We were lucky enough to have a visit from the Generation Science team who came in to teach us all about sound. They helped us understand about sound waves and the movement of air. This was a really fun practical session and the children really enjoyed taking part.
P5,6,7 were lucky enough to have  a street dancing course and i am sure you will agree from the pictures everyone really enjoyed learning some new moves.
It’s been an interesting few days for ASD1. At the Assembly on Friday 6th January we were given a mystery box and told we were not allowed to open it. Miss Carson had to carry it with her at break and lunchtime and we had to LOOK, THINK and WONDER about the box.
We were able to see that the box was tall and narrow, it didn’t weigh much and something moved inside when we held it. We thought it might be a soft toy or sand or a few other things. We wrote down everything we thought about what was inside.
Finally, the moment arrived and we opened our box today (Wednesday 11th January) to find a very funny umbrella. It is made of wood and paper. We will be doing some activities about our umbrella over the next few days but the first things we wanted to do was dress up as the person who owns it.
Who do you think we are?
Firstly all the staff would like to say a massive thank you to all the parents and carers that managed to make it along to support their children. I’m sure you will agree that great fun was had by all and you were as relieved as us with the weather staying dry for the whole event.
For the first week of term the new Primary 1 class and their buddies (including primary 5) planned, organised and went on a Teddy bears picnic. Whether the activity  was creating some pretty nifty teddy bear invitations or  baking some teddy bear biscuits all the children involved themselves in the preparation with enthusiasm and passion. On the day the P1’s were escorted round the school grounds by their buddies. Stopping along the way to play some parachute games and be helped around the assault course. Then it was off to have some lunch in the outdoor classroom with sandwiches that had been especially prepared by the P5,6,7’s. Can you think of a more fun way to finish off your first week at school? we cant.
P7 pupils are looking forward to their transition days at Bathgate Academy this week. In preparation for their Academy Modern Languages classes they joined a cluster school project which meant they had to make a short video in French to be shown during the week.
The pupils started off in two groups, working on different plays but time constraints meant this had to become one performance only. A script was produced in English and then translated into French. Then using glove puppets and a theatre and scenery made by one P7 pupil and her family they recorded “Le Chapeau Perdu” (The lost hat).
Unfortunately the whole video is too large to upload, but here are a couple of scenes from it.
Au revoir!
Today we started off at South Queensferry just under the forth rail bridge to walk part of the John Muir way. It was a foggy morning but thankfully the weather didn’t take a turn for the worse. Â The John Muir way spans from the west coast to the east coast and can be found here:Â http://johnmuirway.org/route. We walked some of section 7: South Queensferry to Edinburgh. We stopped just short of Bambougle castle to head down onto the beach to explore some of the local eco systems. We hunted for limpets, cockles, welks and various other sea creatures in and amongst the rock pools. After lunch we had a chance to dip our toes in the water and discovered it was slightly colder than expected. Walking home seemed to take slightly longer which might have had something to do with some wet feet and muddy clothing weighing us down.
Today we went to Beecraigs country park and tested out our orienteering skills. We split into groups and each one took a turn at navigating using our maps. Along the way we stopped and explored various parts of the forest. We found a tree that we all thought fairies must live in because it was so old and the sun was shining on it in an interesting way. We all split up at this point and found our own tree to sit beside and stayed quiet for five minutes so that we could hear the forest around us. After lunch we came back to the school to make bat boxes. Some of use learned the importance of not hitting our thumbs with the hammer. The bat boxes will eventually be put up onto the school and we hope that this will attract loads of bats to help keep the midgie population down.
Today we started off at Polkemmet again. We used our maps to locate where we were and Kenny gave us more fact files to help us identify certain trees. We stopped for a snack and then ventured further into the forest where we were given the chance to cross the river almond. The first location we tried proved to be far too slippy and was abandoned in favour of a place where the stones were drier. Even this was quite a challenge but we all really enjoyed ourselves even if some of us did get a little wet. Before lunch we were given a whole group challenge to make a shelter. We had to collect large sticks and lots and lots of leaves to help build it. Kenny showed us the best way to construct it to make sure we would have shelter from the wind and rain. It took a long time to make and some children really showed great resilience in never giving up. We got to eat our lunch in the shelter before having a nice wee cup of hot chocolate. After lunch we moved locations to Redmill forest to litter pick. It really was shocking at how much we found. 20 bags that were nearly all completely full! To finish the day off we came back to the school to fill in our diaries so that we could have loads of extra time tomorrow
.
Today we started off at Polkemmet country park. To start off with we gathered together and Kenny (our guide) gave everyone maps. We were asked to locate ourselves and then we set off on our way. At regular points Kenny stopped us so we could have the opportunity to use our maps.  During the walk Kenny stopped us to discuss various things that we could use to start a fire. We learned that bark from a silver birch tree was excellent kindling. If we collected sap from an evergreen then this would help the bark burn longer. Once into the forest we were given fact file sheets relating to various trees and we split into groups to try and identify them. At this point it was time for snack so we settled down onto the moss and grass and had a well deserved break. Our next activity was a group challenge where Kenny asked us to make rafts out of twigs and whatever else we could find. We sailed them down the river Almond. Just after lunch Kenny showed us how to light fires using flint and steel and we all had a shot at making our own. We then went for a walk further into the woods and had a challenge at making a den. After evaluating our dens with green for growth and being tickled pink we all agreed that working together was the best way to make a den. Straight after this we had a toasted marshmallow from a fire that Kenny had made. He told us about fire safety in the woods and how to help put a fire out. After this it was time to head home to fill in our diaries and have a good rest for tomorrows fun activities.
