Portpatrick Primary

Portpatrick Primary Pupils embraced the environment today as they participated in Earth Day 2022. This year’s theme is ‘Invest In Our Planet’.  We learned about this day of action in our school assembly and by watching a special edition of Newsround.

Primary 1 – 4 decided to apply maths skills in a bug hunt to identify as many species of insect life they could find in our school environment.  The younger children observed our bug hotel, peeked below pieces of wood and stones and looked in bushes and wall crevasses to find as many little critters as they could see.  The found wood lice, ladybugs, ants and more!  This demonstrates that all of our work to support biodiversity as part of our Eco Schools targets is proving successful.

P5 – 7 used technology and a printed leaf guide to help identify the species of trees around us.  We used the Google Lens app to photograph snapshots of unknown kinds of tree leaves.  The app then searched the internet and identified the tree type.  We found Rowan, Ash, Birch, Hazel and Alder to name but a few.  Of-course, we have also recently planted a range of trees courtesy of the Woodland Trust and the Incredible Edible project, so we have boosted our natural habitat diversity of species very well. All the new saplings are healthy and thriving.  We gave them a wee water to keep them in tip-top condition.

 

Our creative Primary 7 pupils, Lilly and Ava Lily, who form our B.E.A. (Being Equal to All) action group, used their I.T. skills to independently design their own scavenger hunt challenge for the whole school to enjoy.  The children had to find a range of natural objects to immerse themselves in their natural environment.  Lilly and Ava Lily then organised a Golden Egg Hunt.  The girls awarded hand crafted bookmarks, with an Earth Day theme, to the winning pair (one pupil from each class).  Our happy winning pair were Jack and Stephen.

At the end of the day, every pupil received 3 potatoes to take home and grow. This is part of the national Dandelion project with 500 schools across Scotland participating in The Big Tattie Experiment.  If you would like to read more about this initiative, click here.

# Responsible Citizens

Easter entertainment for the boys and girls was very much the order of the day at Portpatrick Primary on our last day of term

The children arrived with wonderful egg-tastic creations for our fun family STEM activity of decorating an egg themed model .  The display of imagination and inventiveness was impressive!

Mrs Henry had a very hard time choosing a winner as the standard of entries was so high.

The winners were announced at the end of the day as follows:

Primary 1 – 4

• First – Harry
• Second – Rebecca
• Third -Arran

Primary 5 – 7

• First – Scott
• Second – Tilly
• Third -Maya

Thank you to our families for supporting this activity.

Next on the agenda was egg decorating for everyone.  Sleeves were rolled up and the paints, pens and glitter were in abundance as the children let their creativity flow.  Once everyone’s eggs were ready, there was the traditional rolling the eggs down the hill.

The children enjoyed putting their aprons on to create Eater nest cakes.  They considered the ‘changing state’ properties of chocolate to create these delicious treats.

A surprise emailed letter arrived for the pupils from Dumfries and Galloway Council:  Click on the image to enlarge.

 

The children got busy with their scissors and rulers, cutting the grass to the required 5cm.

 

 

 

Noting the date, Mrs Baillie shared a very important message with the children announcing that due to low attendance as a result of Covid, the holidays have been cancelled.

 

 

 

There were gasps of disbelief until a collective sigh of relief was heard from the children when soon after they received this follow up message…

 

 

 

The children then quickly twigged that they had also been pranked earlier with the grass cutting escapade. Still, at least we linked the activity to outdoor maths and measure 😉

Watch the children’s reaction:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After break, the children were busy with rotation activities, learning about the Easter Story as part of RME.  The children also enjoyed some crafty time, making Easter bonnets.

Next on the agenda for our Fresh Air Friday was an Easter Egg Hunt and egg roll.  This required speed and teamwork as the children hunted the school grounds to find as many eggs of their team’s colour as possible in the time given.  There was a wee prize for each team.

Everyone had a blast (and there was some sneaky learning too!)

Happy Easter Everyone!

 

 

 

 

The children in Primary 1 – 4 have been working hard on producing a radio show transmission with Dumfries and Galloway Youth Music Group as part of our Feis Rois traditional music programme.

This radio show is the culmination of a block of sessions which focussed on the development of early music and communication skills and health & wellbeing and promotes the  enjoyment of music. Singing games, exploring musical instruments and games were included in each session.

We are pleased to introduce to you, the Port P Pupils Show

# Confident Individuals

We are taking part in the Incredible Edible Project.  This project received funding from Dumfries and Galloway Council to support ‘food in the community’ projects.

Mrs Dapney of Stranraer Community Gardeners,  came to our school today, accompanied by two gentlemen from the council to help us plant an orchard of fruit trees.  We had different varieties of dessert and crab apple trees, plum and pear.

This project provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning.  As part of Social Studies, the boys and girls are exploring how we can live in more environmentally friendly ways, caring for the environment.  Additionally, fitting in with our science experiences and outcomes, the children learned what these trees need in order to grow and survive.  They children discovered how each sapling is actually grown from two trees.  The fruit tree variety is grafted on to the root system of a quince tree as the quince has a stronger root base, making a healthier plant.

We talked about the importance of bees in pollinating the flowers on the fruit trees to allow fruit to grow. These trees will help support our bee polulation, supporting our Eco Schools biodiversity target.

Everyone got stuck in, planting the trees, taking care to cover the root system with soil.  The children then turned the removed turf upside down and repositioned it so that the tree and the grass are not competing for moisture.

After a good watering from the council supplied bowser, the boys and girls stood back and admired the ‘fruits of their labours’.  Hopefully, in one to two years, we should see some success and be able to enjoy a harvest of different fruits.

Thank you to  the two council gentlemen who helped do the hard work of digging the holes. Thank you also to Mrs Dampney for organising this lovely project.

We are supporting biodiversity.

Have a look at the fun we had:

# Effective Contributors.

 

What a Sporting Star our Ruby is!

Not only did she achieve 2nd place in yesterday’s Badminton Cluster Tournament at the Academy, but her North Rhins Football team were also ranked third place in the cluster schools football tournament on Friday.

Here is Ruby with her well-earned medal, presented by Alison of Active Schools.

Go Ruby!

Thank you to Mrs Ross for providing after-school badminton coaching for Ruby and her classmates.

Our North Rhins Football Team:

Left to Right:

Back Row – Ruby, Rose, Oliver, Aidan, Luke, Murray

Middle Row – Brandon, Alfie, George, Fraser

Front – Alexander

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well done to all our team players.

Our thanks  go to Rose’s dad for stepping into the role of coach and guiding and encouraging our football stars.  Thank you also, to Jamie Adams for providing football coaching at school and to all parents for transporting and supporting the players.

# Effective Contributors

Primary 5 -7 had a blast at their fun night tonight. This was to make up to those who missed out on Lockerbie Manor.

There was many an activity to enjoy including  bouncy castle time, twister, buckaroo and connect four. The movie of the day was Clifford The Big Red Dog, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Mrs Baillie popped along to join in the movie fun too.

The children were treated to some snacks kindly provided by Morrisons. A take-away tea was delivered to our venue too!

It was a great night with lots of energy and fun.

P1-4 will enjoy their own trip experience quite soon.

Our thanks to Morrisons, Shaun Smith and Istanbul for looking after us so well. Thank you to to Mrs Henry and Kim for helping organise the night and volunteering their time.

 

 

There was red as far as the eye could see today as our pupils bedecked themselves in this bright, bold colour to show their support for Red Nose Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our house captains quickly sold out of this year’s stylish red noses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone enjoyed outdoor maths with a silly theme as part of Fresh Air Friday.  There was a grand welly toss tournament in each class.  The children had to apply their measuring skills, appropriate to their age, to calculate who had thrown the welly the farthest.  The younger class used wooden sticks cut to 1 metre and 2 metres by Mr Harbottle, to provide a handy guide for estimating and measuring.  The upper class used a combination of  a trundle wheel and a measuring reel to measure accurately.  The winners were as follows:

• P1 – 4 Winner: Jenna McKinnon (11m throw)
• P5 – 7 Winner: Ruby Rankin (15m throw)

There was a wee treat at lunchtime from Kim in our kitchen – Red Nose Day themed cupcakes, yum!

Next up was our Port’s Got Talent show.  Our house captains introduced the event and explained the running order for the show.

The audience was entertained with a a dance performance by a large group entry from Alba, Ava Lily, Izzy, Lilly, Ruby & Maya. Lacey told jokes to entertain everyone.  We popped outdoors for our next three acts. Harry  demonstrated his golfing skills, Adam showed us his flair for scoring goals and Stephen hit some cracking tennis shots. It was a tough decision as to who would win, but the dance troop was given 1st prize for their X-Factor worthy dance rendition.  Well done to all those confident individuals that entered.

And last, but by no means least, we give you Mrs Henry!

 

Thank you to everyone who contributed and helped make our Red Nose Day so special!

# Effective Contributors

 

The boys and girls of Portpatrick Primary rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in to some planting on Friday.  We applied to the Woodland Trust to receive a grant of 20 different tree saplings and 20 shrubs for our school grounds.  The aim of the project is to support biodiversity and to create natural habitats for wildlife in our area.  We have been gifted species such as rowan, birch, hawthorn and dog rose to name but a few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As part of our British Science Week activities, the children were given the opportunity to find out about what plants need in order to grow and survive.  They will have the opportunity to observe and record their findings and use what they have learned to  grow healthy plants in school.

It is hoped that the plants will flourish and give pleasure for years to come.

# Responsible Citizens and Effective Contributors.

Celebrating ‘all-things-science’ this week saw the Primary 5 to 7 pupils explore coding using Micro:bits using an “if … then … else… “ statement to control what was happening with our LEDs  and speakers when we pushed certain buttons.

The children really enjoyed applying their computational thinking skills to bring block programming to life using these great bits of hardware!

1. Algorithms-Creating step by step instructions or rules to solve a problem
2. Abstraction –Identifying key information & removing unnecessary details
3. Logic-To analyse and make predictions
4. Decomposition-Breaking a problem down into smaller manageable parts
5. Pattern Recognition-Observe patterns, trends and spot similarities
6. Evaluation-Assessing the solution and making judgements

If you would like to have a go at programming at home, why not visit https://microbit.org/projects/make-it-code-it/?filters=makecode

Select a project and open in ‘make code editor’.  This has a Micro:bit simulator – no Micro:bit needed!

# Successful Learners

As part of our Rights Respecting Schools Silver Award, our P6’s and House Captains from across our partnership took on some responsible training today.  The Diana Trust delivered a workshop on developing our older pupils as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors.

This is supported by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Campaign engages schools to change the attitudes, behaviour and culture of bullying by building skills and confidence to identify and deal with different situations.

The aims of the session were:

• I know what bullying behaviour is and how to identify it
• I understand how bullying behaviour can make someone feel
• I can support students in school who are experiencing bullying behaviour

We defined what is meant by bullying behaviour as:

Repeated negative behaviour that is intended to make others feel upset, uncomfortable and unsafe.

The children had lots of rich discussion around this topic with our online trainer, Clio.  We talked about situations to determine whether they were bullying or not.  Pupils were shown that there are three steps to support a peer who might approach us with a problem – S.A.D.:

• Say – Thank you (for trusting us)
• Ask – Tell me what’s been going on?
• Do – What do you want to do?

Everyone was reminded that all school staff are always here to manage and deal with any situation that might arise. Our ambassadors are there to help anyone experiencing bullying access support from an adult.  There is scope for our ambassadors to work together to achieve 4 different challenge badges.

Childline is available for any child to call 24/7, 365 days a year on 08001111.  The Diana Award Crisis Messaging service provides a free text support service for children, also available at any time.  Simply text DA to 85258!

# Responsible Citizens