A reminder that the Primary 5 swimming starts again this Thursday at the Galleon Centre.

Please remember to bring a swimming costume and towel with you.

Welcome back! I hope that you have all had a restful time over the festive period. It is lovely to see all the children back in class and ready for another busy term. Here is an overview of term 3.

Literacy

For our reading focus, the children will explore two class books. In January we will read, ‘The Treasure of the Loch Ness Monster,’ this will tie in with our Scotland theme as we explore Scottish stories and poems. The children will have an opportunity to develop their comprehension skills such as metalinguistics, prediction and summarising.

We will then move on to a non-fiction text,’ Cool Castles’,  which again will be linked to our learning about Scottish Castles. The children will look at the features of this non-fiction text. We will look at the skills of summarising and note taking. Children will continue to be assigned a Bug Club reader as part of their homework tasks.

During writing, we will look at report and explanatory writing. We will look at the features of these writing genres and use of reading and notetaking skills to link our reading and writing tasks.

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

We will continue to build on our knowledge of various elements of grammar, linking this to our reading and writing tasks.

Numeracy & Maths

The children will continue with a daily number talk, to develop a range of mental maths strategies. We will be looking at various strategies for solving multiplication and division problems.

In beyond number, the children will continue to look at time before moving on to money.

Health and Wellbeing

We will be continuing with our PATHs programme focussing on making good choices and working effectively with others.

We have been following the Do Be Mindful programme, focussing on mindful attention, we will continue with this programme as well as our various daily mindful tasks.

We will also look at the various ways of staying safe and how to respond to emergency situations. We will link this to the world of work.

PE

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

• Fun fitness
• Basketball

Children require PE kit for all PE days. Please ensure that all items of uniform and PE kit have your child’s name clearly marked on them.  Please make sure your child is not wearing jewellery on these days. If your child cannot take part for any reason, please contact the school.

French

We will be continuing with our French conversational skills, and will be looking at numbers beyond 20. The children will engage in a range of listening, talking and writing tasks. We will be looking at the months of the year and will be investigating what school is like in France.

IDL

This term, we will be exploring the topic of Scottish Castles. We will look at the features, location and history of these historic buildings. We will link this learning with our literacy tasks and our expressive art tasks, where we will be looking at line drawings and adding shape, shade and tone.

Expressive Arts 

This term, we will be linking our learning in RE with our drama activities, allowing us to retell the story of the lives of some well-known saints. We will work on our characterisation skills and develop our sense audience and space.

We will link our artwork this term with our topic. Using the elements of tone, shape and shade the children will enjoy various art activities.

Religious Education

This term we will be looking at the importance and meaning of the Sacrament of Confirmation. We will explore the story of Pentecost and look at the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how we can use these in our daily lives. We will read about the lives of some well-known saints, and reflect on how they are an inspiration to us.

As the term progresses we will look at the meaning of the season of Lent. The children will take part of class prayers and School Masses, and we will continue to build on our knowledge of common prayers and Mass responses.

Homework will continue in the same format as last term, it will be distributed on a Monday to be completed and returned by Friday.

As we start preparation for the Sacraments, there will also be some home tasks sent home in the Confirmation Work book for those children preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in February.

Keep an eye on the School blog and Learning Journals for updates on some of our wonderful activities and learning.

Thank you as always, for your continued support.

Mrs MacKinnon.

Primary 5 Curricular update – Term 3

Welcome back and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! The children have settled well back into school and are ready for the term ahead. Please find a brief overview of the learning that will take place in the term ahead as we approach Easter.

IDL

Our topic we will be learning about this term is continents. The children will learn all about the 7 continents across the globe and we will look at many curricular areas throughout this topic. They have already demonstrated an interest in continents, with a special focus on animals that live in each one.

Literacy

Our grammar focus for the term ahead is going to be a revision of adjectives before using them comparatively and some new learning in the form of similes and alliteration.

Our comprehension skills that will be looked at this term will be a revision on metalinguistics, visualisation, prior knowledge and different types of questioning. The main focus will be on summarising however; using visual organisers to record own thoughts and ideas. This will lend itself nicely to the skill of note taking where we will practise using bullet points and mind maps to organise our ideas.

The genre of writing that will be taught this term is persuasive writing where we will look at the language required to persuade someone of your opinion or point of view. We will continue to investigate what a reliable source of information could be and as always, punctuation and its correct use will continue to be promoted within all language tasks completed.

We have been working hard on our ability to listen and talk at appropriate times, as well as listening for instructions. This term’s focus will be centred on presentation skills, for example, good eye contact, positive body language as well as tone and volume of voice. The children will have opportunities to experience using their presentation skills throughout the term ahead.

Numeracy

For the first couple of weeks of the new term, we will be looking at money and what it is used for in the real world. Within this topic, the children will be learning about budgeting, exchanging money as well as things like wages, banks, accounts etc.

Once this mini topic is completed, we will resume learning on our number processing skills with a particular focus on multiplication and division. This is where the previous learning regarding times tables will be crucial in our new learning. We will be encountering new mathematical language such as factors, multiples and products. The beyond number topic that will be taught is time, learning 24 hour format as well as durations of time and its importance in our everyday lives.

Our learning through number talks will continue as the children develop their ability to solve calculations mentally.

Health and Wellbeing

Our P.E. days will be on a Monday and a Friday moving forward with us having 3 more sessions left in our swimming inputs (25^th January, 1^st February, 8^th February).We will be learning the skills required for basketball (different styles of throws, how to dribble etc) as well as the skills required for fitness (agility, accuracy, balance, co-ordination, endurance and flexibility).

We will also begin our Do be mindful programme of work which encourages us all to be more mindful of our surroundings and provides us all with strategies to stay calm. Following on from our focus on relationships at the beginning of term, our focus will be on children’s mental health and how we can nurture this and stay healthy. As we progress through the term, we will be learning about substance misuse and the consequences on our health and well-being that substance misuse can cause.

In correlation with our I.C.T. sessions, we will also be learning about online safety and cyber awareness as well as how to recognise dangers when playing online. We will also discuss online bullying and what we should do if we ever found ourselves in a situation that made us feel uncomfortable.

Religious Education

During our R.E. time, we will explore who the outcasts were during Jesus’ time and how Jesus perceived and treated these people. Examples of outcasts during this time are shepherds, tax collectors and people who were suffering from leprosy. We will then discuss which people are regarded as outcasts in today’s society and how we can show kindness to people who are less fortunate than us.

The children will also examine miracle stories from the bible as we move towards our preparation for Lent.

Technology

I am so impressed with the level of skill Primary 5 have shown me regarding their computing skills. During term 3, we will be learning how to save and retrieve files, attach documents to emails and cyber security.

French

Our French learning this term will be focussed around what the children like/dislike as well as what their hobbies are.

Science

Our science topic is animals and their habitats. This will be examined through our IDL topic when we learn about what animals live in what continents.

World of Work

We have been learning about the world of work and the different jobs that people in our life and community have. Term 3 will look at the children and their ambitions for the future. Wat do they want to be when they are older? How will they achieve this goal? In line with our Health and Wellbeing topic on substance misuse, the children will learn about the amazing jobs our NHS do when faced with emergencies etc.

I, as always, thank you for your ongoing support. If there is anything you are concerned about please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Many thanks,

Mrs McCreadie

Hello and welcome to our Term 3 curriculum update. With another busy term ahead of us as we begin to prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation as well as our school activities as we approach closer to Easter.

Literacy

Our focus in term 2 was prediction and summarising skills which we will continue to revisit regularly alongside our participation in reading and spelling activities where children work individually and in groups to revisit previous sounds and texts, using their skills and strategies to tackle new and unfamiliar spelling sounds and reading books. Throughout Term 3 we will develop our understanding of literal and inferential comprehension using the ‘Find It, Prove It, Talk about It’ strategies.

As part of our term 3 topic of Romans, children will be finding specific information and working on recognising different parts of texts ‘pictures, diagrams, charts and headings) and how to scan and locate related key words or facts in texts. Pupils will be focusing on punctuation and why commas are used and how to properly use commas in their own writing.

In writing, we will be continuing to focus on narrative story writing and report writing through our science topic of climates and social studies topic of Romans. We will also continue to revisit listening and talking games and activities to help children develop key skills needed in whole class group discussions and sharing information in a topic presentation.

Numeracy

In term 2, our focus has been addition and subtraction with two and three digit numbers and using different word problems strategies within this operation of number. In term 3 we will be looking at multiplication and division and the link between the two through fact families. The children will begin mentally counting in 2, 5 and 10, then using this repeated addition strategy to apply to the other times tables.

In beyond number the focus was identifying real life examples of 2D and 3D shapes, comparing the properties of 2D and 3D objects, and creating their own 3D shapes. Moving forward in term 3 the children will look at how to tell the time using hours and minutes and will use concrete materials which will promote a deeper understanding so the children know how to use analogue and digital time. Children will continue using their ‘Thinking it through’ jotters to develop

problem solving skills, applying knowledge of number to new contexts and develop strategies for number problems.

Health & Wellbeing

All children will have the opportunity to be Pupil of the Day again in term 3 and will continue to explore emotions, and how we recognise these emotions within ourselves and in others and learning how to control them. As well as looking at different strategies that we can do to help manage our conflicts or resolve disagreements in the playground or in small group activities.

In P.E, our sessions will continue to take place on a Tuesday and a Thursday and our focus this term will be Gymnastics, Football and Fitness. Children will continue to use their transferrable skills in some fun activities which support teamwork whilst continuing to develop their knowledge of how we keep in our body healthy with fitness and nutrition.

R.E

Our focus during R.E sessions will be on the Sacrament of Reconciliation during January and February, with a focus being on the Life of Jesus and Lent as we move into March.

Topic

The children will be participating in activities in different areas of the curriculum including social studies and will be finishing our climates and weather around the world topic. We will also be looking at The Romans and their impact in Scotland. The children will have the opportunity to look at different aspects of Roman Society, Roman Gods and the Roman invasion in Britain. We will look at Roman inventions considered ahead of their time, such as bath houses, under floor pipes for water supplies, heating and sanitation.

We hope this is the start of another really successful term and that the children enjoyed their Christmas break.

Thank you,

Miss Grimley

Hello and welcome to our term 3 blog post.  Primary 2 have been very busy over the previous two terms and it ended on a high with the most fantastic Nativity production.  We hope all our children had a fantastic Christmas and are ready to continue with their new learning in term 3.

Literacy

Our focus in reading will be to develop the skills to read to self and to others in small group or in paired reading tasks. Children will use word attack strategies and knowledge of phonemes covered to date, to decode unfamiliar words. We will also learn to scan and find particular words in texts and complete read to write tasks linked to our reading book. We will begin to look at the effect punctuation has within texts and be able to identify this in our books as well as using some punctuation within our own writing.

In writing, our focus will continue to build on letter formation, the use of capital letters and full stops and building confidence to write a few sentences independently, using our knowledge of common words and spelling strategies. Using our skills from descriptive writing, we will expand our sentences and add more detail when writing larger pieces of work.

Our spelling activities will continue to help children retain knowledge of previously taught phonemes and to build confidence in tackling trickier joined phonemes as we progress through term 3.

Homework will be sent out week beginning Monday 15^th January. Please check your child’s homework bag, weekly, for the homework to be completed that week.  Reading books will be attached to pupils’ accounts through our online Bug Club reading programme. These will be issued on a Monday and should be returned to school on a Friday.

Numeracy

Our focus in number work will continue to build on knowledge of place value, with children working on 2-digit numbers to 99. Children will be able to partition these numbers and discuss this in terms of tens (T) and units (u), whilst building on their understanding of number and number patterns. Subtraction within 10 or 20 will also be a focus as well as word problems to consolidate our strategies within this operation of number.  Children will also consolidate learning in money and begin to look at fractions, halves and quarters of shape and whole number as we progress through term 3.

Health & Wellbeing

Our Paths Pupil of the Day will continue in term 3, with our Pupil of the Day receiving lots of compliments.  Children will also tackle uncomfortable emotions and develop strategies for managing situations in the playground or classroom when we experience these emotions. This links to our whole school Paths strategies which help children to recognise when they need help to manage emotions or social situations.

In P.E, our sessions will take place on a Tuesday and a Wednesday and our focus in term 3 will be on fitness, racquet skills and gymnastics.  Children will have the opportunity to partake in some fun activities which support teamwork whilst focusing on developing general fitness, endurance, balancing and jumping safely whilst using apparatus.

R.E

Our focus during R.E sessions will be on the life of Jesus as we build up to our preparations for Lent and Easter.  We will also look at Baptism and associated symbols and their meaning.  As always, we will also spend some time reading and discussing bible stories relating to friendship and family.

Topic (IDL)

Our class topic this term will be Living Things and Minibeasts.  We will look at how we know something is living or non-living, looking at the characteristics of these groups and we will take this knowledge forward to find out what minibeast are, where they live and how we categorise them into different subgroups.

French

In French, we will continue to build our knowledge of greetings and numbers to 10. We will also discuss colours, days of the week and basic classroom commands.

We hope this is the start of another successful term and that the pupils are enjoying their return to school following the Christmas break.

Take care,

Mrs Travers

On Wedenesday 24th January the kitchen will be offering cheese paninis as an additional menu option

Please note the menu change for Burns Day 

Haggis/Veg Haggis, Neeps & Tatties

Steak Pie 

Cheese Sandwich 

Shortbread or Fudge 

Please find attached the Agenda and Minutes from the most recent Mount Carmel Parent Council Meeting:

MCPC Minutes 21.11.23

Mount Carmel Parent Council Agenda 17.1.24

Please note that the P7 visit scheduled to St. Joseph’s Academy on Tuesday 16th January has had to be cancelled.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Important Information from our Financial Inclusion Officer

MIgration to Universal Credit – St Joseph’s

Important Information from our Financial Inclusion Officer

Best Start Grant School Age Deadline Reminder- St Joseph’s

Education Group EMA – Reminder Nov 23 – St Joseph’s Education Group

P1 Registration

Children who attain the age of 5 years between 1 March 2024 and 28 February 2025 and whose parents/carers wish them to attend school should be registered for education during the week Monday 8 January 2024 until Friday 12 January 2024.  To register you should complete an online application and submit no later than Friday 12 January 2024.

 Register at: – https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/schooladmissions

If you are unable to register online then please phone your local school who will assist you to register your child.

On Friday 26th January we will celebrate Burns Day with a whole school Scottish assembly and lunch menu (details to follow).

Children are also encouraged to wear something tartan.

Please find enclosed link for school newsletter.

Thankyou 

January Newsletter

It has been lovely welcoming all our of children back at the start of January. We hope you all had a peaceful holiday and enjoyed some family time. We wish all of you the very best for th…

Go to this Sway

A huge thank you to all of the families who donated to our reverse advent calendar over the last few weeks. As a school community we were able to give Fr Jim an amazing number of parcels to take to the food bank. These will be distributed to those who need them most in time for Christmas.

#teammc #community #faithinaction

In our role as ‘Missio Champions’, P4 have been spreading some Christmas joy in our school and parish community.

We designed and created beautiful Christmas cards and letters for Fr Jim and the parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. We hope that they enjoy reading them, we have had lots of fun making them.

Our boys and girls in Fire House had a fun filled morning on Tuesday at Jungle Madness! The children enjoyed lots of play, delicious party food and a visit from a special guest! A huge thank you to Darren and his team for once again giving us a fantastic celebration.

Our wonderful P4-7 choir have been out and about spreading Christmas cheer in our local community. Last Friday they entertained residents and staff at Crossgate Care Home, and on Monday of this week they performed at Tesco. Well done everyone!

Reminder that tomorrow is Pyjama day in school, children are allowed to bring a soft toy and blanket to school to have whilst watching a film

Just a few changes to the menu.

Thursday – Baked potato and cheese instead of the stir-fry.

Friday – Lentil soup and sandwiches with a choice of  tuna mayo, cheese or turkey fillings.

A reminder that the school closes at 2.30pm on Friday 22nd December for the Christmas break.  Children who travel by taxi will be picked up at 2pm. We re-open for staff and pupils at 9am on Monday 8th January.

Closing on Wednesday 20th December !

Buy your tickets NOW on Parentpay for our final raffle of the year…our December Raffle!

As always, tickets are £1 for 5 and a winner will be drawn before we close for the Christmas break. 

Good Luck 🤞

A reminder that the Winning House- FIRE, will be visiting Jungle Madness tomorrow (19/12/23) as their House prize!

All permission forms must be back  by tomorrow morning please.

All pupils going should wear leggings/jogger bottoms with school polo shirt/sweatshirt where possible.

Thank you

Reminder that tomorrow (15/12) is Christmas Jumper and Christmas Lunch Day

Children will have already pre selected their lunch choice and are welcome to wear their Christmas Jumpers or anything festive i.e headband or tinsel

Thankyou 

Our school choir will be singing at Tesco, Glasgow Road, Kilmarnock on Monday 18th December from10am until 11.30am. We would be delighted if as many parents/carers are able to pop in between those times  and show their support . 

There will also be an opportunity to give a  donation.

If you or any families you know are struggling for presents this Christmas please head along to the amazing annual Toy Appeal at The Masonic Hall, London Road, Kilmarnock between 10.30am-4pm tomorrow and Thursday.

A reminder that our P1-3 Christmas show takes place tomorrow at 2pm, with doors opening at 1.30pm for refreshments. We are asking for as many P1-3 pupils to be in school tomorrow to help make our show the best it can be as it is almost a sell out!

Our evening performance, which  is sold out, takes place on Thursday night at 6pm, with doors opening at 5.30pm for refreshments.

We are  asking for all pupils involved in the show to be in school no later than 5.30pm on Thursday evening.

Thank you