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.
Monthly Archives: October 2013
Smoke Free Me
Castlehill’s P7s joined up with other local schools on Monday 28th Oct at Dalintober Primary to take part in the Smoke Free Me presentation performed by Raenbow Productions. The children have been learning about the effects of smoking recently and this was the culmination of their work. The pupils had a great time interacting with the drama group and highlighting the alarming, but true, facts they had discovered about the consequences of becoming a smoker.
Venues announced for CAST CPD 13/14
There are still a few FREE places on the following CAST CPD courses:
TEACHING MUSIC THROUGH SONG, CREATIVE, FUN STORYTELLING, PAINTING AND THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOUR, MUSICAL COMPOSITION AND IMPROVISATION, INSTRUMENTAL INSTRUCTION IN THE CLASSROOM.
See below for full venue information…………. Continue reading Venues announced for CAST CPD 13/14
Look and Learn Art Competition success at Parklands School!
Congratulations Mia Ward of Parklands School, for winning 1st place in the September 2013 Look and Learn Art Competition, on the theme of ‘Alien Life Form’! Look and Learn is a London-based picture library, specialising in educational images. It is a member of BAPLA (the British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies) and run monthly online children’s art competitions, with the explicit objective of creating the world’s best gallery of children’s art. Please check out this wonderful Art piece HERE
SKIPATHON AT KILCREGGAN PRIMARY
SKIPATHON & RED, WHITE AND BLUE DAY
AT KILCREGGAN PRIMARY SCHOOL
On Friday 11th October our pupils took part in a Skipathon in aid of The British Heart Foundation for which the pupils were sponsored. Each class had spent some time learning skipping routines set to music and parents and friends were then invited to attend a demonstration. On the same day we were all encouraged to wear red, white & blue and make a donation to support The Armed Forces charities.
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.
Beautiful Butterflies
Primary four pupils at Colgrain Primary school have had the opportunity to care for and release Painted Lady Butterflies. On the 12th September the tiny caterpillars arrived through the post in a tub full of food. After 2 weeks the caterpillars had formed their chrysalides and were then ready to be transferred into a butterfly garden. On the 30th September an amazing thing happened – the butterflies began to emerge from their chrysalides! Primary four pupils were extremely lucky to see this super transformation. After a few days of admiring the beautiful butterflies and feeding them with homemade nectar and fruits, primary four pupils were very proud to set them free in the school Eco Garden. What an amazing experience and a great addition to our Living Things topic.
John Logie Baird Learning Festival
John Logie Baird PS Success Again
Recently John Logie Baird PS invited all children and their families to school in the evening to celebrate in the style of a Learning Festival. Many families attended, with our children very obviously proud of their achievements and learning over the course of term one. Stimulating and exciting learning experiences, designed to make parents and children think, were evident in all classrooms. Congratulations to everyone for another successful event!
John Logie Baird Primary Red, White and Blue Day
John Logie Baird Primary recently held a ‘Red, White & Blue Day’
The ‘Red, White and Blue Day’ is a campaign that goes towards supporting military benevolent societies, for those in need whose families are serving in our country.
Children made a donation and wore red, white and blue clothing instead of school uniform Continue reading John Logie Baird Primary Red, White and Blue Day
Park Primary Apple Day
Park Primary School celebrated their second Apple Day since the creation of the school orchard which was funded by Grounds for Learning and Heritage Lottery Fund.
Both pupils and staff showed great imagination dressing up for the theme of the day ‘British Grown Fruit and Vegetables’. And what a variety it was: blueberries, broccoli, apples, tomatoes, strawberries, potatoes, carrots and even a runner bean (school janitor) that did laps around the hall and put smiles on everyone’s faces. Continue reading Park Primary Apple Day
Islay’s Success at the Royal National Mod
On Sunday 13th October the Islay school’s choirs and solo competitors travelled to the National Mod in Paisley with high hopes for another successful year at the Mod. Monday 14th was the day for the children’s competition for Gaelic learners, and Islay was extremely well represented in all the medals, with Port Ellen Primary children achieving lots of success. The Gaelic Choir won all their competitions; the Badenoch & Strathspey Area Trophy for the Rural Primary Choral Unison, the Olive Campbell Trophy for the Choral Puirt-a-beul and the Caledonian MacBrayne Trophy for the 2 part harmony. Continue reading Islay’s Success at the Royal National Mod
ROSNEATH MAKES SOME NEW “FRIENDS”
At Rosneath we were delighted to welcome Alanna from ZooLab for an Animals of the Rainforest Workshop (P3/4) and an Eco Investigators Workshop (P6/7) linked to our Interdisciplinary studies.
Alanna commented how knowledgeable the children were and the majority were quite delighted to say hello to their new pals – especially the two rats who took great delight in sitting on Alanna’s shoulders!! Continue reading ROSNEATH MAKES SOME NEW “FRIENDS”
News from Rosneath…….
COLOURFUL CHARACTERS AT ROSNEATH
On Friday 11th October Rosneath Primary School was awash with colour. The pupils took part in a Red, White & Blue/Clown Day to support Armed Forces charities. P3/4 held a biscuit/cake sale too which resulted in a long, long queue right down the corridor! Continue reading News from Rosneath…….
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.
Dunoon Primary School Choir 2013/14
Dunoon Primary School Choir’s first performance was on Wednesday 2nd October 2013. They sang a variety of Autumnal Songs which was appreciated by all. They are looking forward to future performances.
Outdoor learning at its simplest!
We often reflect on how fortunate we are in Argyll to have a rich outdoor environment on our doorstep. At Dalmally Primary this is literally true- yesterday 28 pupils from P3-7 took their bikes for an adventure in the forest. We cycled from school through the forest, stopping for lunch on the way finally making the summit of the Duncan Ban MacIntyre (Gaelic poet) monument. At the top we managed to find a geo cache and as you will see the children had great fun jumping from a rock down the hill!
Continue reading Outdoor learning at its simplest!
St Joseph’s Pre-5 Unit Open Day
A wonderful day was had by all as St. Joseph’s Pre-5 Unit opened their doors to all the parents of the school as well as the Pre-5 Unit last week. The recent new development to the school comprises a lovely, brand new, state-of-the Art Pre-5 Unit and all the local parents are delighted with this new service being provided on the school premises. The modern, ‘natural look’ theme is obvious throughout with beautiful new resources for the very lucky children who attend here.
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.
