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14th
December, 2004 |
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Dear Parents,
I would like to begin by thanking you all for the
patience shown as the new building progresses. We
are on schedule, not least behind-the-scenes,
where more preparatory work is going on to make
internal alterations to the main building, the
kitchen and the art room in order to provide more
space for the pre-school, the music department
and the kitchen. More details of these
alterations will come later in the year. Whilst
the building process is going well, I cannot
stress enough the need to continue to be careful
when collecting and delivering the children,
always giving priority to the children whenever
cars and children mix.
Besides the excitement of the building, the term
has passed quickly and very successfully. Four
girls, Sophie Beamish, Vicky McLellan, Stephanie
Rice and Alice Farrar were selected for the WOSPS
netball squad, whilst ten boys represented the
WOSPS rugby and Michael Brown, Callum MacLean,
Ben McFarlane, Declan Ferry, Marcus Fenton and
Peter Ross went on to play for the Scottish Prep
Schools XV.
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Gordonstoun Challenge:
Craigclowan’s Roman Chariot |
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F.2B and the Barn Owl |
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£500 for the Tayside Children
with Cancer and Leukaemia Fund |
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We have had a
busy time with charitable work within
school. Money has been raised for The
Tayside Centre for Children with Cancer
and Leukaemia in Dundee, shoe boxes for
Romania, MacMillan nurses, Mercy Ships
and PADS. The centre of attention of some
of our assemblies has been to highlight
ways in which we can all help one another,
starting at home, continuing through
school and onto the outside world. In
senior assemblies we have been looking
particularly at the ways in which every
individual in school can be an
‘energy giver’ to those around
them rather than an ‘energy
sapper’. All organisations work
better when we are trying to add to the
energy of people around us rather than
taking their energy away by being selfish
or poorly behaved as opposed to being
generous and well-behaved.
We have had visitors from Denmark,
England, France, Belgium and Ireland. All
are very welcome, and all comment on the
atmosphere of the school. Indeed, the
atmosphere formed a major pillar of
praise given to us by the HMIE report.
That all seems a long way away now but
the staff continue to work hard to
maintain standards across all aspects of
school life. The standards cannot happen
without a major input from both staff and
you as parents, and we continue to be
very grateful for everything that is done
to help us. Part of that help is in
enrolments, and I am delighted to say
that numbers are really promising again
for 2005. I never say no to existing
Craigclowan families, but it is an
enormous help, with spaces tight, if you
can let me know as early as possible if
you are likely to need a place for a
sibling in September.
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The 1st XV in action against
Ardvreck |
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Demolition Day for the English
Room |
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From a practical
point of view, I will be available until
Friday, December 17th and the office will
be manned until Thursday, December 23rd.
We will be closed between Christmas and
New Year but the office will be open
again on Monday, January 3rd. As always,
do not hesitate to be in touch if there
are any matters arising.
Finally, I would like to say thank you to
two members of staff. Jean Beattie has
retired from late prep. Nothing was too
much trouble for Jean and I am pleased to
say that she is recovering from her
illness. Michael Bray has been with us
for one term to cover the gap between
Bruce Campbell’s departure and Jimmy
Cox’s arrival. We will miss the
enthusiasm that he brought with him from
Canada, but wish him well at Beaconhurst.
Jimmy joins us with a pedigree of
teaching Maths and English for a number
of years as well as representing Scotland
at hockey on well over 100 occasions. He
will take over Michael’s timetable
in its entirety and we look forward to
him joining us. |
Our guests from Tungelundskolen (Denmark) |
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Meanwhile, we
wish you all a restful and happy
Christmas, whilst looking forward to
seeing you all back in January.
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With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Mike Beale |
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