Viva España
On Thursday 27th February the whole school caught Spanish fever and spent a fun day doing language activities, playing games, singing songs and learning about Spain. Jane, our Spanish assistant came in to help us and people dressed in fancy dress or the colours of the Spanish flag. Needless to say we were inundated with matadors and flamenco dancers.
Not to be outdone, that evening some of the parents came to school for a Spanish fiesta of their own. The food was provided by Juan and Marina from ‘The Pantry’ in Garvagh and the entertainment was provided by Alba Flamenco, a group of flamenco dancers from Londonderry. The evening was a great success and along with the proceeds of the draw and donations from a number of kind sponsors the day raised over £1000 towards enhancing our computer suite.
Class Updates
P1 & 2 have been learning about transport. They have counted the wheels on different vehicles and sorted them into those which go on the land, the sea or in the air, or those which can go on all three, like Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang. They have even given Mrs Cooper’s car the once over to see what’s in the boot and what’s under the bonnet.
Primary 3 & 4 have been learning about the emergency services. They have identified dangers in the home and how to make our homes safer. They also planned their escape routes and learned how to make a 999 call should something go wrong and a fire break out. They also read and wrote stories about the Great Fire of London in 1666. Now if only the Londoners had been better prepared!
Primary 5 & 6 have been learning about the weather. They have been recording the temperature and rainfall as well as researching extremes of weather around the world. They have also been following the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi and finding out about the skiers, snow-boarders, curlers and ice-skaters who took part for Great Britain.
P7 have been studying weather too. They have researched extreme climates and found out about the people who live there. They have discovered that weather affects everything we do, including the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the type of houses we live in.
Seeing Red
We were all seeing red on Friday 14th February when we left our uniforms at home and came dressed in ‘Red for Romance Day’. For some it was a token gesture such as red socks, a red hair-band or even red pants (although we didn’t ask them to prove that one) whilst others went the whole hog and dressed in red from head to toe. Mrs Gordon and Mrs Greer also put on a special Valentine Menu in the dinner hall.
P7 Project
This year P7 pupils from Kilrea and St Columba’s are taking part in a project on local history sponsored by CRED and they began with a ‘getting to know you’ session in Kilrea Sports Hall where they played ice-breaker games and introduced themselves. The next part will be an overnight stay in the Maiden City where they will walk the walls and visit the museum as well as take part in some outdoor activities.
African Children's Choir
A group of our pupils will be joining the African Children’s Choir, Barazina Youth Choir and a number of other schools in a concert on Saturday 12th April in the Millennium Forum, Londonderry. The concert is being co-ordinated by Miss Rosborough who comes into school to teach music, speech and drama and we are really looking forward to treading the boards with all the others. If you would like to come along, tickets can be obtained through the Millennium Forum Box Office (028 7126 4455) at a cost of £10.50 per adult and £4.50 per child. We would love to see you there.
Alternatively, if you can’t make it that night, the African Children’s Choir will be performing with some other schools on Tuesday 8th April.
Thanks
In January we welcomed Beth McIlrath from ‘Save the Children’ and Roisin McCaughan from the ‘Zomba Action Project’ to accept cheques of £200 each, the proceeds of our carol service. They explained to us how the money would be used to buy much needed resources for children in other parts of the world. Once again we thank you for your continued generosity.
Mrs Anderson and her Eco-Committee would also like to thank everyone for supporting their Fair Trade bun sale which raised £67.