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.

This week we continued with our studies of plant diversity in Sanquhar Woods. We worked in groups of four, looking at trees in particular and used leaf ID cards to try and identify the trees in our local environment. We photographed our findings and shared them with other groups.

P7s have been learning about tobacco smoking and its effect on the body as well as how culture, the media, peer groups, their own attitudes and values can influence them. We studied the Scottish and UK laws about tobacco, statistics and facts, the financial cost and the effect is has on health and looks. To round up our investigations we discussed why people, and especially young people start smoking.  We linked this to our previous understanding of what peer pressure is.

We have been finding Oystercatcher eggs laid in some unusual places in the school grounds. We are asking the children not to touch them in the hope that they will be incubated by the bird. This one was spotted in the planting tub!

Time in our ‘special place’.

Thinking…

Imagining…

Building on the work we did on bio-diversity we were learning about food chains and food webs. We acted out a Sanquhar Woods food web using string and found we were all linked together. Some of us used cameras to photograph where we thought living creatures might live. Other pupils went to create an emblem to mark their special place.  The only things we took from the woods today were photographs and the only thing we left behind were footprints!

P5N have finding out about the work that Christian Aid do in order to raise money to help those around the world in need. This year’s Christian Aid focus was about refugees and the journeys they have to make to escape war and find safety. The children presented a short assembly to the school last Friday afternoon. Today they did their fundraising activity. The children decided that they wanted to do a 5 mile sponsored walk. Although it was very much shorter than the journeys that refugees make, it gave the children time to reflect on their experiences.