P5 were delighted to win a prestigious award for literacy this week. In January, we did a lot of literacy work on our Scots Poetry topic including writing a biography of Rabbie Burns, learning and reciting his poems, creating our own Scots poems  and hosting a Burn supper for parents. We met benchmarks across reading, writing and listening and talking.
P5 won the bronze award for second level, which was presented to  the class by Mark Neil, West Lothian’s Education Officer.
Superb work Primary 5!

The scientists from the University of Edinburgh were  back in P5 this week sharing our results from our DNA experiment. Well done to everyone! We discovered that it’s easier to extract DNA from strawberries than it is from grapes.

Our experiment was part of their research into DNA and will be published in a forthcoming scientific journal.

P5 have been very busy these last few weeks! We are currently in the middle of exploring the DNA of fruit samples as part of a study with Edinburgh University scientists. We conducted the experiment last week and will welcome the scientists back next week for the results. The results will be used at uni as part of the scientists research!

On Tuesday we took a trip to Blair Drummond Safari Park where we enjoyed exploring the animal enclosures and enjoyed some play time and a visit to the shop.

On Monday got our baking aprons on and made some Empire biscuits which were so delicious we have already decided we want to make them again!

We’re also still working hard on our recount writing and geometry. Well done P5 for smashing it yet again!

Primary 5 have had a busy week! Firstly, we worked hard to complete our Puma Maths assessment.
We also tidied up the school grounds with a litter pick. We filled eight bags of rubbish!
All week we have also been rehearsing our assembly – Mary Queen of Scots from Birth to the Block. We have conducted a detailed study of Mary, her life, her mistakes and her downfall. We even visited Loch Leven Castle to see where she was imprisoned. We wanted to share our leaning through a dramatic and musical performance. And I have to say P5 absolutely smashed it!
Thank you to parents and carers who came to see our performance. It was a lovely way to wrap up what has been a fascinating learning journey that also helped us to uplevel our research skills, genre writing and spelling strategies too! And thanks to Miss Dixon who was in attendance today. It was a great pleasure to have you in class and help out at the start of our production! Well done P5!

Primary 5 enjoyed a trip to Loch Leven Castle as part of our learning about Mary Queen of Scots.

Mary was imprisoned on the castle island for more than a year. Just like Mary, P5 boarded the boat for the journey across the loch to the island. We explored the castle tower and stood in the room where Mary was imprisoned and forced to abdicate the throne to her infant son. We also stood on the shore where Mary made her dramatic escape back to the mainland!

We visited the Glassin tower and its murky basements, visited the old kitchen and saw its food hatch to the dining area,  and climbed some spiral staircases to other secret rooms.

We took the Loch Leven Quiz and hunted around the castle and ruins to see if we could find the answers.

The island itself if a nature reserve, full of birds and we saw some herons and pheasants roaming the grounds.

After a return boat trip we visited the shop then strolled down the boardwalk for lunch in the sun next to the play park.

Everyone said they enjoyed the day! The weather made it really special too as there was not a cloud in the sky! Well done P5!

Primary 5 have been working hard all term on their Scots language topic and got to share it with parents and carers at our Scots Showcase and Burns Supper this week!

We began the week with the Scots poetry competition. Katie, Hope and Amelia were our class finalists, with Amelia lifting the trophy with her rendition of Tae a Thistle.

We finished and displayed our Robert Burns profiles and portraits, and our Scots poems. We also designed and weaved our own tartan  and learned  Scots songs and recited our own Scots poem.

We brought all of this learning and hard work to the table to share at our Burns Supper with our adults. We enjoyed a feast of haggis, neeps, tatties, Irn Bru, shortbread and tea cakes!

Many thanks to all the parents and carers who joined us! We hope you had fun at our event and enjoyed seeing all the hard work we put into it! Well done Primary 5! We’ll tak a cup o kindness yet!

For anti-bullying week P5 have created a very moving iMovie to demonstrate why friendship and respect it’s important when facing bullying. We showed it to the whole school at a special assembly and everyone enjoyed watching it and discussing it. Brilliant work P5.

https://glowscotland-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/wlstella_sinclair_glow_sch_uk/ERLpCnS-HgFHpcqjR4S5IyIBGQaLzoHs7VJ6nqG_St2E8Q?nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJPbmVEcml2ZUZvckJ1c2luZXNzIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXciLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJNeUZpbGVzTGlua0NvcHkifX0&e=avW3SA

Primary 5 today had a trip to nursery to reacquaint themselves with the guinea pigs – Muffin and Biscuit – before we host them later in the month! The furry friends will be arriving in P5 the week after next and will be shared around several classes during their two-week holiday to St Mary’s.  After a cuddle with both we got to ask some questions about guinea pig care. We have also been doing a little bit of learning and writing about this too. We can’t wait for our piggy pals to join us in P5!

P5 have been enjoying some martial arts and mindfulness in small groups. Some of the class have been attending One Mind United Mirae Kuk Sool Korean martial arts in Polbeth where they have been learning multiple skills with the main focus on values and discipline. Under the expert tutelage of Master John, pupils have been learning explicit listening skills,  following instructions and showing respect. Other pupils have been enjoying mindfulness with a focus on health and well-being.

Last week P6 enjoyed the European day of languages and particularly enjoyed tasting baguettes, cheese and sausages!
On Friday we had a super fun Sharing our Learning! First we showed parents what we do in reading, then we went outside to share some games we learned at camp! Parents weren’t at all competitive – NOT! Well done everyone!