Author: Ms Whorlow

Primary 7 pupils from across the Stranraer area came together for a curling bonspiel today.

There were two section games running concurrently :

• Rephad 1 vs Belmont
• Sheuchan vs Park 2

and

• Sandhead vs Park 1
• Portpatrick vs Rephad 2
• Leswalt vs Kirkcolm

The results were as follows:

• 1st – Rephad
• 2nd – Kirkcolm
• 3rd – Sheuchan

There was teamwork, sportsmanship and determination evident from all and  a great time was had by everyone.  Well done to all the competitors.

Thank you to the North West Castle for hosting and organising the event and for providing a delicious lunch for the competitors.  Thank you also to Mrs Ross for escorting our curlers.

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By kind invitation of Steve, P5 – 7 visited the Stoneykirk Aviation Musuem.  The learning experience fits with our Social Studies topic of World War II, as chosen by the children.

Steve led a guided tour around his very well equipped museum.  He took us round his exhibits, showing how technology has evolved since the early war years to the time of Concorde.   The children were able to handle genuine artefacts such as ration books, identity cards and bullets. As part of our tour, we learned of the significant role Wigtownshire played in the war effort.

The highlight of our experience was the impressive hanger with cockpits of planes dating from WWII onwards.  Steve has lovingly restored these by hand.  We saw the De Havilland plane made from wood, nicknamed the wooden wonder, when metal was so scarce during the war.

The boys and girls had so much fun climbing into the cockpits of the planes and getting a wee taste of what it was like for the pilots of these impressive machines.

Thank you so much to Steve for allowing us this opportunity.

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Just a wee bit early, Portpatrick Primary kicked off British Science Week 2023 with a bang today.  We opened our doors to our families to offer a science carousel event.  We were joined by Karen Creighton of DG STEM. A Dumfries and Galloway cameraman was also in attendance, filming the event to share across our region as an example of good practice in STEM.

Our older pupils took on leadership roles as facilitators at each station, guiding the activities with the classmates.  There were also instructional QR code links to help reinforce the learning points for each activity.

 

 

 

 

Our Activity Stations

Have a look at the fun we had in our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) learning:

British Science Week 2023

This year’s British Science Week’s theme is all about making connections. Innovations in science, technology, engineering and maths are the foundation of this. Kirkcolm, Leswalt and Portpa…

Go to this Sway

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Our P5 – 7 STEM Gurus were at it again today.  This time we participated in a national Code Along linking with 21 other schools across Scotland.  The theme of this experiential learning activity was Networks and radio communication with Micro:Bits.

We selected coding blocks to allow our Micro:bits to communicate in pairs via radio signals.  We also introduced IF, THEN and ELSE controls into our coding blocks to create dicated option responses. dependent on these pairing.

 

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As part of Cyber Scotland Week P5 – 7 participated in a cyber safety webinar with George Milleken of Education Scotland and Poppy from Techshecan.

We learned what cyber risks are and talked about the kind of information we should keep private.  We know now never to click on a link or share information unless we check with an adult first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As part of Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), we explored future careers in Cyber Safety:

 

Poppy shared ways that cyber security keeps us safe online e.g.:

• 2-step verification
• Biometrics with facial and thumbprint scanning
• Encryption
• Anti-virus software

We then watched a video to learn more:

 

Tech for Katie and Tex explore cyber security (techshecan.org)

You can explore more on cyber safety using this game based website here:

– Cyber Games UK

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Monday saw the culmination of an eight week Soundtrap project where our P5-7 digital savvy pupils have been creating their own music.

Our boys and girls have been selecting instruments, layering tracks, inserting loops, choosing beats and tempos AND editing & refining to produce a quality music soundtrack.  The children worked both in pairs and in groups, developing their meta skills and the skills for life, learning and work.

 

This has been a fabulous opportunity for the children to develop their digital literacy by accessing innovative software.

 

 

Why not head over to the Spotify webpage to have a listen to the wonderfully creative work our super smart kiddos have produced!

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We can’t thank Mr Dinning enough for everything he has done with us over this past 4 weeks. We will certainly ensure to make as much use of these free accounts as we can and keep your eyes (and ears) peeled for our sessions making their way onto Spotify!

As part of learning about World War Two for our Social Studies topic, we were joined by William and Barbara’s grandson, Charlie today.  The gents came along to share their knowledge on WWII in our local area.

William has published WWII themed two books on the subject.  He brought along copies to share with the children.  He patiently took questions from the class and shared his knowledge on a wide range of subjects such as German bombing of Belfast and Glasgow, Loch Ryan in the War and our area being used to train pilots from around the world.

The children had some personal interview time with William, finding out more information to fit with their chosen WWII projects.

Charlie directed us to Scarlet Visuals.  The Youtube channel provides access to a number of WWII videos highlighting our local area’s role during WWII.  We watched World War II History: On The Shores of Loch Ryan as William provided additional relevant commentary on the content too.

Thank you to William, Barbara and Charlie for support our project research today!

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Mrs Hall from DG STEM team joined us today for a Sphero workshop.  Sphero is a programmable robotic coding toy that allows children to explore coding using direction and angles.  The device is capable of rolling around under the control of a smartphone or tablet.

The children connected their Sphero to their IPad using a bluetooth connection.  We then used the controls to select a different colour for each Sphero L.E.D. display to allow us to differentiate each group’s devices.  We then learned about the speed, steering wheel and aim controls.

The class took turns on steering their Sphero robots through ‘bridges’ (our legs).  Computational thinking was required to consider direction, angle and speed to achieve a score point.

We then moved on to more complex challenges of controlling Sphero to approach a wall as close as possible without contact.  We got as close as a gap just the width of a sheet of paper.

Our next challenge was to traverse a square pattern using angles and direction, moving on to include changing colour coding blocks.  Through debugging, we found that including a delay at each corner point created a smoother transition and avoided ‘roll on’.

It was a really fabulous session with lots of purposeful discussion and learning.  Thank you to Mrs Hall for leading the workshop!

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As part of Safer Internet Day 2023, P5 – 7 received a visit from P.C. Conroy today.  She came along to help us keep safe online by offering advice and guidance.

She asked what age the boys and girls got their first mobile phone and this ranged from aged 6 to 10.  P.C. Conroy enquired about our usage of online apps such as TikTok and Snapchat, which most children said they have access to.  She advised that the recommended minimum age for many social media platforms is usually 13.  She highlighted that most parents are vigilant in monitoring their child’s online activity to ensure that their child is safe.

P.C. Conroy covered aspects such as:

• Not sharing personal information online
• Only accept friend request from people you know
• Report any upsetting or inappropriate content you encounter
• Behave responsibily and kindly – treat online conversations respectful
• Enjoy the internet, but make sure you keep yourself safe.
• You  can always talk to an adult if you have any worries or concerns.

We watched an interesting video that shared how amazing the internet can be.  It advised us all to share with care and be mindful of protecting unplugged time using screen time limits to keep us healthy and engaged IRL.  We went through social story scenarios helping us to make appropriate decisions in online chat.

 

Next on the agenda were the activities planned by our digital leaders, Cameron & Max.  P5 – 7 undertook an internet safety quiz where children responded with appropriate actions to a range of online situations.  This was followed by their playing Interland which  puts the key lessons of digital safety into hands-on practice with four challenging games.  The boys and girls really enjoyed the gaming aspect of this learning resource. They can continue to play it at home online or via their Glow account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our younger pupils have the opportunity to engage with the age appropriate BBC Bitesize Internet Safety resource:

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to find out more about helping your child stay safe online and recommended ages for common apps, please click here to access information from the NSPCC website.

Check out our Sway (then click play) to see the activity across our partnership.

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Kathryn and Steven Purchase from History Alive joined us today for an interactive workshop on World War 2.  History Alive educate & entertain with the aim of stirring the children’s imagination and stimulating a lasting interest in historic topics.

Kathryn took P5 – 7 through an immersive experience on how WWII affected the lives of everyone from 1939 to 1945.  The session was delivered with sensitivity at an age appropriate level.

We were taken on a journey through many aspects of WWII:

• Legacy of WWI & Timeline of events leading to WWII
• Allies and Axis
• WWII Preparations, Gas maks, Blackout strategies – enforcing wardens, light blocking curtains, and using glow in the dark paint on bollards, lampposts and even horses and cows!
• The Blitz  – Shelters and Blitz spirit
• Evacuation – linking with helping Ukrainians refugees today
• Conscription, Reserved Occupations and Volunteer roles
• Propaganda & slogans – Messages the Government wanted to give
• Rationing & Identify Cards – why it was needed and how it operated (linked with similarities during  lockdown)
• Make Do & Mend – Recycling, sharing and reusing
• Entertainment & culture – Americans Over Here
• Men & Women in WWII – Armed Forces, Land Girls and the Home Front
• Invasions and Battles  – Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo), Operation Sealion
• Winston Churchill – His strategies and his famous speeches
• The Geneva Convention protecting people’s rights
• Our local area and WWII – Local anti-aircraft guns at Cairnryan, practice bombing ranges etc.
• Demob life – Rebuilding, the changed role of women in society, the benefit system & the creation of the NHS

We listened to a broadcast made by Neville Chamberlin declaring war.at 11am on the 3^rd of September 1939. 20 minutes after Chamberlin spoke, an air raid siren sounded, testing the systems. Kathryn linked the learning to the Covid Lockdown to allow children to make personal connections on how restrictions affected daily life.

Men aged between 18 and 40 were called up to fight or work in the coal mines to keep Britain’s homes and factories fuelled.  Others had skills that were needed at home which were called reserved occupations.

On 7th September 1940, the Luftwaffe (the German airforce), began their Blitzrieg bombing London and other cities in the UK including Scotland. The bombings came night after night and thousands of people lost their lives.

The children were stunned by the quantities of cheese and eggs and other foodstuffs per person during rationing, particularly the 85 grams of sweets per week!.  They said they feel very lucky with the choice and quantities we enjoy today! It was good to hear that every child was given a hot school dinner each day that wasn’t rationed.  This was a great way to help ensure that no child went hungry.

After our very interesting information session, the children had the opportunity to explore the vast array of WWII artefacts and get ‘hands-on’. The boys and girls were so engrossed and were fascinated with all the memorabilia.

Lacey – “Today was great as we got to learn more things about WWII that we didn’t know.”

Katie – “It was so much fun and I loved being able to dress up and look at all the artefacts.”

Lewis – “I find all of this kind of thing really interesting and it will help me with my personal project on Loch Ryan in WWII.”

Atticus – “It was really fun as we could see what it was like back then and compare it to today. It was very different.  It reminds me of Covid lockdown in some ways.”

It was yet another truly fabulous workshop from Kathryn and Steven.

Thank you!

Thank

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