Tag Archives: fun

A1, Whole School

Science Fun

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ASD1 really enjoyed the final activity of our Science topic about changes. We had been investigating chemical reactions and this time we looked at the cooling/freezing reaction that happens when you mix ice with rock salt. This was demonstrated by making ice cream in plastic bags!
We placed all the ingredients into small, sealable plastic bags, which then went into larger, sealable bags filled with ice and rock salt. Then we put our gloves on, then (helped by Taylor Swift) we shook it up for five minutes. The best bit was tasting the ice cream that was in our small bag when we opened it!

A1, Whole School

Investigating outdoors.

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ASD1 have been exploring a variety of Habitats on weekly outings in the community, some close at hand, and others further away. We starting looking at the plants and wildlife that we could find in our own school grounds – there are micro-habitats there, with lots of mini beasts to find.

We then travelled to Eliburn Park to see what we could find in the reservoir there. We tried dipping our nets into the pond but only found some flukes (small worms) and the larva of a dragonfly. We spotted some ducklings and lots of wild plants too.

Our next outing on the bus was to look at woodland wildlife at Beecraigs Country Park. We heard lots of birds but didn’t spot any although we did encounter a very hairy caterpillar on our way back. We did gather a few treasures to examine further at school.

Easter Inch Moss was a very rich habitat and we have explored plant/ tree life and pond life there – and we even went off track into the wilderness, spotting a buzzard soaring in the sky.

There was even evidence of plant and animal life in Whitehill Industrial Estate.

When we get back to school we use books to look up what we have found and then write this up into our Nature Journals. It is fun being explorers!

A1, Whole School

Learning Outdoors

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ASD1 are looking at a variety of Scottish Habitats this term and this will mean lots of Outdoor Learning.
We started by exploring our school grounds to find out what wild plant life and animal life we could spot there and what evidence we could gather.
We spotted things we expected to see, like the jackdaws that we regularly feed, but we also spotted an oystercatcher in the playground.

We also looked for mini-beasts in our sensory garden, lifting logs and plant pots to see what we could find and photographing them. Do you know what these are?

We brought these things back into our classroom to look at in more detail and to start an entry in our Nature Journals.

On Wednesday 3rd May we focused on the different types of mini-beasts that we could find. We searched on plants, in the soil, under bark, logs and leaves and various plant pots, as well as the container and eaves of the outdoor classroom. This time we collected various mini-beasts in bug spotters and recorded them on our spotting sheet.

We then carried our discoveries into the outdoor classroom where we finished recording our data, before we looked at each mini-beast up close using the bug spotters. The two creepiest were definitely the leatherjacket and the big spider! However we all liked the little ladybird.

It was such a lovely day it was nice just to relax in the outdoor classroom after we had let all our creatures back into their habitat.

A1, Whole School

Sampling Victorian School Subjects

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Pupils from ASD1 have been trying their hand at sewing. One of the subjects taught in Victorian Schools was sewing and often children made samplers to show off their skill.
We planned our samplers using dotty paper to make sure our lines were straight and all decided to use our full name (or nickname) plus the year as our sampler. We also chose the colours we wanted to use and chose thread that was a close match. This activity went really well as you can see.

Then came the practical part. It took us two sessions to transfer the design onto hessian (in a frame) and then sew over our design with blunt, large-eyed needles. Some pupils needed a little help with their work but others were able to follow the lines and sew independently – see for yourself! Our finished samplers will be stretched and framed.

A1, Whole School

World Book Day

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In the run up to World Book Day ASD1 have been looking at the story of “Alice in Wonderland”. This book was written in Victorian times, which fits in beautifully with our IDL context. This week we have used ICT to research the book and its author, made a Mad Hatter style hat and coloured in characters from the book for our door display.

On Friday we joined a “Where’s Wally?” search with Miss Cleland and other pupils from various classes before coming back to class to make sandwiches, complete some Alice themed activity sheets and decorated cup cakes all ready for our Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
This was fun! We put on our hats (or ears) and then enjoyed all the food we had made – there wasn’t any to take home!

Whole School

Let’s Get Fizzy!

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Pupils from Primary 3 and ASD1 enjoyed a visit from Generation Science on 28th February.

The title of our workshop was “Get Fizzy” and we were using a combination of liquids (“Sloshy liquids”) and solids (“Tough Solids”) to make a gas (“Gas that goes everywhere”).

First of all we learned how to identify a solid, a liquid and a gas and then we tried to decide which category familiar objects fit into.

Then we were shown the equipment we would use and our safety equipment – the pupils all wore a protective apron and goggles to protect their eyes. The pupils worked in pairs and took turns at measuring out different liquids or solids and mixing these in different combinations to see which had the best chemical reaction – the BEST FIZZ! Once we had discovered the best combination we were allowed to try the experiment again on a bigger scale, which made a bigger fizz.

Finally the people from Generation Science made the biggest fizz of all using some special chemicals – we could only watch this and they used a safety screen to stop the class from getting messy. This was a fun start to our day and we can’t wait to carry out more experiments soon.

A2, P3, Whole School

Blackburn Children’s Gala Day

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Pupils from ASD2 and P2/3/4 had a visit from representatives of the Gala Day Committee as part of their topic on celebrations. The ladies answered questions that pupils from both classes had prepared and brought some historic items to show pupils – the cloak, crown and sceptre from the first Gala Queen (dating from 1953) and a more modern, sparkly crown. Some pupils got the chance to try on these items. We learned a lot about the history of the Gala and some interesting facts about it now.
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Blackburn Primary School are getting involved in all the events surrounding Blackburn Children’s Gala Day. On Friday 20th May auditions were held in school to find acts to represent our school at the Blackburn Schools Got Talent Night. After seeing singing, comedy, gymnastics, mime and dancing there were tough decisions for the judges but three acts were chosen to go forward to represent the school at the final on 3rd June – one singer form P1, a dancer from ASD2 and a dancer/singer from P7. All three pupils gave it their all on the night of the big final, big voices, great dance moves and jazz hands and did the school proud.

We have teams representing the school in the schools’ relay race and in the quiz on Tuesday 7th June. Staff and all pupils will be able to take in the parade following the crowning of the Gala Queen on Saturday 11th June. We have chosen “Flower Power” (60s /70s) theme to represent the idea of through the ages and pupils in the Nursery will be making headbands to wear. Any pupils wishing to walk with the school should meet Miss Clarkson and school/nursery staff at the Community Centre at 11 a.m., dressed up and raring to go.