Present Wrapping

Today we have been learning to write instructions.  First we had to try and write a set of instructions for making a sandwich from memory.  We had to make sure that we had included all the right details! 

Next we had to write a set of instructions for wrapping a present!  As this was something we were not too confident with Mrs Tulloch gave us some wrapping paper and a tub which we had to wrap up!  Although this proved to be quite tricky we really enjoyed it!  Once we had had a go at wrapping we had to write our own set of instructions.  We had to really think about all the different steps and we also had to use our success criteria to help make sure we had achieved our learning outcome.

Mrs Tulloch was impressed with our instructions and also impressed with our wrapping – infact she thinks that we could definitely be helping out with the Christmas wrapping at home this year!

Class Assembly

P6 will be doing a class assembly on Friday at 9:45am.  Please feel free to come along!  Please phone the school office to book your seat.

Shopping for Shoes

Blog Post by Einar and George

On Wednesday we got a visit from The National Theatre of Scotland who did a wonderful play Starring Sarah called Shopping For Shoes, which tickled our ribs. It was lucky for us to see such a fabulous play only SPS and Glaitness Primary got to see it. Shopping for Shoes is a hilarious one woman play which is a once in a lifetime sitcom. No will ever forget that show. If you want to see it, look online at National Theatre.com. #Loved It! 

Ceilidh on the Brain

This week we were very lucky to take part in a workshop called ‘Ceilidh on the Brain’ as part of the Science Festival.  We learned all about our brains and how they work and how music and playing instruments can help our brains to grow.

First of all we learned about sound and how instruments can make sound.  Some of us made  a ‘slinky orchestra’ which was great fun and had a very ‘Star Wars’ feel about it!  Helen, who played the flute, talked to us about how our voices make sound too and also about how we hear sound too.

Lewis then talked to us about how our brains actually worked.  He had a really colourful model of a brain to show us – although our real brains aren’t as colourful!  It was really interesting to hear what each part of the brain does.  We also got to feel how heavy our brains are – 1.5kg! No wonder we’re tired at the end of the day!

We made up some dances to show how we hear and how we see and Lewis and Helen played music for us to dance to.  Finally Lewis showed us a scan of his brain and a special 3D model he had made of it!  We thought it was really cool! 

 

Great Golfing

On Friday 6th we were very lucky to have the chance to go to the Golf Course for a taster session with members of the Stromness Golf Club.  The sun was shining and we had a great time having a try at putting, chipping and long distance shots! Thanks to everyone who made our trip possible and also so enjoyable! If anyone is interested in taking up Golf then there is a club for Juniors on a Monday evening.  

Rocket Seeds

After a mix up with the delivery we eventually received our rocket seeds and for the last two weeks we have been watching them intently!  We’ve measured the percentage of growth in each tray, or replicate, and also how long it took for ‘true leaves’ to grow.  We still have lots of measurements to take and are interested to observe if there any clear differences between the red seeds and the blue seeds.  Here are some pictures of us sowing our seeds in a very scientific, methodical way!

Fit Fives!

P5 have been very lucky this week so far to have had lots of opportunities for taking part in sports! 

First of all we started our new block of Tag Rugby.   Unfortunately due to the weather we had to be inside however, it was still great fun.  Our Coach, Rachel, had us working on using the Tag Belts and getting tags from each other.  First we had to try and grab as many tags as we could, working on our own then we worked in teams to try and get as many as a team.  We used lots of the rugby skills such as sidestepping to do this.  We’re hoping to get outside next week!

Then we had our second week of swimming.  We’re all gaining in confidence in the pool and are working hard on our own personal swimming skills.

Today we had Club Golf with Michael Swannie and John from Stromness Golf club.  We were focussing on putting and chipping and learning about the right kind of stances and grips we should be using.  We learned the little verse ‘back, back, side, side, knees nice and soft!  This helps us remember how to stand.  We had great fun in the hall at the different stations and are looking forward to our session next week and then our morning up at Stromness Golf Club on Friday 6^th May.   

We Are Our Journey

Today we were very privileged to be invited along to the Pier Arts Centre to visit the exhibition ‘We Are Our Journey’ by Norna Sinclair.  Norna is Thorfinn’s mum so she invited us along to see her artwork and give us the opportunity to be ‘art critics’!

First of all we gathered together and had a look at the pieces of art in the exhibition.  We looked at the work and thought about questions we had about what it was or what it was made of.  Lauren from the Pier Arts Centre also asked us to think about what we thought each piece of art was about.  We came up with some really good ideas. 

After this we split into two groups.  One group went with Carol and did a mapping activity.  We had to find our house and Stromness Primary School on a map.  Then we had to colour in the journey we make to school every day.  Then we put pins into a map to show our journeys.  This was inspired by Norna’s art work which is all about points in time and the journeys we make. 

The other group looked at the work in the exhibition and wrote about it.  We had to try and find out things nobody else knew about the pieces by asking Norna or Lauren or reading the cards beside each piece of art.  Again we came up with some really good questions and ideas about what we were looking at.

"I like how Norna has done work about her family" - Alistair 

"The Shadows dance depending on where you stand" - Taigan

"I think they are a slide" - Jordan

"I like how it makes you think all the strings are thick but they're actually loads of little strings" - Christy

"Norna's favourite part of the exhibition is the family because it's very special" - Thorfinn

"I found it interesting that the places Nornal got all her materials was Stromness and Kirkwall because she wanted it all locally because she thought it was important" - Leah

"When you look at the panels the shadow looks 3D" - George

"I think it looks like cobwebs stuck on a car" - Kayla

"I like the family because it shows that they love each other" - Holly

"It looks a bit like a bitten shreddie but they're actually rigging's from a Pirate ship" - Einar

"I find a lot of them interesting" - Eilidh

"I found it super interesting how she found her inspiration" - Olivia

"We Are Our Journey has an inspiring material and has amazing patterns" - Sarah

"If I look at We Are Our Journey and Voyage they have 12 strings on each of them so that means there are 24 hours in a day" - Matylda

"This is how long life is each rope represents 15 years" - James

"Family 2016 looks like a moon with strings and it looks very nice" - Jessie

"It looks amazing and it makes me feel like I'm on a ship" - Katrina 

"This piece of art represents Norna's family" - Ethan

"I think this bit of art is all the sunbeams coming together" - Connor

"My favourite piece of Norna's artwork is We Are Our Journey" - Leo

It was an excellent experience and we thoroughly enjoyed looking at the art and talking about what we thought it was like.  Thank you to Norna and Lauren and Carol and the Pier Arts Centre.  We really had a fab time! 

Clearing the Highlands

We have been learning about the Highland Clearances in our topic.  We learned what life was like in the highlands in the 1700’s and why the highlanders were cleared off their land in the first place.  We were put into our own ‘Clans’ and had to create our own drama about the Highland Clearances.  We worked really hard in our groups to try and put the details into our dramas.  They were really good and showed that we had been listening to all the information about the Highland Clearances.  Here are some pictures. 

The Bard - Robbie Burns

As part of our Scottish History topic we have been learning about Robbie Burns.  We’ve been learning about his life and why he is an important part of Scottish Life and History. 

To celebrate Burn’s Night we had a Burns Supper for our lunch.  Kenny Peace from the Rendall Pipe Band came and piped in the haggis.  We toasted the piper and then Einar Addressed the Haggis!  Alistair said the Selkirk Grace and then we tucked into our delicious mince, neeps, tatties and haggis. 

It was a great experience and was a great way to remember Robbie Burns.  Thanks very much to Kenny for piping in the haggis for us and also to all the Dinnerladies for cooking us a delicious Burns Supper! 

Broken Camera

Unfortunately, our class camera is broken so we have not been taking any pictures recently.  We're going to try and remember to borrow Mr McIntosh's camera if we need to take pictures and we will try and update the blog but apologies if we don't update it very regularly! 

Miss Shearer