Today, P 4-7 were lucky enough to have a visit from Professor John Lockhart from the University of the West of Scotland to talk to them about the BREATH campaign he has started, directed towards targeted regions in Scotland and England.

The pupils learnt all about Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD for short) and how the rates of this were exceptionally high in our own South West region of Scotland.

Pupils were educated of how the lungs work to keep us alive, how this disease can affect them and how it can be prevented or stopped.

This tied in well with our tobacco topic where we have been looking at smoking and the adverse health effects that come with it.

Our pupils were given instructions to educate, educate, educate everyone they could about what they have learnt today so don’t be surprised when they start letting you know about COPD in South West Scotland!

Here are some photos to show off what they were getting up to with Professor Lockhart!

Examining toxins in cigarettes, e-cigarettes and then nothing at all.

Ivy showing us all the mouse lungs – there was a good hand washing post input!

Danny very pleased with his breath test results!

Making lungs!!

Getting ready….

…and blow!

Book Festival Fun!

The boys and girls of Kirkcolm Primary were very lucky to once again have the opportunity this year to head across to the Wigtown Book Festival for the day!

On Friday the P1-4 pupils set off on their bus journey all the way down to Wigtown (after a quick pit stop to pick up our Leswalt partners!) to go hear an input from Andy Stanton who has published a variety of children’s books. The pupils got to listen to the author discuss their works and then take questions from pupils about their life and works.

Then come Monday, it was P5-7’s opportunity to head down to the book festival!. Once again with our Leswalt peers we departed to hear a talk from Gareth P. Jones who entertained us all with his unique songs about every single book he’s wrote and funny quips!

Overall, both classes had a fantastic time at the book festival and enjoyed the opportunity to experience Wigtown Book Town and all it has to offer. Already excited for the next one rolling around…

Here are a few photos from our visit;

A huge well done to Phoebe, Jack, Peyton and Danny who completed the Maths Week Scotland homework challenge to create a collage. What fabulous designs they produced to show that maths really is everywhere!

Just like that – our Maths Week fun has come to an end and big thanks go out to all the pupils, parents, class teachers and the fab organiser behind it all – Mrs McHarg!

To take you through this week’s highlights, on Monday we investigated maths in art! Mrs Wither’s class used different 2D shapes to create castles, while Miss McNicoll’s class played with parabolic curves on graphs and create some funky patterns to decorate the room.

On Tuesday we had a big day with maths and ICT, trying to get as ‘full STEM ahead’ as we could! Lower school used the Beebots and coding mouse to make letters using their programming skills while the upper school proved their computer whizz kid skills using a coding website called ‘Scratch’ to make letters – with great success!

Then on Wednesday, Mrs Wither’s class took advantage of the good weather and headed outside to discover maths outdoors, using what they could find in nature to count and create numbers and I’m sure you’ll agree from looking at the photos; they did a good job! Miss McNicoll’s class waited until later to go outside and do some number relays and games to incorporate maths into their exercise, successfully tiring out both the minds and the bodies!

Thursday was the highlight of the week because it gave us the chance to have everyone come together for a spot of baking! Parents came into school and joined us in making tasty treats; Miss Wither’s class produced some mouth-watering Rugby slice while Miss McNicoll’s older pupils got messy with melted chocolate to make rocky road slices. I can whole-heartedly confirm there was definitely more than one face smothered with a chocolate goatee!

And the week draws to a close on Friday where the lower school pupils went about their Big Maths business, hopefully smashing those CLIC tests and Beat That’s out of the park! Upper school took their turn venturing outside on a Maths Scavenger hunt devised by Mrs McHarg – thankfully the weather was kind to them.

A big, huge thank you to everyone who participated in Maths week from coming in for the baking to giving the homework challenge of ‘Maths is Everywhere’ a shot – It has been so greatly appreciated! We have all had an amazing time and look forward to seeing what the next year’s week of number fun brings! For now please have a flick through the photos to get an insight into how busy we have been.

The pupils at Kirkcolm were delighted to see some new additions to the outside playground toy store.  A huge box of playground toy equipment was recently delivered to school and Mrs Macpherson and the children has great fun seeing what was inside. 

Many thanks must go to Kirkcolm community council for the wind farm funding which has allowed the children to have this new equipment.

Welcome Back!

We have been so over the moon to see all the boys and girls walking back into Kirkcolm Primary School the first morning of school year looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

The well rested teachers were ready to welcome the children into their new school year and into their new classes.

The stars of the show were our brand new P1 pupils who have just had their couple of weeks in big school! We are over the moon to have Ivan, Phoebe, Alistair, Archie and Jane joining us.

If you have a quick peek below you can see all the fun our new P1’s were getting up to in their first couple of weeks at school and  how well they are all settling into Kirkcolm School life.

The children at Kirkcolm had a wonderful day visiting the STEM workshops offered at Dumfries House.  P1-3 visited Valentins Farm, P3-5 learned about science in nature and P6-7 created a vacuum cleaner using various components made and given.

Primary 1-3 Valentins Farm

P3-5 Science in Nature

P6-7 Create a Vacuum Cleaner

The North Rhins Partnership schools came together at Kirkcolm on Tuesday for a day of fun in the sun – and what a glorious day it was! After the boys and girls of Leswalt and Portpatrick arrived, Leswalt showcased their singing in preparation for the end of term ceremony.

After break time, we got our sun cream and hats on and headed down to the beach, where we all did our bit for the environment by participating in the Great Plastic Pick-up for Scotland. Pupils collected lots of plastic, string and metal from the beach to help keep it clean. This will help in all 3 schools’ bid to achieve their Eco-Schools Green flag. Kerry Monteith from Dumfries & Galloway Council kindly brought along litter pickers and organised for the bags of rubbish to be uplifted. Whilst at the beach, some pupils got creative and made some beach art using seaweed and stones, such as castles, mermaids and fish.

We then made our way back to Kirkcolm Primary for a picnic lunch outside in the sun to re-fuel in preparation for the Partnership sports afternoon to come.

At 12.30pm we started our Inter-Schools sports, with lots of parents and families from the 3 schools cheering everyone along. We had a variety of races including sprint, egg and spoon, sack, skipping, distance and relay. Throughout the afternoon, pupils enjoyed water and a selection of fruit which was kindly provided by Lidl, who sponsored our afternoon. In the middle of our races, we stopped to catch our breath and say goodbye to our janitor at Kirkcolm, Mr Dougie Brawls, who was retiring from his post. Mr Brawls has worked at Kirkcolm Primary for many years and was loved by all in the school community for his cheery good nature. He was presented with gifts from staff, pupils and the Parent Council to show our appreciation for all his hard-work over the years.

To finish off our fun-filled afternoon, we had a beach ball race between the 3 schools where pupils had to pass the ball over their head to the next person using their feet! After some very close competition throughout the afternoon, Kirkcolm Primary was victorious with a total of 283 points. All the boys and girls had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to mix with the pupils from the other schools.

The North Rhins Partnership schools came together at Kirkcolm on Tuesday for a day of fun in the sun – and what a glorious day it was! After the boys and girls of Leswalt and Portpatrick arrived, Leswalt showcased their singing in preparation for the end of term ceremony.

After break time, we got our sun cream and hats on and headed down to the beach, where we all did our bit for the environment by participating in the Great Plastic Pick-up for Scotland. Pupils collected lots of plastic, string and metal from the beach to help keep it clean. This will help in all 3 schools’ bid to achieve their Eco-Schools Green flag. Kerry Monteith from Dumfries & Galloway Council kindly brought along litter pickers and organised for the bags of rubbish to be uplifted. Whilst at the beach, some pupils got creative and made some beach art using seaweed and stones, such as castles, mermaids and fish.

We then made our way back to Kirkcolm Primary for a picnic lunch outside in the sun to re-fuel in preparation for the Partnership sports afternoon to come.

At 12.30pm we started our Inter-Schools sports, with lots of parents and families from the 3 schools cheering everyone along. We had a variety of races including sprint, egg and spoon, sack, skipping, distance and relay. Throughout the afternoon, pupils enjoyed water and a selection of fruit which was kindly provided by Lidl, who sponsored our afternoon. In the middle of our races, we stopped to catch our breath and say goodbye to our janitor at Kirkcolm, Mr Dougie Brawls, who was retiring from his post. Mr Brawls has worked at Kirkcolm Primary for many years and was loved by all in the school community for his cheery good nature. He was presented with gifts from staff, pupils and the Parent Council to show our appreciation for all his hard-work over the years.

To finish off our fun-filled afternoon, we had a beach ball race between the 3 schools where pupils had to pass the ball over their head to the next person using their feet! After some very close competition throughout the afternoon, Kirkcolm Primary was victorious with a total of 283 points. All the boys and girls had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to mix with the pupils from the other schools.

What a brilliant day of effort, motivation, personal bests and great team spirit among all the competitors at sports day yesterday.  Congratulations to all.  Please see below for the results of sports day as recorded:

KIRKCOLM PRIMARY SCHOOL – SPORTS DAY RESULTS – 18 JUNE 2018

FLAT RACE           1^st                                           2^nd                                          3rd

P1/2 Girls             Sally Drummond               Olivia Johnstone               Peyton Parker

P1/2 Boys            Jack Howie                          James Turtle                      Noah McGrory-Thomson

P3 Girls                 Miley Adams                      Emma Drummond           Olivia Turtle

P3 Boys                 Tylor Alexander                George Keith                        Luke Butler

P4/5 Girls             Ivy Richardson                 Grace Carrick-Buchanan   Ruth Turtle & Arla McCulloch =

P4/5 Boys            Danny Lyon                        Jak MacLeod                      Daniel Hall

P6/7 Girls             Michaela Lyon                   Katie Butler                        Izzy Keith

P6/7 Boys            Finlay Nelson                     Logan Speirs                       Robin McAulay

SKIPPING            1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

P1/2 Girls             Peyton Parker                   Sally Drummond               Olivia Johnstone

P1/2 Boys            James Turtle                      Noah McGrory-Thomson  Jack Howie

P3 Girls                 Emma Drummond           Izzy White                           Miley Adams

P3 Boys               Luke Butler                         Tylor Alexander                   George Keith

P4/5 Girls             Ivy Richardson               Grace Carrick-Buchanan    Ruth Turtle

P4/5 Boys            Danny Lyon                       Daniel Hall                          Jak MacLeod

P6/7 Girls             Michaela Lyon                 Sophie Miller                     Ellie Miller

P6/7 Boys            Logan Speirs                      Cody McCrae                     Jack Barrett

SACK                     1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

P1/2 Girls             Sally Drummond               Olivia Johnstone               Peyton Parker

P1/2 Boys            Alfie Caldwell                     Noah McGrory-Thomson  Daniel Dougan

P3 Girls                 Miley Adams                      Emma Drummond           Izzy White

P3 Boys                 Tylor Alexander                George Keith                     Luke Butler

P4/5 Girls             Grace Carrick-Buchanan  Ruth Turtle                       Ivy Richardson

P4/5 Boys            Danny Lyon                        Jak MacLeod                      Zack Ashton

P6/7 Girls            Izzy Keith                             Iona Wallace                      Katie Butler

P6/7 Boys            Robin McAulay                  Finlay Nelson                     Davey Walker

EGG & SPOON  1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

P1/2 Girls             Peyton Parker                   Olivia Johnstone               Sally Drummond

P1/2 Boys            James Turtle                      Noah McGrory-Thomson  Daniel Dougan

P3 Girls                 Emma Drummond           Alba White                          Miley Adams

P3 Boys                Luke Butler                         George Keith                     Tylor Alexander

P4/5 Girls             Arla McCulloch                  Ruth Turtle                         Abbi Johnstone

P4/5 Boys            Danny Lyon                        Daniel Hall                           Jak MacLeod

P6/7 Girls             Mackenzie Adams           Ellie Miller                           Katie Butler

P6/7 Boys            Davey Walker                    Guy Butler                          Cody McCrae

THROWING        1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

P1/2 Girls             Peyton Parker                   Olivia Johnstone               Sally Drummond

P1/2 Boys            James Turtle                      Jack Howie                          Noah McGrory-Thomson

P3 Girls                 Olivia Turtle                        Amy Ferguson                   Izzy White

P3 Boys                 George Keith                     Luke Butler                         Alexander MacPherson

P4/5 Girls        Grace Carrick-Buchanan         Abbi Johnstone              Ivy Richardson

P4/5 Boys            Daniel Hall                           Scott Thomson                  Jak MacLeod

P6/7 Girls             Mackenzie Adams           Katie Butler                        Michaela Lyon

P6/7 Boys            Robin McAulay                  Davey Walker                    Cody McCrae

OBSTACLE           1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

P1/2 Girls             Sally Drummond               Peyton Parker                   Olivia Johnstone

P1/2 Boys            Danny Dougan                  James Turtle                      Noah McGrory-Thomson AND

Jack Howie =

P3 Girls                 Olivia Turtle                        Alba White                          Emma Drummond

P3 Boys                 Tylor Alexander                 Luke Butler                         George Keith

P4/5 Girls             Ivy Richardson                   Ruth Turtle                         Arla McCulloch

P4/5 Boys            Jak MacLeod                      Danny Lyon                         Daniel Hall

P6/7 Girls             Ellie Miller                          Michaela Lyon                    Mackenzie Adams

P6/7 Boys            Robin McAulay                   Guy Butler                            Logan Speirs

DISTANCE            1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

P1/2 Girls             Olivia Johnstone               Sally Drummond               Peyton Parker

P1/2 Boys            James Turtle                      Noah McGrory-Thomson  Jack Howie

P3 Girls                 Miley Adams                      Olivia Turtle                        Izzy White

P3 Boys                Tylor Alexander                   George Keith                     Luke Butler

P4/5 Girls             Grace Carrick-Buchanan  Arla McCulloch                Ruth Rutle

P4/5 Boys            Danny Lyon                        Jak MacLeod                      Daniel Hall

P6/7 Girls             Michaela Lyon                   Katie Butler                        Izzy Keith

P6/7 Boys            Finlay Nelson                     Robin McAulay                  Logan Speirs

OVERHEAD

1^st = Loch Connell

2^nd = Corsewall

GIRLS RELAY

1^st = Loch Connell

2^nd= Corsewall

BOYS RELAY

1^st = Corsewall

2^nd = Loch Connell

MUMS EGG & SPOON

1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

Jemima Johnstone          Iona McFarlane                 Caroline Keith

DADS EGG & SPOON

1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

Kevin Dougan                    Gordon Keith                     John Kelly

PRE-SCHOOL

1^st                                           2^nd                                          3^rd

Lyle McCulloch                  Ivan Turtle                          Archie Ashton