Furnace and Minard
Primary Schools
36thEdition Newsletter March 2016
World Book Day
We had a great time on Thursday the 3rd of March as we came to school dressed in our pyjamas! Our theme for the day was bedtime reading and in the afternoon Furnace visited Minard for an afternoon of bedtime stories and activities.
Reading is Fun event
The children in the Mid-Argyll pupil council have been working together over the last few months to organise a ‘Reading is Fun’ event.
They ran two competitions, one for children in 1st level and one for 2nd Level to come up with a book character to encourage reading in these age groups.
The pupil council chose the winning entries, ‘Book Buddy’ by Morven McIver in P3 from Lochgilphead and ‘Reading Rhino’ by Drew Buckley in P7 from Tayvallich.
These drawings were turned into soft toys and presented to the winners at our ‘Reading is Fun’ event at Lochgilphead Library on Friday the 4th of March by our Education officer, Kathryn Wilkie.
A book quiz on children’s books was also organised to raise money for the toys and it is hoped that every school in Mid-Argyll will have a pair. A pupil in Ardrishaig Primary won the quiz.
The next event organised is a workshop for children in P3, 4 and P5 by children’s author Emily Dodd in the Campus on the 31st of March.
Music Festival
Congratulations to Marie in P5 for her 2nd place in the Scots verse speaking solo class for children in P4 and 5. She recited ‘The Crocodile’ by JK Annand. Well done Marie!
The joint choir entered the ‘Music is Fun’ section and this was non-competitive. Our numbers were down a bit due to illness but those that did perform did themselves proud. (In fact we had one child take unwell in the hall while waiting to perform!) They sang ‘Jazz Hands’ which is a very upbeat piece from the musical drama ‘The Grunch’. Well Done Everyone!
P7’s have visit from High School teacher
The 3 P7’s between Furnace and Minard enjoyed hearing all about the High School when they had a visit from Geography teacher, Mr Wire, on Thursday the 17th of March. Mr Wire handed out school handbooks and chatted to the girls about the different subjects covered and generally how things work in the High School.
A morning has been arranged on Wednesday the 27th of April for the girls to have a visit around the school, join in a class and to stay for lunch.(Details will be sent to their parents after the holiday.)
They will have their 4-day induction to the High School from the 6th to the 9th of June.
Inter School Quiz
Kilmartin
Furnace and Minard
Quizmaster and scorer!
We played Kilmartin in the 1st round of this year’s inter-school quiz at Furnace on Wednesday the 23rd. We had a combined Furnace/Minard team with two members from each school but unfortunately Kilmartin were too strong for them and they won by 50 points to 30.
We are very grateful to our quizmaster and scorer, Barbara and Wilf Stout, who have recently moved into Furnace village, for helping out on the day.
Easter Service
In the afternoon of the 23rd we held our Easter service at Furnace with local minister Rev Campbell. The children in Furnace read a poem about the Easter story and Minard children explained about the history of Easter Eggs. The children in P7 read the bible lessons linked to the Easter message given by the minister. Afterwards the congregation joined us for tea and hot cross buns while the children enjoyed an Easter egg hunt.
Sumdog Success
A huge ‘Well Done!’ to all the children in Minard and Furnace for achieving 1st place in an online mental maths competition that was run over a week for schools in Argyll and Bute. Thirteen schools entered and each child had up to 1000 questions to answer by completing fun challenges on the Sumdog website. Both schools joined together for this as you had to have a minimum of 10 children competing. The games could be played at home and at school. Mrs Goodwin, at Minard, was the driving force behind this as she helped set it up. All are very proud of their achievement.
Author Event
The children in P3-5 are attending a workshop with children’s author Emily Dodd today (31st March). There will be more about this with photos in next month’s newsletter.
Dates for your Diary
April
1st – Non-uniform day and quiz for charity. £2 each.Schools close at 2.30p.m. for the holidays.
18th – School re-opens
19thand 26th– Swimming for all the children
21st–Open afternoon at Minard 2.30p.m. -3.30p.m. All welcome.
22nd–Open morning at Furnace 9.30a.m. – 10.30a.m. All welcome.
28th – 2nd June – Cycle Proficiency training for children in P6 and 7 every Thursday morning
May
2nd – Holiday
3rd and 10th - Swimming
11th – Special lunch – Around the World Buffet – parents will be invited – more details soon.
18th – Art Exhibition of work by the children in both schools will be held in Furnace Primary –
6-8p.m. All very welcome
19th – School dentist visiting the P7’s
30th – Joint Parent council meeting at Minard 6.30p.m. All welcome.