On the 10th of November 2016 P.5-7 of Leswalt video conferenced with P.6 of Castle Douglas Primary school. We exchanged questions and answers. We found out a lot more about Castle Douglas Primary and talked with Mrs Bathgate. They knew a lot about us because they had done their research on our blog. We are maybe going to arrange another video conference soon.
By: The P.7s
Here are some reports written by the P6s about the Wigtown Book Festival trip. We hope you enjoy reading!
Shoo Rayner
On Wednesday the 28th of September the whole school went to Wigtown Book Festival. When we got off the bus we split in to P5-7 and P1-4 because we were in separate tents and had different authors to listen to. The wee ones had Tracey Corderoy who talked about her Shifty McGiftey books and the big class had Shoo Rayner (that’s who I’m going to be telling you about).
When we got to the tent, we had a seat and began listening to him. He was telling us about a story he had read and began to get all scared about it! Then he told us about his new book called Scaredy Cats. He drew a picture of one of the cats in it, Dr Catula, and read the story about one of the cats. There are 9 cat stories in this book. They sounded really good!
They are the new books and honestly I think a lot of people liked it. He was really inspirational and was so good at reading aloud. At the end of it he asked us a few questions and he told us that he has actually written over 200 books – he even illustrates his books as well! He is just about to start writing the third and final book in his trilogy is about dragon.
He told us his contract had asked him to write 20,000 words on his last one! I think he is a very good author and illustrator and is doing a very good job. I would definitely buy another one of his books. Overall everyone really liked going to Wigtown Book Festival and listening to Shoo Rayner – it was very much appreciated!
By Kayleigh Williams P6
On Wednesday P1-7 went to Wigtown Book Festival. The P5-7s went to see Shoo Rayner. P1-4 went to see Tracey Corderoy in a different tent and she talked about her Shift McGiftey books.
Shoo Rayner has illustrated and written over 200 books so far. He went to Art College and met a person called Colin McNaughton who inspired Shoo Rayner to become an illustrator…and so he did! Mostly Shoo writes short picture books but recently he tried something a bit different!
One day he got mail which read ‘SHOO RAYNER YOU HAVE TO MAKE A BOOK THAT MUST HAVE AT LEAST 20,000 WORDS!’ It was a contract from his publisher.
He told us that he thought ‘oh no, 20 000 words!’ but he got started quickly because he likes a challenge! He has written two books of that series already – they are about a Welsh dragon. He is about to start the third and final book of the series after the book festival.
He also talked about his experiences of choosing a book in the library. He likes scary books but they were right at the back in a dark area where spiders lived everywhere and if you got near them then they’d BITE! He was great at telling stories and he made us jump by reading an extract of his latest book ‘Scaredy Cat’ . Everybody laughed when he tried to scare us but we tried to scare him back! It was really funny. I bought his book and he signed it for me too. I really enjoyed the session with Shoo Rayner.
Reporters – Finlay and Ethan
P5-7 went to see Shoo Rayner on Wednesday the 28th of September. The whole school went to the Book Festival but p1-4 went to see Tracey Corderoy who wrote the Shifty McGiftey stories. Shoo Rayner has written over two hundred books. He has written and illustrated picture books and books for older children too. Today was mostly about his new book Scaredy Cats. He told us that his inspiration for writing and illustrating came from the picture book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Shoo Rayner went to Art College when he was younger. He was mentored by Colin McNaughton who is a well-known illustrator. He puts roughly 1000-3000 words into his picture books and around 20,000 words into his Welsh Dragon series – he has written two of these already and is about to start writing the third and final one after he has finished at the Book Festival.
I really enjoyed listening to Shoo Rayner and thought he was really funny. Most of the children there bought his new book Scaredy Cats and I think it’s going to be an amazing book to read.
By Alistair Brown and Megan McIntyre
What do you think of our photos?
Logan and Euan have added their short reports below too.
The weather could have been a bit kinder but we had a mega time! The children were just fantastic – great teamwork, problem solving and willing to give anything a go! They were great fun to be away with 🙂
Reporter – Logan Wilson
We went to Carlingwark on the 8/9/16. We headed off from school at half past eight in the morning. I was with Jack Rickard and Jamie and Euan. We came back on 9/9. I thought it was good fun. I loved the canoeing. I got soaked when we rocked the boat but I didn’t mind. It was cool!
And it was awesome. I cried a bit at night but Jack and Euan left the door open a bit. I got to sleep then Euan closed the door. I woke up at 8:00 in the morning for breakfast – Mrs Ferguson had to give me a shake to wake me up! I had rice crispies and toast. When I found out we were doing land sports, I was really excited! I liked mountain biking the best because I was like Lewis Hamilton fast and speedy! It felt like I was going as fast as lightning. I was getting used to standing up and covering the brakes. I enjoyed working with Kirstie in orienteering and scaring her through the trees! I was so tired after running about the Forest too.
I was glad to get back home to play my Xbox and see my mum, dad and cuddly reindeer. I had so much fun and am looking forward to going away next year! Get ready – here I come…
Reporter – Euan McCredie
I loved the canoeing. Some people had to walk across the wooden pole connecting the two canoes! It was really hard work! The mountain biking was great fun though it was really challenging too!! I was the youngest in my group so I found it hard to keep up.
I loved dinner – it was lush! I was sad about the No Fizzy Drinks rule but oh well…
It was a good laugh staying overnight with my friends.
Carlingwark was really great fun! I would love to go back! Maybe next year…
On the 14th of September the P5-7 class headed on out to the playground and began to draw angles. Mrs Ferguson took us out to the willow dome and explained the maths we would be doing. After she explained the primary sevens went off to do some recap work and draw an eight point compass. After that they headed back to the willow dome only to see Primary 5/6 measuring their compass angles and writing down their conclusions.
The primary 7s were tasked with giving each other angles to draw accurately. It looked so hard to do; using a protractor to draw an angle with chalk but we managed it. The P5/6s used little figures to work on some position and movement questions too using their 8 point compass. It was good fun working outside in the sunshine!
Reporters – Arden and Jamie
On 13th of September Duncan Brown came to give p5/6/7 a tour around his ambulance. We went in groups of 6 and 7 to see the inside of the ambulance. He took Charlotte , Kirstie , Kayleigh and Finlay’s heart rate reading. After giving us a short briefing of what he does as an ambulance driver, he let us try his stethoscope and his helmet and showed us what everything does and what the equipment is for. He showed us his bag that he takes into every emergency; it had injection syringes, oxygen tanks, bandages, plasters, IV cables and equipment to help patients breathe. The bag was really heavy and full. We all got a shot on the wheelchair that he uses to wheel patients into the ambulance and down or up stairs or ramps. P.5-7 all enjoyed Duncan’s visit and learned lots. We all look forward to the next time he comes as he’s promised to come back in a couple of weeks to tell us more!
Reporters – Jack and Emily P7
On 23rd August, Sharon McCleary came and spoke to P.5,6,7 about fire safety. Sharon works for the Scotland Fire and Rescue service, so if you phoned 999 and asked for the fire service Sharon would usually be the person you would speak to. She taught us the importance of working fire alarms and having an escape plan. Every hour there’s a house fire in Scotland. Sharon gave us lots of advice to make sure we aren’t the unlucky ones. We then watched a video where we saw the dangers that cause house fires more commonly than anything else. Before she left she told us we can get a free fire alarm and ‘Fire Danger check’ to make sure our home is as safe as possible. We would like to say a big thank you to Sharon McCleary, who took time out to come teach us about fire safety!
Report written by Emily and Charlotte
We had a wonderful trip to Mabie Farm Park yesterday! Portpatrick Primary pupils were there to enjoy the great day out too, and what a fabulous day we all had.
The weather was kind to us which really helped. The boys and girls (and staff!) tried out the jumping pillows, bouncy castles, the very popular ‘choo choo express’, play park, grass sledging, trampolines, donkey rides and the straw barn! Apologies, you might have found your little one came home with half the straw with them! The bus driver really did brush pupils down before they got back on the bus!
We also got the chance to meet some of the animals; Pandora the giant long-haired bunny was quite an attraction, as was the baby guinea pig. J
The boys and girls were on the go the whole day, stopping briefly to enjoy a picnic lunch before dashing off to explore more. The behaviour of all our pupils was excellent – a real credit to our wee school. We enjoyed a chocolate from the box of Roses donated by Logan’s dad (thanks Billy!) on the road home. There were a few snores resonating from the bus too (no, not the teachers!).
Thanks to all for making this day out a wonderful success. Thanks also for the helping hand cheque from the Parent Council. What a brilliant way to round off a fun session 2015-16!
Well, how lucky were we? The constant rain on Sunday didn’t bode well. The drizzle on Monday morning left us with that sinking feeling but in true Leswalt fashion; it all came good! Ok so there was a little rain to contend with but the sun came out to shine down upon us and cheer our little sports champions on!
And didn’t they do well? Fabulous sportsmanship on show, pupils cheering one another on in the true spirit of Sports Day. Lots of people, staff and parents, have spoken highly of the children’s behaviour and effort. Well done to them all!
From the mighty throwing efforts of little P1s to nail-biting finishes in sprints, everyone enjoyed a lovely afternoon. Check out some of the snaps below (and yes there might just be a photo of the line-up for the mummy race too!)
Keep your eyes peeled for the results in the Free Press!
On June 10th, in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday, we enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch outside in the sunshine! This was to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday, her actual birthday having being marked in April.
Malcolm brought in a Union Jack which was used as a picnic rug – thanks Malcolm! All the children and staff had a lovely time enjoying the glorious weather, some tasty snacks and having a blether. Check out our snaps below to see for yourselves!
What a gorgeous day to head to the beach! Ok we were there for some serious beach cleaning but we had so much fun doing this in the sunshine! The minibuses dropped us off at the farm and we all trooped down towards the shore. Once there we were, we were met by Venetia (the lady who organises this) and, once equipped with disposable gloves and litter pickers and sorted into small groups, we set to work!
Oh my what a busy time we had cleaning. From big pieces of rubbish (tyres, plastic crates) to smaller bits (bottle lids, cans) we collected them all and then gathered our cleared-up rubbish in a handy spot for it to be collected and disposed of properly.
Finlay’s dad brought along Wayne and Koda – you might have read about them in the Free Press as they are on a One Man and His Dog mission to walk around the coastline of the UK, litter-picking as they go. We sat and chatted to Wayne and asked some questions about his adventures so far. He was very impressed to meet us whilst we were doing a beach clean. We all need to do our bit to keep our beautiful countryside looking wonderful! The children of Leswalt Primary are very knowledgeable about their responsibilities for caring for their environment and P1-4 were keen to share some of what they are learning about in class as part of their topic too.
Enjoy our snaps and the recounts of some very happy litter-pickers!
Recount by Gregor P2
Yesterday we went to Larbrax Beach to do litter picking. I was with Finlay and on the bus we looked for cows. I even found a creature’s skeleton on the beach!
Recount by Chloe P2
Yesterday we went on a minibus then walked to the beach. The whole school was there to clean the beach. It was good fun. After we had an ice lolly and biscuits too. We were cleaning the beach to make it look better and help to save little animals.
Recount by Joshua P4
Yesterday we went to Larbrax Beach. We went on a minibus. We were dropped off at a farm. The we walked down to the beach – it was tiring! Eventually we made it. We saw a dog called Barley there and he was really soft to stroke. I played with him for a minute or two. Me and Logan found a lot of big bottles and some rubber tubes. We had an icecream after we had finished. We met a man called Wayne and his dog Koda. They are walking around the county and picking up litter too.
Recount by Finlay P3
Read all about our Larbrax Beach Clean!
Yesterday we went to Larbrax Beach to clean it up with litter-pickers and black bin bags. Finlay Cowan found a tyre with a bent bit, Nicole found a teddy bear with its stuffing pouring out and Aidan found a Storn Trooper with one arm (how very dare they!!) Kirstie even found a basket with no base! The organiser of the beach clean was called Venetia. She gave us an ice lolly after the beach clean. Then we formed a little circle around Wayne and his dog Koda. He told us about his walk around Britain. He is picking up litter as he goes to help to keep the country tidy. He was pleased that we are tidying up too.
Glow Blogs uses cookies to enhance your experience on our service. By using this service or closing this message you consent to our use of those cookies. Please read our Cookie Policy.