Extracurricular Activities: Learning Skills for Life - St Columba's School

14 | JunIoR sCHooL THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 THE COLUMBAn ISSUE 31 JunIoR sCHooL | 15
A note from Mrs Cook
I cannot quite believe that we are almost at the end of
another academic year. We have been so busy at Junior
school and it seems to have whizzed by. We have enjoyed
all sorts of activities, events and visits, but perhaps
the endeavour which has really caught the imagination
of our pupils has been our quest for Green Flag status.
We enjoyed our first eco Day in February and learned
how to take better care of our environment and that
each one of us can make a difference. For example, I am
delighted to see every class is taking a turn to help keep
our playground free of litter. We also got a fantastic new
notice-board in the link corridor, which our eco Warriors
are very excited about. This is used to display information
about the many eco initiatives around school.
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the year was the opening of
our new nursery just before Easter. We are hugely indebted to
the parents who came to help us move in. It is wonderful
to have our little ones finally at the heart of the School.
We are also delighted to have recently received a positive
Care Commission report, with very good comments across
the board.
As many of you will be aware, Mrs Diane Hecht, our Deputy
Head at the Junior School, is leaving us to take up a new
position as Principal of the Pre Preparatory School of Highgate
School, London. Highgate is one of the leading schools in
England. Mrs Hecht has been a huge asset to us and Highgate
are very lucky to secure her services. While we are very sad to
say goodbye to her, we are pleased that the move will allow her
to be closer to her family.
Well, after such a busy year I know that pupils, staff and
parents will be looking forward to the Summer holidays. I hope
you have a restful break and I look forward to welcoming most
of you back next year.
Prep and nursery
On Friday 1st April the new Prep and
nursery building was finally ready to
move into. Mrs Campbell and the rest
of the Prep staff are delighted with the
wonderful new facility.
Prep invited parents in for their Katie
Morag celebration in February.
The Prep and nursery children also
enjoyed taking part in a workshop by
the Scottish Chamber Orchestra called
“We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.”
Junior 1
J1 has been learning about what happens in a church. We have
had great fun at all the weddings in the Junior 1 church.
As part of the Eco Day activities pupils recycled old socks,
ribbons, buttons and material. They made sock puppets and
introduced their puppets to the boys and girls in nursery.
Junior 2
The J2 children went on a dinosaur dig and discovered what
it is like to be a paleontologist. They set up a dig area in the
resource room and each child carefully excavated a ‘dinosaur
bone’ which had been set in clay. After using real tools (and
wearing safety glasses!) they proceeded to package and label
their fossilised bones for safe transportation to a museum.
Junior 3
J3 enjoyed an afternoon of activities about the senses.
Children identified various pleasant and unpleasant odours as
part of the topic.
Pupils planted seed potatoes in several tubs and are now
responsible for watering and weeding the tubs until we
can harvest them. Hopefully we’ll have bumper crop and
pupils can each have a sample to cook and taste at the end
of the term.
Junior 4
J4 have quite literally had an ‘exciting time’ with their
enterprise project. As part of their Healthy Eating topic they
created “Fruity Tooty Time Tellers” – CD clocks with colourful
fruit designs. The children designed the clocks, came up
with the name and undertook customer research to identify
demand. They then worked in a production line to build the
clocks, with everyone having a particular job to do, including
assembly and quality control. They also learned about
calculating profits and decided upon a suitable selling price.
Finally they chose a charity to benefit from their hard work.
It was a close vote, but the Yorkhill Children’s Foundation will
receive over £200 as a result of their enterprise.
Junior 5
J5 recently visited the Glasgow Central Mosque to learn more
about the practices of Islam. They have been learning about
the Five Pillars of Islam and the significance of these duties to
Muslims.
The pupils also presented a special assembly about life in the
1960s, which they performed to their parents and the school.
They enjoyed dressing up in the fashion of that time and
learning some well-known songs by the Beatles. The children
demonstrated how convenience foods, which began to appear
at the time, impacted on family life and how toys and games
were very different from today. The children showed the
differences between school life then and now and are relieved
to experience a more relaxed approach to school life!