Thank you to all who supported Primary 4 and contributed to our Red Nose Day fundraising. We are pleased to announce that we have raised a total of £191.08 so far and the money is still coming in! In addition to donations, Primary 4 also sold 680 red noses and 120 wristbands in 5 days! That’s a total of £800 worth of Red Nose Day goods! Thanks to all for making it a big success!
Reminder – Dress-up theme is “Red on the Head” – Wear something RED on your HEAD, e.g. hat, bow, nose, wig. Please bring a donation! There will be a special assembly (for pupils and staff only, sorry parents!) and lots of fun activities. See you then!!!
We are the Publicity Team from P4 and we would like to remind you about Red Nose Day 2017.
Red noses and wristbands are being sold for £1. Going fast!
Joke competition – enter your year group competition to try and get into the final on Friday. it is free to enter but you have to be funny!
Design a Red Nose competition – this is 20p to enter and there will be red nose themed prizes. Get your sheet from P4 now. We will collect entries and money on Wednesday and Thursday.
Red on the Head – on Friday it is a dress-up day and you can wear something red on your head for a donation. A red bow, red hairspray, red nose, red mask, red wig etc etc.
Assembly – this is on Friday. You will learn more about the charity and how it helps others around the world. This is for pupils ad staff only (sorry – no parents!)
Have fun! Thank you!
We are delighted to announce that we released some Brown Trout fry into our local Murieston Water last week. Amy and Jonathon from Forth Fisheries brought us some new fish that they had reared and we all got a little bag to carry down to the river. Once at the river, we released our fish and wished them well in the big wide world. We also took part in some investigations of the river-life and looked at samples of water to see what creatures we could identify using the magnifying glasses and cards. Thank you to Forth Fisheries and Murieston Environmental Group that supported us in this project.
In Maths, we have been problem-solving by finding patterns in number sequences. This was quite tricky, even for Miss McMillan! We have been learning to multiply bigger numbers by 10 and 100. We have continued practising telling the time on analogue and digital clocks to the quarter hour.
In our Hinduism topic in RME, we learned about the Spring festival of Holi. This festival celebrates good triumphing over evil. We found out that it is celebrated by people throwing coloured paint at each other, dancing and processions, and having a bonfire. We watched a video about Holi made by the boys and girls in Mumbai, India. We thought it looked fun and we would like to take part too! We also learned about Hindu worship and Hindu shrines. We made our own model shrine using some artefacts and learned the five senses are important in Hindu worship.
Primary 4 are busy organising Comic Relief fundraising activities for Red Nose Day next Friday. We all got to choose a team to work in and now we all have different jobs to do – Sales Team, Publicity Team, Assembly Team, Joke Competition Team, Design a Red Nose Competition Team, Dress-Up Day Team, Drama Team and Dance Team. We are hoping to make it a big success! In Language, we have been finding information from different sources to learn more about how Comic Relief helps people around the world.
It was British Science Week and so Isabel’s mum, who is a scientist, came in to help us with our learning. We talked about different jobs that are science-related like doctors, engineers and nurses. We learned about solids, liquids and gases. We did an experiment mixing water with food dye, oil and washing-up liquid. She also showed us some gloop made with cornflour and water and gave us an experiment card to take home. We could complete the experiment then fill out the card or online form and send it back to the scientists at Edinburgh University. Of course, we need adult help and permission to do this!
We have sent some of our work over to the Universal School in Mumbai with Mrs Logan. We made books about Scotland, translated some of our own Scots poems and also sent our water posters. We are excited about sharing our work with the children there.
In Drama, we worked in groups to create and perform comedy sketches. In Art, we have finished our paintings inspired by the work of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. In Dance, we are now able to dance the Gay Gordons in a circle! We also worked in groups to make up our own dances using Scottish steps.
We enjoyed taking part in the Big Fairtrade Break and eating our Fairtrade snacks together in the playground. Well done to our most recent Achievement Award winners. Well done to Hailey who represented Primary 4 at the West Lothian Scottish Poetry Competition at St Kentigern’s Academy recently. Well done to Emma, Eilish and Eloise who took part in the Dance Festival at Deans Community High School this week, along with the rest of the lunchtime dance club. We have started doing our online CEM tests. We will continue these next week…
We have some sad news to share. Unfortunately our Brown Trout alevins died last weekend. We have consulted with Forth Fisheries and they have explained what they think happened to them. They told us we had done a good job looking after them but there was something wrong with them that meant they did not survive. Luckily, Forth Fisheries have some Brown Trout alevins/fry that are nearly ready for release and so we will be releasing those into Murieston Water next Tuesday.
In Maths, we are learning all about time. We have revised o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to on digital and analogue clocks. We need some more practise at quarter to the hour – it is tricky! We have been exploring how long a second, a minute and an hour are. We used the timers to see what activities we could do in a minute – activities like running up and down the playground, step ups and going round the obstacle course. We also continued our division topic and we are feeling a bit more confident with this.
We enjoyed World Book Day. We learned about famous illustrators and looked at some of their illustrations. Then we practised sketching designs for the Book Token competition. Most of us took part in the Book Swap and got a new book to read.
We have been researching Fairtrade using leaflets and the internet and making notes about this. We used the information to make a quiz and a leaflet. We have been playing Fairtrade games and writing a Fairtrade poem also.
In RME we have continued learning about Hinduism and this week we covered Hindu shrines. We looked at different objects used in a Hindu shrine for prayer and worship. In our Scotland topic, we researched famous landmarks and places using the laptops, i-pads and leaflets. We worked in a group to make a page for a Scotland tourist brochure and this brochure will be sent to the children in our partner school in Mumbai.
We enjoyed our visit to the Lanthorn Centre for the P4 cluster Fair Trade service with Darren from the Chaplaincy Team. All the schools presented what they had been learning about Fair Trade and also sang their chosen song. We presented our findings from our research on Fair Trade products and the countries they came from. Thanks to Darren and the parent helpers that supported us. We are looking forward to Fairtrade Fortnight next week.
We also took part in a Reflective Spaces workshop on the value of the month “Fairness”. Here we thought about places around the world where things were not fair, for whatever reason, and wrote our ideas for a fairer world. We also thought about what fairness means to us.
In maths, we have been focusing on linking multiplication and division and making array patterns and number lines to help us with this. Also, we have started a topic on time and we have been measuring how long a minute is and trying to complete different activities within one minute. We began revising telling the time with o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to the hour.
In language, we learnt some Gaelic words and sang Scottish songs with Mrs Logan. In French, we have learnt about pets and food and how to ask if we like something or not. We now have a lovely new French display about pets and food. In writing, we wrote thank you letters to Darren and the Handball helpers and we finished our internet safety posters.
The fish are growing well and will be released in about 10 days – more details to follow. In our Scotland topic, we located places in Scotland on a map by using atlases and Google maps/earth. In Art, we finished our wave pictures and we learned about cold/warm colours and mixing colours. In P.E., we continued with yoga and also Futsal.
We look forward to an exciting Fairtrade week, next week!
Our P4 Handball teams competed in the P4 Cluster Handball Festival recently. We have all been learning handball with Mr Muldoon in P.E. in P4 and the teams had extra practise sessions with some helpers from JYHS. All our teams did really well and won lots of games. We demonstrated good sportsmanship too!
The rest of the class took part in a Fair Trade afternoon workshop where we prepared for our P4 Cluster Fair Trade service which is next week. We split into groups to research Fairtrade products using I-Pads and laptops and find out where they come from. Everyone had a different role in the groups – painting pictures and flags, making PowerPoint slides and writing words for the script. We presented this at the school’s Fair Trade assembly and we are now ready to do it for the other P4 children at the Lanthorn Centre on Tuesday 21st February (please return permission slips asap and parent helpers needed also).
Our Brown Trout are progressing well as alevins and soon they will turn into fry and be ready for release. We are continuing to chill the water with ice bottles twice a day and monitor the temperature.
In Maths, we are now focusing on division and linking this with multiplication and times tables. We have explored division using cubes, pegs, people (!) and other objects and we are developing our understanding by drawing pictures. We have also been using different types of calendars to find special dates and work out how long things are in days and weeks.
In Language, we had a reading assessment to test our comprehension skills in finding facts and opinions, identifying the writer’s purpose and point of view, and finding causes and effects. We studied the Robert Burns poem Willie Wastle and used Scots wordbank sheets , dictionaries and the internet to work out what the Scots words meant. We showed we had understood the poem when we drew a picture of Willie Wastle’s wife and cat. We then wrote our own Scots poems about a “beastie” or animal, again using the Scots wordbank sheets and dictionaries to help. We are also working on the presentation of our writing by re-drafting our work and learning to join letters.
We are busy preparing for Parents Nights next week. We have been setting and evaluating our targets and identifying our next steps in learning. We have also done lots and lots of I-JournAL filing! We look forward to sharing our I-JournALs with our parents and carers soon.
We are delighted to announce that most of our Brown Trout eggs have hatched and have turned into alevins. We are doing a good job of looking after them and making sure their tank is cold. Amy from Forth Fisheries visited us and delivered another batch of alevins too – so now we have hundreds!
For the I-Solve morning with parents and carers, we focused on problem-solving strategies. We did some activities and games that required us to work with others to solve a problem. In Number Maths we looked at the 5 and 10 times tables. We discovered that the 5 times table is half of the 10 times table and this can help us to multiply bigger numbers by 5. In Topic Maths, we have been using our calendars and practising finding dates and working out durations of time in days and weeks.
In Language, we wrote a story about our personal experiences of a time when we have had to persevere at something. This linked to the “Value of the Month” for January – Perseverance. In Reading, we focused on identifying facts and opinions in texts.
Futsal has continued with Laura. We practised our dribbling skills and were competing against each other. Soon some P4s will be taking part in a Handball Festival with other schools so this week those involved had a practise session led by pupils from James Young High School. We now have our SHANARRI display up in the classroom – this shows lots of ways that we can keep safe, healthy and happy at home and at school.
Some of us performed at the Scottish Evening – and we were fabulous! Emma did some Highland Dancing, Hailey recited her Scottish poem and our drama group performed Address to the Toothache by Robert Burns. In Art with Miss Trotter, we started our wave paintings using shades of blue.
Our Skype session with our partner school in Mumbai was a big success! One of our groups presented their poster about saving water, as did a group from P4b. The children in India also presented their work and posters on saving water. It was fantastic to see them and talk to them in real life!
We are pleased to announce that we have now received the brown trout fish eggs and they are in our tank! Forth Fisheries delivered the eggs last week and it is now our job to look after them! We have to keep the water cold and we do this by using bottles of ice which we change twice a day. We are looking forward to seeing them grow…
One Day Creative, the drama company, worked with us on Robert Burns’ birthday, 25th January. We took part in a half-day of drama workshop about the life of Robert Burns and Burns Night. We practised our dancing and acting skills and worked together with others. At the end of the day we teamed up with P4b to present a short play to the rest of the school.
We have been learning the Robert Burns poem Address to a Toothache with Mrs Thomson our drama teacher. Some of us will be performing this at the Scottish Evening soon. Well done to our finalists in the P4 Scottish Poetry competition – Hailey, Rocco and Patrick. We are so proud of you all!
In Maths, we have been focusing on developing our problem-solving skills. We have been exploring different strategies for solving problems and working with our peers to share ideas and support each other.
In Futsal, we have continued to practise a variety of skills and we are now playing mini-games. Team spirit is important! We are getting better at participating calmly in our meditation and yoga sessions. We are focusing on our breathing and holding poses for longer.
In Science, we carried out an experiment to see what solids dissolve in water. We made predictions and then tested these out.
We have now finished our posters about saving water and have been presenting these to an audience in our groups. We will soon be sharing our learning with our partner school in Mumbai when we hold a live Skype meeting. One group from our class will present to the children in India in an online meeting and we look forward to seeing their presentations too.
Another busy week in P4a…
In Language, we have been learning our Scottish poems for homework and we have been reciting them in our class competition. We all tried hard to remember the lines, add actions and perform them with expression. We have been giving peer feedback on the good things about the performances and things that we could improve – using 2 Stars and a Wish. We also learned how to write a letter by setting it out with the date and address at the top. The letter was inspired by our class novel Charlotte’s Web and it was to persuade Fern’s Dad or Uncle to let her keep Wilbur the pig.
In Maths, we have continued developing our knowledge and understanding of multiplication and division. Our focus this week was the 2, 4, and 8 times tables and how they are related. We made array patterns at school and home to help us with this. We also did a problem-solving task where we worked with a partner to find solutions using different resources such as blocks and lego.
In our Water Topic, we have been working in our groups to finish our posters about saving water and to prepare our speeches We are working with our Indian partner school in Mumbai on this topic. The children there have also been preparing campaigns to encourage people to use water wisely. We are hoping to hold an online meeting with them soon to share our ideas.
In Drama with Mrs Thomson, we have learned another Scottish poem called Address to the Toothache by Robert Burns. We have been acting it out in pairs and trios and some of us will be preforming this at the Scottish Evening soon.
In Art with Miss Trotter, we have been learning about the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai and looking at some of his paintings and prints. We used our brand new sketch books to draw some sketches of our own. We will use these in our art lessons over the next few weeks.
In P.E., we started Futsal lessons with our coach Laura. We practised skills like the step over and drag back and played some team games. In yoga this week we went on a journey to the Arctic and made arctic poses. In Dance, we started our topic on Scottish ceilidh dancing and practised some of the steps while keeping in time to the music. We will be revising some dances we learned in P3 and then learning some new ones.
In French, we had a session with Mrs Kasparek the French Teacher. She helped us learn about food and shopping and asked us to research French sweets. We will have another lesson next week.
Au Revoir!
