@baldernock4ever

I went for a run today - I don't do it often enough and it fairly clears the cobwebs.
As I ran towards my kids' school - the little hidden gem that is Baldernock Primary School, I was struck with a real sense of the seasons moving on.
My son is about to move up to secondary school and the preparations are already in place for the big move.
Soon, the end-of-term Leavers' Service will reduce me and a load of other mums (possibly dads), carers and even the odd teacher to a weeping mess.
He has been at the school for seven years, and before that, he was at the playgroup in the old schoolhouse, for over two years.
The school, which is currently celebrating 140 years in the business of educating local children, is a really special place.
It's under threat of closure due to a 'primary school improvement' plan by East Dunbartonshire Council and a group of bonnie fechters are doing their utmost to stop this happening.
We understand the financial pressures which local authorities are under but losing this resource would be removing a vital cog in the educational wheel in this area.
Kids are individuals in this school. There are a lot of children who come on placing requests who perhaps don't fit the homogenous mould with which larger schools operate. And they thrive here.
That's not something which you can easily describe in a consultation exercise.
Every year, Mrs Bonnington, my son's teacher, writes an extended poem about every p7 leaver which is delivered by the children in p5 and 6 at the leavers' service.
I'm always amazed at how she nails their character with unerring accuracy. This is because she really gets to know them in the two/three years they are in her charge.
It's little details like this which make the school unique. That and the fact the odd cow escapes into the playground or that football games are often interrupted by forays into the burn to retrieve the ball.
Anyways, Blip peeps... That was going through my head as I ran towards this unique little school which means so much to me and my family and countless others.