Community Affairs

Kippen Over 60s Christmas Dinner

A large party- 69 guests and many volunteers – gathered in Kippen Village Hall on Monday 2nd December for the 61st Christmas Dinner.

Mary Lawson and Ellen Larson Davidson opened the afternoon. Cameron Skinner and his team once again provided a much- appreciated banquet, catering for various dietary requirements. John Burns and Billy Hutton provided the entertainment and dancing was enjoyed. The Diamond Anniversary commemorative photo book and slide show were on display. A huge raffle took place and the afternoon ended with Auld Lang Syne and a vote of thanks from Liessa Allan.

The Hall and Christmas tree were beautifully decorated thanks to the parents and children of the Playgroup and Toddlers group. Many thanks to McNicolls Store, Sheree hairdressing, Rhubarb  Lime, the Woodhouse, Twine, the Cross Keys, the Inn at Kippen, Simon Littlejohn, Kippen Church and Balfron Church Lunch Club for donating supplies and raffle prizes, as well as all the local clubs and societies and individual donors, too many to record. The Hall Committee are thanked for use of the Hall, which was very cosy. The committee thanks all those who so happily served, washed dishes, organised the bar, transported guests, photographed the event, delivered invitations and fundraised throughout the year.

Lastly, thanks to the guests who came prepared to have a good time and make this such a wonderful community event.

Tracy Hepburn

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Community Affairs, Uncategorized

Kippen Playgroup’s pint-sized pioneers are back!

Whether it is scrutinising snails, probing puddles or magnifying mushrooms, our mini-adventurers can be relied upon to get their hands – and sometimes their entire bodies – dirty, searching for the truth to nature’s big questions:

How does a slug move? Why do trees lose their leaves? How long before this water infiltrates my waterproofs? Do bears really poo in these woods?

When they’re not cataloguing our countryside, the Playgroup children sometimes choose to get their creative juices flowing by painting, creating clay sculptures and mark-making with charcoal.  At other times they decide it’s all about pond dipping, concocting potions, making up stories, or having a relaxing swing in the hammock.  When outside, children tend to ask permission less and rarely rely on adults to lead the play.  This is what Kippen Playgroup strives for, child-centred and child-led learning.

Recently the little ones have also really been enjoying the myriad of different uses for rope. It’s been used for tug-of-war, abseiling, as a tightrope, as a pulley and obviously to capture those pesky monsters.  Playing with the rope is not only good physical fun; it also encourages teamwork, creative thinking and problem solving.

When they’re not up at Monkey Camp, the children have been enjoying a wander down the back lane to visit the orchard.  The Playgroup are incredibly thankful to be allowed to roam in this beautiful, hidden part of Kippen, and the children are especially grateful at this time of year for all the fruit!  The brambles, apples and blueberries have been well and truly harvested by our voracious, little locusts!  No fruit has been spared; no top lip unadorned of a purple moustache.  Autumn is truly upon us.

If you think your little one would enjoy some outdoor adventuring, please get in touch with Morna via kippenplaygroup@gmail.com to arrange a taster session.  We run on a Tuesday and Friday (9:30am – 12:00pm) and we take children from 2 years old, up to school age.

There are ‘toddlers runs’ every Thursday in the village hall, all year round, and is the place to come when CBeebies is making you want to scratch your own eyeballs out.  We always have cake and biscuits, and as much tea as your probably now-compromised bladder can handle.  There are also lots of baby and toddler toys and it’s a great place for socialising your little cherubs in a safe environment.  Pop in any Thursday, 10:15am –12:00pm and we’ll see you there.

Suzanne Currie

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Community Affairs

Primary School

Primary 1

Primary 1 have been working on developing our play area this term. Our learning context in the first term was ‘The Seaside’. We wanted our play area to be linked to our topic. First we came up with some ideas. We drew pictures of what we would like to play with. We wrote a letter to Mrs Logan to share our ideas. Mrs Logan said we could buy some new play resources. Primary 6/7 came down and helped us with our research. We looked on the internet and in catalogues. We bought some sand and water toys. We made an aquarium role-play area and got some new sea animals to look after. We even made an ice-cream parlour. We love our new play area!

“We made scuba divers for the play area with our faces behind the mask. They are funny.” (Muireann)

“I like our new ice-cream parlour because we can pretend we are at the beach.” (Sophia)

“The shells are really interesting. I found some crab shells. I used the shells to make numbers.” (Jamie)

“I like the sand pit. There are lots of things to play with. There are numbers and letters. I make castles.” (Emma)

“I like our new aquarium. We take the sea animals in there and pretend to look after them.” (Anna)

P1.jpg

Primary 2/3

P2/3 have been learning ‘Under Sea Exploration’ this term and began the topic by reading the popular ‘Rainbow Fish’ story about kindness and friendship. They have learned about a range of under-sea creatures, and of the value of our seas and the need to look after them.

P2/3 have also been out and about learning outdoors and have been sharing storytelling in the woods. They had a lovely surprise when Snowy Owl left them a box of books to share around the village. Look out for these when you are out and about, and let Snowy Owl know how many hoots you would give the book!

p2 3

 

Primary 3/4

P3/4 had the opportunity to work with Mrs Smith from Creative Stars. They took their Maths learning outside for a very exciting session in the warm autumn sunshine. Using natural materials like pebbles, sticks and pine cones, they used their knowledge of place-value during a team challenge. Their next task was to create symmetrical pictures using their collected materials. Finally, the last challenge was to see how many triangles they could make using just a few sticks. The children had a fantastic time outside, and we look forwards to many more outdoor learning sessions in the future!

 

Primary 5/6

All classes had talks or workshops run by Alex and Catherine from the SSPCA.  P5/6 were the first class to welcome our visitors. ‘We learned that the SSPCA stands for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.’ (McKenzie) The class learned to contact the SSPCA if they were worried about an animal and they heard about the work that the SSPCA do. ‘I learned that you can call the SSPCA if you see an animal that might need help.’ (Emma)

P5/6 played a wild animals quiz game in groups. They tested their knowledge and found out new facts. ‘I found out a lot of information when we played the wild animal quiz card game. Did you know that baby foxes have black fur when they are born?’ (Charlie) ‘Did you know that a seal is diurnal? That means it is awake during the day and asleep at night just like us.’ (Holly F)

SSPCA have recently partnered with Robo Wunderkind to include a unique new addition to their programme for Primary 4-7, using new robotic and coding tools to capture children’s imagination, encourage them to have fun and be creative, and emphasise how amazing animals really are. P5/6 really enjoyed developing their coding skills with the robots.

‘I enjoyed making and controlling the robot rabbit. We coded a lot of sounds and moves.’ (Aila)

P5/6 used a toolbar and drag and drop symbols to programme the robots. ‘I liked it that they didn’t tell us what to programme on the rabbits. We got to write our own programmes.’ (Fraser)

Catherine from the SSPCA said that we had great classes at Kippen Primary, we were very engaged, and we used excellent teamwork, listening and sharing. She thought we were very organised, and she said they were made to feel very welcome.

P5-6 SSPCA

Primary 6/7

This term, P6/7 are investigating some magical science, linked to their Harry Potter topic. As well as trying their hand at soldering and making other electrical circuits, pupils also received a visit from SSERC to investigate how oil and water interact and used this knowledge to make mini lava lamps. The class has also been investigating how different materials react differently in the same situation, learning how to make observations and draw conclusions from these. They have created their own hypotheses about solubility and tested these, and have set each other challenges focussing on investigating the use of magnets.

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Kippen Primary House Captains and Vice Captains for 2019-20

All pupils voted for the new House and Vice Captains for this school year. All P7 pupils presented speeches in front of their House and all P7s should be commended for their effort and organisation in preparing their speech.

All pupils in each House were able to listen to all the candidates from their House before voting. The successful House and Vice Captains then presented their speeches at Assembly so that the other Houses could hear their speeches too. Our House and Vice Captains lead House Meetings every month, and they value the support of the other P7 pupils during these meetings. They also lead the House Assembly event month, with responsibility for collecting and reporting on House points and announcing the winners of the House Cup. We look forward to hearing about their plans for future House events.

House and Vice Captains 2019-20

  House Captain Vice-Captain
Ledi Heather Munro Cody MacPhee
Lomond Ailie Mailer Jack Bradwell
Nevis Katie Beeley Calum Beeley

 

Community Affairs

Kippen SWRI

Our monthly meetings are held in the Reading Rooms commencing at 7.15pm.  The November meeting will be on the 20th with an illustrated talk given by Kevin and Linda Clark re: their Artic travels.  The December meeting will be on the 18th.  The January meeting will be held on 15th in the Reading Room as usual 7.15pm and it will be a Haggis Supper with entertainment.  New members and visitors will be made most welcome.

Helen Wilson, President.

 

Community Affairs

Kippen Women’s Rural Institute Centenary

Kippen Women’s Rural Institute celebrated 100 years of existence on Wednesday 18th September.  Warm autumn sunshine welcomed members as they gathered at the Reading Room in Kippen for a birthday trip to Pitlochry Theatre.  The performance of the Noel Coward comedy ‘Blythe Spirit’ was enjoyed by all.  The celebration cake, baked by Dianne Louttit, was cut by senior member Mora Adam before an informal toast was proposed by Vice President, Fiona Clark.  Congratulations were voiced by the Women’s Rural Institute National President, Linda Retson.  After a tasty meal the homeward journey (again in sunshine) held a surprise when members were presented with a commemorative mug and shopping bag as well as a shopper from Tesco, which is also celebrating 100 years.  President, Helen Wilson, senior member Winnie Dunlop and a few other members were unable to attend and their absence was keenly felt.  Kippen Women’s Rural gratefully acknowledge the financial aid from Falck Renewables Kingsburn Community Fund, administered by Kippen Community Trust with support from Foundation Scotland and from Stirling Council Community Grants Scheme, without whose assistance this very enjoyable event could not have taken place.

 

Community Affairs

Guild

One Journey, Many Roads!

“Companions on the Road”

All men and women are welcome to attend Guild Meetings held in the Kippen Church House (attached to the church on Fore Road):

Tuesday 12th November –    2.00 pm –         “Diversification at Arnprior Farm”

Rebecca McEwen

Tuesday 26th November –    2.00 pm –        “Hearing Dogs for Deaf People”

Stuart Macdonald

Visiting Guilds
Tuesday 10th December –    12.30 pm –       Christmas Lunch

The Lion and Unicorn, Thornhill

Collection of Christmas Gifts for Nursing Homes

Tuesday 14th January –       2.00 pm –         “Stories along the Way: walking with the                                                                         other”

Rev. Ellen Larson Davidson

 

Tuesday 11th February –     2.00 pm –         “Dr Graham’s Homes”

Gloria and David Potter

 

Tuesday 25th February –     2.00 pm –         “Patagonia to the Atacama – a long and                                                                                      wonderful journey”

Roderick and Mary Lawson

Further information is available from:  Joanna M. McPhail

Tel: 01786 870681 or e-mail: joanna.mcphail@btinternet.com

 

Community Affairs

MP WELCOMES WORK ON KIPPEN PLAY PARK

MP WELCOMES WORK ON KIPPEN PLAY PARK

The play park in Kippen will be receiving some much needed attention after local people raised the poor condition with me.

Residents in the area raised the lack of grass cutting, issues with fencing and the wood chip covering as well as defects in the equipment and the need for investment in new play equipment.

I contacted officers at the Council who responded very quickly, carried out an inspection and have devised a plan to deal with the problems raised.

The grass had missed cuts during the year and had gone to seed but it has now been cut.  The entrance gate was broken and there are repairs needed to the fence. The large barked area will now be split into smaller areas around each piece of play equipment with new timber edges and new wood chip covering. The flower beds will be tended to, and a new path may be installed after a local resident suggested it during the inspection by officers. The play equipment was also inspected and defective parts will be replaced as required.

This will be carried out over the coming months as a schedule is put in place to deal with the various work needed. The play park would benefit from some new equipment and I have has asked for this to considered as part of future investments plans.

Thank you to those residents that raised this issue with me. If you have any concerns please do contact my office on 01786 475034 or stephen.kerr.mp@parliament.uk

Stephen Kerr MP

Community Affairs

Flower Tubs

Flower Tubs

The tubs have looked amazing this summer and we have had many admiring comments. It’s very satisfying when things work!! With our team of five helpers the tending and watering has been made much easier, and the good weather in June and July helped to give them a good start.  Hopefully as Autumn is upon us, the weather will be kind and the plants will last untill we have to remove them in November, prior to Remembrance Sunday.

As always, we are extremely grateful for the generosity of the villagers who put donations into the box in McNicoll’s.

Naomi Hirst

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