All posts by Mr Renshaw

P5’s Outdoor Adventures

Primary 5 have had a great few weeks exploring the school’s woodland areas and using the space as an ‘outdoor classroom’ for various challenges in Literacy, Art, Technologies and Health and Wellbeing.

As a class, we have been reading ‘Billy & the Minpins’ by Roald Dahl. Challenge one saw us using our visualisation skills to imagine what the Gruncher (a terrible man and Minpin-eating creature) would look like and then creating natural art inspired by Andy Goldsworthy.

Challenge two was based our Technologies skills. We had to design and create bridges for the Minpins to travel from tree to tree. There were some magical creations!

Our final challenge was very different! We used the woodland as a setting for ‘yogateering’. Pupils had to find, memorise and repeat various yoga sequences to earn points for their team.

Overall, we have thoroughly enjoyed taking our learning outdoors and hope to do more in the new year.

 

STEM Workshops in Primary 6 & 7

Today, Primary 6 and 7 had a great opportunity to hear from some experts working in STEM careers. Michael from Jacobs engineering and Daniel and Rob from GE Power spoke to the pupils all about their jobs and backgrounds in STEM. Also, pupils took part in two activities to put into practice some of the concepts they had been learning about. Daniel and Rob demonstrated how to create circuits using a battery pack, led lights and play doh! Michael led a session in creating bridges using everyday materials such as paper, blu tack and sellotape.

Many thanks to our visitors and well done to P6 and P7 for enthusiastically taking part in the workshops.

Primary 6 Cross Country

Last week, Primary 6 took part in a cross country competition at East Calder park. Several schools from the local area were involved with over 150 pupils participating. Our pupils embraced the challenge and ran their hearts out! We enjoyed taking part in a large event like this which was run very professionally. Special mention should go to Joel Greig who achieved 3rd place in the boys’ race and was rewarded with a bronze medal. Furthermore, all pupils taking part did their very best and should be proud of themselves.

Primary 6 visit to West Lothian College

On Tuesday, Primary 6 had a great visit to West Lothian College. We were there to take part in three different activities linking to STEM and the World of Work. In the engineering department, pupils had the chance to see different workshops that students use to learn new skills and complete projects. They then took part in some tasks involving problem solving skills. In the hair and beauty department, pupils learned how to use various products as part of a hand massage. They also learned and practised some new hairdressing techniques.

We all really enjoyed our time there and it gave us a good insight into the work of a college student and how these skills link to jobs for the future.

West Lothian Triathlon

Yesterday, over 40 pupils from P5, P6 and P7 took part in the West Lothian Triathlon at Deans CHS. Pupils had to swim, cycle and run through a course laid out by a team of brilliant volunteers, high school students and members of Active Schools and Triathlon Scotland. In all, hundreds of pupils took part throughout the day. By all accounts, it was a fantastic time. The pupils really enjoyed the opportunity to take part in something totally different to what they had previously experienced. Staff and parent helpers were so impressed with the level of determination and enthusiasm shown by the pupils and also the confidence to have a go at something new. Well done to everyone involved. Bring on next year’s event!

Digital Learning Week in Primary 6

This week in Primary 6, we have been taking part in Digital Learning Week. We have trying out a variety of resources for practising coding, a key part of the Technologies curriculum. Examples of the activities pupils took part in include creating their own games using visual programming language and designing a new Google logo.

A list of resources is given below to allow pupils to carry on their learning at home. This list is also on the P6 Yammer page.

Carry on coding!

https://www.codeforlife.education/rapidrouter/

Code for Life – Rapid Router
www.codeforlife.education
1: Can you help the van get to the house? 2: This time the house is further away. 3: Can you make the van turn right? 4: You are getting good at this!

https://scratch.mit.edu/

Scratch – Imagine, Program, Share
scratch.mit.edu
Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.

https://hourofcode.com/uk/learn

Learn – Hour of Code
hourofcode.com
Try a one-hour tutorial designed for all ages in over 45 languages. Join millions of students and teachers in over 180 countries starting with an Hour of Code.

https://studio.code.org/s/express

Code.org
studio.code.org
Express Course Learn the basics of computer science and internet safety. At the end of the course, create your very own game or story you can share.

Tutorials for Scratch:
https://codeclubprojects.org/en-GB/scratch/

Modules – Code Club
codeclubprojects.org
Scratch. Learn how to program your own interactive stories, games and animations.

STEM workshops

Primary 6 and 7 had a real treat this morning when they were visited by four parents working within STEM careers. The pupils had the chance to take part in two workshops, learning about different jobs through a variety of  presentations and activities. It was great to see the pupils learning about the world of work and engaging with issues they had little previous experience of. I’m sure many were inspired to keep learning about STEM subjects and build on the skills they have already developed. As discussed with one of our visiting parents, pupils are preparing for jobs that perhaps do not even exist yet! The world of work is constantly changing and developing. Thank you to all those involved in making the event happen and well done P6 and P7 for listening well and engaging with the workshops.

European Travels in P6

Primary 6 have been hard at work and have had lots of fun creating their own travel show videos about various European countries. In small groups, the pupils picked a European country of their choice to research and present in the form of a travel show. They have learned many interesting facts about their country including topics such as:

–         Flags

–         Landmarks

–         Geography

–         Language

–         Dance

–         Food

– Currency

They have also had think carefully about the style of presentation, including appropriate tone and expression, and their audience. Alongside this, the technical challenge of producing a edited video with images and voice overs has made this an enjoyable and engaging challenge!

We shall be viewing the finished videos over the next couple of days and peer assessing them, giving relevant feedback.

 

 

 

Winter Ready Primary Six

I hope everyone has enjoyed the snow! If you are tired from sledging, building snowmen and snowball fighting then here are some other possible activities for you:

Primary Six

Below you will find a list of suggested activities should there be an unplanned school closure.

Literacy

  • Revise this term’s spelling words. You could choose an activity from your spelling grid to help you do this.
  • Read a text of your choice (novel, newspaper, website etc.) and pick out ten pieces of ambitious vocabulary.
  • Write an imaginative story entitled ‘Crack in the ice!’ – remember to use VCOP.
  • Write a winter poem using similes and metaphors.
  • Literacy links – Sumdog and Topmarks.

Maths

  • Time yourself! See how quickly you can write out a times table then try and beat your record.
  • Continue to develop your skills in measuring and weighing by following a recipe. Take pictures to share your work with the class on return to school.
  • Weigh and measure items from around the home and create a table to record your results.
  • Carry out a survey of your choice (for example favourite sandwich filling) and display your results in a bar chart or pie chart.
  • Maths games – Topmarks – Loop cards, Hit the button, Countdown; Sumdog

Social Studies

  • Research weather conditions and how icicles and snowflakes are formed.
  • Record daily temperatures in a table then display results in a graph.
  • Choose a Scandinavian country, research and create a fact file. Compare their weather to ours here in Scotland. For example, how do they cope in wintry weather? Does their daily life change in the winter?

Art

  • Make a ‘Wintry Scene’ collage.

Internet Safety in P6, P7/6 and P7

This morning, P6, P7 and P7/6 had the opportunity to take part in a live GLOW meet with Police Scotland all about internet safety. This was part of Safer Internet Day 2018. This topic is a core part of the Technologies curriculum:

I can explore online communities demonstrating an understanding of responsible digital behaviour and I’m aware of how to keep myself safe and secure. (TCH 2-03a)

Pupils joined with thousands of others across Scotland to listen to police officers talk about a range of online safety strategies and then opportunity was given for questions to be answered afterwards.

Hopefully all of us have learned a little bit more about staying safe online and about how our own conduct online can affect others.