ANTI-BULLYING WEEK

As part of 'Anti-Bullying Week', P5/6/7 discussed what makes us the same, and what makes us different.  We linked this to a jigsaw. Each piece is different but when all pieces come together they make something special, just like our class.

OUTDOOR PLAY P1 - P2

We loved hearing the poem 'A Stick is an Excellent Thing'.

A STICK IS AN EXCELLENT THING

A stick is an excellent thing.

If you find the perfect one,

It's a sceptre for a king.

A stick is an excellent thing.

It's a magic wand.  It's yours to fling.

To strum a fence, to draw the sun.

A stick is an excellent thing

if you find the perfect one.

Marilyn Singer

We had a 'stick day' for our Outdoor Play.  We used our sticks to-

• make a picture
• make music on the fence
• use as a wand
• make a sceptre for a king - just like the poem says.
• We found out who had the longest and shortest stick by placing them all in order.

'A stick is an excellent thing!'

'TASKBOARD' P1 - P2

You may hear your children talk about 'taskboard time'.  During taskboard time the children are in small groups doing activities to develop literacy and numeracy skills.  These activities are also great for improving fine motor skills.  It is busy but we can learn so much by being active.  Have a look at what we were doing in 'taskboard time' this week

'OWL BABIES' P1 -P2

We read the 'Owl Babies' story together in class. Then the  P2's read it to the P1's all by themselves.  We learnt some facts about real owls and made paper bag owls.

POETRY IN MOTION

Over the past few weeks, P6 and P7 have been using their creative writing skills to write some poetry, aided by local poet, Maura Johnston.  This is in conjunction with the Poetry in Motion Schools Programme, organised by the Arts Resource Centre in Belfast.  Today Joanne Barrett from the centre, came to record the children reading their poems. They were a little bit nervous but they soon settled down and enjoyed reading the poems they had written.

CYCLE SAFETY P4 - P7

P4 - P7 also had a visit from the Police Officers, Sid and David.  The focus of their talk was on 'Cycle Safety'.  The children were given important information on how to cycle safely. By law a bicycle must have - WORKING BRAKES  -   A BELL/HORN  -   REFLECTORS.

Cyclists are obviously much smaller than cars and lorries, so it is really important for cyclists to make themselves more visible by -

• wearing bright or fluorescent colours and reflective strips at night.
• use front and rear bike lights even during the daytime

Cyclists should also be aware of the correct road positioning for riding, so that they can avoid manholes and avoid riding on the painted lines which are very slippery.

The most important information they were given was to wear a CYCLE HELMET AT ALL TIMES to avoid concussion or even more severe brain injuries.

ROAD SAFETY TALK P1 - P4

Today two Police Officers, Sid and David came to school to talk to the younger children about road safety.  They began by telling the children how to recognise a police officer by his/her uniform.  Police Officers often wear bright yellow reflective jackets when on traffic duty so that they will be easily seen by motorists and other road users.  They told the children the importance of wearing bright and reflective clothing when out walking, particularly at night.

They also taught the children how to cross a road using the Green Cross Code.  They looked at safe and unsafe places to cross a road and also talked about people who could help them to cross a road safely - police officer, grown ups or a lollipop person.  The children were all given a road Safety Colouring book.  Thanks to Sid and David for their very interesting and worthwhile talk.

FARM SAFETY

As I'm sure you are aware, there are many dangers that children can face on our farmyards.  Rasharkin Primary School has participated in the poster competitions and talks from HSENI - Farm Safety Department over the past number of years to increase our children's awareness of these dangers.

HSENI have advised us about the 'Farm Secure' app which was developed in partnership with the University of Ulster and is available to download for free.  It is aimed at Key Stage 1 children and is a great way to introduce young children to the dangers they may find on a farm and how to avoid them.

Links to the app can be found on the HSENI Website (Scroll down to the bottom of the page for 'Farm Secure' app) Click here for link

DAIRY COUNCIL

Today Amy and Bronagh from the Dairy Council came to school to talk to our P5 - P7 children about making wise food choices and also about keeping fit.

The children sorted foods into the five main food groups.  They also learnt a rap to help them to remember the key messages to 'Looking Good and Feeling Great'

They used 'lifestyle skills' to help get the balance right. A healthy life style is a balance between the right foods and the right amount of exercise.

This presentation taught the children about -

• Having a healthy, balanced diet.
• Understanding why we need to eat some dairy foods.

M ove your body to keep fit.

I nside or out all exercise counts.

L et's eat milk, cheese and yoghurt for calcium.

K eep the right balance between the food groups.

P1/2 OUTDOOR PLAY

On 25th October P1 and P2 had another very exciting Outdoor Play session.  This time the sun was shining and the children had a super time.  The focus for Outdoor Play was 'Planting Spring Bulbs'  Here are some of things we looked at.

• We imagined what the bulbs would look like when they were fully grown - Would they be apple trees or vegetables or maybe even pumpkins?  We will have to wait and see!
• We made harvest soup in the mud kitchen.
• We decorated some leaves and used the parachute to see how they flutter and fly down to the ground in Autumn time.

Taking the classroom 'outside' is an excellent way for children to learn about the world around us in a very hands on way.

LIBRARY VISIT P3 and P4

Today P3 and P4 had the first of three visits to Kilrea Library.  Ann the librarian, gave the children lots of interesting information about the types of books that are available to borrow from the library.  She then showed them around the library and the children were able to borrow some books to take home.  Ann read them a story before they returned to school.  The children are all looking forward to their next two visits after half term.

SCRIPTURE UNION 150 YEARS

We were once again delighted to welcome Rachel Sheppard to our special assembly this morning.  Rachel is the Scripture Union Representative for schools in the Ballymena Area.  Rachel with the help of some our children told the story of Zachariah and John the Baptist. This is the 150th Anniversary of Scripture Union and as part of the celebrations each child in school was given a gift from Scripture Union. P1- P3 children were given 'The Jesus Bible Story Book' and P4 -P7 were given 'The Diary of a Disciple.'

ANNUAL HARVEST HOOLIE

The excitement was building this week for the long awaited Harvest Hoolie, which always proves to be one of the most popular mornings of the year. Dressed in their cowboy/country wear, the children got the chance to do various activities.  They listened to a harvest story and made popcorn, used up lots of energy line dancing and making music, played games, made bird feeders and made chocolate apples. Thanks to all the staff for their help in making this another very successful Harvest Hoolie!

OCTOBER ASSEMBLY AWARDS

Well done to the children who received certificates for October 2017.  The certificates were awarded for  - ' Good Editing in Writing'  - 'Getting on well with others' - 'Demonstrating Independence and Ownership of Learning'

ACCELERATED READING CERTIFICATES

Congratulations to all our Accelerated Readers who achieved their individual targets for this half term.  Certificates were awarded today at a Special Assembly.

CONGRATULATIONS

At our Harvest Assembly three of our pupils received certificates for success in recent music exams.  Andrew and Grace both receive piano tuition in school from Mrs McAleese, and they completed their Grade 1 examination in June.  Sam received violin tuition in school from Miss Nicholl and he also passed his Grade 1 Violin Examination.  Well done to all three children.

ACCELERATED READING CUP WINNER

Congratulations to Robyn P7, who was the winner of the Accelerated Reading Cup for this first half term.  We are delighted with the enthusiasm shown by our pupils as they strive to reach their individual targets.

HARVEST ASSEMBLY

Today we had our Harvest Assembly where we were delighted to welcome many parents and friends to school. Our special guest speaker was Mr Peter Rollins who spoke to us about Ballymoney Food Bank.  Thank you to everyone who brought food items to school to put into the food bank.  We know that many families in the Ballymoney area will be grateful for the items that have been kindly donated.  P1 - P3 sang 'The Scarecrow' and P4 - P7 sang 'Harvest Samba' which reminded us of all the lovely food that we can thank God for at this time of year. Click here to listen to our Harvest songs.

RADAR

On Friday 20th October P6 and P7 travelled with Ballykelly Primary School to RADAR in Belfast.  RADAR stands for Risk Avoidance Danger Awareness Resource.  RADAR is a purpose built interactive education centre which aims to increase children's awareness and knowledge of the dangers that they can encounter at home, on the roads and in society.  RADAR also educates children of the importance of being good citizens especially as they move to bigger schools and have to deal with peer pressure.  The children all really enjoyed and benefitted from their visit to RADAR.  Here are some of the things they learnt

• Road Safety - as a pedestrian and a passenger in a car
• Personal safety - keeping themselves safe from abuse
• Fire safety - focusing on fire in a bedroom
• Internet safety - keeping safe on social network
• Alcohol - underage drinking
• Anti Social Behaviour - how to respect others and be mindful of how their actions can affect others.

SCRIPTURE UNION

Today we were delighted to welcome the Scripture Union team into school.  Rebekah, Laura, Hazel and Lorna held the P1 - P3 S.U. meeting outside, at lunchtime.  Those children attending, enjoyed the games and also the Bible story that the leaders had prepared.  Our P4 - P7 will be given the opportunity to attend the weekly lunchtime S.U. meeting for four weeks commencing next week.  Thank you to the team for their commitment to Scripture Union and to our school.