Portpatrick Primary

The whole school participated in an Eco-based science lesson to construct bug hotels using a range of natural materials to create a natural habitat.

The children were required to follow and process verbal and written instructions to produce a hotel fit for bug royalty.  They were challenged to make and implement design selections from two options.

Everyone used the soft skills of cooperation, negotiation and sharing to complete the task.  The hotels were positioned throughout our grounds and even had a ready made food source of a sugar lump treat for the new residents.

#Responsible Citizens

 

P1 -3 had a sensory journey around our outdoor area.  P1 were looking for objects of different colours and materials.  P2-3 were using their 5 senses to locate a variety of objects

P4-7 used their engineering skills to combine and construct a  ‘Des Res’ for a mini resident.  They used natural materials to build a free standing structure with a door way, walls and roof for their little owners.

The children then used their persuasive writing techniques to market their home through an estate agent ‘For Sale’ advert.

#Successful Learners

The whole school took to the outdoors for a glorious start to National Outdoor Learning Day.

P1 – 3 applied measure through the science of plant care today.  They measured and recorded the growth of cress, previously planted, in their cress diaries. Later that day, they also applied measure to fitting sticks into their bug hotels.

P4 were foraging for what they could find in our playground.  They sorted their collected objects into frequency tables and produced a bar graph of their results to find the most common objects.

P5/6 used a method to measure the height of trees and plotted their data on a bar graph, applying features.

P6/7 measured the height and girth of our trees and plotted a line graph to identify the correlation between the two factors.  They determined that the taller the tree, the wider the girth of it’s trunk.

#Successful Learners

P4-7 have donned their movie maker caps to produce a short film on William Wallace.  This is part of a Dumfries and Galloway collaborative video challenge, and also fits perfectly with developing the children’s digital technology skills.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the Wallace Monument, and the introduction to heroines to the Hall of Heroes for the first time, schools across the region have been invited to make a 60 second video on our Scottish heroes.  We were quick to grab William Wallace from the list of famous people from our history, having learned about his life in the past.

The children self-managed presenting, videoing, lighting and editing our video.  The design of the film is through personal selection and choice. We did have credits, but had to remove them for splicing with other school’s contributions.

We are proud of the finished product and have already been told it will be showcased across the STEM yammer group to promote and encourage participation in this worthy activity.

#Successful Learners & Effective Contributors

We would like to say a big ‘thank you!’ to all of our pupils and families who participated in the annual Kirkcolm sponsored walk on Saturday.  All funds raised by Portpatrick pupils will go directly to our school.

There were many smiles and determined faces as everyone made their way around the 7 mile route to completion.  Our thanks also go to the many people who supported the event through marshalling, offering refreshments and encouragement etc.  Well done to Isabella who was the first Portpatrick pupil to complete all 7 miles!

#Effective Contributors

 

 

As part of Digital Learning Week, we have been sharing and developing our digital technology skills in our ICT Lunch Time Club. The sessions have been organised and supported by both our digital leaders and by those who wished to share their abilities.

All of the activities have been well attended and the pupils have cooperated, supported and shared wonderfully well.

Throughout the week our pupils have engaged in the following:

• Dance Mat Typing – developing keyboard skills
• Coding – developing programming skills
• Digital Photography
• Webcams
• Animation
• Green screen and movie making
• Symmetry software

#Successful Learners & Effective Contributors

P4-7 received specialist Green Screen and movie making input from Miss Karen Creighton today.  She is one of our very skilled D & G RAISE team members (Raising Aspirations in Science and Technology).

The pupils were guided through green screen technology.  We then used Serif Movie Plus to overlay and edit our green screen images over volcanoes from around the world.  The children applied sequencing, ‘chroma-key’ functions and credits etc. to inform and entertain with their animated videos.  We are using digital skills in creative ways to enhance our learning across the curriculum.

#Successful Learners

P5 -7 participated in the cluster’s annual cross country event at Green Valley today.  The children gave it their all to run either a full mile or half a mile over soft ground.  They also took part in a series of relay races of mixed ages.  Everyone demonstrated resilience and determination by completing their individual and team challenges with ‘puffed out’ smiles 🙂

Our digital leaders captured action using a digital camera.

#Effective Contributors

Our partnership schools are always pleased to celebrate the achievements of our pupils in developing their digital skills for learning and life.

P4-7 at Portpatrick have been working hard to learn about creating and using digital images;  saving and retrieving them for a purpose.  The children have also been sharing their knowledge using software such as Movie Maker.  We are a sharing team!

#Successful Learners

 

The children have use the skills that they have learned from their amazing trip to Logan Botanic Garden to take magnificent photos of their favourite part of nature in the school playground and also at Logan Botanic Garden.

I’m sure you will agree that there are some very pleasing images achieved using Digital Technology

 

Written by Findlay Thorburn P6 – Digital Leader