Literacy and English
In grammar and punctuation, we have been consolidating our knowledge of past, present and future tense verbs this week. After reading jokes written in the past and present tense we were asked to convert and rewrite them in the future tense. Following on from this we came up with some of our own jokes using varied verb tenses.
Ahead of November 11th, we extended our knowledge of Remembrance Day and the reasons as to why this commemoration came about. We explored different informative texts before responding to varied questioning to demonstrate our knowledge of events that took place. It is important to remember those who died in the line of duty and sacrificed their lives in order for us to live as we do today. We read For The Fallen, a poem by Robert Laurence Binyon, which stirred our emotions and promoted our thinking on the subject. P7 will be coming round classes each day over the next 3 weeks to sell poppies for the Scottish Poppy Appeal. Please give generously to support war veterans and their families. Minimum donation is 20p.
Next week we will be beginning our literacy book focus on Holes by Louis Sachar. We are looking forward to reading this text and will begin by analysing the initial chapters and predicting events in the story next week. Why are the boys sent to Camp Green Lake being asked to dig Holes in the searing Texan heat? We will find out in due course…
Finally, a quick shout out to Joanna who wrote an essay titled ‘My Inspiration’ for the Rotary essay writing competition. Joanna structured her work well and explained in great detail why she has been inspired by Elaine Thompson, a famous sprinter, to take up athletics. She has been chosen as P7a’s Star Writer for October. Well done Joanna! We’re very proud of you! Have a read of her essay below.
Numeracy and Mathematics
This week we have been reintroduced to fractions, which we will be learning about alongside decimals and percentages in the lead up to Christmas. We began by finding the fraction of a set using Skittles. After counting the number of each colour we were asked to write this as a fraction before simplifying it if possible and answering word problem type questions based on our findings. We have been ensuring that we use mathematical language at all times; the top number is the numerator, the bottom number is the denominator and the line separating the two numbers is called the vinculum. As well as finding the fraction of a set, we have also been ordering and sequencing fractions. Next week we will consolidate our learning of simplification and equivalence.
During Big Start activities we have been applying our learning of our times table facts. One example we tackled this week was a Mystery Matrix. Well done to Lily, Millie, Luke and Sophie who managed to solve the matrix and fill in every missing value. Next week we will begin to discuss this year’s Christmas Fayre enterprise work. Once we have considered who we would like to work with, we will be deciding on our product or service and beginning to put together a resource order form. Each group will be working on a strict budget of £20 with the aim of making the greatest net profit. We are aiming to develop our entrepreneurial skills, experience running a small business and increase our financial awareness. The Fayre will be on Friday 7th December, so please put it in your diaries to come along and support P7. All money raised will be put towards our Leavers 2019 events.
Health and Wellbeing
Below you will see us participating in our third session of futsal. This week we were developing the ability to pass accurately to our peers through the use of varied parts of the foot and communicating effectively. Next week is a games week where we will be able to demonstrate the skills we have developed so far in small-sided match situations.
Congratulations to PM below who brought in his Linlithgow Fun Run achievements to share with me. He placed highly in the race given his age and continues to excel in all things sport. P is one of our new Sports Leaders, a member of the Sports Committee and integral part of our school football team. Well done P!
Finally, FB and RD have also won medals for their efforts at rugby. They attended at tournament in Musselburgh recently; winning every game, scoring tries and working well as part of a team. Excellent job boys, keep up the good work! RD is our current Sports Committee Chairperson whilst FB is an enthusiastic member of our Sports Leaders group. Great examples of young sportsmen for their peers from P1-6.
Learning Across the Curriculum
Lastly, we ended the week with a trip to Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory on Thursday. We had a brilliant day and found the experience to be incredibly informative and thought-provoking. The morning began with a WWII presentation from Peter, an ex-Sergeant Major, who put us through our paces and certainly woke anyone up who may still have been half-asleep! This included Mrs Manlove, our parent volunteer, who was dressed up as a paratrooper deployed behind enemy lines. JS demonstrated confidence to come forward and dress up as a Commando and was one of our values certificate winners this week. Well done JS! We then went back downstairs and managed to manufacture over 2,000 poppies in a short space of time. ZP and SK gathered these in a huge box as these poppies will be sent out during next year’s Scottish Poppy Appeal. Some of the boys asked to be shown round the factory and had a look at the various pieces of machinery used to create poppies, wreaths and other items. We’d like to say a huge thank you to all of the workers here for being so friendly and welcoming during our visit. P7a demonstrated our school values throughout the morning and were an absolute credit to us all! Have a look at the happy, smiling poppy makers pictured underneath.
Next Week
- SNSA testing all week in P7
- Monday 29th October – Homework grids (term 2) and Sharing the Learning Overviews in school bags
- Monday 29th October – NO school football
- Tuesday 30th October – JASS Parent Launch event (see app)
- Wednesday 31st October – P7 NHS dental checks
- Thursday 1st November – Mr Logan in class, futsal session
- Friday 2nd November – Deadline for skiing EE2 forms, payment can be made before Tuesday 27th November
Have a great weekend everyone!
P7a and Mr Logan
