Category Archives: Class Learning

Nursery Fire Station Visit

February 5, 2016 Mrs Duncan Leave a comment

This week the Nursery visited the fire station as a conclusion to our emergency services topic. We enjoyed a chilly but, thankfully, dry walk through the park to the fire station. We got to look at all the equipment that the fire engine carries; we couldn’t believe that it carries 20 hoses! We got to sit in the fire engine, it was quite loud inside, and we saw the flashing lights and heard the siren! Some of us used a hose to knock a bucket off a cone, it was VERY powerful. Others tried on the firefighter’s equipment including wellies, leggings, coat and helmet. The firefighters told us that they need at least four people to operate the fire engine but ideally have six. Now we have some budding firefighters in the Nursery!

Thank you very much to all the parents and grandparents that came with us, as always we really appreciate your help.

Class Learning

Youth Music Initiative

February 3, 2016 Mrs Duncan Leave a comment

Week 4

Song writing started this week. The children did some rhythm warm- ups(see videos) and then started writing the lyrics for their song(s). The children created the chorus ideas first then began to work on each verse in smaller sub-groups.

Rhythm warm-ups

Video

Video (1)

Song writing in groups.

Class Learning

Youth Music Initiative

January 26, 2016 Mrs Duncan Leave a comment

Primary Seven have started working with the band Skerryvore as part of a Youth Music Initiative. Each week children are developing their musical knowledge and skills as well as working with the band to compose their own songs. Classes will perform songs to a wider audience later in the project. Each week we will up date the blog with photos and videos of our learning.

Week 2 – Getting to know each other

Video (1)

Video (2)

Week 3 – Drumming and rhythm work

Creating Rhythms

Musical notation with dynamics

Video (1)

Video

Video 3

More weekly updates to follow.

Class Learning

P5/6 Class Trip to New Lanark

January 26, 2016 Mrs Duncan Leave a comment

P5/6G visited New Lanark to find out about life in the Victorian era for their new topic. We had a great day visiting the working mills, where wool is now produced instead of cotton, and imagining Victorian children crawling underneath to clean. We then had a lesson in a Victorian classroom and had to wear the tunics that children had to wear.
We also visited the houses that families would have had- just one room! The cramped conditions meant that illness spread easily.
We also enjoyed the cinema and Annie MacLeod ride where a Victorian ghost child told us her story of life at New Lanark.
A brilliant day was had by all and the pupils were a credit to the school. Mrs Graham

Class Learning

Community Singing

December 21, 2015 Mrs Duncan Leave a comment

Primary 5 and Primary 5/6 have been extremely busy this term out singing and entertaining in the community. First of all both classes performed at the switching on of the Christmas lights in Dalbeattie Town centre on 4th December. They have since sang carols at the Post Office and at Kinnairds. Both classes also visited Dalbeattie Day Centre to sing a selection of carols and Christmas songs. P5 visited Munchies care home on Friday 18th of December and P5/6 braved the rain and visited Alma House on 21st December to bring some Christmas cheer with their singing. It is fantastic to have the children involved in the community and we hope all who have seen the performances have enjoyed them. Well done P5 and P5/6 for showing such community spirit.

Carol Singing at the Post Office

Primary P5/6 bring Christmas cheer to Alma House with their festive songs.

Primary 5 and Primary 5/6 Entertained at Dalbeattie Day Centre

Class Learning

Primary Four Viking Longships

December 21, 2015 Mrs Duncan 1 Comment

Primary Four this term have been learning about The Vikings. They have found out about different aspects of Viking life. As part of this terms learning, their homework task was to create a Viking longship and present how they made the model to the class. Feedback was given to each child in the form of two stars and a wish. Below are the long hips create by the pupils.

After School Activities, Class Learning

Family Learning at Dalbeattie Primary

December 9, 2015 Mrs Duncan Leave a comment

Roots of Empathy

Mrs Dunlop’s P3 Class have just finished ‘Crying’, the 2^nd of the 9 Themes of our Roots of Empathy Programme. The programme aims to build caring, peaceful and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults. By learning to understand other people’s feelings, as well as our own, we hope to reduce levels of bullying and aggression and promote children’s pro-social behaviours.

Sandy Brown, Family Learning Co-ordinator, is facilitating the programme with the help of a local family – Baby Jack and his Mum, Lisa Ashton, who kindly volunteered to visit the class 9 times between October and June. Baby Jack and Mum Lisa have now visited the class twice, and the children have been learning about human development, feelings, and temperament by observing Jack, asking questions, and studying the loving relationship that is growing between mother and child.

‘Let’s Cook from Scratch’

Seven P6 & 7 Pupils, 1 Grandmother, 1 Dad and 5 Mums have been participating in 6 x Family Learning ‘Let’s Cook from Scratch’ after school taster sessions. Richard Lines from the NHS Health Improvement West Team ran the sessions.

Families discussed basic kitchen safety, practiced safe knife skills, prepared raw ingredients, learned several core cooking methods and made healthy nutritious meals using fresh ingredients. They were all challenged to prepare and cook at least 1 of the dishes, made during the sessions, for their families, and share their feedback about the experience to the group.

All 7 pupils are keen to arrange more sessions to build their knowledge and skills, and confidently help their parents prepare and cook nutritious meals at home.

Class Learning

Victorian School Day

December 3, 2015 Mrs Duncan 1 Comment

On Thursday 19^th November, Primary 1 and Primary 1/2 had a wonderful day pretending to be in a Victorian school. They have been learning about the history of our school and have been really engaged in finding out about life in the past. The children played playground games including hopscotch, clapping games, skipping, oranges and lemons, and marbles. They took part in some old fashioned literacy lessons. We were so impressed with how engaged and motivated the children were in taking part in all the activities. Several parents from the upper school had donated outfits which some of the children were able to try on! Dumfries Library allowed us to use a box with artefacts and photographs from Victorian schools and the children were very interested in all the old objects and how they were used. The children then used these experiences to help them write a short story about being at school a long time ago! It was a fantastic day and both the staff and children enjoyed it a great deal!

Mrs Mackenzie, Mrs Howie and Miss Douglas

Believe and Achieve