The following resources and information will help you support your child with maths and numeracy concepts.
Category Archives: Interdisciplinary Learning
Dinosaurs
Today, as part of our new IDL Topic, Primary 2 went to the National Museum of Scotland to learn about Dinosaurs.
We began by learning about the work of a Paleontologist, and we heard how they uncover clues which help them to learn new things about different types of dinosaurs. We looked at some of the different shapes and patterns of fossils and heard how they were formed a very long time ago. We soon spotted some of these shapes and patterns on the floor beneath our feet, so we went on our own little fossil hunt!
In smaller groups, we settled down to explore some dinosaur related items. We learnt that some dinosaurs were huge, but others were really quite small. Some dinosaurs were herbivores and others were carnivores.
There were replicas of different dinosaur parts for us to handle and to make clever guesses about what they were, and what they could tell us about the dinosaur they belonged to. We carefully handled the spike from the end of a tail, a thumb, a jawbone and even some dinosaur poo! We all managed to stand together on an enormous dinosaur footprint too.
Primary 3’s Trip to the Museum
Today Primary 3 journeyed back to the land before time to learn all about the dinosaurs during our trip to the National Museum of Scotland. Linked to our new IDL context for learning, P3 learned about how the dinosaurs became extinct, how paleontologists learn about the dinosaurs and some of the key differences between carnivores and herbivores. We took part in a fossil hunt using the floor of the Grand Gallery, got to touch replicas of different parts of dinosaurs and even stood in the space that a dinosaur’s footprint took up to see how many of us could fit. We also had the opportunity to explore other parts of the museum and learn more about our amazing world. We had a perfect prehistoric day!
Digital Schools Award Accreditation
27th June 2017
Dear Mid Calder Primary,
Following your recent Digital Schools Award Scotland validation visit by June Jelly, I am delighted to inform you that Mid Calder Primary School has been successful in its application to become a Digital School in Scotland.
On behalf of all the partners involved in the Digital Schools Award Scotland I would like to congratulate the whole school on achieving this award.
The Digital School Award is recognised by Education Scotland and we are delighted that your school has been among the first to receive this new award.
We are confident that Mid Calder Primary School will be a pioneer among schools where digitally enhanced teaching and learning is helping our children and young people prepare for living and working in the 21st Century.
Kind regards
Aoife O’Connor
Programme Coordinator
Digital Schools Award Scotland
Digital Schools Award Validation Visit
This afternoon, Mid Calder Primary School welcomed a special visitor- Mrs Jelly, a Digital Schools Award validator. The purpose of this was to find out if our school could become the third one in West Lothian Council to be given the Digital Schools Award.
Mrs Jelly’s visit began with a presentation from some of our past and present Technical Troopers who shared examples of the amazing digital learning that goes on in our school. They described Mid Calder’s journey to becoming a Bring Your Own Device school, as well as explaining the impact that this has on both our pupils and staff. Miss Burton and Miss Sherlow also shared the many achievements and recognition Mid Calder has received for our use of a range of digital tools to support and enhance learning.
Mrs Jelly was then invited to visit our nursery and several classes across the school to see digital learning taking place first hand and to engage in discussions with our pupils and staff. Both her and Mrs Compton, who joined Mrs Jelly on her visit, were extremely impressed by what they saw and heard.
A big thank you to all of the pupils and staff who showcased digital learning so confidently, and to Mrs Compton for her continued advice and support. We eagerly await the results in the post. Watch this space…
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!
Mrs Sturrock visited P2s and P3s today!
Mrs Sturrock visited P2 and 3 and told us all about our brain and how it works.
We asked her lots of questions such as:
Do hamsters have the smallest brain?
What makes you you?
Can the brain break?
Does the right side of the brain control the left? (Ewan, who was trying to trick our special guest)
How is there enough space for everything in your mind?
The big message from the Educational Psychologist was that we need to challenge our minds to help it grow and that we learn from our mistakes. Sometimes we have to overlearn to remember information that we learn!
We learnt the big words neuroplasticity and neurons.
Photo by Daisy F and Cara. Next time we will get better pictures.
Supporting Reading at Home – P4
https://www.slideshare.net/midcps/supporting-reading-at-first-level-2017-p4
Supporting Reading at Home – P2-3
https://www.slideshare.net/midcps/supporting-reading-at-first-level-2017-p2amp3
Digital learning in P2/1
This week in P2/1 we have been using digital technology to support our learning in maths.
We have been using the netbooks to explore the topmarks website to help us learn about sharing (division).
You can visit the link below and practice your skills at home.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=sharingv2
We have also been using programmable toys to help us learn about position and movement. We have been using BeeBots to give and follow directions.
We have also been using the free Beebot app on the Ipads (This is available to download for free from the app store).
