Our assembly on Monday concentrated on the importance of having a positive mindset, focusing on how we approach challenge and new situations. We considered the importance of the phrase, ‘we can’t do it yet.’ 

We want our children to become resilient in all areas of their life and to embrace any challenge they encounter, with our guiding support as parents and educators. We will continue this focus in school as we work through the term and would encourage support from home to develop these skills. A really good website that gives ideas is: 

Encouraging positive behaviour from toddlers to teens | Barnardo’s 

Linking to this, as part of our School Improvement Plan we are working on developing skills in class. 

Wider Achievement at Kirn – The WAO Way 

This session we’re putting a spotlight on Wider Achievement – all the learning, skills and personal growth our children gain beyond the classroom. Alongside their day-to-day progress in class, we want to celebrate the skills they build through clubs, sport, hobbies, volunteering, and time with family and the community. 

Here’s how it works at Kirn: 

1. Learn it – in school. Each stage, P1 to P7, will focus on developing the same key skill through a different, age-appropriate activity, so children build on it year after year.     
2.  Live it – beyond school. This is where you come in! We’re asking families to give your child a Wider Achievement Opportunity (WAO) – anything from a Beaver Scouts badge to helping bake for a family event, learning a new hobby, or taking on a responsibility at home.
3. Celebrate it – on Seesaw. Please record your child’s WAO on Seesaw, with a photo or a few words about what they did and what they learned. We will share and celebrate these together as a whole-school community.

We can’t wait to see what your family gets up to – every achievement, big or small, is worth celebrating. 

We are also focusing on developing our Pupil Leadership team, encouraging all pupils to take on responsibility at all levels. Mrs Wilson will deliver Monday’s assembly with pupils, outlining roles and expectations for House and Vice Captains this year. This is open to our P6 and 7 pupils. We will also be looking for children to be part of our Pupil Council, Eco Committee, Tech Team, and Library Leaders. Within individual classes we are also encouraging roles and responsibilities. 

Our P6 and P7 class were involved in Heart Start training this week presented by Jason Zuccarini. We are very grateful for his time and skills in supporting this very important program. He also offered after school training for adults. We appreciated everyone who attended but unfortunately there were less than ten people who took advantage of this opportunity. It may have been that the timing did not suit, or it was too early in the term so please let us know if this is something you would like to see repeated at a later date. It is especially important as we have a defibrillator in the school for community use. 

Again, we have had a great week and our children are really trying hard with their positive ‘Green’ behaviour. They are using their skills of communication to resolve issues and this is reducing incidents in the playground. 

We would also ask that as from next week, in the top playground (P1-3) parents move behind the railings just before the bell goes to give children space to line up with their teacher. This encourages independence and ensures safety when lining up and accounting for all children.