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On Monday a lady from the Chinese school in Edinburgh came to our class to talk to us about Chinese New Year. We got to watch a cartoon about the 12 animals in the Chinese calender and we got to make paper boats. After that she wrote Chinese numbers on the whiteboard and she asked us what animal are you on the Chinese calender. I am the Dragon. If you want to learn to speak Chinese you go to the Chinese school in Edinburgh on Saturday.

By Angus P3/4

On Monday, 12th May, P3/4 went to The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh to see the first performance by the children’s Poet Laureate, Michael Rosen, on his tour of Scotland. Stephanie had won tickets for our whole class when her poem ‘Shhhh!’ was chosen as one of the prize-winners for Edinburgh and the Lothians.

There were children from lots of other schools there and it was very busy. We were all excited and couldn’t wait for Michael Rosen to appear. First of all, he told us about his life as a little boy, sharing a bedroom with his brother Brian. They got up to lots of mischief and we laughed at all his stories. Then he told us about his Dad and the funny things he said. He also told us the poem about his very strict teacher who didn’t allow the pupils to breathe. She was very, very strict! Michael’s Mum made delicious chocolate cake when he was small and he told us a hilarious story about eating all the cake up in the middle of the night. We could just imagine him creeping back up the stairs with chocolate round his mouth! Lastly, he told us about the hole he tried to drill into his brother’s bedroom because he missed him so much. It made us realise how much he must have liked his brother!

 ‘My favourite part was when he told us about the hole in the wall because it was very funny. His Dad poked his finger in Michael’s shoulder and said, ‘Never, ever let me see you do that again, or there will be trouble!’ (Cameron)

‘I liked it when he told us that his favourite cake was his Mum’s chocolate cake. One night he started to eat the crumbs round it and ended up eating the whole cake.’ (Freyja)

‘I liked it when Michael told us about his son, Joe, because it was really funny and it was called ‘Mmmmm!’I can just imagine the little boy telling his toys that they were in trouble too.’ (Ross)

 ‘Everyone was happy when we came in. First he told us about when he was a small boy and it was funny. Everyone had a good time.’ (Maya)

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P3/4 have been very busy recently animating aspects of the life of the Arctic Tern. We have been working with Jim and Claire, from Red Kite Animation, animating the first part of a film about the migrating habits of the Arctic Tern. Other P3 classes from Dirleton, Athelstaneford, Gullane and Law Primary Schools are animating other sections of the film. Pupils from North Berwick High School are also working on the project.

We worked in groups to research the Arctic Tern and spent four sessions drawing and animating main events in its life.  Did you know that the Arctic Tern can live up to 34 years of age? Every year it flies from its Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and back again. This journey is a 22,0000 mile round trip. In its lifetime, the average Arctic Tern will fly 500,000 miles – the same as flying to the moon and back! 

The film is to be launched in June at a special event at North Berwick. We can’t wait to see the finished film!

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On Wednesday, 19th March 2008, P3/4 had a grand day out! Ellen, in P4, had won second prize in the ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ poetry competition for her age group. She won prizes for herself and her family, and we were lucky enough to go to Hampden Stadium, in Glasgow, to see Ellen presented with her prizes.

First of all, we were taken on a guided tour of the stadium. We saw behind the scenes (the changing rooms and practice areas), the pitch and the Scottish Museum of Football. It was very interesting and we were given fantastic goodie bags! We also saw an exhibition of the poster competition. We saw Eli’s entry. It looked really good.

 There were lots of other schools there from all over Scotland and the atmosphere at the presentation ceremony was very exciting. George Burley, the Scottish team manager, and Gordon Smith, the SFA chairman, presented prizes, along with lots of famous footballers. Soon it was time for Ellen’s presentation and we were very proud of her. John was kind enough to read out Ellen’s poem for her, so we were very proud of him too!

 All too soon it was time to go home. We had a fantastic day.

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