Tag Archives: collaborating

The pull of the tide!

Primary 2 had an exciting, hands-on learning experience at Sound Beach, where we explored the fascinating world of tides and the moon’s role in creating them. The visit combined science, fun, and a little bit of magic as the children measured tides, investigated rock pools, and enjoyed the wonders of the seaside.


Morning Mysteries: Investigating High Tide

We began our adventure in the morning, just as the tide was nearing its highest point. Armed with sticks and big imaginations, the children worked in groups to place their markers at the edge of the water. They were amazed to learn that the moon’s gravitational pull helps control the movement of the ocean!

“I wonder where the sticks will be when we come back”
” Do you think someone will steal them?”

After placing our markers, we had time to explore nearby rock pools, where we discovered tiny crabs, slippery seaweed, and even a few shiny shells that looked like treasures.


Afternoon Exploration: Low Tide Discoveries

When we returned to Sound Beach in the afternoon, the scene had completely changed! The water had pulled far back, exposing sandy stretches and more rock pools to explore. The children were thrilled to see how far their sticks were from the water now—it was a powerful visual of the tide’s movement.

“Wow!! Look how far away the water is”

“Look, our stick is still in the sand”

We measured the distance between the morning high tide and the afternoon low tide using footsteps, sparking lots of curiosity about how far the water travels and how the moon manages this incredible feat.


A Playful Finish

After all our hard work measuring and observing, it was time for some well-earned fun! The children jumped into rock pools, created sand angels, and even unearthed a few “hidden treasures” like shells and smooth pebbles.


What We Learned

Back in the classroom, we talked about how the moon’s gravity pulls on the Earth’s water, creating high and low tides.

JRSO

Junior Road Safety Officers in Action: Promoting “Be Bright and Be Seen”

This term, our Primary 2 class has taken on the exciting role of Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSOs), exploring ways to stay safe on and near roads. The children have been enthusiastic participants in various engaging activities designed to teach them how to keep themselves and others safe. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to!


Creative Posters: Spreading the Message

Our budding artists turned into safety advocates during a poster-making session to promote the importance of being visible while near roads. Using bright highlighters, glitter, and bold designs, the children illustrated key messages, ensuring they would catch the eye of anyone passing by.

Here’s what some of the pupils had to say about their creations:

  • “Be bright and be seen!”
  • “You need to wear something bright so the cars can see you in the dark”

The finished posters are now proudly displayed around the classroom and will be shown at the school assembly next week.


Learning from the Lollipop Man

Our local lollipop man, Tony, visited the class to share his wisdom about staying safe on the roads. The children listened intently as he explained how he helps people cross roads safely and why it’s important to stop, look, and listen before crossing.


A Crossing Demonstration

The highlight of the afternoon was a practical demonstration where Tony showed the children exactly how to cross safely, emphasizing the importance of waiting for cars to stop before stepping onto the road.

After the demonstration, the pupils practiced crossing under supervision, confidently repeating key lessons:

  • “It’s safe to cross at a zebra crossing”
  • “You should not run on the road.”

Why JRSO Activities Matter

These activities are part of our wider road safety focus, helping our young learners develop lifelong skills and awareness about staying safe in different environments. By combining creative tasks, hands-on experiences, and expert advice, the children are not only learning but actively advocating for road safety within their community.

We’re proud of our Junior Road Safety Officers for their hard work and enthusiasm in promoting these important messages. Keep an eye out for their dazzling posters around school, and remember:
Be bright, be seen, and stay safe!

Metacognition skills: communicating, collaborating, leading, creativity, focusing

Block Play

Look at our fantastic block play models from the year so far. The pupils block play has been progressing all term.  Pupils are now really motivated to build at height, to make patterns with loose parts and to create stories around their buildings.

So many meta-skills are observed in block play in P2A, communicating, focusing, collaborating, initiative, critical thinking to name a few.  Pupils are beginning to link their play to the meta-skills themselves here are some pupil quote from today:

‘We made a castle, with a pool and a rainbow bridge for diving in. Me and my friends were being focusing Fergus a – we couldn’t figure out how to balance the bridge then we moved some blocks and it worked!’

Reading Detectives

We were using our ‘Collaborating Cora’ meta-skill today, working as a group to take turns within a group to complete a task.
We used our reading books and became detectives today we were looking for:

– Common words, words which include diagraphs and words including the letter ‘t’.

Pupil Voice:

‘I found ‘are’ on page 4 if you look next to the word Dad you will see it.’
‘My group found lots of ‘oa’ diagraph words ‘toad, load goat!’

Welcome back!

After our October break, we kicked off the new term with an amazing Halloween party alongside the next-door P2 class. It was a fantastic way to celebrate, get moving, and try a few new things together.

🎶 Musical Monster Bumps & Statues 🎶

First, we put on our dancing shoes (and a few funny costumes) to play Musical Monster Bumps and Statues! The music played, and everyone showed off their best dance moves until it suddenly stopped—then we had to freeze like statues. Some of us had serious concentration faces, and a few funny faces snuck in too! There was plenty of laughter as everyone gave their best poses.

🧠 Finding Sweets in the “Brain”

One of the biggest challenges of the day was searching for treats inside a pumpkin “brain” (filled with slimy spaghetti!). Each of us had to reach in, feel around, and find a hidden sweet. It felt strange and squishy, but everyone gave it a try. And yes—there were plenty of “ewws!” and giggles, but by the end, each of us found a little treat to enjoy.

🌲 2D and 3D Shape Hunt with Our Buddies! 🌲

After all the indoor fun, we got outside to work with our P6 buddies on a shape hunt around the wildlife area. Together, we searched for as many 2D and 3D shapes as we could find. We spotted circles in trees, rectangles on the wall, and even discovered a few spheres and cuboids hiding in plain sight. It was a perfect way to bring our learning about shapes to life and connect with our buddies at the same time.

Our class had a fantastic return to school, and we’re excited for more learning and new adventures this term. Until next time, we’ll be keeping our eyes open for even more shapes and challenges around us!

Warm wishes from P2! 🎉

 

IDL through Play

A lovely example of children taking their learning into their play. After our topic lesson learning about the Lerwick Town Hall yesterday. I noticed today learners had applied their knowledge of the shapes and structure of the Town Hall and they used the loose parts, magnetic tiles and wooden dolls do recreate the Town Hall. As we spoke learners shared the following knowledge and understanding that they had learned from our topic lesson the day before:

‘Look this is where the clock tower is and it rings every hour and half past!’
‘here is where you can get married with the stain window glass’

Learners asked for this to go in the class block play floor book. They also shared that they were using their collaboration meta skills.

STEM – IDL Town Hall Models

Our topic is Lerwick, pupils asked to learn about the buildings in Lerwick. Today we spoke about the Town Hall, its uses and how/when it was build and made models using pasta and playdoh. We were focusing on the meta-skill of collaborating and added our learning to our IDL working wall. Pupil comments:

‘if we make a square then it will make it stronger when we add walls’

‘you hold this part and I will hold this side and she can get the roof on, the roof is a triangle!’

‘My parents got married at the town hall upstairs!’

Meta-skill Link – listening to and valuing other people’s opinions and developing language of collaborative learning.