With Form 7 away this weekend, six girls were drafted in to play in the eleven and they didn’t let the side down.

After a run out off the first ball of the day and then losing our second wicket after 10 runs, things looked ominous. However, in came Venetia who began playing some confident shots and when Thabo was caught, Esme was next in to accompany her. They struck up a great partnership with good communication, running quick singles and both hitting boundaries. Venetia quickly reached 50 - normally 2nd XI players are retired after 25 or 30 but Venetia was playing so well and the rest of the team told me that she must play on when I approached them to ask if they were keen to have a bat!

Esme was bowled for 24 to a brilliant delivery but it was a wonderful 96 partnership that the girls made. We made a total of 161 with Venetia still at the crease on 73 not out - a terrific knock.

After match tea and a chance to warm up, Esme took an early wicket but Merchiston went on to bat very well with two players forming a strong partnership. It was cold and damp and we lacked a bit of dynamism in the field although Isabella, Thabo and Will were stand out performers in this area. After the first 10 overs of the Merchiston innings they were well ahead of the run rate but Thabo came on and took two quick wickets to take his total to 3 and this made the game much closer than it looked it might be. Merchiston managed to get it over the line and win in the penultimate over but the boys and girls today can be very proud of their performance today with lots learned. Our bowling was generally good considering we were dealing with a wet ball but more time in the nets to work on accuracy and getting the length right will pay off as we move through the season.

An afternoon of great fun and entertainment from both teams today. Well done!

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

With Form 7 away this weekend, six girls were drafted in to play in the eleven and they didn’t let the side down.

After a run out off the first ball of the day and then losing our second wicket after 10 runs, things looked ominous. However, in came Venetia who began playing some confident shots and when Thabo was caught, Esme was next in to accompany her. They struck up a great partnership with good communication, running quick singles and both hitting boundaries. Venetia quickly reached 50 - normally 2nd XI players are retired after 25 or 30 but Venetia was playing so well and the rest of the team told me that she must play on when I approached them to ask if they were keen to have a bat!

Esme was bowled for 24 to a brilliant delivery but it was a wonderful 96 partnership that the girls made. We made a total of 161 with Venetia still at the crease on 73 not out - a terrific knock.

After match tea and a chance to warm up, Esme took an early wicket but Merchiston went on to bat very well with two players forming a strong partnership. It was cold and damp and we lacked a bit of dynamism in the field although Isabella, Thabo and Will were stand out performers in this area. After the first 10 overs of the Merchiston innings they were well ahead of the run rate but Thabo came on and took two quick wickets to take his total to 3 and this made the game much closer than it looked it might be. Merchiston managed to get it over the line and win in the penultimate over but the boys and girls today can be very proud of their performance today with lots learned. Our bowling was generally good considering we were dealing with a wet ball but more time in the nets to work on accuracy and getting the length right will pay off as we move through the season.

An afternoon of great fun and entertainment from both teams today. Well done!

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

P1 went to the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh and saw lots of paintings of generals. We also saw lots of sculptures as well. We tried to copy some of the pictures we saw. We spotted portraits of some people we recognised. Allegra and Alexandra recognised Robert Burns. We also saw a painting of the most important person in the Gallery, John Ritchie Findlay. We knew he must be a very important person because his portrait was in such a huge gold frame. The best part was seeing the stained-glass windows. In the hall there are lots of stars on the ceiling and we tried to count them all. There are 2222 stars. Dillon guessed 1226 which was very close. We enjoyed the trip so much. We gave it 100 thumbs up.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

P1 went to the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh and saw lots of paintings of generals. We also saw lots of sculptures as well. We tried to copy some of the pictures we saw. We spotted portraits of some people we recognised. Allegra and Alexandra recognised Robert Burns. We also saw a painting of the most important person in the Gallery, John Ritchie Findlay. We knew he must be a very important person because his portrait was in such a huge gold frame. The best part was seeing the stained-glass windows. In the hall there are lots of stars on the ceiling and we tried to count them all. There are 2222 stars. Dillon guessed 1226 which was very close. We enjoyed the trip so much. We gave it 100 thumbs up.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

1stXI beat George Watson’s College by 97 runs

Cargilfield

135 – 2 (20 overs)

(C Adams 59no, J St Clair 24no)

George Watson’s College

38 all out (14.1 overs)

(C Glen 2-0-4-2, A Clayton 2-0-4-2)

After an excellent first outing over at Merchiston on Sunday in the freezing cold, when we beat the hosts and Sedbergh playing some really encouraging cricket at this early stage of the season, we headed over to George Watson’s for a 20 over game in what was a gloriously warm and sunny afternoon! Much more like cricket weather, it must be said!

We lost the toss and were put in to bat, and Thomas and Felix headed out to the middle. I was pleased with the way both looked to rotate the strike, playing carefully, treating each ball on its merit and picked up plenty of singles as their calling improved. Unfortunately, Thomas was run out in the 5^th over, having put on 24 for the first wicket: loud and clear calling is important, and something to learn from after two run outs in tow games! This brought Cody in to bat and both he and Felix batted with real confidence, pushing the score along, running popsitively and Felix hit a couple of fine shots to the boundary, picking up the length really well; unfortunately, he then chipped one to mid off but it was a promising innings of 19 and it was a shame he got out as he was just beginning to get going.

In terms of wickets, that was it, and for the remaining 12 overs, the skipper, James, and Cody put on an unbeaten 93 together, batting with real confidence, scoring lots of singles and waiting patiently for the bad ball to come along, which they did in the end. GWC had a useful bowling attack, and Cody’s first ten runs came in singles as he pushed the ball in to space and called well….that is the key about running well between the wickets, an early call and both batsmen need to be talking to each other all the time. He scored 21 singles in is excellent 59no and that tells its own story: patience, a willingness to keep the scoreboard moving and then cash in on anything wide which is exactly what he did and his first 50 for the 1stXI was well deserved. James also batted well, growing in confidence and he just needs to be a bit more patient, get his head down and not try to play the big shot too early in his innings, but a super knock to begin the season proper so well done. 135-2 would take some chasing!

In reply, we bowled and fielded really well, and we decided everyone would bowl two overs it being so early in the season and o9ur bowlers hit good lines and lengths and we well backed up by some sharp fielding. We effected three run outs (it could have been 4 or 5) and took a couple of good catches, but we bowled at the stumps, forcing the batsmen to play and I always say 98% of prep school cricketers are out bowled, so bowl straight, and today four of them got out bowled! Cameron and Alexander both picked up two wickets a piece as dismissed GWC for 38 in the 15^th over – a convincing and emphatic win, set up by some excellent batting which meant GWC would always struggle to keep up.

A super afternoon, the sun shone and the cricket was terrific too. Well played, boys!

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

1stXI beat George Watson’s College by 97 runs

Cargilfield

135 – 2 (20 overs)

(C Adams 59no, J St Clair 24no)

George Watson’s College

38 all out (14.1 overs)

(C Glen 2-0-4-2, A Clayton 2-0-4-2)

After an excellent first outing over at Merchiston on Sunday in the freezing cold, when we beat the hosts and Sedbergh playing some really encouraging cricket at this early stage of the season, we headed over to George Watson’s for a 20 over game in what was a gloriously warm and sunny afternoon! Much more like cricket weather, it must be said!

We lost the toss and were put in to bat, and Thomas and Felix headed out to the middle. I was pleased with the way both looked to rotate the strike, playing carefully, treating each ball on its merit and picked up plenty of singles as their calling improved. Unfortunately, Thomas was run out in the 5^th over, having put on 24 for the first wicket: loud and clear calling is important, and something to learn from after two run outs in tow games! This brought Cody in to bat and both he and Felix batted with real confidence, pushing the score along, running popsitively and Felix hit a couple of fine shots to the boundary, picking up the length really well; unfortunately, he then chipped one to mid off but it was a promising innings of 19 and it was a shame he got out as he was just beginning to get going.

In terms of wickets, that was it, and for the remaining 12 overs, the skipper, James, and Cody put on an unbeaten 93 together, batting with real confidence, scoring lots of singles and waiting patiently for the bad ball to come along, which they did in the end. GWC had a useful bowling attack, and Cody’s first ten runs came in singles as he pushed the ball in to space and called well….that is the key about running well between the wickets, an early call and both batsmen need to be talking to each other all the time. He scored 21 singles in is excellent 59no and that tells its own story: patience, a willingness to keep the scoreboard moving and then cash in on anything wide which is exactly what he did and his first 50 for the 1stXI was well deserved. James also batted well, growing in confidence and he just needs to be a bit more patient, get his head down and not try to play the big shot too early in his innings, but a super knock to begin the season proper so well done. 135-2 would take some chasing!

In reply, we bowled and fielded really well, and we decided everyone would bowl two overs it being so early in the season and o9ur bowlers hit good lines and lengths and we well backed up by some sharp fielding. We effected three run outs (it could have been 4 or 5) and took a couple of good catches, but we bowled at the stumps, forcing the batsmen to play and I always say 98% of prep school cricketers are out bowled, so bowl straight, and today four of them got out bowled! Cameron and Alexander both picked up two wickets a piece as dismissed GWC for 38 in the 15^th over – a convincing and emphatic win, set up by some excellent batting which meant GWC would always struggle to keep up.

A super afternoon, the sun shone and the cricket was terrific too. Well played, boys!

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

This half-term, a number of children from Forms 6, 7 and 8 are heading off to Port Edgar to take part in some water sports sessions on Wednesday afternoons. They will be learning how to paddle various craft, including: kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and canoes, all whilst working towards their Paddlesports Discovery Award. Their first session focused on paddling in a straight line and turning on the spot. The children also experimented with some 'unconventional paddling', which was a lot of fun!

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

This half-term, a number of children from Forms 6, 7 and 8 are heading off to Port Edgar to take part in some water sports sessions on Wednesday afternoons. They will be learning how to paddle various craft, including: kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and canoes, all whilst working towards their Paddlesports Discovery Award. Their first session focused on paddling in a straight line and turning on the spot. The children also experimented with some 'unconventional paddling', which was a lot of fun!

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

This is possibly the first time Cargilfield has competed in a tournament exactly like this one. The format featured four pairs for each team, with each pair having four overs to bat and bowl. Wides and no-balls were not rebowled, rather 1 run was added to the batting total. The loss of a wicket meant the batters lost 3 runs but they remain at the crease for the duration of their 24 deliveries.

Cargilfield played the hosts (George Watson’s) first and having been put in to bat first, the aim was to try and build a competitive total, which the team did, reaching 61 runs by the end of the innings. Sylvan and Kit’s partnership was particularly rewarding, as they accumulated 25 runs.

Despite some great bowling by Lucy and Lily, and great catches by Kit and Sylvan, the last pairing for the home team proved too strong and they amassed a total of 86 runs to win the match.

The second game saw Cargilfield fielding first, and despite a resilient effort in the field by everyone, and with more great catching by Kit and Sylvan, Edinburgh Academy managed to set a total of 90 runs. Judith’s bowling asked some good questions during her spells. In Cargilfield’s innings, our batters seized their quick singles really well but too many lofted hits lost us too many runs resulting in a total of only 28 at the close of play.

All considered, our oldest children were of S1 age in an S1 to S3 tournament but our team didn’t look out of their depth. Well done to the whole team who played really well.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

This is possibly the first time Cargilfield has competed in a tournament exactly like this one. The format featured four pairs for each team, with each pair having four overs to bat and bowl. Wides and no-balls were not rebowled, rather 1 run was added to the batting total. The loss of a wicket meant the batters lost 3 runs but they remain at the crease for the duration of their 24 deliveries.

Cargilfield played the hosts (George Watson’s) first and having been put in to bat first, the aim was to try and build a competitive total, which the team did, reaching 61 runs by the end of the innings. Sylvan and Kit’s partnership was particularly rewarding, as they accumulated 25 runs.

Despite some great bowling by Lucy and Lily, and great catches by Kit and Sylvan, the last pairing for the home team proved too strong and they amassed a total of 86 runs to win the match.

The second game saw Cargilfield fielding first, and despite a resilient effort in the field by everyone, and with more great catching by Kit and Sylvan, Edinburgh Academy managed to set a total of 90 runs. Judith’s bowling asked some good questions during her spells. In Cargilfield’s innings, our batters seized their quick singles really well but too many lofted hits lost us too many runs resulting in a total of only 28 at the close of play.

All considered, our oldest children were of S1 age in an S1 to S3 tournament but our team didn’t look out of their depth. Well done to the whole team who played really well.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

What a day to have our first hard ball girls cricket game. All the girls were super excited and rearing to go. As visitors, George Watson’s let us decide what to do first and we chose to have a bowl. Both teams started the game well with a few great shots by the batsman and a couple of early wickets for us. Each pair provided some great bowling and even though the scoreboard was ticking over we kept control of the run rate with very timely wickets. Our target was therefore 236. Once again, each pair provided their own quality of batting but I would have to say Venetia and Issy A played some exceptional crickets shots helping Cargilfield come away with a very narrow 6 run win to and extremely exciting game. Well done on a great start to the season.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

What a day to have our first hard ball girls cricket game. All the girls were super excited and rearing to go. As visitors, George Watson’s let us decide what to do first and we chose to have a bowl. Both teams started the game well with a few great shots by the batsman and a couple of early wickets for us. Each pair provided some great bowling and even though the scoreboard was ticking over we kept control of the run rate with very timely wickets. Our target was therefore 236. Once again, each pair provided their own quality of batting but I would have to say Venetia and Issy A played some exceptional crickets shots helping Cargilfield come away with a very narrow 6 run win to and extremely exciting game. Well done on a great start to the season.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

What a lovely day for the 2nd XI to get their season underway as they travelled to the south side of Edinburgh and faced an enthusiastic and energetic George Watson’s team.

Having lost the toss and then been put into bat, skipper James H led the way with a solid performance at the crease. The artificial wicket was bouncy and proved to be a bit of a handful for some but there were some great knocks from Ewan M(15) and Thabo N (24*); however, the pick of the batters was Freddie B with his terrific (31*) from just 13 balls. We finished with 133 after 20 overs and the most pleasing aspect from a coach’s point of view was the clear and confident calling along with sensible running. 

Our bowling was certainly tighter than the opposition’s as we gave fewer extras away, with Otis W (who was awesome in the field too) along with Zak, the pick of the bunch giving only 6 runs away each from their two overs.

There were two fielding moments of the day - one was Leo’s direct hit from fine leg and the other came when Otis who dived at Mid On to stop a strong shot and whilst lying on the ground had the presence of mind to toss the ball to Leo standing by the stumps who got his second run out thanks to the quick thinking from his team mate.

We were well in control throughout the Watson’s innings but could have been accused of complacency at times and allowed the hosts to get back into the game and in the end, we won by just 8 runs.

However, a really pleasing start and some promising performances, not least by Freddie B who with the bat, was player of the match and looked pleased as punch as he received the match ball on the minibus before the journey home. Well played, boys - it was certainly a lot of fun out there today!

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

What a lovely day for the 2nd XI to get their season underway as they travelled to the south side of Edinburgh and faced an enthusiastic and energetic George Watson’s team.

Having lost the toss and then been put into bat, skipper James H led the way with a solid performance at the crease. The artificial wicket was bouncy and proved to be a bit of a handful for some but there were some great knocks from Ewan M(15) and Thabo N (24*); however, the pick of the batters was Freddie B with his terrific (31*) from just 13 balls. We finished with 133 after 20 overs and the most pleasing aspect from a coach’s point of view was the clear and confident calling along with sensible running. 

Our bowling was certainly tighter than the opposition’s as we gave fewer extras away, with Otis W (who was awesome in the field too) along with Zak, the pick of the bunch giving only 6 runs away each from their two overs.

There were two fielding moments of the day - one was Leo’s direct hit from fine leg and the other came when Otis who dived at Mid On to stop a strong shot and whilst lying on the ground had the presence of mind to toss the ball to Leo standing by the stumps who got his second run out thanks to the quick thinking from his team mate.

We were well in control throughout the Watson’s innings but could have been accused of complacency at times and allowed the hosts to get back into the game and in the end, we won by just 8 runs.

However, a really pleasing start and some promising performances, not least by Freddie B who with the bat, was player of the match and looked pleased as punch as he received the match ball on the minibus before the journey home. Well played, boys - it was certainly a lot of fun out there today!

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

With the days starting to lengthen and the weather improving, it was lovely to, once again, be out in the Pentlands with six of Form 7 children who were working towards their Bronze NNAS Navigator's Award. This included two days of walking, building up a repertoire of skills to be used when out enjoying the outdoors. During the weekend, the children learnt about contours, various methods of estimating distance travelled, and how to orientate the map using both features on the ground, and a compass. Well done to all those who took part.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

With the days starting to lengthen and the weather improving, it was lovely to, once again, be out in the Pentlands with six of Form 7 children who were working towards their Bronze NNAS Navigator's Award. This included two days of walking, building up a repertoire of skills to be used when out enjoying the outdoors. During the weekend, the children learnt about contours, various methods of estimating distance travelled, and how to orientate the map using both features on the ground, and a compass. Well done to all those who took part.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

This festival is always a great way to start the season - short format, excellent regulations designed to allow everyone to play their part and contribute and some strong opposition, which is just what you need after a long winter of indoor nets.  It was a bitterly cold afternoon over at Merchiston on Sunday but lots of parents braved the icy conditions, and the boys played some excellent cricket which bodes well for the season ahead.  First up was Sedbergh, who are a fine cricketing school and it looked as though it would be a tough start to the day.

Cargilfield 87-5 (15 overs)

Sedbergh 50-4 (15 overs)

Cargilfield won by 37 runs

We batted pretty well considering it was the first time on grass with Cody and Xander both batting sensibly and running well between the wickets, and Xander was particularly quick to pick up on anything leg side; it was also good to see Felix and James both playing good cameos too.  We tried hard to keep the scoreboard moving and it would be a challenging target given the quality of our bowling attack.  In response, Sedbergh found it tough going with too many dot balls meaning they soon fell behind the rate and found it very hard to get the ball away through the inner field.  We bowled very well with James bowling two maidens and Thomas, Charles and Xander all impressing. The bowlers were backed up by good fielding and it was a fine performance overall and a well deserved win.  Our next game against the hosts, Merchiston, should have been a tougher encounter but it was a challenge we were keen to take on as the icy late afternoon wind continued to gust!

Cargilfield 100 - 8 (15 overs)

Merchiston 86-3 (15 overs)

Cargilfield won by 14 runs

To be honest, the result looks closer than it was.  In reality, our batting innings won the game and 100 in 15 overs is a terrific effort given the very cold weather! I shuffled the batting order round from the first game to make sure everyone got to bat, but we then subsided to 49-8 in the 9th over, so plenty of time still to bat and we really did have to bat through the overs and use all our balls up.  Some poor running between the wickets and some disappointing shots against their leg spinner - a few lessons to learn here, such as dropping and running, getting the singles and not looking for the big heave ho which one or two were guilty of.  However, early season, and it was left to Charles and Xander to bat the remainder of the innings , putting on over 50 runs together in what was a super display of batting so early on in the season. They worked really well together, calling quickly, rotating the strike and frustrating the Merchiston bowlers. Charles played the shot of the day with a sublime cover drive, but neither ever once looked in trouble and it was a superb effort to get us to a 100 and a match winning total.  In reply, Merchiston never really got going and our bowlers bowled a pretty consistent line and length which made scoring difficult; there were lots of dot balls and the run rate quickly climbed.  Thomas bowled an excellent two overs and then Xander really did turn the screw on them and the game was done and dusted really.  We conceded a few extra runs due to the horrible weather which made fielding difficult with such cold hands, but the result was never in doubt.

So two wins against very good cricket schools and a very pleasing and encouraging start to the season.  It is great to be playing proper cricket once again and I am looking forward to see how this group of boys, and others who were not selected this time develop over the course of the season.  I am also hoping for some warmer weather!! Thank you to the parents for their support and to the boys for starting the season so positively after such a long time without competitive cricket.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

This festival is always a great way to start the season - short format, excellent regulations designed to allow everyone to play their part and contribute and some strong opposition, which is just what you need after a long winter of indoor nets.  It was a bitterly cold afternoon over at Merchiston on Sunday but lots of parents braved the icy conditions, and the boys played some excellent cricket which bodes well for the season ahead.  First up was Sedbergh, who are a fine cricketing school and it looked as though it would be a tough start to the day.

Cargilfield 87-5 (15 overs)

Sedbergh 50-4 (15 overs)

Cargilfield won by 37 runs

We batted pretty well considering it was the first time on grass with Cody and Xander both batting sensibly and running well between the wickets, and Xander was particularly quick to pick up on anything leg side; it was also good to see Felix and James both playing good cameos too.  We tried hard to keep the scoreboard moving and it would be a challenging target given the quality of our bowling attack.  In response, Sedbergh found it tough going with too many dot balls meaning they soon fell behind the rate and found it very hard to get the ball away through the inner field.  We bowled very well with James bowling two maidens and Thomas, Charles and Xander all impressing. The bowlers were backed up by good fielding and it was a fine performance overall and a well deserved win.  Our next game against the hosts, Merchiston, should have been a tougher encounter but it was a challenge we were keen to take on as the icy late afternoon wind continued to gust!

Cargilfield 100 - 8 (15 overs)

Merchiston 86-3 (15 overs)

Cargilfield won by 14 runs

To be honest, the result looks closer than it was.  In reality, our batting innings won the game and 100 in 15 overs is a terrific effort given the very cold weather! I shuffled the batting order round from the first game to make sure everyone got to bat, but we then subsided to 49-8 in the 9th over, so plenty of time still to bat and we really did have to bat through the overs and use all our balls up.  Some poor running between the wickets and some disappointing shots against their leg spinner - a few lessons to learn here, such as dropping and running, getting the singles and not looking for the big heave ho which one or two were guilty of.  However, early season, and it was left to Charles and Xander to bat the remainder of the innings , putting on over 50 runs together in what was a super display of batting so early on in the season. They worked really well together, calling quickly, rotating the strike and frustrating the Merchiston bowlers. Charles played the shot of the day with a sublime cover drive, but neither ever once looked in trouble and it was a superb effort to get us to a 100 and a match winning total.  In reply, Merchiston never really got going and our bowlers bowled a pretty consistent line and length which made scoring difficult; there were lots of dot balls and the run rate quickly climbed.  Thomas bowled an excellent two overs and then Xander really did turn the screw on them and the game was done and dusted really.  We conceded a few extra runs due to the horrible weather which made fielding difficult with such cold hands, but the result was never in doubt.

So two wins against very good cricket schools and a very pleasing and encouraging start to the season.  It is great to be playing proper cricket once again and I am looking forward to see how this group of boys, and others who were not selected this time develop over the course of the season.  I am also hoping for some warmer weather!! Thank you to the parents for their support and to the boys for starting the season so positively after such a long time without competitive cricket.

Array
(
    [0] => 2
)

Assessment for learning after Covid

In P1 at Cargilfield we constantly assess the abilities of pupils in our class informally through discussion, questioning, evaluating the work they do throughout the day in school: everything they read, write and say is considered and we have an innate hierarchy of the ability of our class. This allows us to make sure that each child is making progress and that the more academically able children are challenged and that the children who need support are helped with areas of learning that they find problematic. We use various formal ways of testing reading, spelling and numeracy after it has been taught, summative assessment, which is done in a class setting in the same format as other daily tasks: assessment is an inherent part of the teaching and learning process.

What has become much more vital recently is formative assessment; reacting to the successes and difficulties the children are facing weekly and changing tasks to respond to these. During Covid and online learning, each child had a very different experience of education compared to their normal Early Years’ experience. Some families chose to take part in all of the activities the school suggested, some chose to create their own learning programme which fitted in with siblings, some worked with nannies or grandparents and some found it hard to provide learning opportunities for their children with both parents working from home. This has created some educational gaps for the children who have begun their learning journey during the pandemic.

During our online learning months, Cargilfield had a fantastic, comprehensive, daily structure of lessons, worksheets, activities and ideas for follow up learning for every child, with daily contact for each pupil with their teacher. For teachers as the weeks went on, it could be difficult to tell how much adult input there had been with some children when they submitted their finished classwork. Undeniably there has been an impact of school closures, so accurately diagnosing disparities in children’s learning and identifying pupils’ misconceptions is more crucial than ever as a school, to enable our children to flourish. Responding to the pupils in class is vital; we need to remove ourselves from trying to catch-up and from comparisons to how things could have been.

Using formative assessment strategies across the curriculum is definitely helping to counteract any differences that may have been created by online learning. Breaking down concepts into small steps through carefully sequenced planning enables subject mastery. Teachers can give high-quality, ‘live’ feedback on learning which enables learners to make significant progress with the focus on instant verbal feedback and marking with the children as they are working. This enables us to plan questions that show the extent of children’s understanding before moving on to the next step and we can decide whether to progress or revise, responding to learners’ needs and informing subsequent planning. For us as experienced practitioners, our knowledge of children’s likely misconceptions and our insight into children’s conceptualisation of key ideas is vital to understanding their next steps.

The children receive high-quality feedback about their current learning and next steps, and teachers’ planning is adapted for subsequent lessons, enabling focused inputs on aspects that the children had found trickier or swiftly moving on if children have found a concept simple to understand. This goes beyond academics and is being used with children who have found socialising problematic on returning to school, those whose pencil control and letter formation has suffered and those whose speech and language has been negatively affected by the lack of in-class learning at such a critical stage in their development. In Cargilfield there has been positivity and staff collaboration on our return to school to ensure that everyone is supported in their learning at any level. Let’s hope we are here to stay!

Array
(
    [0] => 4
)

Assessment for learning after Covid

In P1 at Cargilfield we constantly assess the abilities of pupils in our class informally through discussion, questioning, evaluating the work they do throughout the day in school: everything they read, write and say is considered and we have an innate hierarchy of the ability of our class. This allows us to make sure that each child is making progress and that the more academically able children are challenged and that the children who need support are helped with areas of learning that they find problematic. We use various formal ways of testing reading, spelling and numeracy after it has been taught, summative assessment, which is done in a class setting in the same format as other daily tasks: assessment is an inherent part of the teaching and learning process.

What has become much more vital recently is formative assessment; reacting to the successes and difficulties the children are facing weekly and changing tasks to respond to these. During Covid and online learning, each child had a very different experience of education compared to their normal Early Years’ experience. Some families chose to take part in all of the activities the school suggested, some chose to create their own learning programme which fitted in with siblings, some worked with nannies or grandparents and some found it hard to provide learning opportunities for their children with both parents working from home. This has created some educational gaps for the children who have begun their learning journey during the pandemic.

During our online learning months, Cargilfield had a fantastic, comprehensive, daily structure of lessons, worksheets, activities and ideas for follow up learning for every child, with daily contact for each pupil with their teacher. For teachers as the weeks went on, it could be difficult to tell how much adult input there had been with some children when they submitted their finished classwork. Undeniably there has been an impact of school closures, so accurately diagnosing disparities in children’s learning and identifying pupils’ misconceptions is more crucial than ever as a school, to enable our children to flourish. Responding to the pupils in class is vital; we need to remove ourselves from trying to catch-up and from comparisons to how things could have been.

Using formative assessment strategies across the curriculum is definitely helping to counteract any differences that may have been created by online learning. Breaking down concepts into small steps through carefully sequenced planning enables subject mastery. Teachers can give high-quality, ‘live’ feedback on learning which enables learners to make significant progress with the focus on instant verbal feedback and marking with the children as they are working. This enables us to plan questions that show the extent of children’s understanding before moving on to the next step and we can decide whether to progress or revise, responding to learners’ needs and informing subsequent planning. For us as experienced practitioners, our knowledge of children’s likely misconceptions and our insight into children’s conceptualisation of key ideas is vital to understanding their next steps.

The children receive high-quality feedback about their current learning and next steps, and teachers’ planning is adapted for subsequent lessons, enabling focused inputs on aspects that the children had found trickier or swiftly moving on if children have found a concept simple to understand. This goes beyond academics and is being used with children who have found socialising problematic on returning to school, those whose pencil control and letter formation has suffered and those whose speech and language has been negatively affected by the lack of in-class learning at such a critical stage in their development. In Cargilfield there has been positivity and staff collaboration on our return to school to ensure that everyone is supported in their learning at any level. Let’s hope we are here to stay!

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For the first time in over two years, we were able to welcome parents to a Chapel Service and with Easter being so very late this year,. we decided to have our Easter Service at the beginning of the Summer Term this year.  Well done to the choir and all our readers for performing so well and as the Chapel echoed to the great Easter hymn 'Thine be the Glory', we headed off for the weekend full of hope for what the new term will bring.

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For the first time in over two years, we were able to welcome parents to a Chapel Service and with Easter being so very late this year,. we decided to have our Easter Service at the beginning of the Summer Term this year.  Well done to the choir and all our readers for performing so well and as the Chapel echoed to the great Easter hymn 'Thine be the Glory', we headed off for the weekend full of hope for what the new term will bring.

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A new evening club started on Wednesday when 30 children headed over to St George's to take part in Thistle Lacrosse's club coaching night.  Lots of our girls head off to schools that play Lacrosse when they leave us and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the first session led by the Thistle club coaches. We are looking forward to next week already!

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A new evening club started on Wednesday when 30 children headed over to St George's to take part in Thistle Lacrosse's club coaching night.  Lots of our girls head off to schools that play Lacrosse when they leave us and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the first session led by the Thistle club coaches. We are looking forward to next week already!

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Welcome back everyone! It has been lovely to welcome everyone back to school this morning after the holiday, and right on cue, the sun is shining and the corridors are alive once again with excited chatter and laughter. For the first time for what seems like a very long time, it looks as though we shall enjoy a full Summer Term with all the usual events and activities to look forward to, and with parents now allowed back in to school too.  See the iSAMS Parent App for an up to date calendar of events and keep an eye out on all our social channels, and we look forward to seeing you soon!

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Welcome back everyone! It has been lovely to welcome everyone back to school this morning after the holiday, and right on cue, the sun is shining and the corridors are alive once again with excited chatter and laughter. For the first time for what seems like a very long time, it looks as though we shall enjoy a full Summer Term with all the usual events and activities to look forward to, and with parents now allowed back in to school too.  See the iSAMS Parent App for an up to date calendar of events and keep an eye out on all our social channels, and we look forward to seeing you soon!

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The Gender of French nouns.....how difficult can it be?

“Did you know that ‘aigle’ (eagle) was feminine until the early 19th century, when Napoléon decided it would become its emblem (more noble than the rooster, right). The emperor’s emblem could not be feminine (no need to ask). The eagle became masculine!”

Most French teachers and French speakers will tell you that there’s no logic or reason to whether a noun is masculine or feminine. No explanations exist as to why French nouns have a gender or how the gender of any noun was originally determined, so you cannot rely on a rule to guide you; however, certain endings do generally indicate a feminine or masculine noun. For the most part, though, the gender of nouns must be memorized — through repetition, you can likely commit them to memory.

Remember that your instincts about a word may not always be correct, for example le féminisme (feminism) is masculine and la masculinité (masculinity) is feminine. Makes total sense, NO?

When adding a new word to the French language, either for a new concept (for example, the internet) or as a borrowing from another language, who decide whether it should be masculine or feminine?

If the word is untranslated into French, then it is always masculine. For example, Le camping, le weekend…. As always there is exception, if the word applies to a woman (e.g une pin-up).

There are many approaches to learning, memorise and practice the genders of French nouns. Here are just a few suggestions:

Memorize new French words with an article

You’ve probably come across lists of French vocabulary with a definite or indefinite article in front of each word. Although French people don’t use articles every single time they say a word, memorising words along with an article is a very easy way to ingrain in your memory if a word is masculine and feminine. And as you start memorizing words this way, you may notice that certain types of words tend to be one gender or another, which will give you more of a chance of guessing, if you ever have to.

Memorize categories of words that are typically masculine or feminine

Although learning word endings that tend to be masculine or feminine is a more all-encompassing method, learning categories that are commonly masculine or feminine can be pretty helpful, too. Of course, not everything can be neatly put into a category that has all or mostly masculine or feminine nouns, but there are a decent number of categories out there, and maybe, as you learn French, you’ll notice patterns and come up with categories that make sense and work for you, in addition to the established ones.

Remember that if a word in a particular category has another meaning, the gender of that second meaning probably won’t be the same, for example, orange is masculine when it’s a colour and feminine when it’s a fruit.

Here are some categories of French words that are typically masculine:

• wines
• cheeses (although there are some exceptions, usually involving the description of the form of the cheese, for example, la tomme, une brique)
• colours
• metric units
• numbers (note that the numeric concept that ends in -aine (=about this much, this decade of a person’s life, is feminine (la quarantaine, une cinquaiantaine de personnes))
• metals
• languages
• trees
• days of the week
• seasons
• months

Here are some categories of French words that are typically feminine:

• brand names of cars
• brand names of watches
• names of rivers
• sciences and other domains of learning (la science, l’histoire, la chimie, etc.). Le droit (the law) is one notable exception to this rule.

How to learn and practice French noun gender

One easy way to keep up what you’ve learned about genders in French is to choose a word, guess if it’s masculine or feminine, then look it up online or in a print dictionary to check if you’re right. If you’re not, try saying or writing the word with its masculine or feminine article a few times. You may also want to check if it belongs on the list of typically masculine or feminine word endings.

La FIN

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The Gender of French nouns.....how difficult can it be?

“Did you know that ‘aigle’ (eagle) was feminine until the early 19th century, when Napoléon decided it would become its emblem (more noble than the rooster, right). The emperor’s emblem could not be feminine (no need to ask). The eagle became masculine!”

Most French teachers and French speakers will tell you that there’s no logic or reason to whether a noun is masculine or feminine. No explanations exist as to why French nouns have a gender or how the gender of any noun was originally determined, so you cannot rely on a rule to guide you; however, certain endings do generally indicate a feminine or masculine noun. For the most part, though, the gender of nouns must be memorized — through repetition, you can likely commit them to memory.

Remember that your instincts about a word may not always be correct, for example le féminisme (feminism) is masculine and la masculinité (masculinity) is feminine. Makes total sense, NO?

When adding a new word to the French language, either for a new concept (for example, the internet) or as a borrowing from another language, who decide whether it should be masculine or feminine?

If the word is untranslated into French, then it is always masculine. For example, Le camping, le weekend…. As always there is exception, if the word applies to a woman (e.g une pin-up).

There are many approaches to learning, memorise and practice the genders of French nouns. Here are just a few suggestions:

Memorize new French words with an article

You’ve probably come across lists of French vocabulary with a definite or indefinite article in front of each word. Although French people don’t use articles every single time they say a word, memorising words along with an article is a very easy way to ingrain in your memory if a word is masculine and feminine. And as you start memorizing words this way, you may notice that certain types of words tend to be one gender or another, which will give you more of a chance of guessing, if you ever have to.

Memorize categories of words that are typically masculine or feminine

Although learning word endings that tend to be masculine or feminine is a more all-encompassing method, learning categories that are commonly masculine or feminine can be pretty helpful, too. Of course, not everything can be neatly put into a category that has all or mostly masculine or feminine nouns, but there are a decent number of categories out there, and maybe, as you learn French, you’ll notice patterns and come up with categories that make sense and work for you, in addition to the established ones.

Remember that if a word in a particular category has another meaning, the gender of that second meaning probably won’t be the same, for example, orange is masculine when it’s a colour and feminine when it’s a fruit.

Here are some categories of French words that are typically masculine:

• wines
• cheeses (although there are some exceptions, usually involving the description of the form of the cheese, for example, la tomme, une brique)
• colours
• metric units
• numbers (note that the numeric concept that ends in -aine (=about this much, this decade of a person’s life, is feminine (la quarantaine, une cinquaiantaine de personnes))
• metals
• languages
• trees
• days of the week
• seasons
• months

Here are some categories of French words that are typically feminine:

• brand names of cars
• brand names of watches
• names of rivers
• sciences and other domains of learning (la science, l’histoire, la chimie, etc.). Le droit (the law) is one notable exception to this rule.

How to learn and practice French noun gender

One easy way to keep up what you’ve learned about genders in French is to choose a word, guess if it’s masculine or feminine, then look it up online or in a print dictionary to check if you’re right. If you’re not, try saying or writing the word with its masculine or feminine article a few times. You may also want to check if it belongs on the list of typically masculine or feminine word endings.

La FIN

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SAVE THE DATE! 

Saturday 8th July 2023

2023 sees the 150th Anniversary of Cargilfield's founding in 1873 and there will be a series of events throughout the year to celebrate this important milestone in the school's history.

On Saturday July 8th there will be a 150th Anniversary Ball to which all former pupils, parents, staff and friends of the school will be warmly invited to. We are hoping to cater for around 700 people and reconnect with the whole Cargilfield community again after the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

Further details will be sent out nearer the time, but please do put this date in your diary and forward it on to anyone else you think will be interested in what should be a wonderful occasion.

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    [0] => 2
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SAVE THE DATE! 

Saturday 8th July 2023

2023 sees the 150th Anniversary of Cargilfield's founding in 1873 and there will be a series of events throughout the year to celebrate this important milestone in the school's history.

On Saturday July 8th there will be a 150th Anniversary Ball to which all former pupils, parents, staff and friends of the school will be warmly invited to. We are hoping to cater for around 700 people and reconnect with the whole Cargilfield community again after the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

Further details will be sent out nearer the time, but please do put this date in your diary and forward it on to anyone else you think will be interested in what should be a wonderful occasion.

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(
    [0] => 2
)

As is traditional at the end of term, we had our internal prize giving with awards given out for effort in all academic subjects, sport and also the form Commendation winners. There were also UK Maths prizes to hand out and the overall Divisional Cup for the term was won by Wallace!

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    [0] => 2
)

As is traditional at the end of term, we had our internal prize giving with awards given out for effort in all academic subjects, sport and also the form Commendation winners. There were also UK Maths prizes to hand out and the overall Divisional Cup for the term was won by Wallace!

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(
    [0] => 2
)