posted by Louise Kirby , YMI Coordinator & Creative Learning Facilitator, Creative Learning Team

I wanted to pass on this great resource for Primary School teachers to access 100 pieces of classical music, please follow the link https://login.classical100.org/login/

Classical 100 is a free website for primary schools in the UK. Complementing existing teaching resources, it gives pupils access to 100 pieces of fantastic classical music, from Bach to Bernstein and Handel to Haydn.

Teachers can use the site to find just the right music for all kinds of lessons and activities. There are pieces for listening to and learning about music, for storytelling, for dancing, for exploring sounds and much more.

You can listen to a recording of each piece, while sharing and exploring the story behind the music. The list is also dynamic, allowing you to ‘sort’ the repertoire by mood, instrument, tempo, period or in any other way that suits you. In time, a range of downloadable resources will also be made available via the tool.

However you choose to use it, we hope that Classical 100 will lead to more children discovering, appreciating and getting involved in music.

We hope you enjoy it!

posted by Moyra Hood, ESO Literacy, People Directorate – Schools and Learning

On Thursday 17 March at 11am Scottish Book Trust are welcoming Sir Chris Hoy and co-author Joanna Nadin to Authors Live to speak about their new cycling adventure series, Flying Fergus.

Chris and Joanna will be speaking about their teamwork in putting the book together and the process of writing collaboratively. Chris will also be speaking about his sporting achievements, and both Chris and Joanna will be answering questions from classes around the country submitted on Twitter #AuthorsLive.

This exciting event will be of interest to pupils in P2-S1, and I would encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity by signing up to watch live.

Schools can sign up by following this link and clicking register now: http://scottishbooktrust.com/learning/teachers-librarians/authors-live/events/chris-hoy-and-joanna-nadin.

There are also resources to use alongside this broadcast which are designed to help teachers combine literacy and sport in the classroom: http://scottishbooktrust.com/learning/learning-resources/resource/sports-and-literacy-learning-resources.

posted by Stuart Burns, Schools and Learning Support Officer, 1+2 (Pan Tayside)

On Friday 19 February, Angus Council’s Confucius Classroom hub was launched with a blaze of colour and music, celebrating the cultures of China and Scotland. The ceremony, hosted by senior pupils Rebecca Cook and Kevin Shand, was conducted in both English and Mandarin to an invited audience of more than two hundred guests. Spectators were treated to music from the award-winning Carnoustie High School Brass Band followed by a song sung entirely in Mandarin by pupils Woodlands Primary School led by the Hanban teacher, Stephanie Sun.  One of the highlights of the morning was a performance by the Chonqing Chuanju theatre company who delighted the audience with their colourful spectacle, featuring some impressive acrobatics by one of their members balancing a lit candle on his head and the breath-taking antics of the mask-wearing face changer whose constantly changing appearance kept everyone baffled.

The launch of the Confucius Classroom hub included the recital of a poem in Mandarin, especially adapted from a Chinese song for the launch, entitled Scotland My Home and a rendition of Auld Lang Syne including a verse in Mandarin. Mr Limin Zhang, Depute Consul General of the Chinese Consulate extolled the virtues of building relationships between China and Scotland and welcomed the establishment of the independent hub in Angus. His presentation of toy pandas to the hosts was greeted with warm approval by the audience. The event culminated in the handing over of a plaque to mark the launch of the hub and the cementing of links between our two countries. As an independent hub we are now looking forward to giving even more youngsters the opportunity to learn about the language and culture of China, with five senior pupils excited by the prospect of attending an immersion
course this summer.

posted by Margaret Thompson, Library Assistant, Arbroath High School

To celebrate World Book Day, the Library ran a “Spot the Book Title” quiz and a quiz for teams entitled “Vilest Villains”. For “Spot the Book Title” every member of staff wore a badge showing a book title. Pupils were to spot as many as they could and match them with their wearers; a prize going to the pupil who collected the most.

The joint winners of “Spot the Book Title” were S1 pupils Louis Walton and Nicola Fenty who are pictured with their prizes.

The “Vilest Villains” winning team was “Friends @ Central Perk”, comprised of S5 pupils Ross Maider, Ellen Wilson, Calum Ferguson and Leanne Innes.

The Best Team Name prize was won by “The Wizzes of Quizzes” who were S3 pupils Abbie Beattie, Kaitlyne Fenty, Morgan Smith and Kaitlin Jolly.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who took part and made it such an enjoyable day!

posted by Ailie Bisgrove, Clerical Officer, Burnside Primary School

The Royal British Legion Scotland are running a competition in which schools investigated and wrote about what life at sea was like for the crew of a First World War ship and the impact of the battles they faced.

The shortlist of entries has been compiled and Burnside Primary School’s entry has reached this shortlist and this is where we need your vote!

Schools investigated and wrote about what life at sea was like for the crew of a First World War ship and the impact of the battles they faced. They created 500 word newspaper reports with an image about life at sea during WWI.

You can only vote once.

http://www.legionscotland.org.uk/schools/school-competition-2015-16

Burnside Primary School is the only school from Angus that has reached the shortlist so please spread the word for Angus!

Many thanks for any help you can give us.