Category: Clan News
The Ben’s – Math through stories
Maths week Scotland took a creative literacy turn as The Bens developed their understanding of decimals, fractions & percentages through a story called ‘Pezzettino’ by Lio Lionni.
We explored the idea of the ‘part, part, whole’ model through Pezzettino’s quest to find someone he is part of, only to discover he is a whole made up of parts.
The Bens enjoyed working collaboratively in their groups to create their characters which were parts of a whole. It was joyful when they realised that they would need to collaborate with other groups to make wholes and complete the story.
We can’t wait to show everyone our very own Pezzettino inspired story soon!
Calderwood Can – 30/09/22
Happy First Birthday Calderwood!
Maths Week Scotland
Maths Week Scotland- Bluebell Clan
Bramble Clan – IDL and Maths through stories
The Brain
In Bramble clan, we have been learning all about our Fantastic Elastic Brain. Through this IDL we have been learning what the names of the parts of the brain are, what each part can do and help us to do and how we can use our brains to help us problem-solve. We have thought about our own unique brains and what makes our brain fantastic.
Matchstick puzzles
We have been exploring matchstick puzzles in problem-solving. Through this learning we have been exploring what parts of the brain we have been using and how they are helping us to complete the puzzles. We are aware that our hippocampus will store our memories and so each time we try to complete the puzzle and we get it wrong, our hippocampus remembers this and we can try something new next time. Our Amygdala is in charge of our emotions and we have realised it can be frustrating and uncomfortable when we struggle to complete a puzzle but when we manage to complete it, it makes us feel good and proud. Our pre-frontal cortex helps us make plans and decisions and we are able to think through what is expected in the puzzle and what we might do to solve it. We realised we were developing our resilience and perseverance while completing these puzzles too.
What is a neuron?
We have learnt that our brain is filled with lots of neurons but what do they look like? We explored our nervous system to learn how our nervous system works and what part neurons play in this. We then looked more closely at what a neuron is and what it looks like. We then were given lots of craft materials to create our own version of a neuron. We could use any materials we wish. We really enjoyed this and have displayed our neuron creations out in our Bramble clan area.
3D shape – Maths through stories
We have been exploring the names of 3D shapes and their properties. First of all, we listened to the story, ‘Samantha’s Search’. Samantha the fairy was on a search for 3D shapes in the environment. She found lots of different 3D shapes and explored lots of real-life objects that are in fact 3D shapes. One of us realised why the sun was called a sphere in a text he had read saying “oh, that’s why the sun is called a sphere because that is its shape!”
After listening to the story, we were set a group challenge. In our groups, we had to research 3D shapes and find out their names and properties. We had to create a Power-point, sway or poster, detailing what we found out – the name of the shape and its properties. Our group also had to create 3D shapes out of cocktail sticks and small marshmallows. We created triangular prisms, cubes and pyramids. Some of us even combined 2 shapes to create larger, more interesting shapes. Mrs Scobie asked everyone if they thought their brains had grown a bit more today and we all agreed that they had. We had learnt more knowledge and were using our fantastic brains to create the shapes and learn more about them whilst using technology to present our information.
We had a great time doing this task and may have sneakily eaten a few marshmallows along the way!
Thistle Maths Week Scotland 30.9.22
This week we have been enjoying Maths Week Scotland. We have been hearing number through stories and then using the number concepts to help us better understand challenges in our own learning. For example, we read “A Million Dots” by Andrew Clements and then challenged ourselves by trying to do our own million dot wall, number ordering to a million and finding the craziest facts around one million. Some pupils enjoyed finding the roman numerals and others tried to work out what could be bought for £1,000,000.
We loved celebrating Calderwood Primary’s first birthday on Tuesday with a conga and a silent disco.
We have been working really hard on a research project on 3D shapes. Pupils have been using the assignment on teams to work to a criteria and then find a new and creative to share their learning. We are really excited to see what they come up with!
In STEM we have been exploring the respiratory system and investigating how our organs all work together.
We have been continuing to work on our Calderwood Cranium Consultants project, this week we have been using oil pastels to create artwork of neurons.
In PE we have enjoyed testing our stamina and balance and have been comparing our skills now to what we could do at the beginning of term.
Nursery Stay & Play
This week we have enjoyed welcoming our families to experience a day in the life of our nursery. There is still time to play on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th September. Feel free to pop in during your child’s nursery session.
Ben Lomond’s Fundraising Day
Ben Lomond have been working incredibly hard over the last few weeks to plan their fundraising event to raise money for their P7 jumpers.
They have taken full responsibility to plan, decision make, calculate costs
and delegate tasks to ensure everything has been covered.
In their own words, here is what they have been up to:
Jude, Aiden & Matthew have been in charge or the games section out in the field. We created a timetable for each class, decided what games the children most wanted to play and picked spaces for them all. We also helped make signs and poster advertisements for the day.
Rosie and Amy have been in charge of Soake the p7 it when you throw a sponge at a P7 it can be any of the P7s or some teachers. It’s £1 per throw. We had to do market research and source buckets and sponges from the parent council.
Tyler and Zack have been in charge of the Brick-a-Brack stall for the fundraiser. Some of the things that people have brought in are teddy bears, action figures and books. we are very happy with the amount of stuff that has been donated, thank you for bringing things in
Saskia and Jack are in charge of the baking and selling. We have been going around classes to ask what allergies students have. As well as finding the students favourite desserts. We will be following popular demand by selling chocolate cake, cookies, etc. We have booked the stem room for 2 days prior to the date September 30th to bake. Our favourite part was the market research, where we asked students about their allergies. However, we still need to bake the food, I think we’ll have a good time doing so.
Georgie & Elle: We are in charge of the staff car wash. We needed to write loads of emails, checked where we could do it, decide on price, get some of the teachers registration plate, make a register and make signs. We both really enjoyed organising and planning the car wash.
Lacey, Sanaya & Lexi: We are doing an arts and craft stall and it will have, Bookmarks, twinkle pictures and a white board task. this stall all for free so everyone can join in. so far we have done some market research, we made a sign and got a list of materials. Thank you for reading this.
I’m sure the day will go down brilliantly, it has been amazing to watch them take ownership of the project.
7 days to go!
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