Category Archives: Learning Stories

Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 5, STEM 2017

Mission Accomplished!

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As part of their IDL context, Kidnapped, P5B have been working hard in their investigation teams to compile, sort and analyse the evidence in the case of the missing Green children. Now, we’re proud to announce that we have solved the mystery! In the lead up to the discovery, we had to take part in a series of missions:

Mission 12: The Hideout
The kidnapper got in contact with Chief Anderson and we were given one hour to meet their demands. We listened to a voice recording of the message the kidnapper left, and although their voice was heavily disguised, we were still able to get some clues. Chief Anderson also gave us a link to a map that the Special Police Squad had put together following their investigations in Wick. We used Google Earth to look at each place closely, and linked it with clues from the phone message. Based on the evidence, we decided to lead the police squad to an abandoned hut in the woods and waited for news.

Mission 13: A Final Clue
We learned that our suspicions were correct and the children were found safe in the abandoned hut- phew! They were discovered along with one final piece of evidence- a bank statement left by the kidnapper. After analysing the final clue, we had our suspicions about Martha Goodwater due to the payment into her account from Save the Wildlife and the purchase of walking boots. But, we pulled together all of the intelligence we had been gathering throughout our investigations, and most of us still believed that this pointed towards Austin Black- the tyre track, the handwriting analysis and his police interview was hard to ignore!

However, a final package containing CCTV footage from Green Manor was delivered, and it was confirmed that Martha was the one who took the children! We’re extremely glad that the Green children are safe and sound, and we hope that the police team manage to catch Martha quickly!

Maya commented, “I really liked the Kidnapped topic. I liked that you had to solve a mystery and I really liked the experiments we did. I did suspect Martha at the end but I thought it was Austin Black or William Baker.”

Ben said, “I really liked the topic but I still think there is a bit more to it. I think it wasn’t just Martha Goodwater, I think all of the suspects were involved. I think they were walking round the other side of the house so they weren’t on the CCTV camera.”

Rebekah added, “I liked learning about what it is like for people being kidnapped and what the police have to do to solve crimes.”

Community, Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 1, Technologies

Building Site

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This week, as part of our IDL STEM Topic, Primary 1 went to visit the Robertson Homes Building Site.

We set off from school and walked all the way down to the building site. Although it was a long way, everyone did very well. At last, we saw our destination up ahead, and our excitement grew. On reaching the site, we climbed up into a cabin and gathered in the meeting room where we met some representatives from the site. They were to be our guides for the morning.

First of all,  they spoke to us about the kind of things we might expect  to see and hear on a building site. They asked us about possible dangers too, and talked about the kind of things we would have to look out for as we walked around. Mrs Smith was very impressed with the answers we gave, and with the questions we asked too!

Next, we put on our orange hi-vis vests and hard hats, and set off to have a look round. We correctly identified a number of different vehicles and machines as we walked over to see the digger digging out some foundations. Then we looked across to see a house that was a little bit further on in the building process. It was surrounded by scaffolding, and we discussed how the scaffolding helped the builders work at higher levels.

Finally, we went inside a house that was almost finished. Here, we learnt about insulation-what it is and why it is important. We also talked about the materials that were being used for different parts of the building. Again, we were able to make lots of connections between our learning in the classroom, and what we could actually see around us.

Looking around, we could see that the skills of plumbers, electricians and painters would all be very important over the next few weeks too.

All too soon, it was time to leave and head back to school. We would like to say a huge thank you to the Robertson Homes staff, who gave us such an interesting and informative tour of the site. Thanks also to the adult helpers who kindly came along to help and encourage us during the visit.

English & Literacy, Primary 5, Religious & Moral Education

P5s Easter Poetry

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L.I. We are learning to use interesting vocabulary to write a poem about Easter.

S.C. -I can use features specific to a poem

– I can include key vocabulary linked to the topic

– I can include examples of rhyme

– I can use interesting verbs and adjectives to describe my chosen subject

 

As we look forward to the Easter season, P5a have been learning about the true meaning behind this special time of year.

We were asked by Mrs McKenzie to write some Easter poems to be recited as part of our Easter service at Kirk of Calder.

We worked in groups to come up with a bank of rhyming words and shared some examples of Easter poems.

Leah Schmidt and Niamh Sher had their poems selected to be read at the service. Both girls included some excellent examples of rhyme and worked hard to uplevel their poems after receiving feedback.

They read their poems aloud beautifully at the church and really helped everyone to get into the spirit of Easter – well done, girls!

Primary 7, Responsible Roles, Uncategorized

Playful Pal Training

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It is the end of another term and it is time for the P7’s to hang up their safety jackets and pass on the responsible roles to the P6’s. On Monday all of the P7 Playful Pals were involved in training the P6’s for their upcoming year of taking on their roles. It was a fun packed morning and all of the P7’s were responsible for creating a programme that would fully equip the P6’s in their roles. The P7’s took 2 mornings to create their programme and had to think of things that would fully involve everyone and make sure that the P6’s understood the role of a Playful Pal and what this actually involves, and of course there was some fun along the way.

The morning started off with a bit of first aid training and the children learning basic first aid of putting a bandage on and how to stem a wound. Things got a bit more serious when the CPR dummy came out and the children got the opportunity to try out some life saving skills. I would feel safe in any of their hands now!!!  Once the children had completed their first aid training it was time to hand it over to the P7,s. First on the agenda was a short video letting the P6’s know exactly what the Playful Pals do in the playground and a short expectations power point. Next was on to some team building games, the P7’s really thought about what games would bring the children together as a team. In order for the P6’s to experience what scenarios they might come across in the playground, part of their training involved role play situations. Finally our new Playful Pals had to write a job description for their role and after all of their training they were able to pinpoint the skills required for their new position.

Overall the P7’s put on a great programme to train our new Playful Pals and the P6’s had a great learning experience. The P6’s are now fully equipped to take on their new roles.

Good luck in your new roles.

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday and stay safe.

 

Miss Anderson

 

Primary 3, STEM 2017, Uncategorized

The day Baby Ailish and Natalie came to visit Primary 3!

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Primary 3 received a letter from Natalie and baby Ailish asking us to design and build a baby gym. We decided to make the Baby Gym Challenge our topic this term.

We have enjoyed working in small design teams to design and build the ultimate baby gym to meet baby Ailishs’. needs. We worked hard to create 4 toys to help develop Ailishs’ sense of touch, smell, hearing and sight.

This week Natalie and baby Ailish came to visit and look at our baby gyms. Here are some pictures that show this lovely visit:

Events, Expressive Arts, Fundraising, Nursery, Primary 1, Primary 2, Primary 3, Primary 5, Primary 7, PSA, Uncategorized

PSA Easter Egg Competiton

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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.

 

Community, Primary 2, Primary 3, Religious & Moral Education

P2/3 Prepare for Spring Assembly.

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P2/3 Easter Assembly
Rhuairidh – Easter is a very nice time because there are lots of new flowers and new animals. All the flowers are bright.
James – We love seeing new things being born and growing up. We like seeing calves and especially lambs.
Cara – We have been learning how to draw and paint Easter-time flowers and we love seeing loads of flowers coming out.
Annalise – We like planting flowers at spring because we really like the petals when they bloom and the colours.
Daisy D – We love to celebrate the new life at spring-time.

We loved learning about the artist Elizabeth Blackadder and the Easter story. Some girls loved learning new words for yellow – pineapple, butterscotch and a lovely shade called daffodil! We did a lot of colour mixing to get the right shades for our terracotta pots of dwarf narcissi.

We hope you can come and see us at the church on Thursday afternoon. Daisy F says you can look up the yellow words on Google.

Community, Events, Interdisciplinary Learning, Primary 5, STEM 2017

Cracking the case with the Constable

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Today, Primary 5 had a special visit from Constable Graham McKenzie who gave us an insight into the different roles the police would play in an investigation similar to the one in our IDL context, Kidnapped. He explained different useful ‘intelligence’ or clues that the police would look for at a crime scene, and how they would gather the evidence. He also explained how he and his colleagues might use this to solve a crime and catch a suspect.

Constable McKenzie also gave examples of the different roles he has taken on within the police, and examples of crime scenes he has attended. We also had the opportunity to touch some of the vital equipment an officer requires to keep themselves and others safe. We even got to try some of it on- the body armour was much heavier than we expected it to be!

A big thank you to Constable McKenzie for coming to talk to us and help us with our investigations.