Author: Ms Whorlow

Despite the rainy weather, spirits were high at yesterday’s Portpatrick Primary School Fundraising Coffee Morning held at the Portpatrick Hub, and what a fantastic morning it was! The event was kindly organised by our fabulous Parent Council and Community Members.

We were delighted to see such an amazing turnout of parents, family, friends, past and present pupils and members of the wider community. It was lovely to see everyone come together for a cuppa, a chat and some fundraising fun.

A huge thank you goes out to everyone who donated prizes for the ever-popular tombola. From home-baked goodies to generous gifts from local businesses and artists, your kindness helped make the event a great success.

We are thrilled to share that we’ve raised an incredible £761.

A special thank you to the Portpatrick Hub for kindly providing the use of their brilliant facilities. Your support made it all possible.

Once again, thank you to our fantastic school community for your generosity and support. Rain or shine, you always show up.

This event supported:

• SHANARRI Wellbeing Indicators:
  • Included
  • Nurtured
• UNCRC Rights of the Child:
  • Article 15 – The right to meet with other children and to join groups and organisations
• UN Sustainable Development Goals:
  • Goal 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing
  • Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities

Here’s the latest message we received from Reverend Breakey about Inky and Lion’s adventures:

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The castaways have had a very busy day today. At tea time, they went to the central station in Milan, a huge, drastic building full of statues and busy people.

Later, they arrived in Rome and to fill in the time before the sleeper train to Sicily, Inky Mouse and Lion caught an open topped bus tour around Rome at night time. My goodness, they saw amazing things, but Rev Breakey held us tight so we didn’t fall.

Lion was impressed to see the Colleseum, where his ancestors bravely found the Roman gladiators.

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Isn’t that amazing? Inky and Lion are having the time of their lives exploring new places, learning about history, and seeing wonderful sights. We can’t wait to hear what they get up to next!

Stay tuned for more updates from our adventurous stowaways!

Your friendly school blog team

The Adventures of Inky Mouse and Lion: Exploring Europe with Reverend Breakey

Hello from Europe! Our two cuddly friends, Inky Mouse and Lion, have been having the time of their lives as they sneak around with Reverend Breakey on an interrail adventure.

Reverend Breakey wrote to us with an exciting update:

What a day! It is VERY hot, over 30 degrees Celsius, so the stowaways have been taking lots of cafe breaks in the middle of their exploration of Milan.

They managed to sneak into the monastery that holds the amazing wall painting of the Last Supper (or Last Tea as Adam thinks it should be called).

They were only allowed in for 15 minutes and had to go through several climate controlled rooms until they reached the large hall that used to be the dining room for monks.

Onwards to Rome for dinner and then the sleeper to Sicily.

We can just imagine Inky Mouse and Lion sipping tiny cups of coffee and marveling at the incredible artwork! Stay tuned to hear where their adventures take them next. Who knows what other amazing sights they will discover on their journey across Europe?

Our two brave stowaways Inky and Lion are having quite the adventure . Here’s the latest update from Reverend Breakey.

“We’re crossing the border from Germany into France and then immediately into Switzerland. The hills are getting steeper and covered in grapevines. It’s like riding through a real-life postcard!

The stowaways think that 3 hours on the train is long enough, and they’ve snuggled into my knitting to get cozy. Oh dear, there’s still 5 hours to go until we reach Milan in Italy!”

It sounds like our little travellers are settling in for a long journey, but they’re getting plenty of snuggle time and enjoying lots of new sights.

Stay tuned for more updates as they explore beautiful Italy next! Where do you think Inky and will go after Milan?

Well, what a journey Inky the Mouse and Lion are having! These cheeky stowaways have managed to sneak into yet another adventure, this time dodging a train strike in Holland and hopping aboard a long distance FlixBus all the way to Germany!

First stop: Cologne (or Köln, if you’re speaking German!). Did you know this amazing city was started by the Romans? It’s super old and full of incredible buildings, including a cathedral so big it makes Inky the Mouse’s whiskers twitch with excitement! Cologne is also famous for its sweet smelling perfume called, yes, you guessed it—Cologne! What a sniff-tastic stop!

After a good night’s rest (well, maybe just a quick nap, these stowaways are always on the go!), Inky the Mouse was up early checking out the breakfast buffet. What’s on the menu in Germany? Juicy sausages and crispy pretzels, of course! Lion preferred the pretzel… less messy in the mane.

Next, it was all aboard the train again, this time zooming to Frankfurt. Reverend Breakey tells us there were even more sausages along the way. Frankfurt is known for its shiny skyscrapers and delicious apple juice called “Apfelwein” (though don’t worry, Inky and Lion just stuck to water and biscuits!).

But before you could say “ticket inspector!”, the train rolled on again, this time to beautiful Zurich, in Switzerland! The stowaways managed to squeeze in a speedy lunch (cheese, anyone?) while enjoying views of sparkling lakes and tall mountains. Inky the Mouse is now convinced he’s a mountaineer.

And tonight? Well, Rev Breakey says they will have tea tonight on Milan in Italy! Mamma mia! Will they try pizza or pasta? Or maybe both?

Stay tuned for more adventures from Inky the Mouse and Lion, the fluffiest explorers ever to cross Europe by bus, train and snack stop.

More later…!

Reverend Breakey has been in touch to say that Inky and Lion had a brilliant time exploring Amsterdam city today. First, they posed with their trusty map to plan the route. Then it was off to see the sights!

They balanced carefully on the back of a bicycle (don’t worry – paws and tails tucked in!) and rode past Amsterdam’s famous canals.
They even found a proper windmill – a must-see in the Netherlands!

The fluffy duo have said that, “We decided to stretch our paws and walk to the bus station along a network of canals and lush parks. 12,000 steps later,  we were glad of the sit down in the bus.

After all those steps, Inky and Lion were very happy to flop down on a bus seat and rest their paws for the journey to Germany.

Guess who’s sneaked their way into a European interrailing adventure? None other than our cuddly classroom companions Inky Mouse and Lion!

Last week, Reverend Breakey was getting ready for her exciting summer travels around Europe when she noticed her backpack felt just a little bit… fluffier than usual. To her surprise, she unzipped it to find two very familiar faces peeking out: Inky Mouse and Lion, complete with their own tiny passports and big smiles!

Reverend Breakey emailed the boys and girls to share her surprise. “What? I just found Inky Mouse and Lion in my bag!” She said that since they’ve gone to all the trouble, they might as well come along for the company and the experience.

And so, the adventure begins! Inky and Lion have just sailed in to Amsterdam Harbour, the very first stop on their European tour using eco-friendly travel options. They’re excited to explore the canals, try some local snacks (cheese for Inky, of course), and see what this big, wide world has to offer.

We hope to follow their journey right here on the blog, so stay tuned for travel tales, fun facts, and plenty of photos as they make their way across Europe with Reverend Breakey.

Inky and Lion have sent us a postcard:

POSTCARD FROM: Amsterdam
Date: 10th June 2025

Dear friends at school,

Greetings from Amsterdam!

We’ve just arrived and are already having a wonderful time. Today we saw a cat wearing clogs. Inky tried eating a tulip, which he found wasn’t his favourite snack ever, and Lion was very brave when we took a trip on a canal boat. Even big cats don’t like water!

The people here are so friendly, and there are lots of sights to explore. We can’t wait to tell you more! We’ll share where we are heading soon, so stay tuned for our next postcard.

Lots of love,
Inky Mouse & Lion

Thank you for taking good care of them Reverend and Happy Travels!

Where in the World Are They Now?

We hope to follow Inky Mouse & Lion as they travel with Reverend Breakey across Europe!

Country	City	Current Status	Highlight
Netherlands	Amsterdam	Just arrived! First stop on the trip	Awaiting their first stroopwafel and canal stroll

We are delighted to share how a group of our responsible pupils represented our school when they recently visited our local Tesco to collect a generous donation of items in support of our upcoming School Fundraiser Coffee Morning, taking place at the Portpatrick Hub on Saturday, 14th June 2025.

The boys represented the school brilliantly as they picked up a fantastic collection of goods kindly donated by Tesco that will help make our coffee morning a great success. Their enthusiasm, politeness, and community spirit were a credit to our school, and we’re grateful for their efforts.

A heartfelt thank you to Tesco for supporting our fundraiser, and to all those who continue to donate and contribute. Your kindness helps us raise funds for valuable school projects and creates more opportunities for our pupils to thrive.

We hope you’ll join us at the Portpatrick Hub on 14th June for a warm drink, some home baking, and a great chance to come together as a community.

See you there!

#PortpatrickPride #CommunitySupport #CoffeeMorning2025

UNCRC Rights of the Child – 29: Aims of Education

SHANARRI – Included & Responsible

As part of our Rights Respecting Schools action, our generous families and pupils collected donations for our local food bank. We are proud to support our local community.

UNCRC Rights of the Child: Article 26 – Social & Economic Help

SHANARRI – Responsible

Sustainable Development Goal: 10 – Reduced Inequalities

Metaskills- Collaborating, Feeling

We are delighted to announce that Portpatrick has been awarded it’s seventh first Eco Schools flag in recognition of our great environmental work over the last 10 years. We renew our status every two years.

Eco-Schools is the largest sustainable schools programme in the world with 19.5 million children, young people and educators engaged worldwide in 74 different countries.

Completing a Green Flag Application is recognised by the Green Flag Award which is a visible indication of a school’s commitment to Learning for Sustainability and is an internationally recognised accreditation for excellence in sustainable education.

This has been a team effort with the pupils, staff and partners such as ONUS and the Glasgow Science Centre.  The children have taken the lead in driving forward our action plan for the key target areas of:

Litter and Waste – Global Citizenship – Climate Action

We are proud of our pupils taking positive action as Responsible Citizens and Effective Contributors!

Thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey.

Have a look at what we’ve been up to here:

Portpatrick Eco Schools Submission 2023-2025 updated 140425.ppsx

UNCRC Rights of the Child:

Article 24 – Health, Water, Food & Environment, Article 15 – Setting up and joining groups (Eco Committee), Article 29 – Aims of Education

Sustainable Development Goals

4 – Quality Education, 12 – Responsible Consumption, 13 – Climate Action, 14 – Life below Water, 15 – Life on Land, 17- Partnerships for the Goals

SHANARRI

Active, Included, Respected, Responsible

Metaskills

Collaborating, Leading, Initiative