St Andrew's Primary School Blog

We have been working on improving our library this past year and although there is still some way to go to get it completely finished we think we have done a good job so far. Everyone has been using the library much more and its a cool place to read and choose books. Thanks to the Parent Council for their help in buying new shelves and adding to our choice of books.

Here’s a look round our new library:

 

We think it’s colourful and inviting. Each class has added something to brighten up the walls and even tell us about books they would recommend.

 

Thank you to everyone who handed in an extreme reading photo. There are some super entries. Yesterday the Library Committee looked at all the entries and chose their winning entries.

We have made a fantastic display with all the entries.

These are the winners chosen by the library committee. All winners received a book token.

 

Mikey P5

Maria P2

 

Callum T P7

Maya P4

 

Well Done!!

It is the time of year when we harvest our willow. We are taking this chance to improve our fences. Dale in Primary 2

has been helping to create a new willow fence. We thank him for helping.

Our book club met this week and we shared our thoughts on our favourite authors.   We also discussed books we would like to read as a group in the future.  We have a notice board set up in the new improved library so please check it for recommendations and any forthcoming events!

One of our pupils, Daisy, has been thanked by a local charity and a local MSP for her work to make Christmas a nicer experience for other people. For the second year, Daisy has been saving her pocket money to buy advent calendars for other people. This year she saved enough for 28 calendars, that she donated to The First Base Agency in Dumfries. We would like Daisy to know how proud of her we are.

knex  Click on the link to view our video.

Our school have been busy celebrating Our Patron Saint’s Day.  Our day started with our very talented P7 pupil piping us in to school.  We then had a whole school assembly where we reflected on the life of St Andrew.  After this we all got to do 3 different activities including:

Baking, Country Dancing, Clay Modelling, Disco, Techno Challenge, Arts and Crafts, Indoor Curling, Games Room, Team Games, Nursery and Table Tennis.

All the children mixed together and the older children were a great help with the younger ones.

As C-Jay from P3 noted, “This is my favourite school day ever!”

Please have a look at some of the fun below:

P6/7 have been very busy organising a buddy reading project for P1. This has been to link in with Book Week Scotland which runs from 23-29 November 2015.

From a selection of books our P6/7 pupils voted on reading Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit, Book Burglar by Emily Mackenzie to their buddies. In class the children practiced using their voices effectively to hold their audiences attention and forming questions which would check their listeners understanding. They also created activities that the P1 class could do to consolidate their understanding of the story and to have FUN together!

The project got under way today and it was a great success. The P6/7 loved modelling their reading skills to the wee ones and the super activities kept everyone busy. A carrot treasure hunt ended up in our new look library and we hope to see our P1s enjoying books in there too!

 

 

 

 

 

Primary 5/6 enjoyed a fascinating visit from local photographer, Phil McMenemy.  Phil came in to talk to the children about his work, and show the children some of his photographs.  He explained in detail the role that light and shadow plays when taking a good picture, explaining the properties of light, and how light can change depending on the season. The children learned that photography literally means to ‘paint with light’, and that Phil, despite being colour blind, has made a successful career from photography.  Phil’s visit proved a great success, not only underlining the children’s learning but also inspiring them that, no matter if there are barriers in your way, if you work hard, you can overcome them and succeed! Phil was christened  “The man who paints with light!”, by the P5/6 class, a nickname he says he is very pleased with!