Welcome back to PPS. It’s been great to see the pupils happy to be back at school and settling into their new classes. The focus for learning this week has very much been on settling in and getting used to new routines.
Consent Forms – Data and Flu Vaccine
Your child will soon be sent home with a data consent form and flu vaccine consent form. Please sign and return these to school ASAP.
Swimming Lessons
Swimming lessons for P3-7 will begin next week. P4 and P6 will swim on Wednesday, P3, P5, P7 will swim on Thursday.
Between next week and October holidays our classes will walk to the pool. After the holidays they will be transported by bus – thank you to Stagecoach for their ongoing support with this.
Running Club P5-7
We will be starting a weekly after school running club on Thursdays 3.30-4.15pm. This will be organised and supervised by Miss Deplano. Interested pupils will be given a letter home today, please sign and return if you would like your child to participate. Note that numbers are limited for this.
Computer Club
Computer Club will return on Tuesday 2nd September. This is led by P7 Pupil Ethan, and supervised by Mr MacLean. All welcome.
Date: Weekly on Tuesday
Time: 3.30-4.30pm.
Location: Portree Primary School Music Room.
Labelling Personal Items
Please ensure that you name label your child’s belongings including clothing such as jackets and jumpers, as well as things like water bottles. We already have a few items in lost property, which can be difficult to return to children without it being labelled.
Water Bottles in Classroom
If your child brings a water bottle for use in class, this should contain only water. If you would like your child to have juice, then this should be in a separate bottle for drinking at break or lunchtimes.
School Meals
Please see message below from Highland Council regarding payment for school meals. Parents please be aware that we have a large stock of school meal payment envelopes in the school, should you wish to pay for your child’s meal in cash you can use these envelopes to send the cash payment in to school with your child. Please pick some of these up from the office, or ask your child to pick some up. If you chose to pay in cash, please ensure that your child’s envelope is clearly labelled with their name, class, and payment amount.
School Meals Payment – Pupils in Primary 6 and 7
Scottish Government legislation provides universal free school meals for all children from P1 to P5, but this has not yet been rolled out to P6 and 7 pupils. Any meals taken by pupils in P6 / 7, who are not entitled to income based free school meals, should be paid for in advance. The cost of a primary school meal is £2.40 per meal. Information on how to pay for meals can be found here: Pay for school meals | School meals | The Highland Council.
Some children will still be entitled to income based Free School Meals, if you think this may apply to your children, criteria and application can be found Free school meals and assistance with clothing | Free school meals and assistance with clothing | The Highland Council.
Teaching Arrangements 2025-26
A reminder of our teaching arrangements for this session:
| Class | Teacher |
| P1/2 | Mrs Templeman |
| P2/3 | Mrs Murray (2 ½ days) & Mrs Martin (2 ½ days) |
| P4 | Mrs MacAskill |
| P5 | Mr Murray |
| P6 | Miss Hajar (4 days) and Mr MacLean (1 day) |
| P7 | Miss MacKenzie |
| Class Contact Reduction (CCR) | Miss Deplano (3 days) |
| Additional Support Needs (ASN) | Mrs Tyronney (3 days) |
| Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) | Mrs Beaton (1 day) |
Important – Pupils taking bus
A reminder for pupils who take the bus to school:
Pupils who take the bus to school but who are not eligible for free school transport must be in possession of their Young Scot/National Entitlement card.
If you are unsure about whether your child is entitled to free school transport, you can check eligibility at this link: https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/878/schools/12/school_transport or be in touch with the school and we’ll let you know.
If your child does not have a Young Scot/National Entitlement card you can apply for one at this link: https://young.scot/get-informed/young-persons-free-bus-travel/
Known Important Dates for Term 1 (2025-26)
| Date | Event |
| Tuesday 26th August | Skyedance lessons begin for all classes |
| Wednesday 27th August | Swimming lessons begin for P4 and P6 |
| Thursday 28th August | Swimming lessons begin for P3, P5, P7 |
| Wednesday 3rd September | Andy McKechnie visit – Rights Respecting Schools Assembly for all pupils and workshops for P4-7. |
| Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th September | School closed for in-service |
| Wednesday 17th-Friday 19th September | Scholastic Bookfair |
| Wednesday 24th September | UHI Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) workshops |
| Monday 29th September | P6 & P7 at Portree High School for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Roadshow from BAE Systems in partnership with Royal Air Force and Royal Navy |
| Friday 10th October | School closes at 12.45pm for last day of Term 1. Re-opens Monday 27th October. |
portreeprimaryschool.com 