Middlefield Mirror - Summer 2010

Summer Edition 2010

in Featurede this issu Interview Alan Baxter

Middlefield Youth Flat

Playscheme in Pictures

Preschool Transition

Middlefield Mirror

Summer Edition 2010

Contents 1

Farewell Margaret

2 & 3

Alan Baxter

4 & 5

Middlefield Youth Flat

6

Church News

7

Local News

8

Playscheme

9

SHMU News

10

Neighbourhood Planning

11

Police Update

12

Councillors’ News

13

Preschool to School

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Editorial

Welcome to the long awaited Summer edition of the Middlefield Mirror.

As ever, thanks go to all those who have submitted content and supported the development of this publication. Middlefield Mirror is your magazine and has the potential to be a real voice in your community. This cannot happen though without your input – we need people of all ages to get involved with an editorial team.

This may involve attending one hour meetings as and when you are able, getting content for the magazine, taking photographs, submitting articles or creative writing, design and layout of the magazine or any aspect of the editorial you feel comfortable with – any training can be provided.

F U N D E D BY

Au revoir Margaret But not goodbye!

As many of the locals are aware I am leaving Middlefield Community Project after being here for over 20 years.

I arrived in the area as an Information Worker at the Information and Resource Centre based here at Logie Place, a year later we amalgamated with Middlefield Youth Project to become Middlefield Community Project.

Wow, that seems a lifetime ago and what started as a small project has developed into a project that is hive of activity serving all ages within the Middlefield area.

Since I arrived in Middlefield I’ve had several job changes in my work, this added to the excitement of working in the area and having the opportunity to meet fantastic people who take great pride in their community.

As the years have gone by I now find myself in a position to say I now work with 3rd generation families where the children I started working with are now parents themselves and the parents are now grandparents!

Over the years there have been many changes within the area and I have great pride in saying that through encouragement and support to the local people many of these changes have been for the better. I could be here all day listing the fantastic achievements

that the community has worked towards over the years but some of these include; the involvement in the Healthy Hoose, the Rat run ban between Logie Terrace and Manor Drive and also Wilkie Avenue, the fight to keep the post-box in the local area which may seem a small thing but to many of the elderly and frail living in the area was an important victory.

Go with the people

The development of the groups in the area, the OAP’s being invited to show their work at the Aberdeen Art Gallery and this year Middlefield’s Woman’s Group being invited to participate in a National Conference. The playscheme’s that have happened over the years and our team of fantastic volunteers that help out to ensure they can continue. The swimming groups for the under 12’s that provides swimming lessons, these have promoted not only water safety but also confidence and self-esteem for those taking part.

When their task is

Live among them Learn from them Start with what they know Build on what they have Of the best leaders accomplished Their work done The people will remark ‘We have done it ourselves’,

As I sit and think about my time I have spent here, there are far too many memories I could share, but I am reminded of an old Taoist poem that I would like to share, I believe it sums up with Community Workers are about.

So it is not with a goodbye but with an Au revoir that I sign off and thank you all for your wonderful support and amazing memories.

1

Smithfield School

Interview with Mr Alan Baxter How are you finding being the new head teacher of Smithfield school?

It’s really exciting and everyone has been very welcoming the staff and parents and especially the pupils.

Will you be sad to see Smithfield go?

Its really interesting as we recently had the school celebration, the school has been here since 1949 and on the night its estimated we had over 600 people through the doors to see the school before it is gone, there was a teacher that came to the celebration who had arrived at Smithfield 3 months after it opened in 1949 Miss Violet Thompson and she was talking to some of her p3 boys! The school is very warmly thought of by former pupils and staff.

Violet Thompson sent a card to Smithfield saying ‘get ready to stamp the special Smithfield ambiance on Manor Park’!

Will you be the new head teacher at Manor Park?

I will be the new head teacher at manor park for the first year of its operation it is possible to have a new head teacher before then, the plan is to advertise the post one more time but through to

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next summer at least I should be the head teacher.

assist the education authority and its staff to move effectively.

Are you going back to Bramble Brae?

What about the new school badge?

Yes I will be I am just here until the new school is up and running and to get everyone settled, but then I will be going back to bramble brae.

When I had arrived there was already a competition underway for pupils to design the new school badge, the staff could not decide on the 2 designs that had been picked so they put the two designs together and the two winning girls who were Rebecca Riddell (p4) and Rimsha Aziz (p7) and they incorporated the two together, we sent the girls to go and see the graphic designer at the council and he helped sort the designs to go with our new school colours.

“ There is also the all weather pitch which is quite exciting and means there will be a lot of out of school use” When is the new school opening?

The plan is to move after the October break, there was a plan to move after the September weekend but to make it easier on staff and pupils it should be after October. And will also allow for the ‘snagging’ which is for the likes of doors not fitting and the last thing I want is to be trying to sort things like that while trying to settle 260 kids into their new home, so we have a couple of weeks to get things like that sorted.

When schools relocate it is very usual for the Scottish executive to grant “extra days” without pupils in attendance in order to

The new school sweatshirts are coloured winter emerald for the p1 to p6 and light oxford grey for the p7.

Is there anything interesting about the new school?

Community provision had been planned for both the new builds of Heathryburn and Manor Park, and through user group discussion it was decided that it would be best to have a larger community provision on one of the sites so there is really quite a substantial community wing with a separate entrance to the main school building.

There is also the all weather pitch which is quite exciting and means there will be a lot of out of school use, there will also be all sorts of pursuits and interests to cater for all because not everyone wants to run around and play football!

Does that mean there will be extra staff?

There will be community staff based there for most of the day; there is also a police presence on site as the police believe that a central location within the area will help in the community.

to change overnight, previous to that you were pretty much able to just walk in.

What about the student teachers that were involved at the school?

The buildings are designed in a way so that they are secure; the new school has been designed so that there are less ‘cubby holes’ to prevent things from happening out of school hours.

They had a great effect with the children and have I am sure secured their jobs for next year unfortunately Miss Hood and Mr O Brian will not be at Manor park, although they made a huge success with the ‘s factor’ which all the children enjoyed and the children miss them!

What about the base?

I hear the children have been calling this the Tardis?

There are 3 groups of children who spend time in the base as well as their mainstream class; we have very carefully identified the areas where the children will operate when they are not in their mainstream class.

Yes that is true! Compared to the community wing it looks small but is big on the inside.

Is it true there is a large intake of primary one pupils this year?

What about security in the school?

In my experience it is the largest intake I have seen there are around 46 primary one pupils so we will have 3 classes to accommodate 2 p1 classes and a p1/2 class.

Security is very important between 1998 and 2000 security was looked at in all Aberdeen city schools and in 2000 the atmosphere in schools seemed

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MIDDLEFIELD YOUTH FLAT

Middlefield Youth Flat Jumble Sale Fun! New Student

Jumble sale

Welcome

Thank you to all the youths that helped to plan and organise the Jumble sale. The youths worked really hard at making tablet to sell, collecting donations and selling raffles on the day. The youths look forward to their annual Jumble sale and the parents get the opportunity to meet staff members. A big thank you to all who donated items and prizes. It was a great day and we raised a total of £437.38.

Welcome to our new member of staff Adam Skiba. Adam has joined the team at Middlefield Youth Flat. The youths and staff have experienced Adams cooking skills. Adam and some youths made polish meatballs which were very tasty and we are looking forward to having more polish cuisine. We have also experienced some Nigerian cooking from Chuks. The youths have sampled Nkwobi, yam with egg sauce and plantain. It was good trying new food.

Go For It Well done to Nick Reid and Adam Merchant who are currently participating in a volunteering programme run by 2012 Olympics in London, supported from Aberdeen Foyer and sponsored by BP. This programme is designed to improve communication and leadership skills and will provide them the opportunity to work, recruit and engage other young people in the local community to support community activities. They will also have the opportunity to put their new skills into action through participation in the 2012 London games.

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Youth Employment Focus Group Come along to the youth flats employment skills group. We meet on Thursdays at 2.00pm3.30pm at the Middlefield Community Project. For more information contact Linda at Pathways, Sharon at the youthflat or Helen at the Project.

For more information about the flat please call 01224 687362 and ask for Charlie or Sharon

CHUKWUDI ORJI, Msc International Student at RGU and is from (IGBO) Nigeria.

Chuks is in his first year placement and will be on at the Youthflat for 16 weeks.

“I have always wanted to work with the youths and when placement came through and it was at the Middlefield Community Project (Youth Flat), I was a kind of happy because it has been what I ‘ve always wanted to do.

Working in the flat has been interesting so far both the youths and the staff has been extremely supportive and really make me feel at home in the flat. The atmosphere in the flat is always friendly just like one happy big family and the youths who access the flat love it. Both the youths and the staff at the flat have great relationships which is very important for the informal learning which is taking place.

Every day is different at the flat with lots of activities going on e.g. pool, game, cooking, discussions etc.

These activities are aimed at helping the youths develop self confidence and learn positive social skills which at the end will enable the youths develop into responsible adults and community builders. “

SUMMERTrips

Over the Summer holidays the youth flat have been on various trips. Three different age groups have had the opportunity to plan, Organise and budget where to go. The new intake of primary 6’s went to Dundee swimming, Houghton Country Park, strawberry picking and Brechin centre castle. Brechin centre had a

variety of things to do. There were so many animals and they were child friendly too. Some of us had never been in close contact with some animals. We met and patted some kunekune pigs( very friendly) they were just like puppies and you could have taken one home for £40.00, seemingly they make great pets! We also

met some alpacas which look a cross between a llama and camel.

The primary 7’s to S4 also went to Dundee swimming, Loch Muick, strawberry picking and Brechin Castle. Over 15’s decided they would do the same, but instead of Houghton Country Park they would visit Aiden Park.

Youth Flats Got Talent by Nathan Leiper One day I had a dream and I spoke to Charlie. The next day Charlie, Sharon and me had a little meeting and we did a spider graph. We made a spider graph to map out our ideas and plans for the show. I started up a folder and did tally marks and my dream came to life. Sharon and Charlie invited our student chuks to help

us with the project. Since then we have had a rehearsal and two auditions and all the contestants who turned up have got through so far. Our next step is to organise the live final. If this concert is a success then we are going to go even bigger with Middlefield has got talent.

Ladybirds Day Nursery Looking to get back to work or college?

Ladybirds Day Nursery has full and part time places Available from August 2010. Age 2 – 5 years. Breakfast, lunch and snacks provided A safe & happy environment with caring, qualified and experienced staff Birth to three development plans • A Curriculum for Excellence in place Soft play room • Secure outside play area • Unlimited use of minibus for trips

If interested please contact Donna Rennie on 01224 789933

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CHURCH NEWS

Church News At the heart of church life is the worship of God, and that’s what we do every Sunday at 11am, and all are welcome to just turn up, whether you’re a babe in arms or ninety-nine. In July, baby Skye was baptised, and we affirmed God’s endless love for her through Jesus Christ. As her Dad carried her round, she was welcomed into the church and there were a few tears of joy!

Friends, family and churchgoers shared this happy spiritual event.

And another little baby will be baptised soon!

We’ve had a sociable time recently with extra events including a barbecue (too cold to be outside, as usual!), picnic ( just warm enough) and coffee morning (definitely indoors).

The picnic was at Monymusk with our friends from Rubislaw Church.

As you can see from the photo, we have some very big kids in

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the church - and the wee kids enjoyed themselves too. After the picnic, Anita led a short outdoor service just as the sun burst through the clouds. When we stepped on to the bus to leave, the first drops of rain arrived!

The Parents and Toddlers Group has been going strong again since the new year, and takes a break before restarting when the schools go back (Tuesdays at 9.20am). We are planning more outings, and are looking in to setting up English classes as there seems to be interest and existing classes don’t suit everyone.

The place to find warm fellowship if you are over 50 (though younger people are welcome too) is the Friendship Group which meets on Tuesday afternoons at 1pm. We restart in September.

Break through your shyness and come along, and you’ll find amazing warmth and grace.

At the end of June we said goodbye to our friends and tenants, The Father’s House, the Pentecostal church which has shared our building for the last few years. They’ve moved to the Copthorne Hotel where they can have their services on a Sunday morning. We wish them God’s blessings in their new home and pray the Spirit will nourish them.

Do you need a listening ear, have questions about God, or spiritual concerns?

If so, you could speak to a minister. Please leave a clear message at: Middlefield Parish Church, 75 Manor Avenue, tel 682310.

Or contact us direct: Rev Anita van der Wal tel 865195, Rev Elspeth Harley 703017 or mob 07950 076528, and the outreach worker Sumtende Chaba at 682310.

LOCAL NEWS

Family Learning News Update Fa’s in their eyes?

The event on the 17th April was a huge success, thanks to all who came along and supported the night. We raised nearly £1,300 and it is very much appreciated.

Several people who live and work in your area have indicated they will be taking part in Fa’s in their eyes II next year. So watch this space.

Challenge Mum and Dad Look out Mum’s and Dad’s exciting challenges ahead! If you are free on a Saturday and fancy trying something new then you need to contact Greig on 01224 487822.

Future Challenge Mum events include: Jewellery Making, Digital Photography, Residential

weekend, cooking. Future Challenge Dad events include: Trampolining, Raft Building, Residential weekend.Come on you lot, take up the challenge!

PEER Project Volunteer opportunities will continue at Family Learning thanks to funding from the Fairer Scotland Fund. If you fancy volunteering and/or would like additional information in regard to further education/ employment information and advice, then get in touch with Louise on 01224 487822. We have close links with a variety of agencies and can provide training and learning opportunities for you to build your confidence.

I’m a parent …get me out of here!

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world which doesn’t come with a manual. We have a positive parenting programme that will enhance your parenting skills and give you a chance to speak to other parents and have a moan about the little cherubs.

The course should be starting in your local area in August 2010, so why not get booked on.

70% Parents who have attended in the past have said they see an improvement in their kids and their own behaviour. For more details phone Shona or Greig on 01224 487822.

In fact if you have any queries about what Family Learning can do for you then contact the office on the number above.

The Healthy Hoose The Healthy Hoose has had its door open to residents of Smithfield and Middlefield since August 1999. We at the Healthy Hoose offer a wide range of locally based healthcare services.

We are here to help with many of your health queries and concerns, saving an unnecessary journey to your surgery. Your GP knows we are here and is happy for us to help you if we can.

We provide a service for babies, toddlers, young people and adults, with all contacts being confidential.

Our opening hours are Monday – Thursday 9am-5pm and Friday 10am-5pm and closed between 1-2pm for lunch.

The Healthy Hoose team comprises of: Pamela Coutts, Receptionist Dorothy Christie and Audrey Scott, Nurse Practitioners Kathleen McFarlane, Pharmacist Janet Crichton, Counsellor May Gilchrist, Community Health Worker We also have a range of visiting services including podiatry, health visitors, credit union and benefits advisors.

If you live within the Middlefield or Smithfield areas we are here to help you. Please feel free to call Tel: 01224 661500 for advice or pop in on your way past to collect a leaflet.

Playscheme

Middlefield Community Project

We had up to forty two children at the summer playscheme for our trips and swimming and arts and crafts. We went to Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre in Perth and the children really enjoyed seeing the animals and playing in the park. We also went to Fraserburgh Beach, Craigton Country Park and had a family bbq in Alford.

We also had our P1-3 residential to Cromdale and our P4-P6 residential to Cromdale.

While at Cromdale, we went to Landmark and the children and adults got to try out the new rollercoaster. We had some good weather for all of our activities which enabled us to be outside most of the time.

On the last day of playscheme, we had our family BBQ at Alford. This was a special day as it was Margaret’s last day at playscheme. We would like to thank Central Coaches for decorating the coaches with balloons and posters saying that they would miss her.

Margaret did not get off lightly 8

though as we had our usual water fight and she got soaked.

Some of the children had made her little booklets saying how much they liked her and what they liked doing at playscheme.

On behalf of all of the volunteers and Under 12 staff, we would like to say we will miss you Margaret and playscheme will not be the same without you.

We also worked with Whitespace at our Thursday club and Family fun days to make t shirts and a big ball for The Aberdeen International Youth Festival. We were invited to take part and we took some of the children from the Thursday Club and Family Fun Day to the parade. We marched down Union Street in our yellow t shirts and the children were singing and smiling all of the way. They really did Middlefield proud. We had a couple of parents helping us out too and we would like to say a big thank you to them. We all had a great day out.

Station House Media Unit (shmu) is situated just off Great Nothern Road in the old Station House Community Centre, Woodside. We offer free access to, and training in video and radio production, and magazine and online publications to residents of all ages living in Seaton, Woodside, Middlefield, Tillydrone, Torry, Northfield and Cummings Park.

t 01224 515013

e info@shmu.org.uk

www.shmu.org.uk

Get yourself connected You may be aware that in addition to supporting local residents and service providers to produce this magazine, SHMU also manages the Connected Middlefield initiative, which provides free Internet access to the majority of homes in the Middlefield area.

At present approximately 400 residents make use of the free service on a daily basis, with over 3,000 devices connecting to the service over the last 2 years.

Although SHMU has received no direct funding for this service over the last 18 months, we are committed to continuing to offer the Internet service with the aim of introducing an exciting and cutting edge new community website in the coming months.

The community website will be the first thing you see if you use the Connected Middlefield Wi-Fi network to access the Internet. This makes the portal an ideal place to inform you about what’s going on in your community. It will also provide you with a meeting place with other members of the community, services and decision-makers.

shmuFM Every week, Karen Cole presents a radio programme called Middlefield Matters. Each Tuesday morning at 10am she enters Studio 1, puts on a pair of headphones, sits in front of a microphone and for the next hour chats with guests about issues affecting the Middlefield community. She plays music and takes requests by phone, email and text. Oh, and she has great fun!

You can hear Middlefield Matters on shmuFM 99.8FM. And if you miss it in the morning, don’t worry because it’s repeated between 7 and 8pm the same evening. Get in touch by phoning the studio on 01224 483 413, or email middlefieldmatters@shmu.org. uk. You can also text on 60300 - start your message with SHMU, leave a space and then leave your name.

If you are an Internet user you’re probably well aware of social network sites (Facebook, MySpace etc).

We plan to build the Middlefield site around similar principals, with the key difference being that when you register you will be linking up with people, services, and agencies that operate within your community that you’re interested in. This website will not be static; the content within it will be provided by you and others who use the site, and you will also be able to personalise it in a way that you want.

We hope to have an early version of the site in operation by early November – if you have a computer or phone that can access Wi-Fi please log on, register and get involved!

Beginners Training (6 weeks) Mondays 7pm – 9pm 20th September – 25th October Fridays 2pm –4pm 24th September – 29th October

shmuFM is offering training opportunities to anyone who lives or works within Middlefield. The training will run in blocks of 6 weeks. As well as learning new exciting skills in radio production, presenting and broadcasting you will meet new people, build your confidence and self-esteem.

If this sounds like something you fancy getting involved in, please phone 01224 515 013, or email training@shmu.org.uk.

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NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING

Neighbourhood Planning Update Neighbourhood Plans published!

After much local discussions and meetings with services, the local 2010/11 Neighbourhood Community Plan went live in April and can be viewed at Community Centers, Libraries or online at www. communityplanningaberdeen. org.uk. Thank you to the community representatives and services who have helped make the plan bigger and better this year. Did you see the May and August neighbourhood bulletins updating you on the plan progress? If you want a copy of the plan or future neighbourhood bulletins, please get in touch.

Meanwhile, the Middlefield Regeneration Group hosted an event at the Henry E Rae Community Centre in late March to ask residents’ views on what should be the focus of the groups work. As a result, the Group hosted an open day event at Middlefield Church in June, for residents to meet with local housing, waste, police and city warden and “healthy hoose” services, as well as view the draft neighbourhood plans and comment on proposals to improve Persley Crescent and Heathryfold parks. Thanks to the City Wardens for leafleting a lot of the area to promote the event - however the brilliant weather and a certain Andy Murray playing tennis may have impacted on the numbers of residents that turned up! Services 10

found the event worthwhile, particularly in light of queries regarding the ongoing housing refurbishment programmes, waste collection changes and new local policing teams.

The Group is keen to provide more opportunities to help residents tackle local issues.

They invite more residents to join or to get in touch and give their ideas and views on what the Group should focus on. For more information, contact me or Helen Graham at Middlefield Community Project on 01224 697000.

As a write, the Scottish Government has approved option 5 for the redevelopment of the Haudagain, and the home owners and tenants currently living in the area earmarked for redevelopment are rightly anxious about what this means for them, and how and when they will be affected.

Council housing and roads officers are already working together following the Scottish Government announcement which will see the development commence only once the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is completed - while local housing teams are developing local drop-in surgeries in the near future, Elaine Sinclair, Neighbourhood Planner, Aberdeen City Council 01224 814526 esinclair@aberdeencity.gov.uk

“Community Representatives are keen to encourage local residents to report anti-social behaviour to Grampian Police or Crimestoppers. Even the smallest piece of information is useful, local information helps the local policing teams to build up a picture of anti-social behaviour allowing them to effectively target local hotspots.

Please keep these contact numbers to hand. For nonemergency calls, contact Grampian Police 24 hour Service Centre on 0845 600-5-700 or e-mail mylocalpolicingteam@ grampian.pnn.police. uk or text on 07739 93 4444. If you have information about crime in your area and wish to remain anonymous, call the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. “

POLICE HEADLINE UPDATE

Police update As the Northfield Local Policing Inspector I have responsibility for the area which serves the residents of Northfield, Cummings Park, Heathryfold and Middlefield.

I lead a team of 3 Sergeants, Tom Lessels, Dave Paterson and Colin Hood, and over 20 Police Constables.

On 1 April 2010, Grampian Police, Aberdeen Division restructured.

This meant that Aberdeen city moved from 6 areas policed by Response and Neighbourhood Officers, to 13 individual areas policed by officers from their own Local Policing Teams (LPT’s).

The decision to restructure followed consultation with the public where it was learnt that they felt police officers were remote, were unaware of community needs, had limited knowledge of local issues and were rarely visible in their communities. The police officers themselves wanted more ownership of local issues to build on their personal awareness, more empowerment to take effective action, while also seeking the capacity to remain in identified local areas to deal with local calls.

In real terms, when you phone asking for service from the police you should be seen by a local officer from the Northfield Policing Team, he or she will have knowledge of the area, the community within and the issues that require to be addressed.

We are looking for long term solutions to problems and not quick temporary fixes.

I recently stated in a local newspaper that the three main issues I intended tackling in the area related to the irresponsible

use of motorcycles, drug related issues and antisocial behaviour.

Although some measures have already been put in place to address these issues I appreciate that there is still a lot of work to be done in the long term. I wish to stress at this point that, we as police officers would not have the ability to do our jobs without the support and assistance of the community. I would urge you to make contact with us at an early stage should we be able to assist you with any policing matter or even just stop for a chat. You are our ‘eyes and ears’, and it’s your community.

“We are always looking for new ways to engage with the local community and we take part in local youth initiatives where possible” We work very closely with other agencies such as the City Wardens, Antisocial Behaviour Investigation Team, Housing Officers and Grampian Fire and Rescue, to name but a few. We are always looking for new ways to engage with the local community and we take part in local youth initiatives where possible. The most recent being our involvement with Grampian Fire and Rescue and the City Wardens every Thursday night at Northfield Community Centre in a football tournament.

At present I, along with my team, work from Mastrick Police Office, Greenfern Place, Aberdeen, where officers from other Local Policing Teams are also based.

We work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be contacted

via the details on the back page of this magazine. If you decide to call personally at the office, which I would encourage, you may not always get an answer, this is because the officers will be out working in community. It is sometimes beneficial to make an appointment prior to calling but this is not always necessary.

This is a very brief introduction to the new Northfield Local Policing Team, I hope it gives you an insight as to how the restructure will benefit the communities of Aberdeen as a whole. For those of you who haven’t met me already I look forward to meeting you. Although the restructure took place only a short time ago I have been encouraged by the response and support from the Northfield community and I look forward to working alongside you in order to make the Northfield, Cummings Park, Heathryfold and Middlefield areas a safer place to live, work and socialise in.

You can read more about Local Policing Inspector Midge Mackay and the Northfield area on the Grampian Police website www.

Grampian.Police.uk , thereafter select ‘Your Area’, ‘Aberdeen Division’, ‘Northfield’.

Non emergency 0845 600 5 700 Our text number is 07739 93 4444 Crimestoppers - 0800 555 111 mypolicingarea@grampian. pnn.police.uk - Mention Insp Mackay’s name or area in all communications.

Write: c/o Force HQ, Queen Street, Aberdeen AB10 1ZA 11

COUNCILLOR NEWS

Councillors have their say...

Councillor Kevin M Stewart Councillor Jackie Dunbar Schools

I had great pleasure in hosting a civic reception celebrating the 60th anniversary of Smithfield School.

Smithfield has served our community well over this time and I have high hopes that the new Manor Park School, which is due to open in October will continue to serve the Middlefield area as well as Smithfield has.

I have watched the Manor Park building grow daily from my bedroom window and I am extremely excited about the benefits that this new, first-class facility will bring to our community.

Roads The heavy vehicles visiting the new Manor Park site have churned up many of the roads in the area, including Smithfield Drive, Newton Road and Danestone Circle and I have asked that works be carried out on these streets after the building is finished. Potholes and street cushions are not a good combination.

Logie Shops The biggest bugbear that I have had in my time as a Councillor has been the fact that the various owners of Logie Shops have been allowed to let the buildings fall into decay and disrepair. The law is an ass on this matter and owners get away with murder. I have had Council officers try to ensure that the building is safe and secure so that kids can’t enter the building, but this is a constant battle.

I have now written to the Government again asking them to look at changing the law on these matters.

Contact Please do not hesitate to contact me with any issue or problem you may have. You can write to me at 97 Smithfield Drive, Middlefield, Aberdeen, AB16 7XD. Call me on 522540 or email kstewart@aberdeencity.gov.uk For Surgery times and venues call 5221778 or look at the Aberdeen City Council website www. aberdeencity.gov.uk

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Earlier this year, I attended the official launch of Northfield Reads at the Library in Northfield Academy. I was really impressed with the amount of work that had gone in to this project from both Staff and Pupils and was delighted to hear that they had also received Lottery funding for the project. Northfield Reads not only serves the pupils of Northfield Academy, but also the feeder primary schools and the wider community, which is one of the reasons that both Cllr Kevin Stewart and I decided to donate the last of our ward budgets for 2009/10 to it.

Aberdeen City Council has just rolled out our new waste collection scheme where each of the three bins that households have will be collected fortnightly. This is part of our drive to increase recycling and reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill. This will save the council in the region of £800,000 a year, money that would have otherwise been wasted on Landfill tax.

If you are experiencing any difficulty, would like some advice or wish to have more recycling containers then please do not hesitate to contact the Waste Aware Team on 08456 08 09 19 or visit them online at www. aberdeencity.gov.uk/wasteaware for more information on reducing, reusing and recycling.

Contact Details If you would like to contact me regarding an issue you may have, then you can do so by writing to Councillor Jackie Dunbar at 127 Manor Avenue, Middlefield, Aberdeen, AB16 7UT or by calling either 01224 522522 or by emailing me at jdunbar@aberdeencity.gov.uk

Councillor Gordon Graham I write to advise of the current situation regarding a number of issues that directly affect the area and issues that I am currently working on with organisations.

Middlefied Youth Flat – Manor Football Park.

I have requested that the Council work with the kids of Middlefield Youth Flat to provide floodlights at Manor Park; this would allow the kids to play foorball during the dark nights.

Fairer Scotland Fund.

I have been working with the Middlefield regeneration \group to identify the areas priorities for the distribution of Fairer Scotland Fund.

This was all the harder as the council has reduced the funding from the agreed allocation, however we were able to make the following awards.

Community Media in Middlefield £12,000; Manor Park maintenance £4000; Middlefield Youth Flat 51,034; Our Story - Arts and Participation for Regeneration £5,123 & Middlefield Community Project Supporting volunteers and Under 12’s work £22,343 Motorbikes The motorbike menace does not go away for long, like most residents I am constantly, disturbed, by the sound of these bikes and the antics that the riders get up to. I will keep on reporting them and I would encourage any body who knows the address to get in touch with the police or myself.

I trust this meets with your satisfaction if you would like to discuss this or any other issue then please get in touch, Regards, Councillor Gordon Graham

LOCAL NEWS

Preschool children’s transition to school This year as part of the nurseries development plan it was decided that we would provide more support to the children leaving our setting and starting in primary one after the summer holidays. We also wanted to build a link with the local primary schools and continue to work alongside other professionals ensuring that we provide enough help and support for the children during their transition to school.

Pamela Petrie, Pamela Robertson and Kerry Merchant took 5 children from their nursery classes to visit Woodside Primary school and 9 children to Smithfield school, 2 children to Cornhill School and one child to Bramble Brae School. The children had worked hard making transition folders containing pictures, observations, paintings, drawings and a communication passport that had information on each child’s likes and dislikes and what they may require help with. They also had the children’s previous reports and a copy of their I CAN statements in them so that the children’s new teachers would be able to see what level of development they were at. The children were proud to hand the folders over and this helped the children to communicate with the

teachers by explaining what they entailed. When the children visited Smithfield school they had an opportunity to play outside in the playground with the children that are already in primary one.

This was a great success as the children were able to have fun, make friends and see that they will be able to have some fun at school. The children that visited Woodside school were invited to visit a primary one classroom that were working on a fairy tale theme and they had decorated their classroom as a castle they had various art work and story books available for the children to view and the children were given the opportunity to look around the classroom with the support from one of the class pupils.

The children were then able to access the healthy tuck shop that sold healthy food for the children’s play time. The children had the opportunity to play in the playground with the children already in primary one and the teacher had encouraged her children to look after the children from the nursery while in the playground. The children were all happy that they were given this experience and we feel that it has definitely helped them adjust to

the idea of starting school in August.

During the visit to Cornhill primary the children were given a tour of the school from the head teacher before meeting their new teacher and having the opportunity to play in their new class room – whilst there the children were pleased to see that the class room had computers, water tray, sand tray, role play corner and similar construction toys just the same as they have in nursery.

During the visit to Bramble Brae we were given a tour around the whole school before joining the children in their nursery who would also be moving on to primary one. During the time spent in nursery we had snack, joined in with the activities and then we got to visit the primary one class room, meet the teacher and play with the smart board.

These visits have been very beneficial to the children as it has helped to ease any anxieties they may have about their move to school. Now that the Curriculum For Excellence is in place we hope that we can continue the links with these schools and continue to set up transition visits for all school aged children each year.

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