E20A9327-8017-488F-AA2D-87494B997276
P5 have been learning about body systems. This week we looked at the digestive system and did a messy practical experiment! Our digital leaders made a quick video to display the learning.
Primary 7’s Week!
P4a’s Wonderful Week
This week we have been busy.
In maths we learnt how to do number patterns/sequences and practised division with remainders and without.
Our topic is Famous Scots. We learned that Scottish clans often have their own tartans so we made our own!
In gym we are doing gymnastics so we were doing jumps over a bench this week.
For spelling we were revising the qu sound and we remembered that q to have a u beside it. Our tasks included unscrambling qu words and making a wordsearch for someone else to do.
On Friday we have music with NYCoS. We did singing games and practiced keeping a steady beat along with rhymes.
P6B’s stunning week
This week we have been learning how to multiply decimals and played a game to practise it. We also had a great time at our vertical learning groups and at the library.
On Thursday we did pop art of Rober Burns and at the start of the week we learnt how sound is detected. Finally on Thursday we did an Alliteration poem. Myles & Adam
Primary 4b’s Week so far !
We have been very busy this in P4b. We have moved on to a new topic, ‘Famous Scottish People’ and have learnt that there have been many Scots who invented lots of cool things including :
the telephone – Oliver
the television – Shay
the wheel – Cameron
steam engines – Holly
penicillin – Catherine
We have set a couple of challenges for next week. Firstly we have to “make a powerpoint about a famous Scot” and “learn how to say a Scottish poem”, Lucas C. We are up for the challenge! We will tell you all next week how we get on.
In literacy we made a wordsearch with our spelling words all hidden, we have also been working hard on our grammar. In numeracy we have been learning about fractions, practising our times tables and exploring through tartan.
“It has been an amazing week”, Olivia.
P2 have a new topic!
P2 are very excited to share their new topic with you. We are going to learn about ‘Schools Past and Present’. We worked on our plan together. We are going to learn about what it was like being a pupil in the past compared to being a pupil today. This includes subjects taught, games played, transport to school, school lunches, tools used in school and pupil voice.
We need help from our mums, dads, grans and grandads! Could you please send in a photograph of when you were in primary school? (Whether or not you were a St. Nicholas pupil!)
We are also looking for any parents who would like to come into school and talk to us about what it was like! The children will have lots of questions for you. If you can, please let us know.
We had lots of fun this week looking at old photographs of our school and of previous teachers and pupils.
P5 performance poetry
Today primary 5 worked together to create a performance of a poem. The poem is called ‘What Stars are’ by James Carter. Here is our final performance. 73D621A0-129A-4478-A8DA-81DD9F666B63
P3’s Weekly Update
This week so far we have been busy bees!
In Literacy, we have started to learn about poetry and we know that not all poems need to rhyme and that they can be split into verses. They also have patterns and can be read to a rhythm. We made up actions for a poem and performed to our class.
In Numeracy, we have been looking at number patterns and counting in 5s and 10s from lots of different numbers. We noticed that when you count up in 10s that the ones column number doesn’t change and that when you are using a 100 hundred square you just need to jump down. When you count in 5s there is a pattern for example, 1,6,11,16,21 etc.
In Science we have started to learn about Freezing and Melting. We found out that water freezes when the temperature is 0 degrees or below. We also learned that water can be solid, liquid and gas.
In RE, we have started to prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have been learning about Baptism and talking about our Godparents and where we were Baptised.
In PE we have started to do some gymnastics and have been practising different types of jumps like star jumps, stretch jumps and tuck jumps.
Can you believe that we have done all of that work so far and it is only Wednesday?!
Prizewinners’ lunch with Mrs Brown
The winners of the St Nicholas Reading and Writing competitions had a lovely lunch with our Head Teacher, Mrs Brown, today. They went on a bus to the other end of Broxburn, had a delicious lunch, and were treated to a book of their choice. Thank you very much to our local partners, Glow Worm Books, for looking after our prizewinners so well and for sponsoring these competitions for us.
And well done again to our fabulous readers and writers.
January / February School Newsletter
Our latest school newsletter is now available to download from our school website:
https://stnicholasprimary.westlothian.org.uk/article/15624/School-Newsletters
Eco Vertical Learning Group – Big Schools’ Birdwatch
The Eco Group did the RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch today, noting the different types of birds that are in the Broxburn area, before we uploaded our results to find the Top 10 birds around St Nicholas. We then worked to create bird snappers – older pupils working alongside younger pupils. Thanks to our P7, P6 and P5s who took such good care of our younger St Nicholas children, working with such care, skill and patience. The snappers were very fiddly to put together but we got there with them. Well done everyone!
Busy first week back in P5
Primary 5 have had a busy first week back at school.
In Literacy, we have been learning about poetry and metaphors and similes. We have worked very hard to create our own metaphors and similes and added them to a poem about dogs.
In Numeracy, we have been continuing to work on money. We have been working on subtraction number talk strategies and also using our number bonds knowledge to add and subtract multiples of 10.
We have been learning about the 10 Commandments and came up with our own commandments that we felt were important.
This week we have continued with our science topic about our body systems. We have looked at our respiratory system and also our circulatory system. We have been working together to research body organs and locate them in our bodies.
We have also been making new year resolutions and looking at making targets for ourselves this term.
What a busy first week back!
FUN Week In P6B!
This week in p6b we were using laptops to make a shopping list, we also played elens in Spanish and had a lot of fun! Miss Gilmore came into our Limerick writing lesson and did game with us where you have to find the missing line sof a Lymerick poem. We had lots of fun this week! Goodbye and have a Good Day! 
Busy week back at school!
Primary 2 would like to share some of the things they have been doing and learning since Monday.
Olivia- We have been using our Rekenreks to switch numbers! A switch is when you change the order of the numbers in your sum.
Nina- We have made shadow pictures for art.
Daniel- We have been writing Winter Senses poems.
Rory- We read a book and wrote about the main thing that happened. Wilf and dad went to the ice rink.
Elias- We read ‘No Tricks Gran!’ and the main thing that happened was Gran made a ghost outside to scare the children.
We are really looking forward to telling you all about our new topic very soon.
St Nicholas Writing Competition – The Judging Begins
Our Pupil Council began the judging process today, looking at entries for the St Nicholas Writing Competition. Here they are hard at work reading the entries. The standard of writing was very, very high. Winners for the both the reading and the writing competitions will be announced on Friday 11th of January at assembly. Thanks Pupil Council for your help and giving us your views and insights into what makes a great story.
Nativity Dress Rehearsal Photos
Some lovely photo’s that were taken of our Nativity dress rehearsal in case anyone didn’t manage to get a picture of their child in their costume. Nativity DVD will be available soon too!
Beneath the Stars
Today we really enjoyed taking part in the Christmas Carol concert. We sung ‘Beneath the Stars’ in front of all the parents and the St Nicholas V.I.P.’s. It was fun and breath taking as we noticed some members of the audience becoming emotional as we sang. Primary 6 would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas.
by Summer and Amie-lee
P5/6 & 7Christmas Party
Great fun was had by all at our party this afternoon. We managed to create the longest conga line in West Lothian and floss to Baby Shark. 🕺🏻💃🏻🎅🏼
A Cup of Christmas Cheer
This week we made a special delivery to Broxburn Care Home to drop off a ‘Cup of Christmas Cheer’ for every resident. Our Relationships vertical learning group discussed the importance of spreading joy at Christmas and made up little packs which included a personalised Christmas card, a Christmas cup with a hot drink sachet and a wee cake. The package was well received by the residents and staff who were delighted with our little gifts.
Virtual Reality
Yesterday P6 visited the International Space Station, then they landed on the moon, then they popped in to the Kennedy Space Centre…using our new virtual reality headsets.
The class had a fabulous time exploring all the places that we have been learning about over the past few weeks. I wonder where we will be exploring next ?
SSPCA
On Tuesday we had a visit from Clare who reminded us how to care for animals. We worked in teams to play a game answering questions about different animals and what they eat, the name for their young and which category of animal they are. We had a great time learning all about it.
Nicola and Maisie
VR in P6
This week P6B had lots of fun with the VR life and were visited by the SSPCA and learned all about protecting animals and different creatures.🐢🐶🐱🐣
Winter Ready
The council have uploaded their latest Winter Ready information to our school website, under the Parent Zone: https://stnicholasprimary.westlothian.org.uk/article/5923/Winter-Ready-for-Schools
Winter Ready 2018:
In the event of closures schools will contact parents/carers in the normal way via Groupcall. Parents/carers should ensure that their school/nursery has up to date contact information.
In addition changes will be notified via the School Closures page, Facebook, Twitter and local media.
School closures
The Head Teacher has responsibility for undertaking a risk assessment in the event of severe weather or building difficulties. There are several factors which may impact on this decision including:
- the building itself and whether there is water and power
- access to the school and decisions of school transport operators
- whether there are enough staff available to ensure that the school can open safely
- whether it is safe to send children home during severe weather.
The Head Teacher takes the decision to close a school to pupils in consultation with a member of the senior management team in Education Services.
Travelling to school
In extreme weather conditions such as snow, parents/carers should carry out a risk assessment as to whether they consider it safe for their child to travel or walk to school. Parents/carers should then inform the school of their decision at the earliest opportunity.
School Transport procedures in the event of adverse weather
During adverse weather conditions school transport operators have been instructed that if a child is picked up on route and news reaches the driver that the school is closed, the driver will proceed to the school with the child as planned.
Under no circumstances will the driver return to the pick up point until such time as the parents have been informed of the situation.
It is vitally important that parents are aware that transport may not operate at all in adverse weather conditions and parents must have a contingency plan should the bus not arrive at the pick up point. Please ensure that your child/children are aware of these guidelines and what to do if the bus does not arrive for any reason as normal.
If you have any queries about the school transport procedure please contact Public Transport either by telephone: 01506 280000 or email: customer.service@westlothian.gov.uk.
GLOW
All West Lothian pupils have access to the education community GLOW. Pupils who can access a computer at home, at libraries or Community Centres, can access study material via GLOW. The private website has study material and activities.
West Lothian Council GLOW allows teachers and pupils to communicate over the internet in a safe and secure way. Teachers can post work and lessons for pupils. Pupils can submit completed work. Features include safe and secure ‘chat rooms’ where teachers can answer pupil questions, and where pupils can help each other out and share learning experiences.
Norovirus (Winter Vomiting Disease)
A number of schools across Lothian have reported an increase in pupils with vomiting and/or diarrhoea. The symptoms are suggestive of viral gastroenteritis (also known as norovirus or winter vomiting disease) which is known to be currently circulating in the community. It is usually a short lived self-limiting illness from which children and adults recover quickly.
Further information about norovirus and its prevention can be found on the NHS Inform Norovirus Information Webpage
To minimise the likelihood of developing norovirus we recommend:
- If your child develops vomiting and/or diarrhoea please ensure they remain off school until they have been symptom free for at least 48 hours. This advice applies at all times. So for instance if your child becomes unwell over the weekend they should not attend school on Monday even if by then they feel well.
- Ensure that all members of your family wash their hands frequently using warm water and liquid soap, especially after using the toilet and before eating or preparing food.
Nursery Parents Feedback Questionnaire
At St Nicholas nursery class we value your opinion and appreciate any feedback you give us. We appreciate that not all parents get a chance to come into the nursery so this gives you an opportunity to express your ideas and opinions. Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions.
Please go to bit.ly/stnicsnurserydec18 to answer the questionnaire.
Thank you.
Busy Little Elves in P3
Last week in Maths we were learning all about symmetry. We used mirrors to check if a shape was symmetrical and how many lines of symmetry it had. We discovered that not all shapes are symmetrical and that is called asymmetric.
In Literacy, we were learning about common and proper nouns. We learned that a proper noun is a little bit fancy and needs a capital letter. Words such as months of the year, names, places and days of the week are all proper nouns.
We are starting to feel a little festive, so in Art we were given a challenge by our class elf to create a Christmas tree using forks, paint, glitter and paper plates.
We have also been exercising our vocal chords and have been practising our Christmas carols in preparation for the Christmas carol concert next week. We have also been pract
ising our dance moves for our Christmas party and have been learning The Square Dance, The Grand Old Duke of York and The Flying Scotsman.
What a busy week we had!
We hope that our class elves leave us some more fun challenges to do this week!
Mindfulness Session in P6
Mrs Dickson, a parent from P6a visited our classes to share her knowledge about mindfulness. She helped us to understand the importance of mindfulness by showing us a jug of water and stirred some glitter into it. The water represented our brain and the glitter represented our thoughts and it showed us how busy our brain can become and this is why it is so important to have quiet, calm time …mindfulness.
We then participated in some exercises. Mindfulness eating with a raisin, sitting like a frog whilst listening to a CD from this book:
Ruby said, “I found the mindfulness very calming.” Molly added, “I really enjoyed the mindfulness eating as it made you savour your food more.”
“Mindfulness helps you to get into a place where you can think about your problems or relax without feeling stress.” said Callum.
We would like to give Mrs Dickson a big thank you for teaching us about mindfulness.
Written by Clara and Nicola
Christmas Hair
Are you looking for a new style for the festive season ? P6 created this Christmas Tree design during Golden Time.
The BIG Debate in Primary 6
Primary 6 have been researching the moon landing of 1969. There are many conspiracy theories surrounding this event so P6 set to work to discover all the facts and then to have a debate.
After several arguments the class had a vote and the response was 50:50 as we could not decide which theory to believe.
It was fascinating introduction to the skill of debate.
St Margaret’s Science Transition P7
Primary 5b
Happy St Andrew’s Day! This week we have been learning about St Andrew.
Ellie – St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, Rope, Fisherman and Fishmongers.
Paula – St Andrew was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus.
Christy – St Andrew was born in 5 BC
Cerys – St Andrew was 62 when he died.
Szymon – He was killed by the Romans in Greece.
Alexander – Some of St Andrew’s remains are in Scotland.
Sam – He said that he was not worthy to be crucified on a cross like Jesus so he was crucified on a x-shaped cross.
Ciaran – The x shape was adopted as our national flag of Scotland (the saltire).
Matthew – He had a brother called Simon Peter.
Mirin – St Andrew appeared in a dream and told the Pictus people that they would be victorious in battle.
Phoebe – he followed Jesus and spread the good news.
Happy St Andrew’s Day!
We have also been learning about multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1,000 in numeracy and using subtraction strategies in number talks. We have worked very hard this week in all areas.
P5b
P5 Christmas Elves
A Terrific Time in P6b
This week we have been having fun and learning tessellation in maths. Clara’s mum even came in to do a mindfulness workshop! In P.E we were learning Scottish dancing and we were playing games.🙂
Tricky Tessellation
Primary 6 have been learning about 2D shapes and putting them together to make tessellations. We also learnt that the artist, M.C. Escher used tesselation to create his art works. We have some feedback from our classmates and they said:
Molly said “It was fun but challenging.”
Rebbecca said “To try to tessellate a cross is really hard.”
Beth said “You can see tesselation in everyday life including slabs,tiles,fabric design,pineapples and many more things.”
This week’s bloggers are Isla G and Ruby
Bestie in a bauble!
Primary 6 have been busy making snow globe baubles with their bestie inside. These glittery decorations are on trend and will be available to buy at the Christmas Fair next week. What a lovely keepsake to have for years to come.
P1 Bookbug Reading Afternoon!
P1 had a fun afternoon today reading stories and playing all the games from their bookbug bags. It was lovely having our families and P7 buddy’s come along to help us read!
STEM Vertical Learning Group
P3-P7 have been in Vertical learning groups today. In our STEM group we were learning about circuits and worked together to design our own. Mrs Kilpatrick shared her engineering expertise!
Primary 6 are using their logic !
Primary 6 were having fun using our new ‘Logic Cards’ to complete some tricky problem solving tasks.
Ethan said “It was challenging but really fun. My task involved finding the solution to a drawing problem with shapes where I couldn’t take the pen of the page or repeat drawing a line.”
Harris continued, ” The advantage of working with a partner on this task was that we could share ideas and piggy back to find a better solution.”
Primary 4a’s Week of Learning
Primary 4 have had a busy week!
In Writing we had to describe a picture. The picture was a setting for a story. We had to include adjectives, nouns and adverbs. Next week we will begin to write character descriptions.
On Tuesday we walked to Broxburn Academy for the Benchball Festival. We were sorted into teams and we played some rounds of Benchball against other schools. We really enjoyed this even though we had to use mats instead of benches!
In Numeracy we have been learning about Money. We can convert pence into pounds and pounds into pence. We can also add sums of money together to make totals. Some children brought in different currencies for us to look at. Cole brought coins from the Czech Republic, Michael showed us some euros, Adam brought in Algerian money and Kyle introduced us to the Indian rupee.
In Health and Wellbeing we have begun to learn about the importance of keeping ourselves clean and healthy. Miss Doolan brought in two pieces of bread for us to use in an experiment. We all touched one piece without washing our hands, and Cole touched another piece AFTER washing his hands. We put the bread in separate bags, labelled them and hung them up in our classroom. Our aim is to see which piece gets more mouldy in the next week or two.
Twelve Disciples
In P4, in preparation for our assembly we learnt all about the 1twelve disciples. In no particular order, they were : Peter, Andrew, James, John , Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, (son of Alphaeus), Thaddeus, Simon and Judas. However, we learnt that Judas betrayed Jesus so he was replaced by Mattheus.
We learnt that these men followed Jesus and continued his good work here on Earth. We too are being followers of Jesus and following their good example by : praying for others, helping one another, reading the Bible and by looking after our world.
P5
Since returning from the summer holidays we have been very busy. We have been learning about shale mining in Broxburn and we looked at the Burngrange mining disaster.
Max – the Burngrange disaster happened 71 years ago.
Lucas – the disaster happened in West Calder
Mirin – 15 men lost their lives.
Daniel – one of the men died at the exit to the mine.
Connor – 2 of the men were brothers.
Paula – a giant explosion and fire caused the disaster and parts of the mine to collapse.
We have learned lots of information and created art work, job adverts, PowerPoints, mind maps and newspaper reports all about shale mining and the disaster.
We are now going to be learning about natural disaster. We can’t wait!
School News
Hi everyone,
Please find our latest school newsletter here: School_News_-_Sept_Oct_2018
Copies of our newsletter will now be accessible online, rather than in paper version. They can also be found on our new school website: http://stnicholasprimary.westlothian.org.uk/
BYOD Update
Please download our letter regarding our next steps in our Digital Learning Journey.
Our New Website!
Our new website is now live.
http://stnicholasprimary.westlothian.org.uk
We are very excited about it. Please head on over and have a look.
P1 Young Writers
A huge congratulations to Mara Wishart and Logan Morrison who won a prize in the P1 category of West Lothian Young Writers’ competition. They go with their families to an Awards Ceremony on the 16th of June. Well done on this excellent achievement. We are very proud of you both.
Gymnastics Champs!
Huge congratulations to gymnasts, Abbie Thomson, Anna Keogh and Chloe Laing – members of the St Nicholas Team – who scooped the award of 2nd place in the Scottish Gymnastics Primary Schools Finals in Perth last weekend, where they competed against schools from all over Scotland! Well done also to Anna Keogh who took the award for 2nd Place for her individual performance.
We are all so proud of you girls – well done to all of you!
Presentations
The presentations today were very interesting – Zara
Some of the Power POints were really eye-catching – Maisie
Well done Weronika, Archie, Natan, Emily, Liam and Kordian! Your presentations were fantastic 🙂
Litter posters in P2.
Here are some of the boys and girls from P2 with the anti – litter posters that they have created. We are proud to be an Eco school and want to remind everyone to keep St Nicholas free from litter.
Spring in P2.
Spring has sprung in primary 2! Look at our beautiful Spring pictures, aren’t they pretty ? We used watercolours and wax to make our daffodils and paint to create our cherry blossoms.
Fantastic Presentations!
Well done Chloe, Alicja, Julia, Victor and Myles. We really enjoyed listening to your presentations today and learnt a lot about dogs, Poland, Red squirrels and Pokemon!
Thanks for your donations! P4-5 enjoyed their very successful Bake Sale today!
We also had some great presentation from James, Nia, Zara, Marta, Summer, Aisha and Lilya. Well done!
Here are some pictures of our day.
Presentations, coordinates, writing and Lent
We’ve had a very busy week in P5b. We have written a persuasive letter to the owner of the Scot-Mid to get him to sell more Fairtrade products, we have been learning about coordinates, practised the weather in Spanish with a dancing game and found out about new facts about the Loch Ness and Nessie! Some of the children also enjoyed doing their presentation: Well done Megan, Maisie Freya, Adil and Natalia! We also had time for some fun Lent activities like the skipathon the pinata and the snail trail!
Is your child a budding Darcey Bussell?
Is your child interested in ballet? Auditions for Scottish Ballet are in Glasgow on the 23rd of April for children who will be in P6/7 in September 2018. No dance experience necessary and the audition is free. Every child who applies will be offered an audition. Please click below for application details…
SCHOOL OPENING
Thanks to an amazing effort by West Lothian Council teams, contractors and parents/carers, all but 13 council primary, nursery and special schools WILL safely open tomorrow (Monday, 5 March).
They join West Lothian’s 11 secondary schools, which will re-open on Monday as planned.
The following schools will remain CLOSED on Monday:
Blackridge Primary
Connolly Campus, Blackburn
Deans Primary, Livingston
Eastertoun Primary, Armadale
Hopefield Nursery School, Blackburn
Longridge Primary
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary, Blackburn
Our Lady’s Primary, Stoneyburn
Parkhead Primary, West Calder
Pinewood School, Blackburn
Riverside Primary, Livingston
St Joseph’s Primary, Whitburn
St John the Baptist Primary, Fauldhouse
All 13 of these will re-open on Tuesday 6 March.
All other West Lothian Council secondary, primary, nursery and special schools will be OPEN on Monday 5 March at the normal time. Parents/carers will receive a groupcall to confirm if their school is open or closed.
Re-opening nearly 100 schools following severe weather is a major job, with significant checks carried on every building required before it can be safely opened, such as ensuring they are still structurally sound, heating is working and toilet and catering facilities are in good working order.
Snow clearing work in school grounds is ongoing to ensure a safe route for staff and pupils, with up to five feet of snow drifts requiring cleared in some schools.
Due to the amount of specialist work required, it has not been possible to safely open every school on Monday.
If your child’s school is open, we would encourage you to send them if it safe to do so. Parents should carry out their own assessment of whether it is safe for their child to travel to school from their home, depending on their individual circumstances.
Parents/carers should take extra care when travelling to school on Monday, especially as some crossing patrol staff may not be in place.
All school transport will operate as normal.
Parent/carers of pupils attending special schools who receive transport should check with their provider on whether they are able to take their child to school.
There will be no breakfast clubs on Monday, and lunch menus may vary from usual. Wraparound care will be in place as normal, and parents/carers should confirm any after school arrangements with their provider.
WINTER READY!❄️
⛄❄SNOW DAY❄⛄
Here are some suggested activities that your child can do to continue their learning. Activities have been set within stages. Please post any pictures or comments to our Facebook or Blog.
❄️*P1 ACTIVITIES*❄️
– Write a little story about your snow day and bring it into school
– Draw a very detailed snowy illustration of your fun day
– Cosy up with a nice warm drink and read your reading books/home story books
– Build me a snow dog! 🐶
– Build a big snowman and get your mum or dad to help you measure how tall he/she is! Tallest snowman may win a prize!
– Access: http://www.gregtangmath.com/tenframemania and see if you can set a Primary 1 record for highest score
– Access: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=16&AgeGroup=1 and practise some addition and subtraction games
– Access: http://www.doorwayonline.org.uk/literacy/speller/ and practise some spelling
– One very helpful thing to do would be to look in your homework folder and practise correct formation of all letters and numbers
– Write your balloon words in the snow
– Make snowballs of different weights and roll them down a hill, see which one travels the farthest/fastest
❄️*P2-4 ACTIVITES*❄️
*write a snowy poem (acrostic, rhyming, repetition) ❄
*build a snowman ⛄ and measure how tall he is (send photos on Dojo if you wish)
*exercise counting 🏃🏼♀🏃🏼♂- keep warm by doing star jumps, jogging on the spot etc and counting in 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 10s. Practise reciting your 2, 5 and 10 times tables
*draw/paint a picture of the view outside your window 🎨 ✏
*use number gym/Greg Tang maths online /Topmarks Hit the Button to work on your number bonds 📱💻
*cosy up with a nice warm drink and read your reading book or library book 📚
*practise writing your spelling words in the snow
*design a cosy outfit to wear in the snow 🧥 👢
*make different weights of snowballs and roll them down a slope – which one travels farthest/fastest?
❄️*P5-7 ACTIVITIES*❄️
*build a snowman ⛄ and measure how tall he is
*write instructions on how to do something you did on your snow day (baking, snowman etc.) 🍰
*draw a picture of a snowy landscape ⛰ ❄️
*use number gym/Topmarks Hit the Button to work on your times tables 📱💻
*read at least 2 chapters of your accelerated/library book. 📚
*write a summary of what you’ve read.
*practise writing your spelling words in a creative way. 🔡
*measure the depth of the snow at 3 different points during the day. Did the depth increase or decrease? ⬆️⬇️
*use your knowledge of the solar system and write a paragraph about why we have winter. 🌍
*use a restaurant menu to create 4 multiplication/division problems. Solve your problems using efficient strategies. ➗✖️
*create a quiz about something you are interested in (include an answer key). 🔑
Again, Please share any pictures of the activities you’ve completed on Facebook or the blog! 📷
Most importantly, stay safe and have fun! ❄☃
Broxburn Academy Transition
A huge thank you to Broxburn Academy pupils who came to run a lunchtime debating group with some of our P7 and P6 pupils today. The children enjoyed the opportunity to work with S5’s from Broxburn and are looking forward to seeing you again next week.
Talking about learning…
Thanks to everyone who came to our curriculum cafe today to discuss their children’s learning with them over tea and a biscuit. Our St Nicholas children were very proud to show their families evidence of all their hard work and effort. Our cafe was very, very busy today – thank goodness our Pupil Council and parent partners were on hand to help. Thanks also to Avril Fitzpatrick and Agnes Boyle – ladies from the local community who organise our teas and coffees and who we couldn’t do without.
Our next curriculum cafe will be on Friday the 4th of May.
Den building P4 continued
More photographs of our adventure yesterday.
P4 den building
We had great fun at Almondell Country park today building dens. We worked cooperatively in small groups to design and then construct our dens. It was great fun.
Stephen – Den building was fun because I enjoyed gathering all the materials and resources
Connor – I learned that some sticks are heavy and need two people to lift them.
Iga – I had fun building the shelter so that it was rain proof.
Finn – I enjoyed making smaller things inside the shelter. We made a fire escape, an arm chair and a kitchen.
Milo – I enjoyed testing out the dens at the end. Ours was big enough for all of us to fit inside.
Cian – I liked gathering the wood because if you went far away from your den, it tested your navigation skills.
Carson – I liked working with others in my team.
Aaron – I learned that there are different shapes to be made from the sticks.
More photos to follow if Mrs Cannung can work out how to download them!
Today Primary 5 took part in some shelter building activities in Almondell Country Park. In groups children had to find suitable resources to create and cover their shelter. Children work collaboratively to design and build shelters that were fit for purpose and some even decorated them! As you can see from the photographs I think they have developed quite good survival skills!
Titanic floating and sinking
On Thursday primary 5b tried out their models of the Titanic in the waters of our sink. All the models we tried were successful and stayed afloat, so well done! Some of the most popular floating materials were foam and empty bottles.
3D shape poems
We made 3d shape poems/raps and presented some of them to the class.I made one about a sphere and I enjoyed writing it and reading it to the class. We all tried our best and all enjoyed it.
Tongue Twisters in French and Spanish
Primary 5b have been trying some tongue twisters in Spanish and French. We thought it was challenging but really fun!
Spanish tongue twister
Cuchara, cucaracha
cucharita, cucarachita.
French tongue twister
Mon père est maire, mon frère est masseur.
P5b’s Titanic adventure
Natalia – I liked when we dressed up and played a character on the Titanic
Adam – I learned that workmen had to be at 6:00 am sharp or they would be sent home by the time keeper.
Maisie – I learned that when the Titanic left Southampton it almost crashed.
Lilya – I learned that the people that worked in the Titanic had 6 minutes to go to the toilet. Once one of them fell asleep and the time-keeper started banging on the door.
Adil – I learned that the smoke from the cooking went through the fourth funnel to make it look like it was working.
Archie – I enjoyed dressing up as a purser.
Marta – I learned that the carpenters who worked on the Titanic took spare pieces of wood home to show their families how nice the wood was.
Primary 4 Celebrate Robert Burns Day
Primary 4 have been learning about the very famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns. We now know lots of facts about him!
Milo – Robert Burns is sometimes called ‘Rabbie’.
Erin – He is a famous poet and songwriter who lived in the 1700s.
Tatenda – He started writing poems when he was younger to impress the ladies.
Finlay A. – He lived in a cottage in Alloway.
Alex – Robert Burns grew up on a farm. His Dad died when he was 25 so Rabbie had to take over the farm with his brother.
Ellie – Robert Burns died when he was only 37 years old.
On Robert Burns Day we celebrated in class by tasting some Scottish foods and celebrating our Scottish culture.
Neve, Neve, Fallon and Carson entertained us with some Highland Dancing. Finlay F. treated us to ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and both he and Connor played ‘Scotland the Brave’. Matthew read one of Burns’ famous poems called ‘Address to the Haggis’.
We got to taste haggis, shortbread, oatcakes and Irn-Bru. Yum! We took a vote to see which was the most popular of the foods. Irn-Bru had the most votes, while haggis had the least number of votes because it was ‘too spicy’!
P5 STEM – Floating and Sinking
During our STEM activities this week we decided to explore floating and sinking as it would be useful learning alongside our Titanic topic.
Our first activity involved making a prediction to decide if cans of juice would float or sink and why we made this hypothesis. We discovered that the cans of diet juice floated as they were less dense than the cans with sugary drinks. We also discovered that the non-diet juice contained over 18 café sized packets of sugar. After much discussion we concluded that water or milk would be a healthier option.
The next challenge was to make a change so that the floating orange would sink. The groups worked well coming up with different ways to achieve this: trying to squeeze the juice out, making holes in the skin and cutting it into smaller pieces. However the removal of the skin did the trick and Luke was able to explain why. Here’s the science: Drop an orange into water and it floats, but remove the peel from that same orange and it will sink. The unpeeled orange floats because the rind is very porous and filled with tiny pockets of air. Even though you’re removing mass when you peel the orange, the peeled orange is more dense and sinks in the water.
The final challenge was to make a marshmallow sink and again imaginative ideas were at work. Making it smaller, cutting off the powder coating, squeeeeeezzzing it so hard to remove the air trapped inside. After much strenuous and messy activity the successful team managed to sink a small piece of pink marshmallow by making it smaller and squeezing it flat. We wondered what would happen if we dropped the marshmallow into different liquids such as cooking oil or used mini marshmallows. Further investigations are required.
P5 Titanic Topic
Primary 5 have been using their creativity to record their learning about The Titanic. All pupils created a pencil drawn image of the ship on her maiden voyage and also used fantastic vocabulary to describe the sinking of the ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Tomorrow we will be using the medium of drama to extend our learning during our Titanic Workshop.
http://www.titanichonourandglory.com/
Burns Day
Primary 6 did a bit of research on Rabbie Burns today, finding some more unusual facts about him and presenting it to the class on a ‘Sway’ presentation (a programme similar to powerpoint). Did you know that Robert Burns had 12 children? Or that he almost moved to Jamaica? Or that he was the first person to appear on a bottle of Coca Cola? Neither did we until today. We then had a wee Scottish treat – some shortbread and a thimble full of Irn Bru.
First Week Back
Today we learned about 3D shapes. I liked it because were learning the names of all the shapes better. – Archie
We learned about the Titanic, for example that people said it was unsinkable. We also learnt how it was built and what 1st class and 3rd class was. – Victor
I learned that they used silver and gold paint for the first class rooms. – Megan
We did fractions like half, third, quarters tenths. We looked at different ways to represent them, for example in a number line, groups, fraction bar and circle model. – Zuzanna
We did the numbers in French up to 10. I liked it because I like speaking in French. – Lilya
We played a board-game to learn about the past tense. It was good because if you are not sure of how to spell the past tense you can use the game to practise. – Natan
We learned about sleeping: why it is important and what we should do to get a good night’s sleep. – Marta
We wrote winter acrostic poems using the word Snowflake. I think I did a good job because I took my time and checked my work using a dictionary. – Alicja
We drew the Titanic. I found it really fun but difficult too. I was very proud of my work. – Maisie
Adventures with Paddington Bear
Primary 5a have been learning how to draw Paddington Bear and were successful in learning from their mistakes. We wrote interesting Paddington Bear stories from scratch. Miss Morgan brought in her Paddington Bear. He was very old because Miss Morgan got him when she was 5 years old !
We watched three very old, original cartoons about Paddington Bear and discovered he was a very polite bear but also got up to a lot of mischief ! We used this information to write our own adventure stories. We enjoyed learning about Paddington Bear and will enjoy our memories of this time in the future.
Written by Amie-Lee, P5a
STEM – Elf House
Primary 5 have been developing lots of skills whilst designing their Elf House.
Ethan – ” We had to make a house for an elf. The house had to provide him with a place to sleep, somewhere to eat, it had to be safe and cosy with lights.”
Grace – “It had to have a Christmas theme and look like a place where an elf would stay.”
Clara – ” We had to measure our elf so that we could design and make furniture to the correct size.”
Skye – ” We had to give our elf a name. We called them: Fifi, Merlin, Nick and Ellie.”
Isla G – ” We started off sharing all our ideas on a piece of paper and then planning the design of our house.”
Hubert – “We worked as a team. We had to listen to each other and encourage each other.”
Maya – ” We used boxes, straws, pompoms, fancy paper, tinfoil, lollipop sticks, cotton wool and electric lights. We used these things to create furniture, rugs, chimneys and plants.”
Harris – “It was great fun working together to make our Elf House. Each house is unique.”
Our elves are looking forward to moving into their new homes this week.
The Gingerbread House Challenge
P6a revisited an old classic today – the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. We listened to this traditional tale, but then took it to another level by discussing possible hidden meanings, metaphors and symbolism in the story. We now know that traditional tales were passed down from generation to generation to warn children (and adults) of potential dangers in life. Hansel and Gretel will never be the same again! We then took part in a challenge to see which group could build the best gingerbread house, using essential teamworking skills of: good communication and listening; effective cooperation and negotiation; and hard work!
Blether stations, Subtraction and Christmas art
In Maths we have been learning how to subtract 4 digit numbers with and without regrouping using the column method. We have used Dienes blocks to help us to understand what regrouping means.
We have also learnt about the past tense and how to spell different verbs in the past tense. E.g. asked, carried, etc. We have been learning basic greetings and feelings in French and organised a P5 puppet show to practise this.
It was also exciting to discuss our favourite books in ‘Blether Stations’ for Scottish Book Week. Finally, we have started getting ready for Christmas; we’ve been practising our Christmas carols and also made really nice Christmas decorations to sell in the Christmas School Fayre.
Well done and congratulations!
A huge well done and congratulations to St Nicholas Primary School girls who took part in the West Lothian Schools Gymnastics Competition last week at Craigswood Sports Centre, Livingston. Our Level 3 team came first across the whole of West Lothian and were awarded best individuals too. All our girls were a credit to themselves, their parents and St Nicholas Primary School. We are all very proud of your achievements!
Parent Council Meeting Minutes
Please find minutes from the last parent council meeting on Monday 13th November.
Broxburn Science and Technology Event
Primary 6 had a fantastic day yesterday at the Broxburn Academy Science and Technology event. Pupils had the chance to learn about structural engineering and took on the paper table challenge. We learned that things are strong in threes and triangles are the strongest shape. Primary 6 also worked with some 3rd year pupils to explore some scientific experiments, our favourite experiment was the ooze.
Exploring addition
Today P5 explored adding 3 digit numbers by using concrete materials to show the amounts and combine the numbers together. This work will help develop our understanding for tackling addition algorithms.
Trip to the castle and first week back
We had a fantastic trip to Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace where Primary 5 learned more about Mary Queen of Scots and the history of Scotland.
Every morning this week, our whole school has been working together to focus on our positive values with Rookie Rockstars. The children have been working towards a final performance were they will be singing and dancing songs about bullying and being kind to others.
Primary 5b have also worked on their multiplications skills, spelling patterns, reading skills and also investigated bridges. P5b then had to work in groups to design a strong structure that would support Nia’s pencil case for 10 seconds using materials such as paper, cards, straws or spaghetti. All the groups worked incredibly well, showing great cooperation and working as a team. Well done!! Most groups also managed to build structures that were fit for purpose 🙂
BBC ‘s Author Live – P2 and P3.
The children from primaries 2 and 3 really enjoyed watching and listening to the author Wes Gray reading a selection of his stories. Our favourite one was ‘Oi Frog’. We watched a live broadcast of him and learnt a little about his life. It was great!
An Invitation to you…
Preparations are well under way for our first FAST session of this term on Thursday 26th October at 3.30pm in the P5 classrooms.
If you have a child who attends pre-school year at Nursery, Primary 1 or Primary 2 then we would be delighted to see you along with the rest of your family at FAST. We welcome older and younger siblings, parents and grandparents to participate in our sessions.
Here are some quotes from the families who participated in January:
· I’ve realised since starting FAST that my daughter is more independent than I thought.
· My two children and I have really enjoyed FAST. It has also helped me by meeting other parents.
· It has become the highlight of my daughter’s week, when we pick her up from Nursery, “Fast Families” is the first thing she says.
· Our son has spoken a lot about FAST and enjoyed it very much. It has given him confidence.
· FAST has given me the chance to see how my son is in school. I now know he is confident and finds FAST very enjoyable.
· I now understand the importance of play at home. It has developed the quality of the interactions between my daughter and I.
· Through FAST we have developed our play, learned new words in English and made contact with new friends.
· My son loves the diversity of the activities. Drawing, singing and talking about emotions. He always asks, “Is it FAST today?” He can’t wait for the next FAST session.
· Our boys enjoy the kids time the most and my wife and I enjoy the parents time. We talk about everyday problems that we all encounter and learning how to cope with them has been very useful.
· The best thing about FAST has been developing new relationships. Having the opportunity to meet other parents and develop friendships. My son has met new friends who are not in his Nursery class and this will help when he starts P1. It has been great getting to know the FAST team too.
A lovely ‘family fun’ hamper worth £25 will be going home with two families on Thursday evening and we will be enjoying a delicious Italian meal from Gianninos ….all FREE OF CHARGE.
Please join us on Thursday for fun, food and FAST families. To book a place please contact Miss Morgan through the school office.
STEM – Bridge Building
Today P5 were designing and building bridges using strong shapes. We had investigated famous bridges from all around the world and looked very carefully at the shapes used to make them fit for purpose.
Team Straw managed to support 4 cars on their bridge. Team Paper managed to support 7 cars and Team Spaghetti supported 3 cars.
Great team work all round.
Dentist visit!
We were so lucky to have a visit from a real dentist today- Louise’s mummy! We had a fantastic time learning how to take care of our teeth. Margarita even let us have a go at looking into Dinosaur Colin’s mouth with a special mirror.
We learned that it is important to brush your top teeth downwards,your bottom teeth upwards and your back teeth in little circles. We also sorted the food into ‘happy teeth’ and ‘sad teeth’ baskets. We learned that sweets, lollipops, fruitshoots and cakes are very tasty but they should be eaten as a little treat and not everyday.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Louise’s mummy for coming into our classroom and for giving us all a fantastic goody bag!
Portrait Portfolio
Primary 5 have been using various media to create portraits. Over the past few weeks we have drawn large self portraits and ended up drawing teeny, tiny portraits of Greyfriars Bobby. They were the size of a teabag.
Adventures in Primary 5
My goodness P5 have had a busy few weeks ! We have been looking at historical aspects of the curriculum through a number of events. We participated in an ‘archaeological dig’ where we discovered various parts of a skeleton and then had to re-construct the formation of the body and complete a tricky calculation to work out the height of the person.
We took a trip to Edinburgh where we saw the various locations that we had been studying in class and even went back in time to meet Mary, Queen of Scots. She provided us with costumes from 1566 so that we could attend the christening of King James VI of Scotland who also became King James I of England. He was the King that Guy Fawkes tried to blow up at the Houses of Parliament on the 5th November. Mary taught us the ‘Dance of the Washerwoman’ and we also examined the food that would be served at a Royal banquet and used oranges and cloves to make pomanders. There were some unpleasant odours around in the 1500’s ! On our journey we explored the Royal Apartments in the Palace of Holyroodhouse and saw the spot where David Rizzio was murdered by Lord Darnley. We walked up the Royal Mile passed The Museum of Edinburgh where the collar and bowl of Greyfriars Bobby are kept. We spotted the distinctive Tolbooth building that served as jail in the days of Old Edinburgh. We passed John Knox’s house and admired the architecture and spoke about the window tax which resulted in the ‘wee windaes’. Further along the High Street we saw the Mercat Cross where the residents of Old Edinburgh would hear the news and passed the impressive St Giles Cathedral. We saw the location of the infamous Deacon Brodie’s workshop. Finally we arrived at Edinburgh Castle and saw the many defence features of the building, the one o’clock gun, Mons Meg and the statues of Wallace and Bruce. We managed to visit St Margaret’s Chapel which is the oldest building in the Castle. We were exhausted but had a wonderful time.
In art we have been exploring a new technique where we created autumnal art. We blended oil pastels to create the leaves and then blended paint to create a water effect around them. They were very impressive.
P2′ Visit to Purves’s Puppet Theatre
As part of our learning about ‘Toys, Now and Then’ P2 had a very enjoyable trip to Purves Puppet Theatre earlier on today. It was great seeing puppets in action. We got to see how the puppeteers moved the puppets using black gloves and clever lighting ! It was so cleverly done that it was impossible to see the puppeteers behind the stage.
Here are some pictures of us !
‘Toys, Now and Then’ in Primary 2.
We have been very busy in Primary 2 learning all about toys from the past. This week, we have learnt about the history of teddy bears, tricycles and hobby horses. We also made our own hobby horses.
Visualising in Primary 6
Primary 6 have been learning and revising lots of different reading strategies. This week we have been working on visualisation. We were very surprised to find out that our own background knowledge effected how we visualise things. We read a story about a Bus Stop and had to draw each character in the correct order. It was very difficult! We all worked very hard and now feel more confident in visualising when we are reading! We can’t wait to try it out in our own reading books.
Fantastic week in P5
This week we have been learning about the different food groups and how to keep a healthy diet. – Megan
We have also learned about Greyfriars Bobby and have been making Power Points and posters about him. – Freya
We’ve done research and found out some interesting facts about Mary Queen of Scots – Lilya
We were doing a Newspaper Report about when Jesus healed the blind man – Marta
We learned how to multiply by 100 and 1000 and also multiplying by multiples of 10 (eg. 40 X 3) – Daniel
In Art we drew Greyfriars Bobby – Julia
I enjoyed making the powerpoints and learning about Greyfriars Bobby – Maisie
I enjoyed tasting Edinburgh Rock – James
I enjoyed drawing Greyfriars Bobby – Emily
A special visitor in P1
Today, one of our Primary 1 Mums came into school to tell us all about her very important job. The primary 1 children listened so carefully to what Lindsey was saying and then got to try out all the equipment that Lindsey brought with her. It was very exciting. Here are some of the things that we learned:
There are different types of nurses.
Neonatal nurses look after little babies.
Little babies have different cots to sleep in.
Nurses use a stethoscope to listen to the babies heartbeat.
You have to be kind and caring to be a nurse.
Sometimes nurses wear a special hat and mask.
Here we are having a go at being neonatal nurses.
Visitors in P2.
As part of primary 2’s topic, ‘Toys, Now and Then’ we have had some visitors who came into our classes to talk to us about the toys that they had when they were a child.
Who has visited ?
Our first visitor was Mrs Macdonald. She showed the children a doll that she was given when she was just two years old ! The children learnt that the doll is one of her most prized possessions. She has some memories of playing with it and dressing it and washing it in the bath. Santa gave her the doll.
We also welcomed Mrs Davies from our school office. She brought in her clockwork toy teddy bear to show us. She has taken very good care it as we learnt that it is over 50 years old. She has even kept the box! She thinks that her mum and dad gave her this.
Matthew’s mummy came and showed us the silver cross pram and doll that she played with when she was a little girl. We were most impressed with how new it looked. She must have looked after it very well.
Finally, Mrs Hesketh who is one of our Pupil Support Workers, came in with three toys from the past. She showed us her ‘Dressy Bessie’, a doll named Peter and her mummy’s doll , which we found out is 70 years old and made out of china.
What did we enjoy ?
Isabella – I liked having a shot of Matthews mummy’s doll.
Leo – I liked finding that Matthew’s mummy’s doll had eyes that opened.
Eleanor – I liked holding Peter the doll.
Damian – I liked holding Dressy Bessie because it has lots of things on the dress.
Lucia – I liked Dressy Bessie because you could learn how to do laces and buttons.
Lovisa – I liked Mrs Macdonald’s doll because it was soft.
Patryk – I liked to hear that Mrs Macdonald’s doll had it’s own bath.
Andrew – I liked Mrs Davies’ bear because their was a magnet on it’s paw to open the pages of the book.
Haziq – I liked Mrs Davies’ bear because you could wind it up.
Thank you to our special visitors for helping us with our topic.
Minutes – Parent Council Meeting 11th September 2017
Minutes from our last parent council meeting are below:
St Nicholas Primary School Parent Council – 11Sept minutes
Archaeologists for a Day
Today we became archaeologists for a day. We did some excavations in teams and found bones and evidence from the past. We also learnt how to tell the age, height and gender of of skeleton! This is what we thought about The Archaeology workshop:
Lilya-It was fun!
Marta-It was very educational. I learnt many things today.
Meet the Teacher – Curriculum Evening – Wednesday 27th September
We would like to invite all our parents/carers to attend our yearly Meet the Teacher evening on Wednesday the 27th of September at 6pm. Teachers will run sessions at 6pm, 6.20pm and 6.40pm, allowing parents with more than one child in the school to meet all their children’s teachers. At these sessions, teachers will outline the children’s curriculum for the coming year. You will also be able to look at some of our resources and see your child’s learning environment.
We look forward to welcoming you to St Nicholas Primary School next Wednesday evening.
Maths Minions in P6
This week Primary 6 have been working hard during Maths Week. We’ve participated in lots of fun activities here are some things we enjoyed, learned and want to do more of!
Anya – I learned your 11 times table.
Ava – I learned some of my other times tables (2 digit number ones).
Eve – I learned a lot about problem solving.
Stella – I enjoyed doing the maths hunt.
Hollie – In the maths challenge we got a sheet of paper with lots of letters and numbers. We had to try and find the letter that connected to numbers hidden around the playground. To crack the code we had to solve times table problems.
Adrian – I enjoyed the problem solving task because we worked in groups of 3 and we had 10 problems to answer.
Anna – In the problem solving we were given a maths question. We were given three minutes to discuss and find and answer and write it down on our sheet. We had to write down how we worked it out and if we found it hard or not.
Some of us found the problems harder to solve, some of us found it easy!
Eve – I enjoyed the times table challenge when we had to beat the time.
Riley – I enjoyed the blether stations because it was challenging and I enjoyed working in a group.
Thomas – I enjoyed the times table challenge because I learned my 12 times table.
Agata – I found the blether stations tricky because the word problems were hard to work out.
Hollie – I found the time table challenge hard because we all raced to see how fast we could work it out.
Sophia – I found the times table challenge hard because I don’t know them all yet.
Anya – I want to do more of the finding answers in a group.
Ava – I would like to do some more times table challenge getting timed and beating my own time.
Leo – I found the number of the day challenges hard because its was hard to work out if it was prime or composite.
Cameron – I enjoyed learning the compensation strategy.
Sarah – I enjoyed learning about near doubles.
Stella – Overall, we all enjoyed learning about different things in maths. We now know different strategies to use!
Scottish Maths week in P5b
This week we have been working on multiplication. We have practised our times tables and also used concrete and visual materials to support our understanding. Here you can see some arrays and groups made using different materials like animal counters and Numicon shapes.
Primary 5b also went outdoors for Maths; we used different elements of nature to represent Place Value.
Roald Dahl Day in P3
Primary 3 have been enjoying listening to the story ‘The Twits’ by Roald Dahl and had fun creating their own Mr Twit beard. They drew lots of disgusting things on their masks like old apple cores, worms and mouldy pizza! Here we are wearing our beards!
Scottish Maths Week in P2.
Primary 2 have been working hard this week and especially so since it is ‘Scottish Maths Week’. We have been investigating how whole numbers are constructed by playing lots of place value games. We have also been exploring how groups of items can be shared equally, and learning how to half whole shapes.
Here are some pictures of us hard at work.
Celebrating ‘Roald Dahl Day’ in P2.
We had lots of fun today as part of ‘Roald Dahl Day’. This special day falls on the 13th of September each year as that is the date that he was born. During this day, schools up and down the country celebrate his life and his wonderful books. So, what did we do ?
As part of the celebrations we heard the excellent story, ‘The Enormous Crocodile’. We all enjoyed the story so much, (giving it a rating of 5 out of 5) that we wrote book reviews, drew our favourite part of the story and retold the story in our own words.
Keilidh drew and painted the Enormous Crocodile which we used on our frieze, (this is in the main corridor).
As well as looking at this book, we also spoke about some of Roald Dahl’s other famous books including, ‘The Twits’, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, and ‘The BFG’. Thank you to Leo for bringing in his box set of books for us to look at. In the afternoon we joined the rest of the school to watch a theatre company perform ‘Matilda’. As Roald Dahl himself used to say, ‘It has been a whoopsy-splunker day’. This translated means, ‘It has been a fantastic day’.
Some book reviews.
Our frieze so far …
Toys, Now and Then – Primary 2.
Our topic in Primary 2 is called ‘Toys, Now and Then’. We are really enjoying learning all about toys from the past. It is exciting to see just how much some toys have changed:
What have we learnt so far ?
Lucas – ‘Toy cars used to be made from wood and tin. Now they are made from plastic’.
Chloe – ‘The first kites were made in China’.
Isabella A -‘Only rich children had toys a long time ago’.
Joshua – ‘The man who used to make Lego used to make toys out of wood’.
Lovisa – ‘The man who made wooden toys didn’t make bricks. He made buses, trucks and ducks.
Thomas – ‘The factory that makes Lego has a massive Lego brick in front of it.
James H – ‘The Lego factory is in Denmark’.
Primary 7 Challenging Maths
Primary 7 are continuing their Scottish Maths week challenges. Today they were creating answers 1 to 20 using the magical number 4. Ask your child how they got on, I’m sure they will surprise you.
They shared their strategies with each other to find the most efficient method.
Check out the after school sport clubs available in our local community!
