Looking shady after a day of cricket!

Today our cricket team played at the Moray Cricket finals at the Gordon Linzee Park, Buckie.  A fine standard of cricket could be seen throughout the day and Applegrove played very well.  However they met their match against some very strong cricket teams.  The group winner was Milnes Primary who played against Hythehill in the final.  Milnes won and now go through to the national final in Perth.  Congratulations to Milnes Primary.

More cricket is available on a Monday and Friday evening at Forres St Lawrence Cricket Club, 6pm at the cricket pavilion.

Applegrove was well represented at the Culbin Forest Run on Wednesday evening.  This photo shows some of Applegrove’s runners ready for their race through the forest.  It was great to see some new runners representing Applegrove and especially some of our younger pupils.  The next forest run will be at Quarrelwood on the 7th June.  Registration is 6:15 at Spynie Village Hall,  race starts at 6:45.  The distance is about a mile and all ages and abilities are welcome.

It is wonderful to have our ICT suite back, up and running.  6W have made full use of it this week!

The huts on the Sanquhar Road side of the grounds have been a feature of our school for over 20 years. Most of the teachers have taught in them and a large majority of the children who have passed through the school have been taught in them at some point, but last week we said goodbye. As part of the school’s refurbishment they were demolished and the ground is now being prepared for new projects.

The P4-7 Food Scientists had a great time at TOPS today – making gloop!  They used cornflour and water and were surprised at how it’s properties changed.

Great fun was had tonight at the Summer Discos.  Everyone enjoyed themselves, dancing along to the tunes expertly played by Mrs McIntosh of the PTA.

We are delighted to announce that Applegrove Primary has successfully renewed its Eco-Schools Green Flag Award status. This was a great whole-school effort.  We have now held the Eco-Schools Green Flag Status since 20/06/2006.  Applegrove has the longest continuous Green Flag Status in the Moray Council area.

It was noted in our report that we worked hard to encourage safe, sustainable travel to school, promote healthy snack choices and develop our grounds as a marvellous resource for learning and recreation and a haven for wildlife. We also monitored progress well throughout, celebrated our successes via the school website and the local press and worked collaboratively with useful partners like Morrison Construction. In addition, our environmental work is well-integrated into the curriculum and calendar through our work on Global Citizenship, our focus on Outdoor Learning and our participation in the John Muir Award, plus events like our Waste Awareness Weeks and Switch Off Fortnight. Furthermore, it noted that we are to be warmly commended for our promotion of the Rights of the Child in school and for our community litter picking activities as part of our “Slam Dunk the Junk” campaign. They commented that our young people are truly responsible citizens and well-placed to explore the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as part of our ongoing Eco work.

WELL DONE!!

Continuing with the theme of ‘Biodiversity’ it was time to discover the animals that make their homes in Sanquhar Woods.  We worked in groups to look for clues such as homes, tracks and poo to find out what lives here.  There was plenty of evidence of mice, deer, foxes, ants, birds, rabbits, squirrels and many minibeasts. We even found a toad in a hole!

We then spent some time in our ‘special places’ to create spaces that would encourage animals to make their homes.

Cricket teams

Applegrove ‘A’ Cricket team

Applegrove ‘1’ Cricket team

Lunch time under the gazebo.

Team captain Lewis and team receiving the trophy.

Today, eight cricket teams from six schools played lots of cricket matches at Grant Park. Applegrove fielded two teams and played Kinloss, Dallas and each other in their ‘pool’. Applegrove ‘A’ had 3 wins, while Applegrove ‘1’ had 1 win.  This meant Applegrove ‘A’ played against Anderson’s  ‘A’ to decide on 1st and 2nd position. Applegrove ‘1’ played against Anderson’s ‘B’ to decide  on 7th and 8th position.  Both our teams won their matches. Applegrove ‘A’ were winners of the trophy today.  All players showed good sportsmanship, excellent behaviour and tried their best.  All children received certificates and a years membership for St Lawrence’s Cricket Club.  The organisation of today, umpiring and the weather made for an enjoyable day.  Many thanks go to the helpers and all the supporters who came to watch today.  Next step is the Moray Regional Final on 31st May at Buckie CC.