Category Archives: Learning Stories

Expressive Arts, Outside of School, Primary 7, Second Level

P7s’ Eye and Mind-Opening Visit to the Gallery of Modern Art One and Two in Edinburgh on the 28th November

November 29, 2017 User deactivated Leave a comment

Miracles at Mid Calder

A Leither who Left us all Thinking!

P7s went to the National Galleries of Scotland MOD2 on the 28th of November for a tour of Sir Eduardo Paolozzi’s studio and to explore a few of his sculptures in the gardens and cafe there. They went to explore further the work of this famous Scottish artist, born in Leith, who had great success not only in 3-D work but also in printmaking, collage and textiles.

In class we had discussed the Pop Art movement and worked on Pop Art posters with bright coloured backgrounds and collaged onto these with drawings of what they thought were the most popular cultural items of their times. Now it was time to find out from Duncan and Mo at the National Gallery more about his sculptures of man and machine such as the monumental Vulcan and The Master of the Universe.

So what did we think:

I was amazed by the fantastic responses of the children about the meaning of the artworks and what creative ideas they had. When we looked at the recreation of Paolozzi’s studio we discovered that maquettes were small models for sculptors to work from and we saw the explosion of interesting things he had around him.

Olivia enjoyed seeing the studio that Eduardo Paolozzi had and seeing all the finished and unfinished works that he made. She wants to learn more about him and how he fell in love with Art. Kiera thought it was interesting to see the artwork in his studio and there was lot to see.

Then we got the chance to “play with shapes” and were free to make our own 3-D artworks from card and tape and the pupils rose to this imaginative challenge and got the opportunity to evaluate their peers’ work. The parent helpers, Mrs Ramsay and Mrs Smith were invaluable in encouraging and supporting the frenzy of work.

Bethan enjoyed making the sculptures with her friend but wanted more time to finish them. Calum enjoyed making models and having fun with his friends.

Afterwards some of the children chose to look around some of the NOW exhibit at MOD1 and others chose to play in the sculpture garden. With a smaller group wandering through the sounds and sights of the Turner prize-winning Susan Philipsz’s work it was quite an eerie, melancholic experience with 7 turntables each playing single notes for 17 minutes and in the next room salt paintings of different kinds of tears that linked with the sad music. Really moving. Especially to see some of the least engaged pupils at the start of the day truly immersed in the experience. We had an opportunity to look into the mind and work of a great new artist and in doing so this allowed us to open our minds.

Cade liked the turntables because the men in the rooms told us about them and we got to listen to the sounds but he got bored quite quickly.

Well done to everyone! Great creative thinkers.

Community, Events, Fundraising, Interdisciplinary Learning, Mid Calder 40th Anniversary, Primary 3

Mini Mid Calder Main Street in P3

November 27, 2017 Miss Sherlow Leave a comment

As part of our Mid Calder IDL context, Primary 3 have been learning all about the different businesses in Mid Calder. We began by using Google Maps to explore the Main Street and discuss the different goods and services available. We were then challenged to choose one of the businesses as our inspiration for creating our own Mid Calder shop. As part of our research, we created and carried out questionnaires with our chosen business, including questions about prices of goods and services, opening times, busiest days and most popular item. All of this information helped us when setting up our own companies.

Next, we had to give our shop a name and design a logo. We looked at well know companies to help us to create a simple yet eye catching design and a memorable name. We then had to consider which goods/services we would provide in our shop, focusing on one product or service in particular. We used Microsoft Word to create a price list and an advertising poster, using persuasive language to convince our customers to visit our shop.

Finally, we were ready for business and opened our doors to our parents/carers during our open afternoon. We sold our goods and services, calculating total costs and working out how much change to give back to our customers.

Thank you to everyone who came along and supported our businesses. We raised a grand total of £50.74 which we were very proud of.

Interdisciplinary Learning, Mid Calder 40th Anniversary, Primary 1

P1W’s Travelling Ted Open Afternoon

November 26, 2017 User deactivated Leave a comment

Last Wednesday, we invited our relatives and friends to our class to see our showcase of learning on our IDL context of “Travelling Ted visits Mid Calder”, to help us celebrate the school’s 40th birthday this year.

Through our IDL context we have developed our sense of place as well as our understanding of our local environment. We have studied and located the key features and landmarks of Mid Calder and discussed the different journeys we make. We have also explored the stories of “We are going on a bear hunt” by Micahel Rosen and “Leaf man” by Louis Ehlert, utilizing our outdoor environment and things we have collected to enhance our learning.

We were all very excited to share our learning with our families and friends and we were able to confidently say what we had learned over the past 6 weeks. Thank you to everyone who was able to visit and well done to the children in P1W!

Community, Events, Mid Calder 40th Anniversary, Primary 5

Open Afternoon in P5C

November 24, 2017 Mrs Campbell Leave a comment

L.I. We are learning to design a shop to serve the local community

S.C. I can justify my choice of business

I can make a plan of a shop

I can create a model of a shop

I can choose suitable materials for building my model

Primary 5C have been working hard on building their models of their chosen businesses.

After careful consideration, each group decided on a business which they thought would do well in the village of Mid Calder. The children had to make a basic business plan, giving details about the product or service their business provides and who their target market was likely to be.

After that, they began to design their premises with floor plans and a shop front design.

Finally, they began the fun part – building models of each business.

After working on their models for a week or so, Primary 5 were very excited to share their designs with their parents, carers and family members during our Open Afternoon.

It was great to have so many adults in class to help and we were all very impressed at their fantastic creativity. Lots of parents enjoyed a Blue Peter moment, creating furniture , sweets and cakes, ball pits, climbing frames, bookshelves and more using just junk materials and lots of imagination!

The children loved having so much extra help and it was fantastic to hear them enthusiastically discussing their businesses and designs. A huge thanks to everyone who was able to attend, your contributions definitely made a big difference to the success of our models.

Community, Events, Mid Calder 40th Anniversary, Primary 5, Uncategorized

Open afternoon in P5a

November 24, 2017 Miss Anderson Leave a comment

Wednesday afternoon was very busy in P5a as we opened our doors and showcased our business models. All of the children have been working extremely hard over the past few weeks to ensure that their models, of their business, were reflective of the business that they wanted to open in Mid Calder. Over the past few weeks the children have made a business plan and a floor plan in the design of their shops/business, finally we put all of this into practice and started making our shop/business models. The parents/carers that visited us on Wednesday were very impressed with all of the hard work that the children have been putting into their models and were on hand to give advice as to how the children could improve them and some even contributed to the building of our models. Next week we will be sharing our sales pitch with the rest of the class and we will have 3 business that will go onto the final stage of our ‘Dragons Den’. We will keep you updated as to what business is the final winner.

P5a would like to thank all of the parents/carers that took the time to come and see what we have been learning.

Hope you all have a fab weekend.

Miss Anderson & P5a

Community, Events, Nursery, Nursery Learning Stories, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 5, Primary 7

Mid Calder 40th Anniversary Open Afternoon

November 22, 2017 Miss Burton Leave a comment

This term every class have had a focus on Mid Calder for their Interdisciplinary Learning context for learning. Classes have investigated different aspects of Mid Calder from its location to its history, shops to services provided in our area. Thank you to everyone who came along to help us celebrate.

If you did not have a chance to complete an evaluation, please click here.

Community, Events, Mid Calder 40th Anniversary, Nursery, Nursery Information, Nursery Learning Stories

Nursery Official Opening

November 22, 2017 Miss Burton Leave a comment

Today we welcomed Executive Councillor for Education, David Dodds to officially open our new nursery building.

We showcased our school’s musical talents by the nursery children singing a song, Leah played the keyboard and the P6 pupils sang a song from the Lion King. Invited guests included Jim Cameron, Head of Education, Mvairi Lynch, Early Years Development Officer, and other representatives from the council as well as Keith Earley, contracts manager from Hadden Contraction. Representatives from the Parent Council and PSA also joined us.

Thank you for everyone who came along to help us celebrate.