Awesome shows this week put on by our three amazing P7 classes.  The acting, singing, staging, props and costuming were all out of this ocean and the teamwork going on behind the scenes to make it all happen was admirable.  

A huge thanks to the teachers, parents and children who put in so much work to make these productions such a success!

A week of farewells at Ashley Road  as we say goodbye not just to our P7s but to Mrs Strang and Mrs Walker who have worked at Ashley Road for 25/26 years!  They have had a huge impact on our school and the community over that time and have offered so much through their creative talents and passion for the role.  We sang some songs to reflect our thanks in our traditional 'well gathering'.  Hearing the voices of 460 children in this space always sparks emotion.  We wish Mrs Strang and Mrs Walker a very well deserved, relaxed retirement! 

Our 'Reading for Enjoyment' Pupil Leadership  Group have been busy running a 'Booktopia' reading competition this term, with a fabulous range of book covers designed across all age groups. Three winners were selected, each receiving a large number of points for their House Teams, with Harris in P6 taking the overall prize and Julia (P6) and Elysha (P7) in 2nd and 3rd place. There were so many impressive entries that a number of children also awarded 'special effort' points.  Well done everyone!

Approx. 40, P4 to P7 children have joined the hockey leaders each week on Mondays at Rubislaw to play hockey.  The sessions are a combination of skill forming practices and fun matches. The hockey leaders said goodbye to our P7s at their final session recently.  The P7s have led training the last couple of weeks, showing some great leadership skills and lots of expert knowledge in the game. 

The teams have also attended 12 Sunday morning tournaments over the year (6 for under 12s and 6 for under  10s) where the children are able to put their skills into practice against other teams from the district. The festivals are always a lot of fun and it's great seeing the children grow in confidence.

They have also welcomed some children from Mile End Primary to the training since the easter holidays and enjoyed making new friends.

Training will continue on a Monday after the summer holidays and 'Team Hockey' look forward to meeting the new P4 players. 

A huge thanks to the hockey leaders who give up lots of time (and energy) to provide these awesome opportunities for AR pupils!

Some of our children entered the Aberdeen Ship Drawing Competition linked to the Tall Ships coming to Aberdeen later this month. Amalia in P2 was lucky enough to come 2nd in the competition which was open to all pupils in Aberdeen City Schools! Well done Amalia. She won a bag full of goodies which included a teddy bear, a book on how to draw see animals, a gift voucher for Hobbycraft and a pass to visit the Monsters of the Deep exhibition. Amalia was delighted! 

P7 parents are invited to attend performances of their child's class version of 'Finding Nemo' next week.  There should be space for two people per family.  We will also make sure siblings have the opportunity to see the shows.   The singing sounds amazing and the costumes/set pieces look awesome so we have no doubt you will enjoy the show!  We look forward to seeing you there!

P7Rm1 - Tuesday 1st July 1:50 pm

P7Rm11- Wednesday 2nd July 9:30 am

P7Rm12 -Wednesday 2nd July 1:50 pm

Well done to our P7 netball teams who played in the Rosebowl Netball Competition on Sunday. 24 teams took part across 6 courts and both our teams showed great communication, resilience and determination.

Well done to the Ashley Road Allstars team who in the final, battled it out in extra time to win the silver league! 

Also, well done to our P5/6 team who recently had a friendly match against Hazlehead Primary which was great fun for all the children involved.  A big thanks to Sport Aberdeen who set up the match.  

Finally a massive thanks to Helen Lund (Edith Lund’s mum). Helen has volunteered to coach netball to Ashley Road Primary for 6 years and has made the decision to retire.   We really appreciate the time she has given to Ashley Road pupils to enable them to have fabulous sporting achievements and opportunities. 

A lovely idea shared by another of our Pupil Leadership Groups last week at assembly, they have decided to create a 'Kindness Book', based on one of our school values.   This book is a place to share kind thoughts about others or to thank others for kind behaviours.  It has been lovely to see so many children queueing today to leave a comment or two.  Kindness really is all around. 

Following our recent pairing with our very own tall ship, the 'Pascual Flores' from Spain, some of our Spanish speaking Ashley Roaders came together to send a message to Captain Juan and the rest of the crew.  Perhaps you can work out what they are saying in their message? They also shared some of the tall ship-themed learning that has been happening  around  the school and posed a few questions to Captain Juan. We look forward to a return message! 

This week, members from the Montgomery Centre came to present the physical Anne Frank Award to Primary 6 and the Learning for Sustainability group. As previously shared, the award recognises young people who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting equality and human rights in their communities, and is another reflection of the ongoing work linked to UNCRC being embedded across the school. 

We were delighted to have Bob, our School Crossing Patroller who has recently retired, come back to visit us this week for a gathering in the library area to say a big thanks for all his years of service to the community at Ashley Road.  Children had written poems, made clay sculptures and sang songs.   Reps from the PTA also came along to share thanks from the parent body. 

Bob was clearly delighted to see how much he was appreciated and it was a fitting end to his work with the school, after it turns out he also went to Ashley Road as a pupil!

Wishing you the best in your retirement Bob!

The 'healthy eating' pupil leadership group would like to inform famiies that next week they will be holding a fruit and veg tuck shop staff for P4-7 pupils, to promote healthy food choices.  They are planning to run the stall at break times, for the following year groups. 

• Tuesday 17th June - P4 + P5

• Wednesday 18th June P6 + P7

• Tuesday 24th June P4 + P5

• Wednesday 25th June P6 + P7

All items will cost 50p each. 

From the Healthy Eating Pupil Group

🌟 T H A N K   Y O U 🌟

The PTA would like to send a massive thank you again to everyone that helped make our Summer Fair 2025 a success!  We couldn’t do it without all the donations, volunteers and families that came along and enjoyed the day!

We made an amazing £7,775 which will go towards enhancing the school experience for all the pupils at Ashley Road School.

We had a few last minute changes to the plan as the Newfoundland therapy dogs couldn’t make it and unfortunately we were unable to have the Wipeout and Slushies but hope we can bring these attractions to future events instead.

A special thank you to:

The Senior Management Team for once again agreeing to be soaked 💦

Sengul and her team who provided us with amazing Turkish food 🌎🥘

Herd’s the Butchers on Rosemount Place for giving us a brilliant deal again on our BBQ meat 🍔🌭 www.herdbutchers.co.uk

Jade and her mum from Prominade Café who came along with their candyfloss machine

Claire from Spotted Petal www.etsy.com/uk/shop/spottedpetal for bringing along her lovely jewellery

The P4’s for creating the amazing origami bookmarks

All the businesses and individuals who kindly donated raffle prizes

And finally to all those who let us borrow their gazebos on the day!  Thankfully the rainy weather didn't arrive until later! ☀️💙

BEACH PARTY DISCO

Dress up in your most colourful beach clothes and get ready to spend the night dancing at this years Beach Party Summer Disco proudly run by the PTA!

Friday 20th June 2025

P1 - P3 | 6.15pm - 7.15pm

P4 - P7 | 7.45pm - 8.45pm

We can’t wait to see you there!

Tickets now available online:https://www.tickettailor.com/events/ashleyroadpta/1729230

As always we need lots of volunteers to support a successful fair.

If you would like to volunteer on the day please use the link below:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094DA4AF2DA5FEC52-57190782-summer#/

This week we had the Active Schools Bike Roadshow visit Ashley Road with a selection of different types of bikes. The P5 and P6 classes got to try out the selection of bikes and show off their skills! The weather stayed dry and all the children enjoyed having a turn on all the different types of bikes. Children found that some of the styles were good for going very fast!

Niki Paterson who is an Education Support Officer for Health and Wellbeing/Parental Engagement will be running a session with the EP service on Supporting Attendance on Tuesday 24th June at 7pm. 

This session will focus on supporting parents whose children are worried about going to school, beginning to show distress around attending school, or experiencing significant challenges with attending school.

Please sign up by at ACCLearnGuest . You will need to create a login, if you do not have one already. Please then browse courses for Stronger Families Series: Supporting Attendance.

We had our Summer Fair last Saturday and what a great day it turned out to be. A huge thanks to the PTA for all their hard work organising the day which takes months in advance to plan. They had some exciting new changes this year that went down well with all. A big thanks also goes to all the families that attended the fair this year as well as our GLEE choir who sang first to open the fair.   We are still awaiting the grand total for what was raised but it looks to be a great amount which will support the school with future developments and resources.   Once again the most quoted 'stand out activity' was the 'Splat The Teacher' game.  

Our planting pupil leadership group have been busy today literally planting up, creating a vertical garden on the ELC fences.  We look forward to seeing if their efforts to innovate a new approach to bringing greenery to the playground pay off.  They have planted seeds so we hope to see some lovely flowers in full bloom by the time we reuturn after the summer break!

We had a great ELC Sports Day on Monday afternoon. Lots of families came to watch the potted sports in the playground followed by the flat race in the hall. It did rain briefly but all the children showed resilience to keep going and all enjoyed taking part. It was great to see the children having so much fun!

End of year school reports have gone home to families in school bags today (30th May).  Please have a look over the attached guidance to ensure you understand all aspects of the report.  If you are unsure, feel free to get in touch and we can talk things through with you.   The final, optional parent meeting will be held  on Tuesday the 10th of June.  These appointments are 5 minutes and should only be booked if there are specific questions you would like to ask regarding the school report.   Booking will be available from 12pm on Monday the 2nd of June and will be via ParentBooking.co.uk as usual.

A busy week next week, as on Wednesday all of our P4s, our P6s and our P7 woodwind band 'Ashley Notes' will be attending the 'Big Sing' in Duthie Park to sing and perform with other children from schools across Aberdeen City.  This year the event is bigger than ever and we are delighted to have so many pupils participating and showing off the talents they put such hard work into!  Come along and cheer them on.  Bring a waterproof jacket.... just in case. 

A huge thanks to the PTA for their support in funding the next big project in continuing to improve the playground for the pupils/community.  The children were a bit excited, to say the least when we shared in assembly this week that this 'Ituri' climbing frame will be installed in the school playground during the first weeks of the school holidays this year.  It has taken a great deal of work to get all the approvals in place for this, but the children assure us it will be worth it!  Our current P7s have an open invitation to visit during the summer and have a go once it is in place!

Last term the ELC received a visit from the City Locality Lead. This was an opportunity for them to see what was going on in the ELC and to look at feeding back areas to develop. As always it was an opportunity for Mr Rae and Mrs Beedie to share developments over the session and to showcase the excellent work that has been done by the ELC team to support the children in the setting and  the children's own achievements and skills. As part of the visit the Quality Assurance  ebook is updated to reflect the visits.  Have a read to see what was said!

Both P6 classes enjoyed visiting the Duthie Park this week to participate in two workshops exploring plant life. They conducted experiments, solved riddles and investigated how plants store energy.

This week saw  Ashley Road compete at the  Regional Final  of the Glee competition at Aberdeen Music Hall. Having triumphed in Round 1, our 40-strong Glee Club again put in a fantastic performance during both their songs, showing off particularly impressive harmonies. The standard of all the choirs was incredible and, whilst Ashley Road did not progress to the finals, they received  wonderful feedback from the judges and once again did us proud. Well done AR Glee 2025!

A big thanks again to the staff  who make this possible with their ongoing hard work and dedication.

Watch this space for a performance of Glee's newest song in full!

Next week, the other half of our P4-7s will be asked to rank the pupil leadership group themes they are interested in driving forward, before being matched up with their small working group and a teacher to facilitate.  We love seeing the creative ideas they come up with.  Many of the things you see around school/routines and initiatives that have become part of 'Ashley Road' came from these groups and have a lasting legacy.  

Our hardworking members of the  PTA have been busy creating themed hampers for each of our school Houses, to be raffled at the upcoming school fair.  To be in with a chance of winning, you can purchase tickets for £2 per hamper after school next Wednesday & Friday from 3-3.30pm in the playground or on the day of the fair itself. 

As an extra incentive, House Points will be awarded according to which hampers sell the most tickets. 40 house points are available for the winning house, 30 for the second house and so on.

'Pre-paid' cards which can be used at the fair will also be available to purchase at these times.

This week is the final week of pupil leadership groups for Block 1, in which half of all pupils P4-7 have taken part in small leadership groups, driving pupil led improvements and initiatives for our school/community.  Have a glance at the groups slides below to see what they have been up to!  Some groups are just rounding up their records.  

We look forward to Block 2 starting in a few weeks time, when the other half of the pupils will have their opportunity to bring their ideas to action.  

This year Mrs Tosh has also been running 'training sessions' with P3 pupils at these times, in small groups to build up their leadership capacity ahead of them stepping into these groups next session.  They are building this model in collaboration with the ELC and it has been great for both our P3s and the nursery children alike!

A big thanks to Mrs Duthie and the Fundraising team who held 'Dream Day' today in aid of 'Team Jak'!  We had butchers, bakers, candlestick makers and of course gamers in school today, showing what their hopes are for the future!  A big thanks to Team Jak who have provided prize goody bags for the winners  of the TJ drawing competition.  We look forward to presenting these at assembly next week once the PLG has had a chance to judge!  The group managed to raise a grand total of over £350!  A big thanks to everyone who was able to contribute.  

The internet, social media, video sharing platforms, and instant messaging apps hold a great attraction for children and can, if used safely, be of great social and educational benefit. Unfortunately, these resources can also create a less-than positive environment where children, through no fault of their own, may find themselves at risk. This guide aims to provide advice to parents, grandparents, carers, guardians, siblings, and children themselves, highlighting key things to look out for to stay safe online. 

Primary 1 are the first year group to start exploring our Tall Ships 'Treasure Box',  full of nautical themed books and resources to help us get into the festival spirit ahead of the Tall Ships arriving in July. The children have thoroughly enjoyed digging into the resources and have been so inspired that they have created their very own tall ship in the classroom, complete with a mast, sails, British flag, route map, compass and telescope. 

They are feeling confident that their ship will fare very well in the race!

The PTA Easter Trail raised a total of £140. Lots of families took part in the event over the Easter holidays and some of the designs are still on show!

The Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025 Races present an exciting opportunity for primary school pupils to learn about maritime history, navigation, and the cultural significance of Tall Ships.   Every school across ACC has revieved a 'learning pack' designed to provide teachers and pupils with a range of themed activities which we look forward to exporing with the children this term!  The pack includes various activities, an Adopt a Ship programme and competitions. 

As ever we have made a bit of a 'House Challenge' out of the races.  In assembly this week, all the ships competing were split amongst the houses and and we will keep track of who wins at each point during the race.  Those ships in first second and third positions will earn points for the house who selected them, meaning we will start in the new year with points (hopefully) won for each house.  We hope this encourages the children to engage with the range of activities which will be available during the tall ships festival this summer!  

See below which ships have been adopted by which houses!

More information on the Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025 event can be found here: https://www.tallshipsaberdeen.com/

The new Block for the P4-7 Multi-Sport club begins next Wednesday 30th April. See details below for how to sign up. 

P4-7 Multisport Club

Booking Opens: 23/04/2025 at 6pm

Booking Closes: 28/04/2025 at 12 Midnight

Start Date: 30/04/2025

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ashley-road-p4-7-multisports-tickets-1328315129309

• P1-7 Sports Day - Monday the 26th of May (1:30ish) - 3:15.  

• P1-7 Sports Day Backup - Monday the 2nd June (1:30ish) - 3:15.  

• Big Sing @ Duthie Park - Wednesday 28th May AM - P4, P6 and P7 Band Performing 

• ELC Sports Day - Tuesday 27th May - 1.45-2.30pm  (Back up Tuesday 3rd June).

• ELC Potted Sports with Parents - Friday 20th June 2.15pm.

• New ELC Pupils Induction Morning - Wednesday 18th June - 9.30am

• Possible 'Meet The Teacher' session - Wednesday 25th June - AM

• ELC End of Year Celebration - Wednesday 25th June - 2pm

• P7Rm1 Finding Nemo Performance - Tuesday 1st July PM

• P7Rm11 Finding Nemo Performance  - Wednesday 2nd July AM

• P7Rm12 Finding Nemo Performance -  Wednesday 2nd July PM

Keep and eye on Seesaw for information on some ELC parental coffee events that will also happen this term. 

We are sorry to share that our wonderful School Crossing Patroller, Bob has decided to retire so will not be returning to work. Bob has been a much loved member of our school community for a number of years and we are very sad to see him go.  We appreciate the support he has provided keeping the children same on their journey to and from school.  Some of our classes are currently working on some tokens of appreciation and we hope to invite Bob back to school to receive these.  

It is Aberdeen City Council policy that once vacant, School Crossing Patroller posts will not be readvertised, so there will no longer be a Crossing Patroller on Ashley Road.  We would encourage families to plan their journey to and from school with this in mind. 

We mentioned last term that we would be setting up an onlune 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.