1. Getting to know our School.
2. A Curriculum for Excellence.
3. Facilities, including plan of the School.
4. Active Activities.
5. Lunches.
6. Playtimes.
7. Uniforms.
8. Parent Council.
Bridge Of Allan Primary is a multi-cultural school. We would most certainly welcome anyone who wanted to join us and make them feel at home. We have many dedicated members of staff: Ms Lina Horsburgh, our Head Teacher, Mrs Lynne Anderson and Mrs Julie Russell our Deputy Heads, Mr John Craven, our Principal teacher, our class teachers and all our support staff. Mrs Dewar, our friendly school secretary, will pick up the phone whenever you call and try to answer all your questions. Mr Cairney our School Janitor is always around to help do little jobs around the school at any time.
All of our class teachers are highly trained and will be most glad to welcome any pupil to their class. We have 14 classes from P1 – P7, and 2 nursery classes. We have a range of specialist teachers in our school, e.g.…….Art, Music, P.E. Instrumental tuition.
There are many other people who make our school a success and keep our pupils happy and safe: S.L.A.’s (Support for Learning Assistants), S.A’s (Supervisory Assistants),The Cooks, The Cleaners and the Lollipop People.
School Information:
Address: Pullar Avenue,
Bridge of Allan,
FK9 4SY.
Telephone number: (01786) 832050
School times: 9:00am - 3:15pm.
When you first come to our school you will be shown all of the classes and the fabulous wall displays around the school. You will see all of the children having fun and working their hardest, because they are happy and working towards A Curriculum for Excellence.
This booklet was made by The Challenge Group. When you come up to our senior school you may have the chance to join the challenge group. They are taught to think in lots of different ways, undertake exciting projects and proudly exhibit their learning to the whole school.
We are very proud of the education our school provides for every child.
We hope you are happy and make many new friends. Remember if there is anything you need to know, just ask a member of staff to help you.
A Curriculum for Excellence is made up of 4 areas. All teachers wish their pupils to achieve in these areas before they leave our school. Pupils are encouraged to become - Responsible Citizens, Confident Individuals, Effective Contributors and Successful Learners. Throughout this booklet we will tell you what some of our pupils are doing to try to work towards the Curriculum for Excellence.
Buddying System
During the transition from nursery to primary one, the primary sixes are asked to help the nursery pupils with the big step to P1. Every P6 pupil is assigned a buddy from the nursery and it is their responsibility to look after their buddy during the step up. At the same time primary 6 are making their big move up to primary 7.
The primary sixes have lessons in how to look after their buddy. They see their buddy about once a week in the nursery. Once the P6’s know their buddy really well the parents/carers have the chance to meet their child’s primary 7 buddies, for lunch. It is a great afternoon.
Once the nursery has moved up to primary 1 the new P7’s take their buddy to lunch for about a week and look after them in the playground until they feel settled.
Some P1’s need their buddy for longer than others but most only need their buddy for about 4 weeks.
We interviewed 3 primary 1’s to see what they thought about the buddying system. This is what they said-
Best Things about my Buddy
“I liked my buddy because she looked after me and played games with me. She helped me when I fell over.” Hannah
“I liked my buddy because he was friendly and fun. He was there when I needed him.” Torin
“I liked my buddy because she was funny. My buddy cared for me.” Zara
Green Flags
Within our school we have earned 2 green flags. To be awarded a green flag the school must be extremely environmentally friendly. We compete with all the schools in Scotland, and so far there are only 2 schools in Stirling with 2 green flags, and we were the first.
Pupil Council
Our pupil council is made up of a pupil from each class from P2-P6, but when you get to P7 each class gets 2 pupil council representatives so in all there are 15 members of our pupil council. The pupil council are responsible for many decisions involving our school; what we spend vouchers on, (e.g. Tesco Sports), sometimes they are given some spending money to make changes to the school, and they are responsible for bringing up issues from classes about the school. You will have a chance to become a pupil council representative at the start of the year when you can make a speech and you are either voted by classmates or chosen by your teacher.
Eco School Committee
The eco committee is a committee where there is 1 representative from each class from P2-P6 but when you get to P7 there are 2 representatives from each class. The committee is there to make our school more eco friendly. If we are the best school in Stirling at being eco friendly we are awarded a green flag as we mentioned earlier.
Golden Time
Golden time is great time in class. It is everyone’s favorite. Every class in the school has it last thing on a Friday afternoon. It is a period in class time when you can play, go on the computer, bring in cd’s and sing and dance along to them, and many more. Sometimes in the summer we are allowed to go outside and play football during Golden Time.
This can only happen if you are well behaved during the other days of the week. There is a Golden time chart for people who misbehave. First they will have a warning and be put on to amber, then to red if you carry on misbehaving. All other pupils who do behave will stay on green.
If you are moved to red you lose a proportion of your Golden Time but you can win it back by being good.
Houses
In our school there are 4 houses: Wallace, Bruce, Stuart, Douglas. Every pupil is assigned to a house and each class will have a house point chart. If you are a new pupil coming into Bridge of Allan and you already have a brother or sister you will automatically be put into their house, if not, you will be randomly put into a house.
Every term or so there will be a house meeting where the Primary seven House and Vice Captains can tell their house all the events coming up. At the start of each year the people in each house will get to vote for the person they think will do best as captain. Teachers are also in houses so they will come along to the house meeting too.
To earn house points you need to work hard and behave well. The primary Sevens will come round on Tuesdays to count the House points. The winning house will be announced at assembly on Wednesday and the winning house gets an extra break.
Wall Displays
While each class is working on their project they will normally work on a piece of interactive work to be put up outside their classroom as a wall display. Although each class normally does one of their own, they will also get to produce a wall display for the front foyer.
A Curriculum for Excellence means that you need to have good listening skills, be able to concentrate and work hard, co-operate with others, work as a team, think creatively and independently, be enthusiastic, motivated and responsible and link all the different types of learning together.
We have many useful facilities here, both indoors and out! These include great opportunities to learn new things, like using computers in the ICT suite, and discovering fascinating facts in our library. Also included is a handy plan of the school, to show you where the classes and various other useful places are.
Wildlife Garden
We
have a beautiful Wildlife Garden in our school. It’s a small grassy area, just
next to the nursery, and is a wonderful place to go and see the many colourful
flowers that grow there. We can’t go in just any time we like sadly, due to the
pond, but teachers will bring the children to come and look around, and perhaps
do some environmental work. There are several places of interest here, so let’s
focus on them one at a time.
Herbs
The first thing you would probably see would be a large letter ‘H’, made of brick. This is our bed of herbs, which is what the ‘H’ stands for. A wide variety of herbs is grown in here which can be used for cooking.
The Pond
Yes, we have a pond. It’s
small and quite shallow, and has a wooden bridge and railing by the accessible
side, so no-one is in danger of falling in while they are supervised. You may
see some small pond life hiding just below the surface, so watch out for it –you
might find something interesting. 
History
The wildlife garden, like the rest of the school, was originally an orchard. This is why we have so many fruit trees still growing. There are some of these trees in the garden, so those trees once were everywhere the school is!
Visits
The main visit to the wildlife garden is in primary three, when the topic is about minibeasts. The children can go about the garden, looking for insects on the ground and in the pond. Other visits, as mentioned, are mainly up to the teachers to decide about. However, there’s a Wildlife Club that visits there often, more info about this on Active Activities page.
I.C.T.
Suite
There is a fair sized I.C.T. Suite upstairs, with about 15 computers and an interactive whiteboard, which is basically an electronic whiteboard connected to a computer and makes it much easier for pupils to see what to do. Here you can learn how to draw on the paint program, write up a story on Microsoft Word, and play fun games online (with a parent’s permission). If you’re lucky, you can get some free time on the computer, and do what you want. Even if you’re a complete beginner, there’s something you can do.
Library
The
stage in the gym hall also doubles as a library. Behind the curtains are
shelves, with a wide range of books, for any reading stage. There are a mixture
of factual and fiction books, in separate areas. To get the money for our
library, we held a big Book Fair and sold lots of stories, then dressed up as
our favourite character from any story on the last day. As a result we have a
wonderful new library, funded by the P.T.A..
School Plan
Getting lost? Included in this booklet is a useful plan of the school, upstairs and downstairs. The classrooms have the year that is taught written on them. This plan should help you get an idea where the classes, toilets, and other facilities are.
Medical Room
If you fall over in the playground, or feel a bit unwell, don’t worry because we have a Medical Room to help you feel better! With cupboards full of plasters and bandages, a disabled shower, a toilet, and spare clothes, they’ll sort you out in no time. The Medical Room is on the ground floor, near the lunch hall.
Nursery
The Nursery is for 3-4 year olds, and it is in the school area so kids can get used to coming here. There are two sessions, a morning one and an afternoon one, though children can’t attend both on the same day. There are lots of fun things to do, like drawing, sandpit, playing outside, and making things. There’s also a birthday board so everyone can see when it’s your special day in Nursery! (There’s a birthday board for the main school too! Watch out for your name…)
At Bridge of Allan Primary we have a wide range of exciting activities for pupils to take part in. These are not only extremely enjoyable but also offer fabulous learning opportunities.
Music
Some of our best learning opportunities are our music lessons. Though we have our regular music lessons, these are added extras in which children can be taught – Chanter, Guitar, Violin, Piano, Brass and Cello. To show how much children enjoy these we interviewed one of the pupils who go:
“My name is Charlotte and I play the Cello. My teacher is very nice and she encourages me a lot, she also makes it really fun! I didn’t know how to play the Cello at first but after only a few lessons I really improved. I would definitely recommend Cello and any other instrument because they are really fun!”
After School Clubs
At BOFA we also encourage as many of our pupils as possible to go to our fun after school clubs. These are not only very pleasurable but help children to improve their skills and really enjoy sports.
The Wildlife club
In this club there is a great opportunity for pupils to be taught all about the environment and the creatures in it. The wildlife club is held on a weekday from 3.15pm - 4.00pm. We know the Wildlife club is a success because of all the positive feedback from it!
Sports Active
Sports active is a fantastic club which gives children a chance to try out new sports like rugby, football, basketball and many other types of athletics!
The club is held on a weekday from 3.15pm - 4.20pm.
Scripture Union
This club is a great opportunity for people to listen to stories from the Bible and learn about Jesus. It is held on Thursdays from 3.15pm - 4.00pm.
After school club
There is also an after school club, held on our premises, in which pupils can play sport, watch T.V. and even do each other’s hair. It is on everyday of the week and the times vary.
Tops
Tops is also a sports club which changes every term so all year groups can have a shot at sports. The times also vary but are usually from about 3.20pm-4.30pm.
In our school we help children to enjoy learning and try to make our projects especially, great fun! To do this, depending on the costs, we try and make sure that all of our pupils have a school trip in their time at BOFA! These are exciting and very educational, two of our best trips are:
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The P7s get to go on a residential school trip every year before they go to high school.
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The whole school gets to go to the very entertaining Christmas pantomime (what they see depends on their age).
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Each class will arrange outdoor trips throughout the year.
Our school has a lot of events organised every year. Whether it is to raise money for the school, or to just give the children something to look forward to, pupils always thoroughly enjoy these events. Some of the schools events they hold every year are:
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The Talent Show, which gives children a fabulous opportunity to show their talents and watch other people’s talents too.
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The House Quizzes are good fun for everyone. They are when all the houses compete to win more points for their house.
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Sports Day is a fun day when all the school comes together and has lots of friendly races. The house with the most winners from each year wins the cup!
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Every year, around Christmas, Summer and usually Easter depending on the weather, the school goes to the church to celebrate and sing hymns. It is great fun and always makes the pupils think how lucky they are to have these holidays. We also have a few visits from the minister of the parish, throughout the year.
We also have other small events that change every year. We try and make these events as much fun for children as possible!
At our school we have lots of different lunch choices you can have. We have Packed Lunch, Cooked Lunch or you can go home for lunch.
Cooked Lunch
The cooked lunches are split up into different categories. Red is food with meat in it, Blue is vegetarian food and Green is sandwiches. It costs £1.70 for a good meal for one day, for a week, it would cost £8.50. Cooked lunches all go for their lunch at the same time.
Packed Lunch
Packed Lunch is where you can bring
your own food to school. In the morning you will put your packed lunch on a
trolley, and then pick it up on the way to your lunch. Since so many children
decide to take a packed lunch we have had to split the children into groups. The
infants, (p1-3) and the primary 7’s go for their lunch at
12.30pm.
The upper school, (P4-6) go for their lunch at 12.50pm.
Between 12.30pm and 12.50pm the upper school will play outside.
The PTA (Parent Teacher Association) refurbished our lunch hall for the children, which consists of new red tables and furniture.
Home
Lunch
If you don’t fancy going packed or cooked, then why not go home? If you’re walking home you must have your parent or guardians permission. You leave at the second bell and should be back for 1:30pm.
Most of the children love their playtimes here because of our large spacious grounds and our fun equipment. We have a very big grassy area for great games of football and catching up with your friends. Also we have a tarmac ground which is marked out with games, so whether the weather is wet or dry, you will always be able to have fun in the playground. We have playground helpers who look after us and we can go to them for anything. A few names are: Mrs Ainslie, Mrs Fergus, Mrs Caddis, Mrs McDougall and Mrs McLean.
Split Playgrounds
In our school we have decided to split the one big playground into two, for the different ages. This is because we wouldn’t want the older children to knock into the infants and for other safety reasons. The front playground is for the upper school, and it also has the largest grassy area. In addition, on the grass we have a wooden hut which, at the moment, is being used for storing playground games.
The infants’ playground is round the back of our building and they have their own grassy pitch to play on. The two playgrounds are separated by a white line which you will find if you are heading to the back of the building.
Our Quiet Area
The quiet area is a peaceful place to play for all ages of children. It has a beautiful setting, with benches, stepping stones and more interesting features. As this place is perfect for having a read, think or quiet chat, we have some rules that all pupils should try to stick to.
These are-
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Do walk in this area, as running can harm others.
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Do talk quietly as shouting and screaming will disturb.
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Do share the opportunities we have in the area, as we all deserve it.
Equipment
At
Bridge of Allan Primary we have a range of fantastic play equipment. We
encourage the children to look after our facilities as we are lucky to have
them. This includes-
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Skipping Ropes
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Frisbees
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Beanbags
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Hula Hoops
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Bouncy Balls
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Two Massive Parachutes
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Two Huge Connect Fours, and much, much more
Wet Break
As we live in Scotland, this means the weather is often raining; which indicates that we will have plenty wet breaks. Wet breaks are exactly the same as a normal playtime except all pupils will be playing inside. Each classroom has a range of things to do (including toys) so you will not be bored! Although you can have lots of fun at wet break, we have a couple of easy to follow rules that everyone should stick to.
They are-
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Do eat outside the classroom, as crumbs may get on jotters or other objects.
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Do play with games and toys, apart from the computers.
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Treat all games with respect.
Monitoring
All classes are monitored during all wet breaks, by members of staff. They are helped by the Primary Sevens, with 2 or 3 pupils attending to each class.
Extra Playtime and the Red and Green Cards
In our school we have 4 Houses by the name of Douglas, Bruce, Stuart and Wallace. Anyone can earn House Points for their house by doing good things like brilliant homework or being friendly. The House Points are collected every week to be ready for assembly, where they are announced. The winning house (who ever has the most points) will get an extra 5 minutes of playtime. So if you want more playtimes you better get working hard!
We also have Red and Green cards which tell the pupils when they can go on the pitch. The cards are placed on the doors that lead to outside. The red means that we are not allowed on the grass pitch and the green means that we are. If no card is on the doors you may ask one of our many adult playtime helpers.
Situated at the front of our school, we have two large sets of bike racks. Pupils may ride their bike to school and leave their bike on the racks, but during playtime or lunch time break we prefer pupils not to play near the bikes. People can get hurt and who ever owns the bikes may not like other people fiddling with them.
Times of Playtime
These are the times of the playtimes in our school-
Morning Break- 10.45am-11.00am
Lunch Time Break- 12.30pm-1.30pm
When your child comes to Bridge of Allan Primary they’ll be given a fantastic uniform!
Everyone in the school from P1 to P6 wears a red sweatshirt with the school logo on it. But when you finally reach your last year of primary school you get to wear the best sweatshirt of all…. The black one!
The reason P7s wear a black sweatshirt is because it shows that you are top of the school. When you become a P7 you have many responsibilities and the whole school looks up to you. If your child has any problems they can ask a primary 7.
Boys can wear either shorts or trousers, preferably dark colours. Girls have a choice. They can either wear trousers, skirts or winter/summer dresses. The school recommends that you stick to the school uniform and not wear tracksuit bottoms.
At our school there are some rules on uniform.
They are-
· Please try to not wear any makeup.
· Please wear sensible shoes.
· Earrings are allowed but we encourage children to not wear large ones. If your child has just had their ears pierced we advice them to bring tape to cover their earrings during gym time.