January News

Fire Damaged Poly Tunnel!

Following the recent fire damage to our school poly tunnel we have been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity expressed and shown by our local community through raising funds and offering support to replace the damaged tunnel.

Despite everyone being bitterly disappointed by the needless act, all at Houston Primary are inspired by the goodwill, strength of feeling and values held dear by our members of the community. Thank you to all those who contributed , your support is very much appreciated.

Soup Making

The Gardening Club learned how to make leek and potato soup using their very own fresh produce. With the help of Mrs Morrison and her team, the pupils prepared the vegetables and added them to the pot. There was enough for a tub each to take home and enjoy. Delicious!

 

Battery Recycling

The Big Battery Hunt is on! We've almost filled our first battery bin already so keep bringing in your used batteries (AA, AAA C and D) so we can make sure they are disposed of safely.

 

Clear Out Your Closet

We're looking for donations of clothes in wearable condition, pairs of shoes, handbags and belts for our next Rag Bag collection. All funds raised go towards supporting Eco projects.

 

Walkers Crisp Packet Recycling

A national Walkers crisp packet recycling scheme has been launched after a public campaign against plastic waste. Houston Primary is supporting this initiative, so please send all empty Walkers crisp packets into the school. The collected packets will be sent back to TerraCycle, who will shred them into plastic pellets to be used in everyday items, like outdoor furniture and trays.

Unicef Shoe Share

On Friday 7th December the pupils were invited to come to school wearing the shoes of their choice, to raise awareness of pupils across the world who do not have the opportunity to go to school. In return the pupils were asked to bring in a pair of unwanted shoes for recycling. Clark’s shoes will donate money for each pair of shoes received  to Unicef to enable children around the world to be able to go to school just like us. We had an amazing amount of shoe donations - thirty bags! Thank you.

 

December News

Gardening Club

Last session the Gardening Club grew spectacular sunflowers. At the end of the season the flower heads were hung up indoors until the seeds were dry enough to be collected, put into small packets and sold at the Garden Stall at the Christmas Fayre to raise funds for next years plants.

They have also been busy trimming the bushes at the Main Entrance and helping classes to plant their spring bulbs.

Our Year at Gardening Club 2018

The Gardening Club Harvest is well under way but it has taken a lot of hard work and waiting to get there.

In February we planted sweet pea and sunflower seeds in pots.

In March we chitted and planted potatoes in bags.

We pruned the fruit trees in the orchard and put some fertiliser around the roots.

We planted some bare root hedging near the car park.

We pruned the rose at the main entrance.

We cleared the raised beds, weeded and hoed the soil

 

In April we sowed carrots, turnip, lettuce, radish and carrots in the raised beds as well as planting out the sweet pea and sunflower seedlings – that was after we had weeded and hoed the soil in the beds.

We also watered the seedlings.

We planted pea seeds and bean seeds in pots.

We planted potatoes outside.

 

In May we cut down the daffodils at the Main Entrance, pulled out the wallflowers and planted begonias.

We put up nets for the peas and beans.

We watered and weeded as well as planting out cabbages and brussel sprout plants.

We planted leek plants in tubes to make longer white bits and to protect the plants. It also allows the water and fertiliser to get right to the plant.

In June we planted out the peas and beans.

We cut down the daffodils in the raised beds and planted geraniums.

We tied up the sunflowers and made sure the sweet peas were clinging on to the net using their tendrils.

We picked the first radish and lettuce and sowed some more.

We lifted the potatoes in the bags for a competition, washed them and weighed them and took them home to eat.

We got our first look at the polytunnel and planted tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes and peppers. We had to water them often.

 

In the summer holidays the gardening grannies and grandpas watered the raised beds, and looked after the plants in the polytunnel, feeding them every week and watering every day (it was very hot!) as well as opening the doors each morning and closing them each evening.

October News

Welcome Rev. Noonan

At Assembly, the new minister from Houston and Kilellan Kirk, Mr. Gary Noonan joined us to celebrate Harvest. A superb variety of freshly harvested items and food donations were brought in by pupils for those less fortunate in our local area. Many thanks to all the families who kindly donated. The food items will be delivered to Renfrewshire Foodbank.

The Gardening Club also presented their freshly harvested fruit and vegetables and shared their gardening knowledge with pupils from Primary 4-7. The leeks they had grown were particularly impressive. A number of the adult volunteers who support the Gardening Club also attended and were treated to a lovely cuppa and cake as a token of our thanks. We really appreciate the skills they share with our pupils and the time they willingly give to support our club. A special thanks to ‘Gardening Granny’ Mrs Morrison.

 

Woodland Fun

Primary 2/3 have been learning about Woodland creatures and requested to go on an outdoor adventure to find out more. As it was a bit chilly, the Primary 3 children also learned how to make fire using a flint and steel. With the campfire successfully lit the children even managed to toast marshmallows. Yummy!

 

Eco News

The Gardening Club enjoyed a trip out to Mr McKelvie’s beautiful garden in the village. They were really impressed with the variety of cacti he had growing. We thank him for his kind invitation.

The poly tunnel has been a wonderful addition to our school garden and all the fruit and vegetables have now been harvested. The tomatoes and corgettes were particularly successful this year.

 

Gardening Club

Our school gardening club has resumed and they have already harvested a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. All Primary 2 pupils received 10 potatoes each from their own harvest to take home and enjoy. Engie, the contractors who are carrying out the works on our roof have been very supportive of our outdoor projects and kindly donated two tonnes of pebbles for our garden.

September ECO News