June
P4/5 MAY
We hope you have enjoyed the Coronation weekend.
Pupils have been out for PE since we returned after Easter and have been practising for the sports championship contests and sports day.
One reading group had the Willow Pattern as their reading book but as they enjoyed it so much, we decided to share it with the other groups and also, we made willow pattern design plates.
Out topic work has been lots of practical activities so far and we particularly enjoyed finding out about and using magnets.
Friday the 28th April we spent a lot of the day looking at safe use of devices and the internet. It has come to our attention that a significant number of children were accessing sites and materials that were not intended for use by their age group. Children received input using
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/band-runner/
and
https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland
You may want to revisit this with your own child and discuss rules and safe use at home to protect them and your household from unfortunate viruses or dangers to security.
March
In the last few weeks, we have been finding out about The Scottish Wars of Independence. We have loved finding out about the significant individuals that led to this situation in Scotland’s History. We have found out about the battles and what it was like to be a soldier during that time. We also looked at how history can become a legend and that the legend is not always totally accurate.
In maths we have been working on fractions. Fractions of shapes, amounts, and looking at improper fractions and how these become mixed numbers. In mental maths we have been trying to develop our speed and accuracy in multiplication and division and investigate how we can improve our learning by working on it in the most effective way.
We have also been using Reading Eggs regularly and all the opportunities it presents. Each week we have had focus lessons to develop skills and the chance to use the library.
Both the P4 and P5 have had swimming sessions and thoroughly enjoyed attending these. We thank the staff at the Sports Centre for those sessions.
February 2023
Here are some of the bones we found in owl pellets we opened out and examined.
Pupils in P4 have thoroughly enjoyed our time down the woods and this week wrote thank you letters to Jamie and Jack from Wild Things.
We had fun in hammocks this week and were pleased to find out we are going to receive a John Muir Discovery Award. Certificates are on the way and we have contributed to research on the current species of trees, plants, birds, and minibeasts currently found in Anagach Woods.
Please note that there are new activities in Education City. TTRockstars is still tracking how pupils are doing with times tables. Some pupils have been working really hard on these activities at home as additional practice. The progress and confidence gained from these activities is evident and recognized by everyone. Well done, as we talked about a little time each day can make a big difference.
P5 pupils have loved their swimming sessions as much as P4 did. The P5s have had sessions with the rest of P5 doing a variety of activities on Friday. Their traditional music sessions are being rescheduled for later this year.
January 30th
It has been a busy start to the term.
P4 really enjoyed their session at swimming and Little Saplings down the woods. The weather was really good this week but want to remind people that 2 pairs of socks, gloves, and hats would be great for those who did not have them this week. The 2 groups worked really well with Jamie and Jack our instructors from Wild Things.
P5 has swimming to look forward to in a couple of weeks and traditional music sessions. It was a good opportunity for all the P 5 pupils to work together.
In class, we have been learning about William Wallace and what Scotland was like during that time. We have also been looking at the geography of Scotland and Scots language and words. We were amazed at how many we knew and how many we had heard said by older relatives.
Thursday 19th January – Suggested Snow Day Activities due to continued closure.
- Look out of your window and draw what you see – EXA 2-03a
- Create a short script based on “A Winter Story”. This could be performed to your class – EXA 2-14a
- Sledging/build a snowman or snow sculpture – HWB 2-19a
- Making something healthy to eat – HWB 2-30b
- Write an imaginative ‘snow’ story/create a newspaper article on snow or keep a diary of what you have been up to in the snow – LIT 2-20a/LIT 2-22a/LIT 2-23a/LIT 2-24a
- Record and display measurements based on daily snowfall – MNU 2-20b
- Design a sledge work- Design a fast or slow sledge- what did you choose and why? – SCN 2-07a
- Topical Science- Discussion of the impact of this weather on society – how can we help those in need at this time? – SCN 2-20a
General Activities
- Revisit spelling words already covered to date
- Continue with any spelling/ reading homework if it has been issued
- Work on alphabetical order/word meaning
- Basic Maths/Problem Solving Activities
- Times tables Revision
- Personal Topic Research
- Revisit any topics that children have had particular difficulties with
P4/5 5 .12.22
We have been busy last week creating our own maths games. These games will be played this week to show our maths skills and understanding. Parents will get to see these shortly.
The blue reading group presented The Rainbow Bear to the rest of the class. We then created some fantastic art using oil pastels. They are currently on display in the hall. We also created decorations for our school Christmas Tree displayed at the Episcopal Church. We have been using other materials to create art such as thread.
Please note some people still need to bring a jar in ready for making lanterns.
In writing we discussed and created the perfect Christmas Menu.
As December progresses more people are getting their Christmas Kindness Challenge. They are spreading kindness and happiness.
P4/5 were awarded a class privilege card for their excellent singing and signing in preparation for the Christmas Performance. They were outstanding at a recent rehearsal.
Please remember the performance is at the church on Friday and pupils should arrive at 5:45 in school uniform at the church.
P4/5 11.11.22
This week we had an enjoyable and informative session with Polly Freeman who talked about the Scottish Access Code. Pupils did an excellent job of identifying appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in the outdoors. Our activities outside were great fun working in 2 teams, with the high winds adding an additional challenge. Unfortunately, Mrs Sutherland was so engaged in the activities she forgot to take photographs. Apologies.
In maths we are coming to the end of our work on place value and moving on to multiplying and dividing. We have done some revision of tables and we have also been trying a variety of maths games and learning to use these to practise our maths skills.
Pupils were really interested in our whole school topic Awareness of All. Some of the practical activities were fun but also helped us understand the challenges faced by some. Watching some short films highlighted the importance of inclusion and understanding of everyone.
On Friday pupils were very respectful observing the 2 minutes of silence and were very mature in their approach.
We will be looking at our favourite books next week as it is Scottish Book Trust Week.
P4/5 November 1st
P5 really enjoyed practical activities at Academy A9 last week. Yesterday we found out about the origins of Halloween and did some activities related to Halloween.
In art activities, we have looked at leaves and the amazing symmetry and pattern on them. We also tried some scratch art and later this week are going to try some simple sewing.
In maths we are working on place value, identifying the value of the digit in a number, and why zero can be so important in a number. We have continued our work in mental maths on times tables.
The trees and area around Grantown gave great stimulus for Autumn poems.
Pupils and staff really enjoyed the concert this week at Grantown Grammar, thank you to Hamish Napier for inviting us.
We are near the end of our topic exploring materials and have been looking at the properties of materials and where they come from. This week we have also been thinking about design and use of materials and have been looking at some toy designs and how toys have changed and developed.
We have also thought about, discussed, and planned toy designs of our own.
Here are some of our pictures investigating symmetry
30th September
Today pupils took home the writing key assessment completed earlier this term, the Cauliflower Cards order form and the artwork they chose. This year we did 2 options and pupils picked the piece they preferred for the cards. The remaining piece will be made into calendars nearer Christmas. Please note that these need to be returned as soon as possible.
Also sent in the same pack, were appointment times for those parents attending on Tuesday evening. Pupils are also going to attend a concert on Wednesday afternoon at Grantown Grammar by Hamish Napier a former pupil and fantastic musician. This week they also experienced some musical input from Feis Spe which was to inspire interest in the upcoming opportunities offered by Feis Spe this October Holidays. Mrs Sparham and I can recommend all these sessions and experiences having had our own children benefit from them. It is fantastic that they are available again.
In class we have been continuing to find out about materials and where they come from and why certain things are made from particular materials. In maths we have started to work on written methods methods in addition and subtraction. We also are working on times tables depending on our previous knowledge.
Next week we will be learning to write our full name and address.
After October we will be collecting jam jars for a Christmas craft activity, so if you have any please do not add to the recycling but keep for us to use.
P4/5 16.9.22
Recently P4/5 have been revising the properties of 2D and 3D shapes. We have been naming shapes and working on how to spell the names of shapes and working out how many edges, vertices and faces they have. We also did some 2D shape art.
We have also been out looking at trees in our grounds and then doing rubbings of the leaves. We are going to continue to look at trees and try to identify them from their leaves. Pupils also created beautiful birch trees.
Blog Post 31.8.22 P. 4/5
Another busy week in P4/5. Pupils created their own pictures in the style of Charlie Mackesy and these look great displayed by the door. We finished the book listening online and are looking forward to seeing it as an animation at Christmas time.
We have started to look at trees and went into the grounds to look at whether the trees were deciduous or evergreen. We also went into the hall to do some French activities and will be learning vocabulary related to the family.
P4/5 Blog Post 23.8.22
P4/5 have settled in well and have been getting used to new routines. These first few weeks we have been looking at The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse by Charlie Mackesy. We have been discussing friendship and exploring issues that can affect it. We made friendship games and have playing them with each other. We wrote friendship poems as you can see below.
In maths we have been doing lots of revision with sum sentences. We have also been playing games to help us practice addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Education City has now a set of activities for use at home and at school. Everyone has also been sent the invite to our Google classroom.
Grantown Primary School 