Today in maths we were learning to divide decimal numbers as well as counting on and back. In doing this task we had the opportunity to practice these calculations with a partner or in a trio outside, on the tables, on white paper, white boards and sit in any area of the class we wished. We are all very busy and this helped with our written textbook task later on.
To finish off our work on DNA, we had to present our final poster to Edinburgh University. Well done to Ethan and Joe who presented this clearly and confidently. A big congratulations to Harrison, who won our DNA competition by collecting the most DNA and can be seen below, receiving his prize. This was a fantastic partnership to be involved in and has given our learners lots of new knowledge and scientific skills.
Yesterday in P5-P7, we were bringing some Christmas cheer to the classroom through creating our own Christmas stars. We first of all collected the sticks outside and then Regina taught us how to manipulate the sticks to create a star shape and tie them together. Then we had the fun of adding on a few glistening decorations! We had so much fun and we can’t wait to show our grown ups.
Today at the Scottish You Film Foundation workshops at West Lothian College, P5-7 enjoyed three workshops. In the first workshop we learned basic animation, pixel animation and freeze framing. In the second workshop we learned about characters and storytelling. In the third workshop we learned about silent film. It was a lot of fun.
Over the past 4 weeks we have been learning more about Clarifying which involves the children identifying problem areas and then using repair strategies such as reading on (to give more information), re-reading more slowly, looking at pictures, consulting a dictionary, using prior knowledge, reflecting on the text read so far or rephrasing a sentence or section of text. Today we decided to use this strategy to learn more about St Andrew’s Day before our assembly. We had the chance to write postcards to our friends describing the best parts about St Andrew’s Day and some of us started to create our own VLOG using clarifying and other reciprocal reading strategies to research content online and explain ideas to make it very clear.
The world of work is a fun way to help children learn about themselves, their skills and the jobs they could do in the future. We talk about career options in P5-P7 every day during our lessons and last Friday we were very lucky to have a special visit from John Blacklock to talk about his Engineering job with Amentum and how it takes him all over the world.
On Friday, P1-3 continued developing their coding skills using the Micro:bit. While they had previously explored the various features they could code onto the Micro:bit, this session allowed them to try it out hands-on with an iPad. The children began experimenting with the Micro:bit app, learning how to download their completed code onto the device. They explored creating LED images and patterns, incorporating music, and even experimenting with voice control features. The session was fun, as the children enjoyed being creative with their projects while building confidence in using both the app and the Micro:bit. In our next session, we will follow a tutorial to work towards a specific goal, which the children will decide.
Today, some children attended the awards ceremony for the Levenseat Project, where they showcased the model they worked on during Term 1 to harness renewable energy. As part of the project, they created toys and an iPad charger, putting in great effort throughout the term. Although we didn’t win, the children thoroughly enjoyed sharing their work with other schools. The morning was filled with exploring the various innovative ideas on display, and they also had fun watching a magician and listening to a storyteller.
On Wednesday, P1-7 had the chance to visit West Calder Library as part of Book Week Scotland. The trip began with a reading of There’s a Snake in my School! by David Walliams, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.
They then had the opportunity to explore the library’s wide range of genres and books, browsing both fiction and non-fiction. The children spent time discussing their favourite types of books and sharing recommendations with one another. They also got creative by making crafts such as bookmarks and posters. To wrap up the visit, the children selected a book to borrow, which they can keep at school to read. Overall, it was a delightful trip, and the children enjoyed discovering and engaging with different books.
Over the last two weeks P5-P7 have been enjoying working with DNA and chromosomes. They have been learning about scientific methods and role of researchers. The first challenge was to extract DNA from a banana using an experiment kit and working in partnership with students from Edinburgh University. Pupils are now working on scientific posters. Everyone is very excited about this science project and to find out who extracted the most DNA.
