Glasgow Caledonian University and the Social Enterprise Aacdemy present: Social Enterprise: an academic discussion or a way of changing the way we do business?
Thursday 6th December 2012
5pm – 7.30pm
Smoke Free Me
Primary 7 in Tarbert held an Open Hour to share their learning from their Smoke Free Me topic. The children gave presentations on what was in a cigarette, the gruesome effect smoking has on the body, the timeline of smoking in the UK, resisting peer pressure and the help available if you want to stop. They devised games, challenges and drama for the parents to try and watch. The parents said they’d learned a lot!
Oban Winter Festival art competition winners
The recently held Art Competition sponsored by the Oban Winter Festival had a fantastic number of high quality entries.The judges had a very very hard time deciding and everyone who entered deserves recognition for their art skills BUT…….
The winners are: First: Isla Buchanan, Lochnell
Joint second: Ellie Lopez, Rockfield and Noah Domingues, Luing
Third: Craig Campbell-Roberts, Lochnell
See below for their lovely artwork……….. Continue reading Oban Winter Festival art competition winners
Staff Training
It was time for some real, practical learning for the staff of St Joseph’s as they worked hard with Martin Caldwell, the area Active Schools Co-ordinator on athletics training during the INSET day on Friday. The school had received a generous grant from Awards for All for new PE equipment and excellent athletics resources were welcomed at the school. Martin did a sterling job of putting us all through our paces and the staff were inspired and motivated to further develop athletics training in school with some brand new equipment.
School pupils’ posters will help keep children safe across Argyll and Bute
Primary schools pupils in Argyll and Bute have helped the local Child Protection Committee (CPC) to keep children safe and protected by designing posters to raise awareness of the issue.
When Fiona Blakey, Argyll and Bute Council cultural co-ordinator heard that the CPC wanted to update their public information, she turned the idea into a project for primary schools.
Pupils throughout the area were asked to think about what messages they would give to people about protecting children at home, at school and in the community.
Five designs were selected, and have now been made into bright public information posters which are being displayed in public buildings and offices across Argyll and Bute.
Continue reading School pupils’ posters will help keep children safe across Argyll and Bute
London Early Years Foundation conference report
Council staff highly praised at London Early Years Foundation Conference (LEYF)
A team from Argyll and Bute Council were invited to deliver workshops at the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) staff conference on the 2 November in Pimlico, London.
Anne Paterson – Quality Improvement Manager, Stephen Glen-Lee – Head Teacher at Easdale and Luing Primary School and Kathleen Johnston – Head Teacher at Keills and Small Isles Primary School were part of a group of eight who travelled to the conference from Scotland. Other members of the group included Anne Marie Burns from Glasgow Libraries, Alice Sharp – Managing Director of Experiential Play and two members of her team, along with Paul Brannigan, lead actor from the hit Scottish Film ‘Angels’ Share’.
Continue reading London Early Years Foundation conference report
Cardross Primary Garscube Harriers Schools Cross Country Races 2012
Cardross Primary finished on top at the recent Garscube Harriers Scottish Schools Cross Country Races on the 11th November. The primary six boys won their age group finishing in 6th, 7th and 11th place ahead of strong teams from The Glasgow Academy and The High School of Glasgow. Many of the girls also put in strong individual performances and Mrs Girling and Mrs Davis were delighted with the results. Continue reading Cardross Primary Garscube Harriers Schools Cross Country Races 2012
Tobermory High River Study
S3 Geography pupils from Tobermory High School recently braved the cold weather to complete a river study. This involved taking measurements on a local section of river and using calculations to work out the river’s speed. Pupils measured the width of the river, the speed of the river, angle of slope and used Powers’ scale of roundness to examine the bedload. They will now use the raw data they collected out in the field, back in class, to enhance their processing and information handling techniques. Continue reading Tobermory High River Study
Dancing in Pyjamas
As part of their health topic Easdale Primary children planned a dance fit session with Mrs Lindsay McGhee. After having so much fun they invited Lindsay back for another session with a difference. Children, teachers and parents donned their pyjamas as part of the Blue Peter challenge to raise money for Children in Need. All took part in a series of dances and donations were collected. £79 was raised for Children in Need and lots of fun was had by all!
Polar Lands
As part of their topic work on Polar Lands, children from Barcaldine Primary were lucky enough to enjoy a workshop with Dr Tim Boyd of SAMs. The experiment involved them decorating polystyrene cups which Dr Boyd then took with him to the North Atlantic. These cups were lowered to 1000 metres depth along with exploratory equipment and then retrieved at the end of the trip. As you can see the change was amazing. The cups shrank but remained perfect in every detail. Continue reading Polar Lands
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park offer Travel Grant Scheme for schools.
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park has launched a new pilot scheme to help schools and outreach groups experience the great outdoors in the Park by offering an Educational Travel Grant. With forests to explore, landscapes to walk and climb, lochs and rivers to sail on and rich wildlife and history to discover, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park provides the perfect outdoor classroom for schools and groups. Continue reading Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park offer Travel Grant Scheme for schools.
Bunessan Primary Pre5 Sponsored Walk
On Friday 21st September 2012 Bunessan Primary Pre-5 Unit did a sponsored walk to support Yorkhill Children’s Foundation. We walked from school to the bridge in Bunessan and back again. The children also brought their favourite toys to play with and enjoyed a celebratory cake and juice after the walk. The children thoroughly enjoyed this event and were well supported by family and friends. We raised the grand total of £183.50.
Lunch Date with Wallace and Gromit
Cardross Primary entertained some special guests for lunch this week. The pupils were supporting the Wallace and Gromit Charity by enjoying some Wallace and Gromit Pasta. It was wonderful to welcome Wallace and Gromit to the school and their pasta was delicious. Continue reading Lunch Date with Wallace and Gromit
Guide Dogs for the Blind
The children of St Joseph’s Primary were delighted to welcome Mrs Bridget Carr of the Guide Dogs for The Blind charity and her faithful companion, golden retriever Michelle to school this week. Mrs Carr presented a talk to the children about the inception of the charity, the great number of dogs trained and the still increasing numbers of people with limited sight issues who benefit from having a guide dog. Continue reading Guide Dogs for the Blind
Darth Vader Brought Cupcakes!
“On Halloween morning, the whole of Kilchrenan school went out for a walk. We didn’t know where we were going. There was lots of lovely coloured leaves on the trees. Then we got to Taychreggan Hotel and Mr Dickie joked with us that we’d gone the wrong way. We went into the hotel and met a lady dressed up for Halloween. She took us into the lounge and gave us hot chocolate and goodie bags with sweeties. Darth Vader brought us lots of cupcakes and chopped up apples. We had our photo taken with staff from The Taychreggan who were all dressed up. We felt amazed by the surprise and it was nice of them.”
Report by Logan, Sarah and Thom, with just a little support from Ms Stewart. Continue reading Darth Vader Brought Cupcakes!
Cinderella Ball
Colgrain Primary P2’s had a Cinderella ball on the 1st of October as they had been learning about it for their topic. Pupils dressed in special clothes for the day. First they met a prince who they had to bow and curtsy too, then they got a partner and danced the waltz. The teachers looked for the best dancers; the winners were Megan and Tom who each got a tiara and a crown. Afterwards they had a little snack of biscuits and juice. Primary 2’s played games called pass the wand and secret corners, whoever won got some bubbles. A great time was had by all!
Arctic Odyssey 2012
Dunoon Primary School P4-P7 were given a treat today as Eilidh McNab from Dunoon Grammar School gave a talk on her 3 week Arctic Odyssey 2012 expedition in July this year. She went to Northern Norway within the Arctic Circle and was based in Loppa Fire. The children sat very quiet and listened intently to her as she told them how they lived during those weeks. They had lots of questions at the end of her talk and all of them said they would love to go when they are older and do the same! Continue reading Arctic Odyssey 2012
‘Argyll Collection’ primary writing competition winning stories
CAST has pleasure in sharing the wonderful stories which came first, second and third in the recent TAC writing competition for primaries. Please see below for winners and stories. Continue reading ‘Argyll Collection’ primary writing competition winning stories
‘Elephant Angel’ in Kintyre!! (It was a sell out)
Scottish Opera visited Kintyre last week and put on a fabulous show at Campbeltown Grammar. 7 local primaries had encouraged their P7 pupils to embrace the chance of working with SO to help stage the performance. Pupils contributions included: writing original material, graphic design, advertising and marketing, singing and acting, front of house and prop building.
In total 65 pupils were involved all of whom came to the performance with 35 being part of the chorus on stage. SO rehearsed with these 35 pupils for 2 days and the entire company thrilled an audience of 340 with their version of a ‘The Elephant Angel’. Continue reading ‘Elephant Angel’ in Kintyre!! (It was a sell out)
Photoshop Courses
3DMadeEasy are offering a wide range of Photoshop courses between now and the Christmas break. 3DMadeEasy are keen to make these courses accessible to teachers across Scotland, should your school/area have sufficient numbers 3DMadeEasy would be happy to come to you. To take up this fantastic offer email your location and the course you are interested in to mailto:kim@3DMadeEasy.com Continue reading Photoshop Courses
