Kilgraston’s Equestrian Centre discussed in outdoor learning magazine feature
Renowned national magazine, Independent School Parent, has featured Kilgraston School in its Spring 2022 Prep edition.
Increasingly, the narrative to take learning beyond the classroom is gathering traction, no less in the piece, entitled “Let’s go outside,” detailing schools with an approach that “inspires confidence, instils engagement and supports mental health.”
Kilgraston’s on-site Equestrian Centre and benefits thereof are discussed online on pages 24/25/26.
Copies of the magazine are available at main reception.
7 February 2022
Kilgraston Harvest Festival 2021
Wednesday 6th October marked Kilgraston’s annual Harvest assembly both in our Junior School and in our Senior School.
In a bright and colourful assembly, each class in our Junior School performed or presented on different elements of the Harvest Festival. We were treated to a performance of ‘Old Macdonald’ by our youngest pupils – in French, while each Upper First pupil gave a presentation about a different fruit or vegetable from around the world. Lower Second read a Harvest Time Poem and Upper Second performed ‘The Rainbow People’, a story about friendship and people being the same. Pupils in Lower Third talked about different cereals and then Upper Third performed ‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’. We also welcomed an address by Rev. Allan Wilson, Minister of Dunbarney and Forgandenny who used the characters of ‘Lola and Charlie’ to discuss community.
The Junior Head Girl team has also been coordinating the food donations for local charity, C.A.T.H. (Churches Action for The Homeless). With a table ladened with cereals, pasta, tins of fruit and vegetables, the proceeds were taken to C.A.T.H. after today’s service.
This year’s senior harvest assembly was presented by Upper Sixth’s Sana, Hannah and Poppy. They spoke about the importance of being grateful for what we have, that harvest is a significant time of the year to celebrate the food we have and our farmers. Hannah and Sana spoke about what Harvest means to them.
“It is really important in this day and age that we are made aware that all the choices we have, were not always available to us and to take time to be grateful for what we have”, said Hannah.
“I am now aware of the consequences that buying food out with the season of Britain has, I am now going to make a conscious effort to buy local produce”, added Charities prefect Sana.
Enterprise skills in Juniors
Lower Third recently sharpened their enterprise skills and raised over £600 in the process – an outstanding achievement for a class project by eleven pupils.
The class held fairs where the sold items including hand-made jewellery, arts and crafts. With the two enterprise sessions, the class made £672.10, and donated it to charity, Alzheimer Scotland. Fiona Matthews, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia advisor for Perthshire, thanked the pupils for their donation and said:
“It is very much appreciated and will enable the organisation to continue to support people living with dementia and their families in the area.”
The donation will help the charity in a number of ways, including continuing to fund:
- the expansion of local Dementia Resource Centres and Community Groups that keep people free from isolation and connected to their community
- the charity’s 24-Hour Freephone Helpline (0808 808 3000) which operates 365 days per year providing information and support to anyone concerned about or living with dementia.
- And the charity’s network of local Dementia Advisors who provide vital support to people with dementia and their families throughout their time living with dementia.
Congratulations to all of Lower Third and class teacher, Ms Alison McPhee for their incredible work with this important charity.
You can read more about Kilgraston’s other fundraising and charity work here and find out more about we are educating our next generation of business leaders.
Treeplanting at Kilgraston Junior School
Kilgraston Junior School has an enviable countryside campus complete with a stream, waterfalls and a forest for our pupils to enjoy. And now it also has an orchard.
It is part of the school’s re-wilding plan and has many benefits. Ms Dana Cooper, Kilgraston’s Junior School Deputy Head, said: “Outdoor education is an intrinsic part of the Kilgraston education and we are extremely fortunate to have a stunning countryside campus. But our pupil voice is important so when we discussed with the pupils what else we could do outdoors, they suggested we could grow our own fruit.”
The orchard was originally to be part of the School’s 90th birthday in 2020 but due to lockdown, celebrations were cancelled. So now, after a year’s delay, the trees have been planted.
Once established, the plum and apple trees will give pupils the chance to snack on fresh fruit and Kilgraston’s catering team will be able to make some treats using the produce. The enterprising pupils are also hoping to make preserves from the fruit to raise funds for charity.
Kilgraston Juniors turn forensic scientists
Kilgraston Juniors Upper Second class have been exploring the topic of Crime this term.
This week the class were lucky enough to have Jon Bates from Sci-High visit the pupils in school to staged a crime for the class to solve.
In a busy day of crime-solving the class had to turn forensic scientist ,detective and finally jury to solve the case using their knowledge and understanding and our scientific skills.
There was finger print analysis, swabbing of blood from the crime scene and footprint examination. The class also examined handwriting, used chromatography, examined clothes from the suspects and compared DNA samples.
The Upper Second class had so much fun and even - after a court case in Scotties - managed to successfully solve the crime, presenting the forensic evidence and learning about the judicial system in Scotland.
What a fantastic day.
You can find out more about Kilgraston Junior School here.
Kilgraston Junior School trip
It was another exciting milestone for Kilgraston Junior School when our Reception and Lower First class headed out on a school trip post the COVID pandemic.
Heading out in the sunshine the class went to idyllic Tentsmuir Beach in Fife, a minibus ride from our school.
It was an opportunity for the class to put into practice some of the skills they have been learning in class with their current topic of bridges. The huge sandy shores of Tentsmuir proved the perfect landscape for the class to trial their bridge-making skills with the class designing and building their own.
After two hours, the pupils unveiled their individual masterpieces, impressing class teacher Mrs Stewart and classroom assistant Mrs Armstrong.
So to celebrate all their hard work, the class headed to a play park for lunch (with delicious chocolate crepes) before getting back on the minibus. Concluding their day of bridges, they opted to return via the Tay Bridge, noticing the remnants of the old rail bridge and counted all the bridges on the way home - an impressive 33. The class then stopped in Perth to admire the three bridges over the Tay.
Sounds like a wonderful day out.
Kilgraston Juniors - show and tell
They love PE and they’re fans of animals such as owls and springer spaniels. Find out what some of the Kilgraston Junior School classes have been sharing in class recently.