Throughout October, we have been celebrating Black History Month, during which time we have been learning about the experiences, talents and achievements of some well-known black people, particularly those living in Scotland. We looked at some fact cards and recorded key pieces of information in shortened note form. This is a skill that we will use in lots of different situations in our lives, e.g. at meetings, when health professionals see patients and write down their symptoms, when studying for exams and when learning key phrases in another language. We have also explored the issue of racism and have a greater understanding of the effects of racist language and behaviour on the victims. When watching the documentary film ‘Black and Scottish’, we learned about the experience of some mixed race people, who had sometimes felt that they didn’t belong to any group, as they were seen as neither black nor white. We understood that black and mixed race people have faced lots of difficulties living in Scotland and across the world, and we are committed to treating people of all ethnicities and backgrounds equally and respectfully.

We developed our line drawing skills when creating eye-catching images. A couple of weeks ago, we created illustrations of an i-Phone, incorporating small details, such as the camera lens and app layout.

This month, we have enjoyed further opportunities to meet with our buddies. We are also thrilled to be beginning our buddying rota very soon. This will mean that for one week every month, we shall be playing with and helping our buddies in the playground at first break and lunchtime. What an exciting opportunity!

On Wednesday this week, we joined with our peers to have our first Committees session. During this time, we are making suggestions and decisions that will help to improve learners’ experiences in our school. In P6c, we have representatives from LOTS of different committees! Here are some of the things we discussed:

• The STEAM Committee were discussing ways in which access to technology could be improved in order to support our learning.
• The Fairtrade Committee were learning more about the importance of Fairtrade and how it benefits farmers across the world. The members of this committee will be trying to raise awareness of the benefits of buying Fairtrade products.
• The Pupil Council discussed positive changes that could be made to our school. For example, we would like to provide more fountains for drinking water to avoid big queues in hot weather. We also discussed ways in which to improve storage of first aid supplies, such as ice packs.
• The Road Safety Committee worked together to create a ‘top ten’ list of tips to help children stay safe when out trick-or-treating for Halloween. For example, wearing reflective patches alongside your costume will help make you more visible to motorists.
• The Library Committee discussed some ways in which to improve our school library. For example, we would like to invite people to donate their old books in order to improve our selection.
• The Languages Committee realised that the learners at our school speak a wide variety of languages, so they suggested that we could display signs in a variety of different languages.
• The Music Committee were discussing ways to provide learners with opportunities to share their talents within the arts. We suggested hosting more talent shows.
• The Enterprise Committee were discussing ways in which we could raise money. One of our members suggested setting up stalls to sell different products. The money raised could be donated to charities or school funds.
• Our ‘Digital Leaders’ were sharing ways in which we could improve the use of digital technology to enhance our learning. We also received training on updating learner profiles and made arrangements for teaching these skills to other classes.
• The Rights Respecting School Committee were discussing how rights are accessed in our school, and new Rights Ambassadors were given the responsibility of visiting other classes to teach our peers about their rights.

This week, we have been learning many new skills when completing Halloween-themed activities! For example, we worked with Mrs Cameron to create nutritious and delicious pumpkin soup. We also developed our confidence within writing when creating imaginative Halloween stories. Each day, we focused on one paragraph, identifying the important elements that should be included. Miss O’Hara is very impressed with our finished products! We are all very excited about tomorrow’s Halloween extravaganza, when we will dress up in amazing costumes and take part in fantastic themed activities!

Wow, that was such a long blog! Thank you for reading and please join us again next month to find out about November’s wonderful learning experiences!

P6c and Miss O’Hara