Yesterday in P6, we had some visitors who taught us about STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, and is a really important subject to learn about because it helps us to understand how the world works and these skills will be important in our future careers.

One workshop was run by Mrs Miller who is physicist. In groups, we tried to build the tallest tower out of Jenga, realising that the tower had to have a strong and stable foundation. This was challenging because we had a limited number of blocks so had to leave some to build the tower up high. We then had to build a bridge using the blocks too, including a ramp for the cars to go up. We also developed our teamwork skills, because we had to discuss our ideas and then find compromises, and we worked on problem solving too by adapting the structure.

The other workshop was about building rockets, and was organised by Andrew who is an engineer. First, we looked at different types of propellers and motors, including one which was 3D printed. Then we rolled paper round a stick to make a cylindar, then stuck on a cone on top and added fins to the bottom. This made our rockets more aerodynamic. Once we had finished our rockets, we placed them on a launcher which shot air into the rocket when we pressed the pump. This made the rockets fly through the air.

Overall, we had an amazing time! It was so interesting and we learnt lots of new things.

Thank you to Fife College and Edinburgh University for this opportunity.

P2B LOVING learning Scots songs and poems with Corrane! Singing is so much fun! We learn actions, memorise words, DANCE to the rhythm and beat! It’s awfie braw!

Primary 2B had a fun filled trip to Portobello library today! Ian the librarian read us stories that had us laughing out loud and we love our book bags!

Today, P6 had a visit from the community police officers, Gareth and Amanda. They told us about all the different roles within the police, such as helicopter police, firearms officers, traffic, CID and dog handlers.

Then, we discussed the age of criminality, which we found out was 8. We were surprised that it was this low! It means that if we did a crime like vandalism, assault (verbal and physical), cyberbullying or theft, we could get charged and be given a criminal record.

Having a criminal record can affect your opportunities later in life, particularly if you want to do certain jobs like police officer or teacher. Primary 6 found this discussion really interesting, and are more aware of the need to be careful with our words and actions.

P2 were engineers for the day and designed and constructed their own broomstick with room for all the characters from their Halloween class book ‘Room on a Broom’.

“Mine has five seats and gates, so nobody falls off.”- Mette

“My broomstick has a led blower to make it a little bit quicker and an engine and two wings at both of the sides and five seats”- David

“My broomstick has two floors and it has the fastest engine in the world.” -Amir

“My broomstick has a flag on it and it has a control room to fly it. And a storage box for food if they fly for a long time and get hungry.”- Elliot

“Mine is super thick and can never break.”- Dylan