Welcome back everyone and welcome to the P7 blog! I trust you all had an enjoyable holiday/staycation and I am delighted to welcome back the pupils of P7 who have settled well into the routine of school.

Here’s an overview of our learning that will take place in our first term (Aug-Oct).

Literacy

This term we will be focussing on a novel study, The Wilderness War by Julia Green. We will continue to develop our Active Literacy comprehension skills using the book as a context for learning.  As well as reading the book together, the class will participate in activities that relate to other areas of the curriculum including Art, HWB and plenty of outdoor learning.  As a result, children should bring in appropriate clothes such as wellies or old boots, waterproof jacket and warmer clothes (hat, scarf, gloves) as we move into the colder months.

For writing, we are concentrating on descriptive pieces using a variety of figurative language such as similes, alliteration, and metaphors to interest the reader.

Spelling groups will continue to use Active Spelling strategies and follow on from previous work.

Numeracy

All groups this term have begun by working on place value before moving onto addition and subtraction.  The class will continue to develop their mental Number Talk strategies on a daily basis.

The class are also working on estimating and rounding skills with Mrs Terras and will be developing their knowledge of numeracy in the wider world as well as aspects of money.

Health and Wellbeing

This year we will continue to use the PATHS programme to shape our HWB learning.  P7 have already started ‘pupil of the day’ and participated in discussions around feelings and how we manage our emotions.  We are also investigating the relationship of diet, rest and sleep upon our mental health and looking at ways we can relax and improve brain function.

Our PE days are Wednesday and Thursday and appropriate clothes must be brought in on those days to participate.  I have spoken to the class about personal hygiene and some pupils may wish to bring in deodorant or a roll-on on these days.

IDL

As our novel study is The Wilderness War, we will be looking at environmental issues for our topic.  We will be looking at the damage of single use plastics and what can be done about it.  We will also investigate the Leave No Trace campaign to conserve natural areas.

RE

P7 will continue to complete their journal for the Pope Francis Faith Award as well as reading from the New Testament.  We will be looking at the life of Jesus and how he associated with those who were marginalised in society.

Languages

P7 will be looking at vocabulary associated with saying where you live and describing different places.

Technologies

This term P7 will access and use more features of Glow, attach files to emails, save work to cloud locations and retrieve files using search functions.

UNCRC

Together the class have created their class charter and looked at the rights they are entitled to.  As rights holders, the pupils have discussed the responsibilities they have to maintain in order to protect these rights.  As class rules, the class have chosen 4 Articles to focus on:  The right to be safe; the right to rest, relax and play; the right to be healthy; and the right to be heard.

I look forward to working with P7 in the coming year and hope to have lots of enjoyable experiences that will make learning fun and memorable.

Mr Bertoncini