Month: February 2023

Leswalt Primary was delighted to welcome 2 very special guests to see the news and improved Leswalt Primary school.

Dawn Roberts the new Chief Executive for Dumfries and Galloway council was accompanied by Dr Gillian Brydson, Director of skills Education and Learning to see how all the money has been spent on the refurbishment of Leswalt Primary school.  They arrived at Leswalt Primary school with the Scrapbook the Pupil council made many years ago to request some work on Leswalt Primary.  Hamish Mc Gregor recalls he was in Primary 1 when this was compiled.  Hamish is now in Primary 6 and delighted to see the huge change from the photographs in the scrapbook!

While at the school, our visitors had a tour from Alexander and Faye, our most senior pupil council members now.  The school also sang to them and Mrs Ferguson was also surprised when they handed over a certificate to her for working with Dumfries and Galloway council for over 25 years!

Click here to read the letter we received after the visit – Sheila Baillie 20230221

We were delighted to welcome the fabulous Kathryn Purchase from History Alive into school today to work with P5-7.

The class have just started a study of World War Two and, in class, had found out about the unrest in Germany after WW1, the rise of Hitler, invasion of Poland and the start of WW2 with Neville Chamberlain’s momentous speech.

Kathryn brought along her amazing collection of WW2 artefacts and, after taking the children through a whistle-stop tour of the war and covering topics such as key figures, events, the Home Front, the Blitz (and Clydebank in particular), the role of women, VE day, the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and finally VJ Day (Victory over Japan) which brought the events of 1939-1945 to an end – finally!

We also dug out some of the school’s old logbooks which give a fascinating insight into the effect the war had locally. The Headteacher at the time wrote in detail with weekly war updates included and information on evacuated children coming to join the school.

A visit from History Alive is always a huge highlight for the pupils – and an excellent way to bring events of the past to life and to make it meaningful for them. Kathryn’s knowledge is quite something to listen to and we thoroughly enjoy having her with us. What a fabulous morning!

Pupils in P5-7 at Kirkcolm, Leswalt and Portpatrick Primary Schools headed off to Abernethy Barcaple Outdoor Centre on Monday for an overnight residential stay.

The boys and girls participated in a range of activities whilst there including archery, abseiling, a challenge course, climbing wall, and team problem solving challenges. Pupils overcame fears and developed their team-working skills throughout the course of our trip. 

After a fun-filled day of activities, everyone enjoyed an evening game of hide and seek in the dark – at which point the staff watched as 50 children ran off into the darkness at a location they had never been before; cue panicking teachers! But thankfully all returned safe and sound, and no one was left to spend the night in the great outdoors! 

We then headed to our rooms to settle down for the night – and despite a lot of sugar being consumed, everyone was asleep by midnight much to the staff’s relief! 

The next day started bright and early with some pupils rising at 6.30am. After breakfast, we finished our final group activities and hopped onto the bus just after lunch time. It was a very quiet journey home with lots of tired little people catching 40 winks to make up for the lack of sleep the night before! 

Everyone had a brilliant time away and enjoyed mixing with pupils from all of our trio schools. 

Safer Internet Day was actually Tuesday 7th February (yesterday!) but we were actually in deepest, darkest Barcaple yesterday abseiling and climbing through muddy challenge courses and so not using the internet at all!

So, we kicked off this morning back in school with a chat about how to keep ourselves safe online. P.C. Conroy came in to chat to us and talk us through a presentation about internet safety. The pupils were very open and honest with P.C. Conroy – most have mobile phones and use YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, BeReal etc. There are age limitations for all of these for a reason. We know that parents will be keeping a close eye on search history and what is being accessed/who is in contact – but it just helps to raise awareness with the pupils too. They are much more knowledgeable about these things than I am as an oldie!

The clear message is:

1. do not share personal details online
2. only accept friend request from people you know
3. be kind! Don’t be mean and if you see others being mean – report it!
4. enjoy using your phone – but have some downtime too!

The internet is an amazing and wonderful place but, it has its negatives too of course! Just be mindful and think.

If you are ever unsure – seek the advice of an adult!

Why not check our our Sway and select play to see our activity across our partnership.