Inverclyde Schools Curling Champions 2009!

Today our Broader Curriculum curling team participated in an inter-schools curling bonspiel. There were teams there from different parts of Inverclyde and we sent one team selected from the children who are currently doing our curling block in Broader Curriculum time. We won!
The winning team contained; Stuart Smith, Angus Shearer, David Kane and Jennifer Scholes. We also took Conor Laing and Christopher Scholes as reserves.

Congratulations to the children from all at Cedars School. The team players received a medal and all the children got a gym bag full of goodies!

Mr J :)

Fitness Challenge Day!

On Friday, at the Greenock Waterfront gym, S2-5 put themselves through a punishing challenge which they have been training for in P.E sessions over this term.
The fitness challenge involved a time circuit of various fitness machines. The children were each accompanied all the way by a member of staff to time and encourage them. The challenge was as follows:

1km on the treadmill
1km on the upright bike
1km on the rowing machine (500m for the girls)
20 lateral pull downs (20kg - boys, 10kg - girls)
50 box-steps

The time started on the first machine and stopped after the last box-step. There were various awards but the main prize was for the fastest boy and fastest girl. These were won by Stephen Thomson S5, and Beth Millar S2.
Both Stephen and Beth received a 3 month 'top-deck' gym membership and a gym bag full of goodies from Inverclyde Leisure.
Well done to all who took part and many thank to all the staff at Inverclyde Leisure!
Next year we will be trying to encourage some parents to take part!

Mr J:)

Mutiny at Cedars School

Today the school was over taken by a bunch of blood thirsty, cut-throat Pirates (aka Primray 3/4). They were having a topic day in class and came to school dressed up in their best Pirate costumes.

They went on a treasure hunt around Greenock, had a treasure map competition, found a lot of treasure (chocolate coins) and painted their own individual treasure chests. 

A brilliant end to a brilliant topic!

Bouncing to success!!

P7 and S1 have been working hard in PE this term, improving their trampolining skills.

Front flips, back drops, tuck jumps, star jumps, tuck pikes, straddles, swivel hips. seat drops, front drops... all of them have improved, and will be performing their final routine to the rest of the class next week!

Pupils Hit the Headlines!

We have enjoyed some great publicity in the local press in recent weeks. This week three of our pupils, Iain, Ailie and Euan, are featured on the Inverclyde Now website as they have all achieved entry into prestigious national choirs! Well done to the three of them!
If you would like to see them go to the following link:

http://www.inverclydenow.com/news-detail2.asp?ID=2694

Mercy Ship Visit

On Thursday 2nd April we are having a visit from Susie Hope who works for Mercy Ships. She'll be taking 3 different session about the work of Mercy Ships across the world.

On Friday 3rd April (our last day of term) we'll be having an "Easter Breakfast" in school to raise some money for Mercy Ships. For a minimum donation of £2 pupils will be treated to bacon/sausage rolls, cereal and fruit juice.

Secondary pupils are invited to arrive from 8.45am that morning to ease congestion in the dinner hall. 

For more information on the work of Mercy Ships please see their website:

http://www.mercyships.org.uk

School Publicity

Cedars School will be recieving a lot of good publicity in the local press over the next few weeks. The Greenock Telegraph are publishing a four-page pull-out feature on the school to celebrate our tenth anniversary year. There are also inserts running in the Largs and Millport and other locally delivered publications over the next few weeks. You can view these articles and inserts in pdf format on our website at any time.

Mr J:)

Pancake Day!

Over the past term we have all been enjoying the daily visits of the folks from Heather's Delicatessen in Gourock who bring fresh soups, paninis, toasted sandwiches and snacks which staff and pupils can buy for lunch.
On Tuesday however there was also a delicious addition - pancakes!
Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day. Mrs Parkinson made delicious pancakes with a choice of mouth-watering toppings and distributed them to all pupils and staff! They were delicious.
Many thanks to all at Heather's Delicatessen.

All Staff and Pupils!

Visit of Duncan McNeil, MSP

Today in ourS3/4 enterprise class we were visited by our local MSP, Duncan McNeil. He told us how he came to be an MSP and develop an interest in politics. We have been having various speakers from different walks of life and different businesses so it was interesting to hear a different viewpoint from someone who serves the public and tries t make life better for the people of Inverclyde. Here is what we thought of what he had to say:

He had a fascinating view of his job. - Robyn

He told us how he was involve with the 'Show the Red Card to Racism' initiative which was very interesting! - Daniel

It was interesting to hear about his background in the shipyards. - Rebecca

He gave me a clearer view of what an MSP does and how they help their community. - Deborah

It is interesting how heworked at the shipyards and went on to become an MSP. - Craig

Many thanks to Duncan for coming in and speaking to us. We hope you like the school and will be a frequent visitor in the future!

Mr J :) and S3/4

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Creighton!

Warmest congratulations are due to Mr and Mrs Creighton who are this week celebrating the arrival of Anna Isobel Creighton. Anna was born last week and mother and baby are both well and we wish the family all the best from everyone at Cedars School!

All at Cedars School

Burns Lunch

On Monday 26th we held a Burns lunch in the school. The haggis was piped in by our very own Ailie from S2, addressed by Daniel (S3), accompanied by Jessica (S4) who provided an english translation for the address, and enjoyed by all the children from P5-S5.
The meal itself was provided by the people from Heather's Delicatessen of Gourock, who cooked a beautiful haggis, neeps and tatties dinner!
Our thanks go to all who took part and helped in preparing and serving the meal as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland's national bard - Robert Burns!

Mr J :)

Craft Fair

Belatedly we thank you all for your support of the recent craft fair that was held in the school. Hundreds of people visited us over the day and these included many parents and grandparents. There was a wide selection of local crafts on sale and many peole commented on the quality of the stalls. The day raised over £3000 which will make a significant contribution to the building of the extension to our church premesis in Jamaica Street.
One of the stalls was organised, stocked and manned by our S3/4 enterprise company, 'PlumArty!'. The stall sold a variety of FairTrade goods and also packs of our own Christmas Cards designed by the children. Our stall took £450 in total over the day and we were delighted with the enthusiasm of the children. The profit from this stall will be going to Kibigare School for Aids orphans in Nairobi, Kenya.

Netball Night!!

On Monday night we had another very successful Netball Tournament. This time, as well as pupils, staff and Friends of Cedars School, we were joined by some willing mums! The evening was great fun, although a competetive spirit was definitely in evidence!

Girl of the game award goes to Melissa McNeal who, despite being knocked out (almost literally) at the beginning of the evening, stayed and cheered her team on to eventual victory!

Top Goal Scorer goes to Daria Sassarini who scored TWELVE goals!

The next Netball Night will be in January- more details to come!

A big thank you to all the mums who came and played!

School Council Elections

Following on from our elections for this years Head Boy and Head Girl, the three houses in the school met this week to elect their male and female House Captain for the session. The House Captains, along with the Head Boy, Head Girl, runners up and representatives from the upper primary classes, comprise the School Council.

Head Boy / Girl Election Results

Last week Cedars School voted for our Head Boy and Head Girl for the session 2008/2009. The results were close but in the end the winners were David Ostrowski (Head Boy!) and Jennifer Mole (Head Girl!) Congratulations to them both. This week we will be voting in House captains for our various houses. The house captains and Head Boy/Girl will together make up our school council. This is a pupil council that meets with Mrs Speirs and staff each week to discuss and make decisions on a wide variety of issues affecting the school. Any pupils with an issue they would like to raise at the school council should take it to their House Captain.

Mr J:)