The votes have been counted and verified and I can happily announce that the new House and Vice Captains for next school year are:

Air 

House Captain: Allie

Vice Captain: Prince

Fire

House Captain: Ollie

Vice Captain: Emma

Water

House Captain: Jessica

Vice Captain: Rhyn

Earth

House Captain: Matthew

Vice Captain: Charlie

Official photos will be shared in August. We wish our House Captains all the best for the next school year and look forward to seeing all their exciting work and leadership.

Mrs Terras

Today we performed our last Joseph show.  Our summer show was a fantastic celebration of talent and teamwork. The children were fantastic throughout the full rehearsal period and performances.

Another huge thank you to all the staff who helped behind the scenes, and of course the families and friends who can to support and cheer on the children. Your encouragement means the world to our young performers.

To help us make future shows even better, please take a few minutes to complete a short survey. This short survey is designed to gather parent/carer views on both our P1-3 Nativity and Summer Show. Your responses will help us celebrate what we do well and make improvements for future shows.

Click this link for survey – Parent/Carer Show Survey

Thank you again for all your support!

Mrs Terras

Rehearsals are in full swing, and the excitement is building! The cast and crew have been working incredibly hard, learning lines, perfecting songs and bringing scenes to life. Below is a sneak peek of some of the show highlights…

Dear Parents and Carers,

A reminder about costumes for our Summer Show. The school will be providing the main accessories and props for Principals, but we would be very grateful if you could supply the basic costume items for your child. Below is what is required for each Principal role.

Pupils in the chorus are asked to wear black trousers/leggings and a plain, bright coloured top. We do have spare tops in school if required.

Thank you,

Mrs Terras

 Welcome back! We hope you have all had an enjoyable summer. It has been fantastic to see P4 settle into their new classroom and routines.  

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  

For our reading focus this term, we will be developing our comprehension strategies such as visualisation and metalinguistics through our class novel ‘The Iron Man’. The children will be introduced to similes and onomatopoeia; some children can use these in their writing.  

During writing, we will start by continuing to develop our sentence structure and use of description bubbles for various descriptive pieces, we then then continue to work on our characterisation through descriptive skills and language narrative writing.  

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

P4 will also be given revision lessons on alphabetical order, sentence structure and dictionary skills.  

 Numeracy & Maths  

P4 have already looked at how Maths impacts the world around us and where we use Maths in our day to day lives. We have started learning how to round 2 and 3 digits to the nearest 10 and the nearest 100.  

The class will review Place Value knowledge and use it to build on their sense of number. We will look at 4-digit numbers and 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 strategies. The class will participate in a daily number talk, to develop mental maths strategies.  

In Beyond Number, the class will start with shaping, look at the properties of a range of 2D and 3D shapes and create tiling patterns. We will then move on to investigate the use of mathematical language to describe and record directions.   

 Health and Wellbeing  

At the start of the term, P4 discussed and identified their right as a child. As a class, we agreed on a Class Charter to allow our class to be fun, safe, hardworking and respectful.  

This term we will 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 start the Do Be Mindful programme which will allow us, using a range of strategies, to look at ways we can take a mindful moment each day. 

 PE 

PE is on a Thursday and Friday. This term we will be covering; 

• Team Games 
• Football  
• Badminton 

PE kit must be brought in and left at the start of each term. Before each holiday, the kit will be sent home for washing to be freshened up and returned on the first day back.  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. 

 French  

We will be revising the alphabet, basic French phrases and numbers this term through, songs, activities and games. 

 IDL 

P4 will be learning to carry out a comparison study on the rainforest and the Arctic. We will link this with our literacy through our descriptive writing and will develop mapping skills. 

 Expressive Arts  

In Music, we will be using ‘Charanga’ to appraise and learn a song. P4 will have the opportunity to use our new school glockenspiels to accompany the song, learning about rhythm, pace and beat.  

During Drama lessons, the pupils will take part in drama activities to support teamwork and improve confidence. We will also ‘act out’ parts of our class novel.  

As we move on to our IDL topic, we will use various mediums to create some beautiful artwork to depict the rainforest and Arctic, looking at the idea of hot and cold colours.   

 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. 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.  

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to a fabulous term with P4! 

Our wonderful senior summer show is fast approaching. Below is a reminder of clothes required for the different parts. The school will provide the different accessories for each of the parts.  Please bring in the clothes for Friday 9th June. 

Please put clothes in a carrier bag and staff will put a name label on the bag in school. 

The Munchkins 

• Black leggings
• Plain bright coloured t-shirt or top
• Bright shoes or dance shoes

The Winged Monkeys

• Black leggings/joggers/trousers
• Black long sleeved t-shirt/top
• Black shoes and socks

The Mice 

• Grey leggings/trousers/joggers
• Plain grey coloured t shirt/top
• Grey socks or shoes

Everyone for The Emerald City scenes

• Anything green (hats, clothes, sunglasses, hair accessories, socks, shoes, other accessories) NO FOOTBALL COLOURS PLEASE!

Thank you for your support!

Mrs Terras

Primary 6 and 7 are deep into rehearsals for our Summer show spectacular ‘The Wizard of Oz’!

This week some of our lovely cast were interviewed about the show. Thank you to Danny and Louis (P6) for being excellent interviewers!

Emily W (The Wizard of Oz) 

1. What’s the best thing about your character?

I get to be shouty and bossy.  

2. How is your character like you?

I get to oversee everything 

3. What is your favourite part of the show?

When the wicked witch makes her entrance down the aisle 

 Darci R (A Mouse) 

1. What is your Favourite part of the show? 

Me going on stage and being a mouse. 

2. Why do you like your part in the show?

I just like being a mouse! 

3. What is your favourite part of the show? 

All the main characters linking arms on stage  

 Maia (Dorothy)  

1. What is your favourite part of the show? 

The winged monkeys taking all 4 of us away 

1. What sort of person is going to love the show? 

Our parents! 

1. What is your favourite song in the show? 

One short day  

 Hannah (A Munchkin) 

1. Who is going to love the show? 

All the Mums and Dads  

2. What is your favourite song in the show?

One short day  

 Millie F (Winged Monkey) 

1. What sort of people are going to like the show? 

parents 

2. What is your Favourite song in the show? 

Wicked 

 Chloe G (Captain of the Winged Monkeys) 

1. What is the best part about your character? 

Being a part of the evil side  

2. How is the character like you?

I’m good at the acting part and being the bossy one  

3. What is your favourite part of the show?

Going up on stage   

Orlagh (The Scarecrow)

1. What is the best thing about your character? 

I get my own solo 

2. How is the character like you?

I’m funny and Scarecrow is also funny  

 Skye (The Wicked Witch of the West) 

1. What is the best thing about your character? 

That I get to be a main character 

2. How is the character like you? 

People say that it was the best role for me 

3. What is your Favourite part of the show? 

When I melt  

 Madison (The Cowardly Lion) 

1. What is the best thing about your character? 

I wear a fluffy costume 

2. How is the character like you? 

We’re both cowardly  

3. What is your Favourite part of the show? 

The poppy field because we get to rest on the stage    

Taylor (The Tinman) 

1. What is the best thing about your character? 

Being one of the main characters 

2. How is the character like you? 

Being laid back and I have no idea what’s going on sometimes  

3. What is your favourite part of the show? 

Getting the oil put on me by Dorothy and being able to move again  

Term 4 P6 Class News  

 Welcome back to the final term; a busy and exciting one for Primary 6. During this term, P6 will prepare to transition into Primary 7 by applying and interviewing for Captain and Vice-Captain roles. P6 will also have the chance to apply to be a buddy to our new Primary 1’s in August. P6 will get the opportunity to meet the Pastoral Care team from St Joseph’s Academy. Probably the most exciting news is that the Senior Summer show has returned! In June, the P6 and P7 will return to the stage to perform ‘The Wizard of Oz’.  

 Alongside all these exciting events lots of learning and teaching will still be taking place as outlined below.  

 Literacy  

Reading   

This term our focus returns to fiction texts. P6 will read and study books appropriate to their level. They will complete daily reading to writing tasks and work on active comprehension tasks both independently and as a group. Focus comprehension strategies this term is understanding the difference between fact and opinion, inference and author’s use of language. All pupils will complete a final fiction reading assessment at the end of the block of lessons. 

Writing  

This term P6 will be introduced to and experience writing persuasive essays using sources and/or evidence from a text to backup ideas and opinions. Some groups will learn to acknowledge sources by recording the titles and authors of texts used.  

Spelling  

The spelling groups will continue to experience the Active Literacy spelling program, some groups will be completing the spelling planner they are currently working through, ready to start a new spelling planner in P7. The pupils will revise the Active Spelling strategies throughout Term 4, these include diacritical marking, syllabification, and words within words.  Some weeks pupils will be given topic-specific vocabulary as part of their topic.  

Numeracy  

This term P6 will focus on Area, Perimeter and Volume, Angles, Information Handling and Function Machines. Some groups will be introduced to BODMAS. Daily revision and rigour of decimals, percentages and fractions and the four operations will continue. Pupils are encouraged to make use of Topmarks and Sumdog to revise and practice multiplication tables.  

ealth and Wellbeing  

At the start of the term P6 will complete a mini topic on Substance Misuse looking at the dangers of smoking/vaping, alcohol and drugs usage. Through this topic  

 Our PE days are Monday and Wednesday. Pupils are asked to bring FULL PE kit on these days. If pupils are without PE kit the school will be able to provide pupils with required items of clothing. The focus in PE this term is Volleyball, Athletics and Orienteering.  

 Expressive Arts  

 The Expressive Arts are key to any child’s education, giving them opportunities to enjoy being creative and imaginative, expressing emotion, performing for different audiences, and being part of audiences for others, as well as learning key skills in Music, Art and Design, Dance and Drama. Our Senior Summer ‘The Wizard of Oz ‘will incorporate all key areas of the Expressive Arts. A school play is a fantastic team-building exercise and it’s a great way for children to understand what’s possible when everyone pools their skills and weight. 

RME   

This term P6 will continue to listen to and reflect on stories from the Gospel of Matthew. P6 will also continue to work on their Pope Francis Faith Award, focussing on a different gift each couple of weeks.  

Modern Languages  

P6 receive weekly French lessons from Mrs MacKinnon. This term pupils will focus on hobbies, food and drink and descriptions.  

Homework  

Homework this term will include Spelling, Reading, Mental Maths, and one other curricular area (RME, topic, etc). Homework is issued on a Monday and is due back on a Friday. I appreciate and wholeheartedly support wider achievement outside of school. If there are any reasons why pupils cannot complete the homework, due to activities out with school please contact the school.  

In Primary 6 we promote hard work and amazing attitudes. Our reward card system allows pupils to gain reward cards for Wonderful Work, Amazing Attitude, and being a ‘Superstar.’ When the pupils gain five cards, they can choose an individual reward. They can also choose to go for a class reward once everyone reaches five reward cards; this promotes teamwork within the class.  

If you have any queries or questions, please contact the school directly.   

Thank you for all your support.  

   Mrs. Terras  

Mount Carmel PS are excited to announce that this year’s Senior Summer show will be…The Wizard of Oz.

This will be the first Senior Summer Show in four years, and we are all excited.  

Cast auditions are on Thursday afternoon, children wanting to audition have been given a script and a song to learn. The cast will hopefully be announced on Friday.  

Pupils are aware that should they get a part in the show, they may be asked to attend after school rehearsals on a Tuesday from 3.15 – 4.15pm. More information in letters to follow

Pupils not wanting an ‘onstage’ role will apply to be part of a show committee which will help with scenery, props, technical issues, and advertising (designing tickets and programme for the show).  

Show dates are Tuesday 13th June (evening performance) and Wednesday 14th June (afternoon performance).  

Thank you for your support! 

Term 3 P6 Class News

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a relaxing holiday. We are now in Term 3 and we have a busy couple of months of learning ahead of us.

Below is an overview of the learning and teaching taking place in P6 this term.

Literacy

Reading 

P6 start the term by focussing on Scots Language.  We will be reading Roald Dahls ‘The Eejits’ in order to experience the Scots Language being read out loud. P6 will learn and discuss different Scots poems. They will choose a Scots poem to learn and then recite in class. In February P6 will listen to and learn to interpret different genres of poetry. In March focus will return to fiction reading comprehension through Literacy circles, again appropriate to their level. Focus comprehension strategies this term are fact and opinion and to identify the theme of different text types.

Writing

Through January, P6 will complete a block of lessons on Descriptive writing – writing in Scots Language. A Scots Kist (dictionary) will support the children during these lessons. Focus will then turn to Response Writing – in particular responding to different types of poems. Lastly P6 will learn the features of a discursive piece of writing and how to write a discursive piece appropriate to their level.

Spelling

The spelling groups will continue to experience the Active Literacy spelling program, this will introduce familiar words and focus on phonemes pertinent to their level and stage. The pupils will continue to experience the Active Spelling strategies throughout Term 3, these include diacritical marking, syllabification, and words within words.  Some weeks pupils will be given topic-specific vocabulary as part of their topic. Grammar lessons will focus on speech marks, prefixes and suffixes.

 Numeracy

This term P6 will focus on decimals, percentages and fractions appropriate to their CfE level. This is a key topic in P6 and will be taught in depth. Our Beyond Number topics are 2D and 3D Shape and Information Handling. Through daily Mental Maths tasks P6 will continue to consolidate the four operations. P6 are encouraged to practice multiplication tables using Sumdog and Topmarks games.

Health and Wellbeing

The focus this term is Physical Health. P6 will learn about the importance of sleep, exercise and healthy eating.

Our PE days are Monday and Wednesday. Pupils are asked to bring FULL PE kit on these days. If pupils are without PE kit the school will be able to provide pupils with required items of clothing. The focus in PE this term is Fitness, Netball and Block 2 of Gymnastics.

Expressive Arts

In January, P6 will have opportunity to learn and experience traditional Scottish songs. They will learn about tone, expression and volume through learning about poetry. P6 will have the opportunity to create pieces of Scottish and Spring art.

RME 

Throughout Primary 6 the pupils will listen to and engage with stories from the Gospel of Matthew. This term P6 will continue to work on their Pope Francis Faith Award, reflecting of how they use the different gifts in their wider world. During Lent P6 will focus on the importance of the Easter Story.

Modern Languages

This term P6 have the opportunity to take part in weekly virtual French lessons with the aim to increase their confidence in reading, writing and talking in French.

Homework

Homework this term will include Spelling, Reading, Mental Maths, and one other curricular area (RME, topic, etc). Homework is issued on a Monday and is due back on a Friday. I appreciate and wholeheartedly support wider achievement outside of school. If there are any reasons why pupils cannot complete the homework, due to activities out with school please contact the school.

In Primary 6 we promote hard work and amazing attitudes. P6 are aware of the high expectations I have of them. Our reward card system allows pupils to gain reward cards for Wonderful Work, Amazing Attitude, and being a ‘Superstar.’ When the pupils gain five cards, they can choose an individual reward. They can also choose to go for a class reward once everyone reaches five reward cards; this promotes teamwork within the class.

If you have any queries or questions, please contact the school directly.

Thank you for all your support.

Mrs. Terras

This week Primary 6 have taken part in lots of activities to celebrate all things maths. P6 were entered into the national Sumdog challenge for Maths Week Scotland.

We started out the week by discussing when and where we use Maths outside of the classroom. The pupils came up with great ideas of where they use maths in their everyday lives.

Then P6 started their new angles topic and enjoyed learning about, and drawing, different types of angles outdoors.

Finally, P6 had a mini-lesson on co-ordinates and played co-ordinates football as a class.

Primary 6 enjoyed taking part in all the different activities 🙂

Miss McKenna

Welcome back. I hope everyone had a lovely summer and enjoyed the fabulous weather. It’s great to have Primary 6 back. They have all settled into their new classroom and have been brilliant remembering all the routines around the school.  

Firstly, I would like to introduce myself; my name is Miss McKenna, and I am thrilled to be joining the Mount Carmel team. I am from Glasgow and some of my interests include travelling, hiking, and going long walks with my dog Alfie. I have lived and taught in Spain previously and I am looking forward to this new chapter teaching at Mount Carmel and getting to know you all over the coming year.  

Below is an overview of the learning and teaching taking place in P6 this term.  

Literacy 

Reading  

Our class novel and topic this term is Wonder. The pupils will complete Active Reading tasks related to this novel. In Primary 6 most pupils will be expected to quote from the text when answering comprehension questions. This will be modelled by the teacher. Most pupils will complete daily reading to writing tasks associated with the novel. This novel has links to other areas of the curriculum such as Expressive Arts and Health and Wellbeing. We have already begun reading it together and the children are enjoying the humour and the message it delivers – Choose Kind.  

Writing 

Our writing day will be a Wednesday. The pupils will have the opportunity to discuss and plan their writing the day before. This term Primary 6 will be focusing on Descriptive writing. The pupils will use the Active Literacy description bubble template to structure their writing. Primary 6 will focus a different aspect of grammar/punctuation each week with the expectation they use this in their formal writing. Some pupils will be expected to up-level their writing by using tools such as thesauri and the VCOP pyramid.  

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.  

Numeracy 

This term P6 will focus on Place Value (whole number and decimals) and Rounding and Estimation. Beyond Number topics will be 3D shape, Angles and Symmetry and Probability. The pupils will experience activities at their stage and level. The revision of multiplication tables will be encouraged across all groups. Sumdog and Topmarks games can help with the rigour of times tables at home.  

Health and Wellbeing 

The focus this term is Friendships and Relationships, Change, and Kindness. These are core themes in the novel Wonder. These themes also tie in nicely with our PATHS lessons. P6 will complete two PATHS lessons a week. Each pupil has a ‘check in’ card in their tray which they can complete at various points in the day. This allows the teacher to see how pupils are feeling. The ‘Pupil of the Day’ is up and running. This year we are complementing each other based on each other’s skills and talents. 

Our PE days are Thursday and Friday. Pupils are asked to come dressed for PE on these days – school uniform on top but leggings, joggers, trainers can be worn on the bottom. The focus in PE this term is Rugby with the Kilmarnock Rugby Club (Thursday’s) and Hockey with the class teacher on a Friday.  

Expressive Arts 

Through our class novel P6 will have the opportunity to experience activities in Music, Drama and Art activities pertinent to their level and stage. 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 – now we can sing together again! 

RME  

Throughout Primary 6 the pupils will listen to and engage with stories from the Gospel of Matthew. This term P6 will also reflect on their own gifts and talents and discuss and learn about inspirational people who use their gifts to enhance the world.  

In Primary 6 we promote hard work and amazing attitudes. Our reward card system allows pupils to gain reward cards for Wonderful Work, Amazing Attitude, and being a ‘Superstar’. When the pupils gain five cards, they can choose an individual reward. They can also choose to go for a class reward once everyone reaches five reward cards; this promotes teamwork within the class.  

If you have any queries or questions, please contact the school directly.  

Thank you for your support and I look forward to a wonderful year in Primary 6.  

Miss McKenna