Portpatrick Primary

On Monday 11th March, P1-4 joined a group of P7s to go to the North West Castle for the curling Bonspiel. We watched the older pupils from the cluster participate in the bonspiel. We have just completed a block of indoor curling for our PE and the class were very excited to see a curling rink and the equipment used on the ice. We had lots of discussions about what was happening and the differences between our indoor Kurling skates and the curling stones used on the ice. It was also interesting to find out how the targets and colours are made on the rink.

After watching some of the curling we took a short break to get a snack and explore the Garden of Friendship before jumping back on the bus and heading to the Ryan Centre for a play in Ryan’s Den!

The boys and girl had a fabulous time in the soft play area and enjoyed a little crisp buffet before returning to school for a classroom picnic!

All in all we had a fabulous morning at the North West Castle and the Ryan Centre. Many thanks to Mrs Henry for organising everything, Mrs Ross for accompanying us and to Wigtownshire Community Transport for getting us where we needed to be!

UNCRC Rights of the Child – Article 31 Rest, Play, Culture and Arts.

SHANARRI – Active, Included.

P7 pupils, Lewis, Scott, Max and Tilly, went along to the North West Castle Hotel for a inter-school end of season bonspiel today. The event was well attended by primary schools from across the cluster.

There was a great chance for meeting up for our P7 friends from across the partnership and to mingle with pupils from across the area.

The children first played Park 1. The result was

They did very well with a score of 1-6 against still competition. They won 2 – 1. They then played Drummore.

There was time for more mingling at lunch when we were seated with our opponents from round one to enjoy sandwiches, crisps, juice and a wee chocolate treat.

Portpatrick performed so well that they made it through the next stage and were paired against Leswalt. We are pleased to say that Team Port came 5th in the overall bonspeil results.

Our thanks to the staff at the North West Castle for a great day and to Mrs Ross for escorting our team to the event.

UNCRC Rights of the Child- Article 15: Setting up and Joining Groups

SHANARRI – Included

On Friday, Reverend Breakey came in to Portpatrick to make some Easter crafts with the children. They learned a range of sewing and technology skills and everyone was successfully able to make a miniature fabric bunny. These bunnies will be excellent for keeping the Creme eggs safe from any hungry parents!

Thank you very much to Reverend Elizabeth Breakey as well as Jean Ross and Avril Adams who supported the children with their stitching skills.

The children loved creating their egg holders and it was great for our learners to show their responsibility through community links.

UNCRC – Rights of the Children

Article 14 – Freedom of thought and Religion and Article 29 – Aims of Education

SHANARRI – Nurtured and Included

The whole school had a great yesterday for World Book Day. We did a ‘Secret Book Swap’ (a similar idea to Secret Santa), which the children loved. The children had books chosen by other peers which they would like… It really shows how well the children know each other!

We did a book chat, where children swapped partners (similar to a speed dating type idea), and told their partners about their favourite books, characters and plots. It was very interesting listening in to some of the conversations! We had a range of favourite books from Percy Jackson to Spiderman, from Goosebumps to Matilda and Diary of a Wimpy Kid to Wings of Fire. There is plenty of enthusiasm from children at our school for reading.

We finished off the afternoon with a paired read where the younger class would read to the older class. We enjoyed the paired read with some chocolate and cocoa (which was Fairtrade – linking with Fairtrade fortnight.)

UNCRC Right of the Child –

Article 12 – Respect for Children’s Views, Article 17 – Access to Information.

SHANARRI – Nurtured, Respected and Included.

Why not enjoy reading together with £1 books from W.H. Smiths!

We are happy to share our refreshed Vision, Values and Aims now that our partnership school community surveys are completed. These are shaped by the good work of Mrs McHarg previously.

Our pupils, staff and parents have told us what is important to you for your child’s experiences and learning at school.

Please click here, or on the link below, and press play take a look at the results.

West Rhins Partnership

We have sought the views of our parents, staff and pupils to refresh our Vision, Values and Aims.

Go to this Sway

UNCRC Rights of the Child – Article 12 Respect for Children’s Views

SHANARRI – Included

Cameron and Harry represented Portpatrick at a celebratory Burns night for songs and recitals. This was held at the Ryan Centre on Wednesday 6th March.

Both boys gave excellent performances in a night where the standard was very high. Harry and Cameron both did the school very proud and showed great courage and confidence to perform in front of so many people.

They both showed ‘Walter Wellbeing’ as part of our partnership’s Vision, Values and Aims. Well done boys!

UNCRC Rights of the Child –

Article 3 – Best interests of the child. Article 31 – Rest, Play, Culture, Arts.

SHANARRI – Achieving, Responsible, Included.

The Primary 4 boys and girl completed their three week block of swimming today at the Ryan Centre. We are so proud of this little group as they all managed to build their confidence in the water and have all made progress with their swimming abilities. They were all Percy Perseverance’s and managed to get their feet off the floor and kicking to make it to the other side of the pool. Not only have they had a fabulous time, accompanied by Mrs Ross, but they have been brilliant ambassadors for our school.

A huge thank you to Mrs Ross for accompanying P4 to and from swimming and to Wigtownshire Community transport for getting us there and back safely.

UNCRC Rights of the Child – Article 6 Life, Survival and Development, Article 24 Health, Water, Food and Environment.

SHANARRI – Healthy, Active, Achieving, and Responsible.

Primary 7 pupils from Portpatrick and St. Joseph’s R.C. schools travelled together to the Academy for a transition event today.

The pupils had the opportunity to make new friendships to support them as they prepare for the next stage of their education. They were able to meet Academy staff, become more familiar with the new setting and chat about what to expect as they move on after the summer.

There will be more transition events to look forward to.

UNCRC Rights of the Child – Article 29 Aims of Education, Article 15 – Joining Groups

SHANARRI – Included

Our responsible senior pupils are busy preparing and organising activitiesfor upcoming events.

Pupil Council & House Captains

Tilly and Freya (Libary Monitors) and Lewis and Atticus (House Captains) are working together to plan for World Book Day which is on Thursday 7th of March. The children have decided to offer pupils the opportunity to either come dressed as a book character or non-uniform for the day. They decided that pupils should have a choice so no-one felt they had to spend money to have an outfit if they didn’t want to. Our responsible leaders are also organising a mystery book activity to promote reading for pleasure. Watch this space!

STEM Leaders

We will be celebrating British Science Week on the 11th of March. Conor and Louise are organising resources and activties for our planned open afternoon. They are setting up for different experiment stations. Families will be invited in to join us for an afternoon of STEM activities on Tuesday 12th of March at 2pm.

Digital Leaders

Cameron and Scott are planning to hold a pupil training session to help pupils become more confident in logging on to the computer with secure passwords. They will also be helping their classmates log in to their Glow account and send an email. They are busy writing instructions that can be used to help us.

Eco Committee

Lacey and Rebecca are gathering cardboard ready for Mrs Dampney’s visit soon. She has asked that we recycle cardboard that we will soak and place around the roots of our fruit orchard to help keep a store of moisture to keep our fruit trees healthy and well hydrated.

UNCRC Rights of the Child – Article 29: Aims of Education

SHANARRI – Achieving, Responsible & Included