February blog

STEM - Lego Challenge

Our class was chosen to enter a competition and this is how we did it. We got put into groups then up a story to help the environment. After we'd all made one, the people in our group had to vote for the best story. Once we had decided we had to build the solution to the problem with cardboard, bottles, Lego and any other materials we wanted to use. 

As we started to finish making it, we had to act out the story. You didn't have to be in the video, but you could be if you wanted to. 

Once we were confident we filmed our story on an old iPhone and it got sent to the judges. 

Overall we had a great time and a really fun experience!

By Zaina

Shreedatt, Ruaridh and Methum Lego Challenge.mp4
Blake, Angela, Aileena and Micah.mp4
Vincent, Waleed and Alexander Lego Challenge.mp4
Samantha, Zaina, Asritha and Rai Lego Challenge.mp4

Science Centre Trip

On Wednesday 22nd February we went to Glasgow Science Centre! This linked to our learning in school all about the human body. 

We left the school at about 9.15 and got on a coach. After driving on the motorway for about 20 minutes we arrived. We put our bags and jackets into big tubs the went to explore.

First we went to floor 1 where there were lots of exhibitions. In "A Question of Perception" we looked at intriguing illusions which left us wondering whether our eyes and brain were tricking us. We grew and shrunk in the Ames room, stood on the walls of the room on its side, and looked into infinity. In "Explore!" we fed our curiosity with hands-on experiences that let us nurture our inner scientist. We avoided detection by a thermal camera, built a catenary arch, pumped air rings through a tube and played four-way air hockey.


Next we went to floor 3 which were there was all the attractions to find out more about the human body. We measured our heights and plotted them on a graph to see if there is a correlation between height and age. We sprinted at top speed, jumped as high as we could, and tested our reaction times and hang times. 

Then it was on to floor 2 where we explored robotic arms, tested our ability to predict and our memories. We also looked at an exhibition all about powering the future. It explored questions such as how can we produce electricity and fuels in different ways and how can we be smarter with our use of energy.  We were able to answer questions and find out our own energy footprints, and discover how many worlds we would need if everyone in the world consumed as many natural resources as the average person in the UK. 


We had lunch and visited the gift shop, then we went to our BodyWorks live show!

Emma took us through the different systems of the human body - the respiratory system, cardiovascular system and digestive system, and we also looked at the brain. 

It ended with her setting flour and sugar on fire to see a cool chemical reaction!

I loved this trip so much, it was so fun! I especially loved the bubble ring and the sprinting game. I also liked the show at the end of the day with the fire - it was so cool!

By Micah

Pancake Day

On 21st February we had Pancake Day! 

Miss Itcovitz kindly brought in pancakes for us to eat. Our options for toppings were lemon and sugar, golden syrup or jam and butter. While eating our pancakes we watched some Horrid Henry. We learned about how Pancake Day was originally celebrated by Christians but now lots of people from many different cultures and religions eat pancakes on this day. We also learned that pancake day is also called Shrove Tuesday.

I think we all had a great time!

By Shreedatt

Learn With Us Afternoon

On 21st of February we had a "Learn With Us" day which is when parents come into the school and learn something new with us. We did a poo experiment because we are learning about the human body. 

We had tights, a banana, a tray, a plastic cup with water, 3 digestive biscuits and a sandwich bag. We had to pour the water into the sandwich bag and put the biscuits in too. Then we started to mush the bag with our hands just like our stomach would do to food, and it turned into a sick-like colour. Next we added in the banana to make the texture right. We cut a hole in the bottom of the sandwich bag to squeeze the mixture out into the tights which act like the intestines. We squeezed the mixture down through the tights like it was travelling through the intestines and all of the liquid came out. At the end we cut a hole in the bottom of the tights and the mixture came out like it was a poo! 

We had the greatest time with our parents!

By Rai

 Science - Heart Dissection

On Monday 20th February we did a heart dissection with Mr Keir. We used a sheep's heart. We looked at the four chambers and how the heart pumps blood around your body to keep us alive. We all had the chance to touch and hold the heart too. It was heavier than we thought it would be!

We also had to label a diagram and draw the route that blood takes through the body. The heart pumps blood to the lungs, the lungs give the blood oxygen, then the oxygenated blood goes back to the heart before being pumped around the rest of the body. 

I enjoyed the lesson so much but was a bit grossed out!

By Asritha

Morgan Stanley

On Friday 17th February, Morgan Stanley came into school to teach us about internet safety. First we chose a person to steal from - we chose Justin Bieber. Next we had to choose what we would steal from him - we chose the Loch Ness Monster. We put all of this information on a USB stick, then we deleted all of the evidence of our plan. Or that's what we thought... It turns out you can get back all of the information. They taught us how to keep our information safe online. Thank you so much for coming, we had an amazing time!

By Aileena

Numeracy - Measuring the MUGA

We have been learning about length - converting between different units and about area and perimeter. We had to guess which was bigger - the MUGA or the gym hall. For this we used trundle wheels. We had to make sure we started at 0, went in a straight line and counted carefully as we moved. The gym  hall was almost a square - 20 metres by 18 metres. The MUGA was 63.9 metres by 43.5 metres. I guessed that the MUGA was bigger and I was right!

By Ruaridh

IDL - Chinese Lanterns

We made Chinese lanterns step by step to celebrate Chinese New Year. First, we cut up the red piece of paper to make the round part of the lantern. Then we folded a yellow piece of paper for the inside, just like the candle. We got to decorate it however we wanted and also put a handle on it.

We made them because we have been looking at Chinese New Year in IDL. We found out all the different traditions that happen during the celebrations and compared them to what we do at New Year in Scotland. We also researched the dragon parades and some of the traditional foods they eat when celebrating. 

We all enjoyed making the lanterns and got to take them home!

By Samantha

Numeracy - Supermarket Sweep

In Numeracy we were learning about percentages and percentage change. We were put into groups and were given a piece of paper with all the food items. At the side were instructions which we should perform on the product for example decrease the price of all pizzas by 66% and increase the price of all dairy products by 44%. In teams we had to answer the questions. The team which answered the most questions correctly was the winner!

By Methum