Outdoor Edinburgh Week

On the week commencing the 11^th – 15 May we went out with Rachel Avery. This was for S4 and 5^th years who was not doing exams. At the end the week doing the outdoor Edinburgh we got a John Muir Award certificate.

On Monday 11^th May we walked from Currie to the visitor centre at Slateford along the Water Of Leith. We all had a lovely time walking along there and enjoyed the lovely sounds and the pretty flowers and trees while we were walking along. We tasted some wild foods and we saw a heron the in river. We all played pooh sticks. Some people hadn’t played it before but some had. It was also great fun!

The heron

Team photo by the place we tried to skim stones - Mr Ingham is an expert!

On Tuesday 12^th May we went to the Botanic Gardens. We went to the glass house and the Chinese Gardens. We saw some beautiful plants and flowers while we were there and we did a bit of drawing there too which was really good fun!

In the glasshouses

Some sketching using oil pastels with Mrs Richardson

On Wednesday 13^th May we went to the Pentland hills. We were asked by the ranger to put wood chippings on the Juniper trees. We had to push 4 wheel barrows and 4 spades up a big hill where the juniper trees were. After we pushed the wheel barrows and spades up the big hill we had to go and find out where the wood chippings were kept. When we had found the wood chippings we had to put it in the wheel barrows and put the wood chippings around the juniper trees to help them grow. After we had done that we found a lovely picnic spot and had our lunch there.

At Harlaw Reservoir

Pusing the wheelbarrows through the fields...

...and down steep slopes!

Collecting the chippings 

The newly planted juniper trees with a mulch of chippings to help them grow

Our school!!

On Thursday 14^th May we went to Jupiter Artland to see the wonderful art there and learn more about the artists.

This was one of our favourites: Suck by Anish Kapoor

Weeping girls by Laura Ford

Stone coppice by Andy Goldsworthy

Exploring the amazing life mounds by Charles Jencks

On Friday 15^th May we were in school writing up what we did. Some people did a power point and others did a poster.  We presented our experiences to lots of staff at lunchtime on Wednesday 27 May as the Share part of our John Muir Award.

by Eden Anderson S5

Spring cleans and other things

Two S1 classes did a fantastic job of cleaning the far corners of our school grounds this week, as part of their Gold JASS Award. Thank you folks!

The gardening club were out as usual on Tuesday and we sorted out our soft fruit bed, giving each plant some well rotted manure and then covering the weedmatting with a new layer of bark chips. 

The Fair Trade group had stall at the S5 parents evening last night, providing a welcome service of tea, coffee and Fair Trade snacks and raising awareness of Fair Trade at the same time. 

And S3 Health & Food Technology pupils sowed seeds in our greenhouse to grow over the holidays - we planted two varieties of tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and basil, that they will be able to use in dishes later in the year.

Have a good break over Easter everyone.

First weeks back after the holidays

We've enjoyed some lovely weather after our return to school and doing some learning outside the classroom!  The vegetables grown by Health & Food Technology pupils in the greenhouse are now ripening nicely and being used in recipes.

 

A new gardening and wildlife club has started after school on a tuesday and did an amazing job this week weeding and clearing the area around the vegetable beds.

 

S1 classes have been out investigating the biodiversity in Roley's Wood as part of their Sustainable Development Education classes. These pupils found 12 different species of tree in their survey, well done folks!

 

Farm Trip for Health & Food Technology Pupils

To launch the new 'Contemporary Food Issues' unit of the National Health & Food Technology course, 40 HFT pupils in S4 visited Craigie's Farm out by South Queensferry last week.

We saw their free range hens and 'pick your own' eggs

We saw, and smelt, the pigs they are fattening up to sell for meat

We saw the jam kitchen where they turn soft fruit grown at the farm into jam they can sell in the farm shop - creating added value

We learnt about the complexities of growing strawberries commercially

and visited other polytunnels with fruit and vegetables.

Thanks to John the farmer and Karen from the Royal Highland Education Trust for having us to visit!

John Muir Book and Film

Last term a group of Currie pupils met the illustrator of a graphic novel about the life of John Muir, the great conservationist. We looked through drafts of his drawings on two occasions and gave him our suggestions and ideas. The book has now been published and a class set has been sent to every single High School in Scotland!  The names of all the pupils are in the back of the book and we have our own class set to use in school.

The John Muir Trust have just made a beautiful 5 minute film about how young people feel about the legacy of John Muir featuring some of the CCHS pupils involved in the project. Do have a look by clicking on the link below, its a great film!

John Muir Film

One of the pictures from the new book

Flagging a Munro

Seven CCHS pupils who've achieved their Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award climbed Schiehallion (1083ft) as part of DofE Scotland’s Flag a Munro Challenge. This is part of Commonwealth Connections project and  Legacy 2014.   Congratulations to Eileen, Cerys, Luren, Claire, Iain, Sean and Calum on your Gold Award!!

The dream 'Gold' team at the summit

Veg growing

S4 Health & Food Technology pupils were out this afternoon weeding the vegetable beds they planted up a few weeks ago with carrots, potatoes, spinach, kale and beetroot. They also got busy in the greenhouse, planting some tomato, chilli, pepper, courgette and cucumbers into growbags. 

Dalguise 2014

90 S1 pupils recently returned from an outdoor activity week at Dalguise Camp where they tackled challenges such as abseiling, climbing, mountain biking and even scrambling through a wet tunnel. It was a fantastically supportive atmosphere, with pupils demonstrating real team work skills and lots of fun was had by all!