This week we are enjoying STEAM week. We have had different visitors come in to teach us different things.

The first thing we done was to take DNA out of a strawberry. We worked in small groups to do it. It was nice to the DNA come out of the strawberry.

We then had Ian and Murron visit us from the NHS. The were showing us wheelchairs and prosthetics. They help children (up to the age of eighteen) who have mobility issues by giving them a personalised wheelchair or prosthetic.

Next we had Mr Hunter come in. There were different experiments for us to do. There was a station with nerf gun’s where we had to shoot down little balls that were hovering.  There was a station with massive balloons that you had to blow up with a  leaf blower. There was one station with dry ice. We put dry ice into containers which would form some sort of solution that would look like steam rising. We then had to try and trap it.  There was one with liquid and when you pour it out it would become solid. Another station showed us mercury which we could see. The last station you could put different objects into this container and then it would freeze. It was very fun and everyone enjoyed it.

Next we made DNA bracelets with Mr Nicklin. Everyone choose an animal which we then followed a pattern to make one DNA strand.

Afterwards Mr Hull came with different technology. There were VR headsets, spheros and ipad’s where we could make our own game.

Later we had a man from Think Science come in. He taught us about how hot air rises. He had made a gigantic balloon out of a bin bag and them blew it up with a hairdryer. It floated up very high.

All these activities were very fun and everyone enjoyed it very much.

–Irina

During science we have been learning about buoyancy with Mr Proctor. We learnt that buoyancy is the ability to make an object float in water. We also got taught that that if the object is heavier then the water it will sink but if it’s denser than the water it will float.

So far we have done two experiments. The first one was to see if an egg would float in water. Mr Proctor showed us two glasses of water, both with an egg inside. One of them sank and the other floated. We then had to figure out how this happened. The answer was that one of the glasses had salt in them and the other didn’t. The egg in the glass with salt floated because the water was heavier than the egg.

We were placed into pairs and given an empty glass, a raw egg and a small cup of salt. We were then told to try and get the egg to float. You could win by having the clearest water. This could be achieved by mixing the water as much as possible. You could also win by having your egg float to the top of the glass the fastest.

The second experiment we done was with cans. There were three cans one had 7 up, the other one had diet coke and they last one had coke. The cans were placed in water. The 7 up and diet coke floated but the coke sank. This was because coke had much more sugar then the other two cans which meant that it was heavier then the water. We went into groups and tried to get the 7 up and diet coke to float and the coke to sink. We were then judged.

Both the experiments were very fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

–Irina

In P.E. we have been working with Mr Proctor to advance our teamwork, communication skills and to improve our tactics in sports.

We were placed into teams and for the next five weeks we will be working closely with our team to earn as many points as possible.

We thought of team names including:

•  Blue Warriors (blue team)
• Cheese Puffs (orange team)
• Bakas (red team)

We also invented our own team mascots and the best team mascot won three points for their team.

We will create our own team chants so that we can support our team when playing.

We elected a captain for each team, one that can be confident, encouraging and have good tactics.

At the very end of this block we will have a massive competition to decide the winner of this tournament. The team with the most points will earn a trophy. Points are earned by trying your best, good teamwork skills and of course winning matches.

You can earn an award for:

• The winning team
• Most valuable person
• Person who shows most respect
• Best teammate
• Best captain
• Most improved
• Best team mascot
• Best team chant

So far it’s been a very fun, enjoyable experience and a chance to develop your learning in a fun and interesting way.

–Irina

Primary 7 received their £5 from Virgin Money today. Pupils have been working very hard to in their groups to design a product that they think will sell. The pupils are now extremely excited to start buying resources to make their products.

We are looking forward to seeing the finished products and how well they sell. Good luck to all groups.

P7 have starting collaborating together working on the Virgin Money ‘Make £5 Grow’ challenge.

Pupils identified that they would need to demonstrate the following skills in order to become an effective team:

• teamwork
• ability to not give up
• be creative
• persuasion
• good listening
• confidence
• respectful

We are excited to see what innovative and creative products the groups come up with.

For more information:

https://make-5-grow.co.uk/ 

On Friday, we took part in a class debate at the council chambers.  Our motion was: the house proposes that all deforestation of the Amazon should stop.  All our hard work researching both sides paid off.  Lord provost certainly made us think and consider our points.

Today’s maths starter challenge left pupils in silence as they tried to find the fewest number of squares needed to fill a 11×13 rectangle grid.

The fewest we found was 6.

Our task in PE today was to come up with a new ball game in groups and then teach it to the rest of the class.  Here is what we came up with:

• Dead Dodge
• Kick Ball
• BallyVol
• Stop Ball