Category Archives: Social Studies

Literacy and English, Social Studies

Debate at East Renfrewshire Council Offices

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Today PR7A and Pr7B were invited to take part in  the Provost’s  Debate at East Renfrewshire Council Chambers. The motion being debated was-

This house believes that People Over 60 Should Continue to Receive Their Free Bus Entitlement. 

In our class Olivia proposed the motion with Paige, Aiden and Lewis along with some children in Pr7B forming the remainder of her team.

Lily was second to oppose the motion and she had Emily and Kirstie along with some children from Pr7B in her team.

We had a fantastic morning and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being allowed to have our debate in the Council Chambers.

Both teams made some extremely relevant, interesting points during what turned into a very lively debate. At the end of the debate the motion was carried by 23 votes to 9.

Primary 7 would like to say thankyou very much to Provost Jim Fletcher for ensuring that they had such a memorable experience.

Social Studies

Scotland Street School visit – A Victorian School Jan

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On Tuesday 24th January P6a and P6b went to Scotland Street School.  In Social Studies we are learning about life in Victorian times.  We are learning about the period 1837-1901.

We travelled by bus it took us 30 mins. We had our snack in the café and then went on the tour. We split into two groups boys and girls. We were given costumes – waistcoats and collars, girls had white tunics. We were lined up in straight lines smallest to tallest then we had to use our arms to make sure we were in a straight line and that we had equal spaces between each other.

The teacher Mr Valentine grouped us into desks. He was very strict and stern looking and spoke in a deep and threatening tone. We had to stand up when he spoke to us and call him Sir.

We had to recite our times tables , we did a mental maths test using slates and crayons, we had a spelling test and we had to copy out our words in Copperplate writing using  ink, a blotting sheet and fountain pens. It was quite tricky to use these pens without smudging or making a blot. Left handed people were not allowed to use their left hand in Victorian days but he allowed us to. We had to sing a song  for Queen Victoria  and learned about playground games and songs. Ross volunteered to get the belt ! However Mr Valentine hit the desk instead of his hand and a spark cam off the desk We talked about similarities and differences between Victorian schools and modern day schools.

Emily – “It was lots of fun to experience what school was like in Victorian times although at some points I was a bit scared.”

Connor- ” It felt weird when the girls and boys were separated and had to use separate doors, stairs and playgrounds.”

Lewis – ” It felt weird putting on the head teachers cloak and ringing the school bell”.

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Social Studies

Trip to Scottish Parliament in Holyrood Edinburgh

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On Wed 2nd November P6a and P6b visited the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. We travelled by bus , it took us 1 hr and 30 mins to get there.

We had to go through security, which meant we put our bags and jackets into a tray which went through a scanner. We also had to go through a scanner.

Once we got in we went to the Education Centre where we learned about the history of the Parliament and worked in groups using props to tell the story of the parliament.  Our MSP Tom Arthur came to visit us too while we were there.

We then had a tour of  the building and we visited the debating chamber, garden room and saw some of the meeting rooms. Some MSP’s were holding committee meetings. We then had a visit from Maurice Golden from the Conservative Party and Ken Macintosh who is the Presiding Officer. He is in charge of all the MSP’s.

We really enjoyed our trip and learned lots about the Parliament. It was great to see the inside of the building.

Paige –  ” I enjoyed the question and answer session with the MSP’s”

Gary-  ” I liked going into the Debating Chamber and hearing what they were going to be discussing”.

Aiden-  ” I enjoyed getting to see where all the different parties sat in the Chamber”.

A big thank you to Mrs Muir and Mrs Burns ( parent helper) who came along to help us on our trip.

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Literacy and English, Social Studies

Scottish Parliament – Social Studies

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On 19th September  our local MSP Tom Arthur came to visit the two primary six classes . Mr Arthur is the MSP for Renfrewshire South.  We had written a formal letter to Mr Arthur inviting him to come to our school. We prepared questions to ask about the Scottish Parliament and about his job as an MSP. Everyone in P6 had the chance to ask a question.

Lily – It was fascinating to hear all the different things he had to do as part of his job.

Jamie – We learned a lot about the Parliament building in Edinburgh.

Olivia – His answers to our questions were very interesting.

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Social Studies

Scottish SPCA Visit

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Today the SSPCA came to visit our school. In our class, Amy who works for them came to talk to us about the work that the SSPCA does. We learned how they rescue animals who have been abandoned or have not been cared for properly, and how the SSPCA tries to find them a new home. We then played a game which taught us about different animals that you might find in Scotland and around the world.