All posts by Mrs Ross
December Newsletter
Click on the link below to read Mrs Thurlow’s Newsletter for December 2018.
We hope you have a wonderful and Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
November Newsletter from Mrs Thurlow
Primary 6/7 World War 2 experience
Pupils in P6 and P7 enjoyed a wonderful session with Maureen to experience museum handling of artefacts from World War 2. We looked and modelled (!) some helmets and attire from the era, whilst learning about some West Lothian based local stories. We listened to stories about children who were brought to this area after being evacuated from Glasgow and Edinburgh, how war affected daily life in West Lothian and how even President Roosevelt’s wife, Eleanor, visited the area lending her support to the war effort!!
Primary 7 Digital Learning Week 2018!
In P7 this week, we have completed lots of different exciting tasks using digital technologies to enhance our learning!
We completed a VR session with P1 and P3 all about space. We looked at the International Space Station and taught our P3 buddies how to use the VR headsets. We also looked at a variety of castles with P1.
Calum – “It was very fun teaching the P3s how to use the VR headsets and seeing their faces when it came up!”
Jamie – “It was good listening to what they thought about the VR headsets.”
Zachariah – “It was an immersive experience.”
We also had a teaching session from a young, budding teacher – Miss Murchison – who taught P7 and P3 about how to access and use Glow FORMS. We learned how to create a range of questions, upload them our Yammer page and how to answer the surveys we had created focused on our transition to high school.
We also spent some time on our newly formed class Yammer page – which will be used until the end of term as an excellent way to share our learning and successes in P7.
#ndlw18
Primary 7 elect new Prime Minister!
Learning Intention: We are learning to identify how an election works, including new associated vocabulary.
Success criteria:
- I can run and organise an event with team members.
- I can promote the beliefs and values of a political party.
- I can use persuasive language and propaganda.
- I can show my understanding of democracy through participation in a vote
As part of our learning in IDL, finalising from this term, we have been learning about democracy and how voting systems work. We had a very successful visit to the Scottish Parliament where we could see politics in practice….listening to a live debate was very very interesting.
This week we asked all members of our class to present their individual manifestos and candidates who wished to run for Prime Minister, were put to our vote.
After the votes were counted and verified, NOAH AITKEN has this morning been announced as our class Prime Minister. Well done to Noah for this achievement but also to all pupils who presented some very successful manifestos.
During reflection time, pupils described their experiences…
Charlie – “I was torn between two candidates – the one who was your friend and the one you thought would do a good job.”
Noah – “I was nervous because I didn’t know who to vote for.”
Keira – “It was a scary experience because you knew that one vote could change the whole thing.”
Greigor- “You were under pressure to choose between two people and make your decision.”
Reece- “It was nerve-wracking making that kind of decision.”
Primary 6, 7/6 and 7 Cool Chemistry
The Upper block are really looking forward to beginning our STEM topic for Term 3!
Have a look at our key questions which we will be aiming to answer during this five week topic.
- How do we ensure a fair and accurate test that has proved or disproved a hypothesis?
- What changes occur to different materials when introduced to another substance?
- What can affect the rate and how well substances dissolve?
- How are soluble and insoluble materials separated in water?
- Are there changes to substances which can be reversed?
Keep an eye out for photos and videos of our up and coming experiments on our blog page!
Primary 7 IDL Learning
Learning Intention:
We are learning to develop our understanding of what the role of the Scottish Parliament is and what is meant by democracy.
Success Criteria:
- I can say what democracy is.
- I can participate in a group challenge to promote values.
- I can develop my understanding of how a parliament works.
- I can identify the different roles of people in parliament.
Primary 7 have begun learning about the Scottish Parliament as part of our IDL context for learning. We took part in a group challenge which was designed to help our understanding of what democracy is. One group had a leader who made all of the decisions for the group, dismissing people who did not participate to their liking and used only their own design ideas. The next group asked all members of the group to make and contribute decisions, whilst voting on the best solution throughout the task – all members of the group designed and worked together at the same time with a common goal. The final group split in two parts and delegated work and roles to different group members, each making contributions but sticking only to their individual roles.
What an interesting session we had! Each group went about their task in very different ways and each had a very different experience – this led to some interesting discussion about the different types of governments around the world and how they can be run. Pupils were able to apply some of their knowledge about WW2 leaders (our previous IDL context for learning) and current news topics during the discussion, drawing upon current world political problems, asking challenging questions throughout.
Mid Calder celebrates Robert Burns in style!
On Friday 20th January, pupils from across each class demonstrated their Scots skills by participating in our annual Robert Burns assembly.
Two pupils from each class recited their poem in front of the audience, led by our House Captains. We learned a little information about Rabbie Burns himself and we were treated to a real celebration of Scots culture, when girls from P6 and P7 performed some Highland dancing.
Niamh Sher, Cailin McKenna and Zach Paris will now go forward to represent Mid Calder Primary at the West Lothian Burns Recital competition later on this term.
ALL boys and girls who took part were a real credit to themselves – their use of Scots language was outstanding and dedication to learning their poems off by heart was fantastic.
Thankyou to our judging panel, Mr MacFarlane, Mrs Bokhari and Mrs Mackenzie had a tough job choosing a representative from Primary Five to Seven.
Primary Seven get buddying!
Primary Seven pupils enjoyed their first buddying session with P1 pupils on Wednesday afternoon.
The focus for the afternoon session was developing Literacy skills – pupils from P2/1 were up leveling their sentence work in their fabulous stories about an ice castle. P1 spent some time completing paired reading with their buddies to practice reading skills.
This was a fun session and Primary Seven are looking forward to their next visit in two weeks.
