Category Archives: Information for Parents
PSA message
A huge thank you from the PSA to all the children who came to the Movie Night last week, you were all fantastic. Your support raised £230.72 for the school, well done. Thank you also to the parent and carer helpers, your help is really appreciated and you all did a great job.
P3 are Saving Our Seas
In Primary 3, we have been learning all about the incredible creatures that live in our oceans through our IDL, Save Our Seas. Unfortunately, we have also been learning that, sadly, these creature’s lives are under serious threat from pollution, especially plastic pollution. To spread the message and help the staff and children at Mid Calder Primary School to become #oceanheroes, we created an informative video to encourage everyone to play their part in stopping the oceans from drowning in plastic.
We then asked each class to make a Promise to Our Planet: a promise of something that they can do to help to Save Our Seas. These promises were then added to a sculpture of a sea turtle that Primary 3 had made using plastic bottles that we had collected from our lunch hall.
If we don’t stop plastic pollution, there could be more plastic in the sea than fish by 2050. Can you help to reduce plastic use in Mid Calder Primary? We would like every child to bring a reusable water bottle to school, avoiding bringing a new plastic bottle each day. We would also like you to be considerate of using recyclable products in packed lunch boxes. These are small and easy steps that we can take towards stopping single-use plastic in Mid Calder. Together, we can Save Our Seas.
ATTENTION:Scarlett says don’t forget a painting pinnie this year!
P2 Meet the teacher presentation
P1 Meet the Teacher presentation September 2018
PSA update – Dress Down Day
Hi everybody, hope you all enjoyed your long weekend.
Thank you so much to everybody who took part in the dress down day on Friday 14th September. You helped raise a fantastic £161.52!
Well done to everybody
Emma 😊
PSA
A Feast for the P5s’ Senses – Textures, Colours, Sounds, Movement and Shapes!
The P5s, Mr Renshaw, Miss Brolls and four parent helpers went to the Scottish National Modern Art Galleries (MOD1 and MOD2) off Belford Road in Edinburgh on the 13th of September to take part in an Art Workshop and a tour around our national collections of modern art and enamelled and bejewelled works by the artist Raqib Shaw.
We split into two groups with Art Educators Poppy and Heather
and headed
outdoors to explore the sculptures and question, “What is Art?” We went onto the Charles Jencks’ landform, looked at Reclining Figure by Henry Moore and touched Conversation with Magic Stones by Barbara Hepworth.
The childrens’ responses were fascinating. What interested them was very different and they recorded their focus of interest with our i-pads. They then selected from these and used Pic-collage and Book Creator apps to make photo-journals of the day.
Then we took part in using our imaginations and making sculptures ranging from wind turbines, a fox linked to a carving in the artscape, faces within faces, castles, and other ideas based on conversations, digital images or their imaginations. It was fantastic to see them so immersed in the creative task that some children didn’t want to leave to go for a sneak tour at the Emil Nolde colourful paintings exhibition.
Lunch was outside amongst the artworks and a temporary art playground where you are encouraged to touch the works. The Sun Gods were kind and we enjoyed our picnics on the benches.
Then it was inside to see the Tesco Bank Competition winners to give us inspiration for next year and a look at the incredibly detailed artworks by Raqib Shaw. Utterly mesmerising but don’t just take my word for it. Ask your child what inspired them the most from the day and what was their favourite artwork and why.
Most of the two modern a
rt galleries are free and you are welcome to picnic in the Resource Room there or outside on the picnic benches. They invite you to Walk, Talk, Move and Make. See nationalgalleries.org. or sign up for their newsletter at nationalgalleries.org/ebulletin. They are always looking for volunteers!
Other outdoor family fun ideas at RSPB.org.uk/families.
P6s’ Trip to the Jupiter Artland the Best Ever!
Last Wednesday all the P6s headed for a visit to the Jupiter Artland sculpture parkland at Wilkieston.
We took the children to see the magical amethyst grotto before we met our guides for the day.
The day started with an introduction from the Art educators Sara and Lauren and a guided tour of some of the sculptures. We split into two groups and had some brilliant discussions about the artworks and their settings in nature.
Then it was off to sketch out our design ideas to add to the wonderful meteorite-like Coppice Wood by Andy Goldsworthy. This was quite an honour as this was the first time pupils have been creating to add to this land artist’s works.
The P6s rose to the challenge and we had amazing explanations of the works as they carried out their ideas. Please ask your child what they made and what they thought about the day. Finished works will be in an online gallery soon. We had a follow-up lesson back in class digitally manipulating our photographs using apps such as Be funky, Mixala, Art Effect, Snapseed and Art Set. These are free apps.
Our teaching staff had a wonderful day seeing such engaged and enthusiastic pupils. One staff member said it was the best trip ever!
ART WINS in our STEAM SCHOOL
Art Winners who all were shortlisted to enter, along with 7000 others, the National Tesco Bank Art Competition at The National Galleries in Scotland a few months ago were celebrated today at our Assembly. They created these imaginative artworks over a few weeks. They were judged by the PSWs who chose exactly whom I would have!
P1 – Oliver created an eye-catching blue cat with spots. He has an excellent eye for detail and painted a colourful background in acrylics. He always makes very interesting choices for line and colour that are sometimes unexpected.
P4 – Isla W designed a bright, vibrant Pop Art drawing in the cat theme with bold geometric shapes. Her artwork made the judges smile with her two cheeky cats. She has shown very detailed and thoughtful drawing skills and some interesting stripy-coloured cats against a multi-coloured sky background.
P6 – Mhari started her magical dragon with an exquisite line drawing in graphite and pencil. The theme was Makers of Magic. She drew all the scales and texture of the creature and then added some pearlescent colours such as emerald green. We all agreed that she created a beautiful beast.
All of our fabulous finalists are all on display on three boards around the school with one school-chosen WINNER on each board. Please tell us what you think.
Perhaps you would have chosen another winner. Can you explain why?
Why do some artworks shine for you? 
Perhaps you would have chosen another winner. Can you explain why?
Why do some artworks shine for you? 
As we continue to develop our art skills we hope next year to go on and win in the competition. The winners are on display at MOD 1 in Edinburgh off Belford Road. I hope to take the new P5s to see this in September 2018 as part of their outdoor workshop there. A little inspiration is all we need to BELIEVE, ACHIEVE AND SUCCEED! Let’s go from STEM to STEAM. STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.
