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Today at assembly, all pupils will receive a small cardboard battery box as part of the Big Battery Hunt. This is a recycling scheme which we have signed up to as part of our Eco Schools work. Pupils should fill the boxes at home with used batteries, before bringing them into school and emptying them into the large plastic containers in the hall. These will then be sent away to be recycled. As long as we arrange for a tub of batteries to be collected before June, our school will be entered into a prize draw to win various goodies including: iPads, £2000 worth of school equipment vouchers, a 2-night trip to a sustainability centre, or a 3-year subscription to ‘MyMaths’ worth £1000.

Please pass on the message that your batteries can be recycled at Leswalt School! Thank-you in advance for your support in this initiative.

p1-3 welcomed Kathryn Purchase from History Alive into their classroom for a fabulous morning crammed full of Ancient Egyptian facts, fun and activities.

The boys and girls have been learning about this historical period over the last few weeks and Kathryn’s visit yesterday was a super way to share their learning, find out even more, do some digging (!) and enjoy dressing up in typical Egyptian costume.

Just look at the fabulous photos below…

Primary 5-7 pupils from Leswalt, Kirkcolm and Portpatrick Primary Schools headed to Lockerbie Manor on Wednesday for a 3-day outdoor residential trip.

After stopping at Springholm Primary for some lunch and to stretch our legs, we reached Lockerbie Manor early in the afternoon. Everyone was given a tour of the building and grounds by the instructors and got shown to their rooms. After a quickly unpacking, we split into 4 groups and headed to our first activity. Activities included archery, rifle shooting, obstacle course, climbing wall, abseiling, orienteering, fencing, canoeing and kayaking. After activity one, some pupils required a shower as they were caked in mud after army-crawling on their bellies underneath netting! By this time we had worked up quite an appetite, and were served with the most delicious dinner – what a selection on offer! At night time, we had an evening activity before getting all cosy in our jammies and spending time getting to know pupils from the other partnership schools.

Day 2 saw an early morning wake-up call at 7.20am. We had 5 activities spread out over the day, with some pupils getting an early afternoon bath after falling into the lake whilst kayaking! That night, having been exhausted from all the physical activity, pupils were sound asleep before 11pm – much to the staff’s delight!!

On Friday morning, we were up early to get our rooms packed and emptied. Some rooms looked like a bomb had hit them, there were clothes everywhere! We then headed out for our final 2 activities before the bus arrived at 1.30pm to return us to Stranraer. It was a very quiet journey back, with lots of pupils catching some shut-eye!

Everyone had a brilliant time away, making new friends across the partnership and trying new activities.

Photos below from day 3:

Huge well done to Finlay Scott and Luke McHallum for winning the K’nex Challenge this morning. This competition was held at Stranraer Academy and was set up by the Glasgow Science Centre, and overseen by our STEM advisor Miss Creighton along with three judges.

The boys were set a brief to build a go-kart with a steering mechanism; with  certain measurements to adhere to and a design plan to be sketched. They worked really well together and their creation was crowned the winner!

The boys will now go on to compete in the next stage which is to be held in Dumfries. Fabulous!

 

 

Today we had the pleasure of History Alive’s Kathryn Purchase who delighted P4-7 with an informative presentation on World War Two. She sped the children through the years before war broke out, the events oversees and at home between 1939-1945, and the after-effects in the post-war years. The children were enthralled; quite literally sitting on the edge of their seats as they soaked up the WW2 experience. After sharing all of her vast knowledge; the children enjoyed handling the artefacts, looking at the propaganda posters and trying on replica WW2 clothing. Such great fun!

Take a look at the photos below. I’m sure you’ll agree it looks like a lot of fun and a brilliant way to learn!

Today we celebrated International Safer Internet Day! This year the theme was: Together for a better internet. Over 160 countries participated, with over 2000 UK schools and organisations too.

The world wide web is a fantastic resource that our parents, grandparents and teachers did not have when growing up – but we do! But all great resources need to be used wisely and there are things to be aware of. We learnt today how to be super computer savvy…

1. Choose to be aware 

Make sure you know the rules about how to behave and stay safe on the sites, games and apps you like to use. Look out for buttons that let you block, mute and report other users who aren’t behaving and always ask for help if there is something you are not sure about.

2. Choose to make sensible choices online 

Always keep your personal information safe and any personal information belonging to your friends and family.  Check with an adult before signing up to a new game or online service and before downloading a new app or game .

3. Choose to ask if it’s okay 

Always think about how your online actions might make others feel. Be a respectful friend online and remember to ask for permission before sharing something about someone else. This could include a picture, video or piece of their personal information like where they live or their full name. Take a look at our Safer Internet Day film to see what other young people think about asking for consent online.

4. Choose to be a role model 

Always be kind to others online and support your friends if they are having a difficult time. You can help your friends by showing them how to block and report in games and apps or by going to talk to a trusted adult with them.

5. Choose to ask for help

If you are ever unsure about something you see online, or anything makes you feel worried, upset or confused then ask a trusted adult for some help and advice.

 

Remember! Think SMART – Safe, Meeting, Accepting, Reliable, Tell.

 

Check out www.saferinternet.org.uk for more information including a section with top tips for parents/carers.

 

Pupils can easily access the ThinkUKnow website via their GLOW launch pad. This has some fantastic games and a Parents/Carers section too.

What a fabulous celebration of all things Scottish at Leswalt Primary’s Showcase Assembly! The children had worked very hard throughout the month of January on their Scots poems; writing them out in their most beautiful handwriting, creating pieces of Artwork to accompany their poem and learning their poem in order to recite it with gusto. In addition to recognising every child’s hard work and celebrating and enjoying listening to the recitation winners, the assembled parents and friends were treated to Scots songs from P1-3 and P4-7. The younger pupils raised many a smile with their re-enactment of that well-loved song ‘Three Craws’ whilst the older pupils used their own lyrics to the song ‘If you will marry me’ to tell of a young lad who is trying to win the heart of a lass, only to have second thoughts as their song unfolds! Such a fun afternoon celebrating Scottish culture.

 

Burns results  – Friday 25 January 2019

P1 – ‘Mince and Tatties’ – Recitation winners : 1. Ela Chang & Hamish Scott; 2.Ewan Clark; 3. Ellie Bennewith:

Illustration winner – Ellie Bennewith : Handwriting winner – Ewan Clark

 

P2 – ‘Donkey Ride – Recitation winners : 1. Hamish McGregor; 2.Carys McHallum; 3. Faye Adams :

Illustration winner –Mark Drummond : Handwriting winner – Faye Adams

 

P3 – ‘Street Talk’ – Recitation winners : 1. Alexander Clark; 2.Noah Gaw; 3.Thomas Clark:

Illustration winner –Noah Gaw: Handwriting winner – Noah Gaw

 

P4 – ‘The Heron’ – Recitation winners : 1. Aidan Adams; 2. Malcolm McGregor; 3. Breagh Kirkpatrick:

Illustration winner – Murray Williams : Handwriting winner – Aidan Adams

 

P5 – ‘Twins’ – Recitation winners : 1^stequal. Chloe Kennedy & Gregor Reid;  3. Jack Cloy:

Illustration winner – Jack Cloy : Handwriting winner – Chloe Kennedy

 

P6 – ‘The Evacuee’ – Recitation winners : 1.Phoebe Gaw; 2. Erin Jamieson; 3.Auryn Kirkpatrick:

Illustration winner –Phoebe Gaw: Handwriting winner – Phoebe Gaw

 

P7 – ‘Address to the haggis / Willie Wastle’ – Recitation winners : 1.Charlotte Gaw; 2.Jenna Calderwood; 3.Eva Ferguson:

Illustration winner – Millie Smith : Handwriting winner – Charlotte Gaw.

What a busy Burns day we’ve enjoyed! Mr Plant our judge had a packed morning; listening to poem recitations and viewing artwork and handwriting. He had some very tricky decisions on his hands but chose worthy winners, second and third places.

Following this, everyone tucked into a delicious Burns Lunch. Mr Gaw piped in the haggis, Mr Plant gave The Immortal Memory and the children entertained with their poems and songs; led ably through the lunch by our organised team of P7s.

Happy Birthday Rabbie and… Auld Lang Syne!

Phoebe and Erin took part in the Rhins Annual Primary Badminton Competition at Stranraer Academy. They really enjoy playing this sport and had a fabulous time playing against other children from different schools! Phoebe was placed 4th overall too. Well done girls- you are such great sporting ambassadors for our school!

As part of our bid to achieve national accreditation for the Digital Schools Award, we have selected 4 Digital Leaders to help drive our work forward. They are responsible for supporting staff and pupils in the use of ICT by sharing their skills; helping to maintain ICT equipment; leading lunch time ICT clubs; and organising parent sessions to develop their skills and knowledge.

All the Digital Leaders from Portpatrick, Leswalt and Kirkcolm came together on Tuesday for a Digital Leaders training day. They were all so enthusiastic and keen to get going! Pupils were taught how to upload, print and laminate photographs, and how to access Glow and send an email attachment to a teacher for the blog. They worked in pairs to come up with activities for Safer Internet Day on 5th February, and shared their suggestions for lunchtime ICT clubs that they could run back at school.

Everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable morning mixing with other pupils from the different schools and are all away back to their own school ready and raring to go as our Digital Leaders!