A very big thank you to all those who  contributed, in various ways, to our Caring to Love event.

Together we have raised over £800!

  On this day pupils will have the opportunity to buy their break in school.

Adults- come along for Afternoon Tea  and treats in the school building at 2:30 pm.

 All proceeds to go to The   Northern Ireland  Children’s Hospice. 

In memory of Alfie Johnston

]]> http://www.longstoneps.co.uk/2012/02/loving-to-care-day/feed/ 0 http://www.longstoneps.co.uk/2012/02/new-photos-uploaded-to-gallery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-photos-uploaded-to-gallery http://www.longstoneps.co.uk/2012/02/new-photos-uploaded-to-gallery/#comments Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:55:22 +0000 grace.brown http://www.longstoneps.co.uk/?p=314

Longstone recently had some very odd visitors indeed! Have a look in the sites gallery to view photos taken from our puppet workshop held earlier this year.

In January a team from Green Pastures ran puppet workshops for all the classes. Each child was given the opportunity to make a puppet to take home. They really enjoyed working with the puppets the team brought along.

This is the fourteenth edition of our Newsletter.  We hope to send you one per term.  In each one we will keep you up to date with school life.

The children are all settled back into school after the busy Christmas term.  Everyone at school would like to thank all the parents and friends who attended our Christmas Concert.  Thanks to all the children for their hard work and making the performances so enjoyable for all.  Congratulations to the children who won trophies and shields.  We would like to thank all those who donated to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal brought shoe boxes for the Operation Christmas Child and groceries for the Rotary Hampers.  We donated a total of 35 shoe boxes.

FARMHOUSE BREAKFAST WEEK

Farmhouse Breakfast Week ran from Monday 23 January to Friday 27 January.  The classes took part in a number of different projects.  On Monday 23 January Mrs O Chesney fromFaneValleycame to talk to the children about the importance of a healthy breakfast.  They also had a power point presentation.  All children were given a free sample of porridge to try at home.

As a conclusion to Farmhouse Breakfast Week we are running a competition.  The winners will receive cookery books which have been kindly donated by Mrs Chesney.

Report on the Farmhouse Breakfast Week

On Monday the 23^rd of January 2012 the P4 and P5 classes baked their own homemade bread (and of course tasted it!!)

 

A bread maker was used in the process so a lot of the work didn’t need to be done as the maker did it for them. 

They were probably extremely happy that the kneading process had already being done for them.  Then on the afternoon of that day Oonagh Chesney came in to talk to the P1 -P7 about the importance of a healthy breakfast.  This talk inspired everyone and there was a free sample of porridge for all the children

 afterwards which made Monday even more memorable.

Then on Tuesday the 24^th of January the P1 – P3 classes baked pancakes as always the helpful Mrs McCall was on hand to ensure there were no disasters in the kitchen!!!  (As there might have been had she not been there……..probably.)

The pancakes I’m quite sure of would have been absolutely delicious but unfortunately the P6 – P7 classes didn’t get to taste these.

 

Wednesday kicked off by the P6 – P7 classrooms making their own dishes using bread. Some of us were not especially good at keeping their table tidy and our group had its own disasters! But still everyone enjoyed making their own recipes and of course tasting them in my opinion our crepes were the best (but I would have to say that!!!)  However all good things must come to an end and the boys went to their call of duty and washed the dishes!!! (After the girls messed them up!!!!!)But it was an enjoyable morning and nobody could eat their break!!! (Well some of us could). It was a great morning and we had loads of fun.

Thursday saw all the classes back in action and performing an assembly.  The P1 – P3 children put on a wonderful play entitled “The Little Red Hen” and recited a poem entitled “Five Currant Buns in a Baker’s Shop” afterwards. After which the P4 – P5 class sang for us and said a prayer thanking the Lord for all the things we have.  Then it was time for us to take centre stage and perform our assembly on the topic of bread’s story or the grain chain we we’re quite nervous but pulled it off all right.  Then thanks to Marbeth baguette samples were brought in for us to taste.

So I think that it’s only right and proper that we thank everyone for such an enjoyable week and we’re looking forward to next year!

James Dickey P7 2012

 

We will be having a number of Healthy Breaks Weeks:-

21 – 25 February – Vegetables

26 – 30 March – Fruit

21 – 25 May – Favourite Healthy Breaks

AFTER SCHOOLS CLUB

We are arranging a variety of after schools club experiences (suitable for boys and girls) for the pupils of Primary 4 to Primary 7.  The club will be on Tuesday afternoons from 3.00pm to 4.00pm beginning on the 21 February and running to 27 March (6 weeks).  We will send out a timetable of events when all arrangements have been finalised.

VISITORS

Last term Colin Tinsley from Youth Ministries held assemblies for four mornings.  The children always enjoy his assemblies.

On 13 January 20 January and 27 January a team from Green Pastures ran a puppet workshop for all the classes.  Each child was given the opportunity to make a puppet to take home.  They really enjoyed working with the puppets the team brought along.

On 18 January child evangelist Robert Plant came for assembly.

Amy Scullion from Active Communities comes on Monday mornings from 9.30 to break time and takes the P1 to P7 classes for dance.

On Friday mornings Derek and Stevie from “Coaching for Christ” takes the Primary 1 to Primary 7 children for cricket lessons.  This will continue from now to Easter.

On Wednesday 25 January the Primary 4 and Primary 5 classes had Mrs C Launder visit them and talk about life inScotland.  They had a burns supper and got to sample “Haggis”.

On that afternoon piper Winston Pollock came to talk about bagpipes and also play a selection of tunes.   Some of the children also had the opportunity to have a go.

Thanks to Mrs Jane Dickey and Mrs Jean Bovill the children are once again entering the Ballymena Festival.  They are already working hard at the pieces with Mrs Dickey and Mrs Bovill.  Thanks to them for their continued help.  As yet we have no dates for the event.

OUTINGS

The children enjoyed their annual trip to the pantomime and McDonalds on Wednesday 4 January.

The Primary 4 to Primary 7 classes took part in “Fun In Athletics” at the NRC Ballymena on Tuesday 24 January.  The team came 4^th.

The Primary 6 & Primary 7 class attended the Ballymena Beesafe Event at Ballymena North on Monday 30 January.

RIGHTS RESPECTING SCHOOL

We are still holding pupil focus group meetings on a regular basis and also have monthly assemblies taken by the different classes.

DATES TO REMEMBER

On Wednesday morning 1 February the school photographer is coming to take the Primary 1 and Primary 7 group photographs.  We are also having a school group taken.  All children must wear their full school uniform on that day.

On Tuesday 14 February we are having a “Loving to Care Day”.  The children will be given the chance to buy their break in school.  In the afternoon we are offering parents the opportunity to come to school at 2.30pm for a cup of tea, coffee and some tray bakes.  We will also have poetry books on sale which have been written in memory of Alfie Johnston.  All donations for our day will be sent to the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice in memory of Alfie.

In December 2011 we welcomed 2 new pupils to our school Ruby and Oliver Logan. They have settled in really well to their new classes. Ruby in P1 and Oliver in P2.

PARENT INTERVIEWS

Parent interviews dates will be:-

P7 Week beginning 6/02/12

P2 Week beginning 13/02/12

P3 Week beginning 19/03/12

P4 Week beginning 14/05/12

P1 Week beginning 14/05/12

Our annual school barbecue is booked for Friday 1 June in Carnfunnock Country Park.

HOLIDAYS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SCHOOL YEAR 2012

MID TERM

School will be closed:-

Wednesday 15 February (Teacher Training Day)

Thursday 16 February – Monday 20 February (3 days)

Re-open:-  Tuesday 21 February

EASTER

School will be closed:-

Wednesday 4 April (Teacher Training Day) Thursday 5 April – Friday 13 April (7 days)

Re-open:-  Monday 16 April

TEACHER TRAINING DAYS

School will be closed:-

Friday 4 May (Teacher Training Day)

MAY DAY/BANK HOLIDAY

School will be closed:-

Monday 7 May

Monday 4 June – Tuesday 5 June (2 days)

School will finish for the summer on Wednesday 27 June.

Just click here

Longstone Pupil Focus Group along with representatives from governors and parents receiving their certificate from Mr McGimpsey UNICEF and Mrs D Wilson NEELB.

Congratulations to everyone in Longstone Primary School. We have now achieved our Rights Respecting Schools Level 2 Award. We are really proud of this as we are the 1st school in the Ballymena area to have received this very special  award.

On Wednesday 18th November Longstone P6 and P7 pupils made a visit to the Ballymena Times newspaper office. They had arranged to interview the Times Editor Mr Dessie Blackadder.

Mr Blackadder took us into his office and began by telling us a little about the history of the Ballymena Times We learned that it was founded in 1855 and was originally called the Ballymena Observer. We had the opportunity of looking at a paper from 1918 which was full of writing and advertisements and had no photos. Compared to today’s paper it looked extremely uninteresting. Mr Blackadder informed us that the reporters in those days had a more difficult job than reporters today because they had to paint pictures with the words they used since there were so few photos in the newspapers

Ballymena Observer 1918

Mr Blackadder explained to us how his job has changed since he began working for the paper. Reporters used to take all their notes in shorthand. They then typed their reports using a typewriter. These reports were printed on huge sheets of paper. The editor’s job, was to cut out the pieces of writing with a scalpel, that were to be included in the finished paper and place them on a sticky sheet of paper. He explained this is where the term cut and paste in computers originated.

This page was then taken to a room where a camera took a picture of the finished article. Nowadays the papers are printed in Portadown and everything is done by computer. Reporters can record what they want to write on voice recorders no need for shorthand.

One of the pupils asked Mr Blackadder what qualifications you need to be a reporter. He answered by saying what ever job you do, you need to work hard at it. You need to be able to ask questions politely and clearly and then listen carefully to answers you are given. English is a very important subject to study at school and university. When a reporter is in court reporting on the cases there, he still needs to take his notes in shorthand, so this still part of a journalists training. He demonstrated how to write in shorthand for us. It looked really complicated.

One of our pupils asked Mr Blackadder if his job was fun. He answered by saying “I have good days and bad days as well! I have deadlines to meet every day as the paper has to be sent completed before 3:00 pm on Monday for publishing. On the other hand I have had many opportunities to travel around the world as part of my job”

Ballymena Times Website

Mr Blackadder then explained how the way people receive the news has changed with the development of technology over the years.

The first newspapers were huge and printed in broadsheet fashion. These papers progressed to the smaller compact papers we have today. Most papers have their own website nowadays as computers are part of everyone’s daily life. He predicted that before long people will be able to get all the information they will ever need on their mobile phone.

At the end of the morning we thanked Mr Blackadder for taking time out from his very demanding job as editor to give us such an interesting and enjoyable visit.

Reported By P6 & P7 Longstone Ps