The winners of the St Nicholas Reading and Writing competitions had a lovely lunch with our Head Teacher, Mrs Brown, today. They went on a bus to the other end of Broxburn, had a delicious lunch, and were treated to a book of their choice. Thank you very much to our local partners, Glow Worm Books, for looking after our prizewinners so well and for sponsoring these competitions for us.
And well done again to our fabulous readers and writers.
The Eco Group did the RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch today, noting the different types of birds that are in the Broxburn area, before we uploaded our results to find the Top 10 birds around St Nicholas. We then worked to create bird snappers – older pupils working alongside younger pupils. Thanks to our P7, P6 and P5s who took such good care of our younger St Nicholas children, working with such care, skill and patience. The snappers were very fiddly to put together but we got there with them. Well done everyone!
The Justice and Peace group are continuing to work hard with Miss O’Neill to develop as they tackle how we address issues of social justice, equity, global citizenship and international learning both across our school and in the wider community. They have put together a calendar of events for our Lenten appeal which starts on Monday of next week. The children of the Justice and Peace group have come up with innovative and fun ideas to raise a lot of money for very worthy causes. Please click below for more information:
A time of reflection yesterday as St Nicholas Primary School took part in Broxburn’s Remembrance Sunday Service.
Another very high standard of entries into our decorated egg competition this year – we certainly have some fabulous artists at St Nicholas. Our winners are pictured above with their artwork and prizes. Congratulations to you all mad well done to everyone who entered.
Article 29
Our education allows us to share our talents.
This week the school has been ringing out with music, as the stars of the school production of ‘Annie’ were able to share their hard work with their friends and family. The cast, who have been working hard on the show for only seven weeks, performed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week to packed audiences.
Set in 1930s New York, Annie tells the story of an eleven-year-old girl, who has been living in the horrid Miss Hannigan’s orphanage for girls her whole life. She has the dream that one day she will be reunited with the parents who left her a letter and a locket so many years ago. Annie’s quest to find her real parents and the adoption by the billionaire businessman Oliver Warbucks is what provides dramatic plot for this spectacular and heart-warming musical.
We would like to thank all the parents, grandparents and friends who have donated their time, props, costumes, and for supporting learners in their learning of lines and dance routines.
Every single performer gave everything they had, helping to make this production so successful.
Thanks are due to all the staff who helped with auditions, rehearsals and backstage. Of course, the entire performance could not have happened if it were not for all the brilliantly talented actors, actresses and chorus who helped to make the event so memorable. Well done everyone!
Here’s just a few photos with lots more to come. Please leave a comment about your thoughts on the production…
Article 29
Our education should provide us with the opportunity to share our talents.
Well, our Annie rehearsals are really coming together. We certainly have a fantastic bunch of enterprising entrepreneurs, creative artists and budding actors. We will be having a full dress rehearsal on the afternoon of Monday 23rd March, in which we will invite the rest of the school to watch.
The show dates have been finalised and tickets will be on sale soon. They are as follows:
Monday 23rd March – 6pm
Tuesday 24th March – 1pm
Thursday 26th March – 6pm
We have begun to issue costume details to individual cast members and have requested that all chorus orphans bring in dull (grey, black or brown), old, ill-fitting clothing that you wouldn’t mind being ripped or dirtied a bit. If these could be brought in in a carrier bag with their name on it, it would make it easier to keep a track of costumes.
Further information will be issued soon, but in the meantime, if you can help with other props or costumes (listed below), please just let Mrs Buchanan-Coutts know – we would be extremely grateful.
Flat caps, trilby, waistcoats, tweed style jacket, long coats (men and woman), feather boas, pin-stripe suit (men/woman), old tattered small suitcase, old style radio, camp bed or sun-loungers.
After a bit of a delay (of just over a month), the second St Nicholas Movie night took place last week. With ice-cream, a bottle of metled ice and a build a snowman kit being handed out on arrival, I;m sure you have guessed the theme – it was ‘Frozen’, but with a little twist – the words appeared at the bottom on the screen so everyone could sing a long. It was another roaring success with a £300 being made by the end of the event. Everyone had a fantastic evening and as well as coming dressed for the occasion, were in great singing voice. A huge thank you to the Filmclub for organising the night and congratulations to the winners of our raffle.
Article 15
We have a right to meet with friends
Unfortunate events meant we had to postpone the scheduled Community Film Night showing of Sing-a-long Frozen. However, we are now very pleased to announce that the event has been rescheduled and will now be held on Wednesday 4th February.
All those who paid for tickets previously should now have been given them. If you find that you have not received them, please let the school know so we can check the list of names.
The doors will open at 5:30pm with the film beginning at 6:15pm. If an adult is not at the film night with their child, they must be collected no later than 8pm.
So get your singing voices tuned up and we’ll see you there.
Article 24
We need access to nutritious and health food
MMmmmm, delicious! That was the call of Primary 6 when they tasted their own smoothies on the Lidl Health bus. Whilst one group were blending their creations using the fresh ingredients available with their own apron and name badge to take away in their very own smoothie shaker cup, the other group were learning about the importance of exercise and the resultant effect on their hearts. Every pupil was given a heart rate monitor watch to keep for the duration of this part of the session. they were all be asked their heart rate and told to keep an eye on it throughout the game – solving clues about types of fruit and vegetables and racing to the basket to collect the correct item of fruit or vegetable before returning to read the next clue. At the end of the game everyone were again asked for their heart rate and 2 of the specially trained Health Factor Team will took them through why their heart rate has increased and the importance of exercise. Then, all change round!!!!
Articles 1-5
We should know and learn about the rights we are all entitled to.
During the last school session, our pupil groups each designed and made their own poster showing one of the articles from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that was important to them: Pupil Council – a right to be heard, Eco – a right to a safe environment, clean water and healthy food, Rights Busters – a right to an education, Health Committee – a right to play and the Art club – a right to join in with different clubs and activities. During the holidays we have had these posters enlarged and turned into outdoor displays. Today, these were put fixed to the fences out in the playground for all to see.
We are very proud of all the displays – well done!
Article 29
We can share our talents and abilities.
What a truly inspirational start we all have had. The Soweto Melodic Voices, a 30 piece youth choir from South Africa, visited the school to carry out workshops with us. After treating them to our version on Shosholoza, we were split into groups and taught a song using different harmonies as well as some dance moves.
In the afternoon, the whole school were invited to watch an absolutely amazing performance by the choir – they even asked us onto the stage to perform with them in front of everyone!
Click on the links below to see some snippets of the singing…
The choir are performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and have asked if some of us would like to join them during their last show. How lucky do we feel?
Well here it is… after a lot of discussion, filming and editing, the final copy of our short film is ready. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. You’ll find the link to youtube film in both the parent and pupil links on the right.
Article 2
The UNCRC belongs to everyone under the age of 18 no matter their race, religion or ability.
The Rights Respecting group have been busy again… This week we have placed the whole school charter up on display at the front entrance. After a lot of discussion, the following articles were chosen as the most important and relative in school:
8 The right to an identity, 12 The right to be heard, 19 The right to be protected from being hurt 24 The Right to a clean and safe environment, 28 The right to an education, 29 Your education should develop skills and talents.
The water coming out of the watering cans explains what adults responsibilities will be in order to make sure all children receive these rights and the flowers show the rights respecting actions for the children of St Nicholas to adhere to so they can grow and develop individually.
Article 30
You have the right to enjoy your own culture, practice your own religion and use your own language.
We have been learning about the beautiful country of South Africa and comparing it with life here in Scotland. We thought it would be a really good idea to share our huge diverse culture, traditions, history and lifestyles with some children in South Africa. So, we decided to create ‘our life in a bag’ – a paper suitcase filled with pictures, photographs, coins, information etc. – explaining the rich environment we live in and send them to two primary schools in the Port Elizabeth area; Lorraine Primary and Herbert Hurd Primary.
The bags are now on their way and we have had a look at the websites of both schools online. We have already had a response from one of the schools, who have emailed to say they are really excited about our projects and have started creating a collage to send back. We can’t wait!!
Article 29
You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for other’s rights and the environment
For the last couple of weeks, Film club member have been busy learning new skills in film making with Angus. We are finding out about some of the trade secrets relating to organising a set, working a camera and sound quality. Next we are going to be doing some animation work and then moving onto editing.
Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Article 1
Everyone under 18 has the same rights
As part of our journey, the Rights Respecting Committee have been busy discussing what kinds of things we should be doing in the dinner hall to make sure everyone enjoys their rights. They have created a very bright and colourful lunchtime charter which is displayed where everyone can see it whilst waiting for their lunch.
We are about to embark on a whole school and playground charter.
| Grand circle: | £30 £25 £20 £15 |
| Stalls: | £30 £25 £20 £15 £12 £10 |
Described by Nelson Mandela as ‘South Africa’s cultural ambassadors’, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been delivering exuberantly energetic performances around the globe for decades.
To complement its collaboration on Inala, it gives a special one-off concert that offers the chance to experience one of the world’s finest vocal groups.
Combining traditional Zulu musical styles with gospel music, it contrasts powerful, passionate choruses with soft, soulful sweetness in quieter music, bringing a symphonic richness to its a cappella performances, all delivered with an infectious sense of rhythm and flamboyant dance moves.
Undulating rhythmic phrases that push and pull…harmonising that is both ethereal and earthy”
Article 13
You have the right to find out things and say what you think, through making art, speaking and writing unless it breaks the rights of others
Everyone at the Film Club is very excited. We have been chosen to participate in an outreach project, working with a filmmaking professional who will stimulate and facilitate the making of our very own film! We will learn all the different skills required to produce a film, including scripting, camera skills, sound recording, lighting, editing and using proper film language. While doing all this we will develop not only digital skills, but also communication and teamwork.
Angus Reid is a writer, filmmaker and artist. He is founder/director of Speakeasy Pictures, 1987 – the present day, “…independent research in the medium of spontaneous self-expression: a therapeutic creative act that is a tool in the development of a child, an adult, a person”.
After meeting Angus last week, he is very excited about our chosen theme (to be revealed at a later date). Angus will be in to see us all next week, where we will begin to learn how to properly use a camera to record action and discuss further how we are going to stage our film. In the meantime, we have been busy making some of the props we will need.
We will keep you all up to date with how we are doing with regular blog posts, but in the meantime, you can have a look at the programme run by Into Film by following link in the parent/pupil link section.
Article 41
You have the right to any rights in laws in your country or internationally that give you better rights than these
On Sunday the 27th April, South Africa celebrated 20 years since the end of apartheid when Nelson Mandela became the first black president following his 27 years spent in prison for fighting against this segregation. Apartheid happened for many years in South Africa and was when people with different colours of skin were not allowed to be together. The country had separate schools, banks, buses and even laws for white people and non white people. People who were not white were treated very unfairly.
To gain a better understanding of apartheid and how unfair and unjust it was, last week primary 5 actually experienced it first hand!
We had a long discussion about equal rights and how unfair it is when people are discriminated against, we agreed that everyone no matter who you are should be treated equally and everyone is entitled to their rights. To gain a better understanding of what it would have been like to live in South Africa during apartheid we were separated into 2 groups. People that were born in January to June were in group one and people born in July to December were in group two. We talked about how we didn’t get to choose what month we were born in, just like babies do not get to choose the colour of their skin, eyes or hair, or the country they are born in, who their parents are or if they have a disability.
Then we were told the ‘Apartheid Laws’ for the day. People that were born in the first half of the year were treated fairly but the laws for the people born in the second half of the year were very different…
A person born between July to December…
Children who were born in the first half of the year wore bibs so both groups could be easily identified.
Children born in the second half of the year were not treated fairly at all, during P.E. even though they won the curling game 7-2, the teachers insisted that the other team won. It made the people in group 2 very frustrated! The unfairness also had an effect on children in group 1 who felt guilty and were angry that people were being treated so differently. We stopped throughout the day and we shared how we were feeling, it gave us a real insight into what life would have been like during apartheid.
On day two the groups swapped over so everyone had a chance to experience both sides of apartheid.
At half past two on Thursday we stopped our segregated P.E lesson and celebrated the end of apartheid and a very challenging couple of days. We scrunched up our idneitity badges and threw our bibs in the air and danced around the hall with our friends who we had been separated from for two days. This was a very valuable lesson, we vowed to always treat each other equally, never to discriminate and to stand up to injustice and unfairness.
Come along and watch the Minions in action in Despicable Me 2
All children and adults welcome.
Tickets on sale next Monday onwards on a first come first served basis.
Tickets available will be for seats or you could choose to bring along a cushion and sit on the floor!!
All proceeds to our Lenten Appeal
Time to meet our amazing team! 
Article 17
Last week we had a class discussion about digital rights and responsibilities when using technology. We carried out a matching task linking digital rights and responsibilities. Next we looked at Graphic Manipulation where we learned how to crop, add transparency, export and save the finished graphics.
Today we are looking at Storyboarding – planning storylines and using software to develop skills of combining text and graphics to tell a story.
Our extension task is to create an animated version of the story using text, graphics and control instructions.
World trade rules are unfair and often disadvantage developing countries. Today, Primary 5 explored international trade issues to try and find out how this has happened.
We were divided into ten groups, each representing a different country:
Each country was given an envelope containing raw materials (e.g. paper) and/or technology (e.g. scissors). The materials and technology differed from country to country, according to their level of development. With the contents of their envelopes, the countries were asked to produce shapes; each shape representing a monetary value they could redeem by depositing in either the Bank of Deas or Valentine’s Bank. The goal of the game was to gain as much wealth as possible.
It didn’t take long for us to discover that the contents of our envelopes were not equally distributed; some did not have enough raw materials or technology to produce any of the shapes. In order for us to do so, we had to negotiate and trade with other countries.
Everyone soon become extremely engaged in the game and there was a real buzz about the room. We were eager to produce tip top shapes and were very active in negotiating and trading with each other. However, there was some very underhand dealings going on! Not all countries were cooperative and helpful; selling resources at astronomical costs, counterfeit goods were being cashed in at the bank, there was dodgy trading at one of the banks and even some materials being sold on the black market by Miss King!!
The afternoon was a great success, especially for Canada who earned an impressive £22,000. Everyone gained a better understanding of the situation Third World countries find themselves in such as Tanzania who only managed to bank £3,150.
Well done to everyone involved.
Learners have been in full swing contributing to the creation of classroom charters which will be put together with the staff charters to create a whole class charter. The process has involved the learners choosing the rights from the Convention on the Rights of the Child that they feel are most important to the school. Once these have been collated they then think about how they can show respect towards these rights. This involves thinking about what day to day actions learners can take to protect their rights and take the most of the opportunities given by these rights.
Learners regularly attend and lead assemblies that promote the Rights Respecting ethos. They have had the process of gaining the award explained to them and were asked to reflect on the following themes:
The global dimension of RRSA is a central part of the award. Children learn that rights are universal and that all children do not have equal access to these rights across the world. As an international children’s rights organisation, UNICEF is committed to developing a global perspective in schools, so global citizenship in rights-respecting schools promotes the idea of taking action with and building cohesion rather than doing things to or for people.
A global citizen in a rights-respecting school is someone who knows their rights, believes everybody has rights and is committed to working towards a world where everyone can access their rights. At the heart of the CRC is the fundamental moral principle that all human beings are of equal worth who share an equal entitlement to enjoy the rights set out in the Convention.
Just a quick reminder that P2/1 and P2’s assembly will start at 11am.
Primary 7 will be running the cafe afterwards.
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