cross Country Team had a fabulous day at the McRobert Cup Cross Country Competition on Thursday 23rd March. Thankfully, the weather was excellent after the very cold and snowy start to the day. Everyone ran really well and did themselves and the school proud. We had medal winning performances from Grace Brown who was 5th, Max Morrison who was 6th and Ross MacLeod who was 2nd. The P4/5 Boys Team were delighted to be placed first overall, coming home with a lovely trophy to add to the cabinet!

Many thanks to all the parents who came along to support the children on the day. The school would also like to thanks Mr Nixon and his team of volunteers who have worked so hard to train the runners each week. Thank you to you all!

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Cook has requested that all money for school lunches should be paid by Tuesday 4th April as all  money needs to be banked by then. She will be unable to accept any money on the last day of term which is Wednesday 5th April. Thanks for your help!

We have all had a great first day at Loch Insh. Our day was packed full of great activities and sunshine . We are all off to bed now to recharge for tomorrow.

Our Primary 7 pupils have arrived safely at Loch Insh. Cases are unpacked, packed lunches are being eaten and the excitement is growing for the first activity this afternoon!

We wish the pupils & teachers a fantastic week, and hope that this fabulous weather continues!

Amazing! Fantastic! Incredible! These are some of the words used by the pupils to describe our Science Week last week. School was buzzing with excitement and visitors. The Molecule Hunt at playtimes and lunchtimes was very popular, the lucky winners will be announced at assembly this week. A very sincere ‘Lochardil thank you’ to everyone who came along to deliver a workshop or talk to the children, we really hope you will come back again. Thanks also to Miss Butler for organising such a fab week for our pupils. Enjoy the pictures below!

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What fabulous news we came back to school to yesterday! Our gymnastics girls had done us proud at the Scottish Gymnastics competition in Perth over the weekend. There were excellent performances from Adela Yeats, Lily Flegg, Carrie Miller and Grace Brown.  We’re waiting for the team result (we weren’t in the top three), but a well deserved silver individual medal for Grace who is second in Scotland!! Very well done girls, we are very proud of you all.

Congratulations to the P4/5 boys who retained the Winter Cup trophy in an exciting final match winning 3-0 against Inshes Primary on Sunday. It was a real team effort with the boys all playing extremely well and with great attitudes. Lots of Lochardil parents, friends and supporters came along to watch the game which was a real boost for the boys. Three brilliant goals scored by Sam Thompson, Ross MacLeod and a final winning screamer from the half way line by Gavin Thomson.  Well done to Sean Kavannagh, James Young, Scott MacKay, Brodie Zineldin, Michael Miller, Ellis Morrison, Rorie Soden, Toryn Eaglesham, Sam Thomspon, Ross MacLeod and Gavin Thomson. Also well done to coaches Tony Miller and Ian Soden. Thanks to Anna Miller for the report and photos.

We very much value Learning for Sustainability as a core feature of our learning and teaching.  We have recently engaged with Just Trading Scotland (JTS) to further our work on Global Citizenship by taking part in the 90kg Rice Challenge!  Primary 5 have accepted the role to lead us on this challenge, and together we hope we can achieve!

JTS, a not-for-profit fair trade organisation, has challenged schools, as well as churches, colleges and other organisations, to sell 90kg of rice – the amount of rice sold that would enable a Malawian farmer to pay for a year’s basic secondary education for one child.

Primary 5 will be selling the rice for £3.00 (per 1kg bag) at the open afternoon. Order forms will also be available!

The Parent Council AGM is to be held on Wednesday 22nd March 2017 at 7.00 pm in the school. All parents/carers with children in the ELCC or school are invited to attend the meeting. If you would like to find out more about the school and what is going on, please come along!

The Agenda and Chair’s Report should be available on the blog shortly.

Are you free on Friday afternoon between 1pm and 3pm? Do you enjoy gardening? We are  organising a small team to help tidy the willows in the playground. Please contact the office if you can help. Many thanks!

A very big well done to our Book Fair Competition winners pictured below! Pupils were invited to design a new cover for a book. Winners were selected from across the school and they each won a book token to spend at the Book Fair. Well done to everyone who entered.

What an amazing week has been planned this week! Miss Butler has been busy arranging science experiences for every class in the school, including the children in Nursery 4. The focus of the workshops, talks and experiments is the STEM subjects, that’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

At break and lunch, there is a Molecule Hunt around the school for interested children. Entry sheets can be found at the school office and there are prizes which will be given out at our Science Assembly on Friday. The P6 and P7 children will also be presented with their Crest Discovery Awards which they have been working towards in class.

Many thanks to Miss Butler for all her hard work in arranging this exciting week for the children.

Would you like to play golf? Are you in P6 or P7? Then there is an opportunity for children in P6 and P7 to receive golf coaching. Please see the attached poster for more information.

Golf Lessons

Great news! Tennis Tuesdays are back from Tuesday next week. Lizzie will be in school at lunchtimes to run this club for all interested pupils. Come to the MUGA after you have eaten your lunch if you fancy having a go at tennis . Many thanks to Lizzie for giving up her time to do this and encourage our Lochardil tennis players.

Remember that there is an Internet Safety Workshop next Thursday , after the Open Afternoon from 2.15 until 3.15. If you would like to attend, but have childcare issues, Mrs Rodgers has offered to run a creche from 2.45/3.00 until the end of the workshop. Please get in touch with the school office to book a place(s).

A reminder to be very careful on your way to and from school especially if you are cycling or using your scooter. We have had reports of some children not cycling safely or using using their scooter safely. Please ensure that your child knows how to be safe to avoid accidents.

A quick reminder to parents/carers of pupils in Primary 4-7

There is no cross country after school today Monday 6th March

We had a great time celebrating World Book Day as you will see from the photos. There was a lovely excited buzz in the playground on Thursday morning as everyone arrived for school. It’s safe to say that the children enjoyed dressing up (nearly as much as the staff!) and moving around different classes to learn more about books. A big thanks to our parents and carers for being so creative with your costume ideas and helping the children dress up.

The Parent Council have taken advantage of an opportunity to organise the catering at the Inter-school Sports on Saturday 27th May. All profits raised are kept by the Parent Council, so this is a great chance to raise some money for the benefit of the school.

A big team of willing volunteers is needed and Mrs O’Hara has kindly agreed to co-ordinate this. She is hoping to have a meeting in the next couple of weeks and would like any parent volunteers to contact the school. Help is needed on the day to serve on the stall but it would be fantastic if any parent would be willing to donate food to be sold. Could you provide bacon, hot dogs or home baking? The more donations we can get, the better the profit for the school.

Please help us to make this event a success!

Help us to celebrate World Book Day in style by coming to school dressed as your favourite book character on Thursday 2nd March. Class teachers have been busy planning some book related lessons. Watch this space for photographs!

Parents/carers/friends of Lochardil, if you would like to help our celebrations of all things books and reading by coming into school to read to a class, please get in touch by email or phone. We would love to have a variety of people reading a story to the children. If you are able to read a story to the children in a language other than English, we would love to hear from you too. Everyone would be most welcome any day this week,  even for just one story!

Eight children form Lochardil Primary represented the school at the South Highland Badminton Competition on Thursday 16th February. We are delighted to report that they came home with a selection of medals and now go forward to the Highland Championships which will be held sometime in March. Sophie Barrie won the girls singles and then went on to win the girls doubles, playing with her younger sister Abi Barrie. Lucy Kelly and Lucia Ireland won a bronze medal in the girls doubles and Ewan McArthur playing with Sandy McWilliam won gold in the boys doubles. Sandy also qualified to play singles in the next competition. Sam Irving and Aaron Boyd played very well but unfortunately were not among the medal winners yesterday. A very big thank you to Mr Barrie and Mrs Paul who accompanied the children to Inverness Leisure where the competition was held. Mrs Paul reported that the children were extremely well behaved and represented our school with pride. Well done everyone!

Just a quick advance notice! We have managed to arrange an online safety workshop organised by the NSPCC for parents on Thursday 16th March from 2.15 – 3.15 pm. The workshop will run directly after our Open Afternoon, which also has an online safety theme, on that day in the school hall. The aim of the workshop is to give parents the skills and knowledge to understand the internet and technology as children do – from online games and cyber bullying, to setting up privacy settings and controls.

Watch this space for more details after the holidays!

Read, Write, Count‘s new campaign ‘Future Me Scot‘ has been officially launched across the country this week. 

This is an opportunity for families with children in P1 – P3 to see that their role in learning together is useful and purposeful, supporting their child in their hopes and dreams. Check out the Future Me Scot video which can be viewed at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1yCtZulrGs.

Future Me Scot aims to get families talking with their children about their dreams and sharing these dreams with others across the country on their website. Check out some of the dreams that children have started to share across Scotland on: http://futureme.readwritecount.scot/.

We look forward to seeing some of the hopes and dreams of our fab Lochardil children on the website!

Following the roll-out of ‘Read, Write, Count’ earlier this session for P2 and P3 children, the Scottish Book Trust are looking for feedback from teachers and families. There are two surveys, one for teachers and one for families, with the deadline of Tuesday 28^th February 2017.

If you are a family member of a P2 or P3 child, please complete the survey below for your chance to win a personal Read, Write, Count Goodie bag filled with books, games and activities for all the family to enjoy.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FCP6MQN

I just wanted to share some nice news from last weekend.

A team of P4/5 boys took part in the IDYFA Futsal tournament on Saturday 11th February and finished runners up with a team trophy and silver medals. They won all their games other than the final in which they narrowly missed out to Inshes. The boys played extremely well, working as a team and with positive attitudes throughout. They were also a credit to the school with their excellent behaviour on and off the court. Congratulations to James Young, Sam Thompson, Gavin Thomson, Sean Kavanagh, Scott Mackay, Brodie Zineldin (Macaskill), Rorie Soden, Ross MacLeod, Ellis Morrison and Michael Miller.

Many thanks to Mrs Miller for sending in this report and photograph.

Mrs. Anfield and Mrs. Paul took the Primary 6 Boys and Girls for 5 a side football today in the Gym Hall.

They played several games, and hopefully a fun time was had by all.  The pupils said they had really enjoyed their football and thanked the staff for this opportunity.

Hopefully we will get across to MacDonald Park soon once the weather improves.

Below are some photos taken from today’s games:-

Mrs. Anfield and Mrs. Armstrong went along to MacDonald Park on Tuesday to check out the facilities for playing football at the park with the P7’s at lunch time.  Unfortunately, the whole park was water logged.  We used our initiative and decided to offer the pupil’s a 5 aside game in the gym hall at Lochardil instead.  Approximately 20 pupils came along to join in.  Everyone who took part seemed to have an enjoyable experience. Mrs. Armstrong and  Mrs. Forbes acted as referees, and had Red and Yellow cards.  It was very pleasing that they were only used on a couple of occasions for minor incidents.

We were extremely pleased with the behaviour of the pupils.  They were at times very competitive but friendly.  We are hoping  the P6’s will enjoy their 5 aside game next Tuesday in the gym hall at Lochardil.  Once the weather improves  we will take the pupils to  MacDonald Park.

Thank you once again Primary 7 it was a pleasure Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. Forbes.

CC Agenda 13 02 17 (2)

Did you know that this week is Internet Safety Week? We had a visit from PC Boundy yesterday who delivered two presentations in the hall, one for primary 1 – primary 3 and the other for primary 4 -primary 7. Each class teacher has also planned some activities for their class. The websites listed below have been highlighted as being particularly good for parents. Have a look if you’d like more information. It is a challenge to keep ourselves and our children safe online but being well-informed about the risks and how to guard against them is a step in the right direction.

www.internetmatters.org

www.net-aware.org.uk/www.nspcc.org.uk

The focus of our next Open Afternoon is Internet Safety when we hope to share all that we have been learning in class with you.

Well done and congratulations to all our gymnasts who took part in the Highland Schools Gymnastics competition, on Sunday . There were lots of medals taken home . We are lucky enough to have won the primary school shield for another year!!! Look out for the pictures in the local news papers. Huge well done to all involved in the training & support, fabulous organisation & running of the event to showcase & nurture such talent from all our schools. Mrs Prentice and Miss MacDonald really enjoyed supporting the team and being part of the amazing team spirit. Mrs Kellacher was honoured to present so many medals to all the gymnasts involved in the day . Special thank you to Hazel for supporting the team in their training. Bring on the finals! 

A huge well done to our footballers from P5/6 who were the winners of the Millburn Soccer 7s  on Monday 30^th January 2017. This competition is the North Schools Soccer 7s Qualifier.  The boys won all 7 games scoring 20 goals and only conceding 2!

Mr Nixon reported that all boys played very well and more importantly conducted themselves with discipline and respect for their opponents.

The boys now go on to play in the regional final on 30^th March in Dundee. Many thanks to Mr Nixon and the parents involved who transported the boys to the competition and helped to organise the team. Good luck in Dundee, we look forward to hearing how you get on!

NYOS Training 2017 Poster Advert

Please remember that Wednesday 22nd February is an in-service day and the school will be closed to pupils. Staff will be attending training on that day.

Just a wee reminder that there is a meeting tomorrow evening (02.02.17) at 7 pm in Inverness Royal Academy for all parents of P7 pupils who will be starting first year in August. It’s a great chance to learn more about what life at the IRA will be like for your child.

Our Breakfast Club is now open each morning from 8 am until 8.50 am in the Early Learning and Childcare Centre (ELCC). Any pupil from the school is eligible to attend Breakfast Club and bookings can be made on a regular basis or just when you need it. Booking forms are available through the school office. The breakfast menu is cereal and toast with water or milk. Children need to arrive at the club by 8.30 to get breakfast before being escorted into the playground in time for school starting. The cost is £3.80 per session including breakfast.

Primary 1 and Primary 2 have been learning all about Chinese New Year today. Each class took part in four activities, making a dragon puppet, hearing the story of how the  years got their animal names, learning a song about new year customs and making lucky money envelopes. At the end of the afternoon, we were treated to a Dragon Dance performed by the P3 girls from P2/3. They choreographed the dance themselves and even wore dragon masks! It was a lovely day and a great way to learn about the Chinese New Year which starts tomorrow.

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Please note that there is a typing error on some of the Parent/Teacher Interview forms which were sent home yesterday. Parent Appointments are on Wednesday 1st February and Thursday 2nd February. 

If your slip says Wednesday 27th January please change the slip to Wednesday 1st February.

Sorry for any confusion!

(Paper copies will be available through the school office)  

• Children born between 1^st March 2013 and 28^th February 2015 are entitled to be a funded Early Learning and Childcare place. (The new session will start on August 15^th August 2017).

We are pleased to announce that for enrolment into school or Early Learning and childcare, a new enrolment process has been developed to enable parents and carers to register children online.

The P1 enrolment week for highland schools is Monday 30^th January to Friday 3^rd February 2017.

For Early Learning and Childcare Places enrolment week will be Monday 13^th February to Friday 17^th February 2017.  At Lochardil Primary School we over flexibility between the hours of 8am and 5.45pm. For children returning as our nursery 4 they will not need to complete the enrolment form online although they will need to complete a preference hours form and provide proof of address along with birth certificate.

Once you have enrolled online or through the school office the school will contact you to arrange an induction.

The online form can be accessed from www.highland.gov.uk/schoolenrolment

Kind Regards

Clare Mackenzie

Childcare Manager

Lochardil Primary School

01463 230250

Inverness Tennis Academy are running 2 indoor mini tennis classes for new players or those who want to try tennis again!  A great chance to play while the weather is not so good and get ready for tennis season!

Tuesday 6-7pm at the IRA Sports Centre Games Hall

Wednesday 5-6pm at the UHI (New university) Sports Hall

First session is free.

If you fancy coming along and giving tennis a try please contact Lizzy Burke on 07983116947 or email Lizzy.Burke@btinternet.com

Outdoor Learning

Our primary 7 pupils from p7 and p6/7 enjoyed their first session of outdoor learning, with Miss MacDonald, on Thursday. We worked together to use nature’s resources to create a piece of artwork. This activity encouraged us to use our problem solving skills, work as part of a team, be resourceful and have fun. There is no limit to the experiences and curiosities that outdoor environments and activities can arouse. Participants frequently discover potential, abilities and interests that surprise themselves and others. Safety codes provide clear boundaries and learning goals give clear direction, but Outdoor Learning draws in energy and inspiration from all around.

There are some exciting things happening in Inverness to mark the coming of The Year of the Rooster. Hopefully some of our super talented children will enter the art competition, it would be fabulous to have a representative from Lochardil at the Lion Dance.

Lion Dance Performance

There will be a performance of a traditional Lion Dance by the world famous Hong Lok Dragon & Lion Dancing troupe in the Pedestrian Precinct on the High Street, Inverness on Monday 30th January at 5.15pm. See the leaflet below for more information. Inverness Lion Dance Parade

Art Competition for P3 – P6

Every year before the Lion can perform its dance we must “Wake the Lion” from its sleep. To enable this we must paint 5 parts of the Lion its eyes, nose and tongue, ears and backbone.

In the past we have always asked a local dignitary to perform this function however for the past few years we have asked the painting competition winners of the local schools to perform one of the above 5 tasks.

To this end we would like to invite P3-P6 pupils in your school to take part in a painting completion “Year of the Rooster (Chinese Theme)”. The closing date for the competition is Friday 20th January, entries to be submitted to their Head Teacher. One winner will be selected from each of the schools and the final five will be asked to paint one part of the Lion.

Chinese New Year Celebrations at Jimmy Chungs

More information about this event is attached below!

Bilingual Leaflet with ticket prices Menu-print

The next Parent Council meeting is on Wednesday 18th January at 7 pm in the school. Remember that all parents are welcome at Parent Council meetings. The agenda and Chairperson’s report can be read on the Parent Council section of the school website. We hope that you are able to come along and look forward to welcoming you!

P7 have planned a yummy fundraiser on Wednesday 25th January to raise money for their trip to Loch Insh. They will be coming around the classes selling trays of baking for 20p per cake. Please remember to bring 20p if you would like to buy a cake!

Please note that I can confirm that the June inset day planned for Monday 5th June has now been changed to Thursday 4^th May. School will be closed to pupils on 4th May while the school is used for voting.  We will now be open as usual on Monday 5th June.

We have been given information about the Inverness City Junior Badminton Club which is run by qualified coach David Barrie and meets every Thursday in Inverness Royal Academy. Spaces are available for new members in the first session  for  P4-P6  players.

Cost: £2

Time: 6- 7pm

Begins again 12th January, after holiday break.

Happy New Year! We have had a lovely week back in school so far and everyone is settling back into their routine after the holiday. There is lots to look forward to this term and  lots of exciting plans being made to ensure that the children to enjoy their learning. Please keep an eye on the blog for all the latest information.

Merry Christmas and very best wishes for 2017 from all the staff at Lochardil! We hope you all have a lovely time!

It was lovely to be able to eat our Christmas lunch in our new canteen last week. Everyone looked so festive in their Christmas jumpers. Many thanks to the cooks who worked hard to cook and serve 275 Christmas lunches!

There is a huge amount of lost property which has been unclaimed this term. The children will have an opportunity to view and reclaim any items which belong to them tomorrow. Any remaining items will be laid out in the P2 and P3 corridor tomorrow after school if any parent  wishes to have a look themselves. Items which are not claimed by Friday will be donated to Blythswood.  Please come and have a look!

Our end of term service for the children will be held at the CCC tomorrow afternoon. The children’s favourites, ‘Out of the Box’ will be leading the assembly so it promises to be a fun experience. As we will be walking to and from the church please ensure that your child wears a warm and waterproof jacket. If any parents are available to help, please contact the school. We will be leaving school at 12.45 pm  and returning by 2.45 pm.

The minutes of the Parent Council Meeting held on the 2nd of November are attached below. Remember that all parents and carers from our school are very welcome to attend the meetings. It’s a great way to find out more about the things which are going on in school. The next meeting will be on the 18th January at 7.00 pm in the school. Make it your new year resolution to come along!

minute-02-11-16

Our school lunch hall is now completed and fully operational! The children have been enjoying lunch in their lovely new surroundings all this week. It looks amazing and it is great to have all the extra space. Next time you are in school, pop your head in the door for a wee look!

Remember tomorrow (Thursday) the cooks will be serving our Christmas lunch. If you wish you may wear your Christmas jumper to school  to add to the festive atmosphere!

Diabetes UK have partnered with OJ Sports to deliver a new fundraising family fun day at the UHI Campus on the 10th of December. This is to capitalise on the awareness raised during World Diabetes Day last week. In order for the event to be successful we need lots of children to register for the different age categories as we are offering different distances for the following age groups: Nursery/ P1 Run 1km, P2/3 Run 2km, P4/5 Run 3km and P6/7 Run 5km.

For more information, please see the attached poster! reindeer-run-2016-2

Lochardil Primary School has retained the Inverness Primary School’s Tennis Champions title at a closely fought competition at the IRA last Friday. A group of pupils from Primary 5 represented the school magnificently, bringing home a lovely trophy for the cabinet. A total of 120 pupils played in the competition, with a repeat of last years final of Milton of Leys against Lochardil. It was a nail-biting game but Lochardil came out winners. A great standard of tennis was played, well done to our Lochardil Teams!

The Nativity will be on Tuesday 13th December and Wednesday 14th December. The performance on Tuesday after noon at 2 pm is for Grandparents, Senior Citizens and friends from our local community. We will be serving tea and coffee after this performance. Wednesday’s performances will be for parents at 9.45 am and 2.00 pm. Letters were sent home today (Tuesday) to order  tickets. Initially, we will be offering each family 2 tickets for each performance but any extra tickets can be applied for on a first come first served basis. There is no charge for tickets but we will be accepting donations after each performance in aid of our school fund and the Cash For Kids Campaign. Please contact Mrs Rodgers at the school if you have any questions about tickets.

Lochardil Primary School is once again doing MFR Mission Christmas!!!!If you are able to donate any gifts ether NOT opened or new bought gifts could you please donate them.There will be a box at reception to put them in.All the gifts will be received by children who wont get a present in our area. Thank You!  

Only 2 more sleeps until our Christmas Fair!  For those that are swithering about going, here’s a list of all the brilliant stalls we have this year!  We’re hoping it’s going to be the best yet.  Bag yourself some great Christmas presents, have fun at a variety of stalls, listen to our fantastic choir and have a cuppa with friends.  Please come and support the school.

External traders

School stalls

Photo Booth (kindly loaned by Betty Booth – come and get your picture taken with friends/family and get strip of 4 pictures)

Here is our entry by, p6/7 for British Legion’s  ‘Films of Remembrance’ competition which looks at the impact of conflict and the importance of remembrance through creativity, expression and research, demonstrating learning in a whole new way. The Children from p6/7 worked together to create this poem. vid00121

The winning class or group will receive a multimedia workshop at their school including TV and radio presentation interview techniques and the chance to be part of the BFBS Scotland Breakfast Show! Winners will also receive a recording of their work, individual medals and a special school trophy!

Broadcasting to service personnel, their families and friends worldwide, BFBS is a music, news, entertainment and community service providing bespoke content to the global Forces Community with a focus on Forces News and connecting the Forces communities around the world.

A massive well done to our amazing P6 pupils who organised a fantastic day for Children in Need. The day was very popular and raised the fabulous sum of over £600! Our school name also appeared on the television at about 8pm on the night if you want to see it online. Here are just a few photos from our assembly on the day. Please see the P6 Class Blog for more photos.

Just a quick reminder that if you are out and about this weekend, please pick up a wee something to donate for the Christmas hampers. There have only been a few things donated for the ‘Handy Hamper’ so far. All donations for all hampers are most welcome!

NURSERY CLOSURE

Sorry for any inconvience however due to a problem with the heating we are CLOSED TODAY thank you for continued support.

There are only 12 sleeps until our Christmas Fair! Thanks very much to everyone who has donated an item for the Christmas Hampers so far. If you haven’t managed to donate anything yet, please don’t worry as the box will be in Reception until the middle of next week. We are hoping that every family will mange to bring something in to make our very popular hampers even better than last year. Many thanks for your help.                                                         

newsletter-3-october-2016-1

The 50th Anniversay Community Award is an award presented by the Parent Council to someone who has worked hard for the benefit of the school. It can be a member of the local area, someone from the school staff, a parent…… it is up to you!  The nominations are now open if you would like to nominate someone to receive this award. The Nomination Form is attached below and should be returned to the school office by Friday 25th November.

50th-anniversay-community-award

Our Christmas Fair is being held in the school on Saturday 26th November. We are really lucky to have a number of volunteers helping out on the day, but really need more to make this a success.  You don’t need to be on the Parent Council to volunteer.  If you are able to spare some time to help the school that would really be appreciated. We still have some spaces for anyone who is available to help. If you could help out at any of the times below it would be most appreciated.

Friday 25th November- to set up after school.

Saturday 26th November- before the fair starts, during the fair, to help tidy up.

Please get in touch using the following email if you are available to help.

helplochardil@gmail.com.

Many thanks!

Just a wee plea! We keep a stock of spare clothes in school for children who have had an accident, fall in the mud etc. Our stocks of some items are running low. If you have any good quality items of school clothing which your child has grown out of, could you please send them into school to be added to our stocks. We are particularly short of boys trousers and girls woolly tights at the moment. If your child has borrowed any items, please wash and return to school as soon as you can.

The last day for Blythswood boxes is tomorrow (Friday). Remember to bring your box to school and hand it in at the office. Blythswood will be coming to school next week to collect the boxes before they start the long journey to their worthy recipients. Many thanks to everyone who has brought a shoe box to school, I am sure they will be very much appreciated!

An order form for school uniform is being sent home in your child’s school bag today.  Please return all order requests by Friday 11th November 2016.

Did you know?  By ordering your logo school uniform items through the school, not only are you able to purchase items more cheaply than buying from the shop, but you are also making a small contribution to the school fund which is used to benefit the learning & teaching of the children.

We are repeating last year’s raffle of various hampers at the Christmas Fair.  Last year, thanks to your generosity, we were able to raffle 14 hampers stuffed with handy goodies in time for Christmas.  That meant many tickets bought had 2 or 3 chances to win a hamper with the added bonus of making a great contribution to funds which were spent on the school

We need your help to make this a success again!

The themes for the hampers are:

Cheese and wine hamper- for cheese, please donate on Friday 25th November and staff will keep in fridge in staffroom.   Nursery Rainbows, P7, P3

Foodie hamper- anything that’s a bit of a treat, jams, preserves, tea, coffee, biscuits ……….   Nursery Buttercups,  P6/7, P3/4

Pamper hamper- men’s/women’s toiletries, make-up, nail varnish, bubble bath ……..      P1A, P6

Saturday Night In hamper- anything to make a good night in; DVD’s, cards, stationery, games, popcorn ……         P1B, P5

Chocoholic hamper – anything chocolate…..      P2, P4/5

Handy hamper- DIY/gardening, cooking related, seeds, bulbs, canes, hooks, nails, small tools, practical ……..        P2/3, P4

Please could each family donate at least one item which would be suitable for at least one of these hampers.  The donation should be made by Tuesday 22 November at latest (apart from the cheese).  We have allocated classes to hampers to try and get an even spread.  If you have children in more than one class, take your pick. Or if you have something more suitable for another hamper, we will take anything !  Please put donation(s) to the school office.  The only requirements are that the item is new, unused and in date for the school fair on 26 November.

Thank you

The Parent Council

Remembrance poppies will be available, by donaton, in school from Tuesday 1st November.  Primary 6/7 pupils will visit all the classes (including nursery) each day with the collection tin.

The next meeting of the Parent Council is on Wednesday 2nd November at 7 pm in the school. The minutes of the previous meeting are on the Parent Council Blog along with the agenda for the meeting on Wednesday. Remember that all parents are welcome to attend the meeting, we value your opinions and support. Come along to hear first hand the latest news about what is happening in  school over the next few months!

Everyone had a great time at the Fancy Dress Disco. Thanks P7 for all your hard work organising such a fun night. Your games were very creative and you chose the music so carefully for each disco. The costumes were amazing, everyone had made a real effort and there was such variety. We have some very talented make-up artists in our school community too as you will see from the photographs.

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What a great few weeks we’ve had! The children have had great fun on our tennis court on a Tuesday lunchtime. Fingers crossed the weather is kind to us over the next few weeks and we can continue to produce great tennis players at Lochardil.

We are very excited about this year’s Christmas Fair which will on Saturday 26 November from  10.30 -12.30.

 Come along and:-

• stock up on Christmas present s from over 18 stalls packed with crafts, jewellery, baking, soap, cushions, art, balloons, glass, sweets and cards.
• browse over 12 stalls run by the children or Parent Council.  Bag your self a tattoo, get your face painted, decorate a cupcake, take your chance at winning one of a number of hampers stuffed with goodies,  collect your Cauliflower card order, strike a pose in the photo booth, have your nails done  or just whack a rat!
• Listen to the choir and take time out for a cuppa and a mince pie

We are really lucky to have a number of volunteers helping out on the day, but really need more to make this a success.  You don’t need to be on the Parent Council to volunteer.  If you are able to help, please email helplochardil@gmail.com.  We currently need more volunteers to help on some of the stalls and also for setting up on the Friday and clearing up.  If you are able to spare some time to help the school that would really be appreciated.

It was lovely to see everyone safely back to school today! I managed to catch up with lots of you and it sounds as though you all had a lovely holiday. Hopefully I will catch the people I missed today over the course of this week. I look forward to hearing your stories!

Remember that tomorrow (Tuesday) is the Flu Immunisation day for those children who have been signed up! I am sure you will hear all about it at home tomorrow night. The school nurse team will be in action from 9.30 am!

After the October break the Early Learning & Childcare Centre  plan to build an igloo out of milk cartoons. It would be appreciated if you could collect your cleaned out 4 pint milk cartons, with their lids. Thank you!

Here is wee something to keep you busy over the holidays! Ivan, Kate, Sandy and Eva in P7 are running a competition for the Book Fair. They would like you to design a bookmark. The prizes include book vouchers and more. Please complete you book marks by Wednesday 26th October and give them to your teacher. Have fun, try to be as creative as you can!

Every day is worth smiling about here at Lochardil Primary!

Remember that the Ruthven House Captains & Vice Captains have organised a Dress Down Day (no charge) on Friday 7th October in recognition of National World Smile Day. It is also our opportunity to ‘Do an act of kind-ness to make someone smile and show you care.’ We are lucky to have so many happy children in our school!

newsletter-2-september-2016

The Ruthven House Captains have organised a Dress Down Day on Friday 7th October in recognition of World Smile Day. Children are encouraged to come to school ‘in their own clothes’, but no football strips/tops please. The first Friday of October each year marks World Smile Day, a day to do one act of kindness and make someone crack a smile!

The day was founded in 1999 by Harvey Ball, the creator of the famous yellow smiley face. When he thought his logo was becoming too commercial and losing its real meaning, he organised the day to recognise that a smile knows no religion or politics and that we should all spread a little happiness.

There is no donation required to take part this time but we would ask that everyone does an act of kindness during the day to make someone smile instead! Everyone will be asked to write their act on a post-it in school. We look forward to hearing about all the different ways that smiles have been spread around Lochardil!

Ewan is running the Jam Jar Tombola stall at the Christmas Fayre on Saturday 26th November. He is appealing for donations of filled jam jars. Fill your jar with toys, sweets, stationery, pocket change etc. If anyone has any empty jars, Ewan would be delighted if you could hand them in at reception where they will be collected and filled by others. Please take filled jars in by November 24th. Thank you for your support with this enterprise.

Just a wee reminder that our first open afternoon of the school year is being held for parents/carers tomorrow from 1.30 pm until 2.15 pm. The children have been busy getting their classrooms ready for our most important visitors and are looking forward to welcoming you.

If you are unable to attend tomorrow please remember that we will be holding regular open mornings and afternoons throughout the year. We try to change the days and times of these events so hopefully there will be at least one which will suit you.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Did you know?                                                For every photograph purchased the school  receives commission which  is used to support school  activities.

We are delighted to be in partnership with H Tempest again this year for your child’s school photographs.

Rhona from Tempest was very busy taking lovely photos of the children. The proofs were sent home in the schoolbags on Wednesday. To ensure you don’t have to pay a late fee, all orders must be returned to the school by Wednesday 5th October.

We would also like to thank our parent helper, Mrs Mackay, for her fantastic support ensuring the children were “brushed up” and ready for their smile moment.

It has been brought to our attention that some children are climbing the ‘big tree’ outside the school. We are concerned at the safety of the children doing this and people who may be passing by beneath the tree if a child were to fall. The children have been asked not to climb the tree today in school. Please discourage your child from climbing the tree.

A message from our P7 pupils!

Greetings Everyone,

It’s that time of year when we have our annual Dress-up Disco! It is fancy dress and will be run by P7 on Thursday 27th October. It is £2.50 to get in with an additional cost of £1 per strip for the stalls.

Nursery and P1 – 4.45 pm till 5.45 pm.

P2 and P3 – 6.15 pm till 7.15 pm

P4, P5 and P6 – 7.45 pm till 9.00 pm.

Please note that Parents should collect their child/children from the school hall as there is no access to the rear of the dining hall due to our building works.

We are looking forward to seeing you all there!

Dear parents.

A new fantastic afterschool program for Inverness pupils!

The Lab Rats is a free after-school environment in which young people access the My World of Work Live! facilities in a flexible way. Any P7-S3 can become a Lab Rat and sign up to take part in longer term projects involving photography, video editing and film making, programming, engineering and design. The Lab Rats program will open in September and will run 4-5 pm every Friday. Based on their interests we can accept P6.

We have planned the Lab Rats calendar until the Christmas Break.

These are the sessions:

September 30 4-5 pm

October 7 4-5 pm

October 14 4-5 pm

November 11 4-5 pm

November 18 4-5 pm

November 25 4-5 pm

December 2 4-5 pm

December 16 4-5 pm

This is a video about Space Junk one of the activities that we do in My World of Work Live!

https://www.facebook.com/SDSHighlands/videos/323483414664096/

Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions of if you would like to sign up your kids for the Lab Rats Program.

Thank you a lot. Alessio and Kirsty (My World of Work Live! Inverness team).

Kirsty Wright  Events & Facilities Coordinator

lIII Skills Development Scotland Leasachadh Sgilean na h-Alba

1. Kirsty.Wright@sds.co.uk
2. 07770641430 lync 0300 013 4573

1-5 Church Street, Inverness IV1 1DY

We have recently changed the location of Lost Property in school and are trying to reduce the quantity of items held. Please assist by ensuring that your child’s belongings are clearly labelled with their name to ensure a speedy return! Please find new advice below from our Parent Volunteer, Caroline Leitch. I would also like to thank Mrs Leitch for her time spent sorting Lost Property, we really appreciate everything you do.

lost-property

Individual and Family Group photographs

The Tempest photographer will be in school on Monday 26th & Tuesday 27th September to take individual & family group photographs. Unfortunately, due to the volume of pupils in school and nursery we are unable to include any other siblings.

P1 individual photographs will be taken first, followed by the rest of the classes and nursery throughout the day. If time allows a start will be made on the family groups and these will be continued on the Tuesday.

We will have a few parent helpers on hand to ensure all the children are clean & tidy for their smile moment!

Loch Ness Marathon/Stobart Rail

With only a few days until the big event, we would like to remind you that Andrew Sumner, the Director of Stobart Rail is taking on the Loch Ness Marathon on Sunday 25th September. He is raising funds for Highland Hospice, MFR Cash for Kids and Lochardil Primary School. He chose his charities based on our chosen charities last year. If you would like to sponsor Andrew you can do so at https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/andrew-sumner-2 .

Please give generously for all these worthy causes – and don’t forget if you are spectating on Sunday to give Andrew a big cheer from Lochardil!

A reminder that the school and nursery are closed to all  pupils on Thursday 22^nd & Friday 23^rd September for inset days.

Please note that the date for this Information Evening has been changed to Wednesday 28th September from 6pm – 7pm due to unforeseen circumstances.

It is an opportunity for you to find out more about what your child is learning in Primary One and will give you the chance to see (and play!) with some of the resources that the children use in class!

We look forward to seeing you!

We are delighted to report that Andrew Sumner, the Director of Stobart Rail was so impressed with our school and children that he is taking on the Loch Ness Marathon on the 25th September, raising funds for Highland Hospice, MFR Cash for Kids and Lochardil Primary School. He chose his charities based on our chosen charities last year. If you would like to sponsor Andrew you can do so here https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/andrew-sumner-2

Help raise £1,000 to help Lochardil Primary School, Inverness raise money for school improvements and to support Highland Hospice & MFR Cash for Kids

We’re raising money to help Lochardil Primary School, Inverness raise money for school improvements and to support Highland Hospice & MFR Cash for Kids. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

justgiving.com

 A survey sheet was sent home with children on Monday of this week.  If you have not already done so, especially if you feel these are services you would like to use, could you please return the form to the SCHOOL OFFICE by Friday 16th September.  Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis

Lizzy Burke is running a Tennis Class after school for the remaining three Thursdays of this term, 15/9, 29/9 and 6/10.

The class runs from the bell until 4pm on the MUGA.  Please come along and there will be a form for Parents to complete at 3pm or at pick up.  There is a small charge of £5 for the 3 weeks. Children should dress appropriately for all weather conditions, the sessions will run even in wet weather as there is no indoor alternative.

Any queries please contact Lizzy on 07983116947.

A survey will be issued next week to gauge the interest in a Breakfast Club and Out of School Care facility based in the Early Learning & Childcare setting.  Please check your child’s school bag for the survey.

Please see the attached letter inviting parents/carers of children in our Early Learning & Childcare setting to drop in for coffee & chat on Wednesday 21st September between 9am – 9.145am or 2.15pm – 3.00pm.
The ELCC team look forward to welcoming you.

coffee-chat-elcc-meeting-2016

These award-winning language classes have now started on Thursday nights after school. They are taught by Fiona Evans, a fully qualified French teacher using La Jolie Ronde structured language course. There are two classes, one for P1-P3 and the other for P4-P7. More information can be found on Fiona’s Facebook page, ‘Fiona’s French for Children’. Fiona would be delighted to have more pupils attending, particularly at the first session for our younger children.

Fiona’s French for Children (parental letter) –

Please find an updated version of the first newsletter of the session below. Unfortunately the computer gremlins missed a page from the original!

Newsletter 1 August 2016 (updated)

The first Parent Council Meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday evening, 7th September, at 7 pm in the school. All parents and carers are invited to come along to hear about what is happening in school. We appreciate your views and hope you will be able to come along. It is a great way to get to know people! The agenda for the meeting can be found on the Parent Council Blog. We look forward to welcoming you to the school on Wednesday evening!

Newsletter 1 August 2016

Dear Parents / Carers,

We are delighted to share Morgan Sindall has been appointed as contractors for our new build kitchen and dining facilities. As you may be aware, they are now fully set up onsite and works will begin within our school grounds from tomorrow, Wednesday the 31^st of August, through to Monday 5^th December. This means we will now have restricted access in certain areas within the school, and NO access to the carpark for any vehicle other than for registered disabled access.

While the building work is going on we will not be permitted to the rear of the canteen which is used for accessing the nursery and upper school classrooms. Please do not move any of the fencing in place to gain access. Instead, please use the path adjacent to the shelter at the front gate and proceed down the path beside the field.

For flexi care nursery, out with normal school hours, please use the buzzer at the gate to the rear of the staff carpark and access as above.

Disabled access ONLY will be through the main school reception.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping to minimise the disruption during this work, and let’s look forward to the fabulous new provision we will have here at Lochardil Primary.

Mrs A Kellacher

A group photograph of our new Primary one children was taken this morning by the Inverness Courier. The photograph will be included in a special ‘Primary One Supplement’ which will be published at the end of September. Fortunately, it was a lovely day and we were able to have the photograph taken outside. The children all behaved beautifully and tried very hard to give their best smile!

After the success of the Badminton team at the Olympics, we have been notified of an opportunity for all local badminton enthusiasts!

Restricted Team Event Poster

Good luck to any entrants and let us know how you get on!

We have just been informed that the roof on the shelter in the main playground is to be replaced next week. The bicycle shelter there will be out of use from Monday 22^nd August until the work is finished (approx. 1 week). Please ensure that your child is aware of this and that they should use the bicycle shelters at the main gate or the one at the back gate.

Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.

Mrs A Kellacher

Head Teacher

Primary 1 pupils have settled really well in to their new classes, familiarising themselves with new routines and making new friendships.

We would like to invite you to pop in to your child’s class before home time tomorrow, Friday 19^th August so you can see how well they have been getting on during the week. We look forward to welcoming you from 2.15pm onwards.

Mrs G Rodgers & Mrs A McArthur

SCHOOL MEALS REMINDER

Thank you to the parent who brought it to our attention that some parents/carers are unaware of the improvements being made to the school buildings. This work affects our kitchen & dining areas, which are being modified and extended to accommodate our increasing number of pupils. While this is ongoing, meals are prepared off-site and transported to us and the gym hall is being used to serve snacks & lunches. As this restricts the meals that can be provided at present, all pupils were issued with a modified menu (links below) at the end of last term which should be used until further notice. Orange choice is a hot meal, and the blue choice is a grab & go cold option (sandwich, baguette etc).

Please be reminded that we are a cashless school, and where possible, school meal payments should be made on line, through the Highland Council website (www.highland.gov.uk/info/878/schools/9/school_meals/2). Please contact the Catering office with any queries – Tel 01463 668665.

The new projected date for completion of the works is December 2016. We are looking forward to using our new canteen facility and thank you for your cooperation. We will keep you updated via the school blog.

Mrs A Kellacher  Head Teacher

Temp Menu 1 Temp menu 2

Parents/carers and pupils are reminded of the signing in/out system for children who go home for lunch, attend appointments or are late to school for any reason

All pupils who arrive late after the start of school – for any reason – must enter the school building by the main reception door and sign in at the school office.  Pupils leaving for appointments during the school day must be signed out by a responsible adult.

Chidlren who go home for lunch, must sign out before they leave the school grounds and sign in again on their return.  For pupils in Primary 1 or 2, this should be carried out by a responsible adult on their behalf.

To assist with pupil safety, please discuss this important procedure with your child.

Thank you for your cooperation.

I hope that you have all had a lovely Summer Holiday! Staff were back to school today so we are all ready to get the new session under way. We will see everyone bright and early tomorrow morning and raring to go.

8.50 am for P4 – P7

9.00 am for P2 and P3.

Our new P1 pupils are having a ‘staggered’ start and will be coming in at the time allocated on their letters.

I hope you all have a fabulous first week!

What a busy but fun week we have had here at Lochardil. There has been pupils v staff netball, the Summer Disco, Leavers’ Assembly and a fantastic Talent Show. Many thanks to the whole school community for your support this year. Have a fantastic Summer, keep safe and we look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Tuesday 16th August at the usual times.

An important reminder for after the holidays that we have a NO NUTS Policy in school. We have some children in school who take a severe reaction to nuts and we want to keep them safe. Please ensure that you do not provide your child with nuts or anything containing nuts such as  Nutella or Peanut Butter to eat while they are in school. Please also be aware that some products state on the packaging that they are made in a factory where nuts may be present.

Thank you all for your help in this matter. We want to ensure a safe environment for all of our children.

We all like something for nothing, especially in the Summer holidays which can be a very expensive time for parents!

Ticket Collection Competition
This summer Stagecoach are giving away an iPod to one lucky bus user! Entrants simply need to collect 6 bus tickets between 4th July and 12th August. Find more details for how to enter for this fantastic prize – https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/north-scotland/summer-holiday-competition .

Kids go FREE
We are providing free travel to kids when accompanied by an adult using a dayrider or megarider  from 4th to 17th July. Maximum of 3 children with one adult using a dayrider or megarider  ticket.

Win an iPod Summer 2016

As you can see from the smiling faces, the children thoroughly enjoyed the After School Tennis Club which was run by Lizzie Burke this term. She sent a couple of photos for everyone to see. Many thanks to Lizzie for running this club and for all the other tennis opportunities she provides for the school. Maybe one of our Lochardil pupils will be playing at Wimbledon in a few years!