The school librarian has posted updates on the school library blog.  Including a reminder to all pupils about the use of the library during break and lunchtime.

Dear Parent,
 
On behalf of Duncan Beckwith, Chair, I would like to invite you to the next meeting of the Parent Forum.  This will take place at 7:30pm on Wednesday 4th October in the new Meeting room.  Please view the Agenda and the minutes of the last meeting, which can also be found on the Parent Council page. 
 
There is also the list of Topics for Discussion which members of the Parent Council and Forum had raised at and prior to  the last meeting. Elaine and Rae met with Duncan to discuss and I have added their responses as summarised by Duncan for parent information. 
 
There has been discussion about the structure of the Parent Council meeting and we will be following the usual Agenda format and the Head Teacher's report will be given verbally.
Anyone wishing to make a point or ask a question at the meeting should now come through the chair. 
The meeting will start at 7.30pm and we need to vacate the premises at 9.00pm to allow the janitorial staff time to tidy and lock up.
Any AOCB should also be intimated prior to the meeting so we can allocate the required amount of time. 
If we have too much in any particular month any urgent items should take precedence.
 
The chair has also asked that I highlight the role of the Parent Council in that we are a support for the pupils and staff at the school and not a Board of Governors and also that issues pertaining to a specific child should go through the proper school channels and not be discussed at Parent Council.
The Scottish Parent Teacher website is useful in providing clarification of our role.https://www.sptc.info/

For everyone's convenience I have cut and paste the relevant section detailing what the SPTC expectations of a Parent Council are and what a Parent Forum should expect from their Parent Council.

What are the main responsibilities of the PC to the Parent Forum?
The Parent Forum (all parents at the school) can expect the following from the Parent Council:

• To receive information about the PC and its activities
• To be invited to be involved in PC activities, such as subcommittees
• To be asked for their opinion by the PC on issues relating to the school community
• To have all views represented in an equal and fair way
• To participate in how the PC is organised and how it operates, for example making changes to the constitution
• To be inclusive and recognise the diversity in Scottish schools by involving all types of parents.

What are the main duties of the Parent Council?
The first duty of the Parent Council is to represent the views of the parents at the school.  The duties of a Parent Council are not laid down in legislation so it is up to each Parent Forum to decide what they want their PC to do.  This should be detailed in the constitution.  There are many things a Parent Council could get involved in, including:

• Supporting the work of the school, for example, by advising the school on its policies
• Being involved in the appointment of senior staff
• Organising social and fundraising events
• Promoting contact between all parents and the rest of the school community
• Discussing anything that’s of interest to parents
• Ensuring all parents from different backgrounds are listened to and understand what the Parent Council does

Can anyone become a member of the PC?
Any parent with a child at the school may become a member of the Parent Council.  Parents must always be in the majority and the Chair must always be a parent with a child at the school.  The headteacher has a right and a duty to attend PC meetings but is not automatically a member; they are there as an advisor.  It is up to the Parent Forum to decide if there should be other members of the PC and this should be detailed in the constitution, for example, co-opted members.
 
With regards to fundraising, Elaine and Rae mentioned the main entrance and the need for proper repair work for the main door and the lighting at the bottom of the stairs. Monies could be raised to improve these and perhaps donate a bench for the rose garden area.
Another wee reminder that next month is the AGM of the Parent Council. If anyone would like to volunteer for an Office Bearer Position, please let me know and I will send on the necessary forms.
 
Roles Available are
 
Chair
Vice Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
 
If you would like a paper copy of any of the documents attached for the meeting, please print out ahead of the meeting.
Look forward to seeing you there, 
Thanks,
Hilary
Parent Council Secretary.
 

Over the past few weeks Marsie Stuart from Sign and Be Heard has been in school working with some of our third year pupils. I had the great pleasure in visiting the lesson recently, in our new learning plaza, and watched their learning in action.  They very happily posed spelling out "Marr College", with the help of Mr McElnea, who has been learning alongside the pupils.  After signing the rainbow with precision the pupils were very keen to show off to me once again with signing along to the Abba hit "I Have a Dream".  I was so impressed with their skills, not only the emotion they displayed but with how quick they had grasped the sign language and how they were learning and improving from each other as the song went on.  This was only after two weeks of teaching.  I can't wait to go back at the end of their program to see how far they have come.  Miss Owens, Librarian 

Our parent calendar for 2017-2018 has now been published on the Newsdesk.  Parents can access the calendar here or via the link on the right hand side of this page.

Whilst most of us were enjoying lounging by the poolside during the summer, one of our pupils was in the water and smashing her own records.  Lucy Grieve in S2 competed at the British Summer Championship in the 13/14 yrs category.  She made the finals in both her events, the butterfly 50m and butterfly 100m.  In both these races she achieved a new personal best time and was the fastest Scottish girl in the water for both events. 

Lucy followed this success by breaking a Scottish record at a swim meet in August.  As this meet was accredited she is now the recognised holder of the 13 year old Scottish short course 50m butterfly.  It is no wonder that she has been chosen to represent the West District at the Swim England National County Championships in Sheffield during October. 

Mrs McGregor-Sloman has personally congratulated Lucy and we all look forward to hearing about the success she has in Oct.  Well done Lucy. 
Thanks to her parents for informing the school of her success.

Dear Parent,

On behalf of Duncan Beckwith, Chair, I would like to invite you to the next meeting of the Parent Council.  This will take place at 7:30pm on Wednesday 6th September in the new Meeting room.  Please click on the links to view the Agenda and Minutes of the last meeting in May, the Head teacher's report will follow.

Reminder that we will be trying a new green system of working from the overheads for all documents, so, if you would like a paper copy, please print out ahead of the meeting.

Tea and coffee will be available,
Look forward to seeing you there, 
Hilary
Secretary

 Follow the Parent Council on Twitter @MarrPC_Suggest