Primary 5

Primary Five: 16.09.2021

Hello from Primary 5,

In Maths this week, we have been working on properties of 2D Shapes. Both classes blew their teachers socks off with their knowledge of quadrilaterals and polygons! We had lots of fun using the peg-boards and rubber bands to create the different shapes.

In Reading, we have been continuing with our class novel ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’. This week’s chapter discussed the tough journey Ahmet travelling from Syria to England without his family and the children discussed how Ahmet might have been feeling during this hard experience.

During writing, we completed our recounts of Ahmet’s first day of school in England. The children used information from the text and their own imagination to create some excellent recounts. We have begun to look at self-assessing our writing to see if we are hitting all our core and genre targets as we write.

In Numeracy, we zoomed through lots of work on Rounding and Sequencing numbers.

During Topic this week, we followed Amal into Greece and created our own fact-files for this new country. We learned about the key information, culture and lifestyle in the country. We were quite surprised how much foods we eat here in Scotland are actually from Greece originally!

We also finished some great art pieces this week connected to Turkey! The beautiful Iznik designs that are common across Turkish cities are made up of intricate designs and vibrant colours, and the classes did an excellent job at re-creating these.

A gentle reminder about PE kit. On Wednesday and Thursday, please ensure your child is wearing the school approved PE kit (navy blue or black joggers/leggings, white t-shirt and a navy jumper). Thank you very much!

Have a lovely September holiday,
Mrs Jamieson and Ms Munro

Primary 5 10.9.21

In Primary 5 we have continued reading our novel The Boy at the Back of the Class. This week we learned that the new boy, Ahmmet is a Syrian refugee who speaks Kurdish.

We have also met a new character called Amal. She is a giant puppet who is making the journey from Syria to Britain and we are going to be researching the countries she will be visiting. This week we researched facts about Turkey and made our own Iznik patterns.

We are working on recount in writing and this week we have started writing about Ahmmet’s first day at school.

In maths we have been working on place value and angles.

This week we took part in a live reading lesson on teams. It was about prediction and led by Mrs Cochrane. We took part with all the other P4 and 5 classes in the Deans cluster.

Homework grids have been put on teams and our first homework is due to be completed by Friday 17th September. Please encourage your child to add homework to the files section of the homework channel or take photographs and add this to the chat. Homework jotters are also available for anyone who needs them.

Have a lovely week

Mrs Jamieson and Miss Munroe

Primary 5: 03.09.21

Happy Friday! It has been a busy couple of weeks in Primary 51 We are beginning to settle into our routine and we have completed lots of excellent tasks so far!

In reading, we have been enjoying our class novel The Boy at the Back of the Classroom. We are learning about Ahmet and his tough journey from Syria to London. This has linked into our Topic where we are learning about Refugees. The classes have held some excellent discussions around their thoughts and feelings of being uprooted and forced to travel to foreign countries. We are following the journey of Little Amal, a 3.5metre puppet, who is walking from Turkey to Manchester, a route many refugees take across Europe. You can keep up to date with her at https://www.walkwithamal.org/about-us/little-amal/.

Last Thursday, we had lots of fun completing a very sticky STEM Challenge in which the class had to create a free-standing tower made out of marshmallows and spaghetti! The hot weather made this challenge extra tricky as the marshmallows very quickly melted and the learners had to adapt many of their plans.

In Maths, we have been working hard learning the names and properties of different angles. The children found lots of examples angles in their classroom and had lots of fun playing interactive games. Try them at home: https://www.mathplayground.com/alienangles.html .

This week, we began our Spanish lessons and had lots of fun learning to greet and introduce ourselves in the new language. We have some natural linguists in our classrooms!

Our PE days this term are Wednesday and Thursday. We will need outdoor kit for Wednesday and indoor for Thursday. We would be grateful if your child could come to school dressed in black or navy kit with a white t -shirt on these days. Children can wear shorts under their trousers on Thursday if they wish.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Jamieson and Miss Munro

Primary 5 20.8.21

Primary 5 have settled back into school and enjoyed their first week. We have spent the week getting to know each other and establishing our new classroom routines. We have already completed some displays and completed writing to introduce ourselves.

We have talked about our Class Charter, agreed on the rights we would like to work on this year and created a display.

We have started reading a new novel called The Boy at the Back of the Classroom and this week we have started talking about the main characters and making predictions about the main events in the story.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Jamieson and Miss Munro

Primary 5 18.06.21

Hello,

Second last week in Primary Five completed!

This week in Writing, the class wrote their own end of year report! The children identified what they had done well, what they enjoyed and any improvements they were going to make in P6. It was very interesting reading what the children thought of their progress. Please find these sheets in with their teacher written end of year report that the children will bring home.

In Numeracy both classes are continuing to work on decimals. This week we looked at hundredths–how to write them, order them and their connection to tenths. We are pleased to report that the children completed these activities very well.

In Reading, the children are finishing off their non-fiction book on the Scottish Wars of Independence. We are very impressed with the detail contained in the books and there are some fantastic pictures and diagrams. The children will bring the finished books home next week for you to look at. We hope you are impressed as we are!

On Friday we were able to watch the P7 parade. The children had made flags and banners to wish the P7s good luck at High School. The children were very excited to see the P7s dancing and the music was very danceable!

The children had been working on a secret mission to thank Mr Shanks for all he has done for them and the school. P5 created a cloak with good luck messages on it which Mr Shanks was presented with when he visited the classroom. The children had also written acrostic poems listing all the things he does. We all agreed that it was a lot!

PE- Tuesday and Thursday – Please remember to provide your child with a water bottle on these days J

Next week the children will be watching a pantomime, Alice in Wonderland, on Wednesday. If the children want to bring a snack to eat while watching this they can. We are all very excited to see this.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5: 10.06.2021

Hello,

It has been a busy week in Primary Five!

We had lots of fun at our annual Sports Day on Thursday morning! It was a little different than normal but we had lots of fun with all the fun activities set up by Mrs Ferguson and Miss Malloy! There were lots of fun potted sports to start; javelin throwing contests, rugby tosses, tennis ball serves and relay running. We then moved on to Beat the Goalie which was lots of fun and a lot trickier than it looked! Last up there was lots of fun running and relay races; there was some close finishes!Well done to every Primary 5 member who took part, tried their hardest, showed great sportsmanship and had fun!

The overall points were so close and there was less than 20 points in it! These are the rankings for the Primary 5 Sports Day but we will have to wait until all the year groups scores are added together!

Waverley = 1^st

Sutherland = 2^nd

Deer Park = 3^rd

Raeburn = 4^th

This week in Writing, the class wrote superb senses poems inspired by a 13^th century battlefield. The children used their imagination to transport themselves onto the battle field at Stirling Bridge, Falkirk or Bannockburn and tried to envisage what they might see, smell, hear, taste and touch. They came up with lots of gory words to create some really gruesome descriptions. The children were very creative coming up with different bodily fluids that you might find on a battlefield . They then organised their ideas into five different stanzas each focussing on a different body sense. The finished poems were fantastic and we had fun sharing them with the class.

In Maths, both classes were working on measuring weight. Primary 5a faced the tricky task of organising 10kilograms worth of (imaginary) fruit for the new (imaginary) Carmondean Fruit Tuck Shop. This involved having to convert weights between grams and kilograms as well as using fractions and decimals.

In Numeracy, both classes have been working hard on decimals. They have been learning how to convert between fractions and decimals, and this week took on the challenge of adding decimals. Both classes have made excellent progress on this!

In Reading, we have reached the final chapter of our non-fiction text for The Scottish Wars of Independence. The classes were amazed that they had managed to read the whole book so thoroughly alongside making their own books! This weeks chapter focussed on the Scottish victory at the Battle of Bannockburn and the Declaration of Arbroath.

During Health, we have been looking at the growth of a foetus during pregnancy. Both classes loved looking at the comparison charts and finding out what fruit a foetus compares to each week. We had lots of excellent discussions about what babies can see/hear/do inside the mothers womb!

PE- Tuesday and Thursday – Please remember to provide your child with a water bottle on these days J

Have a lovely sunny weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5: 03.06.2021

Hello,

What a hot and sunny week it has been!

This week in Writing the children wrote acrostic poems for a Top Secret Project. We had excellent discussions and brainstormed our ideas connected to our secret mission. The children worked hard on their poem, created some beautiful descriptions and the finished pieces of writing looked fabulous! We cannot to share them in the next few weeks!

During Health, we had lots of fun discussing our Birth Fact Files. The children had been tasked with finding out their full name, date and time of birth, where they were born and how much they weighed. They could also share any other interesting information about their birth! It was lovely to see all the cute baby photographs!

In Maths, both classes were working on measuring weight. We estimated the weight of household objects in grams and kilograms before using a variety of measuring scales to get the actual weight of each object. The children were surprised about how heavy/light some objects were; who knew a paperclip does not weigh one kilogram!

In Reading, we are continuing with our non-fiction text connected to our history topic; The Scottish Wars of Independence. This week we were investigating Robert the Bruce and how after the death of William Wallace he became Scotland’s new king. The children were fascinated by the story of Robert the Bruce and how the spider in the cave inspired him.

In numeracy P5G have been decimals and investigating the link with fractions. The children took to this new concept exceptionally well and were able to explain how to convert fractions to decimals and vice versa. Next week we will be looking at adding decimal numbers.

In PE all our practicing for the flash mob dance came to fruition. On Thursday filming of the P5 section of the flash mob took place and the children all danced very enthusiastically (even the adults managed it!). Look out for the video on the blog in the coming weeks!

On Thursday afternoon, we had lots of fun watching the auditions for the talent show. Some of the different acts were gymnastics, dancing, magic tricks, xylophone and trumpet playing, singing and stand-up comedy! We were blown-up away by the talent, and have two wonderful acts to represent P5 in the school wide Talent Show; Ayden and Monica the hilarious ‘Red Magicians’ from P5A and Sarah Kirk’s singing ‘1000 Years’ from P5B. Well done to all that auditions!

Next Thursday, P5 will have their Sports Day Events with Mrs Ferguson. Please come dressed for the weather and in your house colours! Hopefully next year we will be able to have spectators, however we will take plenty of photographs to post on the blog!

Reminders

Homework next week- Spelling due on a Friday. Look, Cover, Write, Check and sentences using spelling words. This will be completed in their spelling jotter.
Please encourage your child to practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100 on a regular basis.
The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home too.
PE- Tuesday and Thursday – Please remember to provide your child with a water bottle on these days /

Have a lovely sunny weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5- 28.05.2021

Hello,

It has been a short but lovely week in Primary 5!

In reading, we are continuing with our non-fiction text connected to our history topic; The Scottish Wars of Independence. This week we were investigating William Wallace and how he was a part of defeating King Edward I at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. We also found out what happened to him in 1305 which was a bit grisly! Ask your child to tell you all about it! The children’s own non-fictions books are looking fantastic with some super detail and illustrations.

This week in writing the children completed a diary entry about the Battle of Stirling Bridge from either the perspective of a Scottish or English solider. They were focussing on having the facts in the correct order, including feelings and using lots of descriptive language. After reading some of the finished pieces it was just like we were there. Well done everyone for bringing this battle to life!

During Health discussions we were looking at what humans can do at different stages of their life- baby, toddler, child, teenager, adult and pensioner. There were some interesting answers! For homework the children were also asked to find out about details of their birth. We have seen some lovely photos so far. Next week the children will be sharing the information they have found out.

In numeracy P5G have been working on division with remainders. There was some accurate work completed and we have all become much better at remembering our times tables. Next week the children will be starting to investigate decimals and their link with fractions. P5M were getting ready to learn about decimals this week and recapped on their fractions knowledge through lots of games and activities.

In PE we have been practicing the dance for the flash mob. This has been great fun and the children are already better than the teachers! Many of the children became teachers and were able to direct their peers on how to do the dance moves. Next week filming will take place. We then did some relay racing to help practice some of our athletics skills.

Out topic lessons this week focussed on the strategies the Scottish and English armies used when fighting battles, particularly the use of schiltrons and longbowmen. It was fascinating to find out how these strategies helped both sides to victory at different battles. The children also created their own shields. This involved researching what was on shields, choosing their own designs then painting their shield. The results were quite impressive! Check out some of the shields at the bottom of this post!

A reminder, PE is a TUESDAY AND THURSDAY. Please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE. Remember we go outside in all weathers so it is essential that your child has a waterproof jacket/sunhat/sun cream with them! It is Scotland after all! If the weather does continue it is essential that every child brings a water bottle to school – remember we can refill during the day!

Reminders

Homework next week- Spelling due on a Friday. Look, Cover, Write, Check and sentences using spelling words. This will be completed in their spelling jotter.
Please encourage your child to practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100 on a regular basis.
The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home too.
PE- Tuesday and Thursday – Please remember to provide your child with a water bottle on these days J

Have a lovely sunny weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5 21.5.21

Hello,

It has been another busy week in Primary 5!

This week in writing the children were thinking about their Best Day. This generated a lot of lovely memories and we had great discussions about feelings connected to this. The children were using the success criteria for genre writing so were thinking about chronology, using time connecting words and phrases, writing in the past tense and including how things made them feel. A lot to think about! We were very impressed with the finished pieces of writing.

In health as a follow on to writing P5B discussed good and bad days we have had. There was lots of interesting discussion about this. P5A were ordering the life cycles of different animals and insects and discussing any similarities or differences between them. Next week we will be looking at key facts connected to our own birth. Eg weight, time etc.

In reading, we are continuing with our non-fiction text connected to our history topic; The Scottish Wars of Independence. This week we continued to focus on the key events that led to the struggle for independence, and the classes were able to pull on all their knowledge they have learned from their topic lessons. The children’s own non-fictions books are looking fantastic as they build up chapters each week.

In maths, both classes have continued to work incredibly hard on division strategies. Many of the children are now able to divide 3 digit numbers with ease. It is important to have a strong grasp of the multiplication tables for division, so please keep practising! Both classes continued to learn about volume this week in maths. P5A had lots of fun making potions to practice measuring volume. Unicorn tears and toad snot were some of the ingredients! P5B were estimating the volume of real life objects.

In topic we have been learning all about William Wallace and how the battle of Stirling Bridge came about. The children have been ordering the events which took place and cheering a Scottish victory! Lots of discussion has taken place around tactics used and how this helped the Scottish win.

In PE we have been practicing the dance for the flash mob. This has been great fun and the children are already better than the teachers! Many of the children became teachers and were able to direct their peers on how to do the dance moves. We then did some relay racing to help practice some of our athletics skills.

Reminders

Homework next week- Spelling due on a Friday. Look, Cover, Write, Check and sentences using spelling words. This will be completed in their spelling jotter. Health-create a birth fact file. This will be assigned on Teams.
Please encourage your child to practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100 on a regular basis.
The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home too.
PE- Tuesday and Thursday – Please remember to provide your child with a water bottle on these days J

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5 07.05.2021

Hello,

It has been a short but busy week in Primary 5!

In Writing, the class have continued to work on the explanation genre. This week the children were explaining how to keep your body and mind healthy! The learners discussed all the different ways we can maintain a healthy lifestyle and spoke of the consequences if we do not look after our bodies. They then organised all their ideas under different subheadings for the completed writing piece. The class were very enthusiastic to share all their healthy living ideas and wrote several pages! It has been wonderful to see the progression in the children’s writing since the start of Primary 5!

In reading, we have continued with our non-fiction text connected to our history topic; The Scottish Wars of Independence. This week we were focussing on how people lived in the 13^th century and were looking at the differences between living in the countryside or a town (burgh). We looked at how food was gathered, how clothes were made and what houses looked like 700 years ago! The class were shocked that people shared their homes with their cattle and chickens, and no one was very keen to switch lives with a 13^th century Scot!

In maths, both classes have been working incredibly hard on new division strategies. These are new skills to most learners but the children have made some excellent progress! It is important to have a strong grasp of the multiplication tables for division, so please keep practising!

In Health, both classes were learning about differences between male and female and the idea that we can sometimes tell the difference between them by looking and sometimes not. The discussion generated a lot of questions and comments.

In PE, the class have continue to work their running skills as part of an athletics block of lessons. We focussed on moving at different paces, quick stop and starts and transitioning between a slow and fast pace. We also looked at a good form and posture which makes running longer distances a lot easier. A reminder, PE is a TUESDAY AND THURSDAY. Please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE. Remember we go outside in all weathers so it is essential that your child has a waterproof jacket/sunhat/sun cream with them! It is Scotland after all! If the weather does continue it is essential that every child brings a water bottle to school – remember we can refill during the day!

Reminders

Spelling due on a Friday. Look, Cover, Write, Check and sentences using spelling words. This will be completed in their spelling jotter. Numeracy/maths assigned on Teams due on a Monday. This will be connected to concepts we are covering in class.
Please encourage your child to practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100 on a regular basis.
The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home too.
PE- Tuesday and Thursday – Please remember to provide your child with a water bottle on these days J

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5 30.04.21

Hello,

We have had another busy week in Primary 5!

In PE, the children have been working on their running skills as part of an athletics block of lessons. We focussed on moving at different paces, quick stop and starts and transitioning between a slow and fast pace. We also looked at a good form and posture which makes running longer distances a lot easier. A reminder, PE is a TUESDAY AND THURSDAY. Please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE. Remember we go outside in all weathers so it is essential that your child has a waterproof jacket/sunhat/sun cream with them! It is Scotland after all! If the weather does continue it is essential that every child brings a water bottle to school – remember we can refill during the day!

In Writing, the class wrote about the impacts of global warming on our planet. We discussed the impact humans were having on the natural world and animal kingdom before writing an explanation piece on how we can help the planet. It was fantastic to see the passion the children have for fighting climate change and hear the ideas how we can make a difference.

Both classes are really enjoying our topic the Scottish Wars of Independence. We have had some excellent discussions this week on the series of unfortunate events that led to the Succession Crisis that Scotland went through in the 13^th century. We researched Margaret, the Maid of Norway, who unfortunately died of seasickness, and learned about the tricky decision of who was to be king or queen next!

In reading, we have continued with our non-fiction text connected to our history topic. This week we were focussing on life in a castle and learning about the different roles within the castle household. The lords and knights always had to be ready for battle and the ladies of the castle had a long list of chores to do every day! The girls in the class were annoyed the ladies missed out on the battles and wearing the fun armour!

In maths, the class were practising their maths strategies to calculate area and perimeter of 3D Shapes. The children have made lots of excellent progress with this, and it helps that they have a strong knowledge of their times tables! It is always good to keep practising though!

This week in French, the classes continued on ‘Le Corps’ and learning how to name and describe the different body parts! We are getting really confident with this and can now describe our facial features!

Reminders

Spelling due on a Friday. Look, Cover, Write, Check and sentences using spelling words. This will be completed in their spelling jotter. Numeracy/maths assigned on Teams due on a Monday. This will be connected to concepts we are covering in class.
Please encourage your child to practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100 on a regular basis.
The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home too.
PE- Tuesday and Thursday – Please remember to provide your child with a water bottle on these days.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5 23.04.21

Hello,

It has been busy first week back after the holidays! We have enjoyed the lovely sunshine and made good use of the outdoors when we can!

Please remember, PE is now on a TUESDAY AND THURSDAY. Please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE. Remember we go outside in all weathers so it is essential that your child has a waterproof jacket/sunhat/sun cream with them! It is Scotland after all! If the weather does continue it is essential that every child brings a water bottle to school – remember we can refill during the day!

In Writing, the class created a story board of the main events of their Easter holidays. The children shared all the different adventures they had over the break, from climbing the Pentland hills, cycle trips to the Kelpies and barbeques in the sunshine with their friends. The class then organised the main events of their days into four, six and eight sections using drawing and recount writing to share their experiences.

This week we have started our new topic on the Scottish Wars of Independence. We travelled back in time to 1290s to understand what life in Scotland was like; no running water, electricity or iPhones! The class learned of the mysterious death of Alexander III of Scotland and important this was for Scotland, and studied the timeline following his death that led to the Wars of Independence.

Our reading lessons this term will link in with this history topic as we are concentrating on the features of non-fiction texts. The children working towards are going to create their own non-fiction book using the information gathered in these reading lessons.

In Health and Wellbeing, the class played games connected with sharing their emotions and feelings. The children had an opportunity to share a time when they felt a particular emotion and ways they can cope with changing feelings.

The class were learning about body parts in French this week. We had lots of fun playing Simon Says and Guess Who, and we all got the French version of ‘Head, Shoulder’s, Knees and Toes’ stuck in our heads for the rest of the day!

Homework will be given this term. This will be a mixture of jotter work and assignments on Teams. Spelling and Numeracy will be given next week. For spelling the children will do Look, Cover, Write, Check and sentences in their jotter. Numeracy will concentrate on times tables and number bonds.

Reminders

In Numeracy, the children need to use their number bonds and their times tables on a regular basis and it would be very helpful if they could get some extra practice in. Please practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100.
The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home.
PE- Tuesday and Thursday – Please remember to provide your child with a water bottle on these days.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5 – 01.04.2021

Hello,

Please remember, PE is now on a TUESDAY AND THURSDAY. Please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE. Remember we go outside in all weathers so it is essential that your child has a waterproof jacket with them. At the moment the children are practicing their skipping skills and playground games.

In writing, the children created newspaper reports on the events of the shocking robbery at the Livingston Easter Egg Factory! The culprit turned out to be the rogue Easter Bunny who was storing his loot on Dechmont Hill. We had lots of fun creating eye-catching titles and interesting sub-headings. The children were also able to include eye-witness accounts of the robbery to help the police the catch the villain!

In Science, the class had lots of fun completing experiments connected to saturation. We made scientific predictions and conclusions as we test how much salt or sugar it takes to create a saturated solution.

In our interdisciplinary topic, Rock Band, the class had to organise a music festival with an eco-friendly focus. There was lots of discussions around how to reduce, reuse and recycle items that are used and discarded. The children were able to create eye-catching and informative posters.

In maths, we had a revision week where the children worked on previously covered topics, such as negative numbers, surveys and graphs, equations and equivalent fractions. The children were able to use knowledge from these different concepts to complete some Easter themed activities accurately.

We had lots of fun on April Fools’ Day. In P5G, the children were heading home at 4pm as they had to complete ‘lockdown catch-up’ work. There were lots of panic over arriving home late until the children worked out what date it was. In P5M, the children entered a word search competition where none of the given words could be found in the grid! All persevered on until Ms Munro gave away the game with her laughter.

Reminders

In Numeracy, the children need to use their number bonds and their times tables on a regular basis and it would be very helpful if they could get some extra practice in. Please practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100.
The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home.
PE- Tuesday and Thursday

Please ensure the children have the correct kit for going outdoors- trainers, trackies/joggers, t-shirt and fleece/hoodie. They can come to school wearing their PE kit but a school jumper must be worn during the day. They can then change into their outdoor jumper when we go outside.

Have a lovely holiday and we will see you all back in two weeks time,

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Hello,

It has been lovely to welcome all children back to Primary Five! We have had a busy couple of weeks settling back. Lots of catching up and chatting to be had!

Please remember, PE is now on a TUESDAY AND THURSDAY. Please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE. Remember we go outside in all weathers so it is essential that your child has a waterproof jacket with them. At the moment the children are practicing their skipping skills and playground games.

In Writing, the class were helping to raise awareness for WWF’s Earth Hour. We researched and discussed the impact climate change was having on animals and natural environments all around the world, and discussed what we can do to make a positive change. One of the things we can do is take part in Earth Hour this Saturday at 8:30pm, where people worldwide turn off electrical devices and lights in their home to reflect on climate change. The children created fantastic pieces of writing in lots of different forms (posters, PowerPoints newspaper articles, comic book strips) to share information and encourage others to take part. Why not try Earth Hour with your family this Saturday?

In Science, the class had lots of fun completing experiments connected to dissolving into water. We made scientific predictions and conclusions as we test soluble and insoluble materials. There was lots of fun watching the magical candy floss disappear into the water!

We are coming to the end of our Rockband interdisciplinary topic. The children have created their bands, identified songs to sing and concert venues to attend around the world. With Mrs Muir the children created their own instrumental compositions using the ‘Garage band’ app.

As a follow up to World Book Day, the class designed their own book tokens to be entered into a national competition. The children had to think of key words, phrases and images connected to reading to create an eye catching design to encourage to people to buy book tokens. Fingers crossed we have a winner!

Reminders

In Numeracy, the children need to use their number bonds and their times tables on a regular basis and it would be very helpful if they could get some extra practice in. Please practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100.
The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home.
PE- Tuesday and Thursday

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

January Active Fun Challenge results

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in our January Active Fun Challenge. The number of active minutes logged across West Lothian Primary Schools was phenomenal and 32 primary schools in West Lothian took part.

Carmondean Primary logged 33 days, 2 hrs and 9 minutes of active minutes in January- AMAZING!

Take a look at the results video here https://youtu.be/EtVvnFjk0OM to see which schools ranked in the TOP 10.

Judy Murray announces the winner in the video and sets out a challenge to everyone. I gave the challenge a try- can you do better than me?

Lego WeDo Fun!

This week the Primary 4/5 Bubble had lots of fun trying out Lego WeDo kits. The group worked hard building two different models and using the computer software to programme their Lego creations to move. They created a pair of free-standing Lego legs which when programmed correctly a motor triggered the leg to kick a football. Before moving onto a further challenge of creating a motion-sensor alligator, where the jaws snapped shut when an object entered its mouth.

For many students this was a brand new task for them, however they all rose to the challenge and were able to troubleshoot all their construction and programming problems. The children adapted really quickly to the programming software and by the end of the lesson they were giving Ms Munro hints on how to complete her model!

We cannot wait to show the rest of our class our creations when they return to school!

January 2021 Active Fun Challenge

Happy New Year everyone.

I’m hoping that you all made your New Year Resolution to be as active as possible in 2021 because I have entered the school into a competition to find the most active school in West Lothian and in true Carmondean spirit we are in it to win it!

How can you help?

Be as active as you can. Any activity counts from taking taking part in PE lessons to walking your dog to dancing along to Just Dance.
Record the number of minutes each week you are active and submit the number on this form. This most be done by 10am every Monday. ( first submission date is Monday 18th January)

Every Tuesday the school with the highest number of weekly activity minutes will be announced and at the end of the month the school with the highest number of minutes throughout the month will be the champions.

Good luck, happy exercising and if you have any questions please get in touch.

Mrs Ferguson

Primary 5 – 11.12.2020

Hello,

It has been an exciting week for Primary 5 in the lead up to the Christmas holidays!

The children were working on creating 3D Shapes from nets in maths this week. This was quite a fiddly task however the class managed really well! Next week we are hoping to use our new skills to create a 3D Christmas decoration.

In Writing, the class were given the bad news that Santa’s elves were unwell and therefor Santa would not be able to deliver presents to everyone. The children worked hard on a persuasive letter to Santa discussing why they should be one of the few to receive a present! We had some great persuasive discussion and after the chaos of 2020 it is hard not to disagree that each one of them deserves a gift this year. However, good news from the North Pole tells us that all the elves are fully recovered and ALL children will be receiving their presents. Phew!

In Science, the children have been working extremely hard on their Endangered Animals fact-files and are now complete. Next Monday, they will be presenting their research to the class and we cannot wait to hear all their fantastic findings.

This week all the learners completed their first solo class talk on their landmark model and leaflet. It has been fantastic to see all the different creations that have been brought in and hear the lovely stories of making it home with family members. Each learner had created a tourist leaflet to go with their model to persuade others to visit. By the end of the presentations, we had planned a road trip around the United Kingdom to visit all these landmarks!

Primary 5M have been working hard on the Advent Calendar of Kindness this week and completing lots of different actions to spread happiness in the school and classroom. Our Box of Kindness is growing every day and soon will be taken to the local foodbank.

During PE lessons this week the class have continued to clock-up lots of miles towards the Primary 7 challenge to run to the North Pole. As a school, we have covered over 400 miles and have reached somewhere north of the Shetland Islands in the Atlantic Ocean!

In ICT, the children have joined a new Microsoft Team called the 12 Sways of Christmas. There are 12 challenges and the children can chose which ones to complete. This can be continued at home if they wish, and do not forget to share their creations with the class too!

Please remember, PE is now on a TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. Can you please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE.

Reminders

In Numeracy, the children need to use their number bonds and their times tables on a regular basis and it would be very helpful if they could get some extra practice in. Please practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100.
Homework on TEAMS this week, there will be a festive themed spelling and numeracy task as well as a Science Investigation – stock up on your ice cubes!
PE- Tuesday and Wednesday

There has been a change to the timetable – Outdoor PE will now be on Tuesdays with class teacher and Wednesdays with Mrs Ferguson. Please ensure the children have the correct kit for going outdoors- trainers, trackies/joggers, t-shirt and fleece/hoodie. They can come to school wearing their PE kit but a school jumper must be worn during the day. They can then change into their outdoor jumper when we go outside.

The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5 – 03.12.2020

Hello,

Happy December! The snow arrived right on time for the lead up to Christmas!

As 2020 has thrown us many curveballs, we have had to adapt our usual nativity performance. Instead this year, each class will be filming a section of the Christmas Story which will be edited together. We have been holding auditions and creating our script ready for filming next week! Look out for this on the blog in coming weeks!

In Eco this week, Primary 5M gathered lots of sticks from around the playground and skilfully made them into photo frames! They are excellent and we cannot wait to put pictures in them next week and see the finished product– a perfect Christmas present?

Primary 5G worked hard on their advent calendar as well as making a Christmas wreath to decorate their classroom! Lots of Christmas crafts underway!

In Maths, the classes both moved onto learning about 3D Shapes. We recapped all the names of shapes we had learned before and started introducing their different properties. In Coordinates, P5M had fun plotting out points and joining them up to form a funny picture!

In Numeracy, the children have moved on to multiplication tasks. It is essential that the children know their 2-10 times table. In the coming weeks, it would be great if you could practise these at home so the children are able to recall these facts quickly. There are lots of fun games that can be used to help this;

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables
Education City

In our Great Britain and Northern Ireland topic, the groups presented their fantastic posters to the class. It was great to see such colourful and informative posters and have a chance to share all our fantastic knowledge with one another. We also had the chance to talk about the landmark models that we made at home, and share the process of constructing them! From salt dough to Plaster of Paris, each one of them was so unique. This week we worked on creating leaflets persuading others to visit our chosen landmark (when they are allowed!).

Primary 7 have set Carmondean Primary School the challenge of running to the North Pole before December 18^th to deliver a very important message to Santa! In our PE lessons this week we have been counting up our laps to add to the tally. Primary 5 have ran nearly 100 miles (four marathons!) this week!

As of next week, PE will now be on a TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. Can you please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE.

Reminders

In Numeracy, the children need to use their number bonds and their times tables on a regular basis and it would be very helpful if they could get some extra practice in. Please practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100.

Homework on TEAMS this week is a spelling and a numeracy activity as well as an Article 27 (“Adequate Standard of Living”) of Rights Respecting School activity . Some children were able to complete the activities online and some used their homework jotter. This jotter can be returned to school each week or they can take a picture of their work and upload that to the photo channel in their Team. Please just complete the activities at a time most convenient for you and your family.

PE- Tuesday and Wednesday

The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd

Primary 5 – 27.11.2020

Hello,

It has been a busy week for Primary 5!

In Maths, the children have to continue to practice using protractors to measure angles. The class have made fantastic progress and our now experts in this new skill. In Coordinates, the class were drawing their own coordinate grids (or as we found out are called Cartesian grids!) and plotting points.

This week, the children edited and redrafted their writing from last week on ‘why reading is important’. We have some great finished pieces with strong reasons for the importance of reading throughout your whole life.

In Science, the children are working extremely hard on their Endangered Animals fact-files. It has been a long process of research, writing and editing but the finished products are nearly complete, and they look fantastic!

This week in our Great Britain and Northern Ireland topic, the class finished working on their display posters. We are very impressed by some of the excellent team work and negotiations skills as they compromised on opinions. We cannot wait to hear their presentations in the coming weeks.

Christmas (sorry to mention the ‘c’ word so early) is fast approaching. Primary 5M were getting in the spirit and were working to create an advent calendar of kindness for our classroom. We brainstormed lots of lovely kind actions that we can do each day of December to spread kindness and happiness in our class, community and to ourselves! We also will creating and foodbank donation box, where we will collect food items each day to donate to a local charity. Primary 5G will start this task early next week.

In Eco lessons, we had great fun ‘upcycling’ our old t-shirts into new tote bags! It was great to see old clothing going to use, and not into landfill! Now the children have no excuse not to help carry the shopping in!

Thank you for helping the children create and design their Landmark models. They are looking fantastic! If your child is still to hand in, please can you do this by early next week. Next week will be researching their landmark and creating a leaflet to persuade others to visit (when Nicola lets us travel!).

The children have been coming well wrapped up for PE lessons which is great to see. They have been working on pace and endurance in running, which is sometimes hard to remember not to zoom off right at the start!

As of next week, PE will now be on a TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. Can you please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for outdoor PE.

Reminders

In Numeracy, the children need to use their number bonds and their times tables on a regular basis and it would be very helpful if they could get some extra practice in. Please practice 2-10 times tables and number bonds to 100.
Homework on TEAMS this week is a spelling and numeracy activity. Some children were able to complete the activities online and some used their homework jotter. This jotter can be returned to school each week or they can take a picture of their work and upload that to the photo channel in their Team. Please just complete the activities at a time most convenient for you and your family.

PE- Tuesday and Wednesday

There has been a change to the timetable – Outdoor PE will now be on Tuesdays with class teacher and Wednesdays with Mrs Ferguson. Please ensure the children have the correct kit for going outdoors- trainers, trackies/joggers, t-shirt and fleece/hoodie. They can come to school wearing their PE kit but a school jumper must be worn during the day. They can then change into their outdoor jumper when we go outside.

The children have chosen a book to read for enjoyment in class and it would be appreciated if you could continue to encourage your child to read for enjoyment at home.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Gilmour, Ms Munro, Mrs Muir and Miss Herd