Primaries 2 and 2/1 were very excited by Rudey’s message this morning. He has rewarded us for all of our good behaviour and hard work with a popcorn and movie afternoon. This will be a lovely way to spend our final day with Rudey! He has really enjoyed visiting our classrooms this year and will be heading back to The North Pole to make the final preparations for Christmas. Goodbye Rudey, we will miss you!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love from Primary 2 and Primary 2/1
Primaries 2 & 2/1 were very excited to see what antics Rudey had been up to during the night. They were shocked to find Rudey hanging from our ceiling! He had also sneaked onto our teacher’s computer to type us a letter. This is what he said:
Dear P2 / P2/1,
I am sad to see that there are no sparkly snowflakes in your classroom. I thought that you would have enjoyed your treat yesterday! I am feeling a bit sad and missing home so I need you to make your classroom look more like The North Pole. I am not moving from here until I start to feel more at home!
Love,
Rudey x
So we have decided to have a busy afternoon making glittery snowflakes, snowmen and robins. We hope that Rudey will start to feel more at home and will come down soon! 
Primaries 2 and 2/1 went on an autumn walk today. We used our five senses to look out for the signs of autumn. We have a new topic called ‘The Hodgeheg’ which will involve learning about the season of autumn. In Maths we have also been learning about time – looking at the months of the year and sorting these into seasons. We know that the autumn months are September, October and November. Here are our thoughts on our autumn walk:
I heard a squeaky noise outside and Mrs Gibson thought that it could be a little animal. – Kaylan
I saw some leaves falling from the trees. – Alex
I enjoyed going on the walk as it was nice to get some fresh air. – Justin
I heard a bird tweeting. – Zach
We recorded all of our observations and look forward to writing all about this tomorrow!
Eshaan in P2/1 had a great time running in a race and received this wonderful medal for taking part. Well done Eshaan!
Thank you so much to all of the boys and girls in P2 and their teachers for inviting us to see the fantastic habitats that they made. We already knew what a habitat was but it was fantastic to see lots of different models of these. Today we seen bee hives, deserts, beaver dens, fish tanks, beaches, oceans, ponds, a bear cave, jungles, a fox cave, an insect hotel, rabbit holes, hedgehog dens, owl nests, the Antarctic and a kennel. There were so many different habitats to see !
Well done P2, you are so talented and we learnt lots from you today.
Yesterday Primaries 2 and 2/1 went on their summer outing to Butterfly World in Edinburgh. We had a great day looking at lots of different butterflies, insects and reptiles. Some of us were even brave enough to touch and hold a snake, a millipede and a tarantula! We then went into the nocturnal room and saw scorpions that glow in the dark, and a hedgehog running on a wheel!
Afterwards, we had a picnic outside and ate our lunch, then we played fun games in the park. Here are some of our best bits…
I liked seeing the caterpillar disguised as bird poo. – Megan S
I thought it was funny to see the hedgehog running on a wheel like a hamster. – Ellie
I enjoyed holding the tarantula, millipede and snake. The millipede felt tickly. – Marta
I liked seeing the big yellow and white snake. – Marcel
I enjoyed seeing the glow in the dark scorpions. – Emily
I liked holding the spider on my hand. – Tia
We would also like to thank the kind parents and grandparents who helped us on our trip.
Our teachers are so proud of us for all of the hard work and effort that we put into making our Living Things habitats. We were set a homework challenge to choose a habitat, learn about it and create it using material of our choice. We have made a huge variety of wonderful habitats. These include The Arctic, a beaver’s dam, a hedgehog’s nest, a pond full of frogs, a bird’s nest, an ape house and many more.
We have invited Primary 1 to come and have a look at them and we will tell them how we made them, why we chose to make this habitat and what we have learned.
We really enjoyed the homework challenge because it helped make learning fun!
Primaries 2 and 2/1 are very excited to see that our sunflower seeds are starting to grow! We have been watering them regularly and will be taking them home soon to plant. We can’t wait to see the flowers bloom!
As part of our Health & Wellbeing, Primaries 2 and 2/1 have been getting in touch with their emotions. We had a chat about all the different emotions that we may experience throughout our lives and had a Circle Time to discuss what might make us feel a certain way. We realised that our faces can let others know how we are feeling. We then looked at Edward Munch’s famous painting ‘The Scream’ and decided to recreate our own interpretation using oil pastels. Our character’s show different emotions using facial expressions.
Today was a mixture of excitement and sadness for Primaries 2 and 2/1. All 20 of our butterflies successfully emerged from their chrysalis and it was time to set them free. Miss Toner kindly offered to help us as she didn’t mind holding and touching the butterflies. Miss Boyd was brave too! At first, the butterflies were quite timid and needed encouraged to fly away. Mrs Dymock tried her best to capture them on film as they fluttered into the sky but they were too fast for her to follow them with the camera.
We all agreed that this was an amazing learning experience watching tiny caterpillars transform into beautiful butterflies. We know that it was kind to set them free and allow them to start the life cycle again.
Here are our thoughts:
It was nice to have butterflies in our classroom. – Ethan
I liked learning about the life cycle as it was all new to me. – Lilya
I never knew that caterpillars turned into liquid in their chrysalis and then made a new body. – Milo M
I liked going on the minibeast hunt because we got to find out about other insects and what they looked like. – Megan S
I enjoyed setting the butterflies free. – Megan H
I learned that a butterfly’s black tongue can curl. – Elijah
I liked being able to look at the caterpillars and butterflies up close. – Ellie
I was surprised to hear that a butterfly’s life only lasts around 2 weeks. – Emily
I learned that butterflies taste with their legs. – Rowen
Bye bye butterflies!
Primaries 2 and 2/1 were very excited to see that more butterflies have emerged from their chrysalis. P2a now have 7 butterflies and P2/1 have 4 so far. All of P2b’s caterpillars are still inside their chrysalis transforming. Miss Toner helped us to put some sugary water in a bowl at the bottom of the butterfly garden for the butterflies to drink. We are also going to put some apple slices in for them to eat too. The red liquid that you can see inside the net is not blood. It is extra liquid that the butterfly uses to stretch its wings out. It’s not very pretty to look at but it is important for the wing formation.
We hope to release the butterflies on Monday!
This afternoon Primaries 2 and 2/1 braved the wind and decided to go into the garden to go on a minibeast hunt. We were very careful not to disturb the insects in their habitat but used a magnifying glass to look very carefully at them. We found some spiders, slaters, worms and a centipede. We looked in the soil, grass and under logs and stones. We recorded our findings on a minibeast checklist.
As Miss Boyd used to work in Donaldsons School for the Deaf, she learned how to sign in order to communicate with the children that she worked with. As this is Deaf Awarness Week, Miss Boyd spoke to all the children to tell them about what it is like not have the ability to hear properly. Miss Boyd and her class taught us how to sign the song ‘I can sing a rainbow’.
Primary 2a and 2/1 would like to say thank you to Miss Boyd & P2b.
Primaries 2 and 2/1 were really excited to see that their caterpillars have started to hang upside down in their home in the shape of a J, and have begun to go into their chrysalis. A lot of growth and change will take place in the chrysalis where the caterpillars will come out as butterflies!
Primary 2 and 2/1 are really excited to welcome new guests to their classrooms….caterpillars! As part of our topic ‘Living Things’ we are going to be following the life cycle of a caterpillar as it grows into a beautiful butterfly then we will set it free. We devised our own questions that we would like to find out about the creatures and hope to be able to answer them by the end of the topic. We have learned so many facts already!
I learned that caterpillars have holes on their bodies to breathe. – Natalia.
I know that caterpillars have spiky hairs to stop them from being eaten. – Emily
I learned that caterpillars shed their skin. – Megan
I didn’t know that mummy butterflies lay caterpillar eggs. – Nia
I learned that caterpillars go into a J-shaped cocoon. – Archie
I learned that caterpillars have different kinds of legs. – Katie
Ellie has just moved up to the Blue Stripe level in Taekwon-Do! What a great achievement! Well done!
We made up a poem as a class on ‘No Pen Day’. This is what we came up with…….
P2/1 Acrostic Poem about Spring
Spring is the season when cute, little baby lambs and chicks are born.
People come out to play when it’s sunny and mild.
Rabbits are soft and warm.
Insects like caterpillars and ladybirds come out of hiding.
Nests are cosy for birds’ eggs to hatch.
Grass starts growing big and green.
Super ideas- P2/1!
Well done to Megan Hay in Primary 2/1 for winning a dancing award for ‘Most Improved Dancer’. We think you’re a star!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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
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
Well done Harris on achieving Level 7 in your swimming.
Here are the final time-pieces create by Primary 2/1.
Unfortunately due to technical issues I was unable to add images to the blog today.
Thank-you for supporting your child in their recent Time Challenge – the response has been fantastic.
I will try again on Monday to add the final images.
Here are the clocks that were brought in today.
Mrs Hopkinson is very impressed with the entries so far!
Primary 1 and Primary 2, 2/1 would like to thank everyone for their baking donations and their generosity. We raised over £120 on the day!
Today as part of their literacy – Big Writing activities, P2 were writing instructions about how to plant bulbs.
In P2/1 – Primary 2 children taught the P1 children how to plant bulbs.
Here are some images of P2/1 on National Book Day
P2 /1 and P2 were asked to design a new clock for their classroom.
Here are some of their ideas.
Some of the children brought in shapes from home.
Sorry for the delay!
Here are some images of our recent assembly.
Today we looked at the traffic that passed at the top of the school road.
Beth – -‘The traffic was busy and when the cars were not coming it was quiet.’
Harry – ‘Huge trucks and little cars went by.’
Ewan – ‘Double decker buses passed by.’
Kieron – ‘I saw a zebra crossing.’
Stella – ‘I saw some lamp posts – so in the dark people who are driving can see other traffic going by.’
Josephine – ‘I saw vans,’
Thomas – ‘ I saw cars.’
Aimee – ‘I saw buses.’
Kenzie – ‘ I saw 96 cars!’
Sophia – I saw vans driving.’
Clara – ‘… and cars were zooming.’
Rhys – ‘Lorries and vans were going by.’
All children have been given their parts for the assembly – please check reading diaries. Don’t worry if you have been off – we have set aside parts especially for you.
Each child has been asked to wear their favourite t-shirt to the assembly.
