Afternoon Nursery pupils will be leading our assembly on Wednesday 8th February at 2.30pm
Everyone welcome!
There will be no assembly on Friday morning due to the February holidays. School will be closed Friday 10th, Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th February. We all return to school on Wednesday 15th February.
Another fun-filled busy week in P5/4. This week the children have continued to impress me by their hard work and determination to improve themselves.
A few of the highlights (as chosen by the children) were:
BIG WRITE
Anna: I loved writing the Mary, Queen of Scots poem. It was really good because we got to tell her story by writing a poem. It meant we could test ourselves to see how much we could remember.
Liam: I liked doing this too as it was fun to work in our trios to think of rhyming words for our verses.
The children worked in trios this week to create a verse about a certain aspect of the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. I was delighted with the results and couldn’t wait to share them with you. We would all love to hear what you think!
Mary, Queen of Scots
By P5/4 and Mrs Vince
Poor wee Mary,
She wasn’t very happy.
She’d been the Queen,
Since she wore a nappy.
King Henry wanted his son,
To marry our wee Mary.
The parliament said NO!
Of him, they were very wary.
So Mary was sent across the sea,
In search of her new life.
Once there, she found her very best friend,
And then became his wife.
The marriage didn’t last for long,
For ill with an earache he fell.
In the same year as she lost him,
She lost her mother as well.
Mary came back to Scotland,
Bur France still felt like home.
She met and married Lord Darnley,
In a ceremony under a dome.
The marriage was blessed with a son,
Prince James was his given name.
His Daddy didn’t last for long,
Was his mother to blame?
Lord Darnely, he was murdered!
Mary found this a hasstle.
She married the Earl of Bothwell,
Then got imprisoned in Lochleven Castle.
She escapes and flees to England,
To ask Queen Liz for help.
Her cousin thinks she is after her job,
So locks her up with a yelp!
For 18 long years she stayed there,
She didn’t know the reason.
Until her cousin Elizabeth,
Found her guilty of treason.
Poor Mary know it was coming,
But didn’t want to be hurt.
Her head fell off the chopping block,
And landed in the dirt.
When Elizabeth and Mary died,
James became the one.
England and Scotland united,
The Union of Crowns was done!
SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCING
As I’m sure you know, our class, along with P5, have been learning some Scottish ceilidh dances in order to meet some of the dance and health and wellbeing experiences and outcomes. Here are some of the comments from our class which clearly show how much the children are enjoying this part of the curriculum.
Brooke: I love taking part in the Scottish country dancing even though it can be really challenging. This week we started to learn a new dance called the Virginia Reel. We were in sets of 8 and I kept getting mixed up. It was really good fun though.
Jack: I really liked the Scottish country dancing too. This week P4 were doing it with us and some P7’s too. The Gay Gordon’s was hard this week as I got a wee bit mixed up!
Jay: I really liked the new dance that we learned this week. It’s much easier for me to take part now that my cast is off. (Not that it ever stopped him before!)
HANDWRITING
We continue to have a whole school focus on handwriting and our class starts every day (Mon-Thur) with a 20 minute session on cursive handwriting. The difference that it has made to the presentation of work, across the curriculum, is fabulous. I can’t wait for you to see this at the sharing the learning sessions next week.
Scott: I like practicing my handwriting every day because it reminds me to use cursive handwriting in all my work.
MATHS
The whole class have been working really hard this block on subtraction – both mentally and using algorithms. We have looked at a different strategy each week and tried to complete work to help us use and understand each strategy better. This week we also had more of a practice using algorithms for subtraction two and three digit numbers, with exchange. This is quite a tricky concept to master so we worked in pairs using our t-shirt number cards to practice this, before completing work independently.
Brihanna: Maths is my favourite subject but the chimney sums were quite tricky this week. I liked that we got a chance to talk things through with our partners while playing the games before we had to do the work. It meant I could get used to what I had to do before having to do the work on my own.
RAFFLE WINNERS
This weeks stars of the week are Brihanna and Neive. Well done girls.
Prize from the box: Emma and Neve
Pink chair: Zander
Beside Mrs V at assmebly: Brihanna
Sitting in Mrs V’s chair: Kaiden
Sitting next to a friend: Emma
Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the sharing the learning session on Wed and Thur of next week.
Mrs V
P7-6 learned the joy of playing Scrabble this week during our spelling lessons. We had so much fun working together in small groups, finding out about the rules, challenging ourselves to come up with some quite impressive words at times. It must have been fun, because almost every day since,
groups of children came to ask when were going to play again. Mrs Millar finally caved in and we had a second round on Wednesday. It was really lovely to see the teamwork, co-operation and most importantly, the fun that everyone had while they were learning.
We began to link fractions to decimals in Maths and did some Maths Talk activities where we found out people’s different strategies for multiplying two 2-digit numbers together. It was very interesting to see how differently we all think. Alyssa and Logan learned a new game where they built up groups of tens and hundreds and exchanged pieces with the friendly banker, Logan, to see who could collect the highest number.
Preparations are still underway for the P7 transition Ceilidh at Bathgate Academy and we have some talented dancers, a few interesting moves and most children now dancing in the same direction.
Handwriting and presentation is still a key priority in our class. I would be really grateful if you would make sure that your child comes to school prepared with a pencil, rubber and ruler. Also, they should all have a pair of indoor gym shoes to wear, and an outdoor pair of gym shoes for outdoor PE. Shoes which are loose, too small or broken will be sent home as early as possible to enable you to replace them. Thank you for your support with this.
We are trying to work alongside the other classes in our school to promote healthy snacks at break time. In class, children are allowed to drink water. If you wish to purchase milk for your child to have each day, please speak to Mrs Strachan in the office.
As well as our class novels, each child selected a personal reader which they agreed to complete before Christmas. Next week, as part of their homework, they will be asked to complete a book report about this book. Your support is much appreciated in ensuring that your child completes their homework and returns it on time.
We are currently working on an argumentative piece of writing about the pros and cons of homework. Thank you for getting involved in the Big Talk homework in preparation for this. It is a very controversial argument and P7-6 have presented many different viewpoints so far. I am sure you will look forward to reading their final drafts.
This week in writing the children were looking at features of a newspaper and how to write newspaper reports. Thank you to everyone for helping with your child’s Big Talk homework, it made a huge difference to the children’s understanding and readiness to write.
I was very impressed by the boys and girls’ ability to discuss their findings with each other, such as the content of a newspaper and the fact that the ‘really big/important stories’ are on the front page. In class we were identifying and labelling:
We have been looking closely at headlines and have been discussing the use of alliteration and wordplay to make them more interesting, funny etc. We noticed that articles reporting on more serious issues often had a catchy, hard-hitting headline.
We looked at what alliteration meant and will have a chance, in class next week, to create our own catchy headlines. We will be continuing with newspaper report writing for the next couple of weeks and are looking forward to being roving reporters (around the school!)
The children are welcome to bring in cuttings, from newspapers, of articles they have found interesting and we can add them to our big book planning sheets.
We have also been learning about the difference between fact and opinion and have been playing sorting games and creating our own statements to help develop our understanding of this. Sometimes we have found it quite tricky to write in the third person and not to write about our own experiences, thoughts and opinions but this is an area we will keep working on.
Look out for next week’s Big Talk homework.
Mrs Waugh
Big Writing – Big Talk Homework
Hi Parents/ Carers,
This week for Big Writing we will be looking at different examples of newspaper articles and will be writing our own reports in class. Before we write our own, we will need to know more about this style of writing and identify the key features of newspaper reports. The Big Writing approach suggests sending home ‘Big Talk’ homework, the night before, to prepare (mentally) for what they will be writing about the next day. The advice is to find a quiet time to have a discussion about the writing topic/ style etc with your child as this will then give them a starting point of familiarity/ personal experience for their writing.
We have sent home a slip with The Big Talk focus, but have given pupils a couple of nights to try and fit this in before they have their writing sessions in school.
This week’s talk homework task is to talk to an adult/ older sibling about the different features of the newspaper reports (You may need to borrow a newspaper from a family member or friend.) Ask your child the following types of questions:
We look forward to hearing the children’s contributions and key findings about newspaper report writing and will use their knowledge to help create our own checklists and success criteria for the writing that will take place in school.
Mrs Bowman, Mrs Mackie and Mrs Waugh (whoops nearly wrote Buchanan!)
This session we will be encouraging all children to stay as healthy as possible and to make the right healthy choices. We will be focusing on encouraging and promoting healthy eating across the school. Here is how you can help your child:
*eat breakfast – remember we have a Breakfast Club Monday to Friday from 8.15am. A Murrayfield breakfast includes toast with flora spread and/or jam, choice of low sugar cereal with milk, water or low sugar apple or orange fruit juice
*choose healthier snacks – fruit, low salt or sugar snacks, try to keep sweets and crisps to a minimum as these snacks tend to be low in nutrients and high calories
*drink water – we encourage all pupils to drink water during class time and have (non-fizzy) juice for lunch or morning break.
*grow your own – all classes have access to our school garden where a range of vegetables and fruits are grown. Maybe you could try to grow some of your own in pots at home
*eat together – we encourage all pupils to socialise with their peers during their lunch. Sitting eating a meal together is a great way of finding out about your child’s day
Please let us know if you have any tips on how to encourage children to make healthier food choices. Perhaps you have a great packed lunch idea or healthy snack suggestions. We would love to hear about your ideas.
The class started their Romans topic with Mrs Mackie this week and have been sharing some of their learning with me. They were keen to show me the information books they will be using to help research the topic and were telling me about how the Romans made mosaics, which are pictures and patterns created by arranging little tiles together.
The children have also been introduced to Roman Numerals and will be learning more about how to recognise, read and order them and about how these are still used in modern day.
In science, we will be continuing with our forces work for the next couple of weeks and will be looking at the effect of these on the shape and motion of objects.
Boys and girls, your science challenge this week, should you choose to accept it, is to find out what the term ‘friction’ means for Thursday.
In writing, we have been looking at the traditional form of Japanese poetry known as ‘Haiku.’ While working with Mrs Millar, the class learned that Haiku poems consist of 3 lines. The first and last lines of a Haiku have 5 syllables and the middle line has 7 syllables. They also learned that the lines rarely rhyme and that Haiku poetry is often based on nature.
This session we have created our Winter Haiku word banks and are in the process of creating our poems. Here are a couple of completed examples:
Snow is falling down.
Ice skating children and friends.
Icicles shining
Zoe McMillan
I see snow outside.
All the trees are icy now.
Snow covering cars.
Warren Robinson
Finally, in class maths we are learning about money and have been familiarising ourselves with coins from 1p – £2. Mrs Mackie even showed the class the new 12-sided £1 coins which will enter circulation in March 2017. We will be working with and using a range of coins and developing our knowledge of the symbols (£ and p) associated with money. We will also be investigating different combinations of coins and money equivalences and looking at strategies and mental methods of calculating costs and change in problem solving.
You can help out your child by exploring coins at home together, e.g. look at their values, sort out different ways of making the same amounts, ordering from lowest to largest values etc. Homework for this will be issued next week related to work taking place in class. It will be issued on the Thursday, to be returned by the following Thursday.
Here are a couple of links for games that will support you and your child at home:
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/money/toy-shop-money
Instructions:
http://resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/working_with_coins/eng/Introduction/MainSessionPart1.htm
Instructions:
This link should take you straight to the correct game and level. Follow the instructions on the screen and work through the 20 examples together, helping your child to combine totals where necessary.
We will be covering lots of this in class, so don’t worry if your child is not ready to move on too quickly. We will also be doing lots of work on addition and subtraction and the strategies that can be used to help us combine/ subtract numbers more easily. We will update the blog with some of these strategies in a few weeks time, so that you can see how we work things out in class.
Happy Weekend!
Mr Richards, one of our P7-6 teachers is leaving today to take up a new job in Edinburgh. We are all going to miss him at Murrayfield and we wish him all the best in his new school. We are looking forward to seeing him when he pops in to visit us.
We have had a busy week, finding out about China and Chinese New Year stories and customs, making decorations and props for our dramatisation of the story of the Rooster, the Dragon and the Centipede. We performed the drama at our Assembly and were complimented by some of the younger children who really enjoyed it.
We had a few lightbulb moments when we learned our fractions this week and can now place missing fractions on number lines confidently. There were lots of smiley faces as we burst out of our learning pit!
Our Scottish Ceilidh preparations are coming along really well and we nearly have co-ordinated feet and everyone spinning in the same direction. It has been a lot of fun and we have had a lot of laughs along the way.
The lure of the snow is making us impatient for the weekend and we can’t wait to get outside to hopefully build a snowman, if there is enough snow.
Happy New Year Everyone!
We have had a good holiday and have come back refreshed and ready to learn…especially now that we are now technically Primary 3G and a 1/2!!! We are looking forward to the next 6 months of Primary 3 and all the new and exciting things we are going to learn.
We hope you have all had a lovey holiday and that you enjoy reading all about what we have been up to this week.
We found out on Wednesday that our new topic is ‘The Romans’ and we have already completed sections of our KWL (what we already Know, What we would like to find out and how we are going to Learn about it/what we have Learned) grid which will help inform Mrs Mackie and Mrs Waugh’s planning.
We are all very excited and have even started reading some of the topic books in the classroom already!
We are going to continue with our science topic from last term, which is looking at Forces and Magnets. We have already been learning lots about the push and pull forces. Please test us out at home by asking us to explain what these are.
From P3G, Mrs Mackie and Mrs Waugh
P.S Thank you to everyone who has already supplied new indoor/gym shoes, where necessary, for the new session. Great to see everyone wrapped up in warm coats, hats, scarves etc too!
Thank you, from Mrs Mackie and Mrs Waugh
Welcome back to this exciting term in Primary 5/4. Please click on the link above to hear P5/4 wishing everyone a Happy 2017 in their own, unique way!
We have already learned lots even though we’ve only been back at school for 2 and a half days!
Emma – We were told that our new topic is going to be Mary, Queen of Scots.
Neve – This week we made Mary, Queen of Scots fact files.
Anna – I’m looking forward to getting my new reading book.
Kirstin – I liked making our 2017 New Year’s resolutions for display in our classroom.
Liam – I liked working with a partner to complete chimney sums.
Zander – I learned that an algorithm is a posh word for a sum.
Jack – I liked doing handwriting.
Scott – I liked finding out where my new seat would be in the classroom.
Rachael – I learned that chronological order means the order that things happened in.
Kaiden – We learned how to log into GLOW and we now know how to email people.
Neive – We sent photographs of Mary, Queen of Scots to Mrs Vince on our emails as an attachment.
Christopher – We completed a KWL grid on Mary, Queen of Scots. This let Mrs Vince know what we already know about her and what we would like to know as well as how we want to learn about her.
Robbie – We said that we would like to go on a trip to find out about Mary, Queen of Scots and Mrs Vince said that she would try to organise this.
Homework will return as normal next week with spelling being given out on Monday. Maths worksheets will also be given out on Monday. Both homework tasks should be completed and returned, signed by a parent/guardian on Thursday.
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