Hello everyone!
It has been a very fun week in Primary 4.
We have been enjoying watching our class caterpillars continue to grow. They are getting really big now! We looked at photos that we took of them on Day 1 and Day 5 and the differences were incredible! We are looking forward to watching them transform again in the next week or so.
We have been continuing to read Charlotte’s Web in class. The children are really enjoying the novel and Mr Woodward and I are so pleased that so many children are volunteering to read aloud in front of the class. This week we learned about a miracle that happened on the farm. The children became news reporters, writing amazing reports about the miracle on Zuckerman’s Farm. Some of our roving reporters even included interviews with a main character in their newspaper report – amazing job Primary 4!
This week we drew our art topic on colours to a close by creating amazing insect art work. Last week each child sketched either a ladybird, a spider or a worm in pencil and then went over their lines in black pen. This week the children used poster paint to paint their insects lots of different colours. The children were only given the primary colours, white and black and they still managed to create the most amazing, multi-coloured insects through using their knowledge of primary, secondary and tertiary colours. Well done Primary 4!!
Our Primary 4 Sports Day took place yesterday. A huge thank you to Mrs Ferguson. Mrs Coulter and Miss Malloy who organised and ran the whole event which was a huge success! Thank you also to the Primary 7s who planned all of the events that the children took part in yesterday. All the children had a fantastic time. A special well done to SUTHERLAND who were the winning house (Miss Clark was especially happy as she is in Sutherland too!) All the points from each stage’s Sports Day will be added together and a final house winner will be revealed soon!
Homework is due in next Friday 11th June. This will be our last piece of homework in Primary 4. Reading books should also be returned to school by this date. Thank you for all the help and support you provide the children with, it is greatly appreciated it.
As the weather is becoming warmer we would like to go outdoors more with the children. Please ensure your child is wearing sun cream to school on hot, sunny days. We cannot apply this in school. Thank you.
Have a lovely weekend when it comes.
Miss Clark & Mr Woodward
Tag: Mini-beasts
Primary 4 14.5.21
Hello everyone
It has been a fun and interesting week in Primary 4.
This week we have continued learning about our topic of mini beasts. Miss Clark’s class learned a new ICT skill this week – making a Sway. We did this through Glow and told others all about ourselves. The children will use this skill in the future to create a Sway about mini beasts. Mr Woodward’s class developed their knowledge of primary and secondary colours through creating a colour wheel. They used primary colours to mix the secondary colours for their colour wheel. They will use this knowledge to help them to create some mini beast art in the coming weeks. Next week the classes will swap activities.
Thank you to everyone who has handed in their homework this week. New homework will be issued on Monday as well as new reading books. Please remind your child to hand in their homework/hand back their reading book as soon as possible. Thank you.
In PE this week we finished our work on circuit training. We discussed what the word stamina meant and how our stamina has improved over the past few weeks. We also discussed how our bodies felt before and after exercise. Next week we will begin a block of work on Athletics. In PE with Mrs Ferguson the children are now taking part in Orienteering activities outside in the playground.
This week in writing we wrote an explanation piece all about how to look after Planet Earth. The children had great knowledge in this area and wrote excellent explanation pieces which hit all of the genre targets and core targets that we have been working on for the past few weeks. Well done P4! We are now going to be working on recounting events from our own lives in writing for the next few weeks.
Reminders
– PE kit should only be worn to school on Mondays and Thursdays when the children have outdoor PE. Uniform should be worn at all other times.
– Please ensure that your child has indoor shoes to wear when they are in the classroom. Outdoor shoes should not be worn in the classrooms.
– Please bring full water bottles to school each day. These can be refilled throughout the day if required.
Thank you for your support. Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Clark & Mr Woodward
Primary 4 6.5.21
Hello everyone
Although this week has been shorter we are still having a busy week in Primary 4. Our mini beasts topic is well underway and the children have been showing lots of enthusiasm about what they are learning during class discussions. This week we learned about “vertebrates” and “invertebrates”. Many children had fantastic prior knowledge about this topic that they brought to our class discussion. We also had great fun playing a dominoes game which meant we had to match up vertebrates and invertebrates. Poppy from Miss Clark’s class mentioned something about “exo-skeletons” this week. I wonder where this line of thought will take us?
Also in topic lessons we have been exploring the world of non-fiction books. We have been learning about how non-fiction books are structured and on Tuesday we used the index to help us to research different mini beasts in non-fiction books, some of which we had never even heard of before! Most children have now been given a non-fiction book home to read. Please ask them if they can identify the contents page, index and glossary and explain their purpose. We are soon going to be using non-fiction books in class to help us to research.
This week we have set homework on Teams. There is a video on the “Primary 4 Year Group” Teams page explaining how this homework should be completed. The due date is next Friday 14th May and only starred activities need to be completed, the rest are optional. Please let Mr Woodward or Miss Clark know if you have any further questions regarding home work.
In Numeracy we have begun work on Place Value. This week we explored 4 digit numbers and what each of the digits represented (Thousands, Hundreds, Tens and Ones/Units). We also worked on ordering 4 digit numbers. Focusing on looking at the furthest left digit and moving inwards towards the hundreds and tens digits if the numbers were similar (e.g. 1456 and 1465). Next week we are going to be working on identifying the numbers “before”, “after”, “more than” and “less than” 4 digit numbers. Please ask your child what they have learned about 4 digit numbers.
In reading we are continuing with our novel study “Charlotte’s Web”. The children are enjoying the story so far and we have already met the main characters Wilbur and Fern. We are looking forward to meeting Charlotte herself next week! There is lots of excellent description in “Charlotte’s Web”. So much so that we were able to draw accurate pictures of Zuckerman’s Barn just by reading the description of it! This week we wrote our own descriptive paragraphs entitled “My Favourite Place”. The children wrote fantastic paragraphs that focused on what they could see, smell, hear and even touch and taste in their favourite places! They were so fantastic that Mr Shanks even wanted to see some! Keep up the good work Primary 4!
We hope the children are enjoying their day off and we look forward to seeing them again tomorrow! We hope you all have a lovely weekend when it comes.
Miss Clark & Mr Woodward
Primary 4 14.6.19
Hello everyone
It has been a hectic but enormously fun week in Primary 4! Yesterday we performed our show “Rock Bottom” to friends and family and the children did an absolutely fantastic job! Every single child worked so hard to make this show such a success and they shone yesterday during both performances. Miss Donaldson and I were extremely proud teachers and would like to thank the children for their dedication to this show. We would also like to thank all the parents and carers for supporting the children with learning lines, songs, dances and for providing costumes. We really appreciate all of your help.
In numeracy this week we began learning about time. We have been exploring analogue clocks and revising o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to. We also made our own analogue clocks which we will use to play games with a partner to test our knowledge. Next week we will link our knowledge of time to the digital clock and explore time in some five minute intervals. Please encourage your child to look at clocks to tell the time at home.
Also in numeracy the children finished their work on fractions by completing a “Pizza Party Challenge”. Each child worked with a partner to create their own pizza collage. The catch? The children had to interpret a series of fractions to work out how many slices should have each ingredient. The children were able to work out that 4/6 of the pizza meant 8 slices must have mushrooms and that 1/4 meant that 3 slices of the pizza should have pepperoni. The children then presented their finished pizza creations to the class. Watching the presentations made us all feel very hungry!
This week the children began to create their own booklets about their time in Primary 4. They will write and illustrate their achievements, favourite subjects, things they have learned and their hopes for Primary 5. You will be able to read your child’s completed booklet and explore the rest of their Primary 4 work during our Open Morning which will take place next Friday 21st June from 9:15-10:15. A letter will be sent home with more details about this shortly.
Calum from “Cool Creatures” will be visiting Primary 4 next Tuesday afternoon to round off our mini beast topic. He will be bringing a variety of mini beasts and other animals for the children to look at and possibly interact with if they would like. We would like to thank the PSA for funding this visit, it is much appreciated and we know the children are going to love it!
Reminders –
Sports day next Thursday (9:30 start on the field). Children will be competing in their houses and if they could wear their house colour that would be helpful. If this is not possible then coloured bibs will be provided.
Deer Park – blue
Raeburn – green
Sutherland – yellow
Waverley – red
No more homework to be handed out in Primary 4. Reading books are to be returned to school once they have been completed. Thank you.
Have a lovely weekend!
Miss Clark & Miss Donaldson
Primary 4 7.6.19
Hello everyone
What an amazing week it has been in Primary 4. Yesterday Primary 4 and 5 performed the show “Rock Bottom” to the rest of the school and to say that they did an amazing job is an understatement! So many teachers and pupils have spoken to myself, Miss Donaldson and the P5 teachers about how phenomenal the performance was and we are very proud teachers. We can’t wait for families and friends to see the final performances on Thursday 13th June at 1:30pm and 6:30pm. The children have now received letters home about how to purchase tickets for these events. Thank you for all your support throughout the term, the show wouldn’t be possible without you.
This week was also very exciting as 3 butterflies entered the world in our classrooms! The butterflies drank the juice of oranges and strawberries while they grew stronger and then on Tuesday we released them out of their net and into the wild! The children have loved watching the caterpillars grow and develop into beautiful butterflies and have learned so much about mini beasts through watching this transformation in action.
Our monthly homework challenge has now been completed and it was very successful. We loved seeing the different types of homework that the children wanted to share with us and the rest of the class and we feel that it has been a valuable experience for all. There will be no more homework handed out in Primary 4. However, if your child has not finished their reading book then this should be completed at home and the book returned to school upon completion before the end of term. Thank you, as always, for supporting your child with their homework.
The Carmondean Summer Fair is tomorrow from 11am-1pm and will take place in both school halls due to the weather forecast. Entrance to the school will be via the fire exit next to the large hall. Tickets can be purchased at the event. We are sure this will be a very fun event.
Thank you for all your help and support.
Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Clark & Miss Donaldson
Primary 4 23.5.19
Hello everyone
It was lovely to welcome the children back after the long weekend. They had lots of lovely stories to share 🙂
In PE we are beginning some work on different aspects of Athletics. So far we have been discussing and working on the skills of short and long distance running. The children also used a baton during relay races which required lots of team work and communication. Hurdles have also introduced while running short distances and this has provided extra challenge! We look forward to seeing the children grow and improve in this area this term 🙂
Last week everyone wrote an imaginative piece of writing all about the adventures of Charlotte and Wilbur from our reading book – Charlotte’s Web. These stories were very detailed and full of interesting adventures! The children are now developing the skills of redrafting their work, with excellent spelling and handwriting being very important. Well done everyone for working hard on this!
Our caterpillars are in their chrysalis’! Over the long weekend some of the caterpillars attached themselves to the roof of their container and transformed into a chrysalis. Some did their transformations on the ground. Mr Shanks helped us to move them all from their small container to their much bigger netted container which will hold them when they are butterflies. We are loving watching them grow and develop! Stay tuned for further updates.
Thank you for all your support. Have a lovely weekend when it comes.
Miss Clark & Miss Donaldson
Primary 4 10.5.19
Hello everyone
We hope you had a lovely long weekend. We enjoyed welcoming the children back to school on Wednesday and hearing their weekend news.
This week we welcomed some exciting additions to our classroom. Five caterpillars have been delivered and we will be watching them grow and develop over the coming days and weeks. They are in a small container just now with food at the bottom. When each caterpillar turns into a chrysalis they will be moved into a much bigger container, ready to turn into butterflies :). Once their transformation is complete we will then release them into the wild. The children are very excited to watch as the caterpillars are already much bigger now than they even were on Wednesday. We will continue to add pictures to the blog as they transform.
Show rehearsals are now in full swing. Please continue to practice any words your child has to learn with them at home. The show performances are on Thursday 13th June at 1:30pm and 6:30pm. More details will be provided about tickets for this event soon.
Your child should have received a P4 newsletter home with them which gives further details about what your child will be learning this term. Today your child will receive a new homework sheet and reading book home too. The children have until next Friday to complete one spelling activity related to week 1 words, read the set pages in their book and complete 1 other activity of their choice. Please see the sheet and class newsletter for further details.
Thank you for your continued support. Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Clark & Miss Donaldson
Primary 4 2.5.19
Hello everyone
It has been a very exciting week in Primary 4. If you look in the “Residential news” section of this blog then you will see several updates about the visit to Auchengillan that some primary 4 children attended on Monday and Tuesday. A great time was had by all and there were a few sleepy faces in school yesterday morning – and that was just the teachers!
The children who did not go to Auchengillan had a fun time back in school learning more about caterpillars and butterflies before our real caterpillars arrive in class in a few weeks time! They also had the opportunity to explore the International Space Station and the solar system through using Google Expeditions on the iPads. Some children also created fabulous mini beasts out of clay. Sounds like a fabulous couple of days!
This week we have begun working on the 7 times table in class. The children have picked this up quickly and they are using concrete materials, number lines and known multiplication facts to help them develop their understandings of this tricky times table!
Today in class we had the opportunity to design and create our very own mini beasts using our knowledge of common insects characteristics and defenses. The children designed their insects in their topic jotters before using different shapes, sizes and colours of paper to create a collage of their mini beast in the style of the artist Matisse. These are looking fabulous so far and we look forward to putting the finished products up on the wall for all to see!
A quick reminder that there will be no school next Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th May due to the May bank holiday. All children will resume on Wednesday 8th May.
Thank you for all support. Have a lovely long weekend.
Miss Clark and Miss Donaldson
Primary 4 25.4.19
Hello everyone
It was lovely to welcome the children back to school on Tuesday and hear all of their holiday news. We hope you all had a fun and relaxing Easter break.
This week we have begun work on our new topic of Mini beasts. The children are very enthusiastic about this topic so far and have lots of ideas about how to make this topic very exciting! We started by working with a partner on writing down what we already know about mini beasts, what we want to learn and how we want to learn. Then we worked with a partner to research a particular mini beast in detail. The children wrote notes under the following 4 sub headings: habitat, defences, diet and characteristics. The children used fact files, the internet search engine kiddle.co and non-fiction books to research their mini beast. Next week we will begin writing a report about our mini beasts using the notes we have taken.
Next Monday some of the children will be heading on their adventure to Auchengillan. The children are all very excited! Please remember to hand in any medication your child will need during the overnight stay to the school before the end of the week if necessary. Arrival times on Tuesday will be communicated by GroupCall so please make sure the school has your up-to-date contact information. Thank you.
The children who will remain at school will have an exciting couple of days exploring our topic in more detail, completing art activities, going outside for PE and working on the school show. We look forward to being back together again on Wednesday to share all of our news.
In maths this week we have been learning the 9 times table. We have been using a song to help us learn all the stations of the 9 x table. Here is the link if the children would like to listen to it at home: 9 x table song The children in P4C have even created a dance to go with the song! Please ask your child to show you it 🙂
Thank you for your support. Have a lovely weekend when it comes.
Miss Clark & Miss Donaldson
Primary 4 16.5.17
We have been learning about measure and used measuring tapes, ramps and cars to measure length and distance. We tried to get the furthest distance possible from our toy cars and recorded our results on a class table. We had 2 teams as joint winners getting 2 metres!
We have been looking forward to our bug hunt today. We will be out in the woodland looking for bugs and using our pooters and magnifying glasses to investigate our mini-beasts further. We hope we can catch a few to have a race and see where they travel to in 2 minutes. We will then measure the distance they have traveled. Thank you very much to the parents who have volunteered to help us today. Without you, our visit wouldn’t be possible!
Keep watching on here for updates of our photos from the investigation.
We also met our baby caterpillars this week. They arrived in our class and have been very hungry, busily working their way through their food to get strong enough for their transition to a butterfly. We are very excited to see them turn into their very own chrysalis and watch the transformation happen before our very eyes!
Reminders:
Auchengillan is coming up and we will be going in two weeks time!
Monday – Indoor PE Kit
Tuesday – Outdoor PE Kit
Homework:
measure and time practice on Studyladder at your discretion
Due Friday: Reading week 5, Spelling week 3
Thank you for your continued support
Miss Smith and Miss Donaldson
Primary 4, 17.6.16
Well done to everyone who applied for the Eco Committee yesterday and Pupil Council today. We have new Committee Rep – well done to Mason Pow, and Depute – Abby Colquoun. I’ll update the Pupil Council results later today.
A massive thank you to everyone for applying. The competition was fierce and I’m glad I wasn’t part of the voting. We had people with campaign banners, leaflets and even mascots. It was an excellent effort from everyone so thank you.
This week letters were handed out for our final trip to Hopetoun House next week where we will be participating in a mini-beast safari and a pond dip as well as some lessons in the outdoors. Please can you bring appropriate clothing this day. Waterproofs, warm clothes and sturdy shoes are necessary but hopefully the weather will pick up a little for us. If possible, perhaps pupils should bring a change of shoes in a plastic bag, but this is not compulsory. If it is raining however, we should get a good glimpse at a huge variety of mini-beasts and pond life as these are the conditions they love!
Please remember to sign both forms and both sides of the A4 form, then return to school before Wednesday 22nd.
Reminders:
Monday: Meet the Teacher, Talent Contest.
Tuesday: Outdoor PE Kit
Thursday: Trip to Hopetoun
Friday: Open morning 11:15- 12:15. Come along to your child’s class where they will show you their Learning Journal showcasing what they consider to be their best work, then be taken on to see the progress with our Erasmus partnership and also the technologies we have been learning about and will continue to work with next year.
Primary 4 10.6.16
We are beginning to learn about the features of power point and are creating a power point quiz for the adults to try out at our Curriculum Open Morning on Friday 24th at 11:15am. We have been using our research on our chosen mini-beast to inform our quiz. We have been inserting pictures and changing backgrounds and font in colour and size. Next week, we will be learning how to add in hyperlinks within our slides.
We also developed our own comic strips about mini-beast characters which we developed and planned ourselves. We have been learning a lot about correct punctuation for speech and we will turn our comic strips into a proper story next week to practise this. We also plan to turn it into a play script and allow others in our class to use our stage directions to help them act it out.
Busily, the children have been preparing a fact file about different aspects of our Science Mini-beast topic. This will be coming home next week for you to assess and give feedback on. We look forward to sharing and discussing our work with you.
This was the last week for Spelling homework. Next week we will be finishing off our reading books for homework.
Reminders:
Pupil Parliament on Monday so unfortunately no indoor PE kit is required.
Tuesday – outdoor PE Kit
Friday – Reading books returned.
Primary 4 3.6.16
I will begin by saying a huge well done to all of the primary 3s, 4s and 5s in their excellent efforts in the school show. It was absolutely fantastic and all your hard work definitely paid off. I was a very proud teacher on Wednesday with what you managed to achieve. I’m sure all of the parents agree!
We began our week with our last community trip – to Morrisons. There, we had a tour around the counters and areas of the store including the fruit and veg isle, where we learned of strange foods and where they came from, the fish isle, where we learned how they gut a fish before sale and also had a tour ‘behind the scenes’. We learned of how the store collected and sorted deliveries and even how the store recycled their packaging! We even got to taste foods from all areas of the store, including pancakes and tiger bread from the bakery, a fruit cocktail from the fresh produce and cheese from the refrigerators. It was very interesting, and we thank Mrs Hendry for organising our visit.
We have been busy presenting our mini-beasts to Primary 4/3 where we showed them our 3D models, plans and leaflets. We are busy learning about power point and how to use it to create quizes and linked slides using the information we wrote in our leaflets.
Reminders:
Please sign homework diaries
Please return any costumes your child has brought home. Thank you to those who have already done this.
Monday – Indoor PE Kit
Tuesday Outdoor PE Kit
Homework:
Due Friday 10th – Maths for Miss Smith’s Class. (Sorry I didn’t put a date on last week’s blog for the homework and due to the show it was only handed out on Thursday.)
Due Friday 10th – Spelling as normal (this will be the last week of spelling for Primary 4. Your child will move into Primary 5 with on the target they finish on this day.
Due Friday 10th – Reading pages and an activity.
Red –Â Â Read again from page 78 to the end of the book with a parent.
Blue – p.102 – 114
Green – Ch 6
Primary 4 6.5.16
Our organised Day for Change is here and staff and children are arriving in school in their pyjamas as I type! We will let you know the success of the day just as soon as we have final totals.
Our V.I.Is are growing and hopefully be turning into a chrysalis very soon. Here is an update of their progress:
This weekend we want to wish Skye Thayne huge amounts of luck reciting her Burns poem for the finals!  We can’t wait to hear how you did on Monday 🙂 Very proud class and teacher but all credits go to you for the fantastic effort and work you have put into it!
Next week we have people from West Lothian Youth Foundation coming in to talk about the work they do within the community. This is as a result of the letters we sent to Livingston F.C.
Children were given letters about our trip a week on Monday (16.5.16) to Dynamic Earth. This was as part of the Golden Ticket win we had whereby the school was permitted free entry to Dynamic Earth for trips. We are very excited about this. Please ensure your child has returned the purple form to permit them to go.
We are holding a small talent contest next Friday in order to choose one act for the final talent show in June, held by our House Captains. We are all very excited about this and preparing our acts. It’s going to be hard to choose just one from such a talented class!
Reminders:
Purple trip form returned as soon as possible.
No PE kit required on Monday 9th.
Outdoor PE kit required for Tuesday.
Homework Diaries signed.
Junk to be collected for mini-beast challenge in school.
Homework:
Spelling as normal
Due Friday 13th May – Reading: Read the following pages and complete an activity.
Red – Chapter 7
Blue – P.47 – 59
Green – P.41 – 52
Miss Smith’s Maths Class – Homework on position: please familiarise yourself with angles through accessing and playing these games online. If you do not have access to a computer or the internet, please let me know as I have alternative hand outs.
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?b=maths/angles
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?a=activity16
Primary 4, 23.4.16
What a busy week it has been, getting into our new topics and recovering from the fantastic Auchengillan!
The children were excellent and their behaviour and manners were commented on by everyone, from the kitchen staff to the outdoor staff as well as the administration staff so a big well done to everyone who came.
We got very muddy on the last day as it had been raining prior to our visit. We had a very quick change before heading onto the bus to go home. See below for a few sneaky pics! We have made a video of all of the photos taken by staff which the children will see very soon.
Whilst we were away at Auchengillan, the people who stayed with Mrs Wallace did a fantastic job of organising Primary 4’s event, ‘Day for Change.’ This will take place on the 6th of May whereby children can mark the event by getting dressed in their pyjamas and slippers to come to school. If they wish they can bring in a donation of change, as much or as little as they want.
It has been a busy week for our staff and colleagues this week in Bulgaria too! I hope you have all been catching up with their activities on the F.L.A.G Blog page. In class we have been reading it every morning and discussing similarities and differences as well as talking about their experiences.
Look out for our newsletter for this term. It highlights up and coming events, current topics as well as reminders. We will be welcoming a few new visitors to our class next week as well as part of our Science topic, Mini-beasts. Caterpillars and worms will be making their way into their enclosures at some point for us to observe over the next few weeks.
This week we sent off letters to members of our community to invite them in to chat about their role in our community. We sent ten letters to various people the children considered to be important in our community and have one visit booked in for next week already! Fingers crossed more people reply to make our learning all the more interesting and relevant.
Reminders:
Please sign homework diaries
Indoor PE kit – Monday
Outdoor PE kit – Tuesday
6th May – Day for Change
Homework:
Due: Friday 29th April
- Reading book pages:
Red – Ch 3 and 4
Blue – p.21 – 32
green – p.15 – 27
- Corresponding activities (first one to be completed by next Friday 29th as they have two weeks to complete an activity.)
- Miss Smith’s Maths Class – Multiplication / division sheet.
