Author: Mrs Turnbull

It was lovely to have Bishop Nolan visit our school last week. He visited all classes and shared information about his life. Many pupils enjoyed trying on some of the special garments he wears and he answered some great questions from P6.

 

Well done to all our students who recently made their First Reconciliation!  Some pupils made their First Reconciliation at St. Teresa’s Church in December and the candidates that attend St. Andrew’s Church made theirs last Wednesday. The children  received  certificates when they received this special sacrament. Thanks to Fr. Gerald and to all our pupils families that have supported them on this part of their spiritual journey.

P3 had a great visit on Friday to Lochhill Farm at New Abbey. The children learned all about how the bullocks are cared for on the farm and then had a wee treat with a ride in a trailer round the fields. We will be able to make comparisons with a dairy farm next week – so watch this space!

Today P3 had two special visitors.  Mrs Jamieson and Mrs Goldie from RHET ( The Royal Highland Educational Trust) ran a farming workshop for us prior to our trip to a beef farm tomorrow and a dairy farm next week. We learned about the different kinds of farms there are, and the food products we eat from them. After identifying and handling different crops all the children took turns to grind some flour from wheat. They used a traditional stone quern or portable grinder first and then sieved the product to produce lovely fresh flour! Next it was on to butter making. In teams the pupils shook cream in a sealed tub really quickly while counting to ten in French (great multi-tasking!). They then passed the tub to the next pupil in their team. After 5 minutes had past with much laughter,  our shookly lot saw that they had made some fresh golden butter. We couldn’t resist tasting our product with some tasty Scottish: bread, oatcake or crumpet with a side helping of cheese and tomatoes. All washed down with lovely fresh milk!

On Friday the 16th June,  Mrs Jamieson from The Royal Highland Educational Trust (RHET) came to visit P3 about their Farm and Food topic. She had already organised for us to visit a beef farm and on Friday she brought in samples of various crops and taught us more about dairy production. All our wee farmers in training ground up wheat seeds to produce flour and we even worked in teams to turn milk into butter.

We ate the delicious butter we had make with other healthy Scottish produce and had a fantastic morning. By visiting the farm and by preparing the butter the children are becoming more aware of the journeys that food makes from source to consumer.

 

 

Many thanks to all our family members that managed to make it along today to our Celebration of Learning. The children were great at sharing lots of information about the Victorian period. I think you will agree that they have really improved their presentation skills. We also  hope you may have learned or tried out something new too ( the gruel  was even enjoyed by some!) Enjoy some pictures from the afternoon.

On Saturday two teams from St Andrew’s P3/P4 took part in the Dumfries Country Dancing Festival following on from their Jigs and Reels training. They performed their dances superbly,  and have received a Silver accreditation badge from The Royal Scottish Dance Society which will be presented at assembly on Friday. Thank you to all the parents who came and supported the children. They are a credit to you and the school. The feedback from the head judge confirms this – have a read at his comments below!

    

P3 had a fantastic day trip to New Lanark yesterday were they found out about life in Victorian times.

They started off with a lesson in the Victorian schoolroom. Mr Gough rang the bell and the P3’s were transported back in time to 1825. After dressing like Victorian children; writing on slates, number work, geography and nature work were all undertaken under Mr Gough’s strict rules. Luckily his class finished off with some lively dancing. After a vote, unsurprisingly, the majority of the class said they preferred school now!

A cinema film and a time travelling ride came next, and a visit round the mill houses and village store concluded our visit. What a busy day!

The children were complimented on their fantastic manners by many of the staff at New Lanark. Well done to all in P3 and many thanks to Mrs Seton and Mrs Woods for joining us on our trip.

Yesterday the children in P2, P3 and P4 got to use their money maths skills as they enthusiastically sold the craft products they had been busy making at our Craft Fair. A great variety of crafts and confectionery/ cakes had been produced by the children in school and the children had to use a variety of skills in their manufacture. It was an amazing turnout and many thanks to all our families and friends for the generous support and positive feedback. Once the children have had a wee bit more time to use their money counting skills we will update you on how much profit was made!

On Sunday our P7 pupils participated in the Big Burns Carnival parade and they were FANTASTIC!!! Their hard work in rehearsals certainly paid off as they carried out their set pieces  ( and their more informal interactions) to the awaiting public.  Birds of Paradise was the theme for our school and the children looked fantastic with their faces painted and with their eye catching costumes on. It is great that they  participated in this community event which is broadcast all over the world. They did St. Andrew’s proud! Enjoy some of our pictures from the day.