Primary Mathematics Challenge run by the Mathematical Association.

Well done to all the pupils in Forms 5, 6 and 7 who took part this year.

The PMC is a worldwide challenge with about 75,000 children entering from 2,000 schools. 

Only about 2400 children are then invited to take part in the next bonus round.

This year, we are confident,

Daniel, Matthew, Glen, Lulu and Harry B. 

will be invited. 

Well done to all the participants and award winners

U.K.M.T.     Junior Mathematics Olympiad

Well done to Fergus who has been awarded a Bronze Medal for his outstanding efforts in the UKMT Junior Mathematics Olympiad.  

Only the top 1200 pupils were invited to attempt this bonus competition out of a total of a quarter of a million initial entrants. 

His bronze puts him in the top 100.

Well done indeed.

Primary Mathematics Challenge run by the Mathematical Association.

Well done to all the pupils in Forms 5, 6 and 7 who took part this year.

The PMC is a worldwide challenge with about 75,000 children entering from 2,000 schools. 

Only about 2400 children are then invited to take part in the next bonus round.

This year, we are confident,

Daniel, Matthew, Glen, Lulu and Harry B. 

will be invited. 

Well done to all the participants and award winners

U.K.M.T.     Junior Mathematics Olympiad

Well done to Fergus who has been awarded a Bronze Medal for his outstanding efforts in the UKMT Junior Mathematics Olympiad.  

Only the top 1200 pupils were invited to attempt this bonus competition out of a total of a quarter of a million initial entrants. 

His bronze puts him in the top 100.

Well done indeed.

Congratulations to Theo who has been selected for the Scottish Gymnastics pre elite development programme! A fantastic achievement!

Congratulations to Theo who has been selected for the Scottish Gymnastics pre elite development programme! A fantastic achievement!

Thank you to Sam and Phoebe, two of our GAP students, who are leaving us today! Thank you for all your time here - we will really miss you both! #goodbye #cargilfield

Thank you to Sam and Phoebe, two of our GAP students, who are leaving us today! Thank you for all your time here - we will really miss you both! #goodbye #cargilfield

Congratulations to Rory and Edward who have been selected in the Eastern Knights U14 cricket squad, along with old boys Todd, now at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh and Harry, now at Fettes_College.

There is a strong cricket culture here at Cargilfield, with cricket twelve months a year, a developing girls' programme and outstanding indoor and outside facilities. We are also the only Prep School in Scotland listed in the 
The Cricketer Magazine Top 50 cricketing Prep Schools in the UK.

Well done, boys. Not long to go until the summer!

Congratulations to Rory and Edward who have been selected in the Eastern Knights U14 cricket squad, along with old boys Todd, now at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh and Harry, now at Fettes_College.

There is a strong cricket culture here at Cargilfield, with cricket twelve months a year, a developing girls' programme and outstanding indoor and outside facilities. We are also the only Prep School in Scotland listed in the 
The Cricketer Magazine Top 50 cricketing Prep Schools in the UK.

Well done, boys. Not long to go until the summer!

Let Them Sleep!

We all sleep. It is a function of living that, like breathing, we take for granted, a lifeblood of automaticity. Some of us have the fortune of being ‘good’ sleepers, “Enjoying the honey heavy dew of slumber" as Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar. For many others, however, a dread of a shifting circadian rhythm, when the cycle of light begins to refocus to the dark and sleep beckons.

There seems to be a growing spotlight around the importance of sleep in education, and indeed, in society in general. The best-selling book “Why we Sleep? ”by Professor Matthew Walker of UC Berkeley, California, has helped focus a narrative in the popular press and social media on the serious adverse effects of sleep deprivation as well as the benefits of sleep as our ‘superpower.’

There is of course no doubting the benefits of nature’s gentle nurse that is sleep. But. What is sleep? Why do we need to sleep? And why is sleep so important to our well-being and to pupils and teachers in our schools?

The question of ‘what is sleep?’ is closely aligned to ‘why we sleep?’. Although we are certainly less aware of our surroundings, sleep is not a passive process of being completely unconscious. Indeed, at specific times, such as REM sleep, we are “more awake” in certain brain areas than our waking state. During a typical night’s sleep, we may go through 4-6 sleep cycles, each lasting roughly 90-100 minutes per cycle. Within these cycles, we have 4 stages of non-REM sleep and one of REM sleep. If this all represents a simple overview of what sleep is, why do we therefore have a self-regulating need to sleep?

There is no single answer to this very complex question. A restoration theory, essentially, all the stuff we've burned up during the day, we restore, we replace, we rebuild during the night, is a very plausible response. But not on its own. It's fashionable at the moment because what's been shown is that within the brain, a whole raft of genes have been shown to be turned on only during sleep, and those genes are associated with restoration and metabolic pathways. So, there's good evidence for the whole restoration hypothesis.

Clearly that has massive implications for us as a school community. We need teachers and pupils to feel energy levels are being restored, otherwise the process of learning and teaching is greatly inhibited. But. This process of learning is also greatly influenced by another theory of why we sleep- information consolidation theory.

What we know is that, if after you've tried to learn a task, and you sleep-deprive individuals, the ability to learn that task heavily diminishes. However, it's not just the laying down of a memory and recalling it. What's turned out to be really exciting is that our ability to come up with novel solutions to complex problems is hugely enhanced by a night of sleep. In fact, it's been estimated to give us a threefold advantage (Foster, 2013).

Sleeping at night enhances our creativity. And what seems to be going on is that, in the brain, those neural connections that are important, those synaptic connections that are important, are linked and strengthened, while those that are less important tend to fade away and be less important. Layer this over the repeated interactions that occur in our classrooms on minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month on month, year on year timeframes.

Sleep and learning are connected bed fellows of well-being- sleep becomes not only important in the lives of pupils and teachers as learners, but critical.

Sleep really is the low hanging fruit of well-being in our communities of schools.

Wishing all the staff and pupils a lovely Christmas holiday, filled with sleep!

Mrs S MacKenzie

Let Them Sleep!

We all sleep. It is a function of living that, like breathing, we take for granted, a lifeblood of automaticity. Some of us have the fortune of being ‘good’ sleepers, “Enjoying the honey heavy dew of slumber" as Shakespeare wrote in Julius Caesar. For many others, however, a dread of a shifting circadian rhythm, when the cycle of light begins to refocus to the dark and sleep beckons.

There seems to be a growing spotlight around the importance of sleep in education, and indeed, in society in general. The best-selling book “Why we Sleep? ”by Professor Matthew Walker of UC Berkeley, California, has helped focus a narrative in the popular press and social media on the serious adverse effects of sleep deprivation as well as the benefits of sleep as our ‘superpower.’

There is of course no doubting the benefits of nature’s gentle nurse that is sleep. But. What is sleep? Why do we need to sleep? And why is sleep so important to our well-being and to pupils and teachers in our schools?

The question of ‘what is sleep?’ is closely aligned to ‘why we sleep?’. Although we are certainly less aware of our surroundings, sleep is not a passive process of being completely unconscious. Indeed, at specific times, such as REM sleep, we are “more awake” in certain brain areas than our waking state. During a typical night’s sleep, we may go through 4-6 sleep cycles, each lasting roughly 90-100 minutes per cycle. Within these cycles, we have 4 stages of non-REM sleep and one of REM sleep. If this all represents a simple overview of what sleep is, why do we therefore have a self-regulating need to sleep?

There is no single answer to this very complex question. A restoration theory, essentially, all the stuff we've burned up during the day, we restore, we replace, we rebuild during the night, is a very plausible response. But not on its own. It's fashionable at the moment because what's been shown is that within the brain, a whole raft of genes have been shown to be turned on only during sleep, and those genes are associated with restoration and metabolic pathways. So, there's good evidence for the whole restoration hypothesis.

Clearly that has massive implications for us as a school community. We need teachers and pupils to feel energy levels are being restored, otherwise the process of learning and teaching is greatly inhibited. But. This process of learning is also greatly influenced by another theory of why we sleep- information consolidation theory.

What we know is that, if after you've tried to learn a task, and you sleep-deprive individuals, the ability to learn that task heavily diminishes. However, it's not just the laying down of a memory and recalling it. What's turned out to be really exciting is that our ability to come up with novel solutions to complex problems is hugely enhanced by a night of sleep. In fact, it's been estimated to give us a threefold advantage (Foster, 2013).

Sleeping at night enhances our creativity. And what seems to be going on is that, in the brain, those neural connections that are important, those synaptic connections that are important, are linked and strengthened, while those that are less important tend to fade away and be less important. Layer this over the repeated interactions that occur in our classrooms on minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month on month, year on year timeframes.

Sleep and learning are connected bed fellows of well-being- sleep becomes not only important in the lives of pupils and teachers as learners, but critical.

Sleep really is the low hanging fruit of well-being in our communities of schools.

Wishing all the staff and pupils a lovely Christmas holiday, filled with sleep!

Mrs S MacKenzie

On the final morning of term, lots of awards were given out for academic and sporting effort and achievement, Primary Maths certificates, Music Practice prizes and Choir ties, art awards, General Knowledge winners and finally the winning Division of the term was announced to much celebration!  We also said goodbye to Phoebe and Sam, two of our GAP students, who are leaving us today!

Well done to everyone!

On the final morning of term, lots of awards were given out for academic and sporting effort and achievement, Primary Maths certificates, Music Practice prizes and Choir ties, art awards, General Knowledge winners and finally the winning Division of the term was announced to much celebration!  We also said goodbye to Phoebe and Sam, two of our GAP students, who are leaving us today!

Well done to everyone!

‪The Autumn Term has now ended. Well done to the Chapel Choir and all those who read in what was a wonderful Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. We wish all Cargilfield children, staff and families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hogmanay!‬

‪The Autumn Term has now ended. Well done to the Chapel Choir and all those who read in what was a wonderful Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. We wish all Cargilfield children, staff and families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hogmanay!‬

Three Christmas lunches in one day. Many thanks to Mandy, Michal and the whole catering team for a delicious lunch once again!

Read more here.

Three Christmas lunches in one day. Many thanks to Mandy, Michal and the whole catering team for a delicious lunch once again!

Read more here.

The Pre Prep held their Christmas Service down at Cramond Kirk. They performed a Nativity and sang some lovely Christmas songs in front of a large audience of parents and friends. Many thanks to Dr Barr for letting us use the Church, as always.

Read more here. 

The Pre Prep held their Christmas Service down at Cramond Kirk. They performed a Nativity and sang some lovely Christmas songs in front of a large audience of parents and friends. Many thanks to Dr Barr for letting us use the Church, as always.

Read more here. 

Cargilfield 6 – George Watson’s College 2

We have one session of hockey each week in the rugby term and the traditional final Wednesday of the term is often a hockey match against George Watson’s.  The first half of the seven a side game today was one of extremely high quality.  We passed the ball around with power and slickness and our attack was formidable with Cody pulling the strings in midfield and bringing every forward player around him into the game.  James was on the right and found a lot of space in the wider areas.  He drove at goal and gave us plenty of opportunity to score some goals.  Tom was lively on the left and also kept his width very well.  Harry was solid in defence and made a number of crucial tackles.  Charlie, our slightly more attack minded defender played some terrific cross pitch passes which allowed us to turn defence into attack quickly.  Thomas had very little to do in the first half other than a brilliant save from a one on one situation but was much more involved in the second and the two he let in were as a result of perhaps our defenders being too high up the pitch.  Oliver played across the midfield and linked up well with his more central and defensive team mates; however, he wasn’t afraid to take on his opposite man and showed some particularly good dribbling skill.  Charles had spells up front and at the back and did well in both positions as did Cameron who actually impressed at the back with some nice wins in one on one situations.  

The intensity was difficult to maintain in the second half but as we were 4-0 up, we began being a bit too cute with the chances we had.  Their goalkeeper had an excellent game but we could have made it harder for him by trying to deflect the shots past him.  Player of the match was Cody for his goal scoring and his energy on the field but everyone put in a great performance and it sets us up for what should be an exciting Spring term.  Well done everyone and thanks to GWC for having us.

Cargilfield 6 – George Watson’s College 2

We have one session of hockey each week in the rugby term and the traditional final Wednesday of the term is often a hockey match against George Watson’s.  The first half of the seven a side game today was one of extremely high quality.  We passed the ball around with power and slickness and our attack was formidable with Cody pulling the strings in midfield and bringing every forward player around him into the game.  James was on the right and found a lot of space in the wider areas.  He drove at goal and gave us plenty of opportunity to score some goals.  Tom was lively on the left and also kept his width very well.  Harry was solid in defence and made a number of crucial tackles.  Charlie, our slightly more attack minded defender played some terrific cross pitch passes which allowed us to turn defence into attack quickly.  Thomas had very little to do in the first half other than a brilliant save from a one on one situation but was much more involved in the second and the two he let in were as a result of perhaps our defenders being too high up the pitch.  Oliver played across the midfield and linked up well with his more central and defensive team mates; however, he wasn’t afraid to take on his opposite man and showed some particularly good dribbling skill.  Charles had spells up front and at the back and did well in both positions as did Cameron who actually impressed at the back with some nice wins in one on one situations.  

The intensity was difficult to maintain in the second half but as we were 4-0 up, we began being a bit too cute with the chances we had.  Their goalkeeper had an excellent game but we could have made it harder for him by trying to deflect the shots past him.  Player of the match was Cody for his goal scoring and his energy on the field but everyone put in a great performance and it sets us up for what should be an exciting Spring term.  Well done everyone and thanks to GWC for having us.

It was a pleasure to welcome Peter Miller, Principal at The Geelong College in Australia, to our whole school Chapel Service this morning. Peter also happens to be Dad to Phoebe, one of our GAP students this year! We wish him and his family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hogmany which they are spending in Edinburgh.

It was a pleasure to welcome Peter Miller, Principal at The Geelong College in Australia, to our whole school Chapel Service this morning. Peter also happens to be Dad to Phoebe, one of our GAP students this year! We wish him and his family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hogmany which they are spending in Edinburgh.

The Form 4 and 5 Carol Service took place this evening at Holy Cross Church in Davidson’s Mains.

Cargilfield has a long standing connection to the church as it was built by Harry Thomas who was Headmaster of Cargilfield from 1899 to 1924 and it was he who moved the school from Trinity to its present site in Barnton.

Thank you to Vaughan Townhill, who was Director of Music at Cargilfield for 34 years, for all his help in organising things at the church for us.

A packed congregation of parents and friends enjoyed some wonderful singing from the children and also some excellent readings of the Christmas story.

Read more here. 

The Form 4 and 5 Carol Service took place this evening at Holy Cross Church in Davidson’s Mains.

Cargilfield has a long standing connection to the church as it was built by Harry Thomas who was Headmaster of Cargilfield from 1899 to 1924 and it was he who moved the school from Trinity to its present site in Barnton.

Thank you to Vaughan Townhill, who was Director of Music at Cargilfield for 34 years, for all his help in organising things at the church for us.

A packed congregation of parents and friends enjoyed some wonderful singing from the children and also some excellent readings of the Christmas story.

Read more here. 

This week P2 blasted themselves from the age of the dinosaur straight back into the 21^st century becoming authors of our very own ebooks! We took our dinosaur stories that we wrote last week and created our own ebooks using the Book Creator app on the i-pads. We took turns dictating and typing our stories, and had fun changing the size, colour and style of the text. We inserted the illustrations we had drawn, and photographs that we had taken of various dinosaur scenarios that were in keeping with our storylines. We enjoyed choosing different backgrounds for each page, and even inserted our own dinosaur-themed emojis.  Using our new found Book Creator skills our dinosaur adventure stories are now being published and we are now, officially, the very proud book authors of our first publication. Check out your nearest bookstore for P2’s “Dinosaurs in our school” on the shelves!

​

This week P2 blasted themselves from the age of the dinosaur straight back into the 21^st century becoming authors of our very own ebooks! We took our dinosaur stories that we wrote last week and created our own ebooks using the Book Creator app on the i-pads. We took turns dictating and typing our stories, and had fun changing the size, colour and style of the text. We inserted the illustrations we had drawn, and photographs that we had taken of various dinosaur scenarios that were in keeping with our storylines. We enjoyed choosing different backgrounds for each page, and even inserted our own dinosaur-themed emojis.  Using our new found Book Creator skills our dinosaur adventure stories are now being published and we are now, officially, the very proud book authors of our first publication. Check out your nearest bookstore for P2’s “Dinosaurs in our school” on the shelves!

​

In Primary 3 we have been learning about division this week.  We have used play doh to share our different amounts and we have been using numicon to show how we divide different numbers in to equal amounts.  Well done P3!

In Primary 3 we have been learning about division this week.  We have used play doh to share our different amounts and we have been using numicon to show how we divide different numbers in to equal amounts.  Well done P3!

Nursery have written their letters to Father Christmas and posted them up the chimney in the Library! Very exciting and not long to wait now.....!

Nursery have written their letters to Father Christmas and posted them up the chimney in the Library! Very exciting and not long to wait now.....!

1stXV beat Merchiston

And so another hugely enjoyable and entertaining 1stXV rugby season draws to an end, and this group of boys can look back on what has been a very impressive term’s rugby, which must go down as one of the very best in my 16 years here.  But how do you define a ‘successful season’? Is it the number of wins? Is it the improvement made by a team over the course of a season? Is it that sense of team spirit which all great sides should have?  Is it a whole team working together without any star player? Is it having a Captain who sets the right example both on and off the field, someone who leads through actions and not words? I am not sure it is easy to define ‘success’, but all of the above are certainly important parts of a successful team……but to me, this group of boys have listened and worked incredibly hard every afternoon in training, they have coped with injuries and loss of form to players, they have never given up and have always shown a huge amount of heart and commitment, but above all, they they shown that indomitable spirit, a determination to go out there and give it your all as a team, and if you perform to your best, then the result will usually take care of itself. 

Yes, we have been unbeaten in Scotland, beating Dollar twice which is no mean achievement, and beaten Aysgarth when they came up on tour; our only defeats were away to Aysgarth and twice to Sedbergh.  By any reckoning, that is a fantastic season, playing 14 matches, two sevens tournaments (winning one of them) and one representative tournament, all in the space of just 13 weeks.  That is a considerable physical challenge, especially the five games in nine days just after half term, and yet week after week, this group of boys have risen to the challenges that have been put before them, and often surpassed them.  For me, they are certainly in the top two XVs in my time, and that is some achievement, but richly deserved.

So this afternoon, we welcomed our old friends Merchiston to Cargilfield for the final hurrah, with both teams having had excellent seasons, and both sets of players keen to go out on a high.  We had won the Loretto 7s, they won the Ardvreck 7s so both teams had high expectations of victory.  I have to say that once again, just like the previous two weeks’ matches with Aysgarth and Dollar, this was another fantastic advert for Prep School rugby with huge commitment and skill on show from both sides, and no quarter given or asked; another titanic struggle and a real spectacle for the large crowd of spectators who had come to watch.

The first 15 minutes saw us play the best rugby of the season, and scoring four outstanding tries through some sublime team play, gave us the head start that we needed and which we would never relinquish.  The pick of them was a wonderful pick from the base of the ruck by Seb who went blind, drew his man and popped it to Rory to race in to the corner.  28-7 at half time, and despite some strong running from former pupil, Adam, our defence was very solid indeed and the organisation and communication from the whole side meant that Merchiston found it very hard to break through despite their excellent handling in the backs.  Our dominance at the breakdown meant that we controlled possession and the way we used it, against a quality opposition, showed the huge strides we have made over the course of the season, kicking intelligently, getting the ball out in to the wider channels faster and always having the option to recycle again and again through our outstanding pack of forwards who again worked so hard winning ruck after ruck after ruck - another herculean effort.

Jack came off the bench at half time and immediately made an impact with a terrific try, which was followed by a wonderful solo effort by Quin who’s dancing feet and fantastic body position in contact meant that Merchiston struggled to contain him all afternoon - it was a wonder try which effectively sealed the game for us.  There was still time for Merchiston to score three well worked tries using their powerful centre to break our tiring defence, but Max, the Captain, scored twice which gave us a cushion and there was well deserved celebrations when the final whistle went.  Undefeated in Scotland, with just Sedbergh, our old nemesis, getting the better of us even though we had boys playing on one leg down on tour, and we were right in the game at half time when we played them up here; if truth be told, we weren’t far away from beating them.

As I said at the start, winning matches is great but not the over riding factor in having a successful season at this level.  We want to improve as a team, we want to play rugby that involves all players on the field, we want to show that determination to keep going, to play for one another and celebrate each others’ success - real teamship and something that will hopefully give this group of boys a real love of rugby as they move on to senior school.  Enjoying the game is so important, as is having high standards, both individually and as a team, and in so many ways, this group of boys have risen to the challenge, got better, and showed huge resilience as they returned from tour and played even better rugby these final three weeks of term.

My thanks to all the boys for their efforts this season, and special thanks to Max who has proved to be an outstanding Captain of Rugby, leading his troops by example and playing on one leg, refusing to come off when we were down on tour, said a lot about him and his commitment to his team.  A season to remember, and hopefully all those who played will look back and be proud of what they achieved; they played some wonderful rugby, they learned a lot, they came back from adversity and they showed a real never say die attitude when the real challenges presented themselves. And they were not found wanting.

 A memorable season in so many ways.  Thank you, boys. 

1stXV beat Merchiston

And so another hugely enjoyable and entertaining 1stXV rugby season draws to an end, and this group of boys can look back on what has been a very impressive term’s rugby, which must go down as one of the very best in my 16 years here.  But how do you define a ‘successful season’? Is it the number of wins? Is it the improvement made by a team over the course of a season? Is it that sense of team spirit which all great sides should have?  Is it a whole team working together without any star player? Is it having a Captain who sets the right example both on and off the field, someone who leads through actions and not words? I am not sure it is easy to define ‘success’, but all of the above are certainly important parts of a successful team……but to me, this group of boys have listened and worked incredibly hard every afternoon in training, they have coped with injuries and loss of form to players, they have never given up and have always shown a huge amount of heart and commitment, but above all, they they shown that indomitable spirit, a determination to go out there and give it your all as a team, and if you perform to your best, then the result will usually take care of itself. 

Yes, we have been unbeaten in Scotland, beating Dollar twice which is no mean achievement, and beaten Aysgarth when they came up on tour; our only defeats were away to Aysgarth and twice to Sedbergh.  By any reckoning, that is a fantastic season, playing 14 matches, two sevens tournaments (winning one of them) and one representative tournament, all in the space of just 13 weeks.  That is a considerable physical challenge, especially the five games in nine days just after half term, and yet week after week, this group of boys have risen to the challenges that have been put before them, and often surpassed them.  For me, they are certainly in the top two XVs in my time, and that is some achievement, but richly deserved.

So this afternoon, we welcomed our old friends Merchiston to Cargilfield for the final hurrah, with both teams having had excellent seasons, and both sets of players keen to go out on a high.  We had won the Loretto 7s, they won the Ardvreck 7s so both teams had high expectations of victory.  I have to say that once again, just like the previous two weeks’ matches with Aysgarth and Dollar, this was another fantastic advert for Prep School rugby with huge commitment and skill on show from both sides, and no quarter given or asked; another titanic struggle and a real spectacle for the large crowd of spectators who had come to watch.

The first 15 minutes saw us play the best rugby of the season, and scoring four outstanding tries through some sublime team play, gave us the head start that we needed and which we would never relinquish.  The pick of them was a wonderful pick from the base of the ruck by Seb who went blind, drew his man and popped it to Rory to race in to the corner.  28-7 at half time, and despite some strong running from former pupil, Adam, our defence was very solid indeed and the organisation and communication from the whole side meant that Merchiston found it very hard to break through despite their excellent handling in the backs.  Our dominance at the breakdown meant that we controlled possession and the way we used it, against a quality opposition, showed the huge strides we have made over the course of the season, kicking intelligently, getting the ball out in to the wider channels faster and always having the option to recycle again and again through our outstanding pack of forwards who again worked so hard winning ruck after ruck after ruck - another herculean effort.

Jack came off the bench at half time and immediately made an impact with a terrific try, which was followed by a wonderful solo effort by Quin who’s dancing feet and fantastic body position in contact meant that Merchiston struggled to contain him all afternoon - it was a wonder try which effectively sealed the game for us.  There was still time for Merchiston to score three well worked tries using their powerful centre to break our tiring defence, but Max, the Captain, scored twice which gave us a cushion and there was well deserved celebrations when the final whistle went.  Undefeated in Scotland, with just Sedbergh, our old nemesis, getting the better of us even though we had boys playing on one leg down on tour, and we were right in the game at half time when we played them up here; if truth be told, we weren’t far away from beating them.

As I said at the start, winning matches is great but not the over riding factor in having a successful season at this level.  We want to improve as a team, we want to play rugby that involves all players on the field, we want to show that determination to keep going, to play for one another and celebrate each others’ success - real teamship and something that will hopefully give this group of boys a real love of rugby as they move on to senior school.  Enjoying the game is so important, as is having high standards, both individually and as a team, and in so many ways, this group of boys have risen to the challenge, got better, and showed huge resilience as they returned from tour and played even better rugby these final three weeks of term.

My thanks to all the boys for their efforts this season, and special thanks to Max who has proved to be an outstanding Captain of Rugby, leading his troops by example and playing on one leg, refusing to come off when we were down on tour, said a lot about him and his commitment to his team.  A season to remember, and hopefully all those who played will look back and be proud of what they achieved; they played some wonderful rugby, they learned a lot, they came back from adversity and they showed a real never say die attitude when the real challenges presented themselves. And they were not found wanting.

 A memorable season in so many ways.  Thank you, boys. 

In P3 we have been learning all about Ancient Egyptians. As part of our learning we have found out all about mummification and how the Ancient Egyptians mummified people and animals after they died to help them on their journey to the afterlife. We have tried the process out ourselves by mummifying an apple! We cut an apple in half, weighed and measured out amounts of bicarbonate of soda and salt and then covered the apple with the bicarbonate and salt mixture. The other half of the apple we have put on a plate in fresh air. We have been monitoring the changes over the last week and can’t wait to see the results of what happens once it has been left for 14 days!!

Read more here.

In P3 we have been learning all about Ancient Egyptians. As part of our learning we have found out all about mummification and how the Ancient Egyptians mummified people and animals after they died to help them on their journey to the afterlife. We have tried the process out ourselves by mummifying an apple! We cut an apple in half, weighed and measured out amounts of bicarbonate of soda and salt and then covered the apple with the bicarbonate and salt mixture. The other half of the apple we have put on a plate in fresh air. We have been monitoring the changes over the last week and can’t wait to see the results of what happens once it has been left for 14 days!!

Read more here.

The Nursery children have been spreading Christmas cheer by handing out their snowflake biscuits to all the teachers. They tasted delicious! Merry Christmas everyone!

The Nursery children have been spreading Christmas cheer by handing out their snowflake biscuits to all the teachers. They tasted delicious! Merry Christmas everyone!

Yesterday, 8M were investigating how much energy was stored in different foods. They burnt the foods and measured the temperature change of water.

Yesterday, 8M were investigating how much energy was stored in different foods. They burnt the foods and measured the temperature change of water.

In P2 this week we celebrated Advent, and created our own advent wreath and Christingles. We used an orange to remind us of the amazing Earth God has created, some cocktail sticks to remind us of the seasons, some ‘dolly mixtures’ to remind us of the fruits of God’s creation and a red ribbon to remind us of Jesus' love wrapped around the Earth.  Here we are holding our Christingles.  We lit the candle to remind us of the light of Jesus shining in our world and bringing us joy, hope, peace and love. 

In P2 this week we celebrated Advent, and created our own advent wreath and Christingles. We used an orange to remind us of the amazing Earth God has created, some cocktail sticks to remind us of the seasons, some ‘dolly mixtures’ to remind us of the fruits of God’s creation and a red ribbon to remind us of Jesus' love wrapped around the Earth.  Here we are holding our Christingles.  We lit the candle to remind us of the light of Jesus shining in our world and bringing us joy, hope, peace and love. 

The latest article on the Teaching and Learning Blog has been posted. It is where teachers provide a few thoughts from behind their classroom door. This week, it is about Form 5 building river basins and how Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking and Collaboration are so important. 

Click here to read more:

https://www.cargilfield.com/teaching-and-learni…/…/post.php…

The latest article on the Teaching and Learning Blog has been posted. It is where teachers provide a few thoughts from behind their classroom door. This week, it is about Form 5 building river basins and how Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking and Collaboration are so important. 

Click here to read more:

https://www.cargilfield.com/teaching-and-learni…/…/post.php…

Well done to the U12 boys who had a fun, if not rather cold and windy, match against Merchiston today.  The play was end to end with both schools having their chances.  Merchiston started the scoring off early from a corner after only 2 minutes.  We fought back hard with Glen scoring the equaliser just before half time.  Kyan and Matthew linked well and we started off the second half well, attacking from the first second and nearly scoring again.  Glen, Kyan, Ollie and Seb were our strong players in the second half and both teams improved their passing as the match went on.  Murray kept a clean sheet in the second half and kept his eye on the ball throughout the game.  

Well done to both team and thank you to Merchiston for refereeing and hosting.  We look forward to more fixtures next term!

Well done to the U12 boys who had a fun, if not rather cold and windy, match against Merchiston today.  The play was end to end with both schools having their chances.  Merchiston started the scoring off early from a corner after only 2 minutes.  We fought back hard with Glen scoring the equaliser just before half time.  Kyan and Matthew linked well and we started off the second half well, attacking from the first second and nearly scoring again.  Glen, Kyan, Ollie and Seb were our strong players in the second half and both teams improved their passing as the match went on.  Murray kept a clean sheet in the second half and kept his eye on the ball throughout the game.  

Well done to both team and thank you to Merchiston for refereeing and hosting.  We look forward to more fixtures next term!

Many congratulations to Sophie who has been awarded a Sports Scholarship to Oundle School. What a fantastic achievement and she is a wonderful role model to all of our young athletes here at Cargilfield.

Many congratulations to Sophie who has been awarded a Sports Scholarship to Oundle School. What a fantastic achievement and she is a wonderful role model to all of our young athletes here at Cargilfield.

What a wonderful Concert the Chapel Choir put on this afternoon at St Cuthbert’s Church below Edinburgh Castle. A fabulous setting and some beautiful singing!

Read more here.

What a wonderful Concert the Chapel Choir put on this afternoon at St Cuthbert’s Church below Edinburgh Castle. A fabulous setting and some beautiful singing!

Read more here.

The girls were very excited to be playing their last match of the season. Unfortunately, three of our squad were ill or injured so we played two teams of five. The A team played first and initially the match looked to be close with Ardvreck demonstrating good dribbling skills and defending very well. But we started playing as a team and whilst we did miss Bella and her great crosses, our positioning improved and Savannah, Bonnie and Nadia came together to attack. Bonnie scored the first one and Savannah followed with two of her own. Bonnie was a little less mobile in the second half but when encouraged she started to refocus and play and I was delighted that she assisted Savannah in scoring a further goal. Nadia likewise assisted to help a goal be scored. Aglaya and Beatrice played very well with Aglaya coming out to tackle and directing the ball very well and Beatrice hitting such great hit outs that they directly contributed to at least one goal. It was a superb team effort. I was very proud of the team. Final score Cargilfield 5 Ardvreck 0

The B team also fared very well and Valentina scoring two goals in the first few minutes was very daunting for Ardvreck. Valentina made a fine captain and she scored most of the goals. Isla was an excellent centre and Emilia Douglas Home supported very well on the wing. All three of our attacking players scored and it was great to see them passing to each other and moving into great spaces. After a seven-goal lead in the first half we offered to mix up the players but Ardvreck preferred to play a shorter second half. I swopped Emilia for Defence to Midfield to try to mix it up. This did not really work as she went on to score a goal and Isla defended very well with Eliza’s help. Valentina scored a further two goals bringing her total to 6, Isla scored 2, and both of the Emilias scored. Final score Cargilfield 10 Ardreck 0. As I said to the girls I was very proud of them because their play actually showed that they had been listening to me all term. Fantastic progress! Well done to all the Under Nines!