Three of our classes have been learning about the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah which takes place around the world this week. Primary 6 used the internet to find out about the story behind the celebration, with armies in battle and a very special bottle of oil. They watched video clips of Hannukah celebrations and learned how to play the Driedel game. A team from P6 then visited Primary 1 and Primary 1/2 to play the game with them and share their learning. This game was first played to help the Jewish children learn their letters and sounds in secret. When we played it this week we learned new letters, practised our counting skills and showed what good sports we are when our friends won our tokens!
Primary 3 say Shabbat Shalom!
In Primary 3 we have been learning about the Jewish tradition of Shabbat. We know that to keep Shabbat the Jewish people do no work, to remember the story of God creating the world in 6 days, and resting on the 7th day.
We used drama in class to show what we know about this special celebration which happens from Friday evening to Saturday evening.
RME in Primary 4
Primary 4 have been learning about artefacts from the Jewish synagogue.
Primary 2 learn about Kiddush Cups
Last week Primary 2 children made Kiddush cups. Kiddush cups are used by the Jewish people on Shabbat. The cup we saw on the internet was more than 100 years old. Kiddush cups are for drinking wine out of, after you say a blessing.  We will learn more about Shabbat in Primary 3.
A Wedding in Primary 2
At the beginning of March we held a pretend wedding in an RME lesson. it was great fun! We invited special guests and made lots of preparations to make the classroom look more like a church. The bride travelled in a chauffeur driven car with her dad. The minister read the service and the best man remembered the rings. After we had sung a song and watched them sign the register we had photographs taken in the hall and got the chance to throw confetti over the bride and groom. Then we went back for the reception with a designer wedding cake and dancing. We sang Auld Lang Syne then the bride threw her bouquet over her shoulder at the end.
Here are our thoughts about the wedding:
“I liked handing out cake.” – Hallie. “I liked driving the car.”- Logan “I liked throwing the confetti it was great.” -Euan. “I learned how to behave at a wedding” – Mya. “I liked dancing and cake and being the minister.”- Ewen. “I learned that sometimes you need some help in a wedding”- Miai.
Primary 4
We have been learning about the rules for Kosher food, the food that is allowed for Jewish people, in our RME lessons.
 Can anyone find a ‘Kosher’ badge on a food packet, jar or can? Look in your cupboards – or have a good look around when you’re at the supermarket helping with the shopping! If you find one, tell us where!
For a reminder of the Kosher rules, try this website: http://www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/926235/jewish/What-is-Kosher.htm
Primary 5
Primary 5 have been linking RME and Science this week as we learned about Evolution as an explanation of how life began on Earth. We watched an animation which showed some dinosaurs with feathers, and explained how there are some birds in the world today that can’t fly, but have other talents which make them the best birds for their habitat.
Thank you to Ellie for helping to sum up the learning this week.
We thought about the kiwi in particular – can anyone tell me where kiwis live? Can P5 remember what the kiwi is good at?
