Our group of Form 7 sailors have enjoyed the last two days on board Ocean Spirit, the yacht of Gordonstoun, as they have sailed around the west coast. The weather has been mixed but they have worked so well together and made some real memories made.

A big thank you to Gordonstoun for the opportunity!

Read more here. 

Our group of Form 7 sailors have enjoyed the last two days on board Ocean Spirit, the yacht of Gordonstoun, as they have sailed around the west coast. The weather has been mixed but they have worked so well together and made some real memories made.

A big thank you to Gordonstoun for the opportunity!

Read more here. 

The Form 6 potential Art scholars’ enjoyed a fabulous afternoon workshop with Barbara Conway and Laura Sutherland from Fettes College. They did some ilk screen printing and book design based on the work of Eduardo Paolozzi. A fantastic afternoon! 

Read more here. 

The Form 6 potential Art scholars’ enjoyed a fabulous afternoon workshop with Barbara Conway and Laura Sutherland from Fettes College. They did some ilk screen printing and book design based on the work of Eduardo Paolozzi. A fantastic afternoon! 

Read more here. 

What a tremendous evening’s entertainment Form 7 gave us performing their own version of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves! In the open air around the tree house, with the evening sun shining, there were puns aplenty and lots of laughter from the audience (and the cast!) as the entertaining story unfolded and we even had a dancing German camel! Great fun indeed! Very well done to all those involved; a terrific production and a lot of fun.

Read more here. 

What a tremendous evening’s entertainment Form 7 gave us performing their own version of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves! In the open air around the tree house, with the evening sun shining, there were puns aplenty and lots of laughter from the audience (and the cast!) as the entertaining story unfolded and we even had a dancing German camel! Great fun indeed! Very well done to all those involved; a terrific production and a lot of fun.

Read more here. 

These are the Boarding Weekends for 2019/20:

These are the Boarding Weekends for 2019/20:

P3 went to RSPB Tayside and Fife at Loch Leven to learn all about the mini beasts that live all around us. They trapped their own insects and inspected them using maginifying glasses. They also pondipped, looking for underwater mini beasts. Earth worms, dragonflies, beetles, flies, slugs, water beetles, sticklebacks and tadpoles are just some of the creatures discovered on this fantastic trip! Thank you Loch Leven for such a lovely day in the sunshine!

Read more here. 

P3 went to RSPB Tayside and Fife at Loch Leven to learn all about the mini beasts that live all around us. They trapped their own insects and inspected them using maginifying glasses. They also pondipped, looking for underwater mini beasts. Earth worms, dragonflies, beetles, flies, slugs, water beetles, sticklebacks and tadpoles are just some of the creatures discovered on this fantastic trip! Thank you Loch Leven for such a lovely day in the sunshine!

Read more here. 

A wonderful afternoon of athletics brought the first half of term to an end under glorious blue skies. There were lots of outstanding performances on the track and in the field events and the children all enjoyed the competition. 

Read more here. 

A wonderful afternoon of athletics brought the first half of term to an end under glorious blue skies. There were lots of outstanding performances on the track and in the field events and the children all enjoyed the competition. 

Read more here. 

We headed to Merchiston for the 3rd and final match in our ‘Tri-Series’ and thank you to them for giving us the extra fixtures.  Once again, the squad was refreshed and some of those 3rd XI players who have stood out in training, were given the chance to show what they could do.  Having lost the toss, we went into bat and William and Leo opened.  Leo went after just 1 run but in came Ramsay to play very well alongside William.  William made some quick singles whilst Ramsay at the other end, played the big powerful shots.  Their partnership of 48 ended when Ramsay hit his own wicket and William went just after.  Lachie scored 1 and in came Mungo to partner Ollie and with both players on 0, it felt like we were starting again from scratch.  Both Form 7 boys batted extremely well with Ollie making some great runs and rotating the strike and Mungo, in his first appearance for the 2nds, timing some lovely shots to the off side.  They took us on to over 120 runs before Ollie was retired and Mungo fell to a straight delivery.  The tail enders made a few to get us to 134/6.

After match tea, Maclean opened the bowling with Joshua and both bowlers kept the run rate very low with their accurate deliveries.  The breakthrough came from Edward who pitched it short to allow the batman to pop one up to Maclean at mid-off.  Two wickets fell in Joel’s first over and Finn bowled a beauty to dismiss one of their more dangerous players.  ‘Safe-hands Maclean’ was there again to take two excellent catches, including one from his own delivery and when Joshua caught the ball to give Edward’s his  second wicket, we were so close to getting them all out and just a dropped catch on the final delivery preventing us doing so.

Another win for the 2nd XI gives them an unbeaten first half of term and this was a good team performance with two players in particular standing out – Ollie for his superb batting and Maclean for his fielding.  Well done, boys!

We headed to Merchiston for the 3rd and final match in our ‘Tri-Series’ and thank you to them for giving us the extra fixtures.  Once again, the squad was refreshed and some of those 3rd XI players who have stood out in training, were given the chance to show what they could do.  Having lost the toss, we went into bat and William and Leo opened.  Leo went after just 1 run but in came Ramsay to play very well alongside William.  William made some quick singles whilst Ramsay at the other end, played the big powerful shots.  Their partnership of 48 ended when Ramsay hit his own wicket and William went just after.  Lachie scored 1 and in came Mungo to partner Ollie and with both players on 0, it felt like we were starting again from scratch.  Both Form 7 boys batted extremely well with Ollie making some great runs and rotating the strike and Mungo, in his first appearance for the 2nds, timing some lovely shots to the off side.  They took us on to over 120 runs before Ollie was retired and Mungo fell to a straight delivery.  The tail enders made a few to get us to 134/6.

After match tea, Maclean opened the bowling with Joshua and both bowlers kept the run rate very low with their accurate deliveries.  The breakthrough came from Edward who pitched it short to allow the batman to pop one up to Maclean at mid-off.  Two wickets fell in Joel’s first over and Finn bowled a beauty to dismiss one of their more dangerous players.  ‘Safe-hands Maclean’ was there again to take two excellent catches, including one from his own delivery and when Joshua caught the ball to give Edward’s his  second wicket, we were so close to getting them all out and just a dropped catch on the final delivery preventing us doing so.

Another win for the 2nd XI gives them an unbeaten first half of term and this was a good team performance with two players in particular standing out – Ollie for his superb batting and Maclean for his fielding.  Well done, boys!

Another glorious summer’s afternoon over in Musselburgh today and playing on the beautiful 1stXI square, we really did hit our straps today and put in very nearly the complete performance to convincingly beat a good Loretto side by 82 runs. A very strong batting display meant we are able to rotate the bowling quite a lot and this allowed us to look a little bit towards next year as Max, Edward and Quin all bowled good spells taking wickets at regular intervals and run scoring was very difficult. The boys played some really impressive cricket today and once again, we showed real strength in depth in all areas of the game.

Harry won the toss again and elected to bat first, and I was keen to see how we would bounce back after a poor batting performance last week against Fettes (despite winning the game easily after a superb bowling performance). Jack and Harry opened and Loretto, once again, bowled tightly as they had done two weeks ago when we played them in the rain; we were 16-0 off five overs, playing each ball on its merit and running well too. Then Jack succumbed to a straight one and played across the line which brought Sebastian to the crease. He has worked really hard in the nets and I felt it important to give him the opportunity to bat high in the order against good bowling to see if he could build an innings; together, they put on 63 in exactly ten overs, upping the run rate and batting well together. 

I always say how crucial it is that batters bat together, encourage each other, speak to each other and keep each other mentally strong, and the skipper certainly kept Sebastian on his toes with plenty of quick singles taken too! After a slightly hesitant start, Seb got his feet moving much better, and he hit the two shots of the match with consecutive textbook cover drives hit very hard along the ground to the boundary; a terrific knock of 24 off 32 balls, but ended slightly farcically as he jogged through for a single and was run out failing to ground his bat. A disappointing end to a super innings, but one he will hopefully learn from – total focus and concentration is required and not to throw it away having got in!

Harry went on and on, reaching his 50 off 56 balls and then accelerated at just the right time, scoring 23 off just 13 as we pushed on in the final few overs, reaching 151-4 off our 25 overs. It was Harry’s best innings of the season, full of technically correct shots, playing each ball on its merit, and quick to capitalise on scoring opportunities be that taking singles when the field was pushed back, or else playing forcing shots through the gaps. A joy to watch; well batted. A very good score given the quality of the bowling, and I was really pleased with how we bounced back from last week.

In reply, Vinjero and Harry bowled miserly three over spells, each giving nothing away and Harry picking up the key wicket, bowling their captain for just 3. The pair of them bowl in really good areas, forcing the batsmen to play and backed up by excellent fielding, cutting off run scoring opportunities which then forces the batsmen to play false shots. Edward and Will were the change bowlers and again both bowled very well indeed with Will picking up two wickets for just 5 runs in his 4 overs; he continues to work hard and his left arm bowling is going to be a real handful in the next few years. Our top four bowlers produce the goods time and time again and are very hard to score off. So 35-4 off 14 overs, game done and dusted.

However, this was the perfect opportunity to rotate the bowling round and Max and Quin bowled extended spells this afternoon which bodes well for next year. Max bowled a fantastic spell of 5 overs, 1 maiden, taking 4 wickets for just 8 runs; he bowled very straight if truth be told which is half the battle, but Todd once again snaffled a couple of excellent catches behind the stumps and there was also a fantastic run out from Jack who had an excellent afternoon in the field. Impressive and really encouraging, and although we could have wrapped things up much earlier, it was important to give others a go and perform under pressure out in the middle. It is always different from bowling in the nets, and today was the ideal situation to try things out. So Loretto ended 69-9 and a comfortable and convincing win.

They have been our strongest opposition this term so far, and it was good to lock horns with Peter again, once of this parish, who was very complimentary about the quality of cricket we played today. It has been an outstanding first half of term and this group of boys have played some really good cricket over the past 4 weeks. Now, the focus is on exams and F8 camp, but after that we have the Merchiston Super 8s, and matches against SMC, Carlton CC and Ardvreck still to come so there is a lot of cricket still to play once Common Entrance is out of the way!

Very well played today, boys. Another impressive team effort, and your Lucas ice cream afterwards was well deserved!

Another glorious summer’s afternoon over in Musselburgh today and playing on the beautiful 1stXI square, we really did hit our straps today and put in very nearly the complete performance to convincingly beat a good Loretto side by 82 runs. A very strong batting display meant we are able to rotate the bowling quite a lot and this allowed us to look a little bit towards next year as Max, Edward and Quin all bowled good spells taking wickets at regular intervals and run scoring was very difficult. The boys played some really impressive cricket today and once again, we showed real strength in depth in all areas of the game.

Harry won the toss again and elected to bat first, and I was keen to see how we would bounce back after a poor batting performance last week against Fettes (despite winning the game easily after a superb bowling performance). Jack and Harry opened and Loretto, once again, bowled tightly as they had done two weeks ago when we played them in the rain; we were 16-0 off five overs, playing each ball on its merit and running well too. Then Jack succumbed to a straight one and played across the line which brought Sebastian to the crease. He has worked really hard in the nets and I felt it important to give him the opportunity to bat high in the order against good bowling to see if he could build an innings; together, they put on 63 in exactly ten overs, upping the run rate and batting well together. 

I always say how crucial it is that batters bat together, encourage each other, speak to each other and keep each other mentally strong, and the skipper certainly kept Sebastian on his toes with plenty of quick singles taken too! After a slightly hesitant start, Seb got his feet moving much better, and he hit the two shots of the match with consecutive textbook cover drives hit very hard along the ground to the boundary; a terrific knock of 24 off 32 balls, but ended slightly farcically as he jogged through for a single and was run out failing to ground his bat. A disappointing end to a super innings, but one he will hopefully learn from – total focus and concentration is required and not to throw it away having got in!

Harry went on and on, reaching his 50 off 56 balls and then accelerated at just the right time, scoring 23 off just 13 as we pushed on in the final few overs, reaching 151-4 off our 25 overs. It was Harry’s best innings of the season, full of technically correct shots, playing each ball on its merit, and quick to capitalise on scoring opportunities be that taking singles when the field was pushed back, or else playing forcing shots through the gaps. A joy to watch; well batted. A very good score given the quality of the bowling, and I was really pleased with how we bounced back from last week.

In reply, Vinjero and Harry bowled miserly three over spells, each giving nothing away and Harry picking up the key wicket, bowling their captain for just 3. The pair of them bowl in really good areas, forcing the batsmen to play and backed up by excellent fielding, cutting off run scoring opportunities which then forces the batsmen to play false shots. Edward and Will were the change bowlers and again both bowled very well indeed with Will picking up two wickets for just 5 runs in his 4 overs; he continues to work hard and his left arm bowling is going to be a real handful in the next few years. Our top four bowlers produce the goods time and time again and are very hard to score off. So 35-4 off 14 overs, game done and dusted.

However, this was the perfect opportunity to rotate the bowling round and Max and Quin bowled extended spells this afternoon which bodes well for next year. Max bowled a fantastic spell of 5 overs, 1 maiden, taking 4 wickets for just 8 runs; he bowled very straight if truth be told which is half the battle, but Todd once again snaffled a couple of excellent catches behind the stumps and there was also a fantastic run out from Jack who had an excellent afternoon in the field. Impressive and really encouraging, and although we could have wrapped things up much earlier, it was important to give others a go and perform under pressure out in the middle. It is always different from bowling in the nets, and today was the ideal situation to try things out. So Loretto ended 69-9 and a comfortable and convincing win.

They have been our strongest opposition this term so far, and it was good to lock horns with Peter again, once of this parish, who was very complimentary about the quality of cricket we played today. It has been an outstanding first half of term and this group of boys have played some really good cricket over the past 4 weeks. Now, the focus is on exams and F8 camp, but after that we have the Merchiston Super 8s, and matches against SMC, Carlton CC and Ardvreck still to come so there is a lot of cricket still to play once Common Entrance is out of the way!

Very well played today, boys. Another impressive team effort, and your Lucas ice cream afterwards was well deserved!

On a blustery day at Merchiston, Max won the toss and elected to bat, Diederik and James made full use of the pitch and got Cargilfield off to an absolute flyer off the first four overs.

This continued throughout with some solid batting from Theo and Oscar laying a foundation for our remaining batsmen to blast our way to 135 off our 20 overs. Key to this total was the running between the wickets from the whole group alongside impressive power hitting from Cameron, Duncan and Alex.

Our bowling was consistently good with Chay, Duncan and Oliver bowling particularly economically resulting in Merchiston having to force the game, leading too a comfortable 43 run victory for Cargilfield.

On a blustery day at Merchiston, Max won the toss and elected to bat, Diederik and James made full use of the pitch and got Cargilfield off to an absolute flyer off the first four overs.

This continued throughout with some solid batting from Theo and Oscar laying a foundation for our remaining batsmen to blast our way to 135 off our 20 overs. Key to this total was the running between the wickets from the whole group alongside impressive power hitting from Cameron, Duncan and Alex.

Our bowling was consistently good with Chay, Duncan and Oliver bowling particularly economically resulting in Merchiston having to force the game, leading too a comfortable 43 run victory for Cargilfield.

Lost to Loretto 8 ½ to 3

Lost to St Mary’s 10 to 2 ½

We had a super afternoon down in Melrose for a mini triangular tournament with the Under 10 girls. Against stiff opposition, the girls played well and have made great improvements in their games over the last few weeks.

In the first match against Loretto, there was some great fielding by Isobel who was able to retrieve long balls and Judith made two great catches (in almost exactly the same place)! A solid bowling and backstop performance by Mariella and Annika, teaming up with Lottie at 1^st to make a good triangle. Mariella also scored a great rounder in the batting innings, with Lola and Famke also scoring.

Against St Mary’s, Anna batted very well to score an excellent rounder and 2 half rounders. Lara, Bea and Sophia also had some good hits of the ball and were unlucky not to score from these. St Mary’s had some very strong batters and scored some good rounders but the girls remained competitive in the field with some great deep fielding again from Isobel.

Well done to all the girls for trying hard and being excellent representatives of the school. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon in the borders in wonderful surroundings and with great team spirit.

Lost to Loretto 8 ½ to 3

Lost to St Mary’s 10 to 2 ½

We had a super afternoon down in Melrose for a mini triangular tournament with the Under 10 girls. Against stiff opposition, the girls played well and have made great improvements in their games over the last few weeks.

In the first match against Loretto, there was some great fielding by Isobel who was able to retrieve long balls and Judith made two great catches (in almost exactly the same place)! A solid bowling and backstop performance by Mariella and Annika, teaming up with Lottie at 1^st to make a good triangle. Mariella also scored a great rounder in the batting innings, with Lola and Famke also scoring.

Against St Mary’s, Anna batted very well to score an excellent rounder and 2 half rounders. Lara, Bea and Sophia also had some good hits of the ball and were unlucky not to score from these. St Mary’s had some very strong batters and scored some good rounders but the girls remained competitive in the field with some great deep fielding again from Isobel.

Well done to all the girls for trying hard and being excellent representatives of the school. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon in the borders in wonderful surroundings and with great team spirit.

Fixing the equipment in the nursery - The children were very interested in how we fix things which are broken in nursery.  We explained that we have to fill in a form to tell the maintenance staff what is broken and where it is.   Graham (one of the maintenance staff at Cargilfield) then came to nursery to show the children what he does when he is fixing something which is broken.

Fixing the equipment in the nursery - The children were very interested in how we fix things which are broken in nursery.  We explained that we have to fill in a form to tell the maintenance staff what is broken and where it is.   Graham (one of the maintenance staff at Cargilfield) then came to nursery to show the children what he does when he is fixing something which is broken.

Flower and Leaf Prints on Cloth - Following the 'Outdoor Learning' conference which Mrs Millar and Mrs Murray went to at the beginning of the Summer term.  They have come back with some wonderful ideas which the children have loved experimenting with this week.  Some of the children have been creating flower and leaf prints on cloth, using flowers from the nursery garden, linen cloth and a hammer!  The children have loved foraging in the nursery garden and using 'real' tools as part of their learning.  Meanwhile Mrs Murray has been creating garden inspired clay wall hangings with other children in nursery.  Fantastic to see lots of new ideas and pedagogy being used in nursery!

Click here to see a video!

Flower and Leaf Prints on Cloth - Following the 'Outdoor Learning' conference which Mrs Millar and Mrs Murray went to at the beginning of the Summer term.  They have come back with some wonderful ideas which the children have loved experimenting with this week.  Some of the children have been creating flower and leaf prints on cloth, using flowers from the nursery garden, linen cloth and a hammer!  The children have loved foraging in the nursery garden and using 'real' tools as part of their learning.  Meanwhile Mrs Murray has been creating garden inspired clay wall hangings with other children in nursery.  Fantastic to see lots of new ideas and pedagogy being used in nursery!

Click here to see a video!

We wish Ali the very best as he leaves us to go to Australia! Thank you for all you help and good luck! #goodluck #cargilfield

We wish Ali the very best as he leaves us to go to Australia! Thank you for all you help and good luck! #goodluck #cargilfield

The Under Nines enjoyed some fine rounders in the sun against Loretto and St Mary’s. We played Loretto first and whilst our striking of the ball was not great we were able to achieve a large number of half rounders by running around the pitch. Some girls did hit but unfortunately not into spaces which might have allowed them to score. Esme and Tunrayo did manage to bat more successfully however, scoring fine individual rounders. Athena, Nadia and Natasha were unfortunately stumped but our innings of 30 balls still delivered 11 ½ rounders. Loretto were unable to match this total, despite gaining some half rounders from no balls. Izzy and Lucy worked hard on getting girls out at first and getting Loretto’s first batter out was an achievement. Final score Cargilfield 11 ½ Loretto 4

The match against St Mary’s was a much closer affair with some super fielding from St Mary’s, getting the ball back to their bowler very quickly and neatly and stopping us from scoring half rounders on no hits. This time it was Maddie and Lucy who batted well and scored full rounders but we managed to score several half rounders. We scored a total of 8 ½. St Marys’ went into bat and Esme’s bowling had a bit of a dip. She battled on however and I was pleased to see that she did not let it affect her. Jemina and Beatrice played well scoring individual rounders but we tried hard and got four of their nine girls out. Amalia almost got one of their batters out but apparently missed the post! We held them to a final score of seven rounders. Final score Cargilfield 8 ½ St Mary’s 7

Well done, girls! We must improve on our batting but good progress overall!

The Under Nines enjoyed some fine rounders in the sun against Loretto and St Mary’s. We played Loretto first and whilst our striking of the ball was not great we were able to achieve a large number of half rounders by running around the pitch. Some girls did hit but unfortunately not into spaces which might have allowed them to score. Esme and Tunrayo did manage to bat more successfully however, scoring fine individual rounders. Athena, Nadia and Natasha were unfortunately stumped but our innings of 30 balls still delivered 11 ½ rounders. Loretto were unable to match this total, despite gaining some half rounders from no balls. Izzy and Lucy worked hard on getting girls out at first and getting Loretto’s first batter out was an achievement. Final score Cargilfield 11 ½ Loretto 4

The match against St Mary’s was a much closer affair with some super fielding from St Mary’s, getting the ball back to their bowler very quickly and neatly and stopping us from scoring half rounders on no hits. This time it was Maddie and Lucy who batted well and scored full rounders but we managed to score several half rounders. We scored a total of 8 ½. St Marys’ went into bat and Esme’s bowling had a bit of a dip. She battled on however and I was pleased to see that she did not let it affect her. Jemina and Beatrice played well scoring individual rounders but we tried hard and got four of their nine girls out. Amalia almost got one of their batters out but apparently missed the post! We held them to a final score of seven rounders. Final score Cargilfield 8 ½ St Mary’s 7

Well done, girls! We must improve on our batting but good progress overall!

2^nd Rounders v Loretto and St Mary’s

We played one innings of 20 balls against Loretto. We were fielding first and took a little while to get into our stride. Clara made some super throws form far in the Deep off third base. Loretto batted first and scored 3 1/2 rounders. Saphira went into bat first and hit a super shot straight into the Deep behind third base. She did this again off ball 10. Hannah and Clemmie also scored a half rounder. However, our batting was not quite as good as usual and we ended the match just behind Loretto.

Final score Cargilfield 3, Loretto 3 ½

We were much more proactive in our second match against St Mary’s. We were batting first and this time Saphira, Hannah, Caitlin, Emma, Calia and Bethany all scored. Our fielding was much tighter too although we need to work a bit on making sure we keep the ball ahead of the runner when we are fielding. Again the match was almost too close to call with a narrow win for St Mary’s.

Final score Cargilfield 6, St Mary’s 6 ½

PS a big well done for Lucie who played for Loretto and made a new friend from France at the same time.

2^nd Rounders v Loretto and St Mary’s

We played one innings of 20 balls against Loretto. We were fielding first and took a little while to get into our stride. Clara made some super throws form far in the Deep off third base. Loretto batted first and scored 3 1/2 rounders. Saphira went into bat first and hit a super shot straight into the Deep behind third base. She did this again off ball 10. Hannah and Clemmie also scored a half rounder. However, our batting was not quite as good as usual and we ended the match just behind Loretto.

Final score Cargilfield 3, Loretto 3 ½

We were much more proactive in our second match against St Mary’s. We were batting first and this time Saphira, Hannah, Caitlin, Emma, Calia and Bethany all scored. Our fielding was much tighter too although we need to work a bit on making sure we keep the ball ahead of the runner when we are fielding. Again the match was almost too close to call with a narrow win for St Mary’s.

Final score Cargilfield 6, St Mary’s 6 ½

PS a big well done for Lucie who played for Loretto and made a new friend from France at the same time.

1^st Rounders v St Mary’s and Loretto

Won v 16 – 2 ½ v Loretto

Lost 5 ½ - 3 v St Mary’s

The 1^st girls played a triangular today against Loretto and St Mary’s. We played Loretto first and had comfortable match, never looking much under pressure. Our trio of Rosanna, Sophie and Amelia worked well and they put players out at post 1 on balls 6, 7, 8 and 12. The Loretto girls tried hard but our fielding was good and catches from Katie on ball 13 and Ellie on ball 17 saw their team down to 3 and they were out after 21 balls. Our batting was good today and the girls ran extremely well round the posts. Scores from Sophie (3), Amelia (2 ½ ), Katie (3), Ellie (3), Flora (2 ½ ), Izzy ( ½ ), Emma ( ½ ) and Alannah (1) saw us push ahead to a total of 16.

Our next match was against St Mary’s and it was clear early on that this was going to be a much tougher one. We batted first and the girls looked a little nervy and not as relaxed as the previous match. The St Mary’s girls fielded deep, and we struggled to get to post 2, with no full rounders being scored throughout the match. Izzy played a gutsy game and she was our high scorer with 1 ½ . With only 3 scored, we needed to play a blinder in the fielding innings and to be fair, we played well, but the St Mary’s girls were too strong in their batting. Izzy made a great catch on ball 16 and we managed to keep the score down to only 1 rounder after 18 balls so it really was all to play for, but we gave away a couple of soft half rounders and the game slipped away from us.

1^st Rounders v St Mary’s and Loretto

Won v 16 – 2 ½ v Loretto

Lost 5 ½ - 3 v St Mary’s

The 1^st girls played a triangular today against Loretto and St Mary’s. We played Loretto first and had comfortable match, never looking much under pressure. Our trio of Rosanna, Sophie and Amelia worked well and they put players out at post 1 on balls 6, 7, 8 and 12. The Loretto girls tried hard but our fielding was good and catches from Katie on ball 13 and Ellie on ball 17 saw their team down to 3 and they were out after 21 balls. Our batting was good today and the girls ran extremely well round the posts. Scores from Sophie (3), Amelia (2 ½ ), Katie (3), Ellie (3), Flora (2 ½ ), Izzy ( ½ ), Emma ( ½ ) and Alannah (1) saw us push ahead to a total of 16.

Our next match was against St Mary’s and it was clear early on that this was going to be a much tougher one. We batted first and the girls looked a little nervy and not as relaxed as the previous match. The St Mary’s girls fielded deep, and we struggled to get to post 2, with no full rounders being scored throughout the match. Izzy played a gutsy game and she was our high scorer with 1 ½ . With only 3 scored, we needed to play a blinder in the fielding innings and to be fair, we played well, but the St Mary’s girls were too strong in their batting. Izzy made a great catch on ball 16 and we managed to keep the score down to only 1 rounder after 18 balls so it really was all to play for, but we gave away a couple of soft half rounders and the game slipped away from us.

The nursery children have been growing all sorts of wonderful fruit and vegetables in the nursery allotment this year.  The children harvested the radishes earlier this week and decided to sell them to raise money for the nursery eco fund!  Some of the children designed their own posters and signs and then created a 'radish stall' outside the nursery cloakroom where they sold their radishes at the end of the morning and afternoon sessions.  A super enterprising initiative!

The nursery children have been growing all sorts of wonderful fruit and vegetables in the nursery allotment this year.  The children harvested the radishes earlier this week and decided to sell them to raise money for the nursery eco fund!  Some of the children designed their own posters and signs and then created a 'radish stall' outside the nursery cloakroom where they sold their radishes at the end of the morning and afternoon sessions.  A super enterprising initiative!

It was a pleasure to welcome Mr James Outram, Registrar at The King's School, Canterbury, to preach in Chapel this morning. Justine and Zoe have both been at King’s in the recent past and William is heading down there in September.

He spoke to us about how we use our time every day and how busy we are in our day to day lives. He told us that boredom is sometimes a good thing to experience the feelings of being reflective, to plan, to have down time to recharge and to know our own thoughts which is something we are not good at achieving in our busy, helter skelter lives. Of course, there needs to be a happy balance as we need change and challenge in our lives to keep us stimulated!

It was a pleasure to welcome Mr James Outram, Registrar at The King's School, Canterbury, to preach in Chapel this morning. Justine and Zoe have both been at King’s in the recent past and William is heading down there in September.

He spoke to us about how we use our time every day and how busy we are in our day to day lives. He told us that boredom is sometimes a good thing to experience the feelings of being reflective, to plan, to have down time to recharge and to know our own thoughts which is something we are not good at achieving in our busy, helter skelter lives. Of course, there needs to be a happy balance as we need change and challenge in our lives to keep us stimulated!

We started the week this week with a fantastic trip to the Cramond foreshore with the pre-school children! We took part in The ‘Cool Seas Clean Up’ event which was organised by the Marine Conservation Society to promote science and learning around environmental issues which coastal areas are facing. We had to help collect waste products that had ended up washed up on the shore at Cramond, spoiling our environment and causing our sea creatures much harm. We thought about the materials and products that we dispose of on a regular basis and how this impacts on our local area. We all recorded what we found which made us think about being more careful with what we throw away in future! We even weighed the bag of litter that we had collected and were shocked to hear that it was 7 kilograms. We then enjoyed an environmentally friendly packed lunch and finished our trip by making a sea creature using the wet sand.

Read more here.

We started the week this week with a fantastic trip to the Cramond foreshore with the pre-school children! We took part in The ‘Cool Seas Clean Up’ event which was organised by the Marine Conservation Society to promote science and learning around environmental issues which coastal areas are facing. We had to help collect waste products that had ended up washed up on the shore at Cramond, spoiling our environment and causing our sea creatures much harm. We thought about the materials and products that we dispose of on a regular basis and how this impacts on our local area. We all recorded what we found which made us think about being more careful with what we throw away in future! We even weighed the bag of litter that we had collected and were shocked to hear that it was 7 kilograms. We then enjoyed an environmentally friendly packed lunch and finished our trip by making a sea creature using the wet sand.

Read more here.

Fun in the Garden- The nursery children have been having SO much fun in the nursery garden over the last few weeks. We have been building all sorts of wonderful dens, pretending we are the fire brigade, washing the playhouse, bathing the nursery dolls and watering the flowers planted by the nursery gardening club.

Fun in the Garden- The nursery children have been having SO much fun in the nursery garden over the last few weeks. We have been building all sorts of wonderful dens, pretending we are the fire brigade, washing the playhouse, bathing the nursery dolls and watering the flowers planted by the nursery gardening club.

We put all the Nursery children's names in a hat and Mrs Thomson picked out 10 names who then helped to deliver Oor Wullie to the Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity offices at Shawfair. The children saw lots of the other 'Oor Wullie' sculptures which have been decorated by other nurseries and schools in Edinburgh. We all got a balloon and a sticker for our efforts!

We put all the Nursery children's names in a hat and Mrs Thomson picked out 10 names who then helped to deliver Oor Wullie to the Edinburgh Children's Hospital Charity offices at Shawfair. The children saw lots of the other 'Oor Wullie' sculptures which have been decorated by other nurseries and schools in Edinburgh. We all got a balloon and a sticker for our efforts!

Parents often ask how they can help their children with learning to read as they are very aware of what an important role it plays in future academic success. Reading helps develop intellect, increase vocabulary, improve writing and spelling all of which increase self-confidence and build motivation.

Learning to read does not happen overnight. It involves a series of stages and these can begin from when a child is months old. It takes time to pass through these stages and children require systematic teaching and lots of practice to move through them successfully.

The Pre-reader:

• Likes to look at books and be read to
• Likes to behave like a reader e.g. holds books and pretends to read them
• Learns about letters by looking at books, playing with letter blocks or magnetic letters
• Learns about words from stories, traffic signs and logos on food packages.
• Learns how text works e.g. where a story starts and finishes and that the print runs from left to right.
• Begins to understand that their own thoughts can be put into print
• Uses pictures and memory[cb1] to tell and retell a story

The Emerging Reader

• Is ready to receive reading instruction
• Learns that text is a common way to tell a story or to convey information
• Begins to match written words to spoken words and perceive the relationship between sounds and letters
• Begins to experiment with reading, and is willing to say words out loud when reading simple texts
• Finds the pictures helpful in understanding the text, and learns that the words convey a message consistent with the pictures

The Early Reader

• Develops more confidence and uses a variety of methods such as word building or visual cues to identify words in texts.
• Adapts reading to different kinds of texts
• Has an increasingly wide sight vocabulary of words, knows a lot about reading and is willing to try new texts

The Fluent Reader

• Has an extensive sight vocabulary of words
• Uses a variety of methods to identify unknown words and their meanings
• Reads a range of texts and predicts events in a story
• Relates what is read to their own experience and understands new concepts.

How you can help your child on the journey to becoming a fluent reader?

As a parent you are your child’s first and most important teacher. Reading aloud to children is the best way to get them interested in reading. It is natural to want to compare your child’s reading abilities with those of children of the same age, but not all children develop reading skills at the same pace. What’s important is that you are aware of your child’s reading level so you can chose books and activities which are appropriate and will help develop their skills.

Tip 1: Talk to your child

Oral language is the foundation of reading. Listening and speaking are a child’s first introduction to language. Talk to your child as much as possible about the things you are doing and thinking and encourage them to do the same. Ask them lots of questions, sing songs, playing rhyming and riddle games. Be patient and allow them time to find the words they want to use.

Tip 2: Make Reading Fun

The more you enjoy the reading experience, the more your child will enjoy it. Read aloud with drama and excitement, use different voices for different characters. Re-read favourite books as many times as your child wants to hear them, and choose books from authors your child enjoys. Read stories with repetitive parts and encourage your child to join in. Choose new books together and ensure these cover all the different genres. When reading track the print with your finger so the connection is made between the word on the page and those being heard.

Tip 3: Read Every Day

Children love routine, and reading is something you can both look forward to every day. By taking the time to read with your child, you show them that reading is important as well as fun. Reading with your child is the best thing you can do to help them learn at school. Keep reading to your child even once they are able to read for themselves. This will keep their interest alive and hearing stories they aren’t yet able to access themselves, will stretch understanding and widen knowledge.

Tip 4: Set an Example

As a parents, you are your child’s most important role model. If your child sees you reading, especially for pleasure or information, they will understand that reading is a worthwhile activity. Talking about books is just as important as reading them. Discussing a story or book will help your child understand it and connect it to their own experience of life. It also helps to enrich vocabulary.

Tip 5: Listen to your Child Read

As your child learns to read, listen to them read aloud as often as you can. Choosing a time when there will be no interruptions is essential. As you listen, remember that your reactions are important. Listen without interrupting, be enthusiastic and give specific praise. Patience and encouragement really are key. Guide your child in their choice of books and steer them away from ones which are too difficult. Give your child time to work out tricky words, get them to try the following strategies:

• Think about what word would make sense in the sentence.
• Sound the word out
• Think of a word which looks and sounds similar
• Look for parts of the word that are familiar
• Think about which word would sound right in the sentence.
• Check the pictures and punctuation marks for clues.
• Go back and read it again
• Ask for help with the word

Finally, remember you can always ask me or your child’s teacher for help and guidance.

Happy reading!

Parents often ask how they can help their children with learning to read as they are very aware of what an important role it plays in future academic success. Reading helps develop intellect, increase vocabulary, improve writing and spelling all of which increase self-confidence and build motivation.

Learning to read does not happen overnight. It involves a series of stages and these can begin from when a child is months old. It takes time to pass through these stages and children require systematic teaching and lots of practice to move through them successfully.

The Pre-reader:

• Likes to look at books and be read to
• Likes to behave like a reader e.g. holds books and pretends to read them
• Learns about letters by looking at books, playing with letter blocks or magnetic letters
• Learns about words from stories, traffic signs and logos on food packages.
• Learns how text works e.g. where a story starts and finishes and that the print runs from left to right.
• Begins to understand that their own thoughts can be put into print
• Uses pictures and memory[cb1] to tell and retell a story

The Emerging Reader

• Is ready to receive reading instruction
• Learns that text is a common way to tell a story or to convey information
• Begins to match written words to spoken words and perceive the relationship between sounds and letters
• Begins to experiment with reading, and is willing to say words out loud when reading simple texts
• Finds the pictures helpful in understanding the text, and learns that the words convey a message consistent with the pictures

The Early Reader

• Develops more confidence and uses a variety of methods such as word building or visual cues to identify words in texts.
• Adapts reading to different kinds of texts
• Has an increasingly wide sight vocabulary of words, knows a lot about reading and is willing to try new texts

The Fluent Reader

• Has an extensive sight vocabulary of words
• Uses a variety of methods to identify unknown words and their meanings
• Reads a range of texts and predicts events in a story
• Relates what is read to their own experience and understands new concepts.

How you can help your child on the journey to becoming a fluent reader?

As a parent you are your child’s first and most important teacher. Reading aloud to children is the best way to get them interested in reading. It is natural to want to compare your child’s reading abilities with those of children of the same age, but not all children develop reading skills at the same pace. What’s important is that you are aware of your child’s reading level so you can chose books and activities which are appropriate and will help develop their skills.

Tip 1: Talk to your child

Oral language is the foundation of reading. Listening and speaking are a child’s first introduction to language. Talk to your child as much as possible about the things you are doing and thinking and encourage them to do the same. Ask them lots of questions, sing songs, playing rhyming and riddle games. Be patient and allow them time to find the words they want to use.

Tip 2: Make Reading Fun

The more you enjoy the reading experience, the more your child will enjoy it. Read aloud with drama and excitement, use different voices for different characters. Re-read favourite books as many times as your child wants to hear them, and choose books from authors your child enjoys. Read stories with repetitive parts and encourage your child to join in. Choose new books together and ensure these cover all the different genres. When reading track the print with your finger so the connection is made between the word on the page and those being heard.

Tip 3: Read Every Day

Children love routine, and reading is something you can both look forward to every day. By taking the time to read with your child, you show them that reading is important as well as fun. Reading with your child is the best thing you can do to help them learn at school. Keep reading to your child even once they are able to read for themselves. This will keep their interest alive and hearing stories they aren’t yet able to access themselves, will stretch understanding and widen knowledge.

Tip 4: Set an Example

As a parents, you are your child’s most important role model. If your child sees you reading, especially for pleasure or information, they will understand that reading is a worthwhile activity. Talking about books is just as important as reading them. Discussing a story or book will help your child understand it and connect it to their own experience of life. It also helps to enrich vocabulary.

Tip 5: Listen to your Child Read

As your child learns to read, listen to them read aloud as often as you can. Choosing a time when there will be no interruptions is essential. As you listen, remember that your reactions are important. Listen without interrupting, be enthusiastic and give specific praise. Patience and encouragement really are key. Guide your child in their choice of books and steer them away from ones which are too difficult. Give your child time to work out tricky words, get them to try the following strategies:

• Think about what word would make sense in the sentence.
• Sound the word out
• Think of a word which looks and sounds similar
• Look for parts of the word that are familiar
• Think about which word would sound right in the sentence.
• Check the pictures and punctuation marks for clues.
• Go back and read it again
• Ask for help with the word

Finally, remember you can always ask me or your child’s teacher for help and guidance.

Happy reading!

On Friday, it was a pleasure to welcome Tom Sole back to Cargilfield.  Tom left in 2009 and went on to Merchiston before heading down to Northamptonshire CC to become a professional cricketer; he is also a current Scotland player and was in Edinburgh to play against Sri Lanka at the Grange in a two match series.  Tom spoke to the boys and girls, offered a few tips and was impressed to see the high standard on show and that girls are now taking a full part in our cricket programme.  Thank you for popping in to see us!

On Friday, it was a pleasure to welcome Tom Sole back to Cargilfield.  Tom left in 2009 and went on to Merchiston before heading down to Northamptonshire CC to become a professional cricketer; he is also a current Scotland player and was in Edinburgh to play against Sri Lanka at the Grange in a two match series.  Tom spoke to the boys and girls, offered a few tips and was impressed to see the high standard on show and that girls are now taking a full part in our cricket programme.  Thank you for popping in to see us!

Many congratulations to Todd, Jack and Harry who were part of the East U14 side at the inter district competition held at Peffermill on Saturday. They were just pipped to the the title by Midlands, but all three made significant contributions on the day and enjoyed starting they representative hockey journeys. 

Well done, boys!

Many congratulations to Todd, Jack and Harry who were part of the East U14 side at the inter district competition held at Peffermill on Saturday. They were just pipped to the the title by Midlands, but all three made significant contributions on the day and enjoyed starting they representative hockey journeys. 

Well done, boys!

We are fortunate to have three piping teachers at a Cargilfield to cater for all the children who want to play the Pipes and Drums and get in to one of our two Pipe Bands. The Summer Term is a busy one with lots of performances culminating in the Summer Fair and after the Leavers’ Chapel service on the last day of term. They are sounding very good!