Welcome to the Primary 3 blog! As we begin a new school year, P3 have settled in beautifully to our new classroom and new routines. They are already working very hard revising and consolidating previous learning as they strive to become confident and independent learners. Primary 3 can’t wait to share their learning journey with you whilst keeping our school values; faith, kindness and responsibility at the centre of everything we do. We have had a great start to the new term, and we are excited to see what this term will bring. Below is a curriculum overview for this term. 

Literacy 

Reading – This term, Primary 3 will develop their prediction and reasoning skills using context clues to understand new vocabulary. An awareness of the effect of full stops, commas, question marks and exclamation marks on expression will also be developed. Bug Club readers will be used mainly to improve reading fluency and extend comprehension. Daily opportunities for reading will be provided through personal reading time and weekly visits to the library. Please encourage your child to read at home as this will support their reading skills at school. 

Writing – In writing this term, our focus genre will be ‘descriptive’. Description bubbles are used to support the planning and purpose of each piece of writing and we will look further at adjectives and writing conventions such as similes in support of this. In addition to this, weekly handwriting lessons will ensure all letters are formed legibly and correctly (upper & lower case) as well as a strong focus on using connectives such as “and”, “but” and “because” to extend our writing and add more detail to our sentences. Daily writing tasks will be completed to develop independence with emphasis on the use of spelling strategies and punctuation.

Spelling – New phonemes will be introduced weekly. Active spelling activities will be used to support this learning. 

Listening and Talking – When developing talking and listening skills, P3 will initially revisit prior learning, including understanding when to listen and when to respond, taking turns and communicating with others.  

Numeracy and Mathematics 

This term, Place Value knowledge will be reviewed and revisited before building on this. Primary 3 will look at identifying the value of each digit within 2 and 3 digit numbers as well as read, write, order and recite these numbers. In addition to this, estimating and rounding skills will be developed through learning and understanding the rule of rounding. They will then begin to develop their addition and subtraction skills and use mathematical language to solve problems. Daily number talks will be completed, to develop mental maths strategies. Pupils will also learn about Information Handling and how we use and interpret data. Pupils will learn how to represent information and present it to others. 

UNCRC 

As we began the new term, we explored the UNCRC Rights of the Child. Together, Primary 3 created a meaningful class charter and classroom promise thinking of their rights, needs, and wants as well as our school values: kindness, faith and responsibility. This charter and promise ensure that the classroom is a safe space where all children can learn, play and grow together. A ‘Superhero’ theme was chosen for our charter to show what our ‘superhero qualities’ are. 

 Health and Wellbeing 

Primary 3 will continue to access our whole school PATHS programme this year to develop their understanding of emotions. Lessons this term will include setting up our class rules, looking at individual emotions, building friendships and community within the school, Self-Control and Anger Management. Each child will have the opportunity to be “Pupil of the Day”, they will receive compliments from their peers on this day. So far, the children have really enjoyed this experience. We also continue to have mindful times allocated throughout our school day to allow pupils to re-energise and ‘recharge’ their batteries when needed. Our class will also look at the ‘Do Be Mindful’ programme, which will allow us, through a range of different strategies, to think of the ways we can be mindful each day. 

Physical Education 

This term, Primary 3 will begin with a focus on team games. Following instructions and participating in a safe way will be a focus for this learning. In addition to this, Primary 3 will have the opportunity to develop their skills in hockey and badminton.  

PE days are Monday afternoon and Thursday afternoon. All children will require a PE kit on these days. We ask for your support to ensure that any jewellery is taken off and left at home on PE days. If your child wears earrings, they must be able to remove them independently in order to participate. This is school/EAC Health and Safety policy. If your child cannot take part for any reason, please contact the school and let us know.  Thank you!

Religious Education 

In R.E., Primary 3 will continue to develop their understanding of building friendships through bible stories and reflect that everyone is created by God and is special. We will look at how we individually have strengths which make us unique and can have many  gifts and talents. P3 will reflect on how God can support us in our daily life and will create their own class prayer to remind them to keep God at the centre of everything they do. Later in the term, Primary 3 will look at the story of Jesus’ Baptism as well as share their own Baptism stories.  

 IDL 

We have started the term with a mini-focus on a class novel ‘The Boy Who Grew Dragons’.  Pupils will complete various curricular activities connected to this and make links to Science (Plants/Animals). This will support our first class topic “Climates Around the World” where we will continue to have a look in detail at the areas Science and Social Studies. Pupils will make cross-curricular links during their learning about this topic, including Geography, Climate Change, as well as through Literacy and Technologies. P3 will learn about different types of climates around the world, be able to identify and define them and describe how climate affects the way people live, as well as compare the climate here in Scotland with other parts of the world.   

Homework will be distributed on a Monday and should be completed and returned on a Friday each week.  

Primary 3 look forward to sharing their learning and successes with you throughout the term! Look out on the school app as well as Learning Journals where some of your child’s fabulous learning moments will be shared.  

A Gentle reminder that when providing a breaktime snack for your child or packed lunch that we are a nut-free school. This is even more important for us in P3, as we have a few pupils with severe allergies in our class. Some products like Kinder Bueno and Nutella still contain nuts and others traces of nuts and are not appropriate for school. Please double check. Our pupils have access to fruit daily in our dinner hall should pupils require a snack. 

Thank you for your continued support and understanding, we are really looking forward to a wonderful first term in Primary 3, 

Mrs McIntyre and Mrs Hope. 

Primary 7 Term 1 Blog Post

Welcome back Class of 2027! We hope everyone had a lovely summer and enjoyed the fabulous weather. Primary 7 is such a special year and Mrs Dunsmore and I are delighted to support your children through their final year at Mount Carmel.

Below is an overview of the exciting learning and teaching taking place in P7 this term.

Literacy

Reading

This term our focus is on non-fiction reading skills. P7 will read different types of non-fiction texts pertinent to their CfE level. We will be focussing on non-fiction reading skills; skimming and scanning, notetaking, summarising, topic specific vocabulary and finding the main idea. This will be done through Giglets online reading scheme and texts linked to our IDL topic. Reading for enjoyment will also be a focus this year, with dedicated time given most days for children to read books they enjoy.

Writing

This term, P7 will focus on two writing genres: Descriptive Writing and Report Writing. Most learners will be developing their descriptive writing skills by using ambitious vocabulary, sensory language and figurative techniques to create engaging and detailed pieces of writing. In report writing, our focus will be on producing scientific reports, where most pupils will learn how to record observations, present findings clearly and communicate scientific information using a factual and organised structure.

Spelling

The spelling groups will continue to experience the Active Literacy spelling program; this will introduce common words and focus phonemes pertinent to their level and stage. The pupils will revise the Active Spelling strategies throughout Term 1, these include diacritical marking, syllabification and words within words.

Listening and Talking

This term, we will be working on our Listening and Talking skills. We will practise being good listeners by giving others our full attention and not interrupting when they are speaking. We will also learn how to challenge ideas in a thoughtful and respectful way, helping us to have positive and productive discussions.

Numeracy

We will continue with the use of number talks which helps to encourage different learners to use and understand different strategies. The children show an excellent understanding of the strategies taught so far and are always eager to share their understanding with their peers. Mrs Dunsmore will focus on mental maths fluency and word problems on a Monday

This term P7 will focus on Place Value (whole number and decimals) and Rounding and Estimation. Beyond Number topics will be Data Handling and Probability. The pupils will experience activities at their stage and level. The revision of multiplication tables will be encouraged across all groups.

Health and Wellbeing

The focus this term is Relationships; a compassion and connected classroom and the importance of mental wellbeing. There will be a big focus on respect for all and understanding that will all make a valued contribution to our school community. Mrs Dunsmore and Mrs Terras will both deliver H&WB lessons on these topics.

Our PE days are Monday (Mrs Dunsmore) and Wednesday (Mrs Terras). Pupils are required to have a FULL change on these days. P7 will build on their Badminton and Hockey skills this term with some pupils encouraged to use their existing skills to ‘coach’ other pupils.

Expressive Arts

Our focus this term is Music. The Charanga music teaching tool allows pupils to discuss and learn about different genres of music, rhythm and tempo and instruments. It also allows them to sing different genres as well.  This term, Primary 7 will develop their tuned percussion skills.

RE

Mrs McGahon will continue to lead specific Religious Education lessons through our weekly P5-7 assemblies, helping pupils deepen their understanding of key aspects of the Catholic faith and liturgical year. In class, we will build on this learning through regular opportunities for prayer, reflection and discussion. Pupils will also continue working towards the Pope Francis Faith Award, developing their faith in action by demonstrating Gospel values, serving others and reflecting on how they live out their faith in their daily lives.

IDL

Our IDL topic this term is Climate Change and Global Citizenship. Through science and investigation, we will explore the causes and effects of climate change and how it impacts biodiversity in our local area. We will also compare the effects of climate change in Scotland with those in other countries around the world, helping us to understand our role as global citizens and consider the actions we can take to make a positive difference.

Science and Technologies

Mrs Dunsmore will lead Science on a Monday. The focus this term is on Space (Solar System and Forces). Pupils will discuss Gravity, take part in friction experiments, use estimation skills to estimate distances of planets.

Primary 7 are continuing to develop their digital learning skills by using Chromebooks to enhance their learning across the curriculum. This term, pupils will learn how to access and use a range of Microsoft 365 applications through Glow. As part of their research skills, Primary 7 will practise finding, selecting and using reliable information from online sources appropriately. Pupils will also continue to learn about responsible digital citizenship, including how to stay safe online and what to do if they witness cyberbullying.

UNCRC

As a school we are working towards our Rights Respecting Schools Silver Award. Along with the teacher, Primary 7 discussed what they wanted their class to feel and be like this year and created a class charter to reflect this. This is the final charter that we signed as a class community:

Linking in with the Class Charter, Primary 7 have started using the Reward card system ‘Good to be Green’. Primary 7 earn rewards card for being a Superstar, having an Amazing Attitude and doing Wonderful Work. If they earn 5 rewards cards, they get to choose a reward.

Learner Journals

Pupils will continue to Learner Journals to reflect on their progress and celebrate achievements. Primary 7 will be encouraged to upload their own achievements on Learner Journals. We encourage parents and carers to login to Learner Journals as it provides a valuable link between home and school.

Personal Target Setting

This term, pupils will reflect on their Term 4 targets and focus on setting their own personal targets for Term 1 in Primary 7. Regular check ins will help them track progress, celebrate successes and develop confidence and responsibility in their learning journey.

As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or concerns. We value working in partnership with families and will contact you if there is anything we need to discuss regarding your child’s learning or wellbeing. We look forward to a successful term ahead!

Mrs Terras & Mrs Dunsmore

 

Primary 4 Blog – Term 1 2026/27

Welcome back! We hope you have all had an enjoyable summer. It has been fantastic to see Primary 4 settle into their new classroom and routines. During our first few days, we explored the UNCRC Rights of the Child and together created a meaningful Class Charter to ensure that our classroom is a place where we feel safe, where we can learn and grow together.

We have had a great start to the term and look forward to a fun filled term with lots of fabulous learning taking place.

Here is an update on the upcoming term.

Literacy

We will be looking at a range of texts this term, including our Bug Club readers. We will be focusing on continuing to develop reading fluency as well as becoming more confident using word attack strategies for unfamiliar words. We will also use a range of comprehension strategies as we show our understanding of the texts we have read.

This term, Primary 4 will be following the National Improving Writing Programme. As part of this programme, the children will write for 15 minutes up to 4 times per week. This writing will focus on one aspect of tools for writing. Each child will have their own individual targets related to the writing focus and this one focus area is assessed daily. This term we will be starting with a focus on the accurate use of punctuation. As the term progresses, we will incorporate other genres of writing.

Spelling will take the form of active spelling activities, and the children will experience phonemes and blends at their working level.

Numeracy & Maths

The class will review Place Value knowledge and will use this to build on their sense of number. We will look at 3- and 4-digit numbers and we will read, write order and recite these numbers. Through our place value work, we will be able to identify the value of each digit.

We will then progress to looking at our addition and subtraction strategies. The class will participate in a daily number talk, to develop  mental maths strategies.

We will also explore 2D and 3D shapes learning to sort and describe shapes based on certain criteria.

Health and Wellbeing

This term we will be begin our PATHS programme for P4. Lessons will include setting up our class rules, looking at individual emotions, building friendships and community within the school, Self-Control and Anger Management.  We will also continue with the Do Be Mindful programme which will allow us, through the use of a range of strategies, to look at ways we can take a mindful moment each day.

PE

PE is on a Monday and Wednesday. This term we will be covering;

• Team Games
• Football

Children will require PE kit each PE day.  Please make sure your child is not wearing jewellery on these days as they will be unable to participate in the lesson for health and safety reasons. If your child cannot take part for any reason, please contact the school.

IDL

This term we will investigate Scottish Castles, looking at significant castles in our area as well as finding out about the importance and use of these historic buildings. We will create some interesting line drawings of various castles using the visual elements of line, shape, form and colour.

Religious Education

This term we will be reflecting on our uniqueness and thinking about our God given talents. We will reflect on the importance of friendship and link this with various stories from the Bible. We will explore life at the time of Jesus, in particular the role of the Synagogue and the importance of the Sabbath in first century Palestine.

The children will take part in class prayers and School Masses, and we will continue to build on our knowledge of common prayers and Mass responses.

Homework will be distributed on a Monday to be completed and returned by Friday.

Keep an eye on the School app and your child’s Learning Journal profile for a snapshot of some of our wonderful learning!

Thank you as always for your support and I’m looking forward to a really great term with P4!

Mrs. MacKinnon.

A reminder that there will be a meeting tonight  Tuesday 1st September at 7pm in St. Joseph’s Parish Hall for parents of children  in Primary 4 (from all Kilmarnock parishes) who will be making their First Communion.