Chinese New Year in Primary 1!
What’s new in P7
We have finished our topic on Diversity which included learning on neurodiverse conditions such as ADHD, Dyslexia and Autism as well as learning about racism, apartheid and Nelson Mandela.
We launched our new topic in style by visiting the World War II exhibit about wartime Glasgow at the People’s Palace.
The worlds of Science and Art collided this week when we learned about the circulatory system and then used clay to sculpt a 3D model of the human heart. We will continue to look at body systems throughout this term.
In Maths, we are moving on from mental calculations and problem-solving using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Our new area of learning is geometry and we are getting to grips with triangles, protractors and compasses.
We had our first lesson with our Celtic football coach on Monday which was great fun – we decided that Rae had been player of the day. We are also looking forward to learning more Ultimate Frisbee with Mrs Nolan.
We would like to thank Mr Meehan and Mrs Drummond for joining us on our school trip.
After school clubs in Term 3
After school clubs will restart next week (week beginning 23rd January). See below for list of clubs. Children will be given the opportunity to sign up this week and permission letters will be sent out before the end of this week. Sorry for the delay; this was due to staff absence.
What’s happening in Primary 2
Primary 2 have been working very hard since they have come back after Christmas. We have started to learn about Chinese New Year and we are excited to share our learning with our families on Friday 20th January during our showcase assembly.
We are going to be focusing on our letter formation over the next few weeks so this helps us to write independently.
Homework will begin again on Monday 16th January.
P3’s Science
Primary 3 had great fun learning about food chains and how animals and plants depend on each other for food. We explored skulls, wings, claws, beaks and teeth to decide what animal/bird it might be from. All creatures are specially made to get what they need to eat.
Merry Christmas from P4!
Miss Gordon and Primary 4 want to wish all our families a very merry Christmas! Hope you all have a lovely holiday and we look forward to seeing the children back in the New Year x
Pupil Of The Day in P4
Each class selects a pupil randomly every day to be ‘pupil of the day’. The pupil of the day receives compliments all day. Primary 4 love receiving compliments and say it makes them feel happy. All children get a shot of being pupil of the day and when it is your child’s turn you will get a message on Seesaw with some of their favourite compliments from that day. Look out for a post with this attached to it!
What We’ve Been Up To In The Acorn Room…
Our morning groups have been developing their listening and talking skills. We have been learning to use our words to communicate how we are feeling and to ask for support. We have also had opportunities to play with our peers and share resources positively. We are developing our literacy and numeracy skills in a small group before applying what we have learned in our main class. Our core groups are growing in confidence and like to support one another which is so lovely to see!
Afternoon Groups
Monday Multi-Sports Group 
We have been learning about different sports including tennis, hockey, football and team games. Children are encouraged to listen carefully and follow instructions. We support children to have a growth mindset when facing a challenge and to give every activity their best try. Children also have some calm play time in the Acorn Room where they have opportunities to build their communication skills in a small group.
Tuesday PEEK Group
In this group we have been developing our art skills and outdoor learning experiences. We are lucky to welcome children and staff from Antonine Primary at this time. It has been great to build positive relationships with children and adults from another school. Children particularly enjoy outdoor cooking sessions and getting involved in some messy art! Jenifer from PEEK loves to gather the children’s views and create fabulous lessons that grab their interest!
Wednesday Football Group 
Our coach Sharon is so impressed with the progress this group are making! We are seeing some great, supportive interactions between our pupils. Chldren are developing their football knowledge and also their positive communication skills. Sharon loves to encourage the pupils to share what they have learned and support their friends.
Thursday PEEK – Playground Buddies 
With support and training from our PEEK partners, a selection of our Primary 5’s have been learning to be playground buddies. This involves the children taking on a leadership role in supporting younger pupils to play games positively. This has been a big challenge for our P5’s. They have been working hard to build their confidence and communication skills and have led some play for our Primary 4 pupils. Keep up the great work P5 Playground Buddies!
Friday PE and Sensory Play Group 
For some of our pupils, being in the gym hall in a large group can be challenging. This session gives those pupils the opportunity to participate in physical activity while in a small group; this is then followed by some lovely, calm sensory time. We hope to build the children’s confidence and provide some positive routines in the gym hall that our pupils can transfer when using the space with their main class. Our current focus is following safety rules in the gym hall and children are making steady progress.
Term 2 in Primary 2
The children in Primary 2 have all settled well into their classes and we have been working hard in all areas of the curriculum.
Health and Wellbeing:
In P.E this term we have been further developing our ball skills. We have learned different ways to throw a ball and to catch with more accuracy. We are exploring different ways to keep our body and mind healthy, celebrating our skills and achievements, and setting targets to gain new skills.
Science:
We are learning about our 5 senses and their functions in Science. We have investigated our sense of smell, sight and hearing so far. We are looking forward to continuing to explore taste and touch!
IDL/Topic:
We have explored our local environment and compared this to the past as we learn about dinosaurs and their habitats. We have been busy searching for and creating our own dinosaur fossils from salt dough. We have also learned about individual dinosaurs and their unique characteristics. We are looking forward to investigating volcanoes as the term continues.
Technologies:
We are learning to program the BeeBots to move from one place to another using directional language.
Literacy:
Our focus this term is to continue to increase our knowledge of common words, to enable the children to read more fluently.
We are learning to develop our descriptive language and are using to write about settings.
We are also learning about procedural writing and writing instructions.
Numeracy
We are continuing our work on adding and subtracting skills within numbers to 50. We are expanding our knowledge of counting in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s to 100. We are investigating place value and learning to identify tens and ones. We are exploring making totals and giving change up to the value of £1.
Expressive Arts:
P2 are very lucky and have music specialists working with us on Fridays. The emphasis is on singing, concentrating on pitch and rhythm. We will also be helping as the choir in the Nativity Play. In Art our focus is creating sculptures using clay and junk. We are also learning some Scottish Country dances!
RME:
We have been learning about the Hindu celebration of Diwali. We have learned the story of Rama and Sita and about DIwali traditions. We will also be learning about Christmas traditions around the world. We will learn how Christians celebrate Christmas and about the Christmas story.
Stars of the Week:
Primary 2a’s star is Jayden
Primary 2b’s star is Rhys
Star Writer:
Primary 2a’s star writer is Laylah
Primary 2b’s star writer is Robert B
Congratulations!!
Miss Gibb, Mrs Juttla and Miss Fraser
P5’s term so far
Reading
We have continued to consolidate a range of reading strategies throughout this term including predicting, clarifying, and questioning; with the new skill of concluding being introduced in the coming weeks. Each group has made progression within their book bandings and the pupils have continued to enjoy our class novel of “The Firework Maker’s Daughter”.
Writing
This term we have completed our block of writing around setting, experiencing many successes within this genre and enjoying some opportunities for group idea generation. We have now moved onto 1st person recount and will be focussing on how to express their emotions throughout their piece.
Numeracy
In numeracy, we have consistently revisited strategies from term 1 to ensure they remain fresh in our minds. Additionally, we have explored the use of fractions in relation to both shape and quantity. Our primary numeracy focus has been on multiplication and division strategies, and improving our times table fluency.
Social Subjects
Within our Energy and Sustainability topic we have investigated our carbon footprints and how to reduce them, the sources and importance of renewable energy, line drawings and social dance. Additionally, we have been practising our conversational French skills and learning how to describe the weather.
