The Wee Vine

Think Dance 

On 27th February p2/3/4 took part in Think Dance at the McRobert Art Centre in Stirling. The dance was created by all pupils and was called “Dance around Scotland”.    They picked some of their favourite Scottish music and then worked together in groups, and with partners, to create steps and routines.  It was lovely to see so many people in the audience to watch the performance.  

Riverside Museum and Tall Ship  

P2/3/4 visited the Riverside Museum and Tall ship on Thursday 15th March. The trip was part of their topic on water.  They enjoyed having time to look round the Museum and then took part in a pirate workshop on the Tall Ship.  The Captain gave them lots of jobs to do on the boat and shared with them what life was like on a boat. Everyone took part in a treasure hunt and they worked together to solve the clues.  They were a very happy class when they found the treasure.

During the last few weeks, P4/5 have been learning about Victorian children. As part of topic preparation, the pupils thought of lots of Little Questions which they wanted to know the answers to and then grouped these into a few Big Questions which we focused on as a class.  

The first question which the pupils wanted to answer was ‘on the timeline, where do Victorian times fall?’ They used the school iPads to research the history of Britain and were excited to find out that Victorian children actually lived quite recently, compared to people like the Vikings and Saxons!  

Pupils also wanted to know what school and work were like for Victorian children, and how Victorian children were treated differently or similarly to children now. We were delighted to welcome Mr Smith from the Smith Museum into class as a surprise for the pupils. He dressed up as a Victorian teacher and gave them a small taste of what it would be like to be in a Victorian classroom, including writing with old fashioned pens! We also looked at some of the rights which children have nowadays thanks to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and discovered how these rights make children’s lives in Britain now very different from the lives of children in Victorian Britain. All of the children in the class expressed how lucky they felt to be alive now instead of in Victorian times, however one pupil was also able to use a family member’s recent trip abroad to share how some children in the world still live very similarly to how British children lived in Victorian times.  

The class found out how Florence Nightingale helped to improve the standards of healthcare during the 1800s and how Lord Shaftesbury helped to improve living conditions for many poor. They investigated the changes in technology since Victorian times and considered how this technology makes things like dealing with the recent snowy weather much more manageable nowadays.  

To round off the topic, the class went on a trip to the Smith Museum and Art Gallery and were able to view lots of historical items, from Victorian times and beyond. They were thrilled by the world’s oldest football, the story of a Victorian surgery which helped to save a little boy and the marvellous dollhouse in the collection.  

Pupils commented that the topic had been really exciting, that they had learned a lot about something they had not really known about before, and that they felt very lucky about lots of things in their own life. Highlights for pupils included the Scary Teacher visit, the class timeline of British history, the perspective drawing we learned to do and the William Morris wallpaper we designed.  

Primary 5/6 have been learning this term about how plants and animals adapt to their environment. Using some fascinating examples, such as the Pitcher Plant which attracts and traps insects for food, we have looked at some ingenious ways that have helped both plants and animals survive often harsh habitats. The Venus Fly Trap is another such example which is more familiar to many. One task the class undertook was to create a new species for the Rainforest Habitat, with features designed to ensure survival. This project would not have been complete without a look at the life and work of Charles Darwin. The children researched his interest in plants and animals and the amazing discoveries he made. Did you know that he brought celery and rhubarb back from the Galapagos Islands and found they grew well in this country? The children came up with some interesting questions such as; why do giraffes have long necks; how did apes evolve into humans and how will species develop further? We are still pondering this last one but are encouraging research, reflection and further reading!  

Primary 7 have been hard at work this term investigating our solar system and the history of space exploration. They have been fascinated to learn more about the famous events in space history, as well as finding out about lesser known figures who made vital contributions to space exploration.

Our trip this term was to Sky Academy studios in Livingstone to create our very own news programme about a potential mission to Mars! They prepared their news scripts in cooperative groups, then they were sent to their recording pod to create their segment. The Sky technicians then edited all the segments together into a wonderful news broadcast they could take home. They had a wonderful day and it got their new topic off to a flying start.

Inspired by their topic, P7 have produced some spectacular artwork this term. In particular, their Peter Thorpe inspired ‘Rocket Paintings’ were out of this world! Each student created their own abstract background and then created a detailed and contrasting foreground object. Well done to the class for creating some really impressive artwork.

Kippen Primary had a visit from 2 players from the Scotland Women’s Rugby Team. Megan Kennedy and Siobhan Cattigan also play for Stirling County Women’s Team and Stirling University Team, where they both are students. The pupils asked very thoughtful and interesting questions and were a fabulous audience for Megan and Siobhan. We learned about how they had started playing, what positions they play, what they do to train and what their best and worst moments have been in their rugby careers. They are both very proud of their win over Ireland away in Dublin in the recent 6 Nations. They showed us the caps that they were presented with for being Scottish Internationalists. It’s their first year in the Scotland Team so we hope to see them in many more matches in the future. Megan told us how she only took up rugby at 14 years old, whereas Siobhan has been playing since she was 5. Quite a lot of pupils already play rugby and are already following pathways that will see their enjoyment of the sport develop over the years to come. We sent out information from Strathendrick Rugby Club for those would be interested in developing their skills. 2 of our former pupils Lachlan Mackay and Keir Singleton were in the victorious Stirling County squad in the recent U18 National Youth League Cup Trophy. Well done to both of them. We always like to hear news of our former pupils.