Month: March 2018

This afternoon, the whole school headed outside into the Spring sunshine. The Eco-group’s recent meeting has discussed any litter issues and, as this month highlighted The Great British Clean-Up, we decided to do our bit for the community by doing a litter pick.

Boys and girls worked together in small groups to go on the hunt for rubbish which really should have been put in a bin. We’re delighted to say the playground was reasonably litter-free, so we headed off into the village, towards the park, picking up any rubbish as we went.

Some boys found a pair of gloves in the park which belonged to the Aldouran Wetland Watchers team, so we returned these to them. Soon our bin bags were rather full and so we headed back to school.

All of the rubbish picked up has been disposed of in our bins at school. The children worked very well together; being careful not to pick up any glass by themselves. They showed themselves to be very Responsible Citizens.

It was a nice way to spend an afternoon; making sure our wee village of Leswalt stays looking as lovely as it is!

Today two representatives from Scottish Power Energy Network came to visit our P5-7 class to give their insider information about Electricity Use.

The children were brimming with questions about how electricity gets from the power station to their homes, Scottish Power Energy Network’s use of renewable and non-renewable power sources, how can birds sit safely on power lines (!) and electrical safety questions.

The pupils looked at some examples of underground cables and the ones which we use in the home, recreated a series electricity circuit using themselves as conductors and a wooden spoon as an insulator, tried on some electrical safety clothing and took part in a quick-fire quiz at the end to check their listening skills.

It was a very interesting morning and came with one very important message: BE SAFE WHEN USING ELECTRICITY! Just because it cannot be seen, smelt or heard does not mean that it is harmless.

Many thanks to Kenny McKinstry and Ewan Cameron for coming into our class. We learned lots!

Wow – what a brilliant day we have had! The children of Leswalt P5-7, Sandhead, Portpatrick and Drummore got together at Sandhead to work on their production of ‘Dragon of the Western Seas’ produced by The Scottish Opera. The children had been working hard on the song words since the start of February and had them mastered, now it was time to add that extra sparkle with choreography, acting and costumes.

The mini-opera production told the story of a Chinese Emperor, his Admiral, their fleet of explorers and their travels across India, the Persian Sea and the continent of Africa. The children were split into groups of Indians, Pirates and Africans and then took the lead from the three members from The Scottish Opera for their moves and actions. After a very busy morning of listening carefully, following stage directions, adding some snazzy dance moves and getting those costumes on; the children were ready to stage their show.

Over 50 parents and friends came to enjoy the final performance. And what a rousing and emotionally-charged mini-opera it was! We loved every second of it – I hope all the boys and girls did too! Well done to all involved.

Rain, wind and hail did not deter this bunch of ‘Tough Tinas’ one bit at Stronord! The boys and girls of P5-7, accompanied by Mrs F, Gael Gaw and Kim McGuire enjoyed an overnight residential stay packed full of fun, new experiences, yummy food, night-time blethers and mud!

The first day involved a 5mile hill walk up Larg Hill beyond Creetown. They were led by Outdoor Instructors Robbie and David. The children climbed over 450 metres through marshy land, burns and rocky crags. The wind knocked a few sideways and the hail was unrelenting but did they moan or grumble? No way! This bunch simply started singing their Scottish Opera songs and ‘Flower o’ Scotland’! It was their positive mental attitude that impressed the instructors hugely. They were full of praise for the attitude of the children.

Dinner was a huge hit. Unfortunately, the cook for Stronord was unwell and so we had to be very resourceful and cater for ourselves. The day before we left, some P7s and Mrs Gaw headed off to do some shopping for our breakfast, supper and packed lunches. Thursday night’s tea was a Starfish dinner! Yum yum! The boys and girls then settled down in their pjs and sleeping bags to watch Paddington 2 . All was quiet and settled. It was the calm before the storm!

In all honesty, everyone behaved very well! There were just a few of our younger pupils who were far too excited to sleep. Their giggles and excited whispers were heard long into the wee hours of the morning… but eventually they nodded off.

Friday dawned (a little too quickly for the adults!) and once we were up, dressed and breakfasted, Robbie, Alex and Ed appeared to get us kitted up for the day. We split into two groups and headed off to either mountain biking or orienteering. The day was initially chilly but bright – the rain held off until after lunchtime.

The children had a fabulous time and came home dirty, tired but full of enthusiasm. They were a pleasure to be with. Huge thanks to Kim and Gael for coming along to share the experience with us! I really do believe the children gain so much from an annual residential trip; confidence, socialisation, independence and the chance to try something a bit different a million miles away from the classroom setting.

Just take a look at these photos – what an amazing part of the world we live in. Don’t you agree?

Please see the photo below regarding the Kirkcolm Church and Community Council Easter Egg Hunt. Pop along to Kirkcolm Village Hall on Monday 2nd April to participate – all welcome!!

On Monday the 12 of March, to celebrate the fact that the sun was shining, p5-7 went outside for their Maths work. We went over what we knew about angles and used new learning to calculate volume. We also shared what we already knew about shape by spotting and naming real-life 3d shapes like the portacabin, bug hotel and pencil bin!

We got sticks and used them to measure and find out the size of angles. We all had a great time outside. It was a nice day but still quite cold. We enjoyed doing something a bit different to start off our week!

Reporter Euan McCredie