"Anchored in Excellence"
The incoming P1 pupils have joined us this week for transition days. The children have enjoyed getting to know their classmates, teachers and staff. All of the older pupils have loved making a fuss of the ‘cute’ wee ones. Hollie and Carter joined Class 1 today for lunch and agreed that Barbara’s dinners are delicious. 🙂
# New Successful Learners
Portpatrick Primary received a special invitation to visit Lactalis today to learn about the process of cheese making in our local creamery. We believe we have had the singular honour of being the first ever school trip on their premises.
We were greeted by Hayley, from Training and Development, and Kenny, a Shift Manager. The whole school watched videos to learn about the history of Lactalis and the wide range of dairy products they make to distribute around the world. We learned about how the process of cheese making has changed over time from the earlier days of manual production to the automated systems that are in place today. There was an impressive array of brands produced on site; many of which the children were familiar with. We were surprised at the length of time it takes the different cheese varieties to mature.
The school split into two rotation groups. One activity went to the viewing gallery to observe the cheese packing production in operation. It was fascinating looking at the complex automated machinery move, slice and package the different cheeses. We could clearly see the food hygiene practices that were used in the factory to maintain cleanliness. Kenny was very patient, answering all our questions in detail.
The second activity was a cheese tasting session with Hayley. Just like the official cheese graders, we had to use the senses of sight, touch, taste and smell to assess cheeses. We enjoyed the tasting part in particular! We had to decide whether cheese A and cheese B were of a medium or extra mature strength. Using the knowledge we had gained in our earlier session, we were able to classify the samples correctly.
The children found the experience fascinating and now have a greater understanding of how technology is used in industry to make our everyday household food products.
#Successful Learners
Primary 4-7 participated in a national SSERC Glow Science Meet online hosted by Thornhill Primary School. The theme of the investigation was to use our technologies skills to construct an ‘O’ ring glider. Along with other schools participating, we followed the video link instructions on how to construct our glider.
The activity then extended to consider a fair scientific investigation. We asked ourselves the following question: How can the shape of the flights on an ‘O’ ring glider affect the distance the glider travels?
The children were challenged to consider how to make this a fair test. They were very thorough and identified the following criteria:
The only thing we decided to change was to alter the ‘O’ ring flight shape to a square ‘box’ shape.
The children constructed both prototypes and predicted which design would travel the farthest. We had fun testing them in our playground. After repeating our test, to ensure a clear trend, our conclusion was that the cylindrical shapes travelled a little farther. We think this is because this was a more aerodynamic, streamlined shape.
We applied maths to measure the strips and to measure the distance of the longest flight for each trial.
It proved a very informative challenge.
# Successful learners
The whole school set off bright and early for a great day at Culzean Castle on Friday.
Primary 1-3 were Castle Explorers where they used activities and games to investigate the castle to look for different types of evidence to help them find out about the past. They were then set the challenge of how to build their own castle. They had to discover the challenges that Robert Adam overcame to build this amazing structure. They had to use their technologies and engineering skills to build their own oval staircase.
Primary 4-7 went on a woodland discovery trail with a biodiversity focus. They were presented with a series of ecological problems and had to use their creativity to identify possible solutions that could be implemented. The children used a branching key for leaves to identify the different types of source trees in the area and then consider the types of wildlife each tree would sustain. They discussed how indigenous trees should be cultivated to improve habitat.
The pupils were also presented with the problems that arise when non-native species of plants and animals have been introduced. They explored the negative impact this has had on native wildlife such as is the case with the rhododendron, the grey vs. red squirrels and the overpopulation of red deer in Scotland. Who knew that honey made from rhododendron flowers is poisonous! The proposed reintroduction of wolves to control deer numbers was a hotly debated issue amongst the group.
After the morning sessions, the children got to explore the grounds and beach areas with time for the obligatory visit to the gift shop before returning home.
# Successful Learners
The partnership football team of Leswalt/Portpatrick lifted their second trophy in 2 weeks today, after winning the Sandhead fun day football tournament. The weather may not have been as glorious as the previous week at Castle Kennedy, but this did not deter the spirit of the team (Rowan, Cameron, Ethan, Millie, Finlay, Rhian and Lachlan.)
The boys and girls never lost a game and made it to the final against Glenluce Primary. After a nil;nil draw at full time it went to penalties to decide the winner. And after a tense shoot out and some great goalkeeping from Lachlan our partnership team were victorious!
Many thanks must go to Ewan Dodds, the coach and all the parents who have supported and transported the team to all the games this term.
After previously completing their Level 1 Bikeability training, P4-7 concluded their Level 2 training today. Under the guidance of instructor, Mr Ross, the children undertook a series of road safety challenges out and about in Portpatrick village.
The children were assessed under a number of criteria ranging from controlled braking to manouvering onto minor and major roads. They were also presented with theory questions based on road priorities and road signage to develop their competency and knowledge. All of the challenges were designed to enable our cyclists to safely cope with common road and traffic situations involving decision making. The children demonstrated a responsible attitude to road use and successfully passed the training.
Our thanks go to Mr Ross for volunteering his time and skills.
#Responsible Citizens – Successful Learners
Class 2 participated in the national Grow Your Own Potatoes initiative to produce our own food in an environmentally friendly way. We had to plant two varieties of potatoes, care for them and then weigh the yield we had today. We had 600g (rounded) of Rocket variety and 300g (rounded) of Regional variety. The Rocket was the most successful crop. Our food was grown in a very environmentally friendly way. We used no fertilisers or pesticides and our crop had a zero carbon footprint as there was no food journey involved in its production.
As part of eating foods in a range of social situations, we cleaned and boiled our potatoes and enjoyed munching on them with a just a little bit of butter on them. They were delicious!
#Successful learners
Portpatrick football team joined forces with Leswalt Primary this weekend at Castle Kennedy Primary’s Fun Day on Saturday.
The final game saw them playing the hosts in a thrilling match which ended in victory with Euan McCredie’s winning penalty shot! As always the team were a credit to the school. Well done to Ethan, Finlay McMillan, Alistair, Euan, Eva, Millie, Cameron and Rowan and Rhian from Portpatrick.
#Effective Contributors
Friends and family turned out in force to cheer on the boys and girls at this year’s school sports day. The challenges for the children were wide ranging, including:
Parents and family were keen to participate too, taking part in a very competitive ‘grown ups’ obstacle course. The pupils demonstrated great attitudes with good sportsman ship abounding. The children showed perseverance and motivation in all of their races. Everyone participated with a smile and we are proud of them all.
# Effective Contributors
Primary 1-3 have been learning about ‘all things castles’ this term. To bring this topic to life for the children, Catherine, from History Alive, came to school today to deliver a hands-on workshop.
The boys and girls were treated to gruesome tales of battle and learned about how castles were built as fortresses to protect the occupants. The children had the opportunity to dress up in medieval costumes and try out some replica weapons for themselves. We all agreed they look a fearsome army of warriors.
#Successful Learners
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