Monthly Archives: June 2013

School Trips

Glamis Castle Trip

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On Monday 17th of June, the pupils from Abernyte Primary visited Glamis Castle for their school trip.

“On Monday we went to Glamis Castle and we got a tour inside the castle.  The guide said there was a ghost in the castle.  At the end of the tour we went to the park and we went on the flying fox and it went so slow.”

Elise

“On Monday we went to Glamis Castle.  We looked in the castle and got a tour.  The lady that gave the tour lied about going in a wardrobe at night and going to the land of Narnia.  We went in to the walled garden.  There was a fountain and lots of plants.  There were lovely flowers and veg.  In the castle there were ghosts.  One of them tripped me up.”

Molly

ICT

“Dare” Computer Game Design

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On Friday 14th of June, Primary 6 from Abernyte Primary went along to the Dare Launchpad event at Abertay University to learn about the UK computer games industry and have a go at designing and creating their own platform game.

Pupils learned about some of the computer games that are produced in Britain and were given a tour of some of the teams that are developing games for the Dare to be Digital 2013 design challenge.  They learned about the inspiration and design process behind the games and what is needed to create a successful game.

After everyone was split into co-operative teams (P6 from Abernyte were joined by two pupils from Arngask), pupils decided if they wanted to be a Designer, Artist or Programmer before brainstorming and coming up with ideas for their own game.

After lunch, the Artists got to work on the graphics for the game using Gimp, the Programmer started building the level and the Programmers began coding the software needed for the individual elements of the game using GameMaker Studio. 

This collaborative process eventually resulted in a playable game which will be built to a web platform by Future Fossil Studios and hosted online.  As soon as they’re ready, we’ll update this post with a link to the game(s) for you to try out!

Outdoor Learning

Bluetit Tagging

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On Wednesday 12th June, the birds that we have been keeping a close eye on in school, took one more step along the road in their life journey.  Local ornithologists Barry Caudwell, and his wife Cathy, came to Abernyte Primary to ring the baby Bluetits that are currently living in our nesting box.

Pupils have been watching the nesting box that resides in our school playground for weeks, via a TV camera installed inside it.  During that time, they have watched the mother Bluetit build and prepare her nest and lay 6 eggs.  They have witnessed 5 of the eggs hatching and have watched as the mother and father birds cared for their young over time.

Barry Cauldwell is liscenced to ring birds, so our latest additions to the school will be able to be tracked and logged anywhere in the world once they fly the nest.

Healthy Schools

Health Day

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On Tuesday 11th June, the pupils from Abernyte took part in their annual Health Day, with a few parents who came along to help out and lend support.

Pupils learned about Road Safety and took part in playground activities in the morning before stopping for a healthy snack, with plenty of fruit and veg!  They then took part in some Aerobics and learned more about Hand Hygiene, Sun Awareness, Head Lice and Road Safety before taking a break for lunch.

In the afternoon, pupils had an input on Dental Health and Water Safety, as well as competing in mini Highland Games and Cricket.  It was a fun-filled, energy-full day!

Eco Schools

Scotherbs Poster Winners

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Congratulations to our P4 and P1 pupils who won the poster competition run by local producer Scotherbs. 

As part of the Open Farm Sunday initiative, Scotherbs were open to the public on June 9th.  To help advertise the event, they ran a design competition for schools in the local area, where pupils were to design a poster promoting the day, with a theme of “Discover the Story Behind your Food”.

Out of all the entries, the pupils pictured here won first place in the two age categories and were rewarded with seed packets and books on growing and using herbs and plants in cooking.  Well done you two!