Wow – what a term it has been! I can’t believe we are already half way through Primary 7, it seems to be flying by.

FemEng

So much of our learning this term has been focused around our FemEng topic and the children have worked so hard throughout the term. This topic has been really interesting and has really opened our eyes to the different career opportunities within STEM. It was split into different weeks and we learned so much in each different part of the topic.

We started off with an introduction to FemEng – what the society is and what they aim to do. We looked at different areas of STEM and how they were related to engineering. We were very lucky to have two different Teams calls, one with an engineer and one with the FemEng society. The children were able to ask some really interesting questions and found out lots of information about what a degree and job within engineering look like.

Our first area of engineering we looked at was aeronautical engineering. The children learned all about air resistance and how engineers have to take this into account when they are designing aircraft. Our project this week was to create our own gliders using paper, tape and blue tac. The children were really engaged in learning about how Formula 1 engineers have to take air resistance into account when designing the cars to make them the fastest they can be. They created some great posters showing the evolution of F1 cars over the years.

The next area we learned about was biomedical engineering. After a short introduction to what DNA is and how it makes us who we are, the children got to work on creating their own model DNA. We used wine gums and toothpicks to create the different strands of DNA which make us unique – including our hair colour, eye colour, height, dominant hand and our nose shape! Although it was very tempting to eat the wine gums, the children managed to do this very successfully. We then completed explanation texts to show exactly what DNA is.

Following this, we looked at civil engineering. This was a very interesting week which had a lot of real life context to it. We created our own inclusive playgrounds using a website called Tinkercad, and had to look at an engineer’s log book prior to completing this task. It was very interesting to see how they plan out a project like this! We then made suspension bridges using bottles, paper, tape, string and lots of concentration! This was definitely very fiddly work, but the children worked together to help each other and create some fantastic bridges.

The last area that we looked at was mechanical engineering. We completed a case study on wind turbines, and the children had to decide where they were going to place their turbines on the fictional island. They then had to take into account the residents and fellow engineers opinions and decide whether they were going to change location. We looked at different types of renewable energy and their advantages and disadvantages. The children were able to link this to prior learning they had from previous years.

This was a very unique and interesting topic that the children enjoyed. It was great to see the different things they were able to make as part of the workshops, and hopefully will inspire some of them to pursue a career in engineering!

Numeracy

Although we looked at different areas of numeracy within FemEng (such as measure, data handling and speed, distance and time) we also did lots out with this.

The children worked extremely hard on long multiplication using different methods such as the formal algorithm (upstairs downstairs) and the grid method. They were able to explain which method they preferred and why that worked for them. We then linked this learning to division, working with up to 4 and 5 digits to complete division sums. The children are becoming more confident in solving word problems with multiplication and division, picking out the information they need and deciding which operation is required to solve the problem.

Literacy

Most of our literacy this term was again, covered through our topic. The children looked at lots of different writing genres – such as procedural and explanation. As mentioned above, they were able to create some fantastic pieces explaining all about DNA and what it is. We will be working very hard next term on our writing to cover a couple of different genres.

In grammar, the children looked at how to write cohesively. They worked on how to make their writing flow, using connectives and linking their paragraphs. This will help them when we come to writing our essays for the high school next term!

HWB

Our Jigsaw learning this term has been focused on equalities and discrimination. The children handled this topic in a very mature and sensible way and were able to relate it back to the learning they did in term one with Declan from Sense Over Sectarianism.

We looked at the difference between discrimination and prejudice, and how they can present in different scenarios. We explored the protected characteristics from the Equalities Act 2010 and were able to explain situations where people faced discrimination based on these characteristics. The children then produced some fantastic presentations all about a famous person of their choice who has experienced discrimination within their life and how they overcame it. It was very inspirational to see that these people have not allowed the hatred they have faced to hold them back.

We did some interesting lessons during Anti-Bullying Week and the children were able to produce some great videos showing different bullying scenarios and how to deal with them. The children loved wearing their odd socks to school, as usual, to celebrate Anti-Bullying Week.

In PE, the children have been working on dance with Mrs McLaughlin. We were so sad to see her move on to a new school, but excited to have Mrs Wylie to take the children for PE towards the end of this term and into next term.

RE

This term, our Jigsaw work was closely linked with RE as it related equalities and discrimination to the Catholic teachings from the Bible. We were able to discuss how we should all accept each other and love each other for who we are, celebrating differences.

We made some headway on our preparation for Confirmation – looking at different Saints and how they lived their lives in such an inspirational way. We look forward to choosing a Saint for our Confirmation name.

We have also looked at different aspects of Advent, and how we can show kindness throughout this time.

It has been a whirlwind of a term and the children have worked very hard – I am very proud of them all. I hope you all have a lovely time over the Christmas and New Year period and enjoy celebrating with your loved ones. I look forward to welcoming the children back in the new year ready to start another term with lots of learning and exciting opportunities!

Thank you,

Miss Nugent