P7MM have been lucky enough to have been picked to take part in the Poetry In Motion project this year. This involves a published poet, Martell McPartland, coming into our classroom and helping us to get our creative juices flowing!! The start of this process was a trip to Long Meadow Farm on the Loughgall Road this morning. Here, we were given a tour of the orchard, the warehouse and the cold store. Catherine and Pat, the owners of the farm, really made us feel welcome and explained everything in great detail to us. We saw where the apples are pressed, where they are stored, or ‘put to sleep’, for winter, where the apple cider vinegar is made, and we even got to pick and eat our own apples - the nicest we had ever tasted! The orchard provided us with fantastic ideas and will hopefully provide enough inspiration for us to write excellent poems over the next couple of weeks. We can’t wait to get started!
Our class have had a great start to Shared Education this year, with already four trips to St John the Baptist's College to meet our friends from Presentation Primary School under our belt. We have looked at the themes of culture, identity, perceptions and prejudices, and we have learned that, while we are all different, we really are very similar in many many ways. The finale of our CRED lessons saw all four P7 classes from the two schools join together at the YMCA centre in Portadown to create their own masks which celebrate their own identity and culture. There was a real community feel on the day and we hope the children enjoyed it.
The boys and girls in P7MM had a great day on Wednesday 2nd October when they spent the day rehearsing their Rainfroest play before performing it for P4-7 that afternoon. They worked so hard all morning; contributing to the script, rehearsing, editing amd rehearsing again and again. Well done to all of them!
Pupils and staff were treated to a wonderful afternoon spectacle of song, dance and piano playing from the participants of We've Got Talent 2019. A fun afternoon had by all. Many thanks to Asda for supplying drinks and snacks, many thanks to Steve and Paul from Healthy Kidz for judging and many thanks to Paul for supporting acts with their music. Many congratulations to all participants, but most of all, well done to the winning act Aimee and Megan for their winning act of Irish Dancing. The winners take home the big We've Got Talent trophy, with each performer taking home a trophy! Everyone also got a forty pound gift voucher for Sketchers. Brilliant! Inspirational stuff all round!
Thursday 13th June 2019 - Today was arguably the busiest day of the week with children in bed now a alot quieter than the two previous nights. We allowed them a lie with the changes made to the timetable! With another good breakfast this morning, children got onto the bus in good spirits as we travelled to the Edinburgh Butterfly World outside of the city where they really enjoyed seeing ants, poisonous frogs, giant snakes and lizards, scorpions, and tarantulas up close. It's also not every day you see free-flying exotic butterflys from one side to the next! A few were happy to land on the heads of some visitors. The children really enjoyed observing these unique creatures in the rainforest style environment, they also got the chance to spend some money in the impressive gift shop, many stuffed animals are coming back to Ulster! This part of the week could well occupy many of the conservations when we get home. From here, we made our way to the Time Capsule Swimming Pool, think of Lisburn Swimming Pool with more slides, more water and a wave pool! The kids loved it, and if they weren't tired before, they definitely are now! They were having the time of their lives together. Then to McDonalds, a fitting way to end the day! Hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day, and the beginning of the journey home but the children still have M&Ds to look forward to. The fun never stops!
Wednesday 12th June 2019 - A few sleepy heads arrived for breakfast this morning, but with the choice of a full cooked breakfast, cereal, fruit and juice - there was plenty to fill their stomachs with. The first things on the agenda was a tour of the city centre with local tour guide, Jenny, she was able to share some brilliant facts about this ancient place. One of the most intriguing facts was that Edinburgh castle was built on an ancient volcano! A tour of the castle was next with pupils fascinated with the walkways and views overlooking the old town below. Next up, was a bite to eat back in the hotel, and another bus trip across the city to Deep Sea World - this aquarium is right beside the impressive Forth Rail Bridge - pupils got the opportunity to travel through an underground sea world on a converyor belt witnessing sharks, eels, mantra rays with tons of fish! We even got the opportunity to learn more about sea-lions at an afternoon show. From here, pupils went back to the hotel for their tea, and then got their bowling shoes on for some ten-pin bowling. It was great to see the children enjoying themselves having fun with their peers. Tomorrow, we are going to the Edinburgh Butterfly World and the Time Capsule. Due to the weather forecast (torrential rain!), we've had to make changes to our timetable. Another busy day ahead. ☺
Tuesday 11th June 2019 - Primary 7 have arrived safely in Edinburgh and have had a great first day travelling by bus and boat! Pupils enjoyed the journey across the Irish sea - and were obviously excited in anticipation at what is ahead in the days ahead. First stop in the Scottish mainland was the coastal town of Girvan where pupils got to stretch their legs and make use of the play park faciltiies. Next, it was up to the city of Glasgow to visit the Science Centre, pupils were impressed with the main different science experiements - from magnetics to optical illusions - there was plenty to keep the kids entertained. Pupils ate their lunch here and got back on the bus to make the journey across to the historical capital city of Edinburgh. Pupils enjoyed taking in their new surroundings with many commenting on the stone walls and traditional look. Arriving safely at the Claremont Hotel, pupils enjoyed exploring their bedrooms and were happy to get more food! Pupils ended this evening playing in the park adjecant to the hotel. A long but memorable first day. Kids are in bed to get some rest ahead of a packed schedule exploring the centre of Edinburgh! They've behaved brilliantly today and have conducted themselves very well. Great job so far!
Seventeen children from P7MM have enjoyed a two night residential to Corrymeela on the North Coast. When we arrived on Monday we were given a warm welcome by the Corrymeela volunteers and our leader, Andy. That afternoon, we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine down at the beach where we had to get creative and build boats using pebbles, stones and seaweed. We also had a treasure hunt at the beach. On the walk back up to the beach, some of us were lucky enough to spot two seals in the water! That evening, we played some team building games and got messy making masks, ready to decorate on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, we painted our masks and learned more about our own and others’ culture and identity. We also got the opportunity to learn more about all the volunteers who come from all over the world. After dinner on Tuesday evening, everyone danced the night away at the disco and enjoyed some time playing pool and table tennis in the games room. All of the children were so respectful during our evening worship on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the children stripped and made their own beds ready for the next group. We reflected on our time at Corrymeela and had some time to take in the beautiful views before getting on the bus, ready for home!
Most after school activities finish today, Friday 29 March 2019. If a club or a booster programme has additional sessions next week or the one after, you will have been informed by the leader in writing.
The term 3 after school activities timetable will be out straight after the Easter holidays, with clubs recommencing on Wednesday 8 May 2019.
A group of six P7 pupils from both classes travelled to The Royal School, Armagh on Wednesday 20th March to compete in a STEM challenge (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics). Their challenge was to create a vehicle that would be expected to transport a load (a creme egg!!) safely down a ramp and a certain distance across the floor. The children were given a selection of materials to build their vehicle and had to design three potential vehicles before deciding on their final design. Although we didn’t win the challenge, both teams were successful in designing and building a vehicle that met the criteria of the challenge, and most importantly, they had lots of fun using their problem solving skills during the challenge. Well done P7s!
