St Brendan’s Weekly News
Welcome back to our Weekly Blog with our exciting news and learning experiences from our pupils.
Take a look at the exciting learning experiences our pupils have been involved in over the past two weeks!
Remembering Pope Francis
At school, we have been spending time reflecting on the life and legacy of the late Pope Francis. Through prayer, discussion, and tasks, we are remembering his deep commitment to peace, compassion, and care for the poor and the environment. His example inspires us to live with greater kindness, humility, and faith, following his call to build a more just and loving world.
Here is some of the tasks we have been working on in class.
Please continue to pray for Pope Francis.
O God, from whom the just receive an unfailing reward,
grant that Your servant Francis, our Pope, whom you made
vicar of Peter and Shepard of your Church,
may rejoice forever in the vision of your glory,
for he was a faithful steward here on earth
of the mysteries of your forgiveness and grace.
Through Christ our Lord.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and
let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.
Amen.
Creating Engineers K’Nex challenge
Last month two of our Primary 6 boys won the Cluster challenge as part of the K’Nex Creating Engineers and yesterday attended the Regional Finals held at the University of the West of Scotland along with other finalists. The competition is designed for pupils to apply teamwork, construction skills, and imagination, by solving set engineering challenges using the construction set K’Nex.
Yesterday pupils were given the challenge of designing a ‘rover’ with rotating wheels and a steering mechanism that NASA can send to the moon. Our boys certainly met the design brief, an incredible creation, well done!
For our boys this was the end of their K’Nex challenge journey. We are so proud of their achievement and wish all the winning pupils the best of luck in the next round!
Primary 7 Outdoor Discovery Award
Throughout term 3 our Primary 7 pupils took part in ‘The Outdoor Discovery Award’ This award is a National Navigation Award. Pupils completed a series of tasks and activities within the school and local community to achieve a level 1 award. Pupils developed the valuable skills of drawing a map, following a map, map scales, map symbols. Pupils had super opportunities to work collaboratively with their peers and discover and explore an outdoor space. Here they are enjoying a little treat down Barons Haugh to celebrate their success of completing the award. Well done!
First Holy Communion Preparation
Our Primary 4 children have been busy preparing for their First Holy Communion by taking part in a special role play of the Last Supper. Through this meaningful activity, they gained a deeper understanding of the events of Holy Thursday and the importance of the Eucharist. It was a wonderful way for them to connect with the story of Jesus and reflect on the significance of receiving Holy Communion for the first time.
Outdoor Classroom
We are excited to announce that construction has begun on our new outdoor classroom! This wonderful new space will provide students with opportunities to learn, explore, and connect with nature in a fresh and inspiring environment. We look forward to seeing how this outdoor area will enhance learning across all areas of the curriculum.
Primary 5/4 and 4 KAPLA creations
This week our Primary 5/4 and 4 children have been working hard to build authentic Roman bathhouses. Using the KAPLA blocks pupils explored the ancient architecture of the Roman world. Through teamwork and problem-solving, the pupils collaborated to recreate the intricate designs and functionality of a Roman bathhouse — complete with pools, saunas, and open-air courtyards. Pupils demonstrated their knowledge regarding the functionalities of each room through discussion with their peers and teachers and how each room was used in the Roman times!
First Lego League Explore
Last month our staff participated in a Twilight digital training session with Colin Dornan and Lisa Carrol from the Digital School who offered training on First Lego League Challenges.
These challenges allow our pupils to be introduced to the fundamentals of STEM while working together to solve fun challenges and building models using LEGO® DUPLO® bricks.
In FIRST ® LEGO® League Explore, our pupils will focus on the fundamentals of engineering as they explore real-world problems, learn to design and code, and create unique solutions made with LEGO® bricks and powered by LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential.
FIRST LEGO League Explore is one of three divisions by age group of the FIRST LEGO League program. This program inspires young people to experiment and grow their confidence, critical thinking, and design skills through hands-on learning.
This week, Mr Dornan dropped off our Lego League Submerged Kits to Primary 4. We are so excited to start our LEGO League challenge.
Mrs Oates and Miss Mitchell present for Learning, Teaching and Assessment
On Tuesday of this week Mrs Oates presented at the Learning Teaching and Assessment Conference at ‘’. At this event Mrs Oates had the opportunity to share and discuss good practice in planning and tracking within the Early Years and play environments.
On Wednesday of this week Miss Mitchell also had the opportunity to present at Noble Primary for ‘Learning, Teaching and Assessment’. Miss Mitchell shared St. Brendan’s learning, teaching and assessment journey over the past few years. Miss Mitchell was able to share our school’s good practice of our inward and outward approaches of:
- High Quality Assessment of moderation in all curriculum subjects across all stages.
- Enquiry based approaches of our teachers to improve learning and teaching within our school environment.
- Designing progressive learning pathways for our learners in line with Curriculum for Excellence.
- Writing moderation and verification at a school and cluster level.
- Up to date assessment folders for monitoring and tracking of pupils within our school.
- Participation of ‘The West Partnership’ of high-quality assessment.
Assembly Awards
At this week’s assembly, we were thrilled to celebrate our pupils’ outstanding achievements as they received awards for being successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors, and responsible citizens. These awards recognise pupils who have shown exceptional effort in class, demonstrated confidence in new challenges, contributed positively to school life, and acted responsibly within the school community. It was inspiring to see their hard work, determination, and kindness being celebrated. Congratulations to all our award winners—you truly embody the values we strive for every day here in St. Brendan’s.
