This has been a busy, productive but enjoyable month for Primary 6b.

We have particularly enjoyed participating in Maths Week Scotland. We learnt how maths is employed in various jobs and thoroughly embraced the challenge of a variety of practical maths activities. We learnt to use our problem solving skills and collaborate as a team when embarking on the aluminium architectural challenge. We had to work co-operatively to design the sturdiest and tallest freestanding tower using tin foil. We also enjoyed having Mr Sabatini, a P2 parent, visit our class to talk about his job as a banker. We learnt all about the world of finance, including the importance of saving and budgeting.

In Social Studies, as part of our Natural Disasters topic, we have been developing our note-taking and research skills and have used Microsoft Publisher to create our own structured information leaflets.

In Art, we have been learning all about monochromatic colour to make different shades.  We used different painting techniques to create a tsunami picture inspired by the work of Japanese artist Hokusai.

In PE, we have been developing our skills in team games.  We have been working hard in perfecting our passing and shooting skills in both netball and hockey. We have also been developing our leadership skills by undergoing Playzone training.  We have been working closely with Craig Gordon, East Renfrewshire’s Active School Co-ordinator, culminating in us leading playground games with our younger children over the coming weeks.

We have also been busy preparing for our Inclusion Service on October 11^th. We have been writing our own poetry and learning all about the importance of embracing diversity. We hope to see you all at Orchardhill Church at 1:30pm.

 

 Literacy and Numeracy

Our learning in these areas will draw upon the contexts listed above but will differ according to the needs of each class / group. Your support with consolidation of core learning through homework activities will be very beneficial to our children.

P5A have been learning about Scottish history during the Wars of Independence. We learnt about significant events such as King Alexander III’s death, the Successional Crisis and the Auld Alliance.

Dan says, “I can confidently explain the key events of the Scottish Wars of Independence we have learnt so far.”

We made links through our Social Studies learning with Art and Drama. We have been learning the skill of drawing in proportion through the creation of proportional Lion Rampant flags.

Cameron M says, “Quite often with some support, I can successfully draw in proportion.”

In addition, we learnt how to use simple 2D shapes to guide the drawing of more complex shapes. We used rectangles and triangles to help us draw horses which resembled King Alexanders III horse.

In Drama we have been performing and improvising plays based on the key events leading up to King Alexander III’s death. We used a variety of different skills in undertaking this such as, acting in front of an audience, interpreting scripts and using props in our acting.

Molly says, “I am becoming more confident at  performing in front of an audience.”

 

In RME, P5A have been learning the Jewish story of Passover, or Pesach. We used research skills to gather key facts to increase our knowledge of the 15 stages of Seder.

Cameron D  says, “I can regularly explain the story of Passover successfully with no support!”

 

In ICT, P5A are using a variety of presentation formats to share our information on a chosen key figure from Scottish history during the Wars of Independence. We selected the most appropriate digital software for this and have utilised the skills of using search engines to retrieve information, selecting and using appropriate information and creating and modifying text.

We are currently learning to explore online communities while demonstrating responsible digital behaviour. The skills we are learning to do this include the use of Creative Commons for ensuring safe images, giving examples of and advice on appropriate online behaviour through safe online research. We are looking forward to learning more during Internet Safety Day on Tuesday 6^th February.

Nathan says, “ I am developing my understanding of appropriate digital behaviour and can access and use safe images very successfully through my understanding of Creative Commons.”

 

In P.E. we have been learning about body tension and how this helps us to balance and how we can move across the floor in different ways. We have been practicing a variety of balances and movements using different parts of our bodies. Gymnastics is helping us to become more aware of our muscles and we are confident and knowledgeable when explaning how to stretch each of our main ones (our favourite is ‘hugging the tree’ which stretches our back).

Harris says, “I think I have been very successful in completing my stretches and I am becoming more successful in the skills of moving on the mat in different ways.”

 

We have been learning about worries and how to manage them in HWB. We read “What To Do When You Worry Too Much”, which compared our worries to planting a tomato seed.  If you tend to the tomato seed every day, it grows. In the same way, if you think about a worry everyday, it can also grow. As such, we know that talking to someone and sharing your worry will help. As part of this, we produced calming bottles with glitter inside.  These remind us that that worries eventually calm down and bad times don’t last.

 

This term, we are learning about  chemical reactions in Science. Through undertaking a “Self-Inflating Balloon” experiment, we learnt that when two substances are combined, other substances can be produced.

Elliot said, “When bicarbonate of soda and vinegar (an acid) mix, the chemical reaction releases carbon dioxide gas and that is what inflated our balloons.”

Using this knowledge, we successfully made accurate predictions of similar chemical reaction in different experiments (Foaming Lemon, Exploding Bags and Dancing Raisins).

 

Awesome Achievers

We have celebrated a variety of class and individual achievements. Pupils have developed a wide range of different skills such as, learning new languages, reading books at record speed, keeping bedrooms tidy and helping with chores, playing tennis in regional competitions and helping with D.I.Y. around the house. As a class, we are becoming more skilful at recalling the times tables, especially the X7, X8 and X9 through daily quick practice.

 

Article 29: You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for other’s rights and the environment.

Welcome to P5As Christmas class blog. We have been a very holly jolly class this month, getting ready for Christmas.

 

In Art, we have been making Christmas decorations out of clay and paper. We were working hard on developing the accuracy of our tracing and cutting.

Charlotte says, “I feel very confident tracing around my hand and I was even able to make my fingers a bit thicker to make my decoration sturdier.”

We also learnt to use pointillism to create images of Fairtrade products.

Moya feels, “confident in that she could regularly mix primary colours to make secondary colours and create tones with dots.”

 

In Social Studies we have been learning about Fairtrade. Following our visit from Rainbow Turtle, we learnt about the production lines of Fairtrade products such as cotton and bananas. As a result of our learning, we ran a Fairtrade stall to raise money for Fairtrade farmers selling lots of Fairtrade products such as chocolate, bangles, rings and duck collars.

Oliver says “I didn’t know where cotton came from and I didn’t know that much about Fairtrade, but now I can confidently explain about these processes.”

Having calculated our profit from the stall, Primary 5 are proud to announce that we made £264.79 which will be donated to Rainbow Turtle to help support Fairtrade farmers.

 

Our focus in RME has been weddings from different religions. We have been making information posters and presenting our posters to the class.

Ethan feels like he “regularly tries hard at presenting information to the class,” and feels as though he “has expert knowledge on Buddhist weddings.”

 

In ICT, we explored online coding through Hour of Code. In addition, we have been using Microsoft Word to create posters for our stall.

Cameron D says, “I feel skilful at coding and word processing all the time.”

We experimented with headers, footers and tables to present our work. Nathan thinks he will now “always be successful at these skills.”

 

In P.E., P5A have just finished learning hockey ball skills and can now successfully play tournaments in class. We are beginning to develop our skills in touch rugby and are becoming more successful.

Alix feels “confident in tackling and passing.”

We have really enjoyed our aerobics warm ups and have loved Mr Connell’s enthusiasm.

 

In HWB, we have been exploring diet and we learnt how much of each of the food groups we need to eat to be healthy. We represented our understanding through the creation of food meal plates.

Kate M says “I can name each of the food groups, carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, proteins, dairy and oils and spreads and can confidently identify foods within these groups.”

We have also taken part in weekly circle time, where we give each other compliments, work together to solve shared problems and developing our talking and listening skills.

 

Awesome Achievers

P5A have had a very awesome month of achievements ranging from:- cooking and cleaning for parents, gaining new belts in Tae Kwon Do, joining new football teams, being successful at using factors to multiply, coming third in the school talent show and being a good friend and helping others when they are hurt.

 

 

Article 29: You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for other’s rights and the environment.

Primary 5A have just finished classifying animals and researching endangered and extinct species.

Cameron M says, “I can classify vertebrates into mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians and birds.”

Kate C says, “I feel very confident using a classification key independently.”

In addition, taking notes from online research and turning these into fact-files helped us become more knowledgeable about the adaptations animals have which help them survive in their environment. In pairs, we shared what we had learned to the class. Now we know about a wide variety of animals such as meerkats, thorny devils, penguins, polar bears and artic foxes!

In PE we have been working on core strength and stamina. We have used aerobic dance and circuit training to enhance these and have been keeping a record of our improvement over the 6 weeks. We have now moved onto possession games which will include hockey, rugby, basketball and football.

We have just kick-started our Fairtrade topic! Josh from the Paisley based charity, Rainbow Turtle came to visit us. He told us about the production cycle of cocoa and we discussed the number of people involved at each stage of this process. We even designed our own chocolate factory and considered how we would run our company. Some of us had to think about how we would run these to make the most money and others considered how they could run theirs to make the workers happy.

James recognises, “the logo shows a farmer with his hand up, saying ‘Don’t forget about me!’”

We are very excited to explore more about Fairtrade and develop new skills.

In HWB, we have been learning about emotions and stranger awareness. We now feel confident that we can explain verbal and non-verbal communication and know which actions are appropriate and inappropriate with strangers and acquaintances.

Moya says, “I feel confident that I could act appropriately with strangers.”

We have now moved on to exploring healthy diets and food groups.

 

Owais enjoyed learning about Sway, he says, “I can create a Sway on my own most of the time.” Now we have created our Sway based on Giffnock’s School Values, we are moving on to learning to word process tables, headers and footers.

In Art we have been blending tones. With a little bit of support, we have all created wonderful pieces of art. Hannah really enjoyed making bright Halloween monsters with oil pastels. She feels confident that she could mix lighter tones with darker tones to make more natural blends between colours.

Awesome Achievements

P5A have had a very successful term outside school so far. We have had a variety of achievements such as: becoming a professional kid coder; throwing successful parties; learning to toast pop tarts and make noodles on the stove; being brave by doing things that scared us such as, going on high rollercoasters and walking across the glass floor in Blackpool Tower; coming first at a long jumping competition; and learning to safely light sparklers on Bonfire night.

 

Article 31: You have the right to play and relax by doing things like sport, music and drama.

In August we started our mini-topic of the novel Blob by David Walliams.
Cameron D said, “It was fun reading Blob!”
We focussed strongly on the Health and Wellbeing links present throughout. Walliams’ writing reflected Giffnock’s school values of: respect, inclusivity, friendship, honesty, kindness and determination.
Owais says he “enjoys respecting others” and Harris enjoyed representing these in dramas and presentations.
As such, we have been exploring how to promote positive relationships with others through both verbal and non-verbal communication. We are now experts in the qualities and actions which make a good friend!

We are really enjoying learning new editing and presentation skills in ICT lessons through Sway. Sway was a new tool for us and so we are experimenting with it to create our own unique presentations based on the school values.

In Music, we have been writing our own school values song with Mr Connell. We have loved using our understanding of beats and syllables to do this and can’t wait to finish it off.
Harris said, “I love writing the 500 miles values song.”

In Science we have started to look at classifying living things. We have been sorting animals into vertebrate and invertebrate groups. Our main focus will be on mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and fish but we will also look at the 6 groups that invertebrates can be categorised into. Next, we will be learning about using classification keys.

Our Art focus this term is Brazilian artist, Romero Britto and we have worked hard to create unique pieces in his distinct style.
Ethan said, “I think my Romero Britto looks so good!”
In addition, we channelled his love of bright colours and our superb measuring and geometry skills to make “Collapsing Squares.”

Charlotte has really enjoyed learning new skills in P.E. especially, “the dance routines and aerobics dances.” Amir said he really “liked building up my stamina”, something which has been a large focus for the first term of P.E.

Through singing songs and playing games in French, we are learning how to pronounce and recognise numbers up to 69. C’est magnifique!

Our learning in Literacy and Numeracy will draw upon the contexts listed above but will differ according to the needs of each class / group. Your support with consolidation of core learning through homework activities will be very beneficial to our children.

Awesome Achievers

Recent achievements that P5A are very proud of include: learning to do front flips and handsprings, learning to white water raft, advancing in karate lessons, starting YouTube channels, learning to walk home safely by ourselves and learning new languages like Japanese.

Article 29: You have the right to education which develops your personality, respect for other’s rights and the environment.

P4a have been busy during the holidays achieving more success in a wide variety of things. Some people climbed hills; some achieved new skills in football, tennis, swimming, skiing, trampolining, judo and water skiing.  We are very active! Someone made a fire escape plan for a Cub badge and a bird box was made too.  We now have someone with good skills in chess and a Cook and Craft badge for a Brownie.  Many people helped at home in the holidays and someone was responsible caring for a younger cousin whilst away on a holiday.  A big well done to everyone!

 

In class we have been learning about being a responsible pedestrian and making sure we are aware of road users and we learned the Green Cross Code, all of which was useful for our walks to and from our swimming lessons. We are so proud of our efforts displayed at the end of term service and hope you enjoyed it too, if you were there.  We are learning about databases and spreadsheets in ICT and our skills in making a PowerPoint presentation.  In RME we will be learning about charity through the Five Pillars of Islam.

Amir said, “I’m looking forward to sharing what I already know with others.”

We are, of course, getting ready to start preparations for the school show. Save the date!  You won’t want to miss it!  (June 13^th and 14^th).  Busy times ahead!

Fantastic achievements are happening in P4a.

Many of us have improved in a sporting activity such as swimming, gymnastics, karate, skiing, trampolining and ice skating. We are very active pupils in our class. Someone has mastered riding a bike without stabilisers – fantastic!

We have been doing badges such as Book Badge and Fire Escape Plan at Cubs and progressing well reading the Quran.

We enjoy reading and someone has completed reading the Harry Potter books – what an achievement in P4!

Complex jigsaws have been completed, someone learned to tie their laces, and we are good at looking after family members too.

We are all feeling successful after good reports at the recent parent meetings. We are successful learners and achievers!

 

We have finished our learning in RME on Vaisakhi, the festival to celebrate the Sikh New Year, and will be having a class quiz. We have learned a lot. In French we have been learning the names for many every day classroom objects such as, crayons, books, table, rubber, ruler and many more, and learning how to put these words into simple sentences.  We are certainly building up our French vocabulary. Our Health and Wellbeing learning has had a big focus on our presentation for the end of term service. This will showcase our work in Science learning about the water cycle and also water for life.  We discussed hygiene and the importance of hand washing and we thought about the many people in our world who do not have access to clean water.  We hope you can come along to our presentation on Wednesday afternoon at Orchardhill Church.  If you can’t manage, don’t worry just ask us about it and perhaps listen to our songs, we are good singers!  Have a great Spring holiday everyone.

Everyone in P4a has been busy achieving success across many areas over the last few weeks. Pupils have attained medals for dancing, badges at Cubs, improved computer skills and numeracy skills when playing Sumdog.

Sporting achievements are always popular and this month sees some of the children improving at netball, goal scoring in football, skateboarding, aiming skills at Laser Quest and diving at swimming.

Pupils are great at caring for pets like hamsters and cats.

Other achievements include improving handwriting, making cups of tea, learning how to finger knit, playing a tune on the violin using a bow, being brave when watching a scary movie and finally, the wonderful achievement of learning how to tie shoelaces.

A huge well done to everyone. Keep up the wonderful work.

This is our first blog of 2017, how time flies!

As part of our IDL topic on Carnival of the Animals, we are busy researching information on an animal of our choice then using the information and our ICT skills to make a PowerPoint which we will be sharing with the class. This will be good practice for our presenting skills. We have listened to some great carnival music to get us in the mood for creating our wonderful carnival posters.  In RME we are learning about the 5 Ks of Sikhism.  Ask us to tell you about Kesh, Kanga, Kara, Kirpan and Kachera.  We have finished learning about electricity in Science.  We made circuits to light a bulb and enjoyed experimenting by adding more batteries and bulbs and also added switches.  We have learned about the importance of safety when using electricity and how to save energy too!

“It was fun making circuits and trying to make the bulb brighter,” said Amir.

In French we can translate phrases about the weather.

Moya said, “I liked when we had a competition to see how many weather types we could say in French.”

We are busy learners!

P4a have been busy achieving many wonderful things such as moving up classes in football and winning medals in competitions. Achievements have also been made in gymnastics, swimming, karate, climbing and roller skating.  Others made achievements in reading, playing violin, guitar playing and riding bikes.  Achievements were also made by others looking after dogs, training a puppy, making breakfast and baking banana loaf.  Helping to save energy at home, controlling a remote controlled toy, helping little brothers and bravely holding a snake complete our achievements for this month.  No wonder we are so proud of everyone!

 

In ICT we have continued to improve our editing skills on Microsoft Word and Publisher, both in text and image. We are now going to record short film clips on the iPad or FlipCam and try to edit the clips. During RME, we are starting our Christmas lessons, with a focus on Christmas around the world. We will need to use our research skills to find out information and work co-operatively to create a poster about how Christmas is celebrated in a different country.  We are learning a lot about weather and can confidently say what the weather is like in French.  We enjoyed a wonderful visit to the Edinburgh Butterfly and Insect World to further our learning on sorting animals.  We had the opportunity to handle snakes, tarantulas and millipedes.  Many of us were keen to hold the animals and some were brave to give it a try.  Well done everyone!

Dan said, “It was amazing holding the tarantula!”

“I thought the snake was so heavy,” commented Nathan.