Forest Schools at Rhunahaorine Primary

Forest Schools, Primary schools

Forest Schools is a great activity where we learn about interesting things to do in the forest .We get to do things like learn new knots,make shelters and make fires in addition we also help to look after the environment by doing things like making shelter for the various kinds of creatures that live in the forest. – by Kirk p7

P1-7 go to forest schools in Largie and will be going for the next 7 weeks. We do games,dens,climbing trees, showing us knots and  finally we make hot chocolate  in the storm kettle. – by Finlay p6 Continue reading Forest Schools at Rhunahaorine Primary →

Kilchrenan Primary Forest School Update

Forest Schools, Primary schools

The woods have been our classroom for 7 months now. We started our Forest School venture in August and have explored there weekly, bar a few weeks when things got a bit hectic with the Christmas play. You know how it is!
There are 12 of us, 10 pupils (P1-P6) and 2 members of staff, although we’ve also had 7 different visitors, including our Education Scotland inspector and Miss Teen Argyll (Galaxy)!
Priority is safety and comfort. The pupils are becoming proficient at putting up a tarpaulin shelter, using timber hitch and tension knots. They’re also pretty good at retrieving it from the trees on windy days! Teamwork is essential and they know their roles. Continue reading Kilchrenan Primary Forest School Update →

Kilmartin P.S. Take the Blytheswood Trust Challenge!

Enterprise, Primary schools

The children at Kilmartin Primary School recently helped raise money for the Blytheswood Trust by taking their £20 Enterprise challenge. The Trust gave the P.5-7 class £20 and challenged them to turn that into a profit.
The children thought of many interesting ideas but finally decided to bake and sell flapjacks to the other children in school. They had to use their maths skills to find out how much it would cost to make the flapjacks and then calculate what price they could sell them for to ensure a good profit. Continue reading Kilmartin P.S. Take the Blytheswood Trust Challenge! →

Rhu Primary School Third Green Flag

Eco Schools, Primary schools

Written by Anna Ferguson – Primary 7

Rhu Primary School have been working towards their 3rd green flag for the past two years.  Success came on Thursday 26th January when they achieved their goal.  Pupils and staff were delighted and teachers shed tears of joy.
The Eco Committee held many meetings making sure the required criteria would be met, which was no easy feat. The challenge involved pupils, parents and the wider community.  Mrs. Mackay, Principal Teacher and Eco Coordinator said,
“It’s made me aware of being more eco friendly.”  This seems to be felt by the pupils too. Continue reading Rhu Primary School Third Green Flag →

Easter Island Heads!

Expressive arts

What could you do if you had a big stone head in your playground?

CAST has funding to take part in a national arts project called ‘Giants in the Forest’ and has offered primary schools the chance to take part in an Argyll and Bute off-shoot. To date we have 71 primary schools signed up to take part. Each school is being sent a large ceramic ‘Easter Island’ head, which can be planted up with seedlings/plants of their choice. A bag of compost is also being supplied.

GITF involves enormous heads being erected in woodland in Argyll as well as Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. These are being planted up with indigenous growth from the surrounding habitat and used as a catalyst for a wide variety of arts and education events. The national project is run by ‘vision mechanics’. Continue reading Easter Island Heads! →

Khan Academy

Learning Tech

Every so often a new website pops up that seems like a game-changer. I am completely bowled over by the online teaching resources and the underpinning approach of the Khan Academy. Their mission is to make quality teaching available to anyone, anywhere in the world and they have received 1.5 million dollars from the Gates Foundation to help them achieve it. Aimed at older learners, Secondary school and beyond, they are rapidly adding to a bank of virtual whiteboard lessons mainly on maths, sciences and the humanities, but the list of lessons is already huge and growing rapidly. If you are a Secondary teacher in any of these areas, you cannot miss this site, it shows how teaching can be shared worldwide.

Oban High Bookbug Sessions 2012

Early Years, Expressive arts

Oban High, Early Years Team, Oban Library and CAST offered Lorn cluster schools and playgroups the chance to take part in the ‘Oban High Book Week’ held in February 2012. CAST offered spaces to pre-school and P1 & P2 children in Bookbug song and storytelling sessions lasting approx 50 mins. During each session we covered 8 songs and two stories delivered by the fabulous visiting storyteller Andy Cannon. CD’s and word sheets of the songs were sent out early January to allow schools to practice before the big day! Continue reading Oban High Bookbug Sessions 2012 →