Author: Mrs Johnson

It is great to be back after the Easter break, made even better by the lovely weather we have had this week.

On Tuesday afternoon Emma Chittick joined us for our last two sessions for this school year.  We are using these sessions to learn about solar and wind power.  This week we focused on solar power. The pupils worked in pairs to design a structure to support a solar panel, then they measured the amount of energy collected.  They then discussed how their designs worked and problem solved improvements.

It was great to be able to welcome the Jarl Squad in for SMUHA this year! The weather held up and we had a great time seeing and hearing the squad and seeing the galley.

To celebrate World Book Day this year we held a book tasting in P6/7.  The kids chose books from the book buffet to read for 5 minutes.  They then recorded their thoughts on the book on their menu.  This was repeated 5 times.  At the end of the book tasting the kids all chose one of the books that they had sampled to continue reading when they next need a new book.

In addition to this the kids also created front covers to either their favourite book or the class novel (The Boy at the Back of the Class).

I am really proud of the reading culture we have in this class year round. It is very rewarding and heartwarming to hear the kids sharing their bookish recommendations and to see them all push themselves out of their reading comfort zone.  Well done gang!

This week we have been revisiting the Zones of Regulation and the 5 Ways to Wellbeing; be giving, be learning, be active, be mindful and be connected.  We have been discussing the importance of having a variety of tools in our wellbeing toolbox to ensure that when things are not going well and we find ourselves in the yellow zone (anxious/ over excited), red zone (uncontrollable anger/ excitement) or the blue zone (sad/ tired) we have lots of strategies at our disposal to help.  The pupils learned about the importance of having a Growth Mindset which promotes approaching challenges with a positive outlook. The learners then chose their own inspirational quote to illustrate.

We were lucky enough to have Dynamic Earth visit the school yesterday.  It was great having Blair, a marine scientist, in to share is knowledge.  We learned about the zones of the sea, the creatures that live there, food webs and so much more.  We conducted experiments to investigate the effect of pressure as you get deeper into the ocean, the impact of acids on coral reefs and how some creatures use light to camouflage themselves and attract or deter creatures.

This week the pupils have been learning to use a computer programming website called Scratch.  They have learned how to animate a character, change backgrounds, make music, tell a story and even to make a simple game.  This has meant using lots of ‘meta’ skills such as critical thinking, adapting, creativity, sense making and initiative. I have been really impressed with what they have created so far and I can’t wait to see how they develop their skills further.  Your child can log on to their Scratch account at home (using their username and school code  from Sumdog combined as their username for Scratch and the same password as their Sumdog) meaning that you can see their creations too!

This week we were lucky enough to head to town to see the Jarl squad.  Thankfully the weather held out and we had a fantastic morning.  The kids were incredibly well behaved and were a credit to the school.

Three Cheers for the Cunningsburgh Bairns!

This week we were learning about different types of renewable and non-renewable energies, I wonder how many the kids can remember?

On Monday afternoon P7 worked on a, really tricky, set of loop cards about energy where each question led to the answer and the next question.  Both team worked exceptionally well together and showed great perseverance when the loop didn’t quite work leading to a successful outcome for both teams.

Meanwhile, P6 were busy with active schools coordinator Jennifer Thompson working on the Young Leaders Programme.  This award trains them to lead play sessions with younger pupils developing key skills such as collaboration, communication, leadership and initiative.  

We have an exceptional reading culture in the class with all learners reading on a daily basis.  There is nothing I love more than to hear them swapping book recommendations or negotiating how to get the book they want.

This term we are reading The Boy at the Back of the Class as a class novel.  This is an excellent book with themes of friendship, belonging and war.

T3 W3 – Homework Grid

HAPPY SNOW DAY!

Please find attached a grid filled with valuable learning activities that the kids can do today if you are looking for something to occupy their time.  If, however, you would rather your child get outside, enjoy the snow and take advantage of this extra downtime that is absolutely fine, there is no pressure. Please send in some snow day pictures, I would love to see them all sledging, building snowmen and making snow angels 🙂