Hillhead Primary Looks Down Memory Lane

by Lynsay Keough

As the closure of the current Hillhead Primary looms nearer, staff and pupils at the school have issued an appeal for old photos and memorabilia for a special exhibition they are holding to commemorate the history of the school.

The name of the exhibition is Looking Forward Looking Back.

Youngsters at the Cecil Street building are moving to a multi-million pound new build in the West End in the Spring of 2011- merging with Dowanhill, Kelvinhaugh and Willowbank Primary schools.

The new campus will also include Dowanhill and Willowbank’s Early Years Centres.

Karen Barclay, the Hillhead teacher in charge of the exhibition, is looking for former pupils, staff and members of the local community to come forward.

She said: ‘We are keen to hear from any former pupils who still have old school ties, photographs, uniforms or jotters that we could include in our special exhibition.

‘As the youngsters make plans to move to their wonderful new building we feel it is important for them to remember the school’s past.’

Built in 1885, the school was originally the high school and did not become the local primary school until 1945.

All items will be returned at the end of the exhibition which is due to open in March 2011. Anyone who has anything of interest that could be included,  is invited to contact the school on 0141 339 9175 or email kbarclay@hillhead-pri.glasgow.sch.uk

Carmyle computer class turn hi-tech tecs

Pupils in primary six and seven at Carmyle Primary School who have ventured into the realms of crime scene investigations made a big breakthrough with their case when they asked a policeman for help.

The young sleuths are taking part in a six-week course that challenges their imaginations and equips them with the IT skills they’ll need in the years ahead. It also offers them a peek into the world of real crime fighting beyond the sets of television series such as CSI.

While the children learned how to examine fingerprints, hair samples, identify tyre prints and use digital microscopes, they also had the chance to question Constable Steven Docherty of Shettleston Police Office about his day-to-day work. Questions about DNA were high on their agenda as they put Steven through his paces – without the good cop, bad cop routine.

The course is the brainchild of ComputerXplorers, an educational franchise company which operates in 20 countries and offers information technology courses to children aged from three to 13.

John McGill, who set up ComputerXplorers South West Scotland earlier this year, said: ‘We’ve taken the pupils through some of the steps that the CSI investigators go through, fingerprinting, powder analysis, digital photograph analysis, and dental imprinting. With that, the kids have a great time. They bite into a piece of fruit and someone guesses who bit the fruit by looking at dental imprints in styrofoam plates.

‘The first analysis is with the eye,’ John explained. ‘To deduce who bit the the apple – and it’s not a serious crime – requires analysis of top and bottom teeth. We use digital imaging as well, and the whole point of our classes is to bring technology into the fun experience. We’re training kids for job that don’t yet exist but it’s clear technology is going to be a huge part of that.

‘It’s a real core life skill we’re trying to teach them through the fun, and through the educational aspects of CSI and forensics.’

Not everyone is good at sports, John said, so learning collaboration and presenting to peers in his class means that children can enjoy their creative side.

Headteacher Linda Logue said: ‘This class has been very popular and after consultation with parents, we hope to be running another in January.

‘The children are very motivated and actively engaged in every session, learning information and communication technology and problem solving skills without realising it.’

Learn to Sign week helps put finger on deaf awareness

 

 

 

 

The recent Learn to Sign week campaign by the British Deaf Association (BDA) once again helped highlight the importance of Deaf Awareness and BSL throughout the UK.

As part of my contribution to the campaign, I decided to take my ‘conver-sign-tion’ talents to pupils of some primary schools in my area.

First on the list were the teachers and pupils at Sacred Heart in Bridgeton, where we all joined together and started off by giving our fingers a ‘wiggling warm-up’.

Then it was off to fingerspell all 26 letters of the alphabet. This great area of the language can help children’s fine motor skills and another handy tip being that your vowels are all on your left hand.

Next port of call was a bit of a nostalgia trip for me, as I went along to see the children at Blackfriars Primary, where I was a pupil – way back in 1971.

Fingers at the ready once again, and this time we took a BSL trip around the globe while practising signs for different countries.
Finally, it was just a short trip along the road to St Francis Primary School, and a BSL workout with three different classes who were all eager to soak up the various signs for emotions like, happy, sad, jumping for joy and more. Full marks to all the pupils who got involved, and also many thanks to the teachers who allowed me to come along.

It is just a pity that there is not a regular place for BSL in school curriculums, as presently children are taught Spanish, Italian and French.

For anyone who is interested in learning BSL, visit the website at www.glasgowbsl.co.uk and if any other schools would like a fingerspelling
workout, contact me at colin@glasgowbsl.co.uk
Meanwhile, the Sign-now.com team have a new dedicated website called www.sign-videotalk.com, where you can see all the information from inviting friends to checking the support page.

In order to invite friends, you need to click the relevant box on www.sign-videotalk.com or go to the top right of the videotalk page and enter your username and password again for security reasons. It is like a telephone book but with a personal security key. So why not invite friends and start chatting!!
If you know a friend that is already a member of Videotalk, just type their username on the top bar and if your friend is not a member, just send them an invitation using their email address on the bottom bar.
Just remember, if you bought a new mobile, you would need to get your
friend’s mobile number to start chatting it’s the same with Videotalk.
But if you encounter any problems please do not hesitate to contact the team
via admin@sign-now.com
But most importantly, enjoy Videotalk.
Sign-now.com was co-founded in 2006 by deaf entrepreneurs Andrew Thomson and
Dean Humphreys, who had the desire to remove the barriers that the deaf
community experience when accessing information and services.

In 2008, Sign-now.com welcomed the addition of Caroline Thomson to make the
most of the combined talents.

Caroline, who also manages Online Advocacy Services, is an independent advocacy for the deaf in Scotland and also current technological prowess in web based technology. It was also in that year Andrew Thomson won the 2008 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year.

 

Blackfriars Primary keeps in touch with ballet and rugby challenge

Pupils at Blackfriars Primary School in the Gorbals have been on the ball and on their toes recently during busy mornings of physical activity.

 

 

 

Primary 5 pupils were put through their paces by Scottish Rugby Union coach Thomas Davidson and then by Scottish Ballet tutor Emma-Jane McHenry.

The talent scout project, Balletbuzz, enables children with potential to be spotted and to attend a short course that could lead to further teaching.

Headteacher John Lawson said: ‘All pupils have been up for the challenge. The rugby coaching warmed the children up for our ballet class. Strength and stamina are required for both disciplines.

‘This clearly shows that this generation don’t carry the baggage of stereotypes. Neither the boys nor the girls batted an eyelid at being asked to take part in the activities. The school believes in giving the pupils a chance to experience as many things as possible, so they can achieve their potential.’