Category Archives: Expressive Arts

P6 Artland Adventures in the Natural World

P6s have been engaged with Environmental Art for the past few weeks.

LI – EXA 2.07a to look at others’ artwork and use these ideas as inspiration for their own work

SC- I can create a hall display to detail my Land Art experiences

I can create a blog response of my thoughts and feelings

They also created artworks in teams and on their own in the school playground using natural and scavenged items that they found.

They researched the art of Andy Goldsworthy and other sculptors whose work they saw on a visit to Jupiter Artland near Wilkieston.

After their tour the pupils were set a challenge to create an artwork with a repeating pattern or sequence in the outdoors.

Exciting Lessons in Mid Calder 2017-18 by Miss Brolls

Bonjour,

This year I am excited to be teaching Health and Well-being, Art and Design and French subjects across the school and in Term 1 we will have different areas of focus across early, first and second levels. 

In HWB we are looking at the overarching themes of personal well-being and thinking about who we are and what are our special skills and unique abilities. In doing this we will develop confidence in speaking and listening during Circletime and role play. We are learning to talk about our emotions and how these make us feel and behave. This has tied in with our Art and Design and our self-portraits in charcoal and other portraits when we looked closely at ourselves. Thereafter we will discuss friendships  asking questions such as what makes a good friend and how we can help others and show acts of kindness. When we are talking about social health we will be looking at what we are good at and how we can develop our self-esteem and confidence in the class and into the community. Overall we will be thinking about the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

In Art and Design we are going to focus on Drawing and Painting this term. We are learning to use different drawing tools to encourage pupils to draw people accurately. At the early stage this may be a few details but into the second level these portraits are increasingly accurate with many details and correct proportions. We will also look at Picasso’s abstract portraits and his use of colour. We will look at modern Scottish artists such as Joan Eardley, Paolozzi and the Scottish Colourists but also classical artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer. P6 will go on a visit for the day on the 12th of September to Jupiter Sculpture parkland and participate in a workshop based on Andy Goldsworthy. See http://www.ipadartroom.com/andy-goldsworthy-inspired-lesson/ for ideas to extend knowledge about the artist and other Land Artists. In looking at colour we will start by experimenting with primary colours (red, blue and yellow) and then colour mixing, making many tones or tints of a colour using white. By first level the children will explore colour wheels and onto using colour to reflect mood and then the use of texture in colour. If we have any artist parents willing to come in to help work with children and/or talk about what they do that would be much appreciated. Art will be taught by the Class Teachers in P2, P5C and P7. PLEASE ENSURE YOUR CHILD HAS A PAINTING TOGS TO PROTECT THEIR SCHOOL UNIFORMS ESPECIALLY AS WE START TO EXPLORE PAINT AND INKS!

In French the P1s will listen to songs and play games and gradually build up their vocabulary and what they can say. They will learn about Paris and France and differences in school life and breakfast. We will start with Greetings and Classroom Talk. Further up the school we will start at First Level with an extended vocabulary of greetings and talk in class and try to use the language we have learnt in class everyday talk. The full vocabulary for First Level Greetings and Classroom Talk will follow in another blog post. I shall also add useful language apps and websites but the bbc Primary Languages website is a good starting point for now to listen to how the French sounds. Theo brought in some Tin-tin comics and we shared this classic French comic strip books in class. Again, any native French speakers who can come in to help would be made very welcome.

Au revoir,

Miss Brolls, NCCT 2017/18

Every Child is an Artist

Picasso thought that every child was an artist and this week P4 have chosen mixed media to draw abstract portraits. EXA 1.02a

They created images of family members and even dogs and unicorns.

We talked about how these were abstract and not real. Some children added a lot of lines in their drawings and others placed the facial features in different places than the norm. Colour was also used abstractly with unusual and interesting colour choices.

ALL of P4 are artists!

Ice-Cream and Fun in the Sun! by P2/3

P2/3 and P3 set off on a mystery tour to North Berwick on Monday. It was a long journey and a last-minute change from the planned trip to Yellowcraigs at Dirleton but fine weather and a good team spirit meant that we had a fantastic day out together and managed to complete a team sandcastle building challenge.
Some of our LIs were:
Expressive Arts
I can create and present work using the visual elements of line, shape, form, colour, tone, pattern and texture. We did this by creating sand sculptures and there are two of the winners in the pictures. The winners enjoyed playing with their mini-kite prizes.
EXP 1-03a
Sciences
I can distinguish between living and non-living things. I can sort living things into groups and explains my decisions. We looked at different types of shells and learnt their names – limpets, clams, winkles, cockles but we didn’t find any cowries or the elusive Pelican’s Foot.
SCN 1-01a
As Class Teacher it was great to explain to some children about the different edible sea vegetables such as kelp, sugar kelp, sea lettuce and bladderworts. Some of these can make a delicious miso soup. Next time they go to the beach they might remember what they looked like.
PICTURE EDITORS
Annalise said, “Before I went for the bus I loved my vanilla ice-cream. My favourite bit was going into the paddling pool and collecting shells. On the way back we got stuck in a traffic jam.”
Lauren said, ” My favourite bit was the sandcastle contest because me and Myah worked as a team.”
Amorie explained, “Going in the paddling pool was a little bit deep and it was fun.”
ICE-CREAM DREAM TEAM
Jessica and her team found out that ice-cream is made from many things such as milk and sugar. We went for the best ice-cream with dairy ingredients from Lucas in Musselburgh. It was scrummy! Jessica’s Mum organised a great deal with Mr Whippy and Lucas but the ‘healthy’ ice-cream was the best choice even if it did cost more.
SEA MONSTER TEAM
James and Rory said ” In the paddling pool everyone thought it was freezing and the rules were we could not go any further than up to your knees and we were not allowed to swim or push. We were playing tig in the water and it was really fun.”
Rory saw a crab in the water and they saw unusual pink stripy small jellyfish. What could they have been?
SEAHORSES TEAM
Cara imagined that she was a mermaid on the beach and created imaginary play with friends about exploring the seaworld full of fish and shells. Great imaginations indeed.
SANDCASTLE TEAM
Brandon said, “When we were working in teams we were building sandcastles.”
Aidan said, “It was a race to build the best sandcastle.”
Nathan made a moat and a hill and built up the sides with wet sand in a bucket.

A huge thank you to our wonderful sun-kissed parent helpers. It was a grand day of fun in the sun!

The Lion King Junior

What a week for Primary 4 and Primary 5! On Tuesday evening, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday night, the children put on the show of a lifetime for their parents, carers, friends, family members and invited guests, and each time the audience was blown away by their talent. They showed true determination, dedication and enthusiasm throughout the 8 weeks of rehearsals and pulled everything together for three incredible shows to demonstrate their amazing skills. A huge well done to all of the cast and backstage crew for putting on a phenomenal production.

A big thank you to Linda Matthews who took photographs of our Tuesday night performance, and to Eddie Anderson who filmed our Thursday evening show. You can see the photographs that Eddie took here: https://en-gb.facebook.com/westlothiancouncil/

A DVD copy of the show will be given to each family before the end of term.

The Lion King JR Dress Rehearsal

We are learning to perform on a stage
– I can show awareness of space and audience
– I can listen for musical and vocal cues
– I can project my voice using appriate pace, tone and expression
– I can move on and off the stage appropriately and safely

We are learning about the different backstage roles
Lighting and sound- I am aware of how the equipment works and know my musical and vocal cues
Props and scenery- I am aware of what is needed on stage for each scene and know my musical and vocal cues

This term, Primary 4 and 5 have been working extremely hard to prepare for their upcoming performances of The Lion King Jr. We have been learning all about the different roles that are need to prepare for a production like this, and each member has been contributing enthusiastically to their role. On Friday, we showcased everything we have been working towards to the school in our first dress rehearsal, which was a huge success. We received lots of positive feedback from our peers and staff and know our next steps for our final rehearsals. We Just Can’t Wait to deliver our three shows next week now!

To raise money for our show, we also held an animal dress up day for the whole school and raised £113.18.

A huge thank you to all who donated!

P4A Roaring from the Rooftops

This week P4a have been extremely busy planning new ways of promoting and advertising The Lion King show. We concentrated on making posters which we planned using advertising techniques and then designed a poster with all the relevant information.

LI:We are learning to create an advertising poster

SC: I can include features specific to an advertisement including:

  • name of the show
  • a rhetorical question
  • a slogan
  • persuasive techniques
  • a picture
  • features about the show

We looked at advertisements of other shows and applied the techniques to a poster for ‘The Lion King’. We designed the advertising posters on paper before designing them using digital media. Well done P4a for all your hard work!

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PSA Easter Egg Competiton

A big well done to everyone who participated in the PSA Easter Egg Competition. Mrs Murray and Miss Sherlow had a difficult job judging the competition! Mrs Learmont from the PSA presented the winners with an Easter Egg at the Church service today. Thank you to the PSA for organising this event.