Author: Ms Whorlow

Today, the whole school engaged in collaborative learning with their buddies from the opposite class.  The boys and girls are preparing for careers in the future by learning how to complete job application forms.  They have worked together to identify the personal skills and qualities they each have that would make them effective in the role of a pupil council representative.  P4-7 are learning to use the skills of persuasion as part of their Literacy and Language learning this term.

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The boys and girls of Portpatrick Primary look very smart today for their first day of our new term.  We are so pleased to welcome Lotty, Cameron, Max, Lewis and Atticus to our school as our brand new pupils.  They have been enjoying their day and are loving Barbara’s delicious meals.

The boys and girls took advantage of the dry spell to complete their community litter pick as part of our ongoing Eco School’s work.  We helped to tidy the park and picnic area in the village.  We were impressed to see that the quantity of litter has reduced since our last activity.

We took a moment to admire the view from Mr Tyson’s bench, kindly donated by the community council.  We tidied around his bench to make it spick and span.

We then returned to school to tidy our own playground.

#Responsible Citizens

All the pupils from Portpatrick, Leswalt and Kirkcolm came together to get to know one another better today.  A beach clean and a sports day was planned, but due to the weather, we quickly improvised.  The children performed a range of songs to entertain their audience and then played outside together.

The boys and girls were happy to be split into primary groups and mix with their peers from the other two schools.  Each class arranged purposeful activities.  The lower school played true or false ‘get to know you’ questioning, learned and performed an action song and participated in a social P.E game. The upper school engaged in STEM engineering challenges.  They had to work collaboratively to design and build a helicopter using basic materials.  The teams were then tasked with constructing a structure from paper straws that was capable of supporting weight.  The children had many creative ideas to meet the brief.

After lunch, we all walked down to the beach where we created beach art using natural materials.

Throughout the day, the children had the opportunity to mix and form friendships between schools.

Class two culminated eight weeks of practice by presenting a musical performance to the rest of the school.  They played two traditional Scot’s songs on ukuleles whilst being accompanied by John on the accordion.  The audience enjoyed ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘The Bonnie Ship, The Diamond’. Unfortunately, the video is too large a file to upload but we promise it was a very professional and entertaining event.

#Successful Learners

The weather was kind to us today as the whole school participated in a sponsored walk at Dunskey Estate.  This was to raise funds for the P.F.A.

P1-2 walked a route from the Tea Room, round by Home Farm and the Game Keeper’s cottage before returning back to the start.  P3-6 walked a longer distance appropriate to their age via Glen Lodge.  Mr Orr-Ewing popped out to say hello as we walked by Dunskey House.

The children had a chance to enjoy playing in the maze before returning to school.

Thank you to the parents who gave their time to organise the walk, transport and supervise the children.  Thank you also to Mr & Mrs Orr-Ewing for granting us permission to walk on the estate.

Our annual school sports day was well attended by friends and family today.  Luckily, the weather was kind to us.  The boys and girls enjoyed a great range of sporting challenges from egg & spoon to distance sprints.  The children demonstrated a great attitude of sportsmanship and encouragement towards one another throughout the afternoon. The parents were keen to have a go and were ‘good eggs’; joining  in our obstacle races.  There are rumours of a steward’s enquiry over conduct on the Daddies race, however 😉  Results will be communicated as soon as possible.

Effective contributors – Confident Individuals

On Friday 9th of June, the whole school set off for a day of learning and fun at Dumfries House in Cumnock.  We were joined on our journey by P5-7 from Leswalt Primary.  On arrival, the groups split off to participate in different activities.  P1-4 went on a bug hunt, exploring creatures in the habitats around them.  The children helped to construct a ‘bug hotel’ and visited the garden area to pot plants of their own.  P5-6 explored the conditions plants need to grow.  They then moved on to plant rapeseed in pots in the potting shed.  The pupils also considered what materials are biodegradable before creating their own compost gardens in a bottle to take home.

Both schools came back together to have free time in the adventure playground.  The boys and girls then enjoyed an ice-cream before returning journey.

Primary 5 and 6 were treated to another great session with Pitch, Pulse and Magic today.  The Spencer Strachan duo performed a range of classical pieces on the violin and cello.  The children were asked to identify the tempo and the musical concepts in a selection of famous pieces. For example, the pupils had to guess the animal being depicted in the Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens.

There was opportunity to explore inter-disciplinary learning links with science (sound).  The pupils were asked to identify how sound is produced and how it travels.  They also carried out a water pitch experiment to identify which glass of water, when tapped, produced the highest/lowest pitch sound and why.

We also linked to our Language and Literacy work of poetry this term.  The pupils used their Higher Order Thinking Skills to Create movement to music that was matched a poem read aloud by Jenna.

This session was followed by our continuing Feis Rois Ukelele workshop.  Primary 5 and 6 are  becoming very proficient in identifying, reading and playing musical chords on this instrument.  They are able to work collaboratively to play very pleasing group compositions.

Successful Learners – Effective Contributors.

P1-4 went on a journey through time today as part of their ‘Life Long Ago’ topic. They experienced a History Alive workshop exploring the Roman Era.  Kathryn delighted the boys and girls by dressing up as a Roman Centurion.  She displayed a range of authentic artefacts and weapons for the children to explore.  Our Roman visitor then shared many facts about Roman traditions, culture and lifestyle.  The children were given an opportunity to be hands-on by dressing up and engaging in role play.  There was much discussion on what life must have been like and how it compares to life today.

Here are some quotes from the girls and boys recounting their experience:

“I asked a lot of questions about lots of different kinds of things.   My favourite thing to do was dress up as a rich Roman lady.   After dressing up I went to hold a sword and it was really heavy!   Ava Lily.

“The Roman visitor brought some Roman weapons like swords and spears and some armour. After that, we got to play because the Roman visitor brought Roman costumes and some Celts costumes. We play- fought with fake spears.  It was very fun. We got to try lift very heavy armour.”  Finlay Schofield