Sports Day
Sports Day takes place this morning at 10.30am on the King George V pitch. Parents are welcome to attend. Portree and Braes Community Trust will be filming some footage of the event.
Staffing
We have welcomed Mr Boyd Dickson on to our teaching team this week. Mr Dickson will be working with us on a supply basis, covering classes across the school and also working with pupils in small group support sessions in literacy and numeracy.
Sporting Success
I was delighted to watch our Primary 7 team win the weekend’s Soccer 7s event in Kyleakin. They played against some really difficult opposition and managed to prevail after a nail-biting penalty shootout in the final. Well done to all of the boys involved – you were an absolute credit to yourselves and your school! Thank you to Ross Hill and Charlie Campbell for all of their efforts coaching the P7 team, and thank you to all parent helpers and spectators for their ongoing support. Last weekend’s event was tinged with sadness, as it is the last time that the current P7 group will represent Portree Primary, however we look forward to hearing about the future footballing success of this talented group of lads.
Our other team, made up of P4 and P5s, also gave a good account of themselves on the day, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how this group will develop into a competitive team in future years.
Activity Week
I had indicated some weeks ago that I felt it unlikely that our planned school trips would go ahead. This is due to a lack of availability of transport for classes. I am very disappointed that this is the case, however we will be adapting to this by planning a whole school activity week on w/c 10th June instead. We are busy planning our activities for the week, and will let you know details when they are confirmed.
If parents have any suggestions for local activities that we should consider, then I’d be very happy to hear them.
School Improvement Planning
At this time of year, we evaluate how far we have come in our School Improvement Plan, and think about how to continue this improvement into future years. Parents and carers are vital partners in everything we do in the school, and improvement planning is no different. I would really value your thoughts and opinions on our school improvement plan and have included a link to a short survey (only 4 questions, should take no more than 5-10 minutes) to help gather these. I would very much appreciate any comments that you may have.
Survey link: https://forms.office.com/e/Sc4UEBUFzx
Local Mod
Pupils in P1-3 have been rehearsing two action songs for entry in this year’s Mod on Friday 31st May . Information has been sent on to those involved. I’ve been listening in to rehearsals and it’s sounding good!
Skye Week
Our pupils have been invited to take part in some events for Skye Week. We will have a group of pupils involved in the parade on Saturday 1st June, and a group of pupils singing on the evening of Tuesday 4th June. Information letters have gone out to pupils who have expressed an interest in taking part. Please return permission slips as soon as possible.
Playground Behaviour
I have had cause to speak to a number of pupils this week about their behaviour in the playground. Some children are engaging in some rather rough play, which is leading to upset, and in some cases injury. Our Pupil Support Assistants do a great job in maintaining good order in the playground, but pupils must also play their part in this. I have reminded all pupils of their responsibilities for good behaviour and respect for each other in the playground. I would ask that parents and carers remind their children of expectations of good behaviour, and also encourage them to report poor behaviour to school staff. This is a really important step in dealing with issues as they arise, because not all poor behaviour is spotted as it happens.
Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP)
Parents of children in P5-7 have been invited to attend the school on Wednesday 29th May at 2.45pm if they wish to view teaching materials or ask staff questions about RSHP lessons.
Mountain Warehouse
Mountain Warehouse have been in touch to offer parents a 20% discount across their website for a period of two weeks beginning Monday 20th May. Please see information below about how to receive this discount.
Discount code: CC202473
Feel free to explore our range of products and take advantage of this limited-time offer. This code will be valid for 2 weeks starting week commencing 20/05/24. Please note this code is only valid on orders sold and shipped by Mountain Warehouse.
Below I have included a link to our website and instructions on how to apply your discount code:
https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/
Once the items have been selected and added to your basket, please select the basket icon in the top right hand corner of the webpage. In the basket on the left hand side is the total spent, below there is a tab where you can enter your PROMO code. Please enter the discount code provided and select apply. This will apply the discount to your basket, you can then proceed to the checkout as usual.
End of Year Reports
End of year reports will be going home to parents on Wednesday 29th May. Reports will be taken home by your child. If you require an additional copy of the report (for example in the case of parents who don’t live together), please let the school know so that we can get one to you.
Parent Council
Our school Parent Council is on the lookout for new members. Parent Council plays a key role in representing the views of parents, supporting the school, fundraising, and much more. However, as a voluntary body it is reliant on members of the parent community offering their support. To find out more about the Parent Council, please see the information on the school website: https://portreeprimary.wordpress.com/parents/parent-council/what-does-the-parent-council-do/ .
I would ask all parents to please consider supporting the vital work of the Parent Council.
Active Schools
Please see message from Sarah Ross at Active Schools, with poster at the end of this email:
ACTIVE SCHOOLS ACTIVITIES- ONLINE NOW!!
Our community activities starting from Monday 22nd are now online for booking! Please see poster attached for what’s taken place. Please make sure that you re- book your child onto activities for the new term.
All these activities will take place at the Fingal Centre. We will have more information going out to individual schools about activities happening in your local area soon.
It would be great to have some new faces along, so make sure to book your place online at https://booking.highlifehighland.com/ You do not need to be a member to come to activities, but you will need to set up a pay as you go account to register.
Information about an exciting new Shinty session will be coming soon!!
We rely entirely on volunteers to deliver and support our activities in the community and across all our schools, so if you would like to set up something new for your school/community or keen to support our current activities, then we would love to hear from you! Please get in touch with sarah.ross@highlifehighland.com
Key Dates for this term
| Date | Time | Event |
| Friday 24th May | / | Sports Day. With a ‘rain date’ of 31st May. |
| Wednesday 29th May | / | Pupil reports to be issued to parents. |
| Friday 31st May | 2pm | Local Mod. |
| Saturday 1st June | 12.15pm | Skye Week Parade. |
| Monday 3rd June | 11am | P7 pupils visiting PHS for Dynamic Earth workshop. |
| Monday 3rd June | Morning | P5-7 Swimming Championship – more details to follow. |
| Tuesday 4th June | 6.30pm | Skye Week: Highland night/Hoolie in the square. Pupils singing. |
| Wednesday 5th June | / | Visit from Andy McKechnie of Jammin Fitness to do the session: Olympic Street Jam – Pathway to Paris. More information to follow. |
| Thursday 6th June | 11am | P6 pupils visiting PHS for Dynamic Earth workshop. |
| Friday 7th June | Morning | P1/2 and P5 hosting Community Café. |
| Week beginning 10th June | / | Activity Week |
| Friday 14th June | Tbc | Open morning. |
| Wednesday – Friday 19th-21st June | / | P7 Transition visit to Portree High School. Other classes will be having transition time ‘moving up days’ on 20th/21st . |
| Wednesday 26th June | Tbc | Prizegiving ceremony. |
| Thursday 27th June | 12 noon | School closes for last day of session 2023-24. |
portreeprimaryschool.com 