Kirkcolm Primary School

Today has not been the average Wednesday for the Kirkcolm primary bunch – we’ve been a busy wee bunch today! The day kicked off as normal with some learning in the morning but then at 10:30, we boarded a bus into town with our friends from Leswalt to start the adventure! 🚌

Mrs Adams, as part of Book Week Scotland, arranged for a visit to the local library. The library were kind enough to accommodate us for an hour and a half during a very VERY rainy day where we took part in book related scavenger hunts but really it was just an excellent opportunity to see everything the library had on offer! Pupils enjoyed the comfy chairs, the Lego sets and connect four as well as just cosying up with some of the books of offer! 📖 📚

This was fantastic as it really seemed to inspire some of the boys and girls to make better use of the library system that’s on offer! Many of the boys and girls (…and myself…) did not realise what cosy and welcoming space it was! A great win and hopefully as increased use of our local facilities. 🙌🏼

We enjoyed our packed lunches then braved the wet and wild walk to the Ryan Centre cinema to watch ‘The Wild Robot,’ a movie about Roz, a shipwrecked robot who ends up stranded on a remote island🤖.

A super way to spend a rainy day! ☔️😁

Meta Skills

Curiosity Carlos

Communicating Cate

UNCRC Articles

Article 31 – Rest, play, culture and arts

Article 29 – Aims of education

Article 17 – Access to information

Today the upper class form Leswalt popped over for the morning to engage in some learning! Together the schools banded together to take part in a Smart Stem learning about how we can use technology to enhance and help dairy farming. 🐮🥛

Pupils learned a variety of different facts about cows and dairy farming (some of them already very knowledgeable in these matters…) as well as learning how technology is already being used to help farmers complete their job more efficiently with less stress. 

Once this was done, they split off into individuals, pairs or small groups to design their own Smart Stem to be used on a farm – which will then be entered into a competition to have them STEM dream come to life in a 3D printed model! 

Huge thank you to Donna for coming out to see us this morning all the way from Glasgow – it was a great input and always such a wonderful experience to unite the schools! ❤️

We had time to fill at the end so we participated in a Book Week Scotland Quiz made by the very talented Miss Douglas – which even had the adults (me!) raking our brains. 📚🧠

Meta Skills 

Leading Li 

Creativity Cassidy 

Curiosity Carlos 

Collaborating Cora

Communicating Cate 

Focusing Fergus

Articles

Article 24 – Food, Environment and Water 

Article 31 – Rest, Play & Culture 

Today the whole school joined together in a celebration of Book Week Scotland this week to partake in some paired reading. P1-4 pupils preselected their books and read a long with the upper school pupils. This was a great opportunity to link the classes and have them all working together, but also to promote the joy of reading to all the pupils. 📚

The older ones were able to revisit some old favourites of theirs from many moons ago, while the younger pupils got support and the joy of being read to! Everyone was very focussed on the literature at hand and they all worked together beautifully!

Next week – as a continued celebration of Book Week – we will be popping along to the local library in Stranraer on Wednesday to engage in some activities and explore all the books on offer to them! On Thursday, P3-5 will be going to the Sheuchan for a BIG DOG Author visit… 

Meta Skills 

Collaborating Cora

Communicating Cate 

Focusing Fergus

Articles

Article 31 – Rest, Play & Culture 

The first day I spent travelling to join all the others in Edinburgh. I arrived in Edinburgh after my train from Glasgow Queen street and we got to the house. We unpacked and had dinner then went to bed.

The second day was a prep day. We went to a workplace and began to prepare. Eva and I were working on Climate Crisis Education, and we prepped for a while. We made a life cycle and practised our speech.  Later in the day we changed it a bit.

Then we went back to the house and had dinner. We then had a few more run throughs with the presentation and questions a few times and finished for the night and went to bed.

The third day we got up early and packed up all the resources and our bags into four big taxis – Kati Katie and I were in one. We drove to Saint Andrews house and unpacked and went into our room and set up.

We went to meet the Scottish Youth Parliament and played a dice game where we rolled the dice and whatever number it landed on, we had to answer the question corresponding to the number.

Once we finished that the Scottish Government ministers started to arrive.  John Swinney the first minister was there.  I had the job of greeting them all and giving them an agenda. Then we went through to our room for one final practise while the Scottish Youth Parliament said their presentation to the ministers.

Then they all  came through to see us, and we said our presentations and had our discussion with our ministers – Angus Robinson and Fiona Hyslop to name a few.  I thought it went really well.

 We took some pictures and had lunch and then we got to the train station and got on the train to head back home.

Fallon Farquhar Primary 6

On Wednesday our digital leaders went to Leswalt to learn some skills they may need for their role as digital leader they learned how to use  websites and how to use AI safely  and appropriately, Ross said this was a good idea because it can help us make worksheets and make a good planner. The Kirkcolm digital leaders expressed that there ICT club was going well and that they are about to change it to P4. Ross & Paige also learned about tools on there emails checking recipients carefully within glow, they also looked at the glow library and learned how to add apps, The digital leaders are now contributors to the school blog so they learned how to use that too!

Our lucky P7 pupils got their chance to head on down with their Leswalt friends to the Curling Rink at the North West Castle to get themselves out onto the ice rink for Curling Season being upon us! This is such a fantastic opportunity for pupils to familiarise themselves with a sport that is so key to this area and has even led to Olympic success! 

When they got down there, they changed their shoes so they were ready for the ice and went over some safety protocols and  warm up activities to get them ready to play some games!

They got lots of practice in during their first half on the ice before coming to play 2 games in the second half. Sadly the winner was not to be found as they ended up in a tie with Sandhead Primary! No medals today but lots of fun had getting to grips with the sport. Big thank you to the team at The North West Castle Ice Rink for giving our older pupils this opportunity!

Meta Skills 

Collaborating Cora

Communicating Cate 

Leading Li

Focusing Fergus

Adapting Aleksander

Articles

Article 31 – Rest, Play & Culture 

It’s that time of year again…! 

Pupils have once again been hard at work fundraising for Children in Need for another year at Kirkcolm. For such a small school, the boys and girls make such an excellent effort at raising money for a good cause, the angels they are! 🫶🏼🙌🏼

The merchandise has been on sale all week and pupils have added to their yearly Pudsey ear collections as well as some new items such as the very popular – water bottle! The donations have continued to roll in today as each pupil volunteered £1 for the opportunity to be cosy in their jammies all day long! As well as £1 donations for pancakes at break and face painting throughout the day! 🤩😍

We participated in Newsround this morning and reflected on how this day links to the Children’s Rights and how all the donations today go towards helping boys and girls all across the UK. Then we got our heart rates up with some Joe Wicks in the morning! 💪🏼

Overall, a fab Friday indeed and with a whopping £256 raised – I think this little village can give itself a huge pat on the back! ✨

Meta Skills 

Collaborating Cora

Feeling Felix

Integrity Imani

Leading Li

Articles

Article 3: The Best Interests of the Child

Article 12: Right to be Heard

Article 13: Freedom of Expression

Article 19: Protection from violence, abuse, and neglect

Article 28: Right to education

Article 12: Respect for the views of the child

This Monday kicks off the start of Anti-Bullying Week in the school – This is a week to remember kindness and emphasise being a friend to each other and not standing by and allowing any unkind behaviour to go unnoticed or allowed. 🛑

Pupils began this by wearing odd socks to show that we support and encourage our differences and they are something to be celebrated! We then all came together to take part in the BBC Live Lesson which looked at ways we can ‘Power Up! to stop bullying! 💪🏼

Pupils came up with lots of great ideas and continued to prove themselves as the kind and empathetic bunch they are. ❤

Meta Skills 

Communicating cate 

Feeling Felix 

Integrity Imani 

Articles

Article 19: Protection from violence, abuse, and neglect

Article 28: Right to education

Article 12: Respect for the views of the child

Article 2: Non-discrimination

In preparation for Armistice Day tomorrow and following on from Memorial Sunday, pupils at Kirkcolm have been learning about the significance of this day and how we use the poppies to mark remembrance for all the people who have died at war. 

On Thursday, Mrs Adams lead an assembly on this. Pupils understood how different coloured poppies represent different things, where the symbol of the poppy comes from, read through the poem Flander’s Field and learned how the donations raised from the poppies go towards supporting War Veterans in the country. 

Pupils went on to make some Poppy art in pairs to create a large wreath to display at the War Memorial at Kirkcolm Primary. Pupils took a walk up to the Memorial today to show their respect.