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.

On Friday 22^nd June 2018 Primary 1b/c put on their glad rags and went to Currie Kirk for our Primary 1 wedding. We have been learning about Christian celebrations and some of the traditions associated with weddings. We all had a fabulous time at the Kirk and an equally fabulous time at our reception!

The Tennis club challenged staff to a game of rounders last week. They were also joined by the gardening club. Everyone brought their A game and had great fun. Sadly for the tennis club the staff won. They’ll need to come back to tennis club next year to claim the winners title. It has been a great club to run this term. Everyone is looking forward to visiting Thistle Tennis Club on Wednesday to play on the outdoor courts and try out Mrs Houston’s favourite sport – Paddle Tennis.

P7 (and staff too) all looked amazing at their P7 Quali last week and danced the night away to the music of Iain McPhail’s Ceilidh Band. We hope all of our parents and families who came along to join the fun enjoyed it too. Thank you to Mr Frew for the fabulous photographs.