Pupils in Primary 3 – 5 attended a special presentation from Power Wise (SP Energy Networks) all about ‘Being Safe with Electricity’. Our visitor provided a huge amount of interesting information in a very entertaining manner. He reinforced important safety information when using electricity at home, in school and in the wider community. He was most impressed with the knowledge shown by our Primary 5 pupils who have recently completed work on electrical circuits and electrical safety.
Both Primary 5 classes recently enjoyed an outing to the Cocoa Bean Chocolate Factory as part of their work based on the novel ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ by Roald Dahl. Melted chocolate was everywhere as pupils licked away chocolate moustaches during their chocolate making workshop. Pupils were excited to make their own decorated chocolate shapes to take home. They gained a wealth of knowledge from the presentation on how chocolate is made. Pupils will be adding to this knowledge in class when preparing their own presentations on ‘The Journey of Chocolate.’
Primary 5 and Primary 6 pupils had the pleasure of being part of the Pitch, Pulse and Magic Tour run by Live Music Now. We were recently entertained by the Spencer-Strachan Duo, playing violin and cello. We learned the power of classical music in influencing our emotions and its ability to tell a story. We used this knowledge to compose our very own classical composition which the musicians played for us. They were impressed by our knowledge of the instruments and our ideas. We have really enjoyed being part of this experience. Previous visits included Tom Poulson and Chris Baxter on trumpet and piano as well as Duende playing flute and guitar. We loved when volunteers participated in playing the instruments.
As part of our Rainforest topic, we learned about Fairtrade. A representative from Traidcraft visited to tell us all about a fair price for fairtrade growers. We learned lots of information about how Fairtrade benefits people. We also looked at Fairtrade goods and investigated their countries of origin and how buying them helps the communities. As part of Fairtrade Fortnight, we sang songs, played games, read playscripts and designed posters. We created a display outside our classroom to inform others all about Fairtrade.
We had fun preparing and eating a variety of Tropical Fruit. As part of our Rainforest topic, we learned about fruit grown in the Rainforest. Mrs Dyson bought a selection of fruit for us to identify and describe. We then worked with Mrs Dyson and Mrs Howie to learn about the safe and hygienic preparation of fruit. We used our knowledge to cut some fruit safely. We then enjoyed tasting the various fruit, which included papaya, mangoes, dragon fruit, pomegranate and passion fruit. We used our knowledge to then create a recipe for a delicious Fruity Rainforest ice-cream sundae. We also had a dietician from the hospital to visit our class and tell us all about food labelling systems and about eating a balanced diet.
Fun and laughter were evident during the recent Wonka Open Afternoon in P5D. Visitors were invited to celebrate the pupils’ work around the novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl. Everyone was entertained by the Oompa Loompa dancing, singing and games. Pupils had transformed themselves into characters from the novel and acted as tour guides for the afternoon. Mrs Dyson was extremely proud of all the pupils’ efforts!
Dalbeattie Primary has just enjoyed a very funny afternoon, thanks to visiting author Philip Ardagh who was organised to come to school through the Scottish Book Trust. Mrs Dyson’s Primary 5 have been learning about the novels of Roald Dahl and this led to them find out about Mr Ardagh. “Philip Ardagh’s first book Awful End was published in 2000. It was to be the first of his ‘Eddie Dickens’ series, which has been critically acclaimed and been described as a cross between Dickens and Monty Python. In 2009, he won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize for ‘Grubtown Tales.’ “(1) Scottish Book Trust
The event was clearly not one to be missed so all pupils from Primary 4 up to Primary 7 were invited along too. Colvend Primary also came along to join in the fun. The afternoon proved a very rewarding experience for all, with the pupils being clearly engaged and motivated to find out more about the work of a popular children’s author. Mr Ardagh kept all pupils entertained with his funny anecdotes and various props. Pupils were delighted when he took time to sign copies of his book and add a personalised message. This was a very exciting event for all our pupils.
Primary 5D enjoyed being Circuit Scientists and had a very successful Open Afternoon on Tuesday 9 October. Families had great fun playing all our Electrical Circuit games. Everyone was amazed at our investigation which used fruit and vegetables to make a digital clock work. We proudly showed our E-books from this term. Mrs Dyson was extremely pleased with all our hard work.
Mrs Dyson set a homework challenge for us to research and present information on a Rainforest mammal. We had to use a variety of sources to collect our information. We wrote an information card for our mammal which included details on location, diet, habitat, size and other interesting facts. We had to use our creativity and imagination to present this information. Finally, we had to create a 3D model of our chosen mammal. We made our own decisions on what materials to use and the size of our model. We presented our homework project to the class and then celebrated our learning by sharing with the upper school classes. Mrs Dyson was very proud of all our efforts.
