Flat Stanley

Literacy, Primary schools, School trips

The Flat Stanley story has been read and used as a stimulus for Big Writing activities for the Infant pupils at Ashfield Primary School this term.  There was great excitement as the P2,3,4 pupils took their Flat Stanleys to the Lochgilphead Sorting Office on Tuesday 23rd October.  The pupils were keen to find out how their Flat Stanley letters had travelled from the post-box in Achnamara village to their homes.  Each Flat Stanley had many adventures at the homes of the children and they kept a diary of the various activities. Continue reading Flat Stanley →

Halloween Celebration

Events, Primary schools

The parent Council at Kilninver Primary organised a super spooky party to celebrate Halloween.  Mums, Dads, boys and girls, members of the wider community and visitors from other schools dressed in their most ghoulish outfits and put their hearts and souls into participating in the hilarious games and activities that had been organised.  Local celebrity Witch Candyfloss kindly judged the best pumpkin and costume competitions.  The children would like to thank everyone who helped to make the evening such a great success.  We all think this is the best way yet to have your tea. Continue reading Halloween Celebration →

Halloween Fun at Barcaldine Primary

Events, Primary schools

Primary 7 pupils organised an afternoon of fun to celebrate Halloween at Barcaldine Primary.  All the children (and teachers!!) were asked to come dressed up as an animal – we had everything from starlings and swans to dogs and dinosaurs to name but a few!  The fun started with ducking for apples and pinning the rabbit’s tail with everyone getting sticky from trying to eat doughnuts that had been strung up without using their hands and marshmallows with squidgy cream.  Everyone had to eat a slug – thankfully it turned out to be an orange segment covered in chocolate – PHEW! Fun was the ingredient of the day and thank you to our P7 pupils for arranging such a great day.

Dunoon Primary create 3D Artwork in Bishop’s Glen

Expressive arts, Outdoor Learning, Primary schools

Two P7 boys from Dunoon Primary visited Bishop’s Glen on the final day of October 2012.  They went to create artwork from natural materials gathered from the forest floor.  They enjoyed creating 3D sculptures.  While collecting their leaves, seeds, moss, twigs, stones and berries they discovered some felled trees and learned how to work out the age of a tree by counting the rings.  They were between 24 and 28 years old. It was fantastic to be outdoors even on quite a wet day! Continue reading Dunoon Primary create 3D Artwork in Bishop’s Glen →

ARGYLL COLLECTION WRITING COMP Winners!

Expressive arts, Literacy, Primary schools

CAST is glad to announce the winners of this year’s Argyll Collection Primary Writing Competition. There has been a large number of entries of a very high standard and the judges had a difficult time in selecting winning entries. We will be posting the winning stories on SAL shortly. Thanks to all who embraced the competition and entered your wonderful stories.
The winners for 2012 are:
first: Sylvie Lawson, Ardrishaig Primary
second: Elinor Baker, Port Ellen Primary
third: Jamie Thompson, Rhu Primary

Beach Clean

Eco Schools, Outdoor Learning, Primary schools

On Friday 26th October, Park Primary became the first school in Argyll & Bute to gain the 5th Green Flag from Eco School Scotland.  The inspectors were delighted with the school’s continued commitment to environmental education.  During the past 2 years, we have concentrated on Litter, School Grounds and Sustaining our World topics.  Alison Kennedy led out work on fair-trade and we were the first primary in Argyll & Bute to gain accreditation as a Fairtrade School.  Ilona MacLaurin led the project to create a School Orchard which is thriving in an area at the front of the school.  Other areas of work which were commended was the school Gardening Club, run by Barbara Macfarlane.  The club grew a wide range of fruit and vegetables and have also made a deluxe bug hotel.  We are very proud of our 5th flag!

S3 French Poetry

Expressive arts, Literacy, Modern languages, Outdoor Learning, Secondary schools

S3 French in Tobermory have been studying French poetry, mainly the works of Jacques Prévert.  They took advantage of the sunshine and beautiful autumn colours to go to Aros Park and take photos to illustrate one of Préverts most famous poems “les feuilles mortes” as well as a couple of other autumnal poems.  Two groups chose to take images to represent “les feuilles mortes” in which the sight of the dead leaves prompts memories of a time in a man’s (or a woman’s!)life when they were in a happy relationship which is now over.  Other groups took photos of the autumn colours to represent the poem “les saisons”.  The colours and scenery are stunning and the class have brought the poems to life with some images which demonstrate understanding of the poems and are now working on displaying their work as poetic posters. Continue reading S3 French Poetry →

Dalmally Car Wash

Events, Primary schools

Last Friday, the whole school were involved in a car wash in the playground, ably assisted by volunteer fire-fighters from Dalmally Fire Station.  Each “customer” paid £5 to have their car washed and waxed. In addition, customers were able to have tea, coffee and biscuits in the staffroom, while they waited.  The car wash raised an amazing £82 which means that Primary 5 and 6 can now take part in a badminton festival at the new Velodrome in Glasgow.  They reaped the financial rewards of their hard work! Continue reading Dalmally Car Wash →

Bring A Grown-up To School Days

Events, Primary schools,

Parents, carers, grandparents and interested friends dusted off their old school bags and polished an apple for the teacher as they went back to school at both Minard and Furnace this week.   On Tuesday Minard hosted children’s grown ups as they learnt maths skills alongside the pupils by plying interactive maths games and solving problems.  Harley’s mum said, “It was great fun!” and all the grown-ups were impressed with the young people’s skills. Continue reading Bring A Grown-up To School Days →

Cyber Bullying Workshop at Kilmartin Primary School

Events, Primary schools

The children in P.4-7 at Kilmartin Primary School recently took part in a drama workshop with Hopscotch Theatre Group to help them to understand the dangers of cyber bullying.  The children watched  the drama unfold as the actors told the story of a girl who received threatening text messages on her mobile phone.  The children had to work together to think up ideas to help the girl and in doing so understand some strategies that they could use in a similar situation.  The children all rated the workshop ten out of ten and felt that they understood the dangers of all of the digital technology that they use and felt more confident about keeping safe in the future. Continue reading Cyber Bullying Workshop at Kilmartin Primary School →

George Wyllie: A Celebration

History, Primary schools

Primary pupils 7 in Rothesay Primary have been learning about the late, internationally-acclaimed artist, George Wyllie, whose often humorous works included The Paper Boat and The Straw Locomotive.  We have been finding out about his life, his achievements and today we created mini replicas of his ‘paper boat’ which started out in Govan, Glasgow and went onto become an exhibit in New York, USA, in 1990.

Their boats will be part of an exhibition in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, opening this Thursday called “George Wyllie Retrospective: In Pursuit of the Question Mark”.  A selection of these boats will also be released from the Riverside Museum on Hogmanay in celebration of his life. Continue reading George Wyllie: A Celebration →

Smarties Nursery

Early Years, Outdoor Learning

The children and staff at Smarties Nursery, Oban, recently enjoyed two outdoor learning days; one at Ganavan beach and the other at Dunstaffnage Castle.  The children had a fantastic time working as a team and exploring the area.  At Dunstaffnage Castle, the children found monsters and caves and tree swings.  When they returned to nursery the children used their imagination along with photos that they had taken to come up with a fantastic story called “Bears, Monsters, Ponies, Trees and Leaves at Dunstaffnage Castle” Continue reading Smarties Nursery →

Halloween fun at Dunoon Primary

Events, Primary schools

The Annual PTA Halloween Party was held on Monday 29th October 2012 and was packed with children from P4-P7.  A fun filled evening was provided by the Parent Teacher Association.   The hall beautifully decorated was adorned with Halloween figures ranging from ghosts to vampires.   The disco for the evening was provided by Gareth Blair who provided the children with the top hits from the charts.  There was dooking for apples, string doughnuts and feely boxes filled with ghoulish delights.  The best boy dancer of the night was Drew P4 and the best girl dancer was Leagha P5. What a super night, a tremendous treat for our new Headteacher Mrs Sylvia Clark !  Well done to all involved for providing this superb night. Continue reading Halloween fun at Dunoon Primary →

ROYAL Mail

Primary schools

Lochnell Primary Six received a lovely surprise in the post on Friday 26th October, a letter from Buckingham Palace!

The children had written to Her Majesty The Queen back in June to tell her about the amazing garden party their school had hosted as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, they had also asked Her Majesty some questions about her pets, but had doubted they would get a reply as they thought The Queen would be far too busy.   However, the children were delighted to receive a letter on Friday, with an apology for the delay, thanking the children for their kind wishes and for describing their garden party so well, the letter also contained information about Her Majesty’s pets.

Lochnell pupils travel back in time!

History, Outdoor Learning, Primary schools

As part of their project about Crofting, Lochnell pupils from Primary five, six and seven enjoyed a great experience travelling back in time at the Auchindrain Township on Wednesday 24th October.  The children who have been running their very own ‘virtual’ crofts in class have been comparing crofting in the past to modern day. 

The children enjoyed a day learning about farming life, agricultural improvements and change with lots of hands on activities which included; making dolls, a mystery object quiz, traditional remedies, dressing up in period clothes and cooking delicious scones on an open fire inside one of the houses.

Electricity Workshop inspires pupils!

Events, Primary schools, Science,

Clachan and Skipness Primary pupils enjoyed a fantastic electricity workshop last week.
They were able to construct electrical circuits using batteries, bulbs, motors and buzzers.

Pupils worked together with solar panels, making use of the sunshine outside.
Many thanks to Pat for providing us with so many opportunities for active learning. Continue reading Electricity Workshop inspires pupils! →