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Thursday 1 June 2006 |
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This newsletter is published every two weeks for staff in the Children and Families Department. It is available online at the Edinburgh Grid for Learning at http://egfl.net Send
me your stories In
the news
The Standard Life Edinburgh Achievement
Awards celebrate success, best practice, and innovation in all aspects
of Children and Families work and we would like to hear from you. Application forms can also downloaded from http://egfl.net/application The closing date for applications has
been extended this year and is now 18 August 2005. Pupils from Broughton will meet Lee
Morin, astronaut and Stephanie Walker, subsystem manager for flight crew
equipment at Johnson Space Centre. Hermitage Park Primary will welcome
Dr Bonnie Dunbar, astronaut and Dr Neal Pellis, NASA scientist. The visit is part of the Careers Scotland Space School, an initiative supported by the Scottish Executive and the International Space Community. The aim of the project is to get more young people interested in science and technology.
Gylemuir Primary is leading the way in promoting energy efficiency at all levels across the school community. This in part is due to James Hamilton (janitor at Gylemuir) who has recently received his distance-learning SQA energy qualification. The handbook is a user-friendly guide to all issues relating to energy in the school environment and is a resource for all school users. If you would like a hard copy, please contact Jenny Fausset, Sustainable Development Unit on 0131 469 3538 or email her at jenny.fausset@edinburgh.gov.uk The launch included performances by P6 pupils from Scottish Opera’s ‘The Big Bang’ and pupil-led energy walkabouts of the school for those attending. For further information on energy initiatives at Gylemuir Primary School contact Morag Marshall, Business Manager on 0131 334 7138 Upcoming
events
The focus for National Food Safety Week 2006 is raising awareness of the 4 Cs for Food Safety: Cleanliness, Cooking, Chilling and Cross-contamination. Environmental Health Officers and Education Officers from Services for Communities are offering up to five workshops for Primary School age classes. The workshops will focus on health eating, along with the 4 C’s and can tie in with any work being covered through Eco Schools, Healthyschools or general health issues and responsibilities. The team are also running a ‘design an apron’ competition during the week. The apron design competition is open to two age categories P1-3 & P4-7. The winning designs will be produced as actual aprons and made available to the winning school. Closing dates for entries is Monday 21 June. The winning entry will be announced before the Summer holidays. Please note that all designs should limited to the 3 primary colours (blue, red & yellow) and black due to printing restrictions. If you want to book a workshop or need more information on the competition, please call the Education Section at Services for Communities on 469 5257 or e-mail lindsay.grant@edinburgh.gov.uk
Make the best of your smile by eating a healthy, balanced diet, cutting down on sugary foods and drinks, regular toothbrushing and visits to the dentist. The Children and Families Department will be promoting National Smile Month at Wellington Court as part of its commitment to improve staff health and wellbeing. A representative from NHS Lothian will provide an information stall in the coffee lounge on Level 1 throughout the morning of Wednesday 7 June, giving advice on a range of oral health topics from healthy eating to cold sores and tooth whitening. For further information,
or to offer your suggestions about this or any future health improvement
activities, contact Michelle Rogers, Health Improvement Officer, michelle.rogers@educ.edin.gov.uk,
or Barbara Schilling, Development Officer – Health Promotion, barbara.schilling@educ.edin.gov.uk A number of events for parents and pupils have been organised to celebrate this important milestone. All staff (both past and present) with connections to the school are cordially invited to attend an open evening on Monday 5 June from 7.00-9.00pm. If you are in contact with colleagues who have now retired or moved outwith Edinburgh please spread to the word to anyone you know who would be interested. To help with catering, it would be good to know that you are able to attend so a quick email reply to Jan Paterson would be appreciated. If you are a former pupil, the school is
planning a reunion in late September and further information about that
will follow before the holidays. Taking place from Monday 19 June - Sunday 25 June, Child Safety Week promotes practical safety advice and acts as a catalyst for thousands of local safety activities and events, reaching millions of children and families UK-wide. There are a lot of events and competitions being run to highlight this important week. This year Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership are running a colouring in competition for under 5’s of a poster highlighting ‘Hazards in the Home’ and how to stop them. This is to get children thinking about safety. If your nursery or school has not been registered yet and wishes to take part in this competition, please contact Jim Black on 0131 469 5192, james.black@edinburgh.gov.uk, or Briege Nugent on 0131 469 3927, briege.nugent@edinburgh.gov.uk Entrants must write their name and age on the back of the picture. Send completed posters to: Child Safety Colouring In The ‘Good Egg Guide’ which is a resource for parents of Under 5’s will also be launched on the 19 June. This is an excellent free resource giving safety tips and advice available again through your local council. The Child Accident Prevention Trust is also launching many competitions and details can be found on their website. Success
stories
Intranet Development Team
As a team we are responsible for the maintenance and development of the Edinburgh Grid for Learning and the department’s presence on the Corporate Intranet and the Council website. We liaise with colleagues from throughout the department and from the wider Council in order to source, prepare, publish and update new, and existing, information on each of the three sites. We are also heavily involved in the implementation of the Council’s new web content management system. This project has already seen the creation of a new Council website (www.edinburgh.gov.uk) and will see new Corporate Intranet and EGfL sites going live later on in the year. One of the aims of the project is to put an end to the problems encountered by Children and Families staff with regard to accessing the Corporate Intranet. The new system will allow all staff access to the information. For
your information
Jobs
For details of teaching vacancies in
Edinburgh, click here: http://channel1.internal.egfl.net This week, I was struck by the wide spectrum of learners that we have here in the City. I was called off the subs’ bench to do the welcoming speech on behalf of the Lord Provost at the Annual Awards of the Scottish Adult Learning Partnership last week. It was a very moving event with some outstanding stories of the struggles of folk from all over Scotland to be a learner against great adversity. Powerful as those stories were, as one person put it, these are only the tip of the iceberg. I was greatly challenged by the idea that there are many more stories to be told and many more adults facing struggles to learn. At the other end of the scale, chronologically anyway, I spent time last week in Children’s House Nursery, Craigmillar Children and Family Centre and with the Edinburgh Pre-Nursery Service at their place in Sighthill. It was just great to see the fantastic work that is going on in all three of these centres and to witness first hand the dedication of the staff who work there. All three offer support and learning opportunities to under-fives and their families. Each offered something different but all take the holistic approach to meeting the children’s needs. The learning opportunities they create mean many of those children don’t face the struggles I heard about from the adult learners. The Council intends to build on these experiences by developing Integrated Early Years Centres across the City and it is my intention that teachers and other professionals will work together to provide the best possible start in life for the young people of Edinburgh. Cllr Rev Ewan AitkenExecutive Member for Children and Families back to top |
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