Have you ever thought of a career in Childminding?

 East Ayrshire Council provides Pre-Registration Training and support FREE to anyone residing in East Ayrshire who is looking to become a childminder. Please see the information leaflet below:

pre reg training information leaflet 2023

                                      ** Reminder**

Please complete the form below only if you do not wish your child/children to receive ashes

The form Ash Wednesday Consent Form is now available and will take you 2 minutes to complete. Please be sure to submit it by 17/02/2023.
Thank you!

Learning Journals letter (1)

The letter above went out to all pupils last week. Please check your emails (including junk) for your Learning Journals log in details.  Please contact the school if you have not received your login email or are having problems accessing Learning Journals.

Thank you.

                                      ** Reminder**

Please complete the form below only if you do not wish your child/children to receive ashes

The form Ash Wednesday Consent Form is now available and will take you 2 minutes to complete. Please be sure to submit it by 17/02/2023.
Thank you!

Please find attached information about a Mental Health Open Evening at St Joseph’s Academy this Wednesday 8th February.

Health and Wellbeing Letter (1)

****Reminder****

Dress to Express – Wednesday 8th February

Children are welcome to come to school in clothing to showcase their personality.

There is no cost for this.

Please complete the form below only if you do not wish your child/children to receive ashes

The form Ash Wednesday Consent Form is now available and will take you 2 minutes to complete. Please be sure to submit it by 17/02/2023.
Thank you!

Freshly made pancakes will be available at lunchtime on Shrove Tuesday as an additional item.

Toppings available will include:

Banana with natural yoghurt

Strawberries with ice cream

Looking forward to an exciting block of sports input from Active Schools

February 2023 Newsletter

Childsmile will be visiting the P1-4 pupils in school on Thursday 2nd February from 9.30am-11.30am for a catchup visit to administer fluoride varnish.

Dress to Express – Wednesday 8th February

Children are welcome to come to school in clothing to showcase their personality.

There is no cost for this.

Updated PE days for all classes:

Dear Parent/Carer

As you are no doubt aware, your child is due to transfer from primary to secondary education at the beginning of the new school session (August 2023).

Secondary school hand books are available at: https://eastayrshi.re/SchoolHandbooks

Please complete the online P7 transfer application at http://eastayrshi.re/p7transfer

As part of the cost of living support we are introducing free toast within the school dining hall to pupils for pupils to collect in the morning.  In line with this we will also be temporarily reducing the cost of Breakfast Club food from £1.00 to £0.80.

Please note, this reduction to the charge is only temporary whilst we have Cost of Living funding available, and we will let you know when this reduction is due to end. 

The Killie Community are starting an initiative every Wednesday night from 5pm-7pm at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, whereby you can come along for a tea/coffee, hot food and some company. It is called

“The Killie Winter Get-Together”

and will run weekly until the end of March. Entry is via the glass door to the left of the Killie Superstore. There is no registration required.

Happy New Year and I hope Santa was good to you all. And so we enter P7’s final year at primary!!  Good to see all the pupils back after the holidays considering so many had been unfortunately unwell shortly before the break.  Here is a brief overview of our learning focus this term.

Literacy

Our focus this term will continue to develop all reading skills through Bug Club guided reading texts.  We will also be reading texts to identify fact and opinion and discuss the reliability of sources of information.   We will also be looking at Scots language and poems.  For writing, we are concentrating on discussion texts (discursive essays) until the February holiday then look at the narrative genre with a particular focus on using dialogue to advance the story.

Numeracy

The emphasis of our numeracy this term is on fractions, decimals and percentages and how they interlink.  Having completed the set Number Talk discussions, we will continue to use Number Talk strategies to develop mental strategies using all four processes.  The class are also working on skills beyond number with Mrs MacKinnon and will be investigating data handling.

Health and Wellbeing

The PATHS focus this term is ­­­­­­­­­looking at respect and how to deal with conflicts and identifying positive steps to de-escalate situations.  We will also continue to praise and compliment children through Pupil of the Day.  We are also exploring risk taking behaviour including substance misuse and practise basic first aid procedures.

Our PE days will now be a Tuesday and Wednesday.  We will be first concentrating on fun fitness, creating personal fitness plans and setting personal goals.  We also aim to develop our team game skills through netball where we will understand different roles within the team.

IDL

The topic this term is Scottish based and is looking at the Highland Clearances.  We will be investigating important historical figures involved in the event, how people lived during that time and the mass emigration from the Highland area.

RE

This term we will be aiming to complete our Pope Francis Faith Award journals, revising all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and giving evidence of them being used in the school, at home and in the community or Parish.  As well as this, there will be a final reflection on how the Gifts will help support them as they develop and grow.

French

Mrs MacKinnon will continue teaching French with P7.  Through a range of talking, listening, reading and writing tasks, this term the focus will be on describing the weather and looking in to current affairs within France as well as using the verb etre (to be).

Technologies

This term P7 will look at coding and understand its importance within society.  We will use block coding software to program small digital devices and explore various commands to create games and move characters within games.

I look forward to working with P7 in their final year and will enjoy accompanying them on their trip to Lockerbie this term.

Mr Bertoncini

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

Toast will now be available to any child that may require this. This is provided by East Ayrshire due to the cost of living. This provision will be available daily in the dinner hall from 8.45am. Children can enter the hall via the middle door.

This is in addition to the current Breakfast Club. Our Breakfast Club will remain in place for named daily list of pupils that have requested a space.  Currently we have no additional Breakfast Club spaces, however, a waiting list is in place.

Welcome back to term 3. We hope you have had a restful time over the festive period. We are looking forward to a wonderful new term of lots of new learning, fun and new experiences with our fantastic P4 class.

Literacy

For our reading focus this term, we will continue to focus on developing our comprehension strategies using our class readers as well as non-fiction resources to link with our topics this term. These will incorporate reading for information, visualisation tasks, metalinguistics and using our prediction skills.

In writing, we will spend a few weeks on descriptive writing tasks, and we will then move on to response writing.

During the month of January, we will look at Scots language, and some well-known Scots poems. We will link this with a mini Scotland topic.

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

Numeracy & Maths.

This term we will look at strategies for solving multiplication and division problems. We will continue with our number talk and mental maths activities to further develop our use of mathematical language and confidence in solving a range of problems.

In Beyond Number, we will conclude our money focus in January leading into our next topic of measure until Easter.

Health and Wellbeing

We will continue with our PATHs programme, with a focus on relationships; how we develop and grow our friendships and the importance of a good manners and having a sense of responsibility.

We will also link our Health and Well-being with our topic work, looking at food choices, and how our diet can help us to stay healthy.

We will continue with our Pupil of the Day, so keep a look out for your children coming home with their compliment sheet!

PE

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

• Gymnastics
• Developmental play (Parachute games/Team-building challenges)

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.

Expressive Arts

After lots of fantastic work in art before Christmas including 3D modelling and craft work, P4 will continue to develop their artistic skills focusing on colour, tone, line drawings and using varied materials. We will be looking at famous artists and imitating their unique styles in our own way.

In Class, we will undertake drama lessons each week looking at various conventions such as improvisation, mime, hot seating, freeze- frame as well as building confidence in our presentation skills for any shared learning within school.

French

In French we will look at using everyday language in different conversational situations e.g., buying food, ordering in a café, school life (subjects/classroom objects) and finally sports and hobbies. We will also learn topic specific vocabulary nearing Easter and a French prayer during Lent.

IDL

Our topics this term will include a mini-Scottish focus in January.

In February and March, we will then look at ‘Fairtrade and Food Production’ as our topic focus with links to science (food chains / food webs). We will be having a “Sharing the learning session” for parents and carers on 24^th March during which the children will showcase some of their learning. Further details will follow, we hope that you can join us!

 Religious Education

This term we will looking at some of the political, historical, social and religious elements of first century Palestine to help us gain an understanding of Jesus’ life on earth.

As we journey towards Lent, we will reflect on the signs and symbols of the season and relate these to our own personal journey.

In preparation for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, we will be looking at the meaning of the sacrament and learn more about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Homework will be distributed on a Monday to be completed, signed and returned by Friday. For the children who will be celebrating the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion, there will be some tasks sent home to complete, please assist your child with these tasks as they prepare for an important step in their faith journey.

Keep an eye on the class blog for regular updates to what is happening in class, recent learning and relevant upcoming events.

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

Mrs McIntyre and Mrs MacKinnon.

Primary 2 Curricular Update – Term 3

Hello and a very happy New Year to you all, I hope you had a lovely break spending time with family over the festive period. Primary 2 are ready for term 3 and a new year full of learning and fun.

Please see an outline of what we will be focusing on for each subject below:

Literacy

Phonics- During term 3 we will continue to learn our joined phonemes and grow our confidence in reading and writing these. Spelling will continue to be a focus as we learn new common words which can be tricky, these will help develop our independent writing skills.

Writing – We will continue to develop our writing skills focusing on description using individual description bubbles, we will be writing about characters and settings. Handwriting will still be a focus this term, ensuring we are correctly forming our letters and taking care with their position and size on our lined pages.

Reading – We will be developing our comprehension skills during reading by answering inferential questions, using clues in the story and our previous knowledge to help us. Discussions and sequencing main events of stories will be a focus too as well as our word attack strategies as we develop our reading skills. We continue to read our bug club texts in class alongside homework.

Numeracy and Mathematics

Following on from Term 2 we will continue learning time using digital and analogue clocks and revisiting numbers to 100. During term 3 we will be transferring our addition and subtraction skills into the topic of Money. Identifying coins up to £2, when we are familiar with the coins, we will be able to combine these and create amounts to pay for items in our class shop. Some children will be expected to give change and use the correct signs for money. As part of our mapping topic, we will also be looking at position and movement. We will be exploring the use of grid references and using everyday language to describe position, movement and direction. Towards the end of the term, we will start looking at measure initially focusing on comparative language of measure (shorter, longer) then we will progress onto non-standard units of measure (cubes, hand spans).

Health & Well-Being (HWB)

In term 3 we will be helping Twiggle and his friends overcome some difficult friendship scenarios in our PATHS programme now we have learned how to do Turtle when things become a little stressful. In other areas of our HWB we will be considering the impact of physical activity on our bodies and identifying the physical changes we feel after a period of exercise. The importance of personal hygiene, tooth brushing and handwashing techniques will also be discussed. As well as completing our emotion check in each morning we will continue to gift and receive compliments through our pupil of the day.

P.E.

During our PE sessions in term 3 we will be completing our block of gymnastics, developing out skills in travelling, jumping and rolling. We will then incorporate these into sequenced movements. Another area of PE we will cover is fun fitness, this will develop personal level of speed, agility, strength and stamina through various fun activities and exercises. Towards the end of term we will be practicing our racquet skills and how to hold and use a racquet, we will then introduce ball control.

(PE days continue to be on Tuesday and Thursday.)

RE

At the start of term 3 we will look at how life would have been for Jesus as he grew up, discussing how he went to the Synagogue to worship compared to how we go to church to pray. We will look at Baptism and compare it to the naming ceremony which is held in the Jewish tradition. As we approach the start of lent and Ash Wednesday we will talk about the meaning of this special time. We will take time during Lent to prepare ourselves for the special celebration of Easter.

 IDL (Topic)

Our first topic this term will be germs (micro-organisms). We will be carrying out predictions and experiments which will emphasise the importance of handwashing and how germs are passed on. We will be looking at some common illness definitions and how we can have good and bad germs. Mapping will be our other topic this term which will include looking at our local community area but also Scotland and famous attractions/landmarks. We will look at a bit about Scotland’s history through Robert Burns and we will try some Scottish foods as well as reciting and listening to poems before writing our own poem together.

 Expressive Arts

Our art, music and drama in term 3 will again link in with our topics this term.

Thank you for visiting our Primary 2 blog on what we will be learning this term!

Miss Maitland