On Friday Primary 6&7 pupils at Port Ellen were visited by artist and teacher Phillipa Mitchell for an afternoon of geese and art. Islay is famous for its winter visitors, the barnacle geese, and Phillipa wanted to find out how the children felt about the geese. In the morning children debated in class the pros and cons of the geese visiting Islay: they are beautiful and attract birdwatchers and tourists, but they also destroy the grass and make life very difficult for farmers. Opinion was divided about what should be done about the 50,000 visitors the Island receives each year.
Continue reading Barnacle, Fish or Fowl?
Category Archives: Literacy
Rothesay Primary Pre-5 Pudsey Pyjama Party!
Rothesay Primary Pre-5 had a very lazy day in their pyjamas to raise money for Children in Need. We had a sleepover (well not much sleeping actually!) and listened to stories as we snuggled up.
After all that hard work we counted all the pennies in our bucket and found that we had raised £45.91! Well done everyone.
Southend Gift to Library
Southend Primary 2 and 4 have recently been visiting Campbeltown Library where they met the puppet ‘Sage’ from Enchanted Learning. Pupils decided to use school funds to buy a pal for Sage, so they bought ‘Onion’. Sage and Onion are now living happily together and this picture shows Caroline Corr from Campbeltown Library visiting the children at school to collect their gift to her.
Wiz Kids from Oban High Take on the Lit Quiz
Nine learners from Oban High School participated in the UK division of the global Kids Lit Quiz at Kilsyth Academy on 12th November. The Wiz Kids came 15th and 23rd in a field of 39 competitors.
Accompanied by OHS English teacher Miss Russell, the group set off before sunlight to journey to Kilsyth. Continue reading Wiz Kids from Oban High Take on the Lit Quiz
Christmas Carpentry at Sandbank Primary School
Primary 3 (Mainstream and Gaelic) and GM 6/7 from Sandbank Primary School are using their woodwork skills to transform a square of wood into a star with the minimum of wasted material. GM 6/7 have proved themselves to be responsible and trustworthy therefore they are making their stars as an independent mini-topic whenever they have a spare moment of the day. The younger pupils get their instruction during their Friday afternoon activity lessons.
Continue reading Christmas Carpentry at Sandbank Primary School
Sandbank Primary School – Act of Remembrance
On Monday the 11th of November 2013 Sandbank Primary School’s senior pupils in mainstream and Gaelic held an Armistice Service attended by the junior pupils, pre-five unit and staff. The older children had all walked down to the War Memorial at Lazaretto Point the previous week and researched the history behind it. They discovered plaques from both the 1st and 2nd World Wars detailing the names and roles of local men who lost their lives in conflict.
Continue reading Sandbank Primary School – Act of Remembrance
Argyll & Bute Primary Writing Competition Winners Announced!
Thank you to all who entered the 2013 writing competition. It has been the most difficult year to judge so far due to the high number of excellent pieces from many, many schools. We wish we could award prizes to every entrant but had to choose 3 pieces which reflected the competition theme, showed imagination and were well crafted for their age.
CAST is delighted to announce the 2013 winners are: Continue reading Argyll & Bute Primary Writing Competition Winners Announced!
Norwegian Study Visit to Colgrain
On 28th October 2013 Colgrain Primary School was selected by Nick Morgan from Education Scotland to host nineteen Norwegian teachers on a study visit to Scotland. The Norwegian visitors had a particular interest in Assessment is for Learning and in the Early level concept of Curriculum for Excellence. Colgrain Primary has a very successful approach to formative assessment and the Norwegian visitors were particularly interested in our communication with home and our celebration of pupil’s wider achievement.
Eco Week at Luss Primary
The pupils at Luss Primary have recently had their Eco Week. During the week the children took part in many activities which all the pupils thoroughly enjoyed. The activities ranged from finding out about beavers, making dams, taking cuttings from plants, having an eco picnic and going into the local woods. One of the activities they did in the woods was to use materials around them such as moss, leaves, grass, etc. to build a home for a mouse that would keep as much heat in as possible.
Peace Assembly at Colgrain Primary School
The Primary 6 and 7 pupils at Colgrain Primary School presented a beautiful assembly to coincide with Remembrance Day. The pupils talked about the Scottish Poppy Appeal with great knowledge and told the stories of service men and women who have been an inspiration to them. Many pupils at Colgrain are children of Service men and women and know first-hand what it is like to have family members in areas of the world where there is conflict. The pupils spoke very confidently about the history of the Scottish Poppy Appeal and encouraged the children in the school to donate and wear a Poppy with pride.
The Green Man at North Bute
Primary 4/5 have been busy working on a science topic of plants. As part of that topic, we went on Thinking Walks, copying the idea from Charles Darwin. He went on these walks regularly to think about his discoveries. We did this too and collected specimens and pressed them to study them more. On one of our walks, we collected leaves that had fallen from the trees and that were beautiful autumn colours.
Continue reading The Green Man at North Bute
Oban High School S3 Pupils Create Book Trailers for Scottish Book Trust
A talented group of S3 pupils from Miss Breuer’s class made some great trailers for the Scottish Book Trust to be used for the Scottish Book Awards. They are well worth a watch! Check out the links to see them on the Scottish Book Trust website HERE
Feedback has been brilliant. Caroline Clough (author of the nominated Black Tide) said “Loved the trailer – so atmospheric! Well done to Oban High School – a tremendous effort!” Continue reading Oban High School S3 Pupils Create Book Trailers for Scottish Book Trust
Smoke Free Me
On Friday 24th October we went to the Queens Hall to see Smoke Free Me! The actors were fantastic. In the show the characters were called Ziggy with the Ciggy, Willie Tryit and Claire Air. The show was about a time machine and Willie Tryit and Claire Air tried to stop Ziggy from smoking. Ziggy went back in time to meet a tobacco lord and a scientist who talked about the link between lung cancer and cigarettes. We sang songs and a rap! They were called Smoke Free Me, Make Smoking History and Keep it to yourself.
ONE DIRECTION CAUSE STIR AT DGS!
ONE DIRECTION SCORE BIG HIT AT DGS
Global superstars cause a stir with Dunoon Pupils
Two pupils at Dunoon Grammar School received a very pleasant surprise on returning from the October break, when they were called to the school office to find an envelope waiting for them from pop sensations, One Direction.
St Joseph’s VIB meets VIPs!!!!
St Joseph’s Very Important Bear meets some Very Important People!
In P6 & P7 this year at St Joseph’s the children’s very important bear, Buddy, has been visiting some wonderful places and the resulting creative and expressive language from the children’s accounts of these were a dream to hear. However, the other week Buddy was already ‘booked’ for an adventure when another P7 child asked to take him to the STV Appeal.
Wonka’s Surprise
St. Joseph’s Golden Tickets!
Such is the ethos at St. Joseph’s that when one class starts a project…..we all get involved!! Happily that includes the entire school family and this week it was the turn of the catering staff to help develop the new P5 Interdisciplinary study ‘Wonka’s Surprise’. Canteen supervisor Sue and her staff took an enterprising view of the month’s ‘theme day’ to create a Willy Wonka style lunch.
First Nation People Visit Rothesay Primary
We were lucky to have a visit from Robert Gladue and Jason Chamakese on 22nd October. They are First Nation People from Saskatchewan in Canada. They shared some of their traditional stories , sang some wonderful Cree songs and played their instruments. They taught us lots about how they live on their Reserve in Canada. They are touring the country sharing their heritage and culture.
Author tours Argyll & Bute secondary schools.
Scots author Alan Bissett visited most of our secondary schools recently, delivering readings and hosting workshops.
The author of Boyracers, Pack Men, Death of a Ladies’ Man and The Incredible Adam Spark, who was brought up in Falkirk, spoke to S3-S6 pupils about what had inspired him to write his books. Alan, born in 1975, had his first novel published in 2001, and has also written two solo plays, a one-woman show and a short documentary, as well as numerous projects in collaboration with other artists. Continue reading Author tours Argyll & Bute secondary schools.
Denominational Schools Working In Partnership
This year was the Year of Faith in the Catholic church where many opportunities were created to celebrate our faith worldwide. The four denominational schools in Argyll and Bute of St. Andrew’s Rothesay, St Columba’s, Oban, St. Mun’s Dunoon and St. Joseph’s Helensburgh collaborated on a project to create the Argyll and Bute children’s year of faith prayer as follows:
Continue reading Denominational Schools Working In Partnership
Achaleven Adventures
We had heard that an amazing plane was coming to visit Connel Airport. As it was just along the road, we decided to go for a visit. Not only did we get a visit inside the Catalina, we also learned some fantastic facts from members of the crew. We were also very surprised to see vintage cars parked around the plane. We had so many questions about the plane and the cars that we decided to tackle a topic on Transport – Then and Now.
