Carmondean Primary School Blog

Benmore – Last Day

Good morning from a dry (at the moment) Benmore. Everyone had a great time at the disco last night and are now slightly worried the pictures might find their way onto an assembly presentation. Everyone was asleep by 9.45 and slept soundly all night long. However, there were a few Bed-Heads at breakfast this morning and plentiful yawns and nodding heads. Looks like the bus journey home will be very quiet! The children were very pleased to get your messages (even the bits I made up – sorry Ryan), so thanks for sending them. It really does add to the experience knowing the people at home are following their adventures. To answer some questions, Imane – the fish and chips were absolutely delicious, possibly the best we’ve ever tasted. Gregor – some people found the nightline scary, but everyone enjoyed it. We were very interested to hear about the knights, armour and weapons challenge you were doing and we’re looking forward to seeing these when we get home. The plan is to arrive at Carmondean at approximately 4.00, depending on availability of ferry spaces. See you then.

Primary Five 19th February 2016

This week more than half the stage are away at Benmore so the rest of the boys and girls have been taking part in some work based around our Topic. We have been working on a challenge to make a life sized 13th Century Knight complete with armour and weapons. This has been great fun and we will be displaying these around the classroom for the other boys and girls to see when they return.

Sarah Leoni Robyn

We have also been using some of the skills we have learned in ICT to create a leaflet. We are using Publisher to make an information leaflet about weapons that the Knights would have used in their battles. We look forward to sharing these with the Benmore boys and girls too.

We are all excited to hear about the boys and girls adventures next week and hopefully see some pictures of what they have been up to.

Thank you

Mrs Steel

Primary 4, 19.2.16

This is just a quick entry seeing as it has been a very short week!

Assembly words have been handed out this week. Please help your child to learn them.

Reading from Monday will be connected to our reading books and based on the techniques we have learned during Reading Routes. As a result, can children ensure they bring their reading books with them to school every day.

Reminders:

Please sign homework diaries

Outdoor PE: Tuesday, weather permitting

Indoor PE: Wednesday

Friday 26th February: Class assembly at 11:30am which you are all welcome to come to. Please make contact with the office if you have not already done so to tell them how many people you wish to come. This will allow us to have an appropriate amount of seats out.

The assembly explains information about Scotland’s seven cities and information about how Mary Queen of Scots was connected to some of them.

Homework:

Spelling as normal

Reading

Red – 132 – 153

Blue – 113 – End

Green – 95 – 108

Learn assembly words and assembly songs.

Due 11th March – Class talk. If children wish to do this in pairs, they can, however both children should have the same amount of interaction with the class for assessment in listening and talking and answering questions.

Benmore Day 2

A quiet night was spent by all with everyone getting a great night’s sleep. After a nice breakfast of cereal, sausages, beans, toast and fresh fruit if we wanted it, we’ve been abseiling, climbing, orienteering and biking. Throughout the day or tomorrow morning, we’ll all have a go at these. Everyone’s having a great time as you will see from the pictures. Disco to come tonight and then a night of blissful peace as everyone is very tired after the day’s exertions. As ever, send us a message to share with the children – they really look forward to them.

Benmore – First Contact

Greetings from sunny (some of the time) Benmore. Primary 5 children have well and truly arrived and guess what was waiting for them? A group of pupils from Deans Primary, just along the road! They’re having a residential at Benmore too!

Already the programme has been action-packed with a forest walk this afternoon and a nightline activity after a lovely dinner of fish and chips. Now it’s time for bed for a good night’s sleep to prepare us for a full day of exciting activities tomorrow.

Everyone has settled well and is enjoying themselves immensely. Why not drop us a message to share with the children. Just reply to this post and we’ll get it and share it.

Goodnight all!

P4/3 Update 12.2.16

Thank you to all who attended our parents evening meetings. It was nice to see so many friendly faces and to be able to feedback positively on so many of the class.

Hope you are all looking forward to a lovely relaxing long weekend and maybe even have some fun plans. We start back on Wednesday and next week homework will be maths and reading but no spelling.

Our parent assembly is on 26th February (2 weeks time) More details on this to follow next week.

Enjoy the break, see you all on Wednesday.

Mrs Wallace

Primary 4 12.2.16

Thank you to all parents who attended parent’s night over the last two nights. It was great to see so many of you again and the conversations had by all were extremely helpful. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support this year.

This week we said goodbye to Miss Leyland who had been in our class since we came back to school in January. The children put together a lovely card for her and wished her good luck on her next journey in learning and in life.

This week we received an e-mail with further clues for our travels of Scotland’s main cities. We put together the clues and found we were in Huntly, near Aberdeen. We have been researching the oil and fishing industries, the main rivers, Dee and Don and also the famous silver granite buildings!

Reminders:

We are off on Monday and Tuesday (15th and 16th)

Wednesday – Indoor PE kit required.

Friday 26th Parent Assembly more details to follow.

Homework:

Even though we are off Monday and Tuesday Spelling and reading as normal.

Reading Pages:

Red: 110 – 131

Blue: 93 – 112

Green: 85 – 94

Maths: worksheet will be handed out on Wednesday.

Parent Teacher Interviews Feedback

Parents and carers who attended the Parent/Teacher Interviews on Wednesday and Thursday of this week were invited to complete a short questionnaire about their experiences. One hundred and seventy responses were recorded anonymously. The results were overwhelmingly positive and can be viewed by clicking the link below:

Parent Teacher Interviews Questionnaire

Primary 6 Update

We’ve had another busy week in Primary 6. This week we created an art exhibition – ‘Europe through a child’s eyes’ as part of our Erasmus FLAG project. We hope you managed to see our artwork if you came along to parents evening.

We are continuing to find out more about the Titanic and have been writing a biographies of some of the Titanic survivors. Next week we’ll be finding out more about the lifestyles of first, second and third class passengers.

Rehearsals are under way for the P6/7 school show ‘hosanna’ . Please put March 16th in your diaries for what will be a fabulous show!

Don’t forget there is a Dress Down Day for Valentine’s Day tomorrow Friday 12th. If you would like to take part, dress in red or pink and pay 50p to help raise money for the school funds.

We hope you have a great long weekend and we’ll see the children back in school on Wednesday.

Mrs Muir, Mrs Smith and Mrs Kelly.

Reminders:

Please remember PE kit on the following days:

P6M – outdoor kit on Monday and indoor kit on Tuesday

P6KS – outdoor kit on Wednesday and indoor kit on Tuesday

P2 @ Dynamic Earth

After a short break for lunch, it was off for more exploring for P2. We saw volcanoes, felt earthquakes and were able to feel the ice in the frozen area. What an adventure!

Primary 6 Handball Team

Congratulations to the Primary 6 Handball team on their success in Round 3 of the West Lothian Handball League. They won all their games on Monday at Craigswood Sports Centre and this places them joint top of the league with Livingston Village Primary and will make the final round of games on March 23rd very interesting indeed. They have been training really hard at the handball after school club and I’m sure they will continue to do so as we get closer to the next competition. Well Done!

Primary 1 Update 8.2.16

Hello Everyone,

Primary One are really enjoying their Dinosaur topic and 2 of the classes had a fantastic trip to Dynamic Earth last week. P1C are looking forward to their trip on Thursday of this week. Some photos of the highlights are attached!

Also this week we look forward to welcoming those who can make it to parents night on Wednedsay or Thursday evenings.

The school photographer is in school on Tuesday this week so please make sure children are smartly dressed in school uniform.

We are continuing with addition in maths this week as well as learning about the language of measure through our topic comparing sizes of dinosaurs, feet, bones etc.

Thank you for your continuing support,

Primary 1 Teachers

Primary 3 8.2.16

Primary 3 are learning about Chinese New Year this week. We are planning to learn about the year of the Monkey, Chinese Story behind Chinese New Year and create Lanterns which we will write a set of instructions for.

We are coming to the end of our Multiplication topic in Maths but we would encourage you to still practise the x2, x3, x4, x5 and x10 times tables with your children because this will support their understanding in our new topic which will be Division.

Last week the children were set the challenge to construct a working Drawbridge from junk. The children worked very well in pairs and clearly thought hard in trying to make the drawbridge rise up and down. We have made a display of some models, self assessment and photographs. You can see this on parents night.

We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday or Thursday.

Can we remind children that it is a dress down day on Friday, theme is Valentines!

Homework- Spelling, Maths and Reading

P.E- P3R on Wednesday

P3C on Monday

Miss Rafferty and Miss Christie

P2 5 2 16

Hello everyone,

We have been busy as always in P2.

Miss Clark’s class have been hard at work practising and preparing for their assembly on Monday morning, Miss Clark is really proud of all the children for their hard work and knows Monday will be a huge success.

Mrs Matheson’s class have got stuck into their new hot and cold countries topic and have made an igloo for their home corner and their own passports.

We have started learning about cheeky, bossy, magic E this week and the children have been great at spotting words in their reading books and around the classroom.

Miss Clark’s class will be moving onto Money like Mrs Matheson’s and are looking forward to our new challenge.

Please can I remind everyone that we do weekly outdoor PE even in winter. Please make sure your child comes to school on a Thursday with a warm outdoor kit.

Thank you

Happy Weekend!

P4/3 update 5.2.16

Hope everybody has managed to make a start on their big homework task, it’s not due until next Friday (12th) but the more practice time the better. I’m looking forward to hearing them all.

We still have a number of children not bringing PE kit on a weekly basis. We have outdoor PE on a Monday (weather permitting) and indoor on a Wednesday, it is important that your child brings appropriate kit on those days.

Please ensure you are labelling all clothing worn to school by your child as they do not always recognise their own things and many items of clothing end up in lost property.

If you have not yet made your parents’ night appointment please do so as soon as possible. Parents’ nights are next Wednesday 6-8.30 and Thursday 4-6.30.

Have a good week.
Mrs Wallace

Primary 4 4.2.16

Well, It’s great to be back and to see everyone again 🙂 I have enjoyed telling the children about all of the experiences and stories from Poland. In assembly tomorrow there will be a little taster of the things they can expect to be creating on the run up to Easter from the crafts Mrs Tartaglia and myself learned whilst there.

This week we have continued learning about Dundee. It is one of the main cities in Scotland and we now know all about the three J’s – Jute, Jam and Journalism. We even had a go at creating our own cartoon character and comic strip just like D. C Thomson.

Great to see so many children completing their sentences in their homework jotters in joined up writing. It is not perfect at this stage but the experience of trying it right now is all we are aiming for. The effort from the children has been super. It is beginning to show in some areas of our class work also which is great!

This week, unfortunately letters have had to be sent home to children who have not been coming prepared for indoor PE. Each week we write reminders in our homework jotters and still there are a lot of people forgetting. We have PE on a Wednesday indoor and a Tuesday outdoor.

I’d like to say good luck to Miss Leyland who will be leaving us on Tuesday to continue her studies and experience of teaching. She has been an asset to the school and our Primary 4 class and has delivered fun and exciting lessons for the past 5 weeks. We wish her all the best 🙂

Reminders:

Outdoor PE – Tuesday

Indoor PE – Wednesday

Parents night – Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th

Friday 12th – Valentine dress down. Wear something pink or red and dress for valentine’s day. Donation of 50p to raise funds for the school should you choose to take part.

Homework:

Due Monday 8th – Miss Smith’s Maths homework

Due Friday 12th – Spelling and reading:

RED – Pages 90 – 109

BLUE – Pages 80 – 92

GREEN – Pages 64 – 84

Thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you all next week.

Miss Smith

Primary 3 w.b. 1st February

Well done primary 3 for your performance of Katie Bairdie last Tuesday. Your singing was very loud and clear and the audience were very impressed. Well done also to Joe and Leila for your final recitation of ‘Snaw’ on the afternoon.
Primary 3 are really enjoying the knights and castles topic. Last week the children learnt about the clothes Kings and Queens used to wear. They created a self portrait as a King or Queen which will hang in our classroom Great Hall when it is finished. Primary 3 also learnt about the weapons knights would use when attacking or defending a castle. We’re glad we don’t live in medieval times!
In Maths, primary 3 are finishing off their work on times tables. So far the children have learnt the 2,3,4,5 and 10 times tables. This week we will finish off this work. Thank you for all the practice you are putting in at home.
This week primary 3 will be continuing their knights and castles topic by writing about an attack on a castle and by completing a challenge in small groups. We look forward to sharing these with you at parents’ consultations next week. If you have any junk we could use for our challenge, please bring it in on Tuesday.
Thanks for your support.
Miss Christy and Miss Rafferty

Primary 7 update 29th January 2016

This week Primary 7 confidently performed and helped with the running of our successful Burns’ afternoon. The senior challenge group had worked very hard preparing the running order and PowerPoint for the event and delivered clearly and enthusiastically to a large audience. Joy Koay and Aaron McKee maintained their high standard when reciting their poems. Well done to all.

We have continued to learn many more interesting facts about World War 2. We have now finished our gas masks and they will be on display at parents’ nights. We are working on questionnaires that the children will soon be bringing home. They have the task of interviewing an elderly relative or family friend who would be happy enough to share some experiences of the war days and memories.

In Reading we have started source work and novel studies. The source work focuses on the difference between fact and opinion and reliable and unreliable sources of information. Novel studies involve reading with a learning partner, completing a task in class, then following this up with a homework task at home. One set of books has yet to arrive therefore some children do not have a book home as yet. We hope however that homework will begin as normal next week and as stated in the newsletter, reading homework will be issued fortnightly.

The pupils will be shown next week how to access the DCHS transition page where they will find small tasks set by department teachers and they can ask questions about the school. This site is perfectly secure and moderated by staff at all times. The children can access the site from home using their GLOW user details.

Reminders for next week (1^st Feb 16)

Indoor P.E kit is required on Monday and we are continuing our unit of dance.

Miss Thompson from Deans Maths department will be teaching Miss Farren’s class on Wednesday afternoon.

School uniform standards are slipping slightly in P7 with some pupils wearing outdoor shoes inside. We understand that some pupils may go a week or two without suitable shoes whilst parents order new ones. If there is a problem buying new shoes can you please inform the school.

Have a lovely weekend, stay cosy indoors!

Miss Farren and Miss Clark

P4/3 Update 29.1.16

What a great trip we had yesterday. We spent the day at Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, and we learned so much. We were very lucky to have some P7 guides from Linlithgow Primary and we were so impressed at how much they know about the Palace and how confident they were in giving us the tour.

Remember parents’ evening are coming up soon. You should all have had out a letter regarding booking appointments and this should be done as soon as possible.

Next week the children will be given a big homework task to complete based on our topic. They will have two weeks to complete this and the details will be given out on Monday.

Have a great week.
Mrs Wallace
1/2/16
Big Homework: Due Friday 12^th February 2016

This term’s big homework task is to present a short class talk on the life of Mary Queen of Scots.
Your talk should be no less than 2 minutes and should include a variety of information such as;
Dates of her birth and death and other significant events.
Places she lived.
Important people in her life.
Any other information you consider to be relevant or interesting.
You will be given some time for research in class but the majority of this task should be completed at home.
You can use pictures, PowerPoint or any props you would like to enhance your talk.
You should try to memorise your talk as much as possible rather than reading it out.

You have two weeks to complete this; I look forward to hearing all your hard work.

29th January 2016

This week we have had a chance to showcase our talents at the Burn’s afternoon for our visitors. They really enjoyed our stage singing ‘Scotland Forever’ and well done to Megan and Ammad for performing ‘Scots Wha Hae’ again after winning the class competition last Friday.

In Topic this week we have been learning about the events before and after Alexander III’s death and how this affected Scotland in the lead up to the Wars of Independence. We have been writing our own interviews with Alexander’s widow and next week we will be writing newspaper reports.

In Maths this week some of us have been completing a Times Table challenge to create posters for the classroom. Other work we have been covering includes division and fractions. Please remember it is a good idea to keep practising times tables with your child whenever you can.

Next Tuesday we will be going to Bannockburn Visitors Centre for a trip based around our Interdisciplinary topic. We are looking forward to learning more about the Scottish Wars of Independence while we are there. Please remember to send back your child’s EE2 form if you have not already done so.

Big homework is also due next week. We will not be able to hear everyone’s talk on Monday so we will spread these out throughout the week.

Thank you for your continued support.