August 2026

Running Total

This year we are excited to once again lauch our ARS Journalists. Any children wishing to become a Journliats from P5-7 need to submit an article about themselves by Monday 5th October to Mr Rae. (All details are on the slides attached.) Mr Rae will then meet with the children and they will become correspondants for the school. We look forward to seeing all the articles to come!

Annual Data Check forms are coming home today for P2-7 pupils in schoolbags.  Please check and ammend these forms to ensure that the data we hold for your child is up to date.  Forms should be completed and returned ASAP.  Chasing unreturned forms often becomes a lengthy task for the school office, so please help us be completing this task promptly. 

If there have been any changes to allergies etc that your child has previously had that are no longer a concern, please include this information in the return. 

P4 to P7 Hockey will continue to run this session at Rubislaw on a Monday but the time will change to 4.45 to 6pm. Sessions will start back on Monday 31st August.  If anyone is interested in registering, further info/registration is available via THIS LINK. 

Training sessions are on a Monday at Rubislaw Astroturf 16:45 - 18:00. Coaching is currently provided by qualified and experienced adults with help from secondary school pupils. Please note that the coaching is provided by volunteers on behalf of AGSFP (Aberdeen Grammar School Former Pupils) Hockey. All volunteers are registered with the PVG Scheme under Scottish Hockey. The sessions are mixed boys / girls from P4 to P7. Kids are usually split into year groups or Under 12s and Under 10s. We provide skills training specific to the needs of the children along with some fun games. Festivals are run throughout the year, usually on a Sunday morning. 

At the beginning of each session, we like to take a class photos of children as they start their year in a new year group.  Where consents allow, we share these with families via Seesaw classrooms at no cost to families.  Professional photos are taken later in the sessions for families to purchase if they wish.  

These photos will be taken on Tuesday 25th of August.  We will be unable to retake photos if anyone is absent on the day. 

Every year we hold an informal 'open afternoon' early in the session, to give families the opportunity to come into the school building, meet the teachers, see their child's new classroom and perhaps take part in an activity with their child.  This is an informal 'drop in' situation and not a presentation of any kind.  

The classrooms will be very busy, so we ask that families to attend on the following dates to ensure classrooms are less overcrowded. 

• Families with surnames starting with A - M - Monday the 7th of September  - 2:15 - 3:00

• Families with surnames starting with N - Z - Tuesday the 8th of September - 2:15 - 3:00

No more than two adults per child.

These visits are only for P2-7 only  as it could be a bit overwhelming for P1's at this point in the year.  

The school calendar, (which can be found HERE) has been updated with some key dates for the session so you can pencil them into diaries ahead of time.  More will be added as we get further into the year.  Please remember all dates may be subject to change if required.   Check the calendar for dates such as:

• Open Afternoons

• P1 Curriculum Evening 

• Dalguise Information Event (for parents of P7's going to Dalguise this session)

• Parents Meeting Dates throughout the session

More dates will be added as the year progresses. 

A reminder that we have an online form to support families to provide timely feedback to the ACC catering team when issues with lunches arise.  This has been added as a tab at the top of the school website and will be available via the school website under the 'Parents' tab.

Please use this form to provide feedback on the day if you are made aware of any issues regarding:

• The quality of the food provided

• The quantity of food provided

• Missing menu items

Any responses will be shared with the catering team on a weekly basis. 

We hope this approach is able to help support a sustained improvement in the school lunch provision at Ashely Road.

• School doors are secure to ensure that our children are safe throughout the school day.  All visitors will be asked to wait in the vestibule area to maintain building security.  

• After 3:15, the school building is used by the after school club.  To meet the safety standards required by Care Inspectorate, there can be no unsupervised individuals in the building during their hours.  Resultantly children and families cannot be admitted to the building after school, without a staff member staying with them.  This includes children who may wish to use the toilet after school.  

• In line with ACC policy, dogs should not be brought into the school premises (even when being carried), or left tied up at the entrance points on Ashley Road or Ashley Park Drive. 

• You may have noticed signage on the school gates, requesting that all visitors to school close gates fully behind them.  Please do this at all times to ensure our playground is as secure as possible.  

• We ask that families do not enter the playground for pick up until 3:15, to ensure that teachers are able to see all pupils in their class while lining up at the end of the day.  (Families collecting children from nursery at 3:00 should wait beside the picnic benches.)

• Pick-up arrangements for pupils at the end of the school day should only be changed in an emergency.  Where this information is provided very close to the end of the school day, it may not be possible for office staff to inform class teachers before the bell time.  

We are thrilled to welcome everyone back for the start of another exciting school year! Whether you are returning to familiar faces and places or beginning a new chapter, we hope this year is filled with opportunities to learn, grow and shine. We look forward to seeing new friendships flourish, fresh challenges embraced and many memorable moments created. Let's make this our best year yet!