A huge congratulations to Max in P4, our second pupil to achieve their Blue Peter Diamond Badge. This is how Max achieved his badge.

“I got the Diamond Badge for drawing a picture about my favourite Blue Peter memory. I filled in a form about how I help people. I have a Blue, Blue Peter Badge so that made it a good opportunity to apply to get the Diamond badge.”

Max, P4

Thank you to everyone who came along to our PTA Beetle Drive, the first of our PTA events for this school year. We hope you all enjoyed the evening. It was lovely to see so many people returning for another game and also to welcome all the children and families who came along to their first Beetle Drive. Congratulations to Emma in P4 who won the Beetle game, to Mr Hogg for winning the ‘booby’ prize for the lowest score and to Oliver in P1 who won the Stand Up Bingo! A huge thank you to everyone in the PTA for their time to organise this event.

Our Week at Camp 

On the 27th of August we went to our P7 camp at Kingswood in England. On the way it was a long journey by coach, but we got there and it was worth it. When we got there we had a big lunch. After lunch it was climbing and orienteering then dinner. Our night time activity was a murder mystery – it was fun!

The next morning we had a filling breakfast before starting our activities. We did leap of faith where we had to climb a high tower and jump off which was amazing. We then tried Jacobs Ladder which was wobbly and challenging. Our night time activity was a campfire and we sang songs, told stories, danced and laughed then we went back to our dorms and did circle time then went to bed.

On Wednesday we did obstacle course and aeroball which were so fun. We loved the obstacle course because we raced against the other team! We had dinner which was tasty then we watched High School Musical 2 which we loved. It was so cool with all the singing and dancing, after we went straight to bed because we were so tired.

Our last full day was our favourite activity – which was the 3G swing – it was the best activity by far. Our team pulled us up high with rope then we had to pull a cord once we got to the top. The instructor then shouted 1-2-3-G and we went flying forward, it was so high that we were all screaming. That night we had a disco which was so fun, then we went to bed early because we had to get up early to go home.

At camp some people really challenged themselves with their fears of heights, the dark and staying away from home for four nights. We were also challenged to work as a team on a various amount of activities.

It was the best week and we will never forget it!

Jess, Ben and Luca P7

Congratulations to Fia who received her Diamond Blue Peter Badge at the end of August 2018, a fantastic achievement. We are all very proud of her commitment to gaining this award. This is what Fia wrote:

‘My Diamond Blue Peter Badge arrived on Tuesday the 28^th of August. To get a Diamond badge you have to already have the blue badge. You also have to do something a bit like an acrostic poem. Diamond was written down the side of the page and you had to do something for each of the letters (e.g. for D you need to Do It yourself, I inspire others and so on). The Diamond badge is only available until October because of Blue Peters Diamond jubilee.’

Fia, P5

The PTA beetle are holding a Beetle Drive on 12 September 18:00 to 20:00.  All are welcome

The fun continued long into our second full-day of activities, which were so much fun and challenging all the same. Our five groups had some of the highest activities yet, but possibly the scariest and most fun in 3G swing and High Equilibrium. More about these later.

Mr McArther and Mrs Johnstone started the morning with a HIIT session, though numbers were down and Mr Mackenzie was posted missing, along with most of the group from Tuesday. Something about forgetting to set an alarm apparently! There was certainly a need to wake some people up in the morning as the effects of a busy day took their toll.

Wednesday was certainly a busy one and the children all gave their best as they continued to work towards their goals, most of which were to overcome a fear of heights. There was a wide range of activities on offer today, which included shelter building, nightline; a blindfolded trail in the woods, a nature walk for those who had not yet been and of course the 3G swing and high equilibrium. These two activities are some of the most challenging at camp but also some of the most fun and the favourites of many of the children.

In High Equilibrium the children had to climb to the top of an extremely high platform with a friend and then balance on the see-saw. Easier said than done so high in the air! Then it was a battle to the end with a gladiator dual. Friendships were pushed aside, quite literally, as the winner was the one who pushed their friend from the top.

The 3G swing didn’t offer any respite and is certainly one for the bravehearted. It was great to see so many people get on the swing and go as high as they did. Many went straight to the top and most certainly went higher than anticipated. The highlight of this activity is for those watching, as the faces and screams that come straight after the swing is released has everyone laughing.

The children have ate well today and the teachers really don’t know where they put it. However, if their appetites continue when they leave camp, household food bills are set to rise. Our evening was completed with a relaxing movie night before bed. A great way to end a great day! Tomorrow is our final day of activities and we can’t wait to calenge ourselves even more. We’ve heard that the zipline and abseiling will be the toughest yet.

More from us later!

After a late arrival at camp we’ve been thrown straight in to the activities, without a moment to catch our breath, but boy, what fun we’re having. As soon as we stepped off the coach we went for lunch and then straight in to our group activities. Monday afternoon saw each group take part in three activities, that included climbing, orienteering, aeroball, laser and buggy build. There was no rest for the wicked as we were straight back in to the dining room for dinner. There’s certainly no one going hungry! The evening was rounded off with a great Murder Mystery evening before bed. A great first night with everyone settling well.

Our first full day certainly got off to an early start with Mr Mackenzie and Mr McArthur leading a HIIT session before breakfast. Rumour has it that we’ll be starting even earlier tomorrow morning. Just as well we got up to exercise with the amount of food consumed. Full English breakfasts, toast, cereal, more toast and cereal and refreshing slices of water melon and orange.

The morning saw the groups take part in a number of climbing activities with many of the children being challenged by the height but all doing their best to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Jacobs Ladder and Leap of Faith were two of the toughest activities. Another full lunch and we were straight back on it in the afternoon with the children also enjoying a nature walk, firelighting, shelter building and bottle rockets. Within no time at all it was dinner again and time to eat. We’re amazed at how much food the kids are eating but it’s a good sign they’re enjoying the food!

Everyone was in full song at last night’s campfire and we had great fun signing and dancing, telling jokes and listening to riddles. It’s been a fantastic day and the children were clearly tired as many of them headed straight to bed and were sound asleep within no time.

We are all extremely proud of the P7s and their fantastic start to camp. The children really have been a pleasure to be with and they truly are representing the school in the best possible way. We’ve had some very positive comments from the instructors already and are looking forward to another two days of activities.

P6 and some of P7 enjoyed the Virgin Money Schools Concert on Monday afternoon at the Ross Band Stand in Princes Street Gardens as part of the Festival programme. During the concert the Scottish Chamber Orchestra took us on a visit to Mars, Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter as part of Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets.

P1 and P1/2 classes and staff are delighted with our new 4 classroom extension which is offering us a more flexible use of space to embed a more play based approach to learning and teaching in our infant department.  It was lovely to see so many people popping in after school on Friday to have a look round.