The Upper Area Will Rock You!
Don’t Stop Us Now- we’re having such a good time!
This term, Primary 7, 7/6 and 6 have been working extremely hard to prepare for their upcoming show, Schools Will Rock You, and it’s guaranteed to blow your mind!!
Our amazing pupils have been busy learning songs, memorising scripts, creating posters and tickets, selecting scenery, writing letters, designing programmes, counting money raised, researching costumes, making and sourcing props, and much, much more!
Not only have we been enhancing our drama and musical abilities, we have also been learning skills for life, learning and work like budgeting, emailing, teamwork, choreography, digital designs, fundraising and advertising.
The teachers have been blown away by the enthusiasm, dedication and talent our children have already shown in the rehearsal/preparation process, and we cannot wait to see the faces of our audience when they see our champions both onstage and behind the scenes. It will send shivers down your spine….
Digital Learning Week 2019
Perfect Planting Promotion Challenge
As part of their Rainforest IDL, Primary 3 have been learning all about what plants need to grow and survive. As P1, P2/1 and P2 are going to be learning about ‘In the Garden’ this term, we were challenged to share our knowledge with them by creating a tutorial video about how to plant a plant.
We had to script, film, direct and edit our tutorials, using our digital skills to help us to add background music, transitions and sound effects when filming was complete. Check out our amazing videos!
Bafooni Tribe:
Cfilmt Tribe:
Minyo Tribe:
Pando Tribe:
Pirano Tribe:
We shared our tutorials with P1, P2/1 and P2 and then wrote invitations to ask them to come and help us to plant the plants that our tribe have been growing and nurturing for the last 2 months. Both Primary 3 and Primary 1-2 loved planing the plants and we can’t wait to see how well they continue to grow in their new home in our playground.
Primary 3 are extraordinary!
On Friday, Primary 3 shared their learning about what it means to be ‘extraordinary’ with their parents/carers, family and friends, as well as the rest of our school, at their class assembly. They told everyone all about their IDL context, Extraordinary Humans, and taught their audience about some of the challenges that the people they have met and been learning about have overcome. They explained what gender stereotypes are, described challenges like dyslexia and autism, and discussed some physical disabilities, ultimately teaching everyone to break down these barriers because all of these things can make people extraordinary!
Check out their fascinating documentary, Extraordinary Earth, which is all about gender stereotypes and is led by the trusted explorer, Smavid Battenborough:
A big part of our IDL context has been looking at what makes Primary 3 extraordinary too, and celebrating how amazing it is that we are all different and unique. We created a music video for one of our favourite songs, Different, by singer, Tom Fletcher.
Primary 3 did a fantastic job at teaching their audience that everyone should have an equal place in society, and that being different really is what makes us extraordinary!Â
Burns Day 2019
A big thank you to all those who took part in our PSA fundraiser by wearing tartan or dressing down to celebrate Burns Day on 25th January. We raised a fantastic £130.12 for the school.
Extraordinary Humans in Primary 3
As part of our IDL context, Extraordinary Humans, Primary 3 have been learning all about different people who have not let a physical disability affect their confidence, strength, or their ability to believe in themselves and become extraordinary.
We have been learning all about the Paralympic swimmer, Ellie Simmonds. We used fact sheets and online search engines to find out about her childhood, achievements and life after the Paralympics. We organised our notes under subheadings and then used Microsoft Word to create a biography about her. We tinkered with the features of Word before using it, learning how to layout our biographies neatly, add an image, how to change the fonts and colours, and how to use bold and underlining to make our headings and subheadings clear. As our final subheading, we had to explain why, in our opinion, Ellie was extraordinary, and our reasons were something that we should all aspire towards.Â
Last week, we also had a talk from Linda, who told us all about how her granddaughter had the life threatening liver disease, biliary atresia. Linda explained how, despite having gone through many challenges in her 9 years of life, Alesha is always a fighter and has an enthusiastic and positive outlook on life. She left us with the message: Stay strong. Stay beautiful. Be yourself. Believe. Another extraordinary human!
Breaking Gender Stereotypes in P3, 4 and 5!
As part of their IDL context, Extraordinary Humans, Primary 3, 4 and 5 have been learning about gender stereotypes. Over the last few weeks, we have visited by two people who have broken down these stereotypes and now have jobs and take part in hobbies that they love, regardless of their gender.
Miss Walkingshaw came to speak to us about her passion for playing football, and the journey that she has been on as a girl who wanted to play. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always easy for her to join a team, and people thought that she wouldn’t be a talented player because of her gender. Now, she has represented Scotland, has played for two very well known football teams and regularly appears on TV. What an extraordinary human!
We were also visited by George who came to tell us all about how he was inspired to become a nurse after being cared for by a male nurse when he became ill as a child. He explained that some of his family were against his choice of job in the beginning, and that they told him it was a ‘girl’s job.’ Despite being the only man during his training, and being the only male health visitor in West Lothian at the time, George didn’t let it put him off. Another extraordinary human!
Supporting our learning at home:
P3, 4 and 5 have all been set a homework to prepare and present information about an Extraordinary Human of their choice. This could be someone famous, or could be a friend of family member. The talks should last between 2-5 minutes and can be presented in a format of their choosing. It would be great if you could support your child with their research, and let them practice at home. All of the success criteria for the talks can be found here.
Welcome to Mid Calder Nursery and Primary School blog.
 Our school vision creates a very positive ethos within our school; all members of our learning community ‘Believe’ in themselves and thus ‘Achieve’ the best they can which will ultimately enable them to ‘Succeed’ in all they do.
Our nursery vision is ‘Playing to Learn, Learning to play‘.
We aim to prepare all our young people for the challenges of the future. Our learning environment aims to stimulate, challenge, support and provide opportunities to develop life skills.
We take positive steps to promote effective partnerships between home, school and the wider community. We have an open door policy and you will, as parents, be made most welcome at all times. We hope you enjoy looking at ‘life’ within our school and nursery and we would welcome comments under any blog posting.
