Springfield Primary School and Bonnytoun Nursery School
Spring Forward in Learning and Life – Becoming. Belonging. Believing.
Mrs Tulloch challenges the children each week with their learning in science and technologies. They are very fortunate to have her share a wealth of knowledge and lots of fun and practical activities.
This week the P7 children assisted Mrs Tulloch by demonstrating some fun experiments including making lava lamps. Here are a few photos of them at work.
Thank you Mrs Tulloch for everything you teach us, and for always helping us learn new and exciting things.
P7a and Mrs Gordon
The P7’s had a fantastic time creating, writing and illustrating mini books as Christmas presents for their P1 buddies. The P7’s surprised their buddies by delivering their presents after break and reading the stories to the P1’s. Here are a few photos.
Merry Christmas to all from P7, Mr Logan and Mrs Gordon
It has been another exciting week in P7b. On Monday we started off by creating a Christmas haiku poem. We have now come to the end of our poetry block of writing. This was followed by guided reading and continuing with our group novel studies. After break we got into our enterprise groups and figured out the gross and net profit that we had achieved from the Christmas Fayre. In total we made £1,186 and £851 of this goes towards our end of year Leavers 2018 trip. Our P.E session of Monday was basketball in the Community Wing and it was really fun. We were playing small sided games to demonstrate the skills we have been developing since October.
On Tuesday we started off our brilliant day by reading in our groups while the rest of us started our reading tasks and completed our grammar and punctuation. We have been using connectives, they are used to join up sentences and extend/vary the length of them. We were asked to up-level our connectives, for example; meanwhile, additionally and furthermore. Near the end of the day we started on algebra in maths, we were talking about number machines. The very last thing we did on Tuesday was practising Last Christmas by Wham! and Feliz Navidad, a Spanish Christmas song, for Carols Around the Tree next week. Please come along and watch us perform at 10.25am on Friday!
Then on Wednesday we had more algebra. We tackled some problem solving questions with a partner and these were from the GCSE tests from England, some of the questions were really tricky but we enjoyed the challenge and were pleased when we got to the correct answer. Later on in the day, we had science with Mrs Tulloch, some of our parents came in to see us learning about chemical and physical changes.
On Thursday morning we went to Midlothian Snowsports Centre in Edinburgh for our second skiing session. We’re all getting better each week and can’t wait for the next one. It was snowing all morning and made us feel Christmassy! After skiing we had our Christmas lunch in Mrs Gordon’s classroom. Both classes were here so it was packed, but the food was great. Thank you Jessie and the kitchen ladies.
Then on Friday, we had singing practise in assembly and after break we had committees . The Sports Committee were tidying and reorganising the P.E cupboard as it was a bit of a mess!
We hope you all have a nice weekend.
Struan, Ailsa and Ross Wi
This week we finished our block on fractions within numeracy by doing an assessment. This will help identify an areas we still need to work on. We then started work with percentages. Mrs Gordon was delighted that a few children recognised that “percent” means per 100, and that cent in French is 100!
In literacy we wrote diary entries from the point of view of an animal, plant or person living in the Amazon Rainforest or Brazil. We had to really put ourselves into our characters shoes, and do some research as to their life style to ensure it was authentic.
In French we designed our own Christmas jumpers and then wrote a few sentences to describe them. We had some lovely designs and learnt some fabulous words like robin – rouge-gorge (red throat) again some links to the English language.
We also started Spanish by working out what we knew, counting to 20, greetings and asking and saying our name. We found some links with masculine/feminine endings that we understood due to our work on that in French lessons.
In IDL we are at the end of our focus on Brazil, and we were very lucky to have some parents and grandparents join us for the learning showcase on Wednesday. We did an apprentice style activity where each group had to choose their team leader and then complete a Scotland/Brazil comparison task. There were a few twists along the way, and each section was timed to add an element of urgency. At the end each team presented a “persuasive presentation on either Brazil or Scotland” trying to convince the audience to visit. The children did a great job, and some of the visitors commented on how well they gave each other feedback! Our peer assessment is working !
We had our second session of skiing on Thursday at Hillend, where we had real snow, making it more authentic! Everyone really pushed themselves and did so well. After an exhausting few hours, it was time to get back for our Christmas lunch. Lunch for 62 was served in our classroom, it was a bit of a squeeze, but very tasty!
Mrs Gordon and P7a
What a fantastic end result for the P7 enterprise project this year. Between the 2 classes the children split into groups of 4 or 5 and have spent time during the last 3 weeks on the project. Each team had to design, plan, advertise, manufacture and sell a product(s) or service at the Christmas Fayre. The children worked hard on costings and budgeting, and had to estimate how many of each product they expected to sell.
The Fayre was a great success and overall we made £850.73 net profit (in P7 alone). On Monday each group will calculate their team’s net profit and reflect on what worked well, and what would be done differently next time.
Many thanks to everyone who supported us. Here are a few photos of the teams at the Fayre.
Today P7 enjoyed their first of four sessions of skiing at Midlothian Snowsports Centre. Once we arrived, we were kitted up and out onto the slopes in our groups. These depended on whether we had skied lots before, a little bit or never at all.
Group 1 were on the nursery slope today getting used to the putting on and taking off of skis, beginning to balance on both one and two skis and moving down a slight decline before stopping. Groups 2 and 3 moved slightly further up the main slope to the blue line and were attempting to gain some speed before coming to a stop. Group 4 were on the main slope and developing their ability to use snow plough turns whilst group 5 made their way to the very top where they focused on their pole planting and parallel turns.
Already after one week we are seeing huge progress with each child and look forward to seeing them further develop their skills and confidence in skiing over the next three sessions. The instructors were incredibly complimentary of the behaviour and positive attitude demonstrated by all of the children. Well done P7, we’re so proud of you all! Have a look at this week’s pictures below…
P7, Mr Logan and Mrs Gordon
Numeracy and Mathematics
In maths this week we have been comparing costs to find the cheapest option or best buy. We discovered that buying in bulk can often reduce the price per item and lower costs. Knowing this was beneficial when ordering resources this week for our enterprise projects. In order to ensure we maximise our net profits, we have been sourcing materials for the best price online through comparisons between different retailers. This week we have also been using written methods to divide sums of money, with a remainder on occasion. Long division forms part of the S1 assessment in maths and this will ensure we have a secure knowledge of this area before our transition. Our Standardised Assessments indicated that we needed some practise and consolidation of interpreting written word and multi-step problems. We have been working hard to read questions carefully at all times, take note of key information and use working to tackle this style of question step-by-step.
Literacy and English
On Thursday we embarked on our first Big Writing adventure with Mrs Doran. We further explored the issue of deforestation in the Amazon rain forest, carrying out various written tasks in response to a reporter on location. Our whole class targets in writing are to continue using an ambitious range of VCOP to make our writing exciting for the reader and developing the ability to proofread, self-check and up-level our work where appropriate. Mr Logan has been pleased with the level of description and detail we are beginning to incorporate into our work. Our focus in grammar and punctuation has been to use adjectives along with examples of figurative language such as simile, metaphor and personification. In shared reading this week we all examined the features of charity appeals. We were able to highlight simple features such as bold titles and thought-provoking images, but also looked deeper into ideas such as the way in which such adverts affect our emotions and influence our actions. P7b were able to identify persuasive language used throughout the text and used a dictionary to define unfamiliar words such as ‘malnutrition’, ‘irrigation’ and ‘supplements’. There was also a vote for our new class novel this week, and Ailsa’s choice of Maze Runner, a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, was chosen by the majority of pupils.
Health and Wellbeing
We have two weeks remaining of futsal, and are grateful to our specialist coach Neil from the Livingston Youth Football Foundation for his continued commitment to the programme. In P.E next week we will be developing our passing and dribbling skills within basketball, our latest block of P.E, and applying these skills within small-sided game situations. Our after school clubs are going from strength to strength, with a huge number of pupils across all stages of school benefiting from the provision of various activities. A huge thank you goes to all of the teachers who are giving up their own time to deliver such high quality sessions. We really are doing our utmost to develop every aspect of our children’s Health and Wellbeing at Springfield Primary School and their continued participation in these activities is one way to ensure we do so. Next week, P7 are looking forward to the start of our skiing sessions as Midlothian Sports Centre. No matter what ability level, each of our pupils will be given the chance to either learn to ski or build on their previous experience. Mr Logan, Mrs Gordon and Miss Baillie are also looking forward to taking to the slopes! Thank you in advance to those parents who will be assisting us over the 4 weeks of lessons. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Coming Up
We hope you’re having a great weekend!
P7b and Mr Logan
Another busy week of learning in P7a. In Numeracy we continued our work on fractions. This week we looked at conversions between mixed number and improper fractions and addition/subtraction of fractions. We were choosing our chilli challenge based on how we felt about the subject (mild, spicy or hot). We also used lots of fraction examples as number talks this week to help us better understand the concepts. The use of concrete materials such as blocks, magnetic cuisinaire rods and fraction pieces allowed us to explore fractions in more depth. The concrete material we loved the most was the mini roll… have a look at our mini roll fractions.
In literacy we continued the “Big Writing Animals in Danger” radio report writing. We had to focus on the structure of our report, and ensure it was persuasive yet factual. The children peer assessed each other’s work, giving feedback to allow them to improve the piece of writing. The next step will be to record and share the reports.
We are loving using yammer as a tool during our guided reading sessions. This is a great way to improve ICT skills whilst combining it with literacy. This was another opportunity for peer assessing when we gave each other written feedback in our reading groups about the homework questions.
In French we continued with “Moi-meme” and learnt how to describe hair colour, eye colour and height. Our focus in PE was passing skills in basketball. We were able to easily give constructive feedback to our peers when observing each other play.
On Tuesday we finished our Brazilian Landmark junk models and again peer assessed (this time by group) against the success criteria that we co-created. Have a look at our creations below, aren’t they fabulous?
After all this peer assessing we have become a lot more confident at giving constructive feedback that will allow us to improve our work and recognise what good looks like.
Have a great weekend, from Mrs Gordon and P7a.
This week we had a big focus on anti-bullying week. The slogan for this year is “All different, All equal”. We worked in groups through several scenarios this week, which really made us think deeply about our actions. In groups we wrote definitions of respect and then voted on the one we liked best to use as a class motto, the one which celebrated being different. We looked at gender differences and stereotyping, and power. The children were very mature with their discussions and were easily able to identify the correct actions to take in different real-life scenarios.
Chloe’s mum has a Brazilian friend who let her borrow some items to show the class. We got to see some Carnival headdresses, a statue of Christ the Redeemer, a traditional doll and carving and a flag. Having a look at these items got us in the mood to finish our rainforest tanka poetry.
In Numeracy we continue our work with fractions, this time making equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions. We also did work with money and budgeting as part of our Christmas Fayre Enterprise project. Mr Fryer came in to talk to us about budgeting and helped us think about the profit each group can expect to make at the Fayre. Lots of very important links to skills for learning, life and work.
In French our focus was on “moi-meme”, myself. We were looking at how to tell people about us and our families. In PE we started our block of basketball by looking at dribbling skills.
In literacy we used the new “Big Writing” resource to start a series of lessons on report writing, the topic is about orangutans in the rainforest.
Next week we have auditions for main parts for the Lion King on Thursday, scripts will be sent home on Monday for the children to practice with. They already have a note of any songs that were required.
Mrs Gordon and P7a
It’s been another busy week in P7b, so here’s a brief summary of the goings-on…
Numeracy
P7b have been working hard when applying their decimals knowledge when using money. This week we have been focusing on bills and calculating total costs through various word and multi-step problems. Our enterprise projects have allowed us to use these skills in a practical context when resourcing items required and providing Mr. Logan with a total cost for our order. In doing so, we were asked to make price comparisons and attempt to gather quality resources at a reasonable price. On Tuesday we were lucky enough to have Mr. Fryer (Lois’s Dad) in to visit both P7 classes. Mr. Fryer works as a Senior Mortgage Manager for TSB was was able to share his wealth of knowledge around budgeting. He worked closely with each enterprise group, discussing their projects and offering some support to the calculation of their costs and potential gross/net profits.
Literacy
We are continuing to enjoy our group novels in guided reading; from Adolphus Tips to Alex Rider, and Gangsta Granny to The Hunger Games. Now that some groups have finished their first novel, they have been given the choice as to what text they read next. In P7b we promote an enjoyment of reading through the opportunity for personalisation and choice. Mr. Logan has been impressed with the level of expression we are beginning to use to engage our audience when reading. On Wednesday, we looked at our first ‘shared reading’ text as a whole class. We were studying a poem called ‘Wind’ by Dionne Brand. The poem was written in the first person and brought human-like qualities to the wind through repeated uses of personification. The higher order discussion was great to hear and we were amazed by how many features of the text came to our attention the more we read. On Thursday, we began using our new Big Writing Adventures resource with Mrs. Doran and look forward to more of these lessons in the coming weeks!
Health and Wellbeing
This week was our anti-bullying and racism focus in school. With kindness being one of our school’s values, we must always ensure we treat each other with the utmost respect and in a way which we would like to be treated ourselves. Mrs. Matos delivered our first two Respect lessons where we discussed gender equality and what respect means to us. We compared our definitions with the dictionary definition and rewrote what this looks like in our classroom. This will be used throughout the year to refer back to and promote positive behaviour and relationships in the classroom. We demonstrated kindness by dressing down and donating money to Chlldren in Need on Friday. Thank you to Mrs. Gordon and the Pupil Council Committee for organising such a successful event, and of course to those who baked. The cakes and sweets were delicious! We will let you know in due course how much we have raised.
Coming Up This Term
To all our parents, carers and families, have a fantastic weekend!
P7b and Mr. Logan
