Stane Primary School and Nursery Class
– Kindness – Compassion – Courage – Community –
Primary 1/2 has been learning to write instructions as part of their weekly taught writing lessons. So far the children have written instructions to tell others how to: brush their teeth, make cereal and make Empire Biscuits. The children have been benefitting from carrying out the tasks before writing the instructions and the lessons involving food have proved to be very popular.
Primary 1/2 has finished their Science work investigating Senses and are now enjoying learning about Forces. The children were introduced to the Force of Push and Pull and thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with a variety of toys to see which toys required a push force or a pull force to create movement.
The boys and girls from Primary 3 and Primary 4/5 have been extremely busy both learning about and re- creating Ancient Egyptian artefacts. Among the atrefacts were canopic jars. The children learned that during the mummification process the organs of the human body were removed and preserved separately in canopic jars. The children had previously learned about hieroglyphics and they used this prior learning experience to decorate the jars.
The children were exploring how the Ancient Egyptians highly valued personal decorations and embellishment. Jewellery was worn by both men and women of all social classes.
The children chose which materials they would prefer to use to design and decorate their own collar and cuffs. We are all looking forward to showcasing what we have learned about at our Primary 3 and 4/5 class assembly on the 30th of October.
Primary 3 and Primary 3/4 classrooms have been transformed into a scene from Ancient Egypt this week. The children have been proudly bringing in their technology homework. The children were set a task of creating their own pyramids. This was to enable children and their parents to work collaboratively and develop an understanding of materials that can be used in technology. The homework task also allows the children to focus on their practical skills, using a range of tools under their parents supervision.
I was so pleased to see the children thinking of the environment and remembering that we are an Eco school. Most of the materials used were recyclable and we even have a pyramid made from cake!
I think that there are some of Scotland’s future creative designers and architects among the children who have already brought in their pyramids.
Watch out for pyramid houses in Shotts in 2030!
It’s been quite a while since I’ve had the chance to blog about what is happening in our wonderful school. It was lovely to see everyone back today after the October holiday and to find out what all of the children have been doing during the break. It was great to have such lovely weather and I hope everyone had the chance to spend some time outdoors.
Miss Tiffney is still unwell and won’t be back at work this week. The children in P4/5 are really missing her and send her get well wishes. Mrs. Glen and Mrs. Scott will teach the class this week.
I visited the nursery class this morning and as soon I walked into the playroom, one of the children invited me to share an ‘under the sea’ counting book with her. It was great to take 10 minutes out of my day to sit in the library corner with her and share the story together. It was very kind of her to ask me to join in.
Primary 3 and 4/5 have been very busy practising for their upcoming ‘Egyptian’ assembly which takes place a week on Friday at 9.30am. I have had a wee sneak preview of some of the singing and dancing – I am sure all of the parents and guests will really enjoy it. The children will be writing invitations in their taught writing lesson this week which will be sent home this week.
After lunchtime, I worked with P1/2 and P2 as they took their learning outdoors. They were using playground chalk to draw pictures on the ground of everything they know about ‘autumn’ ahead of their new block of interdisciplinary learning. There was lots of pictures of trees losing their leaves and of Hallowe’en costumes. Mr. O’Donnell was busy writing down lots of comments the children were making onto paper leaves. I wonder if these will be part of the children’s learning journey display?
Today was the start of the new colour band system for school dinners, and I am delighted that it went so smoothly. All of the children having a school dinner chose their meal in the morning and then came to the dinner hall wearing the correct colour band. I was very pleased that the amount of leftover food was reduced and that the very last person to come to the counter still got exactly what he ordered.
Please help continue to make this go smoothly by talking to your child about what they will choose each day. You can see the menu here or sign up for email alerts to have it sent directly to you every week.
Two important letters were sent home with the children today. Pupils in P1-7 have received a letter about this term’s after-school clubs. I am delighted to be able to offer P1-3 Fun Fitness, P1-3 Art and Crafts, P4-7 Football and P4-7 Cross Country. Later on in the month, I hope to be able to offer a P2-4 dance club too.
The second letter was about the Nursery to P7 pantomime. This year, the children will visit Hamilton Town House to see ‘Sleeping Beauty’. Our wonderful Parent Council have contributed £500 towards the cost, which is simply amazing! The school will provide a snack and a drink for the outing. Please return the tear off slips and money for the pantomime as soon as possible to ensure your child’s place is secured.
I will be teaching Primary 5/6 all day tomorrow and am looking forward to teaching them about information report writing, budgeting money in maths and some french revision too.
Remember that you can find out more about the life of the school on our Twitter page too. Why not follow us with a Twitter account of your own?
The boys and girls in the nursery had great fun on Thursday when their parents and carers came along to play with them in the nursery. Our visitors were able to see for themselves the different types of learning experiences on offer daily in the nursery, and also how well the children tidy up the playroom at the end of the session!
We would like to thank our parents/carers for coming along to support us. We received some positive feedback following the event, and look forward to holding similar events again throughout the year.
Here is some of our feedback:
I enjoyed having an insight into how they learn and being able to see them in this environment. It was good being shown round by the kids and them showing/pointing out what they do.
I got to see what my child does during her day and I got to see what the teachers do and how well they knew the pupils.
I got to see the activities kids do at the nursery and how they learn.
I am feeling a lot more confident about my child’s progression and learning
It was great to see exactly what the kids do. Also learned a great tip on how to make play dough!
This morning we all set off together to some nearby cliffs to do some rock climbing. The children put on harnesses and helmets and took to the rocks. They all gave it a go and managed to climb to the top of the cliff. It was a lovely morning and everyone had a great time.
This afternoon, the children went to different activities with their groups. Group 1 went canoeing and then to the ropes course. The children loved canoeing and some of them even got over their fear of the sea. Two canoes were tied together and everyone got in. The children had to try to paddle the canoe in different directions. Some people were paddling more than others…they nearly ended up in Oban! Fortunately everyone got back to shore safe and sound.
Group 2 went on an adventure walk. This was the highlight of some of their times at Kilbowie. The children went a walk through caves and up a mountain. The mountain was high and some of the children were calling their instructor Bear Grylls. This activity was great fun.
This evening the children spent longer getting ready. Miss Thomson and I took on the role of hairdressers and fashion advisors. It’s amazing how quickly a case can be packed, when you need to get ready for a disco! The children were all showing off their dance moves and had a great time at the disco. Our very own Alan even took on the role of DJ at the disco and provided us with great tunes. A good time was had by everyone and it was a super way to end an excellent time at Kilbowie.
Tonight, as a school, we sat down and spoke about our favourite things about Kilbowie. The children have all summed up their experience. You can read them below.
Marc – Kilbowie has been fun. I liked being with my friends and I liked the Gorge Walking. I would love to come back.
Aiden – Kilbowie has been great because of the mountain climbing and Gorge Walking. I liked the skiing because I learned how to ski and I would definitely come back.
Robbie – Kilbowie has been great because I got to do Gorge Walking and the adventure walk. I would come back to Kilbowie.
Miller – Kilbowie has been awesome. I have had lots of great experiences. The best one was canoeing because we had to work as a team to get back to land.
Alan – Kilbowie has been weird and fun. I liked the Nightline because I didn’t have to put on the blindfold and you held a rope and went round in the dark. I also loved being the DJ at the disco. I liked the water activities.
Cody – Kilbowie has been excellent because of the nature walks and the water activities. I would come back.
Malcolm – Kilbowie has been a great learning experience because all of the activities have been really fun. I really enjoyed Nightline. I have learned how to paddle in a canoe. I would come back.
Lewis – Kilbowie has been awesome. I’ve tried lots of new things and had a great experience. I used to be afraid of water and now I’m not.
Erin – Kilbowie has been a really good experience as I used to be afraid of the sea but canoeing has shown me that I don’t need to be afraid of it anymore. It’s been an amazing experience and I would definitely come back again.
Joan – Kilbowie is amazing in all different ways. I used to be scared of heights but now I’m not because of mountain climbing and rock climbing.
Kirsty – Kilbowie was a big experience because you got to do lots of activities that you have never done before and all of them were so different – I can remember every activity and I liked them all.
Hailey – Kilbowie is something that I will probably remember forever because I have done stuff that I probably won’t get to do again. I might never get to do rock climbing or skiing again.
Jennifer – Kilbowie is amazing because I loved rock climbing. When we went on the adventure rock, we had to walk up a huge mountain and when I was at the top I realised that I didn’t have to be scared of heights anymore.
Breehann – Kilbowie has been fun because I didn’t know how to ski before I came here but now I know.
Jessica – Kilbowie has been one of my favourite things that I have done in my life. When we were at the top of the mountain at the adventure walk, I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be.
Emma – Kilbowie is amazing. It is such an experience to be able to have fun and learn at the same time with all of your friends. My favourite thing from Kilbowie has been the Gorge Walking. It was fun to get wet.
Louise – I think Kilbowie has been a great experience. At skiing I was scared of going down the big hill but I did it and it was really fun. All you do is laugh. I loved mountain climbing – I was scared of heights at first but once I was at the top and looked down and I felt like I had freedom. It’s been an excellent experience.
The children are all in bed, exhausted, cases packed and excited to come home to see you all tomorrow. It has been an honour to look after the children since Monday and share this experience with them. I have been so impressed with their attitude and the way that they have encouraged each other. They have tried every single activity and have worked excellently together as a team. We will see you all tomorrow when we return home safe and sound. The children can’t wait to tell you all about their week!
The boys and girls from Primary 1/2 continued learning about Health and Wellbeing this afternoon. The children have been learning about the different type of teeth we have and what they are used for. We have also been looking at the variety of different ways to look after our teeth, such as brushing, visiting the dentist, eating less sweets and drinking water inbetween meals. The children really enjoyed their activities today, especially when they got the chance to make a mouth using sliced apple and marshmallows. Yum!
The Triangles started a new Maths concept today. They were learning how to recognise, continue and create patterns. The children enjoyed using different resources to continue patterns and even made some patterns of their own. The children were particularly keen to make their pattern the longest.
The Squares continued their learning of Place Value and were investigating how 2 digit numbers are made using Tens and Units.
Today was a brilliant day! Definitely the best day so far.
This morning we had skiing. We had a few nervous skiers at the beginning…but had 17 professionals by lunch time. The children got sized up for their ski boots and then hit the dry sky slope. They all took part in the warm up and within a short while were skiing down the dry ski slope. Some of them even managed to go from the very top! A fantastic experience for all of the children, as so many of them had never been skiing before.
We had a quick lunch at the centre so that we could get ready for Gorge Walking!
This afternoon it was Mrs McLean’s favourite activity…Gorge Walking. It’s now a firm favourite of everyone at Stane. We all set off together in the mini buses and went to a nearby Gorge. With wet suits, waterproofs and helmets we all jumped into the Gorge and started making our way up it. Everyone of the children gave 100% and Miss Thomson and I were super impressed with the excellent team work that was displayed. The instructors commented to me afterwards, saying how great all of the kids were and how well they all ‘gave it a go’. It was a great afternoon, and we haven’t returned with too many bruises!
Then for dinner we had an extra special treat. The Kilbowie staff kindly dropped us off in the centre of Oban. We then went to the Oban Bay Chip Shop where the children were treated to a chippy for their dinner. The children chose between a sausage supper, fish, pizza and macaroni…all with chippy chips. They then all finished with a tub of ice cream. We then walked along the harbour of Oban looking at the different boats, the water and seeing the sun set as we walked back to Kilbowie. The children really appreciated this treat and said it was the best meal ever!! It was also described as ‘tasty’ and ‘mouthwatering’. We made it back just in time for the evening activity – perfect timing!!
This evening we did a Who Wants to be a Millionaire question hunt. The children loved running around, trying to find different staff members and answer the questions to see who could get to £1million first. Unfortunately we aren’t returning as millionaires.
Today has been an action packed day. Here are some quotes from the children about their favourite part of today. Although, most of them found it difficult to choose a favourite bit today!
Aidan – I enjoyed Gorge Walking because it was fun and we got to go under the waterfall.
Marc – I liked the Gorge Walking because I liked jumping off the ledges into the water.
Alan – I liked the night activity Who Wants to be a Millionaire because I got to dance and sing YMCA.
Malcolm – I loved everything today.
Joan – I loved Gorge Walking because everyone kept falling in the water and I liked it when the teachers fell in.
Louise – My favourite thing was skiing. I liked when we had to go down the hill. It wasn’t sore when you fell, it was just funny.
Jennifer – I liked the Gorge Walking because I kept falling in.
Lewis – I loved everything because Kilbowie is awesome.
Miller – I loved everything. Everything was fun today.
Robbie – I loved Gorge Walking because I got to jump off a cliff.
Cody – my favourite thing was Gorge Walking because I liked the water.
Breehann – My favourite thing was Gorge Walking because you were allowed to jump in. I loved skiing as well.
Jessica – My favourite part was Gorge Walking. Especially when I got to jump in the water.
Emma – My favourite part of today was Gorge Walking because I got to get wet and not care that I was wet. I enjoyed skiing just as much.
Erin – Today was exciting. I loved Gorge Walking. It was breath taking and I just loved it. I really enjoyed skiing as we went from the top of the slope and we were learning skills really fast. The chippy was well good.
Kirsty – Gorge Walking was my favourite because it was slippy and scary. Skiing was scary because I kept falling but I kept getting back up and trying again.
Hailey – I really enjoyed the skiing because it felt weird with the skis on but it was good at the same time. I went from the very top.
We are all exhausted and are heading to bed early tonight. We are excited about tomorrow and our last full activity day at Kilbowie. We can’t wait to show off our moves at the disco tomorrow. Good night!
