St Andrew's Primary School Blog

On Friday 25th May the Dumfries Rowing Club visited P7 and gave them a fantastic hour learning some of the basics about rowing.  The children had a great time going around the three activities which included a very informative presentation about the history of the club as well as facts to do with rowing.  Did you know that a rowing boat at the club cost £15,000 for example or that the person who steers the rowing boat is called the coxswain? The children learned that sweeping is the term for using only one oar and sculling is when each rower is controlling two oars.  The other groups outside played some fun warm-up games and completed circuits, whilst the third group had an exhilarating time competing in a one kilometre relay challenge.  You may have heard the screams of encouragement and excitement towards the final 50 metres!  It really was a super morning, so well organised and the class worked hard, some winning medals for particular skill and effort.  Saturday was the rowing club open day so I hope some of the class went along to find out more.

 

6:20am start to walk today. Stunning weather so early morning kept things cool. Over the hills via Corsock and Balmaclellan to New Galloway. 15 miles and 5 hours of walking. Finished with fruit crumble and ice cream in cafe whilst trying not to show that my feet were crying. Thought I’d walked a bit far when I saw the emu. Anyway, the long leg to Newton Stewart is next weekend’s target.

Part one complete. 12 miles out of Dumfries along Old Military Road to Lochfoot and Milton before heading around loch to Crocketford. First half was dry, second half was wet which was a nice change.

For the last few weeks P3 have been have been very busy on Wednesday afternoons investigating all things Roman as part of their current topic. They have shared their learning at Soft Finish with the family members that have managed to come along, but to give the rest of our families a wee chance to see what they have been up to we thought we would put together a montage of photos to share. We hope you enjoy them!

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday afternoon P2 invited parents and grandparents to our French Café, we took their orders and served them some French food. We had baguettes, pain au chocolat, crepes and croissants as well as orange juice, lemonade and hot chocolate. We really enjoyed our French food.

‘un pain au chocolat et un limonade s’il vous plait’

‘un crepe avec Nutella et un chocolat chaud s’il vous plait’

 

 

 

Primary 6 visited the newly refurbished HE department at St. Joseph’s College where they were given the opportunity to make fruit kebabs and pancakes and then eat what they had made. All the children enjoyed the experience which covered outcomes involving food hygiene, cleanliness and safety in the kitchen and preparing and tasting different food. Mrs Chalk and Miss Farrell were fantastic hosts and were impressed with how well the children behaved. S3 and S5 pupils were also there to help the children make the most of their experience.

This week is National Digital Literacy Week and today P1 celebrated this by contributing to a digital story writing session with two other schools in our region.  Cargenbridge Primary and Nursery both started our story off all about Braw the Loch Ness Monster and his family.  Next it was the turn of Minigaff Primary to add to the middle of the story.  Finally today Primary 1 at St Andrew’s logged on to glow and used their amazing imagination to end the story.  Please read the whole story below we hope you enjoy it!

 

Loch Ness had become too dangerous. As well as tourists and photographers, there was now a hunter who wanted to capture the whole Nessie family and lock them in a dungeon. So the youngest monster was on the run, with the codename Braw, hoping the young people of Scotland would help the family find somewhere new and safe to live. One day, Braw was being chased along a foggy lane, when suddenly something grabbed Braw’s tail…

Cargenbridge P1/2

It was a little girl from Dumfries and Galloway called Isla. She wanted to help the monster. She asked him, “What is wrong? How can I help you?” “Someone is hunting me down and my family need a better home,” Braw replied sobbing. Isla told Braw not to worry. “I will take you to a new home. To a loch far, far away where the hunter will never be able to find you and your family. It is called ‘Castle Loch’ and it is in a beautiful place in Dumfries and Galloway called Lochmaben. There are lots of other monsters in the loch there and you will meet lots of new friends.” Braw felt so happy and excited. He took Isla’s hand and off they went.

Cargenbridge Nursery

Isla and Braw arrived at Castle Loch. They went to find the big castle. It was like a big tower. There was a King and a Queen. They found another dragon. Braw said “Hello” to the dragon. Suddenly, a rocket landed next to the loch. They got in and flew to the moon and back. When they arrived back at Castle Loch, they had a walk around the loch. They saw lots of fish. Suddenly, Braw saw the hunter and he was a bad guy! Braw started to run…

Minnigaff Primary School

Braw sprinted away and Isla shouted, “Wait for me!” She caught up and they zoomed towards the castle to find help. When they arrived at the castle the drawbridge was up. “Help, Help!” they yelled. The King and Queen appeared at the window, “What are you doing here?” roared the King. “Please lower the drawbridge,” cried Braw. “What’s going on down there?” asked the Queen. Isla screamed at the top of her voice “We are being hunted and we need protection”. The drawbridge was lowered. Braw and Isla ran as fast as lightening towards the gatehouse. Finally, they made it into the castle. The King started to raise the wooden drawbridge when the hunter appeared………….

St Andrew’s Primary 1

Quick as a flash the hunter tried to leap on to the drawbridge but fortunately he didn’t quite make it – SPLASH, he landed in the water! The King, Queen and Braw shouted, “YEAH!”

They decided to have a huge party to celebrate. First they played on a massive bouncy castle then they played lots of party games. Next it was time for delicious party food including cakes, sausages, jelly and ice-cream. Finally, it was time for Braw and his family to head home but the King and Queen said, “Why don’t you stay in our Loch and we will keep you safe?” Braw said, “Oh that would be amazing we would love to, thank you very much.”

So Braw and his family are now living in Castle Loch near Lochmaben. Next time you visit that way keep your eyes peeled and you might spot them!

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week we had some unexpected visitors. A mother duck and 12 of her ducklings decided to pay our playground a visit. Despite some encouragement on Wednesday to leave for somewhere less crowded (our wood), the family were back on Thursday. With advice from the SPCA not to take them to water as the youngsters might not yet be waterproof we shepherded them out the school gate, off th e Craigs Road (stopping traffic on the way) and to safety. They had their own mind during this process, preferring to detour through our hall rather than around the building.

On Wednesday 16th May, PC Trosh came to talk to Primary 6 & Primary 7 about Alcohol and Substance Misuse. PC Trosh gave a very informative talk about the different types of legal and illegal drugs, the effects these can have on people and what to do if the children see or find anything suspicious. The children listened attentively and asked pertinent questions.

PC Trosh also spoke separately to Primary 7 about  how drugs are portrayed in the media,  dealing with peer pressure and making good choices and as they embark on their transition to Secondary.

 

P7 have been working with their O.S.C.A.R buddies this week helping them to make puppets of the characters from their favourite books.  In class P7 are turning these story books into scripts with stage directions and are creating the scenery for the backdrops.  The children are working so well together in the planning and preparation of the shows.  Both the nursery children and P7 are having a great time on this project as you can see and are learning so much from one another.  In a couple of weeks we will be able to present our fantastic productions so watch this space!