We were fortunate enough to have a visit from West Lothian Museum services this week. Linking with our current Social Studies context we enjoyed an afternoon of Victorian artefacts! The class were allowed to handle a lot of the items and were amazed to see how things have progressed since Victorian times, even though we have the Victorians to thank for some of the amazing inventions that we use today. It was interesting to see that the Victorians used an abacus in Arithmetic similar to the concrete materials we use in Numeracy today.
This was a great springboard for our Victorian context as it led to discussions about Victorian inventions, housing and lifestyle to name but a few. We will be linking this learning to our current Literacy theme of creating a recount, the ability to retell and evaluate an experience. The Museum Service have kindly agreed to attend our Sharing the Learning in March so come along and see if you can identify the purpose of our Victorian artefacts, remember your child is now an expert!
Category: Local connections
Mascot for the day!
What a great Saturday this must have been…..except for the score. Mascot for the day at Livingston FC. As the Mascot you got to meet the Livingston players in the home dressing room and have a tour of the stadium. You then had the opportunity of a kick about on the park,with a photo shoot with your favourite player. Finally, you waited in the tunnel for the players and got to run out with the team. What an amazing experience!
Primary 4 Sharing the Learning
On Thursday the 25th of May Primary 4A invited their families into school to share our learning from this term. The children planned an afternoon full of activities linking to our learning in class. Adults then had to complete a Kahoot! Quiz using lots of information from the 7 different stations.
Thank you to all parents and carers who joined us.
Community Hub Visit
Today the Community Hub visited the KNEC Community Listening Project and Warm Hub in East Calder. The project aims to provide a space called a warm hub. Starting with 4 hours, 2 days a week (Monday and Thursday 11am-3pm) They open in the downstairs of East Calder Church Hall allowing people to come and sit in the warm. There will be a free bowl of soup, roll, warm drinks and biscuits available. There will also be free WI-FI which allows people to sit in and complete work if need be. This will also help people who would be isolated in their homes facing the potential of suffering loneliness.
We helped preparing lunch, getting plates ready and then, very carefully serving lunch. We also had a lesson about listening, as it is central to the ethos of the Warm Hub. Another group looked at the organisation of the Hub and how it accommodates everyone. It was great to be able to chat to so many of the visitors to the Hub. Later this week we will present the Hub with a cheque from our Dress Down Day fundraising. Thank you to everyone at the Hub for such a warm welcome.
Victorian Artefacts Handling Session P6
We were fortunate enough to have a visit from West Lothian Museum services this week. Linking with our current Social Studies context we enjoyed a morning of Victorian artefacts! The class were allowed to handle a lot of the items and were amazed to see how things have progressed since Victorian times,even though we have the Victorians to thank for some of the amazing inventions that we use today. They were completely flummoxed by the toasting fork and carpet beater,the latter of which they thought could be to put pizzas in an oven! This was a great springboard for our Victorian context as it led to discussions about Vitorian inventions,housing and lifestyle to name but a few. We will be linking this learning to our current Literacy theme of creating a recount,the ability to retell and evaluate an experience. The Museum Service have kindly agreed to attend our Sharing the Learning in March so come along and see if you can identify the purpose of our Victorian artefacts,remember your child is now an expert!
Ranger Service Visit P6
We were lucky enough to have a visit from The West Lothian Ranger Service this week. This was an environmental workshop which engaged the class by running a range of nature inspired games to help them understand the community and environment around them. We started with a mapping activity where we saw an aerial shot of East Calder taken by a satellite. It was interesting to discuss what our access rights were to the land that surrounds us and how by following a few simple rules it will allow us all to assist in managing our natural heritage whilst also enhancing biodiversity.
Sky Academy P7B
P7B were fortunate enough to visit Sky Academy this week. Sky Academy Studios uses the power of TV and innovation to open young minds and develop young people’s Creativity, Collaboration and Communication. Our day out included
- A hands-on learning experience in which
the class will create their own TV content - A chance to work with team of experts
and cutting-edge technology - A screening of our video on the day and
the chance to watch and share the video after our trip - A behind-the-scenes tour of Sky
As you can see from the images below we have some budding Producers,Editors,Directors,Scriptwriters and there should be an Oscar nominations for our Presenters and Experts! Well done to our fantasic Cameramen/women who filmed the whole experience.
Primary 6A and P6B Artist Visit
On Monday 21st February both Primary 6 classes worked with artist Svetlana Kondakova to design a memorial artwork project for the new Almondell Cemetery.
To allow visitors time for reminiscing and quiet observation the theme for the artwork was water and nature. The children considered how peaceful watching a river could be and used local plants and flowers to decorate the top of the sculpture so it represented an autumnal river with plant life floating on top. Each child designed their own templates before cutting out and making their own design. These were then collated to make a larger sculpture including all 52 individual pieces. The paper template for the sculpture is now proudly displayed in school. We cannot wait to see the finished sculpture in the community.
West Lothian Museum Services -P7B
Fantastic to welcome Maureen Liddell fromWest Lothian Museum Services to our class today. She shared with us a range of aretefacts and stories relating to our current context of WW2. We learnt about how our country prepared for war,discussing rationning,evacuation and shelters. The class were fortunate enough to handle a range of artefacacts including a gas mask,identity cards,ration coupons and even an ARP warden helmet. This visit links closely to the work we are doing in PM writing at the moment where we are looking closely at the features and layout of a recount.
So just what is in those jars? P7B
We welcomed Michelle Sutherland from West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service on Wednesday. Michelle spoke to us about identifying the different kinds of risks associated with the use and misuse of a range of substances.We discussed the impact that the misuse of substances can have on individuals, their families and friends. Moving forward East Calder has been chosen as a pilot school to work alongside WLDAS to create a HWB action plan which will then be used acoss West Lothian. Watch this space!
