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! →

Taynuilt Primary Hallowe’en party

Events, Primary schools

The children and parents from Taynuilt Primary School had a wonderful time at their Hallowe’en party on Friday. It was organized and run by the PTA and was held in the Village Hall. There was a huge variety in costumes worn by children and adults, ranging from ghosts and vampires, to Strictly Come Dancing couples. The local reverend was dressed as Elvis Presley! The PTA had organized games and activities, and there was a lovely buffet for all to eat. Continue reading Taynuilt Primary Hallowe’en party →

WINTER FESTIVAL winner!

Expressive arts, Primary schools

A proud Primary 4 from Lochnell Primary School is hoping that her picture will help to light up the dark days of Oban’s Winter Festival. Her picture has been chosen for the cover of the festival programme and the delighted 7 year old hopes that when you pick up your programme for the festival you’ll have as big a smile on YOUR face as she had on hers when she found out that her design had been chosen. We all wish the festival well for its second successful year and look forward to seeing lots of schools joining in the fun. Continue reading WINTER FESTIVAL winner! →

Tree Felling at Innellan

Events, Outdoor Learning, Primary schools

On Tuesday we had the amazing experience of watching the Scottish and Southern Energy workmen cutting down a really big tree! We all walked along to watch while the tree surgeons scaled the trunk to cut all the branches before felling the tree. The tree made a very loud thud as it hit the ground. It was very exciting but a bit sad too because it had been there for a very long time and perhaps birds and animals had made their home in it. The tree was 26 metres high at least! We are going to measure out 26 metres in our playground to see if it would fit. Continue reading Tree Felling at Innellan →

S2 Outward Bound 2013 at LHS

Events, Health and Wellbeing, Outdoor Learning, School trips, Secondary schools

On Wednesday 24 October thirteen of the Lochgilphead High S2 pupils that will be attending Outward Bound took up the opportunity to walk from the school to Bellanoch Bridge (on the Crinan Canal) and back. The walk which was a total of 11.5 miles (18.6 km) was arranged so that the pupils could raise funds towards their trip via sponsorship.
The walk was challenging and lasted from 9.30am until 3.15pm with stops at Cairnbaan for refreshments and Bellanoch Bridge for lunch. Continue reading S2 Outward Bound 2013 at LHS →

Football Crazy Day in Easdale School

Health and Wellbeing, Interdisciplinary, Primary schools

Easdale Primary School were football crazy with a difference recently.  After some divergent thinking about how we could use balls but not play a game of football the children planned a range of fun learning activities.  The six mixed age groups from Pre 5 – P7 donned their designer t-shirts and explored maths, language, art and PE activities including time dribble, number ball, word shoot, roll the marble, ball art attack, coconut shy and dribble and shoot.  At half time they enjoyed some football poems and learned a song called ‘Fitba Crazy’.  When the final whistle blew all teams voted the day a great success and closed the day with their team chant and mascot. Continue reading Football Crazy Day in Easdale School →

Kintyre Pupils & Scottish Opera……..COMING SOON!

Events, Expressive arts, Interdisciplinary, Primary schools, Secondary schools, , , , , , ,

In the midst of a city, in the midst of a war, an enduring friendship is formed between a young elephant named Sheila and her keeper. As the bombs begin to fall and the Head Zookeeper worries about the fate of the animals, the local children play and laugh and sing in the Belfast streets………..
The Elephant Angel is a heart-warming new opera for audiences of all ages by composer Gareth Williams and acclaimed novelist Bernard MacLaverty. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of a lady zoo keeper who takes a baby elephant home with her each night during the Belfast Blitz, looking after it and keeping it safe with the help of the children who live near by. Continue reading Kintyre Pupils & Scottish Opera……..COMING SOON! →

World Porridge Day 10 October 2012

Events, Primary schools

The Pre-school children, pupils and staff at Strath of Appin Primary School celebrated World Porridge Day a week early on the 2nd of October.  The children sang the Gaelic song ‘Brochan Lom’  (Thin Porridge), before sitting down to a bowl of porridge that had been prepared by Debbie, the school cook.   Not everyone enjoyed their porridge, but some children had 2 helpings!

Donations received at the Porridge morning were sent to support the work of Mary’s Meals in feeding hungry children in some of the poorest countries in the world.  The children were delighted to hear that their efforts had raised enough money to feed three children for an entire school year. Continue reading World Porridge Day 10 October 2012 →

Lochgilphead High School 4xl Enterprise Project

Enterprise, School trips, Secondary schools

On Monday the 17th of September the 4xl group took a trip to Shearer’s Candles in Glasgow as part of their Enterprise Project.
The group were welcomed by Rosie who told them about the history of the company / factory and how it was developed. The group were then taken on a tour of the factory lead by Earkate who explained how the factory was run and explained the importance of health and safety within the factory. During the visit they had an opportunity to make their very own candles, which was a well received an enjoyable opportunity. Continue reading Lochgilphead High School 4xl Enterprise Project →

SAL DEVELOPMENT

Debate, Learning Tech

Now that SAL has settled in to our schools and has been widely embraced as a platform for sharing, we would like to develop the site to accommodate any additional uses that you might find practical. Please click on the ‘SAL DEVELOPMENT’ post title above to access the full post and then use the ‘comment’ facility to express your development ideas. (Suggestions welcomed from all pupils and staff).

Port Ellen Primary Gaelic Choir Success at National Mod

Events, Expressive arts, Gaelic, Primary schools

On Sunday 14th October Port Ellen Primary Gaelic Choir excitedly began their journey to Dunoon to compete in this years National Mod. The children had an early start on Monday morning with many competing as individuals before the choir competitions in the afternoon. All of the children had worked extremely hard to prepare for their competitions and we were delighted to learn that so many of our individual competitors had been successful in their categories. Continue reading Port Ellen Primary Gaelic Choir Success at National Mod →

Kilmartin Early Level Class Blog

Early Years, Learning Tech, Primary schools

Kilmartin P.S. has been part of the Argyll & Bute Early Level Class pilot for just over a year now and the experience challenge has been one of the best that the school has ever undertaken. To help share the wonderful learning that takes place in the Early Level Class everyday, we have made a blog to help parents and any other interested people understand what the children experience and gain from this method of teaching. Our Early Level Class is made u of three year old children to P.1, with P.2 and P.3 also joining in at Level !. We would be delighted if you left some comments or asked questions!
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ab/KilmartinPrimary-EarlyLevelClass/