Our Weekly School News – Sharing our learning with the school Community. 

School News : 

As well as our website and Facebook page we have started a Twitter feed for the school. Follow us @castledps 

 We held our January Achievement Assembly today. 

Thank you to all the pupils who kindly shared achievements that they have been doing outside school.  

We heard about Rugby, Horse Showing, Horse Showjumping, Horse Riding, Gymnastics, Blue Peter Badge awards, Showing a Calf at the Market and three of our P5/6 pupils shared the new ukulele skills they are learning. What a wide range of interesting items – thank you for sharing. 

 

K and M, two or our Reading Ambassadors shared information about our Book of the Month and encouraged us all to enjoy reading.

Well done to our Pupils of the Month chosen by their classes. Super effort and positive example. Each child is awarded a special certificate with the reasons for their choice. (Missing from the photograph is Rylan and Amy). 

 

Scottish Day – P5 – 7 

 Primaries 5, 5/6, 6, 6/7 and 7 will be having a ‘Scottish Day’ on Tuesday 29th January 2019. Children will be split into 6 groups and rotate around 6 different Scottish themed activities. Children are invited to wear something tartan if they would like.  

We try our very best to upload a weekly post for each class but this is sometimes not always possible. Please have a read and a chat about what some of our classes have been up to this week. 

Primary 1a 

We finished last week with more adventures in the Nature Garden! We made wonderful bird feeders using the toilet roll tubes we brought in, lard, mashed banana and bird seed. 

Ayla: I liked the bird feeders. I hung mine on the tree in the field. 

 Iris: I liked putting the white stuf (lard) on the toilet roll tube.  

We’ve been learning our sounds of the week – ‘v’ and ‘x’. We were tracing using paper clips and magnets, making words out of playdough and playing sound bingo! 

Kaci: I liked tracing the letters with the magnets.  

We’ve also started addition and are doing a fabulous job! 

Primary 1b 

We have been learning the ‘v’ and ‘x’ sounds – thinking of words beginning with and words that have these letters in.  

Charlotte: “I liked colouring in the paper with the boxes and foxes” 

Brodie: “me and William have been building a big zoo” 

Kai: “me, Zane, Conall and Joshua liked playing in the TAS shop” 

A big thank you to Laird for our presents! The children are wearing the hats and using the pads and pens to write out the orders in the shop. 

The children have had great fun playing and making with cardboard boxes! Zane and Joshua built a Santa van and Hannah designed a flower house. Eddie, Brodie and William made a great team – working together to cut holes in the boxes and join them together.  

Ellie: “I love my baby brother – he’s the best baby!” 

Zane is taking Ben the Bear home this weekend – have fun Zane and Ben! 

Well done to our pupil of the month Ziya! 

 Reminders 

 Keep practising the Scots poem – ‘Mince and Tatties’ 

Primary 2/3 

This week we have been learning about money. We have been looking at the different coins we use and how much things cost. Some things like a holiday are very expensive. 

We also looked at where you get money from and we could think of six ways. 

From a bank.

From a cash machine and we learned it is called an ATM – Automated Teller Machine.

You can sometimes get cashback from a shop.

From a gift like a birthday present.

From being paid for doing a job or getting pocket money for helping round the house.

We may have saved some money in a piggy bank. 

Can you think of any more? 

Please remember to practise your Scots poem for next week. 

 

Primary 3 

 This week, we had our first visit to the Doach Woods as part of our outdoor learning sessions. We were learning to identify different trees in a real-life context and we used a checklist to keep track of our findings. 

Milly – ‘We found a Douglas Fir tree. We were learning to identify the different parts of a tree’. 

We have also been learning to identify living and non-living things in the world around us. We explored the playground and found lots of living and non-living things, including animals, plants and other objects. We also discussed some objects that were ‘once living’, such as a wooden bench.  

Arno – ‘A squirrel is a living thing. It can move’. 

Noah – ‘A rock is non-living. It doesn’t grow.’ 

Reminders 

Tuesday – Doach Woods visit 

‘Twa Leggit Mice’ poem for Friday 1st February.  

 

 

Primary 3/4 

 This week we went on our first visit to Doach Wood as part of our outdoor learning sessions. We were learning to identify the different types of trees we could find there – we used a checklist to help us to identify the different features.  

“We were climbing hills and trying to get to the top. We needed good looking and teamworking skills to get to the top” – Kaidi 

“We got pencils and paper and we made bark rubbings. It was really cool to look at the different patterns” – Ruby 

“Some of us climbed up the hill but didn’t think of how we would get back down. We slid down on our bottoms. It was so much fun!” – Caitlin 

“We had to find different types of trees. I found a silver birch. It was really hard to find” – Coby 

“I loved getting muddy and it was nice to explore Doach Wood and see what we could find. I spotted a stream” – Zak 

“When I got to the top of the hill I saw a tree that was tipped over and I could see it’s roots” – Rhuben 

 We also made group posters on some of the different types of trees we can find in Britain.  

“Our poster took a lot of time because it has so much detail” – Emma 

“Our poster is on the Beech Tree. A Beech Tree can live for 350 years” – Alex 

“Our group created a poster about the Douglas Fir. We found out that the leaves are soft needles. We saw lots of Douglas Fir trees in the Doach Woods” – Connor 

We have been learning about what plants need to grow.  

“We started an experiment. We split into groups and we had to read our instructions carefully to plant the seeds” – Connor 

“Each group had different instructions. We are going to see which group’s seeds grow the best over the next few weeks to help us work out what plants need to grow” – Kaidi 

 

    

In health we have been discussing friendship. We read the story ‘Don’t Hog the Hedge’ and thought about all the ways that we can be a good friend to others. In PE we have started gymnastics. We have been learning about different balances and different rolls.  

 The P4’s have also completed their swimming sessions this week. What a great time they have had developing their swimming skills!  

Reminders 

Our next outdoor learning session will be on Tuesday. Please make sure you are wearing old, weather appropriate clothes.  

Please keep practising your Scots poem – The Circus – at home. 

 

Primary 4 

Topic: We have been learning about Viking long ships. P4 mixed primary colours to create different shades when painting dragon heads. In Viking times, Dragon and animal heads were carved from wood and used to decorate the front of the long ship. Sam: “The prow is the name for the front of the ship and the dragon head was used to scare away spirts on the land”.  

ICT: We carried out our own research, finding out more about the features of a long ship. P4 explored fact websites and google images to get inspiration for their next task. Using 2Simple software they drew realistic long ships making sure they were long and narrow with oars, sails and prows.  

P.E: We had our last swimming lesson today. The instructors let us play in the water. Becky: “I was playing under water with the sink toys”. Ameila: “I had so much fun, our groups came together, and we raced keeping a ball between our legs”. Alfie: “I played dodge ball with the foam balls”. Dylan: “We climbed on giant floats and pretended we were sinking”. 

Maths: We introduced Stephanie subtraction and we are beginning to use step 1, step 2. 

Language: We have been reading through and translating our scots poem ‘Street Talk’. Over the next couple of weeks P4 will be learning and performing this poem. We talked about our favourite Scottish words and shared new ones.  

Wider Achievement 

Fraser and Gregor have completed Beavers and are moving up to Cubs. 

Rylan is our P4 Pupil of the Month. 

Reminders 
Scots poems in school bags. Please learn and perform your poems at home.  

 

 

Primary 4/5 

 This week we have been learning how to recite our poems in front of the class. We have been looking at how we can add in expression and actions to interest our audience. We have also been thinking about what makes a good audience too.  

Coll – It is great fun reciting our poem. 

Callum – I am nervous when I stand up in front of the class but I am getting used to it.  

Riley – I have more confidence at speaking in front of an audience.  

We have come to the end of our swimming block at Castle Douglas Swimming pool. All children have had a great time and have really progressed in confidence and ability. Well done.  

 Murray – I can now swim in the deep end.  

McKenzie – I have learned how to do a forward roll under water.  

Freya – I am now much better at side breathing.  

Alannah – Swimming was fun, I don’t want it to finish.  

Maxi – I can now do things I didn’t think I’d be able to do. 

Hugo – I have learned how to dive into the deep end.  

Wider Achievement 

Charlotte – At piano lessons, I have learned how to play with both hands.  

Freya – I have learned how to play a new piano note.  

Lily – I completed a doll at stitch club.  

Oliver R – At tennis club I have learned how to do a back hand.  

  

Primary 5/6 

Please see our Twitter feed for our class news 🙂  https://twitter.com/mr_coulthard 

 

Primary 6 

 

P6 began our new topic this week: The Solar System! 

“We began researching and creating a fact file about Mercury and Venus.” (Seren) 

“We created a planet mnemonic to remember the order of the planets. My mnemonic was, “My Volcanic Eruption Made Jam Slide Under Neptune.” (Fraser) 

“My planet mnemonic was, “My Very Eager Maid Jam Sandwiches Using Nutella.” (Eilidh) 

“In Maths, we used the computers to shop on Tesco and Asda and we were finding out which would be cheapest.” (Tyler) 

“I learnt that Venus is over 4.5 billion years old.” (Ryan)  

 

Primary 6/7 

This week Mr Whan’s writing set were looking at the different features of a newspaper. We all enjoyed reading the newspaper!  

This week the Squares and Rectangles have been learning about factors and multiples. 

Aillie “ I know that a multiple is the answer of two factors multiplied together”. 

Leland “ We have been working with P7 to learn about the World of Work and plan a job fair.” 

Mya “ We have been learning to recite the storm section of Tam o’ Shanter.” 

As part of our topic we have been learning about the charity Shelter Box. One of our ‘Big Questions’ for this topic was “What support is available to people after a natural disaster occurs?”. We learned that:  

Noah O “ The things inside the box include: a tent, a light and blankets”. 

Melissa “ Shelter box provide shelter for people who have lost homes”. 

Noah S “ In the box there is teaching supplies for school children.”  

Wider Achievement 

Aillie can now do a handspring on the floor.  

Bobby was this week’s pupil of the month.  

Adam will recite his poem at his Granny’s Burns’ Supper this weekend.  

 

Reminders 

Please send in Cream o’ Galloway visit reply slips.  

2nd level Scottish Day on Tuesday – please wear tartan/Scottish themed clothes if you wish. Please continue to learn your poem.  

Job Fair Wed 27th Feb.  

 

 

Primary 7 

Jayden – In writing we have started looking at newspapers. We have been working on headlines.  

Rory L – Young Leaders from the high school came in on Tuesday and helped us with our Tag Rugby. They played fun games with us which helped us develop our skills. I was paired with Ryan and I got the most tags. 

Hannah – People from Childline came in to do a workshop with us on Wednesday. We discussed different situations in groups and decided if they were good or bad. 

Ollie – I carried on my 100% accuracy in spelling this week by getting full marks again.  

Charley – I’m proud of my Tam O’Shanter artwork. I enjoyed using charcoal.  

Elise – I was pleased that our class got into the top ten on the Sumdog National Maths competition this week.  

Well done to Daniel P and Katherine for winning the Dojo points this week. 

Well done to Jayden for being awarded Pupil of the Month this week. 

Reminders 

Verse three of the poem to be learned for Monday. 

We are having a Scottish Day on Tues – children can wear Scottish themed clothes.  

Cream of Galloway World of Work trip Monday 11th Feb.  

Job Fair Wed 27th Feb.