All posts by Miss Sherlow

Events, Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 3

An out of this world week in Primary 3!

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On Tuesday 2nd May, we had a very exciting visit from Cosmos Planetarium, a state of the art, 360° theatre experience. We were transported on a journey through our solar system and beyond – from flying through Saturn’s rings to diving into Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, to search it’s vast ocean for signs of life. We learned about the first moon landing, as well as what life might be like on the moon in future and were able to share our knowledge of Neil Armstrong from the biographies we wrote about his life and experiences. We also took a virtual tour of the International Space Station and learned more about what life would be like in space. To continue this learning when we got back to class, we got to try astronaut food. Some of us loved it, others…not so much.

After that, Steven Gray from Cosmos Planetarium, who is also a STEM ambassador, led us in a rocket making challenge. You can check out what we got up to in this amazing video made by Rose and Zoe:

To top it all off, Primary 3 shared all of our learning through our IDL context, NASA Juniors: Mission X with our parents/carers, families and friends in our assembly. We also blasted our audience back in time to meet Neil Armstrong and some other famous astronauts from throughout history. So fasten your seat belts, check the oxygen levels and prepare for lift off….

Achievement Awards, Achievements, Book Lions, Events, Fairtrade, House Points, Junior Leadership Teams, Musical, Nursery, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 5, Primary 7, Top Scorers

Term 3 Celebration Assembly

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Today we welcomed parents and friends along to our Celebration Assembly so that pupils could receive their STEM Super Star and Successful Speller awards.

Certificates and prizes were also given to the children who won our Bookworm, STEM and Fairtrade Junior Leadership Team’s challenges and competitions, and to the 5 pupils who represented our school at the West Lothian Burns Contest. We also announced the Top Scorers for each house, along with our house winner.

A big thank you to Hannah Rarity for inspiring us by sharing her interpretation of our school motto, Believe, Achieve, Succeed, and for sharing her journey of hard work and determination to become the successful singer she is today. Thank you also to Leah, P6, who impressed us with her own musical talents and played ‘Clowns’ for us on the piano.

Well done to all of our award winners!

Interdisciplinary Learning, Maths & Numeracy, Primary 3

Roman Mosaics in Primary 3

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We are learning about Roman mosaics

  • I can observe and discuss the different colours, patterns, shapes and symmetry found in Roman tiling/mosaics
  • I can create my own tiling/mosaic design in the style of the Romans
  • I can include symmetry in my design.

Primary 3 have started their new IDL context, The Rotten Romans, and this week we have been focusing on life in Roman times. We learned about how rich Romans often decorated their homes in mosaics as a sign of wealth. We explored the colours, patterns and shapes they used, as well as how they were created.

We then used digital tools, 2D shapes and squared paper to explore and create our own mosaics. In our maths lesson this week, we have been learning about lines of symmetry and symmetrical patterns. We applied our learning when we were creating our mosaics, making symmetrical patterns in the style of the Romans.

We also applied our knowledge of mosaics and symmetry in writing and spelling this week. In a spelling task, we were challenged to find lines of symmetry in letters and then write words and sentences using only symmetrical letters. In writing, we have been learning how to write a diary entry of a day in the life of a Roman and, if we decided to be a rich Roman, we talked about our beautiful mosaics and making our slaves sand them down until they were smooth for us. We are really enjoying learning about the Rotten Romans.

Information for Parents, Internet Safety, Technologies, Useful Websites

A Guide to Social Networks: Advice for Parents

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O2 and the NSPCC have joined forces on a mission to help all children and their families in the UK stay safe online. They recently launched a website https://www.net-aware.org.uk/ which gives detailed advice and reviews of the different online social networks which young people use. It covers over 50 different apps including popular apps like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to lesser known apps such as Kik, Roblox and Musical.ly. It reviews the levels of risk associated with each app and also includes the views of different young people about each app and how safe they feel using it.

Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 3

Dynamic Designs in P3

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We are learning to design a vehicle

Success Criteria:
Using what I know, I can include features that will suit different climates and landscapes
I can create a neat and detailed drawing of my vehicle
I can label each part and effectively describe why it has been included
I can use a ruler and my space effectively

Great news! Primary 3 have been working extremely hard to help Gamba the giraffe to get back home to Africa, and we finally received the postcard we have been waiting for to let us know that he made it! He also set us one final challenge- to design a vehicle that he could have used to travel across all of the different landscapes he discovered on his journey. We had to use all of our research to create a design, thinking carefully about all of the climates and living things that Gamba met along the way.

We think Gamba will be very impressed with our designs. We included lots of features that demonstrated our knowledge of the different landscapes, climates and living things we have been learning about. Lots of us also included thoughtful things to make Gamba more comfortable on his travels.

We have been keeping a track of Gamba’s journey on our world map in the classroom and we are very proud that all of our hard work helped him to get back home.

Information for Parents, Maths & Numeracy, Useful Websites

Useful Website- Bedtime Math

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Bedtime Math is striving to help families introduce maths as a fun part of their daily routine, as common and beloved as the bedtime story. They make it easy to roll maths into the day, whether at bedtime, bathtime, or snacktime.

You can check out the site by clicking the link below:

Bedtime Math For Families

There is also a free app that can be downloaded onto Smartphones and tablets.

 

Community, Events, Fairtrade, Information for Parents, Junior Leadership Teams

Fairtrade Fortnight- Visit from Lush

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As part of Fairtrade fortnight, LUSH Livingston will be in school on Thursday 1st March and, after a presentation with the whole school, they will have a LUSH stall, where some products will be available to buy.  If children wish to buy anything they should bring money in a purse/wallet/envelope.  It would help if the younger children also brought a note of what parents would like them to buy and if the older children knew too.  Please note that these products are subject to change depending on their delivery so LUSH can’t guarantee full availability on the day.
 
Cream Candy Bubble Bar £2.95
Ickle Bot Bath Bomb £1.95
Rocket Bath Bomb  £2.95
Cheer Up Buttercup Bath Bomb £2.95                     
Baa Bar Bubble Bar £4.50
 
Whoosh Shower Jelly 4.50
Charity Pot Hand and Body Lotion £1
Internet Safety, Primary 3, Safer Internet Day 2018

Safer Internet Day in P3

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To mark Safer Internet Day 2018, Primary 3 took part in lots of activities to help us understand why we should stay safe online. First, we looked at different emojis and suggested adjectives to describe each one. Then we were given a range of different internet themed scenarios and had to stand beside the emoji that represented how we would feel in that situation, sharing why we had chosen that emoji with each other. Next, we looked at different images and had to sort them into ‘safe’ and ‘not safe.’ We quickly discovered that all of the items can be safe, including digital tools, if we use them sensibly and responsibly.

We love using the internet in Primary 3, so we learned about our ‘digital footprint’ and how important it is to make sure we use it in a positive way. For the #ItStartsWithUs campaign, we made a pledge of something kind that we could do to make the internet a better place. We also took part in a Skype session where we learned top tips from 6 different schools from across Scotland.

English & Literacy, Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 3, Technologies, Uncategorized

An Avalanche of Arctic Advice

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We are learning about the Arctic
I can describe the climate of the Arctic
I can describe the living things found in the Arctic
I understand how the climate and the landscape affects the living things

This week, a special delivery arrived for Primary 3. We used our skills of prediction to guess what was inside the box, using the clues on the wrapping to help us to make a realistic prediction. That is how we met Gamba the Giraffe. Gamba was lost and needed our help to find his way home. First of all, we had to use our research skills to find out where Gamba came from. We used iPads and netbooks to discover that we needed to help him get back to Africa, then we sent him on his way.

However, we soon heard back from Gamba to let us know that he hadn’t quite made it back home. He asked for our help to find out about this strange land that he had arrived in. He needed to know about the climate, landscape and living things that he might see in, what we quickly discovered was, the Arctic. Again, we used our research skills to find out new information, using key words to help us find out the facts quickly and easily.

We then used our Glow accounts to email Gamba to tell him what we had found out and give him advice about what to do next. We learned how to add a recipient, include a subject heading and how to layout an email.

We can’t wait to hear back from Gamba to see if he manages to get back home…