During Lent, Primary 7 joined hundreds of schools across Britain to raise money to build wells in Africa. They chose the Cafod project because it had been selected for Government aid which meant that every pound raised would be doubled by the UK Government.

Pictured here with their Lenten well, designed and created entirely on their own, Primary 7 collected money throughout Lent for Cafod. Also pictured is their bake sale, organised and managed entirely on their own, where the majority of the money was raised. Primary 7 invited classes throughout the school to come along and purchase cakes they had baked at home. Other fund raising activities included a small bric-a-brac sale organised by some of the girls at home, doing chores around the house for extra pocket money and giving up regular activities in order to deposit their pocket money in the Lenten Well. In total the class raised an amazing £300 which will be doubled to £600 as part of the Government initiative.

Mrs Brennen and Mrs Gallacher are extremely proud of the effort and commitment shown by Primary 7 to raise such a phenomenal amount of money. The money has been sent to Cafod and will be used to build wells to provide fresh drinking water for hundreds of needy people in Africa.

The winter woollies were looked out and packed for the annual ski trip over the Easter break.  Girls from S1, S2 and S3 left the school with a team of support staff on Friday 30^th March.  They took the long, but enjoyable bus journey to Predazzo, Val De Fiemme, Italy, where they spent 5 days skiing, with tuition each day.  Other activities were enjoyed after the day on the slopes which included, a disco, pizza night, karaoke, quiz night and ice skating.  All pupils were awarded a certificate at the end of the week for taking part in the skiing.

Ski trip organiser Mrs Wilson commented, “It was a very successful trip, and we are already looking at details for next year”.

The fun doesn’t stop there; on Friday 27^th April the girls who took part in the trip will be treated to a Ski Trip Party at lunchtime.

The Good Child Foundation (GCF) is the charity primary 6 have chosen to support for the remainder of the school year.  This is a charity which educates children with Down Syndrome in Thailand. 

Pupils from primary 6 penned their very own single all in the name of this charity, selling copies of the single to parents, pupils and teachers.

The school is in preparation for a visit from Paul Lennon, a representative from GCF, and pupils from the school in Thailand on 11^th May 2012. The school are very lucky to receive one visit out of only three intended whilst they are visiting.

Before the Easter break a Rag Bag Collection took place on behalf of the Fernhill Foundation. There was a great response from everyone in the whole school, with the extra incentive to collect some house points for all who donated.  The bags were collected and weighed through the holidays.

The Fernhill Foundation would like to extend a huge thanks to all who took part and helped raise £254.28.

This term in Science, Primary 2 have recreated the solar system and put it on display in the infant open area. Starting with balloons, the pupils used Plaster of Paris bandage to make spheres of different sizes to represent the sun and the planets. They then painted them using a picture from the internet as a colour guide and finally made name labels to provide the finishing touches for their display. 

The experience has helped them understand the relative size of the planets to each other and their position relative to the sun. In turn they are now able to understand why some planets are too hot or too cold to encourage normal life to exist. This has been a fabulous learning experience for the children and one they have enjoyed immensely. When they visited the Planetarium at the Science Centre recently, the guide was very impressed with what they knew about the solar system.

The guest of honour, the Easter Bunny and parents were invited to the Easter Bonnet Parade hosted by the primary department on Wednesday.

Each class paraded their very own creation of an Easter Bonnet, they were all very creative and obvious that great effort had been put in. Mrs Tilston, Mrs Kingwell and Mrs Devine all retired teachers of Fernhill Primary School, were welcomed back to be the judges.  They had their work cut out for them deciding on the winners. 

The winners from each class were -

P1 Iqra Bashir

P2 Christopher Collins

P3 Charlie Wright

P4 Emma Neary

P5 Eve Lavety

P6 Jade Coats

P7 Monica Campbell

Happy Easter to everyone!

We are pleased to announce that the main pitch has been resurfaced.  It now also has a bus lane that will make the flow of traffic between buses and cars easier to follow and the outline of a netball court for use by the P.E. department.

The final stars of the week for this term have been announced.

P1 Iqra Bashir

P2 Helen Findlater

P3 Alicia Kennedy

P4 Leyla Kennedy

P5 Lucy McKenna

P6 Rosa Ferry

P7mb Andrea Craig

P7mg Emily McGrory

 In Science this term, Primary 6 have created their very own electronic robots.  Along with their Science teacher, the children have participated in the Robokid project developed and funded by Edinburgh University. The school were very fortunate to be selected to take part in the project as only a limited number of schools can participate each year.

Using circuit boards, motors and switches, the pupils assembled the robots following instructions provided in written, verbal and video format. The tasks were both challenging and intricate in nature and took the children out of their ‘scientific comfort zone’. Having built the engine of the robot, the groups then created a body for it and spent time understanding how to program it. All of the robots required slightly different programming which meant that each team had to perform their own set of tests and modifications.

Primary 6 have excelled in their task and have loved every minute of the learning. Later in the project the groups will compete against each other in driving and ten pin bowling competitions. Keep your eyes peeled to the website to see how it all goes!

Father Dougan administered the Sacrament of Reconciliation to pupils of Fernhill School on Tuesday 6^th March 2012. Parents and Mr O’Donnell were present at the event.

Those who made their Reconciliation were

Ben Everett

Anya Gillespie

Michael Goodfellow

Holly Henderson

Karagh Higgins

Moya Keeney

Alicia Kennedy

Chiara Marini

Alex McWilliams

Marin O’Connor

Ava Thomson

Charlie Wright

Kate Rankin

Darla McArthur

Mathilde Gorevan

Juliette Gorevan