My P1 Buddy

May 10, 2016 User deactivated Leave a comment

In Primary 6, my classmates and I found out that we were going to be getting a Primary 1 buddy to support through their first year of school. Mrs Falconer, told us the date that we were going to meet them at their nursery and also told us the name of our new buddy.

Finally, the day arrived! I was going to meet my buddy. I was nervous but also excited at the same time. My buddies name is Lucy, she has blonde hair, a big smile and the great thing about her is her constant happiness which I feel rubs off on me too! Not that I am unhappy but I always feel happier around Lucy. I like surrounding myself with positive people!

In August. when we started P7, our buddies finally moved from nursery to primary school. I was so excited to see Lucy again and hoped her happy nature wasn’t a one off. I needn’t have worried as she was still the bubbly, cheery Lucy I had met before the summer.

I loved introducing Lucy to new people and helping he to make new friends. Our job as buddies for the first few weeks, was to go down to their playground and help her make new friends. It makes me feel good to know that she won’t be lonely as she now has lots of good friends.

Another job we have as a buddy is to visit the Primary One class on a Friday to help them with their learning. I have enjoyed helping Lucy complete some maths work, read some new books and learn her spelling words. I love it when they get a chance to take part in some art activities or structured play.

I only hope that when I go to high school I feel as confident as she did starting Primary School. Hopefully with the skills I have learned that shouldn’t be a problem.

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Skiing

May 10, 2016 User deactivated Leave a comment

Recently Primary 6 and 7 have been going to a Bearsden ski club. We have been learning new tricks and learning how to be confident on the slopes. A couple of weeks ago me and my group learned how to go down a steep……..steep……..steep slope. It was scary at first. I found it scary because It was that steep that I felt that I was going to fall but luckily I didn’t but happily at the end I enjoyed It. Last year I went (But I was In Primary 6) So my class went with the Primary 7 class, I really enjoyed it last year so I am glad that I went this year again!. I hope I can teach my Mum how to ski some day and I would love to continue with skiing when I’m older as I know that skiing is a sport and it will keep my body healthy!

Expressive Arts

A Starring Role!

May 10, 2016 User deactivated Leave a comment

On the 21-23rd of April, I took part in my favourite musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat! In it, I had the role of the narrator on the Saturday night with my friend Niamh. I feel very lucky to be able to get this role as there was 76-78 people in the cast.

Taking part in Joseph helped me work on teamwork skills because I need to be able to work with the whole cast and block the show. I also get to work on my patience skills as it can take a long time before we move on to the next scene.

Ever since I joined Inverclyde Musical Youth Theatre(IMYT), I have become really interested in musical theatre. I think that all the skills I have learned from this performance will help me for the next shows to come .

To help us prepare for the show, we had to make sure we were at rehearsals each day even during our Easter break. We also had to add extra hours on to rehearsals which sometimes lasted 6-7 hours. All of this hard work paid off and the show turned out GREAT!

I have had a lot of positive comments back from people who went to see it saying that the show was a huge success. Mrs Falconer and Miss McCready came to watch me perform on the Friday night and they loved the show! They said they couldn’t believe the level of talent! Hearing people say that about a show that I took part in made me feel so proud!

I think that the next thing I need to do is continue taking part in these shows and keep building up my confidence.

Health and Wellbeing

Ski Club

April 27, 2016 User deactivated Leave a comment

At the start of January, myself and some of my peers were given the opportunity to go back to Bearsden Skiing Centre and complete another block of skiing lessons. We really enjoyed ski club last year and were desperate to improve on what we learned in Primary 6.

Going skiing is a great opportunity to take existing skills such as agility, stamina, balance and control and improve them by learning simple things like how to turn properly, how to get on the poma lift and how to position my skis. This all helps to make me a better skier.

Knowing how to ski is a great skill to have because I would love to go to the Alps on a skiing holiday with my friends when I am older. To do this I would need to become a very competent skier.

My instructor has really helped me become a better skier, he has really helped me improve my technique and my overall ability. I feel really confident on the higher slopes now.

I think the skiing lessons this year have went very well, everybody learned something new and helpful every week. It has been so much fun!

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Climate Change

April 27, 2016 User deactivated Leave a comment

Recently myself and my classmates have been learning all about global warming . We have been learning about the three main gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and how they work together to heat the Earth up to a comfortable temperature. However, because pollution is getting worse the Sun is getting bigger, subsequently the Earth is getting warmer.

This is a key issue in the world at the moment and I feel we need to find out about it, how it is happening and how we can stop Global Warming . Click here to view a very inspiring but very important video about what nature is truly about.

This topic has been very important to me, it has made me realise I need to look after the planet now so that we can live in a better world in the future.

We have been learning about Global Warming through websites such us the WWF (which taught us about the species that are endangered due to Global warming and how it is effecting them). I chose to research the Bald Eagle as I have always been interested in birds and hadn’t realised it was an endangered species. Our class felt so passionately about our chosen species that we decided to put together an informative display for the rest of the school. My piece of art was accompanied by some information about the Bald Eagle.

I feel this topic went very successful, everybody learnt something valuable that they can use to help save the planet in a variety of different ways; such as campaigning or simply just putting rubbish in the correct bin, they all make a difference.

My next steps are to continue to learn about Global Warming and its effects on the planet and how we can stop it and make the world a better place to live in.

Health and Wellbeing

P1 Buddies

April 26, 2016 User deactivated Leave a comment

At the start of primary 7, each one us were matched with a primary 1 buddy. The whole process starts at the end of primary 6 when we visit them in their nurseries and play with them so they get used to us and we become a familiar face before they begin school.

When I went up to see my buddy Lawrie, I introduced myself and asked him his name. We played for a bit and his friend from nursery joined in too! We played in the water pool with the dinosaurs, he really enjoyed it. As I left I told him I would see him again on his induction days and on his first day at school.

I was really excited to start Primary 7, I couldn’t wait to see my buddy again. My whole primary 7 class went down to help get the Primary ones ready for playtime and then we went outside to the playground to play with them and help them make new friends.

One of the main reasons we do this is because it builds our communication skills, makes us put someone else before ourselves as we have to think about their needs and how we might support them in their first few weeks of school. We had to put ourselves in their shoes and remember how big a change it was coming to school for the first time and thinking that eveything was so new – the building, the classroom, the noise of the playground, all the different faces and of course getting used to a new teacher. When we are older, we might have children of our own and this is good experience of having some responsibility where we get to see what it is like to be a role model and set a good example.

We are learning to use these skills because its important in life to look after others and think of others before yourself. We had the opportunity to build so many skills and this help us in the future because we will know how to relate to others who might not have the same interests as us and also the younger ones have different needs. I really enjoyed visiting the P1 classroom each Friday and helping them with their learning. We were able to encourage them as they worked on their tasks such as writing or artwork. We also helped to teach them how to look after themselves and were a friendly face to go to if they had a worry.

I learned most of these skills by looking after my wee sister when she was younger and it encouraged me as I was growing up so I was ready for primary 6 when I became a playground pal too.

l have found being a buddy pretty successful as I am a good role model. I remember not being very focused when I was younger and sometimes I would have a carry on but now I have learnt my mistake and matured a bit and I hope the P1’s follow our examples.

Literacy

500 Words Competition

April 19, 2016 User deactivated Leave a comment

Recently, I entered the BBC2 Radio 500 Words Competition. It’s a story writing competition where you write a short story less than 500 words and submit it online. Each year, there are over 900,00 entries! Only 3,000 stories were chosen to go to the second stage. Guess what? My story “Inevitable” was chosen!

One of the judges you may recognise is Francesca Simon, the author of Horrid Henry books.

If you are one out of 50 people who get chosen for the third stage, you get your story on the 500 Words Website. You also get 2 tickets to the finals in London. ( They also pay for your hotel! Wow! )

In the last stage, there are three finalists! 3rd place receives their own height in books! ( that’s 5ft!) 2nd place receives Alex Jones’ height in books, and 1st place receives Chris Evan’s height in books and 500 books for the school library!

If you’d like to read my story , ” Inevitable ” please scroll down.

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Burns Supper 2016

April 19, 2016 User deactivated Leave a comment

Entering the hall I strode. What I was used to seeing, a typical everyday school canteen, had had a major makeover! Artwork on the walls, homemade thistles in vases and everyone looking so smart! As soon as I walked in, I knew this night would be a blast!

Clapping hands, smiling faces, everyone was happy! Mr Trotter piped in the top table. I was at a table with Mrs Falconer, Mrs MacLean, Grace, Alexander, Kyle, Mrs Robertson, Peters gran and Ruairidh’s mum. We were chatting about the ‘Oor Wullie’ table mats and going to secondary school. Then the haggis came along. We all fell silent….

Jamie Lee carried in the haggis with the piper, Elizabeth and Ross. During the recitation on the poem, When Elizabeth cut the haggis, she missed it and accidentally nudged the quaiche and didn’t manage to pierce it. Luckily, she didn’t get too embarrassed and laughed with everyone else! I’m not too keen on haggis, but Jill has super cooking skills and managed to make it taste delicious! Whilst I was eating my dinner, I ‘overheard’ the deepest, DARKEST secrets of Mrs Falconer……………. Just kidding! We all know Mrs Falconer doesn’t have any secrets! Or does she?

I participated in 2 poems, I felt a little nervous as there were around 90 people in the hall! When I heard the hosts Molly and Conor call ‘Address To A Toothache.’ A cold shiver trickled down my spine. Once I got up there, I wasn’t nervous at all! It felt like I was the only person in the room! I’m very surprised I didn’t get flustered! In the end, I’m really happy I volunteered to learn a poem!

I really appreciate that Mrs Falconer used her spare time to help us practise and learn our poems. Thankfully, Mrs MacLean helped us make artwork for around the hall and the table centrepieces. Also, I’m glad Mrs Hunter accompanied us for ‘ Ye Banks And Braes’ and ‘A Red Red Rose.’ I’m really pleased as I got to give flowers to Mrs MacLean and Jenna’s gran for making tablet.

Over all, Wednesday night was amazing! Although I’ve never been to a Burns Supper before, I think ours was the best ever hosted!

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Climate Change

March 29, 2016 User deactivated 1 Comment

Recently, Primary 7 have been learning about Climate Change and how it puts animals in danger. Climate Change also effects the environment in many ways such as, pollution from cars causes Global Warming, so does littering and using up electricity. We also learned about the Greenhouse Gases, CO2,(carbon dioxide) CO4, (methane) and H20 .(water) The greenhouse gases orbit around the earth causing an atmosphere.

Yesterday, we watched a video about Mother Nature. The voiceover is by award-winning celebrity, Julia Roberts. Julia stars in many popular movies like Charlottes Web and Pretty Woman (my mum’s favourite film) Watch the short clip by clicking here. There are more videos with different celebrities about different things like ice , soil , ocean and coral reef

Another thing we learned about was endangered animals. Outside our classroom we have an Endangered Exhibit with oil pastel artwork, graffiti art and a paragraph about a chosen endangered animal.

I have really enjoyed learning about climate change as before we started the topic, I didn’t know much about it. I’d love to learn more about Climate Change in the future.

Building our 'Toolbox of Skills', Health and Wellbeing

Developing Sports Leadership Skills

December 7, 2015 User deactivated Leave a comment

At the start of Primary 7, we came together as a class to discuss ways in which we could develop our leadership skills. Due to the great success we had leading and organising our school sports day last year, we wanted to find a way to build on these skills. The first thing we did was to decide on all the different skills and qualities needed to be a successful Sports Leader. Here’s what we came up with…

At the start of term, each class was given an extra gym slot to make up our 2.5 hours of PE a week and for our class this was great news! We try to use one of our slots of PE to focus on developing leadership skills. Many of us have had the chance to lead warm ups and games, referee matches and demonstrate sport and specific skills to our peers. Throughout our PE slots we have been taking part in various activities such as team invasion games, fitness circuits, skipping and running around the world. We manage to fit so much into the hour and that’s why we like to be called the Sporty Sevens!

Gourock Primary recently completed our Sponsored Skip to raise money for school funds. This has become an annual event and it’s great fun!

Primary 7 have re-launched ‘Super Skipper’. This was a further opportunity to build our confidence when we delivered skipping workshops to all the classes in the school. The class I taught was P3/2 and in my opinion I think they enjoyed the gym session as they smiled and tried hard the whole time. Super Skipper works like this; we have ten minutes each week to improve our skipping skills and tricks then we are timed for one minute to see how many skips we can manage in that time. Afterwards, our scores are recorded. In our class, this is by a member of the Fit4Life team. We love it because it is a fun way to keep fit and challenge yourself.

Our recent contribution towards developing our sports leadership skills, was the leadership course delivered by Lynne, Inverclyde’s PE Lead Officer and her colleague, Gillian, who is an Active Schools Coordinator. Today we finally completed it and can’t wait to be awarded our certificates. Throughout it, we were leading groups, creating activities and giving feedback. We will update you in our next blog post!

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Mrs Falconer's Super 7/6