I thought the Speedy Stem was really interesting and I enjoyed working in groups to complete challenges. My favourite challenge was building a stable bridge over a 10cm gap as you really had to think about how you were going to make it stable and you got to decorate afterwards. Another challenge was building the tallest tower you could with a set of jenga blocks, I enjoyed this even though my team didn’t have a tower by the end! The last challenge was building a car and driving it around the hall, this challenge was really fun as you got to race other groups and set challenges for yourself to complete with the car. Overall Speedy Stem was a really great experience and I am looking forward to next time! Lola
P7 Learning blog week beginning 8th October
This week p7 have taken part in speedy STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. In speedy STEM, we learned how to build a remote control robot, which everyone really enjoyed. We have also been learning about different types of rocks as part of our topic on natural disasters .The 3 different types of rock where Igneous, Metamorphic and Sedimentary. We really liked this activity.
In maths set two we were learning more about symmetry this week, we were tracing different shapes out a textbook, finding different lines of symmetry.
In maths set one, we were learning about 2D shapes, mainly triangles and circles, and how to measure them. We done PE, which is football each week we do football and this week we were deciding on a victory dance with our teams, and Mrs MacIntyre. This week was a blast!
By Hannah Young and Hannah Telford
One of our favourites was learning about the layers of the earth as we learnt about what each layer was made of and we did a fun quiz afterwards.
Another one of our favourites was inspecting rocks as we got to find out how they use each rock.
We also enjoyed continuing a story called The Quest as we were challenged by building suspense and using descriptive language.
By Lola and Lorcan.
P7 Learning week beginning 1st October
This week in P7 we learned sports in French. In English you say Do you do any sports but in French that’s Tu fais du sport. I play is je joue and I don’t play is Je joue ne pas. We also did our Christmas card designs, we do them every year and your parents get them printed onto cards, stamps and mugs. people done sunsets, Jesus and santa.
Another task we done was are KWL for natural disasters we had to write what we know and what we want to know. After we complete the topic we will write what we learned.
We also had a morning event with Mr John Swinney. He officially opened our new school building.
By Elaina and Charlie
Deputy First Minister leads St John’s Opening Ceremony
Earlier today the Deputy First Minister John Swinney opened the latest new Edinburgh school.
Mr Swinney was accompanied by Councillor Alison Dickie, Vice Convener for Education, Children and Families at the City of Edinburgh Council at the official opening of St John’s RC Primary School in Portobello.
Barbara Service was special guest of honour at the event. Mrs Service who retired as head teacher last week, bringing to a close a unique 55 year association with the school as a pupil, teacher, parent and finally head teacher.
This is the first primary school in Edinburgh to be built under the Scottish Government’s Schools for the Future programme and is situated on part of the former Portobello High School site. The new Portobello High School was moved to a new site in Portobello Park. The remainder of the site and the former St John’s site will be made into a park for the local community to use.
The two-stream primary school has a flexible design with both formal and informal teaching areas for each year group and bright open spaces to maximise learning. A nursery offering 40 morning/40 afternoon places forms part of the building and nursery provision for 2-year-olds is due to open in the near future. The school also has an astroturf pitch which can be used by the local community outside school hours.
Cllr Dickie said: “It was great to see the excited faces of the pupils this morning as we officially opened this fantastic school. As a former teacher I know how important it is to embrace innovative ways of improving the learning environment and ensuring that new schools are designed to be inclusive for all pupils.
“St John’s definitely ticks all the boxes with its sensory room, quite nooks in classrooms, breakout spaces and a variety of different furniture to support varying learning styles and learner needs within the school. When pupils are comfortable and happy within these spaces, they will want to engage even more in the amazing learning that is already taking place, which is everyone’s end goal.
“Our £10m investment in the new St John’s demonstrates the Council’s commitment to creating a first class education estate and ensuring all our children have the best possible learning environment in which to flourish.”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “I would like to thank the City of Edinburgh Council for inviting me to officially open the new St John’s Primary School.
“It is a fantastic facility which the entire school community can be proud of and I am pleased that the Scottish Government was able to provide more than £5 million of funding towards its construction as part of our £1.8 billion Schools for the Future programme.
“I wish the school, and everybody in it, all the very best for the future.”
Retired Head Teacher Barbara Service said: “I’m delighted that I was able to see all the pupils and staff successfully move into this fantastic building before I left. Space was an enormous challenge in our old school but now there is the opportunity for more flexibility for teaching and learning, meaning far better opportunities for the pupils to learn in co-operative and innovative ways. The school is embracing 21st Century education, in this purpose-built flagship facility.
“Parental engagement is a key priority so the school will be able to do this more readily in the new environment and the feedback from parents, carers and the community has been extremely positive.”
by Phyllis Stephen
Primary 7 learning
Learning in Primary 7 week beginning 24th September.
Every day we have a warm up in the morning and the most creative idea gets a raffle ticket for a prize of your choice. In maths we have been learning how to divide numbers like 40000, also we have been learning how to add multiples. Last week we have been writing creatively and been learning how to build the suspense in a story. Then we had a visit from Mr Knox to teach us about world peace.
by Ben and Onny
