We have just started learning about fractions.  Pupils were identifying what fraction of a shape was shaded and equivalent fractions were written where necessary.

 

In writing, pupils wrote an imaginative story based on a Scottish island.  They created their own Scottish island using adjectives or descriptive phrases to describe it and they created characters and events to include within their story.

 

Pupils were learning a Scottish song to sing at the Scottish Assembly.

 

 

We had our ‘Sharing Our Learning’ afternoon and Assembly.  The pupils presented their Assembly confidently to an audience and they did very well.  I am so proud of their efforts.

 

In Maths, we have been calculating the difference between two times, counting in a variety of numbers such as, five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, thirty minutes and hours.  We have also been reading a variety of timetables and answering a range of questions.

 

We completed reading the novel ‘War Horse’ and we answered a variety of questions about the final chapter.

 

 

Happy New Year everyone and we would like to wish you all the best in 2019.  In Maths, pupils are continuing to learn about time.  They have been telling the time in one minute intervals and they have started to calculate durations.

 

Our new topic for this term is Romans.  This has been introduced and we now have 3D Roman sandals on our display board, made by pupils using paper.

 

In Writing, pupils wrote a report about ‘The Eye’.  They used headings and paragraphs to organise information and they included key facts about this important sense.

In Maths, we are learning about Time.  We have started to learn how to tell the time in 5 minute intervals for times past the hour.  We played a time game and we were reading analogue clocks and digital clocks.

 

We have been reading our novel ‘War Horse’ and we have nearly completed the novel.  We have been discussing challenging vocabulary as well as events within the chapters.

 

In Topic, we have been learning about cells.  We have been learning what cells, tissues and organs are.  We have been learning the names of different parts of a cell and we have discussed different types of cells.  We also started to learn about the digestive system.

 

 

Miss McLeod – 5M

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope you find the following information useful.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

General Information:

We had a very busy but enjoyable first term in Primary 5. Our Fairtrade topic was interesting and really made us think about how our food gets to our supermarkets.

Thank you for your continued support with homework, particularly the Fairtrade shopping task.

Homework will continue to be issued on a Monday and should be returned on a Friday. Reading homework will be issued separately and should be completed for the following week.

The children will take part in 3 PE lessons per week and these will be on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. PE kit can be kept in a cupboard in the classroom.

The children will continue to earn DOJO points for positive behaviour and choices within the classroom. House Points will be awarded in the playground and when they are lining up.

We continue to add information to our class BLOG and this will be updated weekly. Our BLOG can be accessed via the school website.

Learning focus this term:

This term we will be learning about Body Systems.

Through our topic we will be learning about/to:

• The effect of alcohol, drugs and poor diet on the body
• The function of the major organs in the body
• How tissues and organs formed
• What the sensory organs are and how they help me
• How my body responds to external influences

Core Literacy:

• We will develop our writing by working on the tools for writing, including using paragraphs correctly; identifying direct speech and continuing to develop the use of sentence openers, connectives and punctuation
• We will be using our topic as a stimulus for writing in a variety of different styles, such as report writing, fact-files and posters
• Children will be given opportunities to develop their listening and talking skills through a variety of class based activities, including cooperative group work
• During class reading lessons the children will use Blooms Buttons and Book Detective strategies to check their comprehension
• This term we will be aiming to finish our class novel, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.

Core Numeracy:

• Pupils apply their times table knowledge to written multiplication and multiplication problems
• Pupils will use written and mental strategies to complete division calculations
• Pupils will develop their understanding of time, including telling the time on an analogue and digital clock; reading timetables and calendars and calculating duration

RME/ Health and Wellbeing

This term our RME focus will be Buddhism. We will be revising Cool in School and positive behaviour as part of our Health and Wellbeing curriculum.

As a Health Promoting school we actively encourage and teach our children to make healthy choices, to enable then to become healthy, active and emotionally resilient young people of the future.

We are delighted to be able to continue to deliver 2 hours of PE a week as well as opportunities for children to be active in our fabulous new grounds.

We would appreciate your support in promoting a healthy and balanced diet, both in your child’s morning snack and in their packed lunch.  We would discourage any type of fizzy juice in school or energy drinks.  Children are encouraged to bring in a water bottle, which they can use during class time and refill during the day.  There are water fountains situated throughout the school for daily use.

Please encourage your child to participate in the Active Sports Clubs that are on offer at lunchtimes and after school, as well as any school based clubs that take place throughout the year.  Keep looking in school bags for further information.

A reminder that all children who cycle or scooter to school must wear a safety helmet and ‘walk’ their bikes whilst in the playground. There are bike racks available.

Class Birthdays

We always celebrate if a member of the class has a birthday however we would request that birthday cakes are not brought into school to share with the class. In school, we have children with allergies who may be at risk from some ingredients. The cutting up and distributing of birthday cake also cuts into valuable learning time.

Playground toys:

We have a playground equipment for children to play with during lunchtime.  Please do not bring in your own toys – except for Golden Time on a Friday – so that we can be sure that all toys in the playground belong to the school.  Many thanks for your support.

Golden Time toys:

Children can bring a ‘toy’ to school on a Friday to play with during Golden Time. Please remember that the school cannot take responsibility for the safety of these toys and therefore we request that your child does not bring in expensive/ electronic items without your consent.  We appreciate your support with this matter.

Mobile Phones:

Children may bring a mobile phone to school however these will be stored in a locked classroom cupboard until home time and cannot be used during class time.

Book & Blether:

Please look out for further information on the dates and times for  Book and a Blether.  These are a chance for parents/carers to spend time with their children promoting reading.

I look forward to working in partnership with you this session.

Kind regards

Miss McLeod

Pupils have been learning the story of St Andrew.  They listened to the story of St Andrew, learning key facts about Scotland’s Patron Saint.  They developed their note-taking skills and they used the notes to write a report about St Andrew.

 

In Maths, dividing calculations have been continued and stations were organised to apply dividing skills in a variety of contexts.

In Maths, pupils have been continuing to complete division calculations.  They have been using their knowledge of their times tables to complete calculations.  They have been learning how to calculate remainders and they have been learning how to divide by 10, 100 or 1000.

 

In writing, pupils wrote a report about the heart.  They have been learning about what the heart is, what the heart does and the names of different parts of the heart.  They used headings to organise information into different paragraphs and they tried to include interesting facts.

 

 

In Topic this week, pupils have been learning about the lungs.  They created a labelled diagram of the lungs and they have started to apply their learning by creating their own information sheet.  Pupils also started to learn about the heart.  They learned the names for different parts of the heart and further work on this will be completed.

 

In Maths, pupils completed multiplication and they have now started division.  They have been using their knowledge of their times tables to complete a variety of division sums mentally.  They have calculated division sums in context, discussing strategies they could use to complete the sums.

 

 

Last week, pupils participated in Outdoor Learning.  They completed an orienteering activity in the school grounds.  They used a map of the school grounds to find orienteering markers that were in a variety of locations.  They had to find letters to write down and they also had to calculate multiplication sums.  Once pupils had found all of the letters, it formed a sentence.  It was great fun and very enjoyable.

 

In Maths, pupils have been continuing to learn their times tables.  Pupils have been answering a variety of questions.  They are continuing to progress their understanding of written multiplication sums too.

 

In Science, pupils have been researching about a mammal of their choice.  This has involved designing an information sheet, writing interesting facts and drawing illustrations.

We have started our new topic, which is Body Systems.  We were learning the names of the major organs in the body.  We had to cut out a picture of each of the major organs, colour it in and stick it in the correct place on the body outline.  We are going to find out the purpose of each of the major organs next.

 

We are continuing to develop our mental maths skills, including working on our times tables.  We have been continuing to work on our spelling and reading within class.