World Book Day at Our School

We had a fantastic World Book Day filled with creativity, fun, and a real love of reading. The day began with a whole‑school assembly where pupils showcased their amazing costumes, inspired by their favourite book characters. This was followed by a lively costume parade, giving everyone the chance to admire the imagination and effort that went into each outfit.

Back in class, pupils enjoyed a range of book‑themed activities. We took part in a book scavenger hunt, searching for clues and discovering new stories along the way. We also enjoyed a book share, where children talked about the books they love and why they chose them. To finish, we had a special show and tell, giving everyone the opportunity to introduce their chosen book and spark new reading interests among their classmates.

It was a wonderful day that celebrated the joy of reading and the magic of stories.

Final session with Relax Kids

Today we enjoyed our final session with Joanne from Relax Kids, and it was a lovely, calming experience for everyone. The focus this week was on massage, which is another useful technique we can use to help our bodies and minds feel relaxed.

The children practised giving gentle massages to a partner, but before starting, they had to ask their friend for permission. Throughout the massage, the children also checked in with their partner to make sure it felt comfortable and OK. Learning to ask, listen, and respect each other’s boundaries is a very important part of staying safe and being kind.

The session was peaceful, engaging, and a wonderful way to end our Relax Kids programme. The children now have lots of strategies they can use to help themselves feel calm, focused, and ready to learn.

N.S.P.C.C

NSPCC Visit – Staying Safe with Hamilton

Today, we were delighted to welcome Hamilton from the NSPCC into our school to speak with the children about the importance of always staying safe. During the session, Hamilton shared a range of different scenarios, and the pupils had to decide whether each situation was “OK” or “Not OK.”

This interactive approach really encouraged the children to think carefully, make sensible decisions, and talk openly about safety. The pupils were highly engaged throughout and contributed thoughtful and confident answers.

It was a very interesting, informative, and valuable session that helped reinforce the message that every child has the right to be safe and to speak out if something doesn’t feel right.

Pancake Day

This week, our P3 and P4 pupils had a fantastic time making pancakes in class. We followed a simple recipe and worked together to weigh and measure all the ingredients carefully. Everyone took turns mixing the batter and watching their pancakes cook.

The excitement really grew during our pancake‑flipping challenge! The children showed great enthusiasm (and some impressive flipping skills!) as they tried to see how high—and how neatly—they could flip their pancakes.

Of course, the best part came at the end when we ate our delicious pancakes.

As part of our literacy work, the children then wrote their own set of instructions, using their pancake‑making experience to help them sequence steps clearly and use bossy verbs.

It was a fun, hands‑on learning experience that combined maths, literacy, and a whole lot of smiles!

Relax Kids

Our primary three and four pupils recently enjoyed their very first session with Relax Kids, and what a fantastic experience it was! The class focused on helping children understand the different emotions that they’ll feel and introduced practical strategies to regulate these feelings. Through calming activities and guided relaxation, the children learned how to manage stress and find their inner calm. Looking at the photos, it’s clear that the session was a success.

Our pupils looked completely relaxed and engaged throughout. This is a wonderful step towards supporting emotional well-being and resilience in our learners.

Traffic Survey

The children in Primary 4 recently carried out a traffic survey to find out the most popular car colour in Bessbrook. They observed cars passing through the area and recorded their findings carefully. Using the data they collected they created an information table to organise the results. They then displayed the information visually by constructing a bar graph. The most popular colour of car was silver.

Symmetry

Today in Primary four the children were making symmetrical patterns with beads. The children had up to 2 lines of symmetry. The children were so engaged and loved the outcome. 

Anti Bullying Week

Today we celebrated Odd Sock Day. The children all wore odd socks to school. It’s ok to be different! We made odd socks on Just2Easy with a partner. In literacy we read the book ‘The Lion Inside’. After discussion we made paw prints showing how we can be kind at home and in school. We also drew one of the main characters-the 🦁.

To end our Topic writing on Grace Darling we read over our newspaper reports and highlighted our success criteria to ensure everything was included. We then shared our work with our friends. Some people enjoyed reading theirs out to the class. Well done boys and girls! 🤩

P3/4 STEM Challenge: Designing a Boat for Grace Darling

As part of a STEM challenge, P3/4 pupils were tasked with designing a new boat for Grace Darling using only three sheets of tinfoil, one sheet of card, a straw, and a small ball of blue tack. Working in groups, the children selected a boat shape and collaborated to bring their designs to life. Once built, each boat was tested to see if it could float without taking on water and withstand a simulated storm created with a hairdryer. The activity encouraged teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving, all while linking to historical learning.

Rescue At Sea Display

Our P3/4 pupils have been busy writing a recount based on the brave story of Grace Darling. the process involved lots of planning, learning and editing before completing our final pieces. We self assessed our work to check we had included everything needed. Once finished we used Just2 Easy to transform our writing into a newspaper article. The children typed up their recounts into the Newspaper template, added images and came up with a captivating headline to grab the readers attention. We let our friends read our recounts. To complete our writing we created striking lighthouses in art, inspired by where Grace Darling lived. The children showed great creativity and enthusiasm.

P.E with Primary 3/4

Today’s P.E. lesson for Primary 3/4 centred around developing balancing skills through a fun and engaging circuit of activity stations. Each station offered a unique challenge designed to improve co-ordination, core strength and body awareness.

Literacy

Today we were writing about a pet we wish we could have. When we were finished we read it to our partner to check it made sense.

Connectives

Today we had to think of words that could join short sentences together to make a longer sentence. We learnt the fancy word for joining words are connectives.

Fun Measuring

Today P3 were measuring with non standard units. P4 where deciding if objects were longer, shorter or about the same length, as a metre.