Elderbank Primary & EY Highlights Flipbook 2020

Term 1-3 Highlights

Early Years Highlights

Forest Adventures

If you go down to the woods on

a “Muddy Monday’ you are sure

to see curious and engaged

children exploring their

natural environment. The

children and staff have

embraced the opportunity to

explore the woodland area and
have participated in a range of exciting learning
opportunities including den building, tree climbing,
letter/number hunts, mud mark making and hammock
swinging…to name a few. The campfire snack and cup
of hot chocolate is an important part of each session!

Curiosity Approach

We have been increasing the

opportunities for the children to

engage in explorative, open ended

and real life experiences, which

promote their natural curiosity,

imagination, problem solving and critical thinking

skills.

This has included the addition of the

large sand area, extension of the

range of loose parts inside and

outside, block play, play dough

making station and real

utensils/equipment in the home

corner. The children have welcomed these

opportunities and we have been amazed at the learning

that has occurred from these experiences.

Intergenerational Project

We are delighted to be continuing to work in
partnership with Abbeyfield Care Home.  We are
building relationships, participating in shared

activities and entertaining
each other with songs and
words of wisdom.  This has
a positive impact upon both
generations and we really
enjoy visiting each other in
our different settings.

Parent/Carer Involvement Opportunities:
There have been many
opportunities for
parents/carers
to become involved
and participate in
groups, workshops and
sessions. These have
included PEEP, ‘Make and Taste’, Milestone
Workshops, Bookbug and ‘Stay and Play sessions.

Stay and Play
One of the sessions
we held was a STEM
themed Stay and Play
event, which is a key part
of our School
Improvement Plan this
session. This was a great

opportunity to share a wide range of science,
engineering, technology and maths activities,
provided through fun, play based experiences that
can be recreated at home.

PEEP: Parents as Early Education Partners
The PEEP sessions offered fantastic opportunities for
children and their parents/carers to learn and play

together with a different

milestone focus each

session. Each session

involves a welcome song;

themed activities based on

a curricular area and

includes a storytelling

session.

Make and Taste
This was an
interactive parent/carer
and child session,

which involved making a
range of simple and

healthy snacks together.

It was a great opportunity to encourage children to
try new foods and be involved in preparing food that
developed independence, self-help skills and fine
motor control.

Primary Highlights

Rights Respecting School
The Rights Respecting School
Committee were super busy working
together to run their 'Elderbank
Rights Respecting School Mascot'
competition.

The committee set a challenge for
each pupil in Elderbank to design a mascot that could
be an animal of any kind with the Elderbank logo

displayed on it somewhere and at
least three different children's
rights from the United Nation
Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC). The committee
helped lead and run the competition
in each class. We have yet to select
a winner so watch this space!

We also explored our Culture in a Box activity sent
over from our partnership school Maua Primary in
Kenya. We learned about Kenyan culture and school
and were able to compare some of the similarities and
differences we have.

Pupil Council
The members of the Pupil Council have been fantastic
role models this year and have carried out their role
with confidence and commitment! They spoke at
assemblies to make themselves known to the other
pupils in the school.

They used digital
technology to gather
pupil views from across
the school and used this
information to identify
our key focuses for the year.

Our two focus areas were positive relationships and
the playground. The Pupil Council then spoke to their
own classes about the importance of being kind and
behaving well. We were most recently in the process
of planning an outdoor fundraising event in order to
raise money for new playground equipment.

Library Committee
The Library Committee have met regularly across the
session. Their focus has been promoting the
importance of reading regularly for enjoyment as well

as taking on several leadership responsibilities to
promote reading throughout the school.

This session saw our Library Committee members
collect and collate pupil votes that contributed
towards the Bookbug Picture Book Prize 2020. Voting
took place across EY – P3, after pupils enjoyed all
three finalists’ books in class and during library visits.
The Library Committee have since made copies of all
three finalists’ books available in the Library for all
pupils to enjoy.

The Committee felt it was
important to encourage
imaginative writing and
reading for enjoyment to
celebrate World Book Day.
All members took
responsibility for organising three competitions. The
first aimed at P1 to P3 pupils, where they had to design
a poster of their favourite book character. The
second competition was for all P4 to P7 pupils,
stimulating their imagination to create a unique book
jacket. The Library Committee then took
responsibility for organising a Big Shared Read where

our older pupils joined up to read to our younger pupils.
This was an event thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Another fantastic event organised by the Library
Committee was our Big Book Sale, where an impressive

£277.60 was raised to
support the fund for our
Elderbank School Library. The
Big Book Sale provided pupils
with the opportunity to share
their love of reading by
donating books they have previously enjoyed and in
return, they were able to purchase others for a small
cost.

These events created a real buzz across the school
with all staff and pupils participating enthusiastically.

Eco Committee
The Eco Committee have been doing some work on
trying to maintain our Green Flag status. We have
recently taken part in a questionnaire and survey
about how we can help save the planet from global

warming. We also looked at different ways we could
promote our work in the school and wider community.
Elderbank also participated in the Keep Scotland
Beautiful Pocket Garden Competition, which the Eco
Committee helped promote to the school and collect
recycled materials brought in by pupils. Primary 4
made bird feeders, a birdhouse, flowerpots and
rainwater sources for the competition. It was fun!

House Captains
House and Vice Captains have continued to do a super
job leading their house and promoting positive
behaviour across the school. They have had the
opportunity to lead restorative conversations with
younger pupils at playtime, supporting them to resolve
any conflicts with peers. Captains have attended

regular meetings with Mrs MacFarlane to discuss any
concerns and to arrange school events. An important
part of their role involves organising and leading house
treats at the end of each term. They listen to the
views of pupils in their house and feedback at
meetings. This has resulted in enjoyable treats
celebrating positive behaviour. Mrs MacFarlane would
like to thank all sixteen house and vice captains for
their hard work.

STEM – Developing Young Workforce

A number of STEM experiences have taken place
across the school this term. Mr
Campbell from the Greenwood
Academy Maths Department has
been working with our P7 pupils
as part of the transition process
to S1. Using Global Warming as a context, Mr
Campbell, supported by Greenwood pupils, has
delivered a series of numeracy and maths lessons to
our pupils. This has provided children with an
opportunity to develop key numeracy and maths skills
and strategies while learning about the causes and
effects of Global Warming. This has helped to

promote discussion as well as encourage problem-
solving skills for real life problems. Not only does this
aim to educate pupils on important matters affecting
our planet’s climate, it also provides pupils with key
skills for future learning.

Primary 6 have been enjoying a
STEM challenge led by Miss
Kennedy and STEM Ambassadors
from Greenwood Academy. Pupils
have been learning about flight
and how to make their own planes.

The aim is
to create a plane that will fly
the furthest distance. This
touches on all aspects of STEM
and encourages pupils to think
critically about their work while developing group work
and discussion skills.

This challenge is part of a wider national competition.
If successful, one group may advance in the
competition where they will have the opportunity to
compete against other schools. Not only does this
develop key aspects of learning through STEM, it

enhances pupils’ awareness of the many jobs linked to
the aviation industry. We hope this will encourage this
as a career path for some, in the future.

The P7 Career event held in Elderbank in February
gave Pupils had the opportunity to
visit stalls set up by local
businesses. Pupils enjoyed
participating in activities and
discovered a whole host of career

opportunities that they had not considered before.
Finance Education Week

During February, Elderbank Primary and Early Years
enjoyed a very busy week with a focus on finance

education. Supported by
the Clydesdale Bank, pupils

enjoyed a range of activities
within their class. Workshops
took place in every class with pupils having the

opportunity to learn about the work of the bank as well
as having the chance to win prizes in a class quiz with
a money focus.

Numeracy and maths lessons were taught within
the context of money, providing pupils with the
opportunity to develop key skills within a real life
context. Throughout the week, our infant classes
brought in money from home to save within money
boxes, which they had designed in class.

Our senior classes took an
entrepreneurial approach when
setting up small businesses. These
included a stationery shop, an
activity centre. P7 ran a café
based on business plans, baking cakes, advertising
and serving the valued customers refreshments.
The Infant pupils had the opportunity to spend
their savings at these events later in the week.

Our Finance Education Week finished with a parent
and carer Breakfast Blether. Breakfast rolls, tea and
coffee were provided free of charge and staff from
the bank were on hand to deliver a short presentation
followed up with the offer of free financial advice.

The week was a great success and enjoyed by all
participants.

School Choir
Our choir members from P4 - P6 practised every
Wednesday morning and attended final rehearsals,
ready to perform just outside the Dining Hall for the
guests arriving at the Burns Supper, hosted by our
P7 pupils. The choir, accompanied by Mrs. Walker on
the piano and sporting their 'Black Watch' tartan
sash, sang a medley of Scottish Songs. They sang
beautifully, providing a fitting introduction to a very
successful and enjoyable Burns Supper.

Accompanied by four of our parents, the choir
visited our elderly friends at
the Age Concern Bourtreehill
Drop-In-Centre and again
performed their medley of
Scottish Songs. They were given
a lovely, warm welcome and the audience were
delighted by their singing. We issued our song
booklets and invited the ladies and gentlemen to join
in with us. They thoroughly enjoyed this and our
afternoon was a great success.

After School and Lunch Clubs
In term 3 we were able to run a total of 14
extra-curricular clubs (More than double
the number offered at any other local
primary school!) Many of the clubs allowed
pupils to develop new curricular skills or to

train to participate in interschool events. Hopefully
over the last 3 terms your child has had the
opportunity to participate at least one of the clubs
that have been on offer.

Running the clubs takes a lot of planning and weekly
organisation to find activities, venues and staff
willing to lead the clubs in their own free time. We
also need to split activities across all stages of the
school to ensure equality.

We have enjoyed excellent support from former
Elderbank Pupils who come back every year to run
athletic clubs as “Greenwood Young Leaders” under
the guidance of Lauren Fletcher our Active Schools
Coordinator.. Together they also organise and staff
most of the inter-school competitions that we
attend. I would like to give them huge thanks.

In February this year we were awarded the School
Sport Award from Sports Scotland at a Silver Level.

This was due to the high number of clubs on offer
and pupil participant Levels (30+% pupils attend at
least 1 club). It also reflected the whole schools
commitment to providing 2 hours of high quality PE
for every pupil.

Moving forward as a school we are planning to amend
the way clubs are organised passing more ownership
to our pupils and also forging links with local sports
clubs. This will be our pathway to attaining a Gold
Sports Award. This will see a number of pupils from
each stage working with Myself and Lauren Fletcher
to request clubs that reflect pupil interest, We will
be trying to ensure that we get participation to over
40+% of pupils and continue to maintain 50/50
gender uptake.

Clubs are usually over-subscribed due to most being
capped at 20 places. Again, moving forward if a pupil
is not attending clubs for 2 consecutive weeks we are
going to award the place to another pupil. This is in
the interests of fairness for all pupils. It also takes
the office staff a long time tracking down missing
pupils who have chosen to not to attend but not
informed anyone of this.

Educational Visits

Primary 2 and 3 enjoyed a fun filled
day at
Dundonald
Castle. The
children had
great fun
learning about
the history of
the castle and loved trying on parts of armour and
playing traditional games in the castle courtyard.

The annual Primary 7 residential stay at the
Arran Outdoor Education
Centre was a valued
experience for all who
attended.

Not only did our young people learn about the coast
and conservation, they experienced different areas of
the island, its wildlife and history. We also built up new
skills in kayaking, hill walking, orienteering,
housekeeping, team building and much more. A
fantastic experience to start off the session.

These highlights are a small snapshot of the many
Highlights that have taken place at Elderbank
Primary and Early Years over the past 3 Terms.

More can be found on the school website
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/na/elderbankprima

ryandearlyyears/