It was lovely to see our school so busy today for another parent and carer drop in session. Today’s was one of the busiest we’ve seen, and it was a great opportunity for the children to share their learning based on this week’s Book Week theme of ‘Treasure Island’.
We hope you all enjoyed it!
Mrs Ramm, Ms Lebov and Mrs Douglas took our cross country running team to the North Edinburgh Cross Country event at Wardie Playing Fields yesterday!
Our team performed really well, and lots of our runners placed inside the top 50, receiving a special card to commemorate their achievement. However, an extra special mention must go to Daniel Ritchie from P6, who came 4th in the boys race, and received a medal!
Here are some photos of the day-
We now look forward to the Edinburgh Schools Cross Country Final event on Monday 20th March, when Mrs Ramm will be taking a team of our highest placed runners. Details for those concerned to follow.
Let’s see if we can achieve more running success then!
We have received some fantastic news!
It’s been announced that Broughton were the winners of the 2016 Edinburgh Marathon Festival Junior Races competition!
Over 800 children from schools across Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian and Fife took part in last May’s event, which was the biggest in event’s history.
Young runners aged 6-8 took part in the 1.5k race and 9-12 year olds raced over 2k as part of a packed weekend of running last May which also included the 5k, 10k, Team Relay, Half Marathon and Marathon.
GB London Olympic Athlete Freya Ross and EMF mascot, Mr Hairy Haggis, made a special visit to our whole school assembly last Monday morning to award the school with the winning trophy and £150 worth of sports equipment vouchers.
We are delighted to have won the EMF schools competition. It’s wonderful to get the recognition for all the children’s hard work and efforts,both in training and on the day, as well as the PSA for helping to organise our participation!
We also received this feedback from the EMF race organisers-
“On behalf of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival team I would like to say a special thank you to everyone at Broughton Primary for their efforts and level of engagement with the EMF junior races. Pupils and staff from the school are a brilliant example of why we do the junior races at EMF and we are really proud that these races help make real change.
Broughton Primary’s dedication and commitment through organised training ‘fun runs’ prior to EMF weekend reflects how the school are determined to make the children more active. We realise it’s important to build on this momentum of keeping our children more active and by encouraging kids to get involved with the EMF junior races it provides a special occasion where they can celebrate a sense of achievement and inclusion as they cross the finish line.
By working closely together to help drive participation in the junior races we can show that EMF is for everyone and continue to encourage more local schools to get involved and help make a difference.
So a massive well done to all involved in creating positive change for our children.
Regards
Neil Kilgour
EMF Race Director”
Well done to all! Let’s see if we can repeat our success this year!
Follow this link to see the post on the EMF’s webpage
Broughton Crowned Junior Champions
This week has been Diversity Week at Broughton, with a particular focus on the diversity of foods produced and eaten around the world.
Classes in school this week have been drawing on the experiences of our diverse family backgrounds in relation to food, and have also been researching where, how and why some foods are produced and eaten in a range of different countries and cultures.
We held a House Morning today, where the children worked across stages together to taste a range of foods and create different ways of showing what they had learned.
We held a special Diversity Assembly, where the children shared their experiences with each other, and our PSA ran a busy International Cafe in our Dining Room, selling a range of delicious foods from a range of countries and cultures!
Here are some photos of today’s events-
Have a lovely February break everyone! We look forward to seeing you all back on Monday 20th February!
Lunchtime Cafe reminder- Tomorrow the PSA are hosting an International Cafe in the school dining hall on from 11.30-13.00, to coincide with Diversity Week at school. All children, parents, carers and staff are warmly invited to come along to sample some cuisine from around the world. All proceeds raised will go towards playground improvements and the cultural fund.
Remember, these events can not go ahead without the generous support and help of the volunteers of our PSA. Our Pupil Council were asked how the PSA have benefitted their experiences at Broughton- watch the video clips below for their responses….
Finally, the minutes of the last PSA meeting held in January have been posted on the ‘Parent Bodies’ section of the website. Look them out!
Last week was our PSA-organised Winter Disco, held in our Gym Hall. The event was a big success, raising £797.14 for funds to benefit everyone in school! Here are some photos of the disco-
Thanks to our PSA for organising this event! Remember, our PSA are always looking for new members- events like discos, fairs and cafes can only be held with the generous time and effort given by the PSA volunteers.
Below is a plea from our PSA for new members, with more information on how you can help out…
Update from the PSA :
YOUR SCHOOL NEEDS YOU!
We can’t run our PSA events and raise much needed funds for school without your help.
We would like to get a group of parents and carers together to form a new PSA fundraising committee. By working together, we can spread the load and everyone can do as much as they want or have time and skills to do. It is a great way to get to know other parents and also make decisions about how we spend the money we raise for the children to enjoy. We have lots of different fundraising events and ideas to help the school and children.
There are many ways to help:
• creating marketing materials to promote PSA events and newsletters to let families know what we’ve spent the money on
• taking the lead to organise events such as lunchtime café, Christmas café, discos and the Summer Fair
• helping children get fit and raise money for school with the Edinburgh Marathon Festival
• finding sponsors and raffle prizes
• writing fundraising applications
• administering the school lottery
• publicity to promote events and keep Parents and carers informed via email and Facebook page
• at the Christmas Cafe and Summer Fair helpers to set up and take down tables
Can you help with any of these?
Last year we raised nearly £15,000. With part of this we were able to establish a Cultural Fund giving every class money for extracurricular activities and outings. This year we’ve been able to double the cultural fund, but can’t do this again next year if we don’t raise enough money this year. We have continued to contribute to the playground improvements project – the new picnic benches were bought with money raised from the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.
This year we have already raised £1,080 from the Halloween disco, £288 from a lunchtime café and £1,100 from the Christmas café so we’re off to a good start, but need as many families as we can to get involved and help. The PSA is a very small group of people doing a very big job, so please get in touch if you can help in any way.
You can email us broughtonparents@gmail.com, https://www.facebook.com/groups/150941141661465/ or leave us a message on our Facebook page
Or ask any of the committee for more information – Sandra Rathjen (chair PC); Anne Hay (vice chair); Rob Noronha (secretary) and Kate Moir (treasurer).
Look out soon for more about how PSA fundraising benefits our school, with contributions from our Pupil Council…
Further to our post earlier this term, the PSA would like to remind you of the upcoming International Cafe, to be held on Friday 10th February. It’s a chance to sample a range of different foods, and your support would be much appreciated! A poster has been attached below.
Furher to our post earlier this week about the Edinburgh Marathon Festival, attached below is a newsletter from our event organisers with lots of information. The Pupil Council have already been consulted, and are considering how we would like to use the proceeds of this event to enhance the learning and teaching opportunities here at Broughton. Our target is to match last year’s total of £2500!
Also attached is a Winter Flyer, again with useful information about this event, and details on the organisation of weekly fun runs at Pilrig Park, starting on Sunday 26th March, to help people with their training. These are a great idea, and a good chance for people from different classes to meet up and really feel part of team Broughton as they train together.
We will post regular EMF updates as the festival approaches- watch this space!
PSA EMF Newsletter- January 2017
Finally, don’t forget our Winter Discos tonight! Look forward to seeing you there!
The Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) group, led by Mrs Rushforth, have put together a calendar of carefully considered actions they have planned for this session up until June. A copy is attached below for you to view.
We are all very excited to see how these plans will influence how our children play in our playground space!
EDINBURGH MARATHON FESTIVAL
SATURDAY 27TH & SUNDAY 28TH MAY 2017 AT HOLYROOD PARK
In 2015, 22 children took part in our first Edinburgh Marathon Festival and raised an amazing £2000. We didn’t think it could get much better but we were wrong! Last year saw 67 children pull on their trainers to run with their friends and Team Broughton Primary raised an incredible £4000 for our school.
The money helped us buy new picnic tables and seating for the playground as well as continue the Culture Fund which supports classes, whether that be a trip to Dynamic Earth or climbing at Alien Rock. Every class did something cool in Edinburgh last year thanks to the money our lovely runners raised. And who can forget the sight of the Lothian Gold Open-Top Bus in our playground and a visit from Dr Andrew Murray!
The EMF organisers were so impressed with the children’s efforts that we have been awarded Super Active School status and they will be visiting the school in March to feature us in the campaign running up to the race weekend
So what do we want to achieve in 2017?
We want Team BPS represented in every race and for every class to have someone running for them. We were one of the Top 5 schools in 2016 and we think we can do even better this year.
There are 9 races this year- 4 for children and 5 for adults. For the first time, there is a race for nursery and P1 children as well as a Junior 5K. All of the children’s races will take place on Saturday 27th May at Holyrood Park. It’s a great event to be part of and our team spirit is brilliant. So far, 20 children have signed up and we have parents entered into the Marathon and Half Marathon races. Mr Horan from P5B is running the 10K and we are confident we will get an adult to run the 5K and a Hairy Haggis Team to run the Marathon as a relay.
Class Competition
The PSA are funding one place for every class from Nursery up to P7 via a lucky draw in class, but don’t worry if you don’t win, as you can still enter the race by going to https://www.edinburghmarathon.com/.
Everyone representing the school will get a Broughton Primary t-shirt to wear on the day and our fun runs in Pilrig Park will start each Saturday morning after the Easter Holidays to get everyone feeling happy and confident before race day. If you’re not a runner, you can still join in by coming along to cheer Team BPS on and can donate via our fundraising page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BPSrunners
If you have any questions please contact Catriona and Sandra at bpsrunners@gmail.com and e-mail us if you register your child to run so we can keep you up to date with news.
Go Team BPS!
The PSA are hosting an International Cafe in the school dining hall on Friday 10th February from 11.30-13.00, to coincide with Diversity Week at school. All children, parents, carers and staff are warmly invited to come along to sample some cuisine from around the world. All proceeds raised will go towards playground improvements and the cultural fund.
The event cannot go ahead without your help. We require donations of soup and internationally themed savoury dishes to sell at the cafe. These may include quiche, pizza, tortilla, samosa, pakora, spring rolls or sushi to name a few. Any donations of home baking will also be gratefully accepted. All fresh food donations should be brought along to school on the day of the event.
We also need volunteers to run the event. There are 3 shifts that to choose from:
Event set up: 10am-11.30am
Serving at the event: 11.15am-1pm
Tidy up: 1pm-1.45pm
If you are able to help at the event, even for a short time, please email Anne Hay, event organiser, at anne.lm.hay@gmail.com or post a message on the PSA Facebook page http://bit.ly/bps-parents-forum
Broughton Primary 