On Thursday 6th November, our P5–7 pupils set off on an exciting adventure to the Glasgow Science Centre for a full day of hands-on learning and fun! They were joined by their Partnership friends from St. Joseph’s RC. Primary.🚌✨

When we arrived, we were amazed by the Science Mall – three floors of fascinating exhibits and experiments waiting to be explored. Pupils investigated everything from forces and motion to sound, light, and space, all while discovering how science connects with our everyday world. 💡

Some highlights from our day included:

• BodyWorks, where we learned how the human body works, tested our reaction times, and explored our incredible senses.
• Powering the Future, where we discovered how energy is created and how we can build a more sustainable world.
• A Question of Perception, where optical illusions and light experiments tested our brains and eyes!
• Outer Space (Space Zone), where we journeyed through the Solar System and imagined life as astronauts.

We also had time to explore the outdoor exhibits and enjoy lunch together.

To end the day, we relaxed in the IMAX Theatre to watch an awe-inspiring Space film, learning about rockets, astronauts, and the future of space travel. 🌌🪐 The enormous screen made us feel as though we were soaring through the stars!

Everyone had an amazing day, full of curiosity, laughter, and learning. It was a brilliant experience that brought our classroom science to life and inspired many of us to think like scientists of the future! 🔭💫

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the trip possible — it was a fabulous day of teamwork, discovery, and fun! 💛

🌍 UNCRC Link

Article 29: Education should help children develop their talents and abilities to the full.

🌱 Sustainable Development Goal

SDG 4: Quality Education – providing opportunities for all learners to grow through meaningful experiences.

💚 SHANARRI Indicator

Achieving: Pupils deepened their understanding of scientific ideas through interactive exploration.

💡 Meta-skill

Collaborating: We worked together to explore, question, and share discoveries.

🌟 The Four Capacities

Successful Learners: Investigating, experimenting, and asking thoughtful questions throughout our visit

Today, our school community came together to mark Remembrance Day with respect and reflection. We were joined in school by Reverend Breakey and guest Major Orr-Ewing, who helped lead a thoughtful and meaningful service. Community members joined us for the service.

Our senior pupils read poignant poems which encouraged everyone to think about the courage and sacrifice of those who have served, and those who continue to serve today. The whole school observed a two-minute silence, holding the moment with great maturity and understanding.

Although the rain prevented us from gathering outdoors as planned, our pupils adapted calmly and respectfully to holding the service inside. Later in the day, a remembrance wreath, carefully created by our pupils, was laid at the village war memorial on behalf of our school.

We are very proud of how responsibly and thoughtfully our pupils took part in this important occasion.

Links to Learning and Wellbeing:

• UNCRC Article 15: Pupils exercised their right to come together in a respectful group to mark an important event.
• SHANARRI (Responsible): Pupils demonstrated responsibility through their behaviour, participation, and reflection.
• Four Capacities (Responsible Citizens): Pupils showed understanding of history, values and remembrance, contributing to our community with respect.
• Metaskills (Adaptability): Pupils adjusted calmly and sensibly when our plans changed due to the weather, showing confidence and flexibility.

We are delighted to share a photo of our West Rhins Partnership football team, proudly wearing their new team strips, kindly funded by the Portpatrick Community Development Trust.

The children from St. Joseph’s R.C. Primary and Portpatrick Primary were thrilled to receive their smart new kits — especially as the strip design was chosen by the pupils themselves! The design brings together colours from both schools, symbolising teamwork and partnership across our community.

Our team will represent both schools in inter-school matches, and we hope the new strip will spur on motivation and a real sense of pride as they play together and show great sportsmanship.

In the photo, the children are joined by Trustees Ian and Linda, who presented the strips on behalf of the Trust. We are incredibly grateful for their generosity and continued support of our schools and local community.

A huge thank you to the Portpatrick Community Development Trust for helping our young sports stars look and feel like a real team! 🌟

🌱 Learning Links

• UNCRC – Pupils had a say in the design.
• Metaskills – Teamwork and creativity.
• SHANARRI – Being active and included.
• SDGs – Health and partnerships.
• Four Capacities – Responsible citizens and contributor

What a brilliant day we had with our friends from St Joseph’s Primary 1–4! Miss Scott, Mrs Copeland, Miss Stevenson, and Mrs Henry led us in a day full of creativity, teamwork, and fun.

In the morning, we used our technology skills to plan and build a bug hotel using sustainable materials. It was amazing to think about how we could help our environment and local wildlife. 🐞 We also made a beautiful poppy wreath from recycled materials to remember and reflect in a meaningful way. ♻️

After a tasty lunch prepared by Mrs Campbell, we joined Alison for an energetic game of boccia. We all showed great teamwork and sportsmanship — and had lots of fun before heading home.

Our activities linked to important rights in the UNCRC: Article 29 (learning to respect the environment) and Article 31 (the right to rest, play, and take part in activities). We also showed we are Safe, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, and Responsible through our SHANARRI wellbeing indicators.

By using natural and recycled materials, we supported Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 15 – Life on Land. It made us think about how our choices can make a positive difference to the planet. 🌍

It was a wonderful day of learning, creativity, and friendship — well done everyone! 💚

UNCRC Articles:

• Article 29 – Learning to respect the environment
• Article 31 – Right to rest, play, and take part in activities

SHANARRI Indicators: Safe, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Responsible

Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
• SDG 15 – Life on Land

At Portpatrick Primary, we value pupil voice and believe our learners should have a say in shaping school life. Our new Pupil Voice teams for 2025–2026 have now been chosen, and we’re excited to introduce our fantastic representatives!

Our pupils take on these important leadership roles to help make positive changes in our school and community. Each group will work together across the year to share ideas, lead projects, and represent their classmates.

👩‍🌾 Eco Committee: Kaicie, George, Zak, Ella, Arran and Harry

💬 Pupil Council: Esme, Layo, Josh, Freya, Adam and Stephen

💻 Digital Leaders: Josh, Zak and Arran

🔬 STEM Leaders: Stephen and Harry

📚 Reading Champions: Ella and Adam

In addition to their Pupil Voice roles, some pupils have taken on classroom responsibilities to support their peers and school life:

• Harry: Classroom Assistant
• Stephen: Recycle Coordinator
• Josh: MetaSkills Champion

We are also delighted to announce our House Captains for 2025–2026:

• Portree: Freya (Captain), Arran (Vice Captain)
• Dunskey: Adam (Captain), Harry (Vice Captain)

We’re so proud of all our pupils for stepping up to lead, share ideas, and support others. We look forward to seeing the amazing things they will achieve this year! 🌟

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• UNCRC Article: 12 – Right to be heard
• MetaSkill: Leadership, Collaboration and Communication
• SDG: 4 – Quality Education
• CfE Capacity: Confident Individual
• SHANARRI: Included

Portpatrick Primary enjoyed a special Religious Observance session with Reverend Brakey, Fiona and Mrs Ross, where we celebrated the wonder of creation and our responsibility as stewards of the natural world.

During the session, the children showed their creativity and care for nature by making eco-friendly bird feeders. Using strips of willow and wooden blocks kindly donated by the Men’s Shed, pupils carefully wove and shaped their feeders, then filled them with seed balls ready to hang outdoors.

This hands-on activity supported our Eco Schools target of Biodiversity and helped us work towards achieving our RSPB Wild Challenge Award. It was lovely to see our bird feeders displayed at the recent school fundraiser coffee morning, helping ensure that birds across our community will be well fed this autumn.

We are very proud of the children for showing such care and respect for the environment — and for working together to make a real difference. 🌍💚

UNCRC Article: 29 – Education should develop respect for the environment

MetaSkill: Creativity

SDG: 15 – Life on Land

CfE Capacity: Responsible Citizen

SHANARRI: Responsible

RME CfE: I can reflect upon the awe and wonder of the natural world and explore ways of showing care for creation. (RME 1-01a)

Portpatrick Primary were delighted to collaborate with Portpatrick Hotel, who kindly hosted our recent school fundraiser coffee morning. The event was a fantastic success, bringing together our school community for a morning full of chat, warmth and delicious treats!

There was a vast selection of homemade cakes and bakes on offer, lovingly donated by the hotel, families and friends of the school. Visitors also enjoyed browsing our stall, including a very popular raffle and “Name the Teddy” competition.

The children showed their enterprising spirit by creating willow eco-friendly bird feeders with the help of Reverend Brakey and Mrs Ross. They also gained valuable experiences for learning, life, and work, taking on roles as greeters, hosts, salespeople, and table clearers throughout the morning.

Thanks to the generosity and support of our wonderful community, we’re thrilled to share that we raised an amazing £500! 🎉

A huge thank you goes out to everyone who donated baking, raffle prizes, time, and money, and a special shout-out to Jodie, Winnie, and the super staff at Portpatrick Hotel for their kindness and hospitality.

We are so proud of our pupils and grateful to everyone who helped make this event such a success! 💙

UNCRC Article: 12 – Right to join in and be included

MetaSkill: Collaboration

SDG: 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production

CfE Capacity: Effective Contributor

SHANARRI: Included

💙 Our policies are about more than words — they’re about caring for each other every day.

We follow national, regional and school policies, and last year our own school Respect for All policy was created in consultation with Parent Council. This has recently been updated in line with national and regional guidelines.

This term we shared a child-friendly version with our pupils, and discussed it together to gain their agreement on it. They fed back that want links with our school values.

How Our Policy Links to Key Frameworks

• UNCRC – Article 12: Pupils’ voices are heard and valued in decisions that affect them.
• SHANARRI: Children feel Safe, Respected, and Included.
• Sustainable Development Goals: Learning promotes fairness, equality, and global responsibility.
• Metaskills: Pupils develop creativity, collaboration, resilience, and problem-solving.
• This Is Our Faith: Pupils grow in faith, moral understanding, and values.

Have a look at what was agreed:

Here is our adult version:

National Policy

As part of our ongoing drive to raise attainment in literacy, we are committed to building a culture of reading for pleasure among our pupils. Recently, thanks to an opportunity provided by the Scottish Book Trust, our pupils from St Joseph’s and Portpatrick enjoyed an inspiring morning at Stranraer Academy with celebrated children’s author Martin Stewart.

Stewart is well known for his debut novel Riverkeep and, more recently, his children’s series featuring Sandy Fin. The pupils were thrilled to hear him read from his latest book, Sandy Fin: Operation Splash Landing. His engaging style captured imaginations and opened up conversations about where story ideas come from.

During the workshop, Martin encouraged the children to see how inspiration for writing can come from anywhere; a day at the shore, an unusual animal, or even just a unique name. This practical insight showed our pupils that creativity is within everyone’s reach.

The session ended with a lively question-and-answer opportunity, where pupils asked thoughtful and curious questions about Martin’s work, his journey as an author, and the process of writing books. It was wonderful to see our learners so engaged and motivated.

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Links to Learning Frameworks

UNCRC: Supports creativity (Article 29) and freedom of expression (Article 13).

SHANARRI: Builds Nurtured and Successful learners.

SDGs: Links to SDG 4 — Quality Education.

Metaskills: Encourages Creativity, Communication, Curiosity, and Resilience.

Four Capacities: Promotes Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Responsible Citizens, and Effective Contributors.

On Tuesday 16th September, pupils from St. Joseph’s R.C. Primary and Portpatrick Primary shared an unforgettable day of learning and excitement.

The morning kicked off with a STEM-themed Wider Achievement Day. Children took part in autumn, and Halloween inspired challenges, including building zip lines, rafts, bridges and shelters for LEGO mini-figures, competing in Blooket quizzes, and joining digital learning sessions exploring patterns, coding, and budgeting. Teamwork, creativity and problem-solving were in full swing!

In the afternoon, excitement soared as the Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance helicopter landed on the school field. Pupils waved banners, met mascot Nevis, signed the official Skyward Challenge banner, spoke with the pilot and paramedics, and explored the lifesaving equipment onboard.

The visit was part of the Skyward Challenge, a nationwide campaign supporting Operation Skyward, with St. Joseph’s securing the honour for our region through a fund raising competition.

How this links to our learning:

• UNCRC (Article 31): Pupils had the right to play, create and have fun while learning.
• Metaskills: Pupils practised problem-solving, creativity, teamwork and adaptability through STEM challenges and working together.
• SHANARRI – Active: Everyone joined in, got involved, and stayed curious throughout the day.
• Sustainable Development Goals – Quality Education: Pupils worked together, solved problems, and learned new STEM skills.
• Curriculum for Excellence – Successful Learners: Children practised teamwork, creativity, and digital skills while exploring real-world challenges.