Happy Outdoor Classroom Day!

On Outdoor Classroom Day, we usually have a day of outdoor fun and learning at school.This year things are a little different! The theme for Outdoor Classroom Day is Playful Nature!

Connecting to nature can restore our sense of wellbeing. For children, this connection is best made through play – whether outdoors in nature or indoors with natural elements.

How will you connect with nature today? ... playing outdoors, a nature walk, create some nature art, make a bug hotel, plant some seeds, make a den... the list is endless! Maybe you'll take on one of our Eco School Five Senses Challenges? https://www.stcolumsprimaryschool.co.uk/eco-schools/

📷 Don't forget to take photos... send to our page or email to stcolumsoffice186@c2kni.net We'd love to see what you've been doing?

Today's Sentinus Challenge is to make a rain cloud in a glass 🌧 

Grab your materials and see if you can make it rain 💧 

📸Don't forget to show us how you get on. Send us your photos/videos to our Facebook page @stcolums or email to stcolumsoffice186@c2kni.net💦

We'd love to see how you get on. Have fun! 😀

Our next Eco Five Senses Challenge is Sight!

What wildlife can you spot through your window? ... or when you are out for a walk?

Take a snapshot or video of what you see... or make a drawing.

Please send your photos/videos to our Facebook page @stcolums or email to @stcolumsoffice186@c2kni.net

Happy spotting!

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week, the Action Mental Health MensSana team have developed a bitesize session based on our ‘Healthy Me’ programme for parents and carers around this year’s theme of ‘Kindness’.

This session aims to:
• Identify the issues you are facing during lockdown
• Raise awareness about mental health
• Highlight self-care techniques for building resilience and confidence
• Show how and where to access support

3 sessions will be delivered online each day via Zoom and will last 30 minutes so you can choose a day and time that suits you best.
Monday 18th – Friday 22nd May 2020
10:30am, 3:30pm & 8:00pm

If you are interested in attending, please register via Eventbrite... https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/healthy-me-parent-carer-session-kindness-tickets-105274226044?fbclid=IwAR1lqHR3RV4nrThvlUc_XQ2jYdIAVBzcf0NQTatdtyHoppGKuSE8hFMLUrQ

This week our Sustrans Officer, Johnny has challenged pupils to complete a research task investigating local cycling and walking trails right here in NI! 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️ Pupils can use a tablet or computer to complete the worksheet.💻

We’d encourage you to watch the video and give this a go! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FjWJVROOkc

Please send us photos of your completed worksheet and research... as a message to our Facebook page@stcolums or via email to stcolumsoffice186@c2kni.net

Our first Sentinus challenge of the week.... Water Cycle in a bag. It's Meteorology week and today we are challenged to learn about the water cycle.☀️🌪🌧❄️

Follow the instructions to see what happens to the sea level (water) in the bag. This challenge may be something that you look at everyday this week, depending on how much sunlight there is.

📸Don't forget to show us how you get on. Send us your photos/videos to our page or email to stcolumsoffice186@c2kni.net💦

Have fun!

Today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week. This year's theme is Kindness.

Research shows that kindness is an antidote to isolation and creates a sense of belonging. It helps reduce stress, brings a fresh perspective and deepens friendships. Kindness to ourselves can help boost our self-esteem and can even improve feelings of confidence and optimism. 

BBC Bitesize 7 Day Kindness Challenge gives just some ideas of how you can be kind this week... and every week!

Why not share your kindness pictures and stories with us... send to our school Facebook page @stcolums or email to stcolumsoffice186@c2kni.net

We'd love to see your acts of kindness this week.

Libraries NI Storytime has changed to 2:30PM

There's another great selection of stories coming up on Libraries NI YouTube channel this week! Join in every weekday at 2:30pm (each video available until 3:00pm) 📚🦆🚣‍♂️🐭🐉🐱 

#storytime #LibrariesNI #shareastory

Sports Day is one of our highlights of our school year and we as we can't have our usual Sport Day this year we have signed up for Healthy Kidz Virtual Sports Day in partnership with SPAR, EUROSPAR, VIVO, VIVOEXTRA and VIVOESSENTIALS.

Healthy Kidz have created a number of fun sporting events that will allow our pupils to compete against each other by recording their results in the Healthy Kidz app.

We encourage all our pupils to take part and you can register you child for our VIRTUAL SPORTS DAY at https://healthy-kidz.com/hk-virtual-sports-day/ by 6pm on Monday 18th May.

Once registered please start logging your activities on the app. Lots of points to collect for all kinds of activities like washing hands and brushing teeth as well as lots of sports and sports day practice.

THERE ARE SOME GREAT PRIZES!

For every school that enters, there is the chance to WIN a class trip to W5 for the school with the most 20 day activity streaks. There is a runner up prize of a Fun Day at school (when school resumes) with SPAR, EUROSPAR, VIVO, VIVIO XTRA, VIVO ESSENTIALS & Healthy Kidz.

All pupils achieving a 20 day activity streak will also entered into a draw for a chance to WIN a £20 voucher to spend in their local store.

Full details in the Resource pack available at ...  https://tinyurl.com/ycszfmwy

Looking forward to a great 'virtual' Sports Day!

Final Sentinus Challenge of the week... Make a Skeleton Hand.🦴🖐 

📷Please take photos/videos and send to our Facebook page @stcolums or email to stcolumsoffice186@c2kni.net

(This challenge may be a little difficult for little ones so perhaps they could make a hand from Lego, Knex or something completely different! Maybe they could just draw a picture or create a collage of the bones in their hand? Maybe you can make a hand from recycled materials? We'd love to see how you get on.😀