Weeding out the Sitka Spruce – these were big examples of what was pulled up.

Having a breather after working to pull up Sitka.

“Do something for wildness and make the mountains glad.” John Muir, 1892

Although there are no mountains in Sanquhar Woods, the pupils of P5 and P6 carried out some important conservation work and made the woodlands glad over the last two days. After consulting with the Forres Community Woodland Trust team it was agreed that in order to help improve biodiversity in the forest it was necessary to weed out a tree called the Sitka Spruce. This non-native tree tends to take over and colonise the forest. Armed with old gloves and wearing outdoor clothes the children set to work. By the end of the afternoon they were able to differentiate the Sitka from the Scots Pine, the Silver Birch and the gorse. Lots of small Sitka were pulled out of the ground and were left in large piles to decompose. After the work they played a game in the shade of a big tree called ‘Let the wind blow if….’ Well done Applegrove conservationists!
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Faith Kenyon was silver medallist for this years Forest Trail Run Series.

Well done to Bruce Evans who won the gold medal for overall winner of the U12 Forest Trail Run Series, 2017

Ashley Anderson and John Scott show off the winning school trophy for the Forest Trail Run Series. Go Applegrove!

Congratulations to all the boys and girls from Applegrove who have turned out to the forest trail runs. The series of trail runs took them to Monaughty, Culbin, Quarrelwood and Roseisle Forests. Tonight was the final run at Roseisle which took the Under 12’s along the beach, up a giant sand hill and along an undulating forest trail. The final results were announced and out of 33 participating schools Applegrove were the overall winners. It is thanks to each and every one of you who ran that we achieved this result.

This morning the P7s set off on their last Primary School outing – to Landmark.  The weather was fantastic and the sun shone all day long.  The pupils made the most of the roller coaster, maze and water slides.  Many challenged themselves on the Tarzan Trail and Sky Jump and we took the opportunity to see the beautiful butterflies in the butterfly house.  A fun day was had by all.

After two busy and exciting days at Forres Academy the P7 pupils had another transition adventure, their cycle and activity day at Culbin.  This was another opportunity for the children to mix with their P7 peers.  We were all impressed by our pupils’ interpersonal skills, behaviour and fitness levels.  The children cycled approximately 16 miles altogether with smiles on their faces – well done!

On Thursday the 15th of June, P6 pupils went to Aberdeen at 8 o’clock in the morning to watch a theatre production of Gangsta Granny. The pupils ate lunch at Union Square Terrace Park and were back for 3:15. It was a long bus journey for them.

Inside the theatre were other schools from Aberdeen and a massive stage with different theatre props. The first half of the show was really entertaining and all the pupils eyes were almost glued to the stage! It was funny and very clever how they moved all the props and stage buildings around in dance form. (Lewis Mackenzie)

I really enjoyed the show and I liked the way the actors had the audience anticipating what was going to happen next. It was a great day out and I would say money well spent. (Josh Angell)

It was a great day, I think it was worth the long journey and I loved the performance and the day couldn’t have been better. The actor who played Ben had a great voice impression of an 11 year old boy.(Faye Nichols)

It was my first theatre experience and it was definitely one to remember. The acting was brilliant and the props were so creative! (Kelsey Martin)

This was my first time at a theatre. HMT was really big and it was a great experience for me. (Jack Steele)

The last Newsletter of the session is now available by clicking here

Building a mini shelter.

Watching the fast flowing weir at Sanquhar Loch

Our waterproofs are working!

Today the weather created a few challenges as it was forecast to rain continuously all day – and it did! After a consultation process involving the children it was decided that we should test out the school waterproofs and go to Sanquhar Woods.
Today we were learning about survival strategies using S.T.O.P. If we are ever lost we should apply S = stop and stay put (people at home will know we are late back and come to find us), T = think, where would be a good place to stay safe and shelter from the weather? O = observe what is around about me – could I use something to help keep me safe? and P = plan, could I make a shelter? As we become more independent we should always act responsibly and tell our families where we are going and agree on a time to be home.
Our task today was to build a mini shelter for our pine cone people to stay warm and dry. We worked in pairs and collected sticks, moss and leaf litter. Most of us were very successful and we got the chance to visit each others shelters and evaluate these.
Even though it was very wet the grown ups did not hear anyone complain. In fact Keiran Tennant said, “Being out in the rain is the best thing in the world!” When we got back to school we hung up wet jackets and over trousers on pegs and washed our hands in lovely warm water.

Applegrove girls flying into the finish…

Applegrove P6 and 7 runners

On Sunday, Applegrove pupils made up a team of runners to take part in Elgin Rotary Clubs Marafun. They ran just under a mile down the High Street and South Street, passing the kiltmakers, to the finish on the Plainstones in Elgin. Applegrove made up the majority of runners taking part so very well done for supporting the Marafun event and we hope you had a fun day out. Everyone got a finishers medal and Isla Rooney said there was chocolate at the finish too – well worth the effort! Olivia Dawson was first Applegrove girl and Josh Angell was first Applegrove boy.