Category Archives: Outdoor Learning

St Andrew’s Primary – Junior Award Scheme for Schools

JASS is our award for our young people. This award is progressive, with increasing commitment, learning and challenge at each level and all our children are taking part in this scheme. Parents, staff and pupils alike look forward to their Friday JASS sessions covering the four sections – My Interests; Get Active, Stay Active; Me and My World and Adventure. JASS is fully inclusive and our children have developed greater self confidence, self assuredness and (most importantly) enjoyment!

St Andrew’s Primary – This is My Island

St Andrew’s Pupils in P3/4/5 took part in a project organised by Mount Stuart resident artist, Malcolm Mackenzie. The project saw the children decorating pieces of wood which Malcolm used to make a boat. They wrote letters detailing what their island means to them, the things they love about living on Bute. Rothesay Primary and North Bute Primary took part too. The pupils attended the boat launch at Mount Stuart and class teacher Miss Rae said that it was “A celebration of community, commonality and sharing amazing outdoor spaces”.

Super Staff at North Bute Primary!

Everyone at North Bute Primary is very proud of Mrs McFarlane and Mrs Santos who completed the Great Scottish Run to raise money to help kit out our new Science Classroom and launch the boat that we have been making in partnership with the local boat yard.

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Kilchrenan Overrun By Pirates

All local pirates celebrated International Talk Like A Pirate Day by kidnapping all the staff and the children, and taking over the school.
They spent the day practising their pirate vocabulary, discovering their pirate names, designing pirate flags to match their desperate characters, making floating pirate ships and building pirate ships from large boxes so they could sail across the briny deep. There were songs and stories, the making of ships biscuits and a hunt for a lost treasure chest.

We are please to say that all staff and children were returned safely the next day, though strangely tired!

The delights of a rural school

The delights of a rural school where the pupils sow, nurture, harvest, prepare and distribute the harvest from the school grounds. The pupils of Minard Primary school made plum and apple crumble to give away to members of the community along with harvested parsley, carrots and leeks. The gifts were delivered almost as soon as they were gathered from the gardens. The feedback from our small community was excellent with several pots of soup on the go locally that night.

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Sandbank visit to Benmore Gardens.

The upper primary classes at Sandbank Primary enjoyed a fabulous day at Benmore Botanical Gardens where they took part in fun, outdoor learning activities inspired by the book ‘The Lost Words’ by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris.

The children were split into two groups. One group worked with the poems in the book and had to guess the subject of the poems by a series of clues in a bag.

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Luss harvest

Early Harvest for Waitrose Grow to Sell at Luss
Children at Luss have been enjoying eating the vegetables that they have grown from their Waitrose Grow to Sell box. They have grown lettuce, radishes, spring onions, pak choi, rhubarb , raspberries and herbs. They have been enjoying eating the salad with their lunch and have taken the extra lettuce home. They have also painted signs to show all the skills they use when working in the garden.

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Mini Beast Quest for Minard and Furnace Primaries

Minard and Furnace Primary Schools had a fantastic shared Summer trip out with a Mini beast hunt at Bellanoch on the Crinan Canal. This was at the end of our Nature detectives and Minibeasts topic. Oly and Pete from the Heart of Argyll wildlife Project took the pupils and staff on an amazing quest for wildlife and flowers in the wild grass verges of the canal. It was amazing what we found from spiders to caterpillars and even some unidentified egg-like items. Oly and Pete have promised to let us know what they are.

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Christian Aid Netball Tournament 2018

On Thursday 22nd May, 9 teams from different Primary schools in the Helensburgh and Lomond area took part in the annual Christian Aid Netball tournament. The tournament took place in Lomond Sports Hall and was a most enjoyable evening with some great play and teamwork shown by all the pupils involved. In the preliminary rounds Hermitage Primary and Cardross Primary came out top, with Colgrain Primary and the All Stars coming runners-up.
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Hermitage Primary School – Christian Aid Football Tournament – Hermitage Academy

The Hermitage Primary school football team travelled to Hermitage Academy to take part in the annual Christian Aid football tournament. The boys played very well on the night winning all of their group games, scoring 17 goals and conceding 0. In the semi-final they played Lomond and despite conceding their first goal of the tournament they won the game 7-1. In the final they faced Cardross who they had already beaten in the earlier group stages.

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DEVELOPING OUR OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AT DUNBEG PRIMARY SCHOOL.

Whilst Dunbeg Primary School is treasured by its local community; its grounds are a treasure in their own right. Over the past seven months pupils, staff and parents have begun to develop them as an accessible, fun and exciting place to learn.
August 2017: The wetland/woodland area hinted at past projects but was thoroughly overgrown and boggy. An inspiring place however with clear educational and well-being potential!

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Clachan Primary School – 6th Green Flag

We are delighted to announce that Clachan Primary School have been awarded their 6th Green Flag. This shows we have been an Eco School with Green Flag Status for 10 years! Well done to all involved.
Here is the report we received;

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Castlehill Primary School – Fun Run for Sport Relief

Pupils from Castlehill Primary School took part in their daily mile on Friday 23rd March. All the classes from Primary 1 to Primary 7 ran, walked or jogged together around the school in aid of Sport Relief. It was great fun and at the end the children enjoyed fruit donated by Tesco. A big thank you to them for providing this fruit for the whole school.

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Rugby with Furnace and Achahoish.

On Tuesday March 13th Minard school teamed up with Furnace and Achahois Primary schools for a joint rugby training session at Achahoish school with Allan. The pupils continued their introduction to the skill of rugby started at a similar session in the autumn at Furnace with tag rugby. The children all enjoyed the day especially the lunch J

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Southend Primary – Eco Schools Green Flag

Southend Primary School have successfully renewed their Green Flag Award by environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful in recognition of their Eco-Schools journey.

Part of the focus has been on beach and marine litter with workshops undertaken with the GRAB trust and developing their outdoor space as a resource for learning and recreation. They have also been improving their natural habitat for birds and insects. The children’s health and wellbeing has also been a major focus with the installation of a play/climbing frame to provide exercise and role play whilst outside.
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Where does the fish for our dinner come from ?

During December Andy Crabb (filmmaker) and Dr Suzi Billing from SAMS came to Taynuilt Primary to teach the children how to make short animation films based around aquaculture.

One of Taynuilt’s entries (The animation of Billy the Scallop and the naughty Octopus, by Bernadette McMullen P7) was judged to be 3rd overall. The film will shortly be available on the Aquaspace website.
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Drumlemble Primary School – Farewell to Mrs. McIntosh!

Drumlemble Primary have had a fun filled week in the lead up to Mrs. McIntosh’s last day prior to commencing her maternity leave.

The children have been partaking in lots of outdoor learning focusing on the subject of Wood, sometimes even catching the sunshine.

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Argyll school submits winning garden design

Easdale Primary School pupils picked as winners of Keep Scotland Beautiful competition.
Environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, has announced that pupils from Easdale Primary School have been selected as winners of the nationwide competition to Design a One Planet Picnic Pocket Garden – which will see them now bring their creations to life for display at the Gardening Scotland exhibition in Edinburgh this June.

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Arinagour Glasgow Trip!

The pupils were involved in planning and organising this trip to Glasgow where they had opportunities to experience an environment very different to their own.

The children had contextualised opportunities to develop skills for learning, life and work which were tailored to their particular needs. There were also opportunities to develop literacy, numeracy and health and well-being, in particular the use of money and telling the time.
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