Category: Pupil Learning

The category for all learning activities and information

Primary 4 Week beg 22.1.18

In Primary 4 this week we have been learning our Scottish poems for our Burns assembly. The children have had the poems home to practise and have also been learning them in the classroom.

This has come at a perfect time as we have just started our Scotland topic. This will be our topic for the whole term and we are excited to learn all about Scotland and its traditions.

Last week was our Polar explorer week and we enjoyed taking part in various science experiments and challenges such as making glaciers, dissolving shells and making boats for a voyage.

In spelling we have been focusing on strategies for spelling tricky words. We have been learning about mnemonics (because – Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants), words within a word and syllabification. We are using these strategies as the words the children have been learning cannot always be sounded out.

Reminders:

Please bring a water bottle

Outdoor PE on Tuesday

Indoor PE on Wednesday (with Mrs Ferguson)

Scottish Poem due for Thursday

 

Thank you,

The Primary 4 teachers

P2/1 23rd January 2018

This week P2/1 have been having great fun making boats and creating our own underwater exploring machines. We have been using our imaginations to design a vehicle that would take us to the bottom of the ocean to find out about what lives there.  We also extended this to our writing and wrote underwater adventures-we all have great imaginations in P2/1!

In Maths the P1 children have been working very hard with subtraction facts to 10 using concrete materials and are becoming really confident with this.  The P2 children have been working with subtraction to 20 and are now moving on to missing number subtraction facts.

Well done to everyone who has been learning their poem for Burn’s Day-we will begin hearing them tomorrow so keep going!

Reminders-

Tuesday- New Reading book

Wednesday- Burn’s Poem to perform in class

Thursday- Gym

Friday- Burn’s Competition

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Steel

Primary 2/3 23.1.18

Primary 2/3 have been working very hard learning their Scottish Poems. The boys and girls have been practising in class and at home. Today the children are going to perform in front of their class and then two of our boys and girls will be invited to say their poem to the whole school. We wish them all the best of luck! On Thursday we will be learning about Robert Burns, singing Scottish songs and tasting some traditional Scottish food. I hope you all like Haggis!!

In our topic this week we have been looking and learning about the Roman soldier. We have discussed what they wear and why. The children have also learned what the Roman words are for shield, sandals and helmet. We are also going to be learning about Roman Numerals this week too.

Reminder- P.E is on a Monday and Wednesday so please can you send the children in with P.E kits. Also could they come to school with a water bottle.

Homework: Spelling, Reading, Poems/Scottish Song and Maths.

Thanks,

Miss Rafferty

Gymnastics

I am delighted with the effort our chosen gymnasts have been putting in to get ready for the gymnastics showcase next week. Just a reminder that there will be a practice for all on Thursday lunchtime in the big hall so please make sure you have your PE kit with you and you are ready with your routine. If you have any questions then please come and see me when I am back in school on Wednesday. We have such talented gymnasts that I’ll bet they are finding it hard to select their favourite 6 or 8 skills. Could the Rhythmic and partner sequence gymnasts also come at playtime on Wednesday.

Many thanks

Mrs Ferguson

Primary 6 19.1.18

The sound of deep Scottish brogues can be heard throughout the Primary 6 classrooms as we prepare for our Scottish School Assembly. Each pupil has chosen a Scottish poem to learn and two pupils from each class will be put forward to the school competition. Primary 6 are also planning to have a Burns Supper next Thursday , 25th January. Haggis will be available for those who would like to try it and pupils are welcome to wear tartan. Pupils should come to school in uniform and will be given the opportunity to change into any tartan items before the supper.
Mrs Wylie’s math class are working on fractions, decimals and percentages at the moment. It would be great if the pupils could note where we use the above in everyday life.

Show auditions have begun in earnest and Mr Platt is very pleased with the number of pupils who have put themselves forward. We are sure it will be a rocking success!

All pupils have been given their Literacy Circle booklets home to be used with their novels. Tasks have been assigned and each pupil should note this in their booklets. We had a new addition to primary 6 this week ….. We now have a cat! The children can explain!

We had a visit from a Polar explorer on Monday who discussed his expeditions, demonstrated some survival techniques and allowed the pupils to sample some expedition food ….Yum!! We have used this topic as a stimulus for our science lessons this week.

REMINDERS –
PE – outdoor Kit – Wednesdays
Indoor Kit 6Wy – Tuesdays
P6W – Mondays
Homework – Reading homework due on Tuesday , spelling words will be given on Mondays with homework due on Fridays .
Maths Homework – we would like to remind all pupils that they have maths homework EVERY WEEK. If we do not give out maths homework in the form of worksheet we still expect the pupils to be practising Times Tables, Fact Families , Number Bonds . We have shown the pupil’s games and activities they can do to practise.

Thank you for your continued support.
Mr . Woodward, Mr Shanks and Mrs Wylie

Primary2/3 18.1.18

Primary 2/3 have been completing Polar Explorer experiments. We had to make boats out of plasticine and figure out how we could make them float. There was lots of problem solving. Our second experiment was investigating symmetry and balance. We had to make sure that we did not have uneven weight on our cargo ships. Today we are going to be doing some design and technology about grabbers which are used the the bottom of the ocean.

 

Primary 2/3 topic this term is The Romans. If you have any resources at home to help support our topic we would love to have them brought into school. We are going to be learning lots about Roman life, Roman Soldiers and Roman battles.

Primary 2/3 have P. E on a Monday (Outside) and Wednesday (inside). Please remember your P.E kit.

All boys and girls have a Scottish Poem to learn off by heart for our competition on Tuesday 23rd January.

Primary 3

What an exciting week its been with all this snow! However we are all braving the weather to get to school still however do keep an eye on the blog for any news of school closures if the weather gets any worse.

So we have kicked off the New Year with a Big Homework! The children have been asked to use a variety of junk materials to build a castle and label it with the key features listed on the sheet. This is not due until after the half term on Wednesday 14th February. Children will also have to present their models and talk about how they constructed them and what each feature represents.

Phonics and reading will carry on as normal and maths will be given fortnightly. You will receive a newsletter this week outlining the homework and topics we will study this term.

PE kit is required on the following days:

3G: Monday/Thursday

3S: Wednesday/Thursday

Please ensure your child is suitably dressed for outdoor PE: joggers and long sleeved tops and trainers.

Miss Smith set off to pastures new this term and we all miss her terribly however we welcome Mr Gordon to Primary 3 and look forward to getting to know him as the year goes on.

Hope your week is going well!

Mrs Smith and Mr Gordon

P2/1 week beginning 15th January 2018

P2/1 were very excited to be lucky enough to be part of a special assembly yesterday with a Polar Explorer! Craig Matheson visited Carmondean yesterday and we heard all about what it is like to visit the North and South Poles.  We learned about the animals that he has seen, the types of clothes he wears in the cold climate- Frazer even got to try on his special gloves, and all the training that he has to do to get ready for his expeditions.

This week we will be following up his visit by doing a series of Science lessons.  Today we worked with a partner to design boats.  We linked this to our Topic by imagining we were designing them for the Post and food supplies to be delivered to the Post Office shop that Katie Morag’s Mum and Dad run on the Island of Struay.  It took us a few trial runs to finally get a finished product that would float well enough to get all those important things to the shop!  Have a look at some of them below:

Next week we will be performing our Scottish Poem for Burns’ Day.  Please keep practising this at home with your child.

Reminders-

Monday- New common words, Time your climb (P2), Maths (every second week)

Tuesday-New Reading books

Thursday- PE with Mrs Ferguson

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Steel

 

Snow Work in Event of School Closure

With the adverse weather conditions we are facing at present, there is a very real risk of a school closure.  In that eventuality, the following links will allow you to read/download appropriate work that can be done by your child. Teachers will also upload appropriate work to the BLOG.

N.B. This work is only for use in the event of a school closure.

P1-2 winter weather work early_first level 2018

P3-4 winter weather work first level 2018

P5-7 Winter Weather Work 2018

If you would like to post pictures to our Blog, please email them to the school email address (wlcarmondean-ps@westlothian.org.uk) and put your name in the subject line. I will then transfer them to the Blog.

 

Primary 1 w.b 15/1/18

Primary 1 were very excited to welcome Craig Matheson a Polar Explorer to Carmondean yesterday morning. The children heard about his adventures in the Arctic and Antarctic, tasted some of the dried food he eats when away and tried on some of the clothes worn nowadays in the cold climates and 100 years ago when Captain Scott first went to the South Pole. The children particularly enjoyed seeing pictures of the animals Craig has seen as he explores.
This week we are going to be completing Polar experiments each afternoon in class. We will learn about food chains in the arctic, how adding salt to water affects density and how to keep warm in the cold.
We are also continuing our phonics programme and this week will learn j and v. Thank you for your continued work practising these sounds at home.
Reminders:
PE is now on a Thursday with Mrs Ferguson. Please come prepared for this with a named PE kit.
Water bottles should be brought to school every day. These should contain only water.
This week in your homework folder you will have received 2 Scots poems. Please learn 1 of these at home ready to perform to the class on Wednesday 24th January.
Thank you
Miss Christy, Mrs Harris and Mrs Oliver

Primary 4 – Update 15 January

Happy New Year!

Everyone is back at school after the festive season fully rested and ready to learn! Last week we wrote stories and drew pictures about our Christmas holiday. Miss Donaldson and Ms Matheson were  surprised how busy some of the children had been.

On Monday this week we had a visit from Craig who is a real Polar Explorer. He told us about his trips to the North and South Poles. On his trips he has to pull a sledge with everything he would need for the entire 2 month journey. We were able to see photograhs of his sledge and skis and to try on some of warm clothing. He also told us that he does not need to wash on his trips as it is too cold for bacteria to survive. Some of us got to taste the special food he takes and Ms Matheson got to taste some dried seal meat. It tasted just like old shoes, chewy and salty!

We will be learning more about the Polar regions in science this week. One of the activities planned, for example, is to design and make a boat looking at the relationship between the shape of boat and the number of passengers it holds.

All the children have now chosen their Scots poem to learn. Your help in learning them would be greatly appreciated.

Indoor gym is now on Wednesday. Outdoor gym will be on Monday, weather permitting. Please could children bring suitable gym kit on these days.

Have a great week.

Ms Matheson and Miss Donaldson

 

Primary 6 12.1.18

A very happy new year to you all! 2018 has started with our usual hive of activity in primary six.

For reading this term we are returning to fiction and all pupils have now been given their new novel. Each week the pupils will be given a certain amount of their book to read and this may be accompanied by an activity for their literacy circle booklets. Each week the pupils will record the date in their booklets of when their homework is due, this will normally be a Tuesday. We will also be reading a class novel and in keeping with our topic this term , we have chosen Kasper, Prince of Cats as part of story is set on the Titanic.

Our topic this term will be the Titanic and once again we are delighted with the enthusiasm the pupils have shown for this subject already! When we are working on the topic the pupils will ‘become’ passengers on the ship. They have all been given the names of actual passengers and their first task is to find out about themselves. We will be doing this in class, however many pupils have taken it upon themselves to start their investigations at home, such keen learners!

Preparation has begun for our P6/7 show and soon pupils will be given the chance to audition for parts. More details about this to follow.

REMINDERS –
PE – outdoor Kit on Mondays / Indoor kit on Wednesdays

Homework
Reading homework due on Tuesday
Spelling words will be given on Mondays with homework due on Fridays.
Maths Homework – we would like to remind all pupils that they have maths homework EVERY WEEK. If we do not give out maths homework in the form of a worksheet we still expect the pupils to be practising Times Tables, Fact Families, and Number Bonds. We have shown the pupils’ games and activities they can do to practise.

Thank for your continued support.
Mrs Wylie, Mr. Woodward and Mr Shanks

Primary 1 w/b 8/1/18

Hello All

We hope you had great fun over the holidays and we are glad to see you all back safely.

We have a very busy term ahead of us with two exciting topics – Dinosaurs and The Enchanted Forest. This week a mysterious egg was delivered to school for us to look after from a Professor Rex.

We are not sure what is in it – we will keep you updated!

In Maths we have started to learn about the Months and Seasons before moving on to telling the time on analogue and digital clocks. We will also be introducing the concept of subtraction next week.

In Language the children have been consolidating sounds and blending these together and are continuing to learn rhyming patterns with a focus on -an words this week.

Thank you for your continuing support.

 

Primary 1 Teachers

 

 

 

 

Primary 1 w.b. 18.12.17

Primary 1 did an excellent job in their performances of ‘The Wriggly Nativity’ yesterday. Thank you for all your support throughout the process, practising lines and going over dances.
This week we have been learning about the Christmas story and have enjoyed a more relaxed curriculum with lots of crafts and fun activities.
We hope that you have a fun and restful Christmas holiday and we look forward to seeing all the children back in the New year.
Miss Christy, Mrs Oliver and Mrs Harris

 

Winter Ready

By now, all pupils should have brought home their Winter Ready Instruction Sheet which will have their GLOW Username and Password printed on it. This sheet gives instructions about how to access GLOW to continue learning and teaching over the Internet in the event of a school closure due to severe weather. Older children will be able to do this independently, but our younger pupils will need some adult help. Included in the Help Sheet are instructions on how to download a free copy of Microsoft Office to a computer or other device – every GLOW user has 5 licenses they can use to download the software to their devices. Maybe Santa will be bringing a selection of laptops and tablets so parents may find this useful news! Hopefully, we won’t have to implement remote learning and teaching as the weather will not be so severe, but just in case …

Primary 6 15.12.17

We had a very creative start to the week as Primary six constructed different aspects of the nativity story from a variety of recycled materials. Their creations were so successful that we felt we had to invite the rest of the school to see them!

We were privileged to see the dress rehearsals for the nursery and infant classes’ nativities. We thought they were fantastic. Their parents and visitors are in for a treat next week.

Auditions were held for the school talent show next week. Well done to all the acts that entered what a talented bunch we have. We wish the two acts which were selected from primary six the very best of luck.

On Thursday it was our Christmas jumper day and everyone looked very festive and jolly and of course in between all these festivities we continued working hard at multiplication and division!

We had our primary six assembly this morning and it was a great success! There were amazing teamwork skills on display and we are very proud of the hard work and presentation skills of ALL the pupils.

REMINDERS –
PE – outdoor Kit on Mondays / Indoor kit on Wednesdays

Homework – Spelling Test will take place on Monday and will include words from the last six weeks.

Maths Homework – we would like to remind all pupils that they have maths homework EVERY WEEK. If we do not give out maths homework in the form of worksheet we still expect the pupils to be practising Times Tables, Fact Families, and Number Bonds. We have shown the pupils’ games and activities they can do to practise.

Thank for your continued support.
Mrs Wylie, Mr. Woodward and Mr Shanks

Primary 5 15.12.17

Primary 5 have had another very busy week.

In Maths we have continued to learn about the properties of 3D objects and we completed this topic with a K nex challenge.  All children participated well and produced a group of shapes to display.

In language this week we have been writing stories related to Harry Potter.  We have been redrafting our writing using the Clicker programme and will be collating our work into a book next week.

In PE we have started a block of Basketball with Mrs Ferguson which we will continue after the holidays.

 

Mrs Jamieson and Miss Farren

Primary 7 14.12.17

Hello everyone

We have had a lovely week in Primary 7 so far. We had the opportunity to watch both the Nursery/P1 nativity and the P2/3 nativity. We loved both performances and we thought that the children did really well.

This week we have been putting our ICT skills to the test! We will be using GLOW throughout Primary 7 to look at the blog and for transition activities with Deans Community High School. In order to use this platform we had to reset our passwords. We also went to P1 and P2 to help them to log into the computer and reset their GLOW passwords. All adults have been very impressed with how skilled the Primary 7s were at teaching the younger children in the school.

There will be no homework next week. Homework will resume again on the second week back (wb 15.1.18) after the Christmas Holidays.

The P7 Christmas Disco will take place next Thursday 21st December from 6-8pm. Please note that children must be picked up from inside the school at 8pm, we cannot allow children to walk home themselves.

This will be our last blog post before the Christmas so we would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We are looking forward to welcoming the children back to school on the 9th January.

Thank you for your support.

Miss Clark & Mrs Macaulay

Primary 6 Class Nativity Challenge

Our two Primary 6 classes were set a critical skills challenge today to tell the complete Nativity Story from beginning to end in chronological order through building models of the key scenes in the story.  We then evaluated each other’s work using the task criteria (which were quite exacting), and opened our doors for other classes to come and see what we had been learning and to comment on how well we’d done.  From planning to finished work was 2-and-a-half hours. Here are Primary 6 A’s efforts:

 

 

And here are Primary 6B’s:

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