P4/5 have been doing hockey for P.E . We have been learning how to tackle, pass, shoot and dribble. They got taught by Mr Alison and the High School pupils have been coming to help us develop our hockey skills. The pupils have been playing some little mini games with them.

We always get excited for Thursdays because the high school people are coming in . The high school pupils are very kind  to us  and they tell us if  we are  doing something that we need to work on. This means we are able to improve and develop the skills they tell us we need to work on!

On the 13th of February, Primary 7 and Primary 4/5 went to meet at the White Sands at the Visit Scotland Centre for a Solway Tour. They were met by Mark and Lesley the tour instructors. The classes were also accompanied by parent helpers and Bruce the Beltie their toy cow. Mark and Lesley were there to take the classes on a tour of Dumfries to show them it’s History and help them learn more about The Scottish Wars of Independence, Robert the Bruce, William Wallace and others along the way.

The River Nith-

The first place the classes went was The River Nith. At the River Nith Mark told us about how no one knew what William Wallace looked like and how Robert the Bruce crossed the Devorgilla bridge many times and how he was born in a town in Dumfries and Galloway. He also told us how Robert the Bruce was trained by the English to be a knight. Wallace unlike Bruce was not trained ,instead Wallace learned how to fight and taught himself.

The Suspension Bridge-

Soon afterwards we went across the Suspension Bridge. Mark and Lesley was telling us about Bonnie Prince Charlie and how he got drunk and had got kicked out a couple of times at Waterstones in the Centre of Dumfries and how he had to go to one of the oldest  brick buildings in Dumfries! The Dumfries Suspension Bridge was made for only woman back in the 1700s because there were too many woman working at the mill (over 2800) and only 700+ men. Also they separated Men from women, so they couldn’t collaborate with each other.

The Devorgilla Bridge-

The bridge was made twice. It was longer because there were no cars. When it was longer the Bridge had 9 arches now it only has 6. Arches looked gigantic and there is only one original arch left. The river is actually four miles smaller than it was originally as it used to got to the Greyfriars church.

The Vennel

We then crossed the Devorgilla bridge and went to the vennel and we were told how they didn’t have sewage systems back then and people dumped their waste into a big open drain which runs down the streets and some lazy people dumped their waste out of their window. We were also told how brewery street was named after the many breweries in that street and how in the late 19th century Dumfries made lots of money from beer.

The Burns Statue-

Afterwards exhaustedly  we walked up  to the Burns Statue which is right in the middle of the town centre, Mark was talking to us about all the different events which occurred a very long time ago and the different castles which Robert The Bruce owned and he had one right here in Dumfries at Castle Dykes park! He also talked about the poet Robert Burns who made amazing poems which everybody loved! Next we went to Lesley who talked about the stabbing between Robert and Comyn and how no one  knows what happened as John Comyn was found dead.

The Market-

Then we went to the market area and we stopped at the Santander bank. Mark told us how this bank in the late 19th century was a farmers market building and the windows used to be like big open archways into the building so horse drawn wagons could get inside. He also told us how you also got cattle and farming supplies from that building.

St Marys Church-

Back in the late 13th century and early 14th century the area now known as St Marys church used to be called hangman’s hill because if you committed a crime in Dumfries you were hanged but if you were a child and you had committed a crime you were nailed to a cross by the ear. Robert the Bruce’s sister later built the church because her husband was killed.

Then we walked back to school and everyone was tired because of the walk and overall it was great day. We really enjoyed the experience of it all and hope to take part in something like it again soon ! We learned lots!

In P7 we had a homework task about Scottish Landscapes. We all made a poster or model of a landscape in Scotland.

We have information on such places as Loch Ness, The Cuillins, Criffel, Ben Nevis and Arran. We had two weeks to do this. We learned a lot about how landscapes are formed and all the different famous landscapes in Scotland.

Everyone produced a super presentation!

P1 has been focussing on fitness within PE. They have been working on building their stamina, which means we try our best not to stop. They have been having a go at doing wall-sits, shuttle runs, toe taps and arm exercises. They have worked really hard, and are usually a bit sweaty by the end.

Primary 5 have new Digital Leaders ! The 2 new Digital Leaders are Lewis and James. They are very enthusiastic about helping P5 and P2.

They will like this job very much!

On Thursday 28th of February the Rotary Club came to present the certificates to the winners of the Photography Competition.  The two different categories were juniors and intermediate.  Some of the winners in the intermediate were: Jena Smith from P7 [highly commended], Ellen Chalmers from p7 [3rd place] and Sienna Jordan who came 2nd. Some of the junior winners were: Mhairi Chalmers P5/6 [highly commended], Heather Kellock P6/7[3rd place], Connie Ewart P7[2nd place] and Yasmin Orr P6/7who placed 1st!

Well done to all!

The new Digital Leaders for Primary 4/5 are Alex and Tyler. They will be helping teachers and Pupils learn new things that you need to know relating to ICT. The boys will be going to teach the P4/5 and P2/3 and develop skills at the same time.

They will definitely enjoy being part of the experience!

Our School Vision

Heathhall School is a Community where we encourage everyone to do their very best. To succeed in this we all strive to go FAR!

Our Values

F-Fairness

A-Achievement

R-Respect

The new Digital Leaders for P6/7 are Yasmin and Ellie. They will be working along side Russell to develop ICT in P6/7 and P1.

We have decided on our new digital leaders and for Primary 5/6 we chose Archie and Mitchell! They are very excited to do the job and they are very happy they got it. Mitchell is in charge of primary 1/2 and Archie is in charge of primary 5/6.