August 2015

Dear Parent/Carer

I hope that you had a lovely summer break. The new school year is now underway and the children are settling well into Primary 2. They have enjoyed moving up to their new classroom on the first floor, and have become accustomed to the new routines. Over the past few days of their first term, the children have been setting new targets and these will be the focus for term 1 in Primary 2. We are looking forward to the new term ahead and wish to share a brief overview of the learning which will be taking place in our classroom.

Literacy

The children will continue to follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy Programme for spelling and Phonics. They will continue to learn a new set of common words each week alongside a new sound and consolidation for the learning will be supported through class work and homework.

In reading, the children will take home two different books each week. Please ensure that their books are brought to school on a daily basis for reading time. A new book will ideally be given on a Monday and a Wednesday this will ensure that the children have experienced a variety of books which will challenge their comprehension skills and heighten their imagination.

Within story writing the children will continue to write independently, using the appropriate punctuation and linking their sentences together in a way which makes sense.

Numeracy 

In Primary 2 we have already begun by learning about numbers in our environment and how numbers are essential to everyday life. The children will develop their understanding of place value, knowing that our number system is built around 0-9. The children will be given opportunities to read, write and order numbers to 20 in a variety of ways. We will be learning about the purpose and usefulness of estimating and rounding of numbers.

Religious education 

During the first term the children will be learning about the Bible and how God speaks to us through Bible stories. The children will understand that the Bible should be treated with reverence and how God can help then in difficult times. We will move on to learning about the community of faith and how as a community we experience God’s love and care together.

Health and Well Being 

In P.E. the learning will be focused on Athletics and Outdoor Learning. The children will be working within the concept of travelling through balance, flight, rotation and inversion. The children will encounter a range of experiences; individually, with a partner and in a group situation. Please ensure your child brings their P.E. kit to school on a Monday and takes it home on a Friday.

Social Studies 

As the school is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year, the first term will be focusing our learning on Children in the 60’s. The children will be comparing aspects of children’s daily lives in the 60’s with their own. After discussions with the children they decided to focus their learning on what St. Brendan’s school was like for children when it first opened in 1965. They also want to learn about what the children would have played with and watched on the television. We will also learn about the moon landing as it was a significant event of that decade.

Your continued support is greatly appreciated and we wish for you to continue to communicate any concerns/comments through your child’s homework diary.

Kind regards

Bernadette Mc Dermott

Class Teacher P2M