What have we been learning?

Hannah – I enjoyed designing our cars in art as it helped me improve my shading skills.

Dean – I liked doing our table topper marathon because it was fun playing a game together as a team.

Louise – I enjoyed learning about road safety videos. They really affect your emotions and that makes you follow the rules like wear your seatbelt.

Christopher A – It was fun learning about how to shade properly in art this week. It was also great working as a pair for the lesson.

Rabeea – It was great learning about times tables. We did times table toppers and it made learning them fun!

Sophie M – I liked redrafting my story called The Race. When redrafting you need to check your capital letters and spelling and update and add new things.

Fraser – I enjoyed doing the football trials this week and also art because I found it really fun.

Jane – I liked the Childline presentation on Monday. I learned how to keep myself safe and that if I have worries I can contact Childline. The number is 0800 1111.

Who has impressed?

Zenaib – I think everyone in the class has impressed me this week because they have been well behaved and hard working.

Louise – I was impressed by the Porsches table this week as they finished as table of the week ahead of the BMWs.

Sam – I think Fraser has impressed me because he managed to do loads more in maths than he did in p6.

Rebecca – Isla impressed me because she got our pupil of the week for making a great start to p7.

Taylor – I was impressed by Sophie M this week because she got captain of the football team.

Rabeea – Mr Welsh impressed me because he got a certificate for being a good head teacher.

Dean – The Primary 1 pupils impressed me becase they managed to eat lunch by themselves yesterday.

Mr Berginis – I was extremely impressed by everyone who took place in the football trials and they all deserved their place in the squad.

What have we been learning about?

Dean: I enjoyed writing the race and it helped me learn about adjectives and description.

Rabeea: I’ve enjoyed practising times tables and winning table of the week. We are improving our speed and accuracy in times tables.

Luke: We’ve been learning about times tables because we’ll need to use them in the future for lots of different things.

Zenaib: Everything has been great this week, especially maths and writing.

Christopher S: Writing out all of my times tables has helped me learn them.

Louise: I enjoyed when Mr Welsh took our class and we did a wordsearch challenge and I enjoyed working together with my table even though it was tricky.

Callum; I enjoyed everything this week, especially writing my story.

Jane: I liked writing about The Race and it was good to learn more about how to use descriptive words.

Who has impressed?

Isla: Mr Berginis impressed me with his drumming skills at assembly!

Sam: Josh has impressed me by keeping up his good behaviour.

Christopher A: I’m also impressed with Josh because he has managed not to move down our traffic light system.

Freya: I’m impressed with Dean winning pupil of the week for making a great start to p7.

Abbie: Taylor impressed me by beating her best score on Big Maths Beat That.

Alexander: Christopher S has impressed me by getting five stickers onto his chart already!

Taylor: Abbie has impressed me by beating her best score on Big Maths by 20 points!

Rabeea: Mr Berginis impressed me with his drumming and it was really funny to watch.

Louise: I’m impressed by everybody in the class because everybody has been working hard to earn so many table points.

Mr Berginis: I’m very impressed with how wonderful the class has been at supporting their p1 buddies.

How has your first week in p7 been?

Emma: “It has been a smashing week in p7 because it was our first week back.”

Taylor: “I’ve had a great week because I like my new teacher.”

Louise: “This week I’ve enjoyed surveying the traffic outside because it was fun.”

Christopher A: “Our class novel is called House of Secrets and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next.”

Jane: “I enjoyed creating things for our wall displays and I’m looking forward to next week.”

Callum: “Art has been my favourite this week and I designed December for our year display on the wall.”

What are you looking forward to this year?

Alexander: “I’m looking forward to going to the Risk Factory and going to Belgium.”

Abbie: “I am looking forward to doing p7 level maths and going to Belgium. Also doing spelling.”

Fraser: “I’m looking forward to studying the rainforest this year.”

Rabeea: “I’m excited about taking on the Edinburgh University Maths Challenge!”

Tom: “I’m looking forward to the Risk Factory, Belgium and studying WW2.”

Sophie M: “I’m looking forward to playing in the school football team.”

Dean: “I’m looking to the school football team, Belgium and doing WW2”

Amber: “I’m looking forward to all of the rest of p7!”

This week p7s visited Bathgate Academy for two days on Wednesday and Thursday as preparation for after the summer. Here are some of their thoughts…

Ramie: “I enjoyed the cafeteria because the hot dogs and donuts were really nice!”

Adrian: “In maths we had a teacher who could predict our numbers even though we hid them in sums.”

Abbie Madd.: “Science was great because we got to set our hand on fire! We dipped our hand in bubbly water so that the fire couldn’t harm us though.”

Sian: “I did my clarinet exam up at the high school and I’m proud of myself because I was very nervous before it. I get the results in two weeks.”

Dylan: “I liked science because we got to make custard bouncy balls and we learned about bunsen burners and how to stay safe.”

Ross: “In art we designed our names in graffiti style, it was fun.”

Ali: “We also learned how to do perspective drawing in the art class.”

Rhona: “I enjoyed CDT because we made little candle holders out of hardwood.”

Murray: “Music was really good and we were playing a South American song on the keyboards.”

Nathan: “I enjoyed science because we added hydrogen to the flames and made it pop!”

Kirstie: “Home Economics was good and I enjoyed making fairy cakes.”

Aisha: “Also in science we managed to suck an egg through the neck of a beaker using heat. It was cool!”

Amber: “I enjoyed the art lesson because we did still life drawings of plants.”

What have we learned this week?

Ross; it was fun going outside doing PE. I played basketball and it was energetic!

John; I enjoyed PE when I was playing castles because we haven’t played it in a while.

Shannon; I enjoyed maths. 

Who has impressed us this week?

Abbie Madden: My whole table has impressed me this week because we won table of the week!

Sophie: Sian and Henry have impressed me by working hard on their high school profiles!

Profile Week has been a little bit different for us in P7 this week as we have been focusing on writing very important profiles of ourselves which will be passed up to our high school. These profiles will help our new teachers get to know us and how we prefer to learn. It will also give them an insight into our achievements and awards and what we feel are our next steps.

It has been very interesting reflecting on ourselves and our time at Balbardie and we’ve had to be very honest about everything. Here are some examples of the comments in our profiles…

Eve: “I think I’m a good team member but sometimes it depends who is in my group with me.”

Amber: “I prefer learning by interacting in activities because I sometimes get bored and forget what we are learning when we just talk about it.”

Rhona: “When I work in a team I try to help and I’d like to improve my skills even more so I can give my team-mates better ideas.”

Murray: “I prefer learning by seeing things because it helps it stick in my mind. I also work well in a group because when you work together you have more chance of getting the task done.”

Aisha: “I sometimes find mental maths hard and I prefer to see the sum. I know most of my times tables though.”

John: “I’m proud of getting into the school football team and my time at Balbardie has been fun and a laugh.”

Abbie Ma.: “Sometimes I work best on my own but other times with a partner or group. It depends what I am doing. I’m a little chatty at times but most of the time I focus on the task.”

Sian: “My time at Balbardie has been great and when I’ve needed help the teachers have always been there for me.”

Dylan: “I prefer learning by doing things and hearing things but sometimes I get distracted. I never give up trying to get better though.”

On Monday evening, a team of primary 7 pupils represented the school at the annual Potted Sports competition at Bathgate Sports Centre.

They took part in a range of different challenges such as dribbling, shooting, and passing across twelve different events.

The girls team was: Aisha Adam, Amber Jackson, Abbie Megaughin, Abbie Madden, Shannon Butler and Sophie McMichael.

The boys team was: Cameron Arnott, Cameron Bowsfield. Craig Cherry, Adam Cherry, Henry Forehand and Kyle Morrison.

Mr Welsh, Miss McDougall and I all attended the event and were very proud of the excellent teamwork, effort and behaviour shown by all of our team members. Well done!

Congratulations go to Windyknowe Primary who were the winning school.

On Friday we had a V.E. Day party as an end to our World War 2 topic.  V.E (Victory in Europe) Day is celebrated on May 8th each year and signifies the end of WW2 in Europe.  As a class we looked at WW2 songs which were sung at that particular time and we noted that one was about the white cliffs of Dover 🙂 We made table centrepieces, hats out newspaper and V.E Day posters.  Thank you to Mrs Jamieson who made WW2 cookies with us using an authentic wartime recipe…not as sweet as we are used to but they tasted very nice.  We also had  meat paste, cucumber and jam sandwiches and we tasted SPAM meat…We decided that we quite like the taste!

Our learning this week:

Ramie: I enjoyed learning about and drawing Aztec gods this week.

Kyle: I enjoyed my week in school learning with Mr Stewart.

Murray:  I enjoyed P.E. this week playing football and netball with Mr Jeffries.

Sian: I enjoyed reading my book in class called “Diary of a wimpy Kid”.

Henry: I enjoyed P.E. this week because it was outdoors and it was fun!

Connor:  I enjoyed P.E. this week because I was good at netball.

Shannon:  I enjoyed drawing an Aztec god this week.

Ross:  Ramie has impressed me this week because he got his highest ever score on Big Maths Beat That.

Mr Berginis: Lyndsay has impressed me this week with her work on decimal fractions and keeping the team score correct on the board.

Katie: Sian has impressed me this week because she achieved her highest ever score in Big Maths Beat That.

Connor: Murray impresed me because he was the only person to score a goal in football this week.

Lyndsay: Shannon impressed me this week getting her highest ever score in Big Maths Beat That. 

What a busy day!

We went shopping this morning before heading off to Passchendaele to visit the Tyne Cot cemetery. It is the biggest Commonwealth cemetery in central Europe and contains the names of 30,000 fallen soldiers and almost 2000 graves.

Next we visited the memorial museum and learned about the battles of Ypres and ventured through a reconstruction of an underground trench system.

Out next stop was the German Langemark cemetery followed by our visit to the Bayernwald trenches. We had an hour to run around here and explore the various trench systems and bunkers. We had a massive game of tig which even Mr Welsh joined in!

Our final stop of the day was at the Menin Gate where we took part in the daily Last Post ceremony. Kirstie and Ross represented the school as head boy and girl and laid our school wreath amongst the others.

It has been a very interesting and moving day.

One more sleep left then it is time for Plopsaland and the journey back home…

Hello everyone!

We’ve just arrived back at the hotel after spending the day in Holland. The weather has been fantastic once again today.

In the morning we journeyed to see a clogmaker named Boyd who gave us a demonstration of the different techniques that have been used over the years to make clogs and the different uses. We got a chance to have a look around his workshop and even the chance to buy some mini clogs which Boyd was kind enough to engrave for us. Here’s Boyd doing the demonstration…

This afternoon we went to De Haan and enjoyed a couple of hours in the water park. Everyone had a ball and took advantage of the flumes, jacuzzis, waves, rapids and outdoor pool. Here are some of us enjoying a relaxing jacuzzi…

It’s nearly time for dinner and then we’ll be heading back up to the beach for some more fun before rounding off the day with waffles or frites!

Greetings from a very sunny and warm Blankenberge.

Another jam-packed (or should I say chocolate-packed day!)

We begun the day with a continental breakfast and then headed off to the Chocolate Factory. We learned how chocolate was made and watched a demonstration by the chocolatier before getting to taste some freshly made samples. Then we headed over for a try of the chocolate fountain and then we went shopping in the gift shop. There was lots of chocolates bought so hopefully some make their way home to the rest of the family to enjoy! Check out our picture below…

The rest of the day we spent exploring the ancient city of Bruges. Highlights included the Beguinage monastery, the Belfry Tower, Market Square and Canal Boat Ride. Mr Welsh treated everyone to frites as a mid-afternoon snack and they were delicious. The sun has been shining all day so we spent some time in the park and then finished off tonight with an hour up at the beach.

Looking forward to tomorrow already and our trip to the clogmaker and the water park. 🙂

It’s been a very busy Monday here in Belgium. We arrived at Calais around 9am this morning and then we made a special stop off at Dunkirk to take in the scene of the famous rescue in June 1940. We learned about how the events of Dunkirk fitted in with the rest of World War 2 during our studies earlier this year so it was fantastic to see the beaches with our own eyes. Check out our picture at the monument below…

We have been very fortunate with the weather today, the sun has been shining and it’s been pretty warm. We spent the afternoon at the beach enjoying the sunshine, playing football and having lots of fun. We explored Blankenberge and made ourselves  comfortable in our rooms. The hotel has been renovated since last year and is looking absolutely fantastic.

Tonight we’ve enjoyed a delicious dinner in the hotel and then headed back to the beach for some more sandy fun. Our final call tonight was the waffle stand while a few of us decided to go for frites. A wonderful first day! 🙂

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN LEARNING ABOUT?

Sian – I enjoyed learning about Aztec glyphs. I enjoyed making my own version of the glyphs. Aztecs used glyphs instead of words.

Aisha – I enjoyed learning about all the different animals which are looked after by the SSPCA such as exotic animals and foxes and hedgehogs.

Kyle – I enjoyed the SSPCA workshop because it was interesting to see how they catch animals when they are loose. We got told a story about a snake on the loose which she had to catch!”

Eve – I enjoyed learning about deforestation this week. A piece of the rainforest the size of the UK is being destroyed every year.”

Amber – I enjoyed watching the Stars in their Eyes competition. It was funny watching Mr Welsh and Mr Berginis doing PJ and Duncan.

Jack – I learned how to work with decimal fractions in money and in lengths. After the decimal point there is a tenths column, a hundredths column and then a thousandths column.

Ali – I enjoyed learning about the Aztec glyphs, it was interesting that they used pictures instead of words.

Murray – In drama we were learning how to create different accents for different characters. It was fun.

WHO HAS IMPRESSED?

Connor – the whole class has impressed me by making Mr Stewart feel welcome in our classroom.

Lyndsay, Abbie Meg, Katie – Mr Stewart has impressed us by doing well to remember all of our names so quickly.

Murray – Ramie impressed me by beating his best score on Big Maths Beat That.

Ramie – Sian has really impressed by trying really hard at our drama elective.

Adam – Aidan Erskine from 7m impressed me by improving enough to get out on the golf course.

Abbie Madden – Alfie from P1 impressed me by doing so well at Stars in their Eyes and by winning it!

Kyle – Mr Welsh and Mr Berginis impressed with their version of Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble at Stars in their Eyes!

Sian – Abbie Madden has impressed by doing really well in the role of Dodger in drama.

Mr Stewart – P7b have impressed me with how welcoming they have been and with how confident and knowledgable they have been when speaking to me.

What have we been learning this week?

Kyle – I enjoyed learning to sketch. I had to make my animal as realistic as possible and go step by step. My animal was a red eyed tree frog.

Ramie -In our elective the drama group were learning how to put our own make-up on. It’s really difficult to do on your own so get someone to help.

Sian – I was in the drama group as well and we learned how to put face paint on and my tip would be to really concentrate when doing it.

Aisha – In the Masterchef elective I learned how to make banoffee pie. We put banana on top of ours but you could actually put any fruit on top.

Murray – I learned about the three different types of fraction which are proper, improper and mixed fraction.

Ross – I enjoyed learning how to convert from one type of fraction to another and how to add fractions this week.

Billie – During Keeping Myself Safe, I learned that if someone you don’t know does something to make you uncomfortable you should try and make sharp exit.

Who has impressed?

Lyndsay – Amber has impressed me by working hard and completing the Amazon Challenge.

Kirstie – Kyle and Ramie have done really well to reach the final of Stars in their Eyes.

Connor – John has impressed me with his animal sketching. He created a sketch of a wolf spider.

John – Craig C has impressed me by  working hard to catch up on the fractions work he had missed.

Ramie – Abbie Madden has impressed by trying really hard with her audition  and getting the part of the Artful Dodger.

Kyle – John has impressed me by beating everybody else at the Fractions Table Toppers game.

Murray – Amber impressed at swimming by being the only person to get moved up a group.

Mr Berginis – A special well done to Amber on being the second person to complete the Amazon Challenge. Well done! 🙂

A couple of weeks ago we made these fantastic Chinese kites with Mr Chen and we took them out for a test flight. Check out the video below…

or Click here for video…

It wasn’t a very windy day so we had to run with them but we’re looking forward to the next really windy (but not snowy!) day so we can give them a proper test!

Our week:

Amber: “It was cool when we did the smoke machine during our tobacco workshop. You could see how dirty the water got and the bottle because of the smoke. I didn’t realise that happened when people smoked.”

John: “I was in a group with Craig and Craig and we researched insects. The three we focused on were the driver ant, Hercules beetle and praying mantis.”

Abbie Meg.: “I enjoyed doing the group research task. My group researched reptiles and it was interesting finding out the different facts. We discovered that chameleons actually change colour because of their temperature.”

Sian: “I was also in Abbie’s group and I discovered Caiman crocodiles can grow up to four metres and that there is a reptile called a dragon lizard.”

Nathan: “I enjoyed watching the p6 show Alice in Wonderland. My favourite part was the White Rabbit. The pupil who played him did really well.”

Aqsa: “Connor and I researched types of frogs and we discovered that the poison arrow frog changes its colour depending on its mood!”

Kyle: “Jack, Adrian and I researched types of birds. We focused on the toucan, scarlet macaw and harpy eagle. Scarlet macaws can fly at 30mph!”

Kirstie: “I enjoyed doing the sports elective again this week. I played football and we practised our shooting and then in the games I scored eight goals.”

Ramie: “I enjoyed the Thursday afternnon too. My group are doing drama and we were given out our scripts for Grease, Wizard of Oz and Oliver. I’m nervous!”

Who has impressed?

Adam: “Nathan has impressed me because during our group research he worked hard and managed to keep everything going.”

Craig C: “John has impressed me by bringing in his homework on time and earning us table points.”

Shannon: “Sophie has impressed because during our football session she tried her best and scored a good goal. It was a right foot curler!”

Abbie Ma.: “Ramie impressed me at drama because he was working really hard to get the dances right.”

Lyndsay: “Kirstie has impressed me by being the first person to complete our Amazon Challenge.”

Billie: “Sian has impressed me by working hard all week.”

Connor: “Aqsa has impressed me because during our research task she worked hard on the power point and made a great job of it.”

Mr Berginis: “Well done to everybody for showing good perseverance to understand the aspects of fractions we’ve been working on.”

Congratulations to Kirstie McIntosh who has successfully completed all ten parts of the Amazon Challenge.

She opened the mysterious chest and was rewarded with the prizes inside.

The chest has the power to regenerate more prizes so we wonder who will be next to complete the challenge…