Author: Ms Whorlow

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

On the 27^th of March, Portpatrick pupils joined their friends at St. Joseph’s for another fantastic Wider Achievement Partnership Day! Just like last time, the children were split into three mixed-school groups: P1–3, P4–5, and P6–7, with each teacher leading a different creative activity.

• Mr. Morrison delivered a digital Easter project, which got the children buzzing with excitement as they used technology in a fun and engaging way.
• Miss Scott led a fun Easter craft session where pupils decorated Easter eggs using a variety of colourful and textured materials 
• Miss Lisi’s room, led construction, modelling, and Easter-themed artwork.

The children enjoyed a lovely break and lunchtime outside together.  There was lots of laughter and friendship across the two schools.

In the afternoon, both schools walked over to the Ryan Centre for a special cinema treat: Inside Out 2!  The pupils were brilliantly behaved and thoroughly enjoyed the film—what a perfect way to end the week before the Easter holidays!

Please note: The photos shared on this blog post are from Miss Lisi’s classroom. We didn’t manage to get pictures from the other rooms this time, but all groups had a fantastic time!

UNCRC Rights:

• Article 15 –Joining in groups together
• Article 29 –Aims of Education
• Article 31 – Right to rest, play, and cultural activities
  The day was filled with play, creativity, and an enjoyable cinema experience.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being
  Pupils enjoyed active outdoor play and positive social interactions.
• SDG 4 – Quality Education
  Pupils accessed varied, engaging, and creative learning experiences.
• SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals
  The event strengthened partnerships between St. Joseph’s and Portpatrick schools.

SHANARRI Indicators:

• Included
  Every child was given a voice and equal opportunity to participate.
• Active
  Children engaged in hands-on crafts, digital learning, and outdoor play.
• Responsible
  Pupils took responsibility within groups and respected expectations.
• Nurtured
  The friendly environment encouraged new friendships and a sense of belonging.

Meta-skills:

• Collaborating
  Mixed-school teamwork required listening, sharing, and working respectfully together.
• Creativity
  Art, construction, and digital projects encouraged pupils to express their ideas.
• Communicating
  Children shared thoughts and ideas during group work and social time.
• Adapting
  Children worked in new environments with new peers and activities.
• Focusing
  Each activity required attention to detail and perseverance to complete.

Portpatrick Pupils were environmentally aware today.  As part of our Eco Schools Scotland action plan on litter and waste, the children have been learning about the negative impact this has on biodiversity. 

The children have been working in partnership with our local Community Safety Wardens to design litter awarness posters.  These have been made into weather-proof posters to encourage everyone to be responsible to protect our environment &  wildlife, and to keep our beautiful village looking spotless for everyone to enjoy.  The community safety team escorted the pupils around the village to prominently display our posters for all to see. 

We are responsible citizens and effective contributors.

UNCRC Rights of the Child – Article 24: Health, Water, Food & Environment

Sustainable Development Goals: 1 – Life Below Water, 15-Life on Land, 

SHANARRI – Responsible

For our final morning activities, the groups split one last time.

With the final activities complete, it was time for one last clean-up and a chance to reflect on the experience. The biggest success of the trip has been the way St. Joseph’s and Portpatrick pupils have come together as one team—showing kindness, encouragement, and support for each other throughout every challenge.

Now, as we head home, tired but happy, we’re filled with pride for how well the children have represented themselves, their schools, and their communities. New friendships have been formed, lifelong memories have been made, and every child leaves Barcaple having challenged themselves in new and exciting ways.

UNCRC Rights of the Child:

Article 15: Making Friends and Joining Groups

Article 31: Rest, Play

Metaskills: Collaborating, Sense-Making, Communicating

Our community came together to celebrate Mrs. Henry’s milestone of 25 years of wonderful service to Portpatrick Primary. Families and staff, past and present, joined us for a surprise get-together to recognise Mrs H’s fabulous contribution over the years.

There were speeches, a special poem, a song, messages, cards and flowers gifted to the special lady. Everyone enjoyed a buffet lunch with cake and treats galore with delicious home baking treats to enjoy for afters – yum!

Congratulations Mrs H. Long may your reign continue!

St .Joseph’s R.C. primary hosted an inter-schools K’nex engineering challenge today as part of the Glasgow Science Festival.  Two pupils from our cluster schools came together from the following primaries:

• St. Joseph’s R.C. Primary
• Portpatrick Primary
• Drummore Primary
• Sandhead Primary
• Park Primary
• Leswalt Primary
• Kirkcolm Primary
• Sheuchan Primary

The children were set an engineering design and construction project to make a free standing exercise bike for a gym.  The specification was that the exercise must have:

• 2 wheels that spin when the pedals are turned
• A length of no more than 2 grey construction rods
• A seat for the rider
• Handlebars
• Wheels fixed in a frame for static peddling

Marks Sheering from Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and Sheena, STEM ambassador joined us to be our judges.  It wasn’t an easy task, as the children had been very creative and inventive with their constructions.

The activity helped promote the development of metaskills for learning, life and work.

Adam said that the most challenging part was building the bike so the wheels turned. Arran enjoyed making the pedals.

First place was awarded to Leswalt with Sandhead runners up.

Everyone agreed that everyone was a winner with their sterling effort.

God’s Loving Plan – In the Image of God( RERC 2-02a)

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

SHANARRI – Achieving, Responsible, Included

Representatives from Primary 7 from both schools went along to enjoy an afternoon at the annual Burns Rotary Club lunch at the North West Castle.  Pupils from each cluster school were there to share a lovely meal of lentil soup followed by fish and chips.  After lunch, guest speaker, Mr Alex Ross, shared some insights into Robert Burns’ life to entertain us.  He then recited To a Mouse with great gusto. 

There was an opportunity for partnership pupils to enjoy social time together, before returning to school for the end of the day. The pupils represented their schools well as responsible citizens.  Who knows, we may have some Rotary Club members of the future!

UNCRC Rights of the Child: Article 15 – Joining Groups, 31 – Culture

SHANARRI: Responsible, Included

4 Capacities for Learning: Responsible Citizens

Metaskills: Social Intelligence – Communicating