Leswalt Primary School

Galloway Activity Centre Trip

On Tuesday the 18^th of June 2013, all of Leswalt Primary school went to take part in four different activities at Galloway Activity Centre. These activities were; sailing, kayaking, mountain biking and either laser quest or orienteering.

 

Sailing was one of our favourite activities. Everyone in primary 5-7 were in threes as they headed out onto the loch. The first person steers, the second person holds the sail and finally the last person is ‘look out’.

Kayaking was probably the activity that we got most wet in!

Again we were in threes all in one boat. Paddles were used to help us move. We wore wet suits.

 

Mountain biking was an amazing experience for both elder and younger pupils and some of the teachers too! The skills course was used for youngest children and the elders had the main course to practise their skills on. Some even used it as a running track!

 

Laser quest was great fun out in the woods. With guns we all shot each other having an amazing time. With gun names like Raven and Click, everyone had fun even if they shot their own teammates!

 

Orienteering was for primary 1-4 and I could see them running around hunting and looking for their next clue laughing and giggling as they ran along!

 

I was a successful learner when I learnt how to use the sailing boats. I was a responsible citizen by making sure that everyone was safe in the water. I was an effective contributor by bringing my ideas, thoughts and opinions and finally I was a confident individual riding the bike down the steep hills.

 

Throughout the whole day everyone was smiling, the weather was on our side too! We all hope to go again soon!

 

 

By Emma Drennan       Primary 6   

Leswalt Primary recently had their whole school sports day.  It was very well attended by family and friends of all the pupils.  Following all the events, the adults enjoyed some teas,coffees and homebaking while the pupils cooled down with an ice cream.  The winning house and sports champions will be announced at the end of term service on Tuesday 2nd July. 

The Primary 1 pupils at Leswalt Primary have recently been learning all about money as part of their Maths learning and teaching.  To consolidate and reinforce the real life applications of money the pupils have been out and about spending their pennies.

 The boys and girls first went to Leswalt stores and spent money in the shop, using a shopping list provided by staff.  Mrs Gillian Murdoch, owner of Leswalt Stores, let the pupils scan the items into the till themselves.  They then later used their knowledge of how Leswalt store operates to set up their own tuck shop for older pupils, with the assistance of Mrs Smith.  This shop was open for business every playtime at school and sold a variety of crisps, sweeties and fruit.

 After the Primary 1 pupils had the final closing down sale of the tuck shop, they then had to count up all of the money they made.  The pupils decided to go into Stranraer and spend the money they made.

 Primary 1 and Mrs Smith went on the bus into Stranraer.  They had to count up the money to pay for their own ticket.  Once in Stranraer the children went to “Sweet treats” sweet shop to spend some money before walking down to Agnew Park.  While at the Park they enjoyed a play in the sunshine and also paid for an ice cream to help cool them down.  After an enjoyable morning, the children then bought a return ticket on the bus and travelled back to school.

 It was a fantastic learning experience for the young pupils and allowed them to learn more about money and use it themselves in a variety of real –life situations.

The super cyclists of Leswalt Primary have done it again.   After deciding to “take it easy” this year after previous success last year in winning the National event, the pupils from Leswalt Primary have ended up in 3rd place!

At the recent Rhins Cross country event at Lochinch Castle, Leswalt Primary experienced great success;

In the P5 girls race Merryn Walker was first, Rhona Baillie was second and Freya Bathgate was third.

In the p5  boys race Finlay Keenan was 2nd.

In p6 Emma Drennan won the girls race.

And in P7, Cameron Walker won the boys race.

  Leswalt was also 3rd in the inter-school relay race. Well done to all of our runners!

Burns Birthplace Museum – Emma Drennan

On Monday the 18^th of March 2013, the pupils of Leswalt Primary School jumped on a James King bus and the first question was; “I wonder what it will be like at the museum?”

They were going to the Burns Birthplace Museum because their topic was Scotland and they had learned wonderful Scottish poems in January.

As all 37 pupils arrived at the museum, they split into two groups.  They were primary 5-7 and primary 1-4.  The 5 to 7 group headed off down Poets’ Lane, which was a long path which took you to the museum.

At the museum they went to the Whispering Gallery, that was where they saw Robert Burns’s actual writing desk (where he wrote most of his poems).  They moved into the next room where there were interactive games and sounds to do with Robert Burns.

From there they moved onto the gift shop with lots of different items to buy.  After the gift shop we walked to the Burns Monument and it was huge.  They went up it in groups of 6.  It was very steep, from the top they could see the Brig ‘O’ Doon

They headed off to the ‘Auld Kirk’ (that was where Tam ‘O’ Shanter shouted “weel done cutty sark!”).  It was all in ruins.

They walked to the Education Pavilion to eat their lunch.  After a while they went into a room where they tried on costumes and headed out to Robert Burns’s cottage.  There were four different rooms, they were; the kitchen /living-room / dining room / bedroom, the Spence, the byre and the barn.  The kitchen was one of their favourite rooms because they could not believe that seven people had to sleep in one tiny bed.

 While in the education pavilion the Primary 1-4 class were learning about how times have changed since Robert Burns was alive.  The younger pupils even made some butter, using different utensils.  Mrs Baillie had to taste all of the different butters blindfolded, to see which one she thought was the best!

 All of the children enjoyed the trip, especially the cottage.  They learned more about the tale of Tam ‘O’ Shanter. 

The boys and girls at Leswalt Primary had a fun day on Friday 15^th March when they all arrived at school in their pyjamas to help raise money for Comic Relief.

As well as paying for the privilege of wearing their nightwear to school the pupils also had the “Great Leswalt Bake off” and sold off delicious home baking.  And, all week the school had been selling the official red noses to pupils.

Primary1-4 had been working very hard on their enterprise business this term.  “Smarty Pants” was the company formed by Mrs Wither and the younger class.  They created and sold fridge magnets, book marks and ornaments, with a Scottish theme.   After calculating their costs the pupils are donating all profits to Comic Relief.

Primary 5-7 designed and sold their Scottish quiz sheets – with the eventual winners being the Anderson family.

In the afternoon of 15^th March the whole school came together with parents and family to watch “Leswalt’s got talent”.  Pupils signed up to audition for Mrs Baillie and the finalists performed in front of the judging panel which consisted of Harold Mc Cracken, Nina Agnew, Claire Agnew and Mrs Mc Knight.   There was a wide variety of talent on display from saxophone and piano playing to singing, dancing and cheerleading. After all 12 acts had performed the judges had the difficult job of selecting the winners. Millie and Ethan Smith did a wonderfully choreographed dance routine together, and were rewarded for their efforts with chocolate Easter eggs.

After all the fun the boys and girls of Leswalt raised £250 for Comic relief.