Kirkcolm Primary School

Our gardening volunteers were super-keen to complete our bug hotel, or should we say ‘bug mansion’ as it’s so impressive.  The children worked hard to gather natural materials and construct the bug hotel ready for residents.  They mixed STEM engineering construction with Learning for Sustainability.  Not content with just that task, they also got stuck into tidying and weeding, ready for even more gardening challenges to come.  Thank you to Mrs Richardson for coordinating the activity.

Another Biodiversity Eco Schools Target achieved!

# Effective Contributors

To celebrate British Science Week on the Monday, we engaged with Mars Hour to celebrate Mars Day! This was hosted by ESA, ESERO-UK and Explorify to teach us about all things Mars related! We learned about different formations that can be found on the Red Planet itself as well as all things space travel.

Pupils got to see lots of different experiments live and in action! Such as seeing how rockets launch themselves into space to how meteors form craters on the surface of a planet. In addition to this we were able to hear from real-life ‘day job’ astronaut, Time Peake, about his experiences with space travel.

This gave pupils an idea on how the different mars missions allow us to gain information about the planet itself, how different features formed on the planet and facts about the planet itself (night temperature, day temperature etc.)

In class, P5-7 followed this us by designing our own Mars Rovers with some exceptional entries form pupils who really thought hard about space exploration essentials…

Later on in the week (after a brief interlude on the Tuesday to celebrate the joys of History… Sorry Science – oops!) We decided to put our engineering skills to the test in a challenge activity! With a wide variety of different supplies ranging from lollipop sticks and cardboard to tape and wood – pupils were tasked with designing and creating their own marble runs!

In mixed groups, the pupils set to work and wow – were us teachers ever so impressed with the finished products. Once again the pupils of Kirkcolm have proven themselves to be resourceful and inventive! We tested all of these at the end of the day and discussed what we thought we did well and ‘design tips’ for any future marble run endeavours…

Please see the photos below for exceptional teamwork skills and the finished product! (Surely even Dragon’s Den would be interested in these unique designs..?)

Thursday seen another day for the both classes to join forces for another STEM engineering activity (just can’t tear us apart, eh) This time, we focused on boats – and boats with a purpose! Pupils were split into groups again and given a wide variety of materials and were tasked with creating a boat that floated!? (surely the one thing a boat is intended to do…) Boys and girls designed their boats prior to choosing their materials and had to carefully consider the different properties of different materials (do they float or sink?) Altogether, we have an resounding success amongst all the groups with some very elaborate designs! Unfortunately, plans to venture outside were called off due to the rain but thankfully Friday had some sun in store for us… 

On Friday we took a wonder down tot he beach to get stuck into another engineering and design challenge. We used balance and skills to work in small groups to balance stones on top of each other to create some beach art! As pointed out by young Mr Butler – this form of art can be detrimental to the environment so we made sure we didn’t obstruct any wild life making homes down at the beach and we cleared away our art work when we were done. It was such an amazing way to end such an amazing week filled with science and developing our teamwork and leadership skills and it’s not everyday the whole school gets to work together on tasks. 

The boys and girls of Kirkcolm Primary rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in to some planting this week.  We applied to the Woodland Trust to receive a grant of 20 different tree saplings and 20 shrubs for our school grounds.  The aim of the project is to support biodiversity and to create natural habitats for wildlife in our area.  We have been gifted species such as rowan, birch and hawthorn to name but a few.

There was many a volunteer to help Mrs Richardson in the task in hand. It is hoped that the plants will flourish and give pleasure for years to come.

Mrs Manson has also been working behind the scenes to help support our insect species.  She has given up her own time and resources to create an insect-friendly bee and butterfly flowering garden at the entrance to the school.  Once the clumps have established this year, she has kindly offered to come and show the children how to divide their plants so that they can share them with Leswalt pupils so that they can create their own insect friendly flowering garden when they return there.

Work is also continuing on our Bug Mansion.  We are at the final stages of preparation and are just about ready to construct.  Watch this space…

# Effective Contributors & Responsible Citizens

As part of our Rights Respecting Schools Silver Award, our P6’s and House Captains from across our partnership took on some responsible training today.  The Diana Trust delivered a workshop on developing our older pupils as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.

This is supported by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Campaign engages schools to change the attitudes, behaviour and culture of bullying by building skills and confidence to identify and deal with different situations.

The aims of the session were:

• I know what bullying behaviour is and how to identify it
• I understand how bullying behaviour can make someone feel
• I can support students in school who are experiencing bullying behaviour

We defined what is meant by bullying behaviour as:

Repeated negative behaviour that is intended to make others feel upset, uncomfortable and unsafe.

The children had lots of rich discussion around this topic with our online trainer, Clio.  We talked about situations to determine whether they were bullying or not.  Pupils were shown that there are three steps to support a peer who might approach us with a problem – S.A.D.:

• Say – Thank you (for trusting us)
• Ask – Tell me what’s been going on?
• Do – What do you want to do?

Everyone was reminded that all school staff are always here to manage and deal with any situation that might arise. Our Ambassadors are there to help anyone experiencing bullying access support from an adult.  There is scope for our Ambassadors to work together to achieve 4 different challenge badges.

Childline is available for any child to call 24/7, 365 days a year on 08001111.  The Diana Award Crisis Messaging service provides a free text support service for children, also available at any time.  Simply text DA to 85258!

# Responsible Citizens

Today we were very blessed to be graced with the company of Kathryn from History Alive , who brought along all of her bits and bobs to delight us and teach all all about The Scottish Wars of Independence!

Kirkcolm and Leswalt upper joined forces in the hall to explore and learn, in great detail, the events that lead up to The Scottish Wars. Pupils have already done a lot of work about this in class and we were able to add to the discussions but we were no match for Kathryn’s expertise!

We learned about ancient Scotland and what life would look like in those days, all the way back to 1066 when William the Conquerer landed in Scotland and Scotland’s landscapes were full of trees and murky marshes everywhere.

We heard about how Edward the First tried to take control of Scotland and how the brave soldiers of Scotland fought back and finally, the culmination of the Battle of Bannockburn. Kathryn was able to really bring all this to life for both the teachers and the pupils and it was amazing to learn about these events in such depth.

After this, pupils were able to ask all sorts of questions and get stuck into the fantastic props that Kathryn brought along and as you can see from the photos below, they really took advantage of this!

We feel so lucky to be able to welcome Kathryn and her expertise back into the schools and it has been a fantastic opportunity for the pupils to see their history topic really come to life.

See below to try and pick out your own Scottish Warrior in full kit!

Kirkcolm Primary got British Science Week off to a flying start today.  John McGill of Computer Xplorers travelled down from Ayr to deliver two workshops to our boys and girls.

Both classes explored Lego Wedo, using Lego components and modules alongside coding blocks to construct models from schematics. They were able to automate their models to perform increasingly complex functions; building up from changing light colours and producing a range of sounds to performing motorised functions.  The older children applied the use of gears to control motor speed when constructing and programming a cooling fan  – small gear = fast speed, large gear cog = slower speed.

The activities helped support a wide range of skill development, for example:

Computational thinking:

• decomposition – breaking a complex problem down into steps
• abstraction – focussing on the important parts only
• algorithms – developing step by step solutions to problem solve

Meta Skills for learning, life and work (Skills 4.0)

• Self Management – focussing, adapting, initiative
• Social Intelligence – communicating, collaborating, leading
• Innovation – curiosity, creativity, sense making, critical thinking

To culminate the investigative session, linking with the theme of growth for this year’s British Science Week, the older children investigated the key question of:

‘How do certain organisms contribute to the life cycle of plants?

They had to:

• Explore how different organisms take an active role in plant reproduction
• Create and program a model of a bee and flower to represent the relationship between the pollinator and the plant
• Present and document the different models created to depict plants and their pollinators.

They built a robotic model incorporating gears and infra-red motion sensors etc.  The bee is programmed to fly to the flower, emitting a buzzing sound. The bee then detects the flower and stops to collect pollen before flying off to visit another flower, promoting cross-pollination.

Everyone agreed that the workshops were highly engaging and educational – an excellent start to our upcoming week dedicated to science and all things STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths).  Our thanks to the British Science Association for granting our funding application and to John from Computer Xplorers for providing such  fabulous sessions for us.

# Successful Learners

Last night saw the return of the eagerly awaited annual Burns recitation competition at the Ryan Centre organised by the Stranraer and District Burns Club.  Children, families and friends from all over the Stranraer area came together to watch the winners from each school recite their Scots poetry.

It was a very entertaining evening with so much talent and confidence on show.  There were two categories; P3 – 5 and P6 – 7.  Our North Rhins was well represented by the following pupils:

P3 – 5

• Jack Howie: Kirkcolm Primary – The Auld Broon Troot
• Ewan Clark: Leswalt Primary – Beasties
• Cameron McNeill: Portpatrick Primary – The Auld Broon Troot

P6 – 7

• Alexander Clark: Leswalt Primary – The Moosie’s Prayer
• Luke Butler: Kirkcolm Primary – Address Tae A Haggis
• Maya McNeill: Portpatrick Primary – Address Tae a Haggis

2022 Competitors

We are delighted to announce that Cameron McNeill won second place in the younger category and Maya McNeill also won second place in the older category.  Congratulations to both!  They each received a book of the complete works of Robert Burns.

Every child that recited had already been judged as winners in their respective schools.  They all gave a sterling performance and they well deserved the certificate they achieved for their participation this challenging event.

The Free Press will be publishing an article with photographs of all the participants.  More photos will be posted on here hopefully later today.

Well done Everyone!

#Confident Individuals

Wednesday the 3rd of March was finally World Book Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the joy of reading and getting stuck in and lost in a good book! 

Here at Kirkcolm, both classes had their own wee way of celebrating this day and promoting the joy of reading with the pupils! 

P1-4 read ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ with Miss Douglas and Miss Irving and then, just to make it even more magical, they went on a bar scavenger hunt outside trying to find all the hiding bears in the playground! After this burst of energy, it seemed only fitting that they went on to have a teddy’s bears picnic in the class with lots of treats! 

P4-7 went for a more cosy celebration! Pupils were told to bring in something they could snuggle up with, be it a blanket or a pillow and then the hot chocolate, biscuits, cookies and (decaffeinated!) tea was brought to them. Their only goal was to sit down and really enjoy whatever book they were reading at home or at school. We also read a lovely story called The Dam together and this gave everyone an opportunity to meet their accelerated reading test goal if they hadn’t already! 

Finally, last thing in the day the 2 classes joined forces for some paired reading and enjoying a good story together.

Overall a very successful day as they all toddled home with their tokens for £1 off a book! We are excited to see what they choose!

Our trio partnership football  team had their first outing in over 2 years , and despite nicer having trained in school or playing together as a team they came together extremely well.

The team of pupils from Kirkcolm, Leswalt and Portpatrick schools had 3 wins, 2 losses and 2 draws. What a result!

Well done to all for their enthusiasm and team spirit. The next games are on the 25th March .

Today the Kirkcolm staff banded together (Miss McNicoll was talked into it by Miss Douglas…) to join the forces of the classrooms into a pancake making extravaganza in the hall! Both classes came together in the afternoon and split into groups of 4, mixing the big with the wee, and following the careful guidance of Miss Irving (the pancake making expert amount us… Thank goodness there was one!). Miss Irving made the recipe nice and simple for everyone to follow.

Our groups mixed up all their wet and dry’s and the staff set to work to cook and flip these as fast as they could! Another shout out to Anne Marie for being the back bone of our pancake flipping adventures and really helping to speed the process along – what a star she is and how very blessed we are to have her!

Photos are a little on the lighter side when they follow as most of the adults were running about with batter or flipping away at a hot plate but I hope this gives you a snippet of how our afternoon went. Happy Pancake smiles all round! 🙂