The Storytelling begins ...

We started the second part of the Kirkwall Heritage project this week when Britt came in and helped us with the beginning of making a book.  After lots of discussion we decided our main character is going to be a bird.  

 We then managed to narrow it down to four!  I wonder what our final choice will be?

Genius Hour begins in Primary 5

We are going to be developing our skills in creativity this term in a weekly session called 'Genius Hour'.  We started this week by seeing what we could create out of cardboard. 

There were some interesting ideas!

Fun in the Snow

Primary 5 worked together at playtime to build their own snowman. 

It was lovely to see everyone having such fun.

Learning about the work of an archaeologist

This morning we had a visit from Dan Lee, an archaeologist.  He came to tell us about the history of Kirkwall and what they have found when they have carried out some excavations.  We looked at old maps and artefacts that have been collected from around the town.

We learned the first building in Kirkwall was a broch.  It was discovered underneath the Orkney museum.  We also found out that the Peedie Sea was part of the larger harbour area and has become smaller over the years.

We also had the opportunity to see some items which had been dug up.  This was really interesting, especially because we got to work with them and sort them out.

The last thing we did was look at a human skeleton.

Visit from Britt

We are continuing to work on our Kirkwall project.  This week Britt came and shared some of her work and described the process she works through.  We realised it takes much longer than we thought!  We also had the opportunity to do some spot illustrations of St Olaf's Kirk. 

'Your Kirkwall' Project

Some of us went up to Papdale last week to take part in a local project about our town.  We thought about the things we like and dislike about Kirkwall.  We had lots we shared with our peers and the visiting speakers.  We also looked to the future and thought about what we would like to see.  Ideas for this included ice rinks and large shopping chains.  This was a fantastic experience for us all.

Kirkwall Heritage Project

On Friday 3rd November we went on a tour around Kirkwall with Britt Harcus, a local tour guide and illustrator.  We are doing a topic on the history of the town and wanted to carry some research.

 

We started our tour at the Kirkwall Hotel.  It was built in 1889 and was the first place to hear about the bombing of the Royal Oak.

Then went along Bridge Street and discovered some more facts about different buildings.  We found out that two families lived on the street at the Kirkwall Market.  They were called the Traill family and the Garden family.  We also stopped at St Olaf's Kirk which was built from sandstone in 1035.

 

 

At the end of Bridge Street we looked at a drain and listened to the water running underneath it.  This is a burn running down from Papdale.

When we went onto Albert Street we stopped where there used to be a Parliament.  King James V once came to sit here at an event.  We continued along the street and stopped at a few different places, including the Big Tree and the Reel.

 

Our final stop was at St Magnus Cathedral where Britt told us some more interesting facts about the building and about the Town Hall across the street.

 

 

Everyone learned a lot about the history of Kirkwall and returned to school with a wealth of  knowledge.