Hello everyone! Welcome to the Primary 1 blog! All boys and girls have settled in beautifully and have already achieved so much in the short time they have been at Mount Carmel. Here you will be able to find updates from Primary 1. You will be able to watch as they become confident, independent, and successful learners. Primary 1 can’t wait to share their journey with you; watch them as they grow!!

Literacy

This term, Primary 1 will focus on developing their phonological awareness as the first step towards learning their letter sounds. As Primary 1 begin to work on this, they will learn about rhyme and rhythm by concentrating on Nursery Rhymes. Primary 1 have already enjoyed participating in activities focused on Humpty Dumpty, Twinkle, Twinkle and Hickory Dickory (to name a few). They particularly enjoyed role playing Humpty Dumpty on our playground obstacle course as well as making their very own twinkling stars. Primary 1 will develop their understanding of rhyme by listening for words that sound the same at the end as well as clapping out syllables. As Primary 1 develop their phonological awareness, they will in turn develop their talking and listening skills; understanding when to listen and when to respond, taking turns and communicating with others. Primary 1 will play lots of games to develop the building blocks of literacy.

Another focus for Primary 1 this term will be developing their fine motor skills and pincer grip which will enable them to write their names as well as form letters and numbers in the correct way.

Numeracy and Mathematics

Numeracy – This term, Primary 1 will be developing their “number sense”. The children will be focusing on identifying number digits to 10 through sequencing as well as counting out quantities and matching these to the correct digit. Primary 1 will have lots of opportunities to practice and consolidate their learning in a range of different ways. As the children become more confident in counting out, they will begin to compare quantities, thinking about “more” and “less”.

Mathematics – Primary 1 will be learning all about pattern. They will investigate lots of different patterns within their environment, both natural and man-made. Primary 1 will spend time exploring colours and texture as well as creating their own repeating patterns using a range of materials. They will transfer their knowledge of pattern as they develop their number sense. Primary 1 will also develop their data handling skills this term. They will use a range of natural resources as well as take their learning outdoors to support their learning experiences. They will sort and match objects in a variety of different ways according to their own and others criteria.

Health and Wellbeing

Primary 1 listened to the story “The Cautious Caterpillar” during their first week of school. They compared themselves to the main character, Cody the Caterpillar. They decided that they were like Cody; ready to “grow up”, becoming beautiful primary 1 butterflies. They created their class charter and made their classroom promise thinking of their rights, needs, and wants. They set classroom rules, and everyone made their own caterpillar as well as a beautiful butterfly to remind them to follow the rules and always show kindness.

Primary 1 will learn all about their emotions through our PATHS programme. The children have already met their new friends; Twiggle, Henrietta, Duke and Daphne. They have really enjoyed engaging with the puppets and love it when they visit our classroom. Most recently, Twiggle introduced the children to “Pupil of the Day”. Each child will have the opportunity to be “Pupil of the Day”, they will receive compliments from their peers on this day as well as have special jobs to do throughout the day such as “line leader” and “prayer leader”. So far, the children have really enjoyed this experience.

Physical Education

This term Primary 1 will focus on developmental games. Following instructions and participating in a safe way will be a focus for this learning. In addition to this, Primary 1 will have the opportunity to develop their ball skills. At the moment, one PE session will be indoors, and the other session will be outdoors. PE days are Monday afternoon and Thursday afternoon. Please ensure any jewellery is taken off and left at home on PE days.

Religious Education

Primary 1 will be focusing on the importance of friendships and showing kindness. This learning will be reinforced through the class charter and classroom rules. In addition to this, Primary 1 will develop an understanding of building faith and growing in relationship with God.

Topic

Primary 1’s first topic this year is “All about me”. They will learn about their likes and dislikes as well as share information about their lovely families. Primary 1 will develop their relationships with each other through this topic, drawing on similarities with their classmates. Another topic this term will be Fairyland (Traditional Tales). They will engage with a range of traditional tales and participate in a range of learning experiences to enhance their understanding of each story. They will make a number of cross curricular links during both topics including expressive arts, HWB, science and social studies.

Primary 1 look forward to sharing their learning and successes with you throughout the term! Watch this space for photos of all their fabulous work!

Thank you,

Mrs Dunsmore