Congratulations to Finlay who succeeded in being granted 6th Kup (green belt) in his recent kick-boxing exam.
Well done, Finlay. We are all very proud of you.
Category Archives: Classes
Dancing Award!
Well done to Megan Hay in Primary 2/1 for winning a dancing award for ‘Most Improved Dancer’. We think you’re a star!
St Margaret’s Spanish Transition
Reluctantly, I woke up from my humble deep sleep.
Until my heart was filled with content as I remembered today was transition day! Would my excitement turn into nerves! I was really elated but felt anxious as I knew no-one at the school. Although my nerves started to kick in, I enjoy learning new languages so that put me off my nerves a bit, As I was getting ready to leave school ,I started to wonder what languages we would be learning “Probably French or Spanish ” I said Cautiously I walked onto the creaky grey floor of the luminous yellow bus to begin our excursion.
Finally we arrived at St Margaret’s the big walls looked very frightening but I loved the entrance because it looked old fashioned. As I entered the huge grounds of St Margaret’s I was astonished. I knew it was big but I never noticed the atrium was colossal. Soon our Spanish teacher accompanied us up to the Spanish classroom. I knew it was Spanish straight away as my classmate Alejandro is fluent in Spanish and talked to Senora Wallace and Senora Murphy like it was English. The unusual classroom had tables and chairs in rows which is very different than what we have. Their smart board is also much bigger than ours which I prefer because it is much easier to present power point presentations. Soon we got spilt up into two groups and my group went into a different classroom. Our first assignment was to learn some Spanish weather phrases which I really enjoyed. While I was writing down some phrases, I heard a peculiar noise and was soon told that it was the bell for next period. Curiously I walked to the dinner hall to find two tables waiting for us to have lunch.”Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” Previously that buzzer rang for a new period, but was it for that time? I took back my words as a mob of starving wolves (or so that’s what they looked like) ran down the stairs as if a huge piece of raw meat was wanting for them. Overall lunch was a brand new experience which was not to enjoyable but had its likes and dislikes. After our lunch, we played some cool Spanish weather phrases games and then it was time for us to leave the colossal, majestic building. I really enjoyed the first day but it was very weird…
“Ahhhh” another transition day was ahead of the bright blue sky and I was filled with glee. This time I felt very confident as I got to know the school a lot last time. Instead of my excitement turning into nerves this time my nerves turned into excitement. (Which I think is much better) Curiously I entered St. Margaret’s for the second time and I was wondering what assignment we would get, not noticing just how big that ‘assignment ’ was. We had to create a Spanish forecast. I got in a group with Lewis and Kayleigh (who didn’t show up) which made me very nervous. Lewis and I agreed that we would be able to do the presentation just the two of us, which we managed very well. Our country was Valencia so we had to do a lot of research for Valencia. After we got all our information it was our lunch and I was very hungry. When the buzzer buzzed I knew that the “wolves” were coming so I was not bothered at the slightest. After our lunch Lewis and I started to make our script and planned out how we would present our forecast. It was as if an hour flew by because I felt I started when we had to go. After another day of transition I felt almost like I had stayed at St Margaret’s for a month!
“Yippeeee!” It was the last day of transition and I felt distraught that it was the final day but filled with joy and nerves as Lewis and I were presenting our forecast. For once I quite enjoyed the bus journey because I had our presentation to look forward to. Senorita Wallace and Senorita Murphy led us up to the Spanish room for the last time and taught us some tongue twisting vocabulary. Vocabulary work really helped me as I really had to read quite a lot for the forecast. After practising our vocabulary I had a tasty lunch (so did the wolves) and went back to the Spanish room. After watching other groups perform it was our turn. I felt very nervous as we were being filmed but kept my confidence going and completed our forecast! Lewis and I were very pleased and we felt like we just climbed Ben Nevis. Soon all the groups were finished a…. Please walk to the closest fire exit in orderly fashion beep!” it was a huge shock and I could not believe my eyes when there was a fire as we were about to leave!”
What a way to end my transition …..
Sohaib
St Margaret’s Transition P7B
As soon as I stepped on that bus I started to think would I like Spanish? I had heard that we were going to do Spanish because Gregor had told me at football training. Suddenly, we were there.
While everyone was thinking what it would be like inside, I already knew because I had been to a basketball transition and a meeting. When we walked in the doors Mrs Wallace and Mrs Murphy were there to greet us.
Alejandro, my friend came from Spain so he was having a conversation in Spanish with Mrs Wallace. Then Mrs Wallace showed us to the classrooms then we got split into groups. I went with Mrs Wallace. Then we sat down and Mrs Wallace told us to write our names on a piece of card like this, me llamo…..
Mrs Wallace explained what we were going to do over the next three weeks and that we were going to learn Spanish. On the last week we were going to be doing a weather forecast. We started learning some of the weather phrases and we started learning how to pronounce some of the basic words in weather like “hace” is said “athe” instead of “hathe” as the “h” is silent. In Spanish “v” is pronounced “b”
The next thing we learnt was the basic weather phrases like hace sol- sunny, hace frio – cold, hace calor – hot and hace fresco – cool.
Once we had learnt the weather phrases we learnt chicos and chicas were boys and girls as we were about to do a competition. Mrs Wallace picked Ben to go out of the classroom then she told us how to play. One of us had to do a signal then we would change weather phrases because there were weather phrases on the board and each time they signalled we would move to the next weather phrase. Then Ben came back in and Alejandro had been chosen to do the signal. Alejandro’s signal was to nod his head. Ben had to work out why we were changing to the next weather phrase. So we started.
After we had said every weather phrase Mrs Wallace stopped and asked Ben if he knew why we were changing it. Ben didn’t know so we started again. After we had said all of them again Mrs Wallace asked Ben if he knew it yet, and Ben thought it was Alejandro but he didn’t know what the signal was. Mrs Wallace told Ben that it was Alejandro and the signal was him nodding his head.
After that we went for lunch. We went down to lunch 10 minutes before the year 1 and 2’s came so we could get tables together and we weren’t spread out. The after 10 minutes the year 1 and year 2’s arrived. When the year 3 and 4’s came down the year 1 and 2’s went. It was hard to hear each other as everyone was making so much noise. Next Mrs Wallace came to take us back to the Spanish room.
We played a game with boys versus girls. There were pictures on the smartboard and when Mrs Wallace said a phrase in Spanish you had to tap the right picture first. If you tapped it first you would get a point. After Alejandro and Rebecca played me and Iman played. Then we went to Mrs Murphy’s room and we were told that next week we would be split into groups and make the scripts for our weather forecast. We then went back to the bus to go back to St Nicholas.
It was the day again, they day we had to go back to St Margaret’s. I was a bit nervous and excited about who would be in my group. We got on the bus again to got to St Margaret’s. When we got there Mrs Wallace and Mrs Murphy were there to greet us again. We went to Mrs Murphy’s room at the beginning again. We were split into groups. I was with Alejandro and Aimee then we were told where we were to do the weather forecast for. Everyone else was told where to go but Mrs Wallace thought it would be nice if Alejandro picked somewhere his family was so Alejandro picked Majorca. Then we all went into Mrs Wallace’s room and searched for weather in the places we were given. We researched and took notes until lunchtime. We went down for lunch at the same time as last time. It was noisy again. Mrs Wallace came to get us again. We started writing our scripts and drawing maps and making stuff for our forecast. I was drawing the map because Alejandro was writing the script and Aimee drew weather symbols. Then it was time to go so we got back on the bus and before I knew it we were going to St Margaret’s again. I was so nervous this time because we were going to do our presentation. Aimee and I were trying to persuade Alejandro not to go first the nafter 5 groups had gone, it was us. I was a bit stutter on my words but I think I did alright. When we were about to end the fire alarm went off so we quickly got everything and went out. Euan and I were saying it would be terrible if you were in PE because it was freezing. After a few minutes we went on the bus. When we got back Lewis and Sohaib won.
Alexander
Shrove Tuesday
Primary 2 and 2/1 celebrated Shrove Tuesday by using healthy fruits to make pancake faces. We used strawberries, blueberries and raisins to create our faces. The best part was getting to eat them at the end…yum!
P7A – More Marvellous Models
P7A – Japan
Today we, P7A, greatly impressed Mrs Heather, Mrs Brown and Mrs Deas with our amazing models of Japanese Houses, Pods, Temples, Samurai Swords and Parasols.
We presented our fabulous models to the class. We explained how we planned them and what materials we used. 
Famous Scottish Inventors!
As part of our Scotland Topic, Primary 2 have been learning about famous Scottish inventors. We found out that John Logie Baird invented the television and Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. We decided to make our own telephone using paper cups and string and we were able to hear and speak to each other through these! We then worked in pairs to make televisions out of cereal boxes and drew our favourite television show on the screen. After we had finished making our televisions we presented them to the rest of the class. Take a look at our pictures!
P2 are designers
Primary 2 have been learning about Scotland and they found out about two famous inventors, James Logie Baird who invented the television and Alexander Graham Bell who invented the telephone. We are very thankful to these two clever men! We designed our own telephones from past and present.
Action!
In Language and Literacy we have been reading the story “A Tale of Two Robots” by Roy Apps.
We have been creating our own new chapter to the story where the Robots, Robert and Nita, decide they are tired of cleaning and go for a day out. However, they face a few problems. Here are a few examples of the problems they faced:
- Bowling – Robert fell down the alley and they got thrown out. Saoirse
- Cinema – Robert’s rusty ,metal made too much noise and they got throw out. Callum
- Shopping- The metal sets off the metal detectors as their metal bodies. Natasha
- Swimming – They turned rusty as the children were scared of them. Charlee-Marie
- Beach – Robert and Nita got stuck in the sand and they couldn’t move. Sophie R
- Zoo – Robert started cleaning up and the zoo keepers were not happy. Brandon
After writing our new chapter we acted it out in a group. Look at some pictures of us in action.
Euroquiz 2015
After studying for the last 2 months, four of our Primary 6 pupils attended the Regional round of this year’s Euroquiz. Georgia, Jasiu, Alexander and Finlay had prepared extremely well and managed to get full marks in the first round on languages! Against 20 teams from schools all over West Lothian, our team came in 4th overall and should all be very proud of themselves – we certainly are! Here they are showing off their certificates. Well done.
A Night at the Movies
After a bit of a delay (of just over a month), the second St Nicholas Movie night took place last week. With ice-cream, a bottle of metled ice and a build a snowman kit being handed out on arrival, I;m sure you have guessed the theme – it was ‘Frozen’, but with a little twist – the words appeared at the bottom on the screen so everyone could sing a long. It was another roaring success with a £300 being made by the end of the event. Everyone had a fantastic evening and as well as coming dressed for the occasion, were in great singing voice. A huge thank you to the Filmclub for organising the night and congratulations to the winners of our raffle.
Internet Safety Day
El tiempo en el mundo Hispano
Our task is to research the climate in a Spanish-speaking city or region, then write and prepare a weather report for that particular area.
Regions/Cities
Asturias (Northern Spain)
Andalucia (Southern Spain)
Bogota (Columbia)
Mexico City (Mexico)
Santiago de Chile (Chile)
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Quito (Ecuador)
Valencia (Eastern Spain)
Majorca (Balearic Islands)
I experiment with new language, working out the meaning of words and phrases using vocabulary I have learned so far.
MLAN 2-11c
Areha’s Autobiography
Autobiography-Areha
L.I I can write an autobiography
S.C. chronological order, past tense, First person, emotive languageAnyone ever dreamt of being a doctor? Ever thought of helping others solve their problems? Has anyone had a memorable childhood? Anyone done something they should not have done? Anyone made a fool of themselves? Well
I was born on the 28th of June 2003 6 am Saturday morning St John’s hospital Livingston. My due date was the 2nd of July as you can see I was a week early. My mum and dad had me 2 years after their wedding. Most people expected me to be a boy but I turned out to be a girl. Some people were happy like my big cousin but others were not, like my uncle. When I was born my weight was 6 pounds 8 ounces, my chosen names were Areha and Areeba. Anyway my birth name was Areha Aslam.
I took my first step on the 23 of July late at night 2004. My first word was dada, my favourite baby food was broccoli and cauliflower. My first birthday rocked! I got a gigantic winnie the pooh teddy bear from my dad I was a geek about Winnie the pooh when I was small. I was a fussy little eater and I would only eat from my aunty and if I did eat, I would only eat white chocolate and wotsits crisps.
I was a chubby little baby. My favourite outfit was a red velvet dress and my very first shoes were a pair of purple Velcro flip on’s. It was on a cold winters day I was about 2 years I had nothing better to do than have a laugh with my dad. Well we were playing and he was spinning me round in circles. At first I thought I was enjoying it but and then within seconds I gave my dad an unpleasant surprise. I threw up in his mouth at first he was raging at me ready to scream then after about a mili second the room was full of laughter.
About a year later at the age of three I was walking back from nursery in a very unusual way I was cheeky at that time. I walked into a shop singing the Bob the builder song I went in and pinched a lady’s bottom, she screamed and her face went bright red but once she realized I was only a little girl she gave me a big cheesy grin.
When I was little my favourite cartoons were Lazy town ,64 zoo lane, Balamory and Bob the builder. I would only go to bed when my dad was at home because for some reason I would feel more safe with my dad around the house.
When I was just turning four my little brother Aayan was born on the 3rd of September 2006 every day when I came back from nursery I would try and be helpful and help feed my baby brother so that at the end of the week I would get a toy or some sort of treat. Well instead of feeding my brother I would eat the food myself and then say that I had fed him but as soon I would leave he would start crying, say to my mum he was hungry and carry his milk bottle to me.
Then after when I was in primary 1 and 2 I would make up excuses not to go to school but I would fail every time. Every time I would come back from school I wouldn’t do what my dad told me to do but and then as soon as he would say I’m not talking to you I would do that thing straight away.
When I went to the middle area in p3 I had the teacher I had in p1 Miss Woods (well she was then) now I am in p7 and she is Mrs Dymock ,she got married in 2014. Those days and times were funny they bring back . Me and my friend would try to be like her by asking her if we could wear her jewellery, we would ask every day because we knew her answer would always be yes.
P3 was also a very sad year for us because Mr Kelly our old deputy teacher left. He got a job as a head teacher in a school in Glasgow. For many years he has been missed.
Primary 4 was exciting we had a wonderful teacher Miss brown and along with Mrs McGuire who now is an acting deputy teacher
Now primary 5 was wow amazing primary 5 was one my best years well until p7 I had the world’s most coolest teacher Mrs Buchanan Coutts, she had the world’s most weird and wacky imagination. We had a topic on Kenya it was so interesting. We had a homework project we had to make, design, draw and create a Kenya book and the person that worked over and beyond their expectations would get 5 floating stars and I got the 5 stars out of the whole class. In primary 6 my teacher was Mrs Heather she was really nice. The best part of having her has a teacher was that every time we would do something like maths she would put music on, she rocked at that !
Now this is me now age 11 primary 7b my teacher is called Mrs Bell she is funny and not too shouty. This is my best year because our topic was WW2 and now it is Japan. I feel so grown up because it feels like I can just do anything. I am at the top of the school.
When I graduate I want to be a doctor, I want to help people get better. My hopes and dreams are to have a successful life and try my very best in everything.
Catholic Education Week
P7 are learning about responsible and respectful use of the internet for “Proclaiming the joy of the Gospel.”
P7A Spanish Posters
P7 Learning the Japanese art of Origami
Mrs Meikleham has been coming in to teach us how to do origami. It is great fun and we have also enjoyed teaching each other. Alexander, Emilka and Reece made fantastic models at home too!
Strictly Dancing stars of P7b
Article 15
We can meet with friends and join clubs
Handball Festival
This morning P5/4 and P5 went to Broxburn Academy for a Hanball Festival. We were all spilt into different teams and played against teams from other schools in the local area.
Jamie: “I liked playing against children from other schools”.
Isobel: “It was good to compete in an event in Broxburn Acadmeny”.
Ben: “In our team, we tried hard to defend against our oppposition”.
Isla: “The game was quite difficult because at the start it was hard to get the ball from the other team”.
Caitlin: “I had so much fun and I scored lots of goals”.
Adrian: “It was a great morning and I tried to enocurage my team”.
Grace: “My teams scored lots of goals and we won most of our games”.
Haidyn: “I would love to go back again next year”.
Castles for keeps
Primaries 2 and 2/1 have been learning about Scotland. We looked at Edinburgh Castle and learned that it was built on top of a dormant volcano. There is also a canon called Mons Meg that is fired at 1 o’clock every day from the castle. There is a Great Hall in the castle which was used for dancing and entertaining. We saw a photo of the crown jewels too.
We then learned about the features of a castle. We know that the keep is the tallest part of the castle so that the guards can keep watch. We also know that above the main door there is a murder hole where guards would drop things like boiling water to stop enemies from attacking them. Some castles have a drawbridge that can be opened and closed to stop enemies from entering. Some castles have a moat which is water surrounding the castle which makes it difficult for enemies to attack.
We used different construction materials including clay, lego, mega blocks and Knex to create our own castles and tried to recreate some of these features.
Primary 2/1 singing Scottish songs!
Primary 2 and 2/1 have been learning some Scottish songs! Here are P2/1 singing ‘Three Craws’.
Dance Star!
Mandipa loves dancing and she was keen to show her certificates and trophies from her graded examination in tap dance. She was proud to tell us that and she was given a distinction in freestyle. Mandipa attends JHM Dance Academy in Broxburn. Well done Mandipa… Keeeeeeep dancing! 
Achievements all round
Article 15
We can meet with friends and join clubs
Congratulations to Sophie, who came 2nd, and Rachael who achieved successes at Broxburn Swimming Championships. Rachael also gained high recommendation for her Highland Dancing. Well done both of you.
Marathon Morris!
Kirsten completed Junior Parkruns in Falkirk on Sunday, and is now a proud member of The Marathon Club. Well done Kirsten!
Swimming trophy
Congratulations to Niamh for coming in third place at Broxburn Club Championships, and was presented with this trophy at the weekend.
Dancing Stars
Congratulations to both Emily Cook and Katie Hay for achieving certificates in their dancing. Emily received her Certificate of Merit and medal for demonstrating proficiency in Theatre Craft. Katie received her certificates after performing in her dance show and she was awarded a Certificate of Distinction for dedication and excellence in all dance styles and a Certificate of Merit for most improved dancer!
Well done girls!
Primary 2 sing Scottish!
Primaries 2 and 2/1 have been learning about Scotland and the Scottish language. They were set a homework challenge to learn a Scottish poem or song to recite to their class during our Burns Supper. Primary 2a’s favourite and most popular songs were The 3 craws and Ally Bally Bee. Have a look at us singing Ally Bally Bee together.
The Unsinkable Ship!
Well done to all the children in primary 5/4 for their excellent model ships and cabins. Each of you put an outstanding amount of effort into this homework challenge and the results are amazing! Well done!
Knights in shining armour
In Primary 4 today we worked in teams to make knights in shining armour. Have a sneak peak at our hard work.
- We made a diagram of a knight and tried to make it in 3D. Hana
- We came up with our own design for a knight. Fraser
- We used all our ideas to make different patterns on our knights. Maria-Victoria
- We used silver paper, scissors, tape, staples and paper fasteners. Finlay
- We had fun!
Fantastic Fractions!
Primary 5/4 and Primary 5 have been learning lots about fractions in class. We have been finding out about fractions of shapes, objects and amounts.
This week we have investiageted equivalent fractions, simplifying fractions and finding fractions on a nunberline. These are some suggested games to support our learning:
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/fractions/#Fractions
http://www.math-play.com/math-fractions-games.html
http://resources.oswego.org/games/fractionflags/fractionflags.html
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/fractions-and-decimals
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/
Have a go at home and let us know how you got on with the games!
Miss Crease and Mrs Quin
Equivalent Fractions
This week in primary 5/4 and primary 5 we have been learning all about equivalent fractions. If you are finding it tricky or want more practise why not try the game below to help.
Burns Supper
Primaries 2 and 2/1 remembered Robert Burns by celebrating with a Burns Supper this afternoon. They had a little taste of haggis, neeps and tatties and toasted Rabbie with some Irn Bru. Some of us weren’t so keen on the haggis as it had a spicy taste. Most of us loved the Irn Bru!
Super shortbread!
As part of our Scotland topic, primaries 2 and 2/1 over 3 consecutive weeks will have had the opportunity to make and taste some shortbread – a delicious Scottish biscuit!
Mrs Thomson in our school kitchen allowed us to help her make some. We measured and weighed flour, sugar, margarine and cornflour and then it was mixed into a batter. Mrs Thomson then rolled the batter and used a fork to pierce a hole design in it before putting it in the oven.
Mrs Thomson brought it along to us once it was fresh out of the oven. It was still warm and smelled delightful! We all enjoyed having a little taste!
The Magic Panel
Yesterday in class we were writing about what is behind the secret panel in the Great Hall. We had lots of great ideas of how to get into the secret panel, what is behind it, who put it there, what it does and who is going to open it.
Here are a few examples of the beginning of our writing. They are on display in our classroom so that other people can read them.
- There is a secret panel, you have to type in 34517H to be able to enter it and behind it there is an Egyptian palace… Maria-Victoria
- The secret panel is so secret that no one knows of it except Artur the wizard … Finlay
- To get through the secret panel go and find an ancient unicorns horns. Make a wish and it will open… Sophie McC
- There is a panel that is different in the Great Hall. To open it get a battle axe. Inside is a gold shield… Ollie
- To open the secret panel you wait until it is dark, then you say “Hocus Pocus Diplodocus”. The secret panel will open quietly behind it gold… Wiktoria
The Magic Castle
This term Primary 4 are completing the Magic Castle topic. We have had great fun so far making wood paneling for the walls, writing about a secret panel and beginning our fact files of information about castles. We will invite parents to come and see it when we are finished.
Have a look at some pictures of what we have been doing in class so far.
Primary 5/4 Storytellers
Today in literacy primary 5/4 were exploring their performance skills. They heard some advise from a professional actress who advised them to take their time, practice their breathing, stand up tall and imagine the image of the character in their heads.
Click the link below to see a clip of the story they were performing.
Swimming star!
Well done to Callum in Primary 4 for receiving this trophy at the weekend for taking part in a swimming gala. We are all very proud of you.
Sound Proofing Primary 6
Article 28
We have a right to learn new things
Primary 6a have been learning all about sound and the classroom was buzzing (literally) with the sound of bells as we carried out some tests to see which materials make the best sound-proofing.
Each group wrapped an alarm in different materials, placed it in a box and then measured how far they could go before the stopped hearing the alarm. We discovered that although bubble wrap is pretty good, foam is the best muffler of sound.
Next, we have been given a challenge to find out how different animals communicate with each other through solids, liquids and gases.
The Building of the Unsinkable Ship!
Over the last few days Primary 5/4 and Primary 5 have been hard at work getting the amazing ship, Titanic, ready for her maiden voyage.
‘Highland’ Commended
Article 29
We should have to opportunity to share our talents and achievements
Rachael was very proud to share her success in her recent highland dancing exam when she received a Highly Commended result.
Well done, Rachael.
Time, please…
Article 28
We are able to learn and develop our knowledge at school
Primary 6 have been developing in their knowledge and understanding of time. Some of us have been learning about how to calculate the amount of time that has elapsed on timetables and some of us have been working on converting analogue time to digital in one minute intervals.
In one activity, we were all given an analogue watch and we had to move around the classroom to see who had a watch with the different digital times on it that were on our sheet. This was a great way to practice and confirm our understanding before we move on to 24 hour time.
The Unsinkable Ship
Yesterday Primary 5 and Primary 5/4 visited the library to find out more information about our new topic ‘The Unsinkable ship’. To our surprise when we arrived Diane had dressed up as a first class passenger! During our visit we learned lots of new information.
Caitlin learned that even third class passengers ate well on the ship, they ate porridge, toast and potatoes.
Grace learned that aboard the ship was 13 honeymooning couples.
Aaron learned that band members continued to play their instruments as the ship went down.
Kyle learned that there should have been 64 lifeboats but there were only 20 lifeboats on the ship.
Finlay found out that 55 people cancelled their ticket before the ship set sail.
Ali found out that there was a fireman who got off the ship when it arrived in France.
Aiden learned that the ship stopped at Ireland before making its journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
We really enjoyed our library visit and we are all looking forward to finding out much more information about “The Unsinkable Ship”.
Going for Cold! Junior Great Winter Run
Well done to all members of the St Nicholas Running After School Club. They braved the elements on Saturday afternoon in Holyrood Park in Edinburgh to run the 2.5K Junior Great Winter Run. All children were great sports – they ran their very best and some great times were recorded. We are very proud of them all.
Special thanks to our local business community – Piggy Print, Waz’s Newsagents and West Lothian Construction – who sponsored the children and paid for their entrance fees. Thanks also to all our parents who supported us cheerfully, in the freezing rain, sleet and mud!
Primary 3 are Winter Ready
If, for any reason, you are unable to come to school because of the snow, Miss Irvine and Miss King would like you to try a few of the following activities. Have fun!!
Maths
- Practice number bonds and addition/subtraction facts.
- Practice times tables.
- Go on a shape hunt in the snow.
Literacy
- Write a thank you letter to Santa Clause.
- Make up a Christmas word search.
- If you have the internet, research circus’ in the the past. Write down what you find.
- Write a list of things you want to do in 2015.
Jammin’ Fitness
Jammin’ Andy came in to school to get us all into shape before Christmas.
Here’s a few pictures of us stretching and moving to some cool tunes!
A little Christmas Carol
Article 29
We share our talents with other
Faith entertained Primary 6 today with her rendition of Away in a Manger and Silent Night, played on the harp.
Thank you very much, Faith
P4 and P5 Party!
Primary 4 and 5 had a great time at the party yesterday. We played lots of games and danced. Look at us having fun.
Primary 1 + 2 Winter Ready Activities
Snow Days
Here are some handy hints of things to do to keep yourself busy in case of snowy conditions.
Maths Ideas
¶ Can you build a snowman and measure its height?
¶ Continue to practise addition and subtraction facts to 10 and 20.
¶ Can you spot any Christmas patterns and continue them?
Literacy Ideas
¶ Can you write an acrostic winter/snow poem? (P2)
¶ Can you write CVC words in the snow?
¶ Can you write a snow themed story?
¶ How many words can you make from ‘Winter Wonderland’?
Science
¶ Can you measure the length of time it takes to freeze a cup of water? How long does it take to thaw?
Art
¶ Can you create a snowy picture?
Useful Websites:
Bustin’ some moves at the Disco
Everyone had their glad rags on, the aftershave was most definitely flowing, the lights were flashing and the music pumping. This could only mean one thing – Primary 6 and 7 were able to show off some of their dancing moves at their Christmas disco.
Here’s a few photos of them having fund and enjoying themselves…
Primary 6 Winter Ready Activities
If for any reason, the school is unable to open (Boo!!), here’s a few activities to keep you occupied.
Literacy
- Think of words to describe the snow and use them on the following page to create your own text snowflake.
http://www.neoformix.com/Projects/TextFlake/index.html
- Create a poster showing how to keep warm and safe in Winter.
- Write a newspaper recount of an event that happened while you were off.
- Continue to read your Accelerated Reading book then carry out one of the activities on your literacy sheet.
Maths
- Keep up with the challenges and quizzes on Sumdog.
- Measure the depth of the snow in the garden and record it on a graph. Is the snow deeper at the front or the back? Try tracking it over time.
- Make something in the kitchen that involves measuring cups
- Draw a map of your house and work out the area and perimeter of each room.
Thinkers Key Activities
- Different Uses – find 10 uses for an odd wellie
- The Invention – design a new method of getting around in the snow
- What if? – What if the snow completely blocked you inside your house? what would happen (1/2 page)
- The Ridiculous – All the children have the flu and can’t make it into school (10 lines).
Winter Ready Activities Primary 4 and Primary 5
Here are some ideas of what you can do if the school is closed in the event of bad weather.
Maths
- Complete games and challenges on SUMDOG.
- Use numbergym to practise times tables.
- Use ‘Just in Time’ for mental maths practise. (http://www.transum.org/software/SW/Starter_of_the_day/starter_October12.asp?ver=stu)
- Create some mental maths word problems to challenge your class when you return to school.
- Build a snowman and measure how tall he is.
Literacy
- Continue to read your accelerated reader book.
- Write a book review if you have completed your reading book.
- Create a ‘Word Wizard’ or ‘Character Cop’ to show your understanding of your book.
- Design a new front cover, blurb and title for your book.
- Create a diary entry for your snow day, to tell us all about what you did, how you felt, where you went? etc.
- Make a Winter Ready poster detailing how to keep safe in the bad weather.
Hope you have some fun in the snow and remember to keep wrapped up warm and stay safe!
Mrs Canning, Miss Crease and Mrs Quin
Swimming Champs
Article 15
We have a right to join clubs and meet with friends.
Congratulations to Hannah, Sophie and Rachael, who won a great haul of medals between them during their recent swimming club championships.
Swimming star!
Article 15
You have the right to join clubs and meet with friends.
Well done to Callum in Primary 4 for receiving these medals at a swimming Gala on Sunday. Callum won a gold, silver and bronze medal. Well done Callum!
Twit twoo in Primary 1 & 2
Primaries 1 and 2 have been enjoying reading the story ‘The owl who was afraid of the dark’ by Jill Tomlinson. We have been learning about owls and other nocturnal animals, and have also been looking at day and night. Yesterday we had a visit from Owl Magic who brought 9 different owls with them for us to look at, learn about and handle.
We learned lots of new things about owls:
I learned that owls eat rats, mice and frogs. – Megan H
We now know that owls have 2 stomachs. One is for fur and bones and the other is for food to give them energy. – Nia & Milo M.
Owls bring up the fur and bones through their beak and this is called a pellet. – Lilya & Natan
I learned that some owls have yellow eyes and they are daytime owls, some have orange eyes and they come out at dawn and dusk, and others have black eyes and they come out at night. – Adil
Most of us enjoyed handling the owls and we all had the chance to stroke a Barn Owl called Cuddles. Mrs Renshaw was so brave as she held an Eagle Owl called Apollo.
Faith Swims into the medals
Article 15
You have the right to join clubs and meet with friends.
A huge congratulations to Faith (P6), who recently swam at a gala in Deans Community High School for Livingston & District Dolphins. She proudly shows of her gold medal for front crawl and silver for the breast stroke as well as two trophies for participating.
Lungs experiment
Today Primary 4 completed a science experiment to see how much air we have in our lungs. We had to blow into a balloon. We found out that we are all different and don’t have the same lung capacity. Here are some photographs of us during and after the experiment. It was good fun!
Some amazing facts we have learned:
– an adult breathes enough air to fill 1,000 party balloons a day.
– we breath around 20,000 times a day.
Scottish Storytelling Week
Primary 2a and 2/1 visited Diane at Broxburn library today for Scottish Storytelling Week. She dressed up as Hamish the Highland Cow and read us two Scottish picture books.
She even let us try on her Highland cow hat! We had a great time!
Matter Chatter!
Primary 5 and Primary 5/4 have been learning all about SOLIDS, LIQUIDS and GASES and their properties. We looked at the main characteristics of each state of matter.
Emma – I learned that some solids are hard and can’t be molded into a shape without force. The molecules in a solid are packed close together and they don’t have much movement.
Molly- I learned that liquids are made out of particles that are more spread out compared to solids and have some movement. Liquids do not have a fixed shape but take the shape of their container.
Sami – I learned that the particles in Gases are spaced out and can move around freely. Gases do not have a fixed shape and can change volume.
We watched videos to learn about different experiments we could carry out. We then had a go at some of these in class, this got a bit messy!
We used a Kettle, cling film and ice to learn about condensation and evaporation.
We also experimented with different material to see what dissolves. We learned sugar, gravy granules and coffee granules are soluble and sand, chalk, flour and rice are insoluble.
Today we went to school kitchen to find out what changes in state are reversible or non-reversible. We carried out this experiment by heating different foods to melt them then we placed each item in the fridge to cool it back down. Tomorrow we will check which change in state are reversible.
WE LOVE SCIENCE!!!
Swim star!
Congratulations to Lilya Ikene for completing Level 6 at her swim club! She worked really hard on improving her dive to achieve this! Well done!
Karate Star
Article 15 : Your right to meet with friends and join groups and clubs.
Well done to Brandon for receiving two medals for taking part in a competition. He also received a trophy for student of the month and a medal for pupil of the week. Well done Brandon! you are working very hard.
Camptastic!
Article 29
Our education should encourage us to try new things and challenge ourselves.
Primary 6 have just returned from a fantastic three day trip to Lendrick Muir and yet again, the staff made sure we had a fun-filled, action-packed and full-on range of challenging activities. These included everything from working as part of a team to develop our search and rescue skills to overcoming personal challenges such as climbing jacob’s ladder and learning to ride a bike. We even managed to squash in a bit of inflatable and circus fun and get the staff to dress up and act out a murder mystery for us to solve.
Here are just some of the photos taken to give you a flavour of what a great time we had. Hopefully, in the very near future, a CD will be available with all the photos on it.
Amazing Author Visit
Primary 3-7 were extremely lucky to receive a visit from a fantastic Australian author yesterday… Jaqueline Harvey.
Jaqueline has written a series of books about girls called Clementine-Rose and Alice-Miranda. She entertained the children with exciting excerpts from her books and had everyone laughing in their seats!
She even had two very eager and willing participants in Ellie (P7) and Finlay (P6) who had to act out a very funny scene!
We would like to thank GlowWorm books in Broxburn for organising this very special event for us.
Surprise visitor to primary 4
Primary 4 were very surprised today to meet Susan Boyle in their classroom.
When the Legion of Mary came in to pray the rosary with us today they brought a surprise visitor with them – Susan Boyle. We were very lucky to meet her and say our prayers with her.
School Camp Primary 5
Recently primary 5 visit Lendrick Muir for their school camp. Have a look the pictures below to see what we got up to.
Gymnastics star!
Article 15 : Your right to meet with friends and join groups and clubs.
Well done to Maria-Victoria who won a silver medal at her rhythmic gymnastics competition on Saturday. She had to go all the way to Aberdeen. We are very proud of you Maria-Victoria. Congratulations!
Museum of Transport
Primaries 2 and 2/1 concluded their topic by visiting The Riverside Museum of Transport in Glasgow. It was so interesting getting to see all of the different types of transport from the past in real life. We even got to go in some old trams. We saw older cars, trams, a steam engine, horse and cart and we even saw the oldest bike! There was a cobbled street that had lots of shops that would have been around in the past such as a cobblers, saddlery and pawn shop. Our favourite shop was the photography room as we got to try on lots of old fashioned clothes.
My favourite part was when I saw the fire engine. – Rowen
I really enjoyed going into the subway and hearing the loud noises and seeing the rats. – Chloe
We counted 32 cars! – Natan
Hallowe’en in P4
In primary 4 some of us came to school dressed in our costumes for Hallowe’en. Look at us!
We also made pumpkins and bats using a variety of materials. Look at all our hard work.
This term our new topic is the Human body. We have started to learn the names of some bones today. We made a skeleton – we had to work out which bones are connected to each other. We discussed why bones are important. We also listened and danced to the song ‘Dem bones’. We will be learning more about the skeleton next week.
St Nicholas Primary School Museum Showcase
Article 29 –
We can share our talents and learning.
We have had a wonderful morning in St Nicholas, turning our whole school into a museum to showcase the learning and the progression of children from P1 to P7 in Social Studies. The queue to enter the museum was huge and mums and dads, grannies and grandpas and brothers and sisters all had a wonderful time finding out what our children have been learning.
Thanks to everyone who made it such a success!
Viking homework challenge
For homework we created either a Viking helmet or a Viking longhouse. Look at all our hard work. They are amazing.
Money week
Primary 4 had a great money week last week. They enjoyed a visit from Financial Education Partnership (Fep) representative Cameron. He made us think about how to earn money and then what to spend it on. We made paper bags for spices together then sold them for some money that we could then spend on different things – food, healthcare, houses or more resources to make bags. It was good fun and made us think about the importance of money.
In class we have also been using money. We can calculate a total value of coins, work out coins to use to pay for items and then calculate the correct change.
Food for Thought
Article 29
We should use our skills to the best of our abilities
From CSI to The Great British Bake-Off in 24 hours…
With money week upon us, Primary 6 thought it would be the perfect opportunity to raise some funds and buy some new books for our classroom.
We began by looking at some Victorian recipes and working out how many we would need to make in order to supply the whole school before deciding the amount of ingredients would be required. It took us a while to compare and cost up the ingredients, using different online shopping websites.
Friday came and it was all hands on deck with 200 victoria sponge cupcakes and 200 empire biscuits to make in just 1 1/2 hours! Success – we managed to sell all items and raised a whopping £120 for each class to spend on valuable reading resources. Well done everyone.
Who Dunnit?
Article 12
We should feel safe and protected at all times
There was shock, horror and sheer disappointment in Primary 6 when they discovered that their classroom museum had been broken into, but with the help of PC Manning we would get to the bottom of it.
The forensic team arrived at the crime scene and all evidence was bagged up, fingerprints were taken and clues investigated further.
Suspects would have to be interviewed… in came Miss Toner, Miss Irvine, Miss King and Mrs Deas for their interrogation! Nerves were evident – hands were sweating, voices were shaky and excuses were plenty. We would have to look to CCTV to confirm a few issues.
After a very long morning, the culprit was found – MISS KING!!! She was duly read her rights, handcuffed and escorted out of the classroom, leaving tearful and angry children and staff behind her.
Thankfully, it was all a staged, real life venture involving lots of learning. Not only did we experience how we would feel if this really did happen to us, but we also learned about the process taken by the police when they arrive on a crime scene, forensics and the law. A huge thanks to all our fantastic actors.
Healthy Options
Article 24
We need access to nutritious and health food
MMmmmm, delicious! That was the call of Primary 6 when they tasted their own smoothies on the Lidl Health bus. Whilst one group were blending their creations using the fresh ingredients available with their own apron and name badge to take away in their very own smoothie shaker cup, the other group were learning about the importance of exercise and the resultant effect on their hearts. Every pupil was given a heart rate monitor watch to keep for the duration of this part of the session. they were all be asked their heart rate and told to keep an eye on it throughout the game – solving clues about types of fruit and vegetables and racing to the basket to collect the correct item of fruit or vegetable before returning to read the next clue. At the end of the game everyone were again asked for their heart rate and 2 of the specially trained Health Factor Team will took them through why their heart rate has increased and the importance of exercise. Then, all change round!!!!
The Time Machine
Article 28
We have a right to an in-depth education
Primary 6 took a step back in time when they visited New Lanark to learn all about life back in the Victorian era. Led by a costumed teacher, learners experienced school days in Robert Owen’s time. Lessons included drill, hand-writing, arithmetic and dancing. As you can see, everyone had to dress up, write on slates and act and answer appropriately. We also got to explore textile machinery in a mill and find out about home life and shopping 200 years ago!
“I don’t think I’d want to live then because you had to work really long hours for hardly any money.”
“Bed bugs – yuk!”
Homework Challenge!
Dear Parent/Carer
HOMEWORK CHALLENGE
This term your child has been learning about Transport, particularly comparing modern day modes of transport and transport from the past. They have been learning about penny farthings, horse and carriages, steam trains and the first air travel.
Their challenge is to create their own model of one of these modes of transport using everyday materials. Please return the completed model no later than Friday 10th October.
It would be lovely to display their masterpieces for all the other children and parents to see at our showcase event on Friday 17th October at 11am.
Many thanks for your continued support.
P2 & P2/1 Class Teachers
Skiers of the week!
Well done to Euan and Ryan!
Get on your bike!
Well done to Megan, Hannah, Gregor and Mrs Bell who all participated in this years Pedal for Scotland. 
Sana completes her studies
Article 28
You have a right to learn
Sana was extremely excited to tell us all that after lots of hard work and studying over a very long time, she successfully passed all her Islamic Studies and was rewarded with this fabulous trophy. Well done, Sana.
Ski-ing Week 2
Our skiers had another amazing lesson at Hillend with their Instructor Eve.
Everyone is making really good progress and Eve says we are one of the best groups she has ever taught!
Well done everyone. Remember to check the Ski Board in school for any updates.
L’enorme crocodile
Primaries 2 and 2/1 are enjoying listening to and studying the book ‘The Enormous Crocodile’ by Roald Dahl. They have enjoyed meeting some character’s including ‘Notsobig one’ and ‘Humpy Rumpy the hippopotamus’. Lilya brought the story in French and Mrs Dymock and Mrs Renshaw had a go at reading a page, however the children agreed that they should stick to reading the English version.
L’enorme crocodile!
The Great War
Well done to Mishal and Joseph who represented our school at a service to commemorate the Centenary of The Great War at St Michael’s Parish Church, Linlithgow.
Street Dancing Champion
Well done to Ollie for receiving a medal at the UDO World Street Dancing Championships in Glasgow last week. Ollie dances with a group called Pulsationz and they won third prize at the competition. Well done Ollie!
Welcome to Primary 4
In primary 4 we have made our class charter. We have included our rights and the things we need to do. We have also included what the adults need to do. We all made a hand print to show that we agree to the class charter.
In primary 4 we have been working hard already this year. We have started to read Charlotte’s Web and learned how to add using the written method of addition.
Lewis goes the Whole Hog!
Article 15
We can meet with friends and join different club and groups
During the Summer holidays, Lewis attended a huge Scouting Jamboree with the Cubs in Hampshire, England. Throughout the week long camp, he was set a number of challenges and in order to achieve the unique ‘ Hampshire Hog Challenge’ badge, Lewis had to show that he had got involved in the fantastic range of activities available at the camp by participating in at least five of them. These included washing up before leaving the site at least twice, getting wet at least once, flying a model aircraft at least 5m, playing a game with another pack and visiting three ‘Continents’ on the site. Within the Continents there were some more challenging activities to conquer such as caving, water sports and tree climbing. The picture shows Lewis proudly showing us all the badges that he managed to earn during this extremely adventurous week. Well done, Lewis.
Welcome to school P1b !
Ta dah ! Here are the lovely boys and girls from Mrs Macdonald’s class, Primary 1b. Look at how smart we look ! We have had an excellent first week making new friends and getting to know each other. We also met our fantastic P7 buddies. They have been helping us in the cloakroom and in the playground. Thank you P7 ! See you next week, love from Mrs Macdonald and P1B.
Soweto comes to Broxburn
Article 29
We can share our talents and abilities.
What a truly inspirational start we all have had. The Soweto Melodic Voices, a 30 piece youth choir from South Africa, visited the school to carry out workshops with us. After treating them to our version on Shosholoza, we were split into groups and taught a song using different harmonies as well as some dance moves.
In the afternoon, the whole school were invited to watch an absolutely amazing performance by the choir – they even asked us onto the stage to perform with them in front of everyone!
Click on the links below to see some snippets of the singing…
The choir are performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and have asked if some of us would like to join them during their last show. How lucky do we feel?
Soweto Melodic Voices Choir
P7 have had a fantastic day participating in a workshop with this amazing, inspirational choir. We also really enjoyed watching their performance in the afternoon. What an excellent start to P7!
Sports Day 2014 – Primary 2
Here are some of the pictures taken of the current P2 children participating together in the St Nicholas sports afternoon.
St Nicholas Sports Day
Primary 2 and Primary 2/1 pupils had a great afternoon of fun. Thankfully the rain held off for us. Well done everyone!
Sporting June
Yesterday Primary 3 visited Broxburn Academy to take part in a Highland Games festival with other primary 3 children from the local schools. We were all split into groups and the older children from the secondary school were our group leaders and they took us round all of the fun activities.
My favourite part was doing the speed bounce. Charlee-Marie
I really enjoyed the potato and spoon race. Fraser
I liked throwing hoops over the highland cow. Jack J
Today, Miss Watson kindly allowed us to look at and try on her friend’s Staff Commonwealth uniform. We know to look out for the colours red, grey and white and there is a Scotland flag on the back. Ethan, Karolina and Daniel had the pleasure of trying them on and we all agreed that they felt very light and comfortable.
Visit from a CHAMPION!
Article 29
Talents and skills should be developed and shared.
Tuesday was a very exciting day at St Nicholas Primary School as we had a very special visitor!
When we told the people at the Commonwealth Games ‘Game On Challenge’ about all that the boys and girls had been doing to get into the spirit of the games and learn about different sports and countries, they decided we deserved an Athletes Visit!
Stephen Payton is an amazing former paralympic runner who during his career won 3 gold medals, 2 silver and 4 bronze… and he broke 2 world records! Stephen was born in Uphall and grew up in Livingston, it was really interesting to hear about how Stephen began running in his local athletics club and how he became a world champion. Stephen ran training sessions for primary 5 and 6, showing them techniques, answering questions and showing us his amazing medals. He also spoke in a special assembly for primary 2, 3 and 4.
Thank you Stephen for coming in to tell us about becoming an athlete, working hard and achieving your dreams!
Football Crazy!
Article 30
If you come from a minority group you have the right to enjoy your own culture, practice your own religion and use your own language.
We’re all football crazy at the moment, but a very big well done to Kyle Bryce who won all of these medals in a football tournament. This is a wonderful achievement. We might see you playing in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil one day soon Kyle!
Fun in the Sun!
Article 28
We can learn in lots of different environments.
P4 and P4/3 had great fun taking our learning outside yesterday. It was a beautiful day: we gathered inspiration for an imaginative story; played times tables games and learned about Roman numerals; read and relaxed in the shade and played lots of class games in the afternoon.
Thank you to Eoin Sword’s mum and dad for letting us borrow their gazebo which provided us all with some much-needed shade!
A day in the life of an Aussie.
Article 7
You have the right to have a name and a nationality.
Primaries 3 and 3/2 were so lucky this morning to get a visit from Hannah in Primary 5. She lived in Australia for 3 years and she recently returned back to Scotland. Hannah found out that we have been learning about the country Australia as part of our topic work and she volunteered to come into our class to talk to us all about this wonderful country. She showed us a powerpoint, brought in artefacts like a boomerang, clap sticks, flag, her netball trophy and her school uniform. She told us so many interesting facts and showed us some pictures of a typical day in the life of an Aussie!
Thank you so much Hannah for sharing this with us. We thoroughly enjoyed your presentation!
Information Handling
P4 and P4/3 have been collecting data, analysing data and displaying their own data in graphs. We used MS Excel to input data that we had collected on a spreadsheet, and quick as a flash, we could turn it into a bar chart!
2014 St Nicholas Commonwealth Games!
What a fantastic day at the St Nicholas 2014 Commonwealth games! Primary 5,6 and 7 came together in an opening ceremony to celebrate their chosen Commonwealth country and preformed some wonderful cultural displays of song and dance from South Africa, Malaysia and Canada.
After a short break, for a BBQ lunch, pupils then took to the courts to display the skills that they had learned in their chosen sports of rugby, netball and hockey. Each country played their final games in a play off format and the winning teams were presented with their medals in the closing ceremony.
Primary 5,6 and 7 would like to say a massive thank you to all the parents, grandparents and friends who turned out to cheer us on and share in our learning today. We would also like to say a huge thank you to James Pegg and everyone at the Albyn Park who helped make today such a success.
Fruit Kebabs
Primary 1 made fruit kebabs today! We made sure that we washed our hands before making them. We tried melon, grapes, strawberries, bananas, apples and pineapple. Now we know how to stay healthy and we had great fun! YUM YUM!
Summer sun!
The weather has been beautiful over the past week so Primaries 3 and 3/2 were inspired to make their very own sunshine! We used paper plates for the sun’s face and we drew round our hands onto yellow and orange paper for the sun’s rays. We gave the sun cool sunglasses and a big smiling face.
HAPPY SUMMER TO ALL OF YOU!
