Tag Archives: Article 17

P7 CSI with Ayrshire College

Science Detectives at Fenwick Primary! 🕵️‍♂️🔬

Today Ayrshire College visited and thanks to Shona, Derek and Amy,  we put our science skills to the test and discovered how real detectives use science to solve crimes!

When we arrived, we were shocked to hear that a crime had been committed at Fenwick Primary School — and it was our job to solve the mystery!

First, we learned how to use chromatography to investigate the ink from a pen found at the scene. We compared different ink samples to see if we could find a match.
Next, we became fingerprint experts! Using fingerprint analysis, we carefully examined the prints left on the pen to work out which suspect had handled it.
After that, we used microscopes to closely examine fibres left behind at the scene. We compared these fibres with clothing from our three suspects to see if we could find a connection.
We then tested the pH of the “saliva” found on a half-eaten sweet to gather even more evidence.
Finally, Shona demonstrated how to analyse the chemicals in a soil sample taken from a shoe print at the scene. This gave us another important clue!
After lots of careful investigation and teamwork, we were amazed to discover that Mr Houston was guilty! He returned the sweets and apologised for not following our school value of honesty. 😉

What a fantastic way to use our scientific skills in a real-life mystery!


P7 Special Guest

We were delighted to welcome Mr Borland to class this week to hear him recite Tam O’Shanter and The Address to the Haggis. We loved listening to him perform and he then listened to our performances ahead of our Burns Supper on Friday. He was so impressed with us all and give us a couple of hints and tips to improve our performances.
We are looking forward to Mr Borland being one of the judges at our poetry competition next week.

 

P7 VexGo Robots

Today we started our first STEM Lab using the new school Vex Go kits.  We learned how to build with the kit and designed our own machines first. Mrs Ross and Mrs Conetta were very impressed with our creativity and build skills.

Working in groups, we then followed the step by step instructions to build or Base Robots. We then practised using the drive mode to move our robots around our table. After some trial and error using different driving styles it was time for competitions. We built our racing track and raced each others robots through the slalom. Well done to Olivia our racing winner this week!

We are looking forward to STEM Lab 2 next week where we will be learning to code our robots.

P7 WW2 Topic

We have been learning all about the Fenwick War Memorial in our village. We walked along to look at it, record the names that are on it and take photographs. We then returned to class and drew line drawings and made a list of the names to carry out some research about the men who are named from WW2. 

We invited Mr Stewart Finlay from the Kilmarnock Branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland to talk to us about the 9 men who are recorded on the War Memorial. Their regiments, where the were killed and where they are buried. 
We learned that 2 of the men have War Graves in our local cemetery and we have decided to visit them on Remembrance Day to leave flowers and a poppy. 

Stewart also brought along his medals and some jackets worn by veterans after the war in the 1950s. Stewart shared his knowledge with us and stories of his life in the army.

P7 Anderson Shelters

After learning that over 3 million Anderson Shelters were built in the UK  by the end of WW2, we decided to create our own model versions. 

Working in pairs and trios, we planned our design together and started gathering materials that we might need from home. We looked at photographs and videos of Anderson Shelters from WW2 and used these for inspiration. We also researched the kit that was sent to families to build their own shelter in their garden. This included 6 curved corrugated panels and two end panels with a door. 

Today we started making our models. Watch out for our next blog post with our final creations…