Dear Parents and Carers

It has been a busy and exciting start to the term.

P6 shared their learning with parents at their European Showcase Event and had food tasting

from around the world which was fun to try. Great to see the children enjoying presenting in

French and German! Thank you P6.

Thank you to all who supported Scot’s Week and our Scot’s poetry reading competition. The

children did a terrific job remembering and reciting their poems.

P6 pupils really enjoyed their Burns Lunch. Thank you to the kitchen staff and school staff for

organising our events, a great week was had by all!

Work on improving the rear playground starts on Monday, 08 February following our planning

meeting with the contractors.

Please be aware there will be some disruption during this work. Your patience and understanding

in this is, as always, much appreciated.

It was good to hear so many positive comments during Parent Consultation Meetings on Tuesday

and Thursday. Any follow-up points will be completed quickly. Keep up the good work children, you

are making great progress.

Please take some time to complete the City of Edinburgh Council survey before 12 February to

help us, and all schools across the city, identify strengths and next steps. The link to the website

address is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/parc/15

Please remember, if you have any concerns, queries, worries or suggestions, please let me, or a

member of our staff team know. We are all here to help.

Kind regards,

Carol Kyle

Montpelier, Edinburgh, EH10 4NA, 0131 229 1821 www.bruntsfield.edin.sch.uk

LOST PROPERTY

Named lost property is

returned to pupils.

Unnamed and unclaimed

lost property is given to

charity.

PLEASE NAME YOUR CHILD’S OR GRANDCHILD’S CLOTHING AND

ENCOURAGE HIM/HER TO LOOK AFTER HIS/HER BELONGINGS.

Lost property may be checked by pupils during the school day, or by

parents on Friday afternoons.

Textile Recycling Never Goes Out of Fashion!

Bruntsfield Community Nursery are holding another Rag-Bag recycling collection

on Thursday 11 February. Unwanted textiles, shoes, bags, belts, towels,

soft toys, curtains and linens are requested for the Rag-bag collection.

If you have any Rag-Bags please bring them on the day and deposit them in

the marked/coned off area in the bike shed by 9am. Please do not bring them

in to school at any other time.

Please take part and help to protect the environment and assist your local authority

to meet their recycling targets. Funds raised will be put towards improving the

nursery grounds with planters being provided for the children to grow their own

choice of fruit, vegetables and flowering shrubs and plants.

For further information on the Rag-bag scheme check the

Rag-bag website

www.rag-bag.co.uk.

GOOD LUCK TO OUR BADMINTON TEAM!!!

Here is the Bruntsfield Team for the Scottish Quaich Championships at Wishaw

sports centre on Saturday 27th February:

7A Hamish

7A Torrance

7A Philip

7B Oscar

7A Lachlan

5C Ishbel

7A Molly

6A Hanna

5C Freya

5C Rhona

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Congratulations Bruntsfield Primary Pupils.

Whit a braw Scots celebration. We wir aw richt prood o’ ll the

bairns. What fabulous recitations and singing this morning. Well done everyone.

Please see the News and Current Events page of our website for a full list of winners!

This month P6B have been working on time. We have been practicing

converting between 12 hour and 24 hour time. Our aim for this week has been

to use our knowledge of 24hour time to plan a journey, using timetables. We

enjoyed using train, bus and ferry timetables to plan a journey to take

Paddington Bear around the country.

Both Primary 6 classes had a fantastic trip to Glasgow Science Centre in

January. We attended a DNA workshop to follow up work done in class about

genetics and DNA. We used different chemicals to find and show our DNA

(we used cheek cells).

P6 Update

P5B Earth Calling Stories Earth Calling Trip

Last week our class went on a trip with Mrs Thomson to Craiglockhart Woods. It was such an exciting time.

First we were put into groups. My group was: me, Raphael, Miriam, Maryam, Rayan and Stuart. We got into

our groups and were talked to about safety, for example, when we see a dog we are to ignore them so that no-

body gets scared or gets one chasing them. The instructors were very friendly.

After a while we went off in our groups to look for something that would make the instructors go “WOW!” We

put different objects in our tray. I found a hole in a tree that looked like it had been sucked in like a time portal

but obviously I couldn’t put a tree in our tray. As well as that I found a little plant that looked like a ball of fluff

and also a bright red stalk.

Eventually we had a break. Raphael and I took a stick and made a path through the leaves. I used my feet so

that the leaves would be swept away. Then I had my snack.

After that the instructors told us we were going to make a display of all the things we had gathered. Our group

found a spot where some ferns had made an arch which looked mam-made. We created a face and put the moss

as hair and we stuck berries in its mouth. Once we had finished it looked really good.

For the penultimate event, the groups were allowed to make dens. This was my favourite part because we could

be co-operative and could actually build our own rooms. We had to find somewhere with lots of sticks and lots

of branches sticking out of trees, so we could lean logs on them. We had lots of time to do it. Once we had

made the main structure we could start the padding. We mostly used ferns, leaves and best of all this dark green

plant because it could stick well and spread out well too. There were small tree stumps that we found and used

as stools. One of the stumps leant against a funny shaped tree which made a back rest. I think our den was well

padded because there weren’t very many holes in the wall.

When we were nearly finished we were allowed to lunch in our dens. I went off to see other people’s dens.

They were all really good. Lots of them were wigwam shaped while others were cabin like. Each one of them

had a different sort of feel to them. Some were small and cosy and some were big and had lots of room.

After lunch we were allowed to put the finishing touches to our dens. To do that we made a little table and a

doormat and completed what we were going to do before lunch.

Then we had a stroll to another open space in the woods where we looked for bugs. There was a ‘Put a slug on

your face’ event which I took part in. It felt really weird because the slug was so slimy. I found a little centipede

and I watched it crawl around on my hand. All the bugs were really interesting. Then we went back to the bus

and came back to school.

By Magnus, P5B

P5B Earth Calling Stories Earth Calling Trip!

On Tuesday the 3rd of November we set off. I discovered that Mrs Thomson, Mrs McGougan and four parents

were coming with us. At the bottom of the stairs we met up with three outdoor instructors, then we went out

and took bus 23 to the back of Craiglockhart Hill.

The instructors led us up a path to a big tree, then they gave us safety instructions, put us into our groups and

gave a tray for each group. Then they told us to collect things that made them say WOW! After that we used

the things that we collected to make a display. We made a circle of leaves and branches and in the middle we

put the stuff that we collected. After a while, the display was finished, it looked like a spectacular bird’s nest.

We had break and then they let us have a little play around. Nic, Isla and I played hide and seek tig. We ran

around. When I ran I felt as if the forest made you run faster. I actually thought that the forest was moving the

dangerous stuff for e.g. pieces of metal. Thorns or spiky branches out of your way. Running into soft bushes

and jumping over logs and piled sticks was amazing, so was hiding in thick, branchy bushes.

Then they called us back and told us what to do next. It was a hot day so it was good to stay outside. We were

told to pick a spot for the den. After that we collected sticks and started building.

Our den was in a very hidden place. I think ours was really good, not as the best den because I think Magnus’s

team’s den was my favourite but their den was not as hidden as ours and that is the thing I liked about our den.

It was at the other side of a path and to protect our den there was a low wall of holly and the only way to come

in was through two trees at the beginning of the holly.

In the middle of the steep path was a small fallen tree that we used as a guard spot. It was slightly curved so

that if you jumped on it from the steep path and if anyone was coming you could jump on the path leading to

the den so that they couldn’t come in.

We did let most people in. We used the back as an entrance. If you had sticks or big branches because it would

be hard to climb a steep hill with big branches, sticks or logs.

After that we had lunch. The instructors let us eat our lunch in our den. We had lots of visits during lunch .Even

though our den was done we gave it a little extension. After lunch we left the dens and we went to an area with

lots of bugs. We found a spider, a millipede and lots of other bugs. Some people put slugs on their faces, I did

too.

We left the woods and went back to the bus stop. I thought that the trip was very cooperative and we also had

great fun.

By Ada , P5B

Dear Parents and Carers,

Every two years we have the opportunity to complete a Parents and Carers sur-vey on our school for the Children and Families Department. Please find below the survey monkey link to the survey. If you would like a paper copy of our sur-vey, please enquire at the school office.

There will be, as always, paper copies for anyone who would like one. If you could please complete this by Friday 12 February, it helps us, and the Council know the areas which are going well in Bruntsfield and across the city and next steps for development.

Parent and Carer Survey 2016

Parent and carer survey 2015/16

This survey has been devised to help us provide your child with a high quality education. Your views will help us find out what we are doing well and where we could improve. Thousands of parents and carers have taken part in previous surveys and I would like to encourage even more of you to do so this year. The views of par-ents and carers really help us to improve services at the school level and across the city. If possible, please complete the survey online using the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/parc15

or complete the paper copy and return it to your child’s school. We have not asked you to provide your name. This is so that you can express your views freely knowing they will be anonymous. A summary of the results will be circulated to all schools. Thank you for your co-operation. Yours sincerely Children & Families Department Director of Families and Communities City of Edinburgh Council

Please enquire at the school office for an application form.

February

Mon 01 - 05 Fri Book Fair

Tues 02 Parent Consultations (no clubs in school) 16:00—19:00

Thurs 04 Parent Consultations (no clubs in school) 16:00—19:00

05 Fri Newsletter

Thurs 11 Rag Bag Collection

15 Mon - 19 Fri Mid Term Break

22 Mon All Resume

25 Thurs Sportshall Regional Competition (Meadowbank)

26 Fri Community Teams

29 Mon P6 & P7 Cross Country (Meadows)

March

01 Tues 1C Fairyland trip (Lauriston Castle)

03 Thurs World Book Day

04 Fri Newsletter

07 Mon 1A, 1B, 1C Mega Smoothie Workshops

09 Weds 2A, 2B, 2C Mega Smoothie Workshops

09 Weds & 10 Thurs Class Photographs

14 Mon P6 & P7 Cross Country (Inverleith Park)

14 Mon - 15 Tues P7 Risk Factory

16 Weds EPSSA Cross Country Finals (Inverleith Park)

17 Thurs Easter Service

18 Fri Community Teams

21 Mon P7 Risk Factory

23 Weds P6 & P7 Swimming Gala at Commonwealth Pool

24 Thurs End of Term (Regular Finish Time)

25 March Fri - 08 April Fri School Holidays

April

11 Mon All Resume

18 Mon Spring Holiday

20 Weds P4 & P5 Go Run for Fun (Meadows)

25 Mon 4A, 4B, 4C Mega Smoothie Workshop

26 Tues 3A, 3B, 2/3 Mega Smoothie Workshop

29 Fri Community Teams

Please note that dates are provisional and may occasionally be subject

to change.

ICE ALERT -PENTLAND HILLS REGIONAL PARK Please be aware that during cold spells many of the ponds, lakes and reservoirs around our Natural Heritage sites and the Pentland Hills are frozen or partially frozen and people must avoid venturing out onto the ice.