Miss Morris – Carmondean Primary School Blog

Primary 4 1.10.21

Hello everyone,

It has been another great week in P4.

In reading, we have been working on developing our clarifying skills. Primary 4 know that there are many strategies we can try if we are unsure what something means and this week we had a go at using a Frayer model. The children did really well with this.

In topic, we made fantastic Nessie models from different materials. All the children were very creative and we loved how unique every design was! Check out our twitter for photos. We have also been continuing to develop our ICT skills to research landmarks.

In maths, Primary 4 have been learning the difference between am and pm when telling the time. We then looked at how the sky changes throughout the day and how it helps to show the passing of time. The children created lovely art today to show this.

A little reminder that the school photographer is in school next Monday and Tuesday so please ensure your child wears their school uniform on Monday rather than their P.E. kit. They can bring their kit and get changed in school.

We look forward to meeting you (virtually!) at Parent’s Evening next week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Miss Morris and Mr Woodward

Primary 4 17.9.21

Hi everyone!

Primary 4 have had a very busy week!

In Writing the children completed their recount about crash landing on the moon and meeting an alien! We have been working hard to make sure we are using time words (first, then, next etc.) and reading over our work to make sure it all makes sense.

In Maths we have been focusing on time over the last few weeks. The children so far have been learning to tell the time in 5-minute intervals on an analogue clock and we have just started to look at digital time. Please ask your child to tell you the time at home to show you what they know and for a wee extra practise!

In ICT we are continuing to practise logging on and using Teams. We have also been developing our research skills by finding information about Edinburgh Castle on a website and transferring this onto a word document. The children worded really well on this and some even managed to add pictures to their document too.

In RME we are learning about the importance of water in religion and this week Primary 4 had a go at baptising a baby (doll!). Check out our Twitter for some photos! (@CarmondeanP4)

Have a lovely long weekend everyone!

Miss Morris and Mr Woodward

Welcome Back Primary 4!

Hello everyone!

We have all had a lovely first week back and have enjoyed getting to know all of our new Primary 4’s! The children have settled in really well to the routines of their new classrooms.

We have read a couple of great stories this week. On Tuesday, we looked at a book called ‘The Dot’ which was all about trying new things and “making your mark”. Then on Wednesday, we read ‘Ish’ which focussed on being kind to others and that it ok to not be right all the time. The children made their own dot and ish pictures and they were brilliant!

Over the next few weeks, our Health and Wellbeing topic work will be based on the story ‘Yours Sincerely, Giraffe’. The children made excellent predictions by looking at the front cover and blurb. After reading the first Chapter, we discovered two of the main characters were feeling nervous for different reasons. We thought about the times we have also felt nervous and suggested some top tips that may help us whenever we feel this way.

Our PE days will be a Monday (outside) and a Thursday (inside) this term. We appreciate your efforts in ensuring the children come to school wearing their PE kits (white T-shirt, navy or black shorts/ trousers and a school jumper) on these days. The children can wear shorts under their trousers if they wish to for indoor PE on the Thursday as it can get quite warm in the hall.

A newsletter will be coming home next week with more information about what we will be learning this term.

Here are what some of our Primary 4’s had to say about their first week back:

“I enjoyed P.E. this week.” – AH

“I enjoyed making the birthday cards.” – XC

“I enjoyed making the hot air balloons.” – MB

“I enjoyed starting to read our book.” – ZB

“I enjoyed art.” – JR

Have a lovely weekend!

Miss Morris and Mr Woodward

Primary 7 28.5.21

Hi everyone!

We hope you all had a lovely long weekend. Primary 7 have been VERY busy this week!

First, we had some contact with the High School. We were invited to a call with Mr Small and the Heads of House where they introduced themselves and launched the fun House Challenge. Everyone found out which house they are in and have already made a fantastic effort to earn stars that will be turned into points. We then had another call with the English department for a Reciprocal Reading lesson. We focussed on predicting this week and everyone was very engaged. They left us on a cliffhanger so we cannot wait for our call next week!

As if that was not exciting enough, we also had our Sports Day this week! Despite a different set up this year, everyone still had a brilliant time and the rain stayed away (yippee!). The scores were extremely close in the end but Sutherland were the champions – well done to you all!

In between all of this, Primary 7 have been busy preparing for our Carnival that is fast approaching. We’ve also managed to squeeze in Maths, Literacy and World War 2 work too! P7M learned more about Anne Frank and tried to imagine how she felt when she went into hiding. In her diary, she told us what items she had chosen to pack so we thought about what three items we would have picked if we were in her position. Like Anne Frank, many chose things that would bring them comfort and help keep them entertained.

Reminders:

Those who are in any of the Enhanced Transition groups have been invited to visit DCHS on Monday for a tour of the school.
Camp Carmondean will take place next Wednesday (2^ndJune). Please make sure you come to school wearing clothes suitable for being outdoors. We will be outside all day so a waterproof jacket and sensible shoes that you do not mind getting a bit dirty are a must.

You deserve a restful weekend P7! See you all on Monday.

Mrs Wylie and Miss Morris

Primary 7 14.5.21

Hello from P7! It has been another busy week here!

In Topic, P7W have been learning about the Holocaust this week whilst P7M have been looking at how propaganda was used throughout WW2 to influence how people thought and felt during that time. They then had a go at creating their own propaganda posters, some of which are very impressive!

In Numeracy this week P7 have spent some time learning about percentages and fractions as well as revising other concepts. They have all continued to work extremely hard with this!

In reading, both classes are continuing to work their way through their class novels. This led to an interesting discussion in P7M about if we think there is more good or bad in the world – a lot of thought provoking and mature responses were made.

In P.E. this week, we had a trial run of Sports Day with Mrs Ferguson to test out the different stations. P7 then gave feedback on what went well and what we could change before we share it with the rest of the school. We also had another fun game of rounders. P7M won their first game this week whilst P7W have two wins to their name! Game on!

We hope you all have a great weekend.

Mrs Wylie, Miss Morris, Grace and Anya who have both helped to write this week’s blog!

Primary 7 30.4.21

Hello from Primary 7! We have had another great week!

In Numeracy, we are continuing to revise many concepts in preparation for High School whilst in Maths we have spent some time looking at coordinates.

In Reading, we are continuing to make good progress with both of our novels (P7W are reading Goodnight Mister Tom and P7M are reading I Am David). We are really enjoying these and they have resulted in great discussions!

In Writing, we created an explanation piece all about the water cycle. Primary 7 did very well at organising their writing and using the technical vocabulary accurately.

In Health, we have started looking at the Living and Growing resource to learn about relationships and changes through puberty. We have been so impressed by the level of maturity that Primary 7 have displayed so far and the questions they have asked.

You should have received our newsletter yesterday for our final term which included some dates for important upcoming events!

Camp Carmondean will take place one day week beginning the 31st of May
Carnival Carmondean will take place one day week beginning the 14th of June
Leavers Assembly will take place during our final week (week beginning the 21st June). Unfortunately, following covid guidelines, visitors will not be able to attend.

More details are included in the newsletter and we will send out further information nearer the time.

A homework grid has also been uploaded to Teams for the month of May. We would like Primary 7 to complete at least two of these activities every week.

Have a lovely long weekend everyone!

Mrs Wylie and Miss Morris

Primary 7 23.4.21

Hello! We have had a great first week back in P7.

For our World War 2 topic, we have been busy learning about the Battle of Britain. Did you know it was the first battle fought only in the sky? Primary 7 have made models of the famous Spitfires and Hurricanes and also had a go at drawing them too. Then in writing, we created an imaginative story about a day in the life of an RAF pilot during this time. First, we looked at how stories are structured with a beginning, build up, dilemma, resolution and ending and then had a go ourselves. Primary 7 produced some fantastic pieces and were absolutely brilliant at foreshadowing!

In maths, Primary 7 were introduced to Distance, Speed and Time. We have been learning how these are all linked and the formula we can use when answering questions.

In P.E. with Mrs Ferguson, we have started to come up with some activities for Sports Day. This involved a lot of collaboration and careful consideration for how they could adapt their activity for the younger children.

We hope you all have a fantastic weekend in the sunshine!

Mrs Wylie and Miss Morris

Primary 7

Hello everyone!

We have loved welcoming everyone back to school and have had a busy few weeks!

Our World War 2 topic is in full swing! Last week Primary 7 were learning about why the war started and the Allied and Axis powers. We listened to Neville Chamberlain declaring war with Germany and then created a newspaper report about this historic moment. This week, everyone has been given a new WWII identity! In their new family groups, the pupils have been working hard to design their home and character profiles. Our families have all been given a location (London or Clydebank) and we cannot wait to explore this further other the next few weeks! Our reading is also WWII themed for this block with P7M reading ‘I Am David’ and P7W reading ‘Goodnight Mister Tom’.

In Numeracy, we have been learning about negative numbers. We now know what an integer is and how to accurately read and use thermometers with different scales. Some have also practised using negative numbers in relation to money.

In Art, P7W created marvelous space pictures with Mr Shanks last week! P7M looked at one-point perspective drawings and created our own. We had to draw a horizon line and lines of perspective to help us make it look like the objects in the distance were far away!

A little reminder that we have P.E. on a Monday and Thursday. Currently, Primary 7 are developing their leadership skills through a variety of team games (this has required a lot of listening!).

Have a great weekend!

Mrs Wylie and Miss Morris.

Primary 7 – 27.11.20

Hello, as usual we have had another busy week in P7!

In Writing, we have been using our knowledge of persuasive techniques to argue why reading is so important. We were shocked to find out the number of children reading every day for pleasure is at its lowest since the National Literacy Trust started monitoring it in 2005 with only 26% of young people reading every day in 2019!

In Numeracy, we have been making great progress with our work on decimals. Primary 7 have also been looking at money in Maths where we have been looking at budgeting. This prompted some great discussions about how people tend not to pay with cash as much these days when at the shops and the difference between debit and credit cards.

Primary 7 have also been busy helping to launch the Race to the North Pole Challenge with Mrs Ferguson! The whole school has until the 18^th of December to run to the North Pole from Carmondean (a mere 2360 miles!) in order to deliver Santa a special Christmas message. To spread the word we have been making posters and completed the very first laps during P.E. which came to an impressive total of 51 miles! P7 will be in charge of keeping track of our progress over the next couple of weeks.

Our P.E. days are changing slightly from next week as P7W will now have Mrs Ferguson on a Wednesday. P7M will continue to have P.E. on Thursday with Mrs Ferguson and both classes will still get P.E. on a Monday with Miss Morris and Mrs Wylie. As we are now entering December Primary 7 have been reminded to wear appropriate clothing so they can wrap up warm on these days (i.e. long trousers or joggers, a school jumper/cardigan, a thick jumper or fleece to change into for P.E., a waterproof jacket and hat and/or gloves if desired!) Thank you for your continued support with this.

We hope you all have a great weekend!

Mrs Wylie and Miss Morris

Primary 7 – 13.11.20

Hello, it has been another busy week in Primary 7!

On Wednesday, Primary 7 had a virtual session with an expert at the National Museum of Flight! He shared a lot of information about the type of clothing people wore who worked there during the Second World War (we were particularly impressed with where they hid a compass!). We are now very excited for our WW2 topic next year.

With Remembrance Day taking place this week, we also learned a bit about the First World War. We looked at the Battle of the Somme and watched the 2014 Sainsbury’s Christmas advert where we saw the extraordinary events of Christmas Day, 1914, when the guns fell silent and two armies met in no-man’s land, sharing gifts – and even playing football together. Primary 7 were shocked and moved to find out it was inspired by real events.

In writing, we learned about the different techniques we can use to help us persuade our reader. Primary 7 then tried to use their powers of persuasion to convince everyone what the best type of pet to have is and what the best holiday is!

We loved seeing many of you dressed in colourful outfits and Pudsey merchandise today for Children in Need and can’t wait to watch the duck race on Monday to see who wins!

Mrs Wylie and Miss Morris

REMINDERS –

PE – Outdoor Kit Mondays and Thursdays

Primary 7

We have had another busy week in Primary 7!

A big focus of ours this week has been learning about Remembrance Day. Our classrooms have temporarily been turned into poppy factories to help create a wonderful display going up in the school corridor. Primary 7 felt it was important to include the purple poppy in this display as they are a symbol of remembrance for all the animals that played important roles during wartime.

For Writing we have been working on making new scripts for CPN. In pairs, the children decided on an important topic to focus on (these ranged from climate change, hate crime, caring for pets and how to wear a mask properly!). They then researched their chosen topic before writing their script. We are really impressed with the effort that has gone into this and Primary 7 will decide on which ones to include in our newest episode of CPN next week.

In Maths we started learning about symmetry and had a go at creating symmetrical shapes which took a lot of care and concentration! We have also been looking at decimals in Numeracy.

We are still really enjoying Wonder and are now reading from the perspective of Jack. Primary 7 have been trying to predict if Jack and August will be friends again or not!

REMINDERS –

PE – Outdoor Kit Mondays and Thursdays.

Friday 13^th November – dress down day for Children in Need. There is also a Duck Race where children can choose a duck for 50p and Pudsey wristbands for sale for a reasonable donation.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Wylie and Miss Morris

Primary 5

An exciting time has been had by P5 this week.

The children really enjoyed their trip to Bannockburn despite almost being blown away when we visited the monument! When we went in to the exhibition the children got to touch weapons, armour and shields that were used during the battle. We then got to witness the battle in 3D which caught many children by surprise and the screams were not just on the screen! We then went in to the battle room and the children were divided in to English and Scottish armies. In both classes the Sottish won. Hurrah! The children had great fun trying on the different clothes that were worn by the various soldiers. They also got to touch some fearsome weapons but they all came back with 10 fingers and toes! All children impressed the staff at Bannockburn with their knowledge and interest in this part of history. They were a credit to Carmondean Primary.

In reading the children are almost finished their Scottish Wars of Independence fact file. We are very impressed by the detail the children have included and we think they are impressed at the amount of writing they have done!

In writing the children wrote senses poems connected to a battle. These were very detailed and the children were able to capture the atmosphere in a battle very well. The children will re-draft their poem next week as we want to put them on display to showcase their talent in writing.

A big thank you to Mrs Smith and P6 who guided P5 through a session of HiiT training to celebrate Sports Relief. The children worked very hard and were exhausted by the end!

P5 visited the nursery this week to read with the boys and girls. The children read a variety of stories to the nursery pupils and enjoyed the experience greatly. They are looking forward to having this as a regular responsibility in p6.

Reminders

P5G and P5M PE- Monday and Thursday. Please bring outdoor and indoor PE kit for both days.

Spelling homework- due every Friday.

Numeracy homework- if given due every Thursday. Please practise all times tables over and above any other homework. Children can use Education City to play games.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Miss Morris, Mr Shanks and Mrs Muir

Primary 5

Another busy week in P5. The children have been working hard on different areas of the curriculum.

In writing the children wrote about their adventures last week at Lockerbie Manor and in school. They had great fun telling each other what had happened and how they felt about things. Each child was able to produce a recount of their experiences. It all sounded very exciting!

Our topic on the Scottish Wars of Independence is progressing well. We are learning about all the battles that took place and the different tactics used to help each side win. There has been great interest in the variety of weapons used and how they work. Next week we are off to Bannockburn to learn even more about all these things. Please ensure your child has a packed lunch and is dressed for the weather as we will be outside for some of the time.

The children had great fun yesterday celebrating World Book Day. It was good to see the variety of books the children brought in and they had great fun sharing these with their peers. Miss Morris also enjoyed sharing a bit of her favourite book to p5M which was quite funny! The ‘Where’s Wally’ competition caused great excitement and the children were on the lookout all day for him. Well done to everyone who found the 5 hiding places. We are now waiting to see who will be picked as the winner.

In PE the children in both classes will be learning to play hockey which will be outside. This is in preparation for the Hockey Festival on 24th March. Next week will be p5M’s last Futsal session and both classes will be going out in most weathers after that so please ensure that the children bring outdoor PE kit on a Monday and a Tuesday.

Reminders

P5G P5M PE- Monday and Tuesday

Spelling homework- due every Friday.

Numeracy homework- if given due every Thursday. Please practise all times tables over and above any other homework. Children can use Education City to play games.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Miss Morris, Mr Shanks and Mrs Muir

Lockerbie Manor – Thursday

Hello from Lockerbie Manor!

Yesterdays update was posted on the Residential News page in case anyone missed it. Today the children have had a very busy day with every group completing another mixture of activities. The obstacle course has been a huge hit so far (warning: a lot of mud was involved!). We then had a great time at the disco this evening and are looking forward to the rest of our activities tomorrow before heading home.

Thank you primary 5 for your questions. We enjoyed answering them after our dinner:

Are you all having fun? – This was a loud yes from everyone!
Did anyone scream when you were rock climbing? -“A little bit when I was flying in the air!” – Isla Barrie
Did everyone sleep ok? – Mixed response! Some said they had a great sleep but not all.
What has the food been like? – Everyone has enjoyed the food with many using the word ‘amazing’.
What do you think has been the best activity? – The most popular answer was the obstacle course because it was really fun getting muddy! Some also said abseiling was the best.
Did you get soaking wet and mucky? – Another definite yes especially on the obstacle course!

Other comments from the children:

“On the obstacle course when you fell in and got up you were covered in mud!!” – Danyl
“The rock climbing was quite hard” – Ally
“For the rock climbing it was really cold and sore for my fingers but fun!” – Matthew
“The biking was really good!” – Brooke
“Finding the letter R on orienteering was the hardest” – Cayden
“The abseiling was scary but fun!” – Mirryn

Primary 5

We hope you all had a lovely and well deserved holiday. The children have come back raring to go!

It has been a busy week of cooking in P5. The children have participated in making leek and potato soup and champ (potatoes and spring onion) in preparation for our open morning. Hopefully you were able to taste food from Scotland (haggis and Irn Bru), England (scones, jam and cream), Wales (Leek and potato soup) and Northern Ireland (champ).

P5 had a Tae Kwon Do taster session this week. The children enjoyed learning about the different skills needed and carrying out some of the drills.

Both classes watched the Spiderwick Chronicles film. We then discussed the similarities and differences between the film and the book. We decided there were many!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Landmark open morning. The children were very excited to showcase their models. We hope you agree that they have worked very hard and the detail on some of them was amazing! The other classes also got a chance to see these on Thursday and left us some wonderful comments. Thank you for all your support in helping the children to produce such outstanding models!

Reminders

P5M -Outdoor PE- Monday.

P5G-Futsal (indoors) -Monday

PE with Mrs Ferguson-Thursday.

Spelling homework due every Friday.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Gilmour, Miss Morris, Mr Shanks and Mrs Muir

Primary 5

P5 have been working on a variety of tasks this week.

In Topic each country group has presented their display to the class. They came up with some unusual facts to share with each other. Both Miss Morris and Mrs Gilmour are very impressed with the effort all the children put into this! You will have an opportunity to read these when you visit us on Parents’ night and on our open day in October.

In writing the children have started to investigate the persuasive genre. They are writing letters to persuade people to come to our open morning using persuasive language. Look out for these letters coming home soon.

On Wednesday both classes took part in a Multi-sport Festival at DCHS. This was a great success and the children enjoyed trying out a variety of sports and meeting new friends. They were able to learn new skills in basketball, football, hockey, team games and athletics. Well done everyone!

Over the past few weeks the children have been learning about patron saints in R&ME. This Thursday Miss Morris’ class learned about Scotland’s patron saint, Saint Andrew, whilst Mrs Gilmour’s class looked at Saint David, who is the patron saint of Wales. We have all really enjoyed learning about the different traditions each country in the UK has when celebrating these religious figures.

Reminders

Outdoor PE- Monday.

Indoor PE-Thursday.

Starting Monday 30^th September Mrs Gilmour’s class will have a block of Futsal. This will take place indoors and will replace outdoor PE. Miss Morris’ class will continue working outdoors on a Monday.

Homework

Landmark challenge- due Friday 27^th September. Thank you to everyone who has handed this in so far! They are absolutely fantastic!

Numeracy –due Thursday 3^rd October

Spelling- due every Friday. Please remember to do Look, Cover, Write, check and a sentence for each word.

Thank you for your continued support.

Have a good weekend

Mrs Gilmour, Miss Morris, Mr Shanks and Mrs Muir