On Tuesday afternoon, Nicky MacLennan introduced us to the Cnocan Burraidh Heritage Project. She exlained the purpose and significance of the site as a memorial and private burial ground for the Grant family.

We explored the burial site and examined the gravestones.

We managed to find 27 of the 31 graves. We’ll discover more about the individuals buried there in the new year.

When we got back to the classroom, we compared maps using the https://maps.nls.uk/ site. We discovered that hand drawn maps differ quite a bit from satellite images.

Next term we’ll find out more about all the different roles and jobs needed on a restoration project like this.

A huge thank you to Nicky for a fascinating afternoon!

On Monday 23rd September, we celebrated the European Day of Languages early (before we went to Loch Insh.)

We did different activities to practise describing our feelings and emotions in French, before designing different flag labels and learning how to say “Hello” or “Good afternoon” in a range of different European languages. Reverso.net proved to be a useful site for this. We explored the Duolingo website and joined Miss Mullin’s Duolingo classroom.

On our sponsored walk, we were able to greet visitors in many different languages!

P7 have been busy applying their knowledge of Pointillism in order to create their own piece of art. They will be able to take home their pictures to show you next week. The P7s are looking forward to finding out what you think of their creations!

After a very busy start to the day emptying rooms & stripping beds we had a super morning learning archery with our instructors Alex & Eilidh.

We also worked on team and class problem solving. We had to agree our roles and communicate clearly to succeed.

After lumch, we had fun in the park and fed the friendly ducks before travelling home.

Thanks P7 for your hard work, perseverance, helpfulness and sense of humour. You have made Miss MacDonald and Miss Mullin (and your families) very proud. 🙂

This morning, the Lions skied while the Tigers went Mountain Biking. Yet again, it was impressive how quickly the P7s improved at skiing, because of their effort and persistence.

The conditions were ideal for windsurfing today. The pupils worked in pairs and achieved great success!

At the end of the session, we had a few minutes to have some fun in the loch. 🙂

At dinner time, the Boathouse Restaurant staff helped us celebrate a certain young man’s 11th birthday!

Our evening activity was canoeing – this proved to be more challenging than people expected – but we all managed to stay dry and enjoy the views as the sun set. 🙂

This morning, we learned how to windsurf and practised on a simulator on dry land. We had to recall lots of new vocabulary and sequence several steps. We coached each other – there are definitely some outdoors instructors in the making in our class!

The wind dropped once we all had our wetsuits on, so we ended up doing a bit of paddleboarding instead.

After lunch, the Lions went mountain biking whilst the Tigers were taught to ski by James. We found skiing a real physical challenge and we were all exhausted by the end! It was great to see so many P7s persevering despite all the falls. Many of them challenged themselves to attempt the ski jump at the end of the session!

The Lions had a great time mountain biking with Miss MacDonald, Mrs Laird, Richie and Jess.

In the evening, the Lions and the Tigers competed against each other to make, and build a raft. Some of them were able to recall the knot tying skills they learned with Sandra in Craigmonie Woodland. P7 worked well within their teams throughout the task, coaching and encouraging each other. They ended up racing in dim light!

P7’s first activity this afternoon was Kayaking with our instructors Jess and James. We learned useful paddle skills before playing games to build our confidence. We then went out on the loch! It was great to see the P7s challenging themselves and supporting each other.

The P7s were thoroughly impressed by the Boat House Restaurant staff and food! They all ate a hearty evening meal and are looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.

The evening activity was Wayfinding / Orienteering at dusk. The P7s enjoyed being able to use their various head torches and hand torches. They scoured the site to find up to 9 different markers. The most effective trios all took time to study the map in advance and had clear roles within their trio.

Back at our common room, we enjoyed deluxe hot chocolates and some chill out time before recording our video diaries and going to bed! We look forward to welcoming Mrs Laird tomorrow.

P7 have already raised over £40 this evening, by serving teas, coffees, homemade lemonade and home baking at The Budapest Café Orchestra concert at the Craigmonie Centre.  This will help to buy extra fruit & snacks for our common room at Loch Insh next week.

Huge thanks to the parents (& siblings) who baked &/or lent a hand!

UPDATE: The total amount raised last night (and in the staffroom today) was £88.05, meaning that we now have £105 in our common room fund.

We are so thankful for the support shown by our parents and the wider community. Thankyou to you all / Merci à vous tous / Taing dhuibh uile

Class newsletters have been emailed out to parents. Some P7 asked for hard copies ~ hopefully you should have received them by now! If you haven’t received yours, please email the school: Glenurquhart.Primary@highland.gov.uk A copy has also been posted below.