14 children from P6 and P7 participated in the Cross Country School Championships that were held at Bannockburn High on Tuesday 6th February.
We are currently awaiting the results. Watch this space….
All posts by Mrs Kellas
Over the past 2 weeks…..
Primary 4/5K have been working on Coin Multiplication which involves the multiplication of 2 digit numbers by 1,2,5,10,20,50 and 100 – the value of certain coins in pence. It is beneficial to know how to multiply, double and half numbers to complete the coin multiplication cards. The class have been practising using taught strategies and by playing educational math games on the i-Pads.
Our Science and Technology lessons continued with the recording of our pulse before and after exercise to test the hypothesis, ‘Does exercise increase your heart rate?’ Our results showed that for the majority of children it did, however we realised that taking your own pulse is quite difficult to do. So with the help of Mr Grant the class are going to build a sensor from computer parts that can do that for us!
In pairs the children used the laptops to research key facts about their chosen form of animation and created a document to share their findings with the rest of the class. They have now made a thaumatrope and a zoetrope in school, which were 2 forms of early animation. Unsure what they are? Ask your child to explain how they work….
Congratulations to our Primary 5 children in the class who were awarded certificates for their personal achievements in swimming.
Well done boys and girls!
Busy as Usual
All the children enjoyed their Christmas Holiday and have been working hard since they returned.
Our current focus for Maths and Numeracy is working with numbers up to 2 or 3 decimal places. We have identified the value of the digits, their position in a number line and why decimals are important to recognise; measurement and money are examples. The class always enjoy the interactive games we play to consolidate their learning.
We are starting a new topic on Animation and Disney; the children worked within 3 groups and created mind maps to show me their current level of understanding and what they would like to find out. Watch this space!
Mr Grant is back with us again this term to support our Science and Technology lessons. We are currently planning our Health and Wellbeing experiments and the equipment we shall need to support each.
Miss. White, our Music Specialist, worked this week with a group of children who volunteered to perform at our forthcoming Scottish Assembly.
This morning we took part in Week 1 of our Cricket Taster Session. Lots of fun was had by all.
For Literacy I introduced direct speech by playing a ‘Guess Who Said’ game. First a ‘post it’ was placed on the back of a child and the class had to say a statement or expression associated with the famous person/character until they could be identified. Next each child wrote 3 different expressions in their jotter that they knew could be identified by their classmates. They continued to play this during lunch time. Why don’t you try this at home…..
The Body
The class have started a new topic about the body. At the moment we are finding out about some of the internal organs , where they are located and their function.
Our first investigation after exploring the lungs was to blow up a balloon and see how big we could make it. There was a great variety in their size. We discussed the reasons that may have had an affect on size and wrote a report on our investigation.
Swimming
The P5 children, from P4/5K, will begin swimming lessons as of next week. They shall attend The Peak twice a week, a Monday and a Wednesday, with P5 children from P5/6A. Please ensure your child brings their swimming costume and a towel and has a warm jacket to wear.
Dr Seuss Day
Primary 4/5K ended their topic by having a Dr Seuss Day. Everyone in the class was invited to dress up in a Dr Seuss costume related to the 3 books we had focussed our learning on; Cat in the Hat, Oh the Places You’ll Go! and The Lorax. In the morning each child in the class invited along one person, from within the school, to share their learning with and to take part in Dr Seuss activities. In the afternoon we had a celebration playing Dr Seuss games, eating party food and watching animated versions of the books we had read. A fun day was had by all.
|STEM WEEK
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
Glasgow Science Centre visited the school at the beginning of the STEM week. On Monday they talked about the body and how it works. On Tuesday they held a workshop where the class tested their balance, strength, concentration, speed and dexterity.
In class we each made a Lorax Grass Head and looked at what is needed to make grass grow. We also made Whisper-ma-Phones, like the Once-Ler had, from paper cups and string. The class are more aware of what helps to make sound travel and have had fun whispering messages to each other.
On Wednesday morning we had a visit from Michael Horne, an Electrical Engineer, who talked to the class about his job and the skills required before he set them a task to be completed on the laptops and I-pads while answering the children’s questions. On Wednesday afternoon we had Mr Grant, a Computing Scientist, who discussed different types of networks and through a practical activity showed the children how the internet works.
On Thursday morning we carried out an experiment on water filtration to see which material worked best. In The Lorax the Humming Fish had to leave because of water pollution, how could we have helped? Choosing small stones, large stones, sand or paper the children voted which they felt would best filter the dirty water; the paper worked best. Putting all 4 together we watched how clean the water came through and discussed when people might need to filter water this way. In the afternoon we had a mechanic, Mia, who was able to share her experience of working in a garage for a large well known company. A few of the children were surprised when the mechanic turned out to be female and they liked sharing stories with her about the cars their family own.
Our final day was Friday, Laura-Ann Horne, a Pharmacist, visited the class to discuss her occupation, illness and safety issues relating to medication. The children managed to ask questions for 45 minutes! They learned lots and are very keen to find out more about how the body works. Which is great as we are planning to develop this further in Term 2.
Maths is a subject covered daily in school so for the children this was nothing new. However they did become aware of how important the subject is if wishing to pursue a career in the other areas covered this week.
A great time was had by all and for many it was an opportunity to show off the skills and insight they have into the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Well done P4/5K!
P4/5 ‘Design Engineers’ – Collaborative Learning
The class have been learning all about what it is to be a design engineer. In the role of design engineers they were set the task of constructing a tower, to be as tall as possible, using only art straws and plasticine. They were given scissors at the group table and a time limit of 45 minutes was given. I observed and recorded their progress and some comments made throughout the task. No adult support or intervention was allowed. How did they do?
When finished the class decided they need to continue to work on their group skills of communicating with each other before and during a task, their planning before starting a task, deciding group roles based on individuals’ skills and staying positive and persevering regardless of the challenges they face. Although they were not all pleased with their completed tower they learned so much about what it takes to complete a group task successfully. This should be reflected upon when they are given their next practical group task. Watch this space…….
Road Race Primary 6 and 7
SSAA Road Race
Are you in Primary 6 or Primary 7? Do you like running? Are you keen to run in a race?
Let Mrs. Kellas know if you would be interested in entering the SSAA Road Race as part of a relay team. The school does not provide transport but applications do have to be submitted through the school. Further information available below:
Date Event/ Venue
28th October
Primary Schools Road Relay Championships
Grangemouth Stadium
Closing date for application end of September.
Class Information
Welcome to Primary 4/5K
The class enjoyed the first week getting to know each other and getting to know me better. We have now established our class timetable, our learning objectives and began our topic on Dr Seuss.
The lockers have not arrived yet but they are expected very soon. This will enable the class to have their own space to leave their bags and jackets throughout the day. Indoor shoes are still a priority to keep the classroom floors clean as the school is looking great following a summer of further refurbishment.
Homework this year shall be issued throughout the week with instructions on what to complete and due date identified. Please check your child’s diary regularly and sign. The diary can be used to communicate with myself with messages regarding the curriculum or attendance. I am also available before or after school if you wish to speak to me personally.
It is apparent that there are still some items of clothing that are not labelled. To ensure your child’s clothes can be easily identified, particularly on P.E. days, please write their name and class on as clearly as possible.
Please continue to access the blog regularly to see what the class have been up to.
Thank you in advance your co-operation. I look forward to a fun-filled and productive year with P4/5.
Mrs. Kellas
