As part of our Interdisciplinary work the boys and girls of Primary 3/2 have been exploring the theme ‘Under the sea.’

During Purposeful Play we have been involved in many exciting activities.

In the construction area, the children have been using junk, brought in from home, to build submarines. They have also used Lego to make models of their favourite sea creatures.

In the Imaginative Area the children have become waiters or waitresses in their very own Seaside Sweetie Shop. The shop sells yummy cupcakes, ice cream cones and ice lollies, perfect after a day swimming in sea. The children have enjoyed taking orders, writing menus and using their maths skills to work out their customers’ bills.

At the water area the children have enjoyed searching through colourful Jelly to find different sea creatures. They enjoyed playing in the water beads and growing their own sea creatures.

At the creative corner the children have been using a variety of media to create lots of different sea creature pictures. We have used paper plates to make crabs and tissue paper to make fish.

The children have been showing of their fabulous singing voices when learning ‘Under the Sea’ from Disney’s Little Mermaid.

We look forward to finding out our new Interdisciplinary theme in the New Year.

Here is a clip of our fabulous choir performing ‘Highland Cathedral’ at our St Andrew’s Day performance.

Highland Cathedral

Please remember to vote for them in the Regent Shopping Centre competition here!

We have been very busy so far this term. We have dived right into our topic ‘Under the Sea’ and are having a whale of a time learning about a wide variety of sea creatures and their habitats. We have also been exploring food chains, researching and writing about Jaques Cousteau and we are looking forward to carrying out scientific experiments on water. We have also created some beautiful pieces of artwork, which we are proud to display.

As well as our busy classwork we have recently started our preparation for our Christmas Nativity performance and our St. Andrew’s day show. We will be reciting Margaret Hamiltons ‘Lament for a lost dinner ticket’. We are all very excited about performing it on stage.

The children in Primary 5 have all been working very hard. We have started our new novels, which the children are all thoroughly enjoying. We have also started our new topic The Victorians and so far the children love learning all about the Victorian era. We have looked at the life of Queen Victoria, the clothing worn during Victorian times and the jobs that children had to carry out. The class and Miss Hill have been working on creating their own Victorian clothing through drawing and will decorate these with a variety of different resources for our Victorian wall display. We have an exciting trip planned which is linked to our Victorian topic, I will provide you with more information on this nearer the time.

Primary 5 led the First Thursday mass last week and I was very proud of them. They showed how responsible and confident they are as they were exceptionally well behaved and those taking part in readings and offertory did so with enthusiasm!

Here are some photos of Primary 5 researching Victorian Children at work!

Keep checking the Twitter feeds for regular updates on Primary 5.

Kind Regards

Miss Burns

Primary 4 are very excited this term about their new IDL Topic. We have just started working on “The Unsinkable Ship”. During this topic we will be learning all about the famous Titanic. To start off the topic all the boys and girls got their selves rolled up and worked together to create their very own Titanic ship for display. This involved lots of messy fun and we are going to unveil the finished Titanic on our Twitter feed next week.

Also we have started reading some new novels including “The Invisible Dog” and “Alex The Walking Accident”. All the boys and girls are enjoying these books and are motivated and excited to read. We have a busy term ahead to prepare for St. Andrew’s Day and Christmas celebrations.

Keep an eye on Twitter and this blog for more updates about Primary 4.

A big hello from Primary 4/3 and Miss Burns!

Since returning to school in August, the class have had great fun in learning and getting to know one another. We spent our first term learning all about the Ancient and New Wonders of the World. We learned to locate each Wonder on a map and in time by creating a timeline in class.  We worked hard at home to create models of the fantastic places around us that we felt should be Wonders of Scotland and were even able to visit one of these special places – The Kelpies in Falkirk.

This term, our class topic is Under the Sea. We have been exploring different underwater environments and the creatures that live there through the Wii game ‘Endless Ocean’.  The class have really enjoyed learning to control our virtual diver and can’t wait to do some more exploring over the course of the next few weeks. We have been working hard to record our underwater experiences in our Diver’s Logs and are looking forward to creating some fabulous underwater arts and crafts soon.

Here are some photos of the great things we have been doing!

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I hope you had a great October holiday. It was lovely to meet with you before the break to discuss your child’s learning and to set new targets for term 2. This will be a busy term with preparations for the St. Andrew’s Concert, the Christmas Nativity and, of course, the excitement of Christmas parties. We are looking forward to the term ahead and would like to share a brief overview of the learning that will be taking place in our P3/2 class.

Literacy

Children will continue to follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy Programme for spelling and phonics. They will continue to learn new words and a new sound every week and this will be consolidated through class and homework.

In reading, the children will work at their own level and experience a variety of books to challenge their imaginations and comprehension skills. They will continue to take a book home, which they should read for pleasure and to help develop fluency.

Numeracy

Children will begin this term by looking at shape and pattern. Primary 2 will begin to recognise simple 3D objects and 2D shapes in their environment and in pictures. Primary 3 will begin to identify and name 2D shapes and 3D objects. They will learn the vocabulary associated with 2D shapes and 3D objects, for example corner, side, angle.

We will explore tiling and work to copy and continue simple patterns involving more than one object, shape or colour. As we develop this skill the children will use a variety of media to create their own more complex patterns.

We will move on to further develop our skills within subtraction. Primary 2 will work on numbers to 20 with Primary 3 exploring numbers to 100.

Religious Education

For R.E this term we will explore the community of the church and the themes of the liturgical seasons. We will discuss the ways in which people can experience God’s love and care and reflect on how our community celebrates together.

We will explore some of the signs and symbols related to Advent and Christmastide and use this understanding to explore the themes of these celebrations. Throughout advent we will learn about the birth of Jesus at Christmas, Jesus’ life on earth and why honouring Mary is an important part of our faith.

Health and Wellbeing

This term children will look at Road Safety through the educational pack ‘Speeding Ted.’ This will act as a stimulus for discussion and allow us to explore the theme through role play, discussion and group activities.

The focus for P.E this term is dance. Our school delivers 2 hours every week. Although Primary 3/2’s timetabled days for P.E are Tuesday and Thursday this may change due to Christmas show rehearsals. Therefore, we ask that children bring their kits to school on a Monday and take them home on a Friday.

Social Studies

This term we will begin work on our exciting new theme ‘Under the Sea.’ This theme is set to take over the first floor of our school as we will work alongside the other classes to create many exciting learning experiences. We have lots of fun and interesting lessons planned and this theme will influence our work in many curricular areas.  Here are a few examples of the learning that will take place; we will be creating many fantastic pieces of art work, researching the different creatures that can be found under the sea, looking at life cycles of these sea creatures and exploring their habitats, learning the song ‘Under the Sea’ from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, discussing how people affect the sea and much more!

Again I would like to thank you in advance for all your support this term, please continue to use your child’s homework diary to communicate any concerns/ comments.

Many Thanks

Miss Jodi Cassidy

Class Teacher (P3/2)

Dear Parent/Carer,

After a relaxing October break, the class have now settled back into the school routine and are ready for the new learning and challenges this term will bring.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support in the children’s Scottish Wonders project last term. The children’s research on and models of their own Scottish Wonders were very impressive and have been admired by staff, parents and the children alike as part of our display on the first floor.

With preparations being made for both our St Andrews Day showcase and the festive season, term two is sure to be a busy and exciting time for the boys and girls.

Literacy

As in the previous session, the class will be continue to follow the North Lanarkshire Active Literacy Programme to support their learning in spelling, phonics, reading and writing.

Primary 3 children will continue to explore new sounds and common words each week in class and through our homework programme. Children will work with a range of both fiction and non-fiction texts to build their fluency and comprehension skills.

Our Primary 4 children will continue to work closely with myself and one another to build their confidence in the new approach to phonics and spelling which was introduced in the first term. Following a short block of non-fiction work, the children will then undertake a novel study of the text ‘Bullies at School’.

Numeracy

In numeracy, the class will continue to experience a mix of direct teaching, partner/group activities and written tasks to build and consolidate their understanding of concepts.

Over the course of the term, the class will explore the themes of subtraction, measure and multiplication, with the children working at their own level. Our Primary 3 children will continue to work with numbers up to and including one hundred and the 2, 4, 5 & 10 times tables. Our Primary 4 children will continue to work with numbers up to and including one thousand and will extend their knowledge of multiplication facts to include the 3 & 6 times tables.

RE

In RE, our class will be learning more about the love, care and celebrations of the Church and Parish communities. We will also reflect on November, the month of the faithful departed. In the lead up to Christmas, the class will revisit the theme of Advent in class as well and will be involved in wider school celebrations of the Holy season.

Health & Wellbeing

Whilst the hall timetable may differ slightly to accommodate practises for our Christmas performances, our focus this term will be on aesthetics, primarily dance. Where access to the gym hall is not possible, it is my intention that the class will make use of resources such as Cyber Coach and other areas within the school including the class, playroom and, weather permitting, outdoors.

Social Studies

During the second term, several of the classes on the first floor will be working to explore the theme ‘Under the Sea’. Our class will be taking a Games Based Learning approach to the theme and will be using the Wii game ‘Endless Ocean’ to inspire our learning across the curriculum. I am sure the children will be very excited about this.

Again, please continue to communicate any queries or concerns using the homework diary.

Many thanks

E Burns

Class Teacher

Dear Parent/Carer,

Welcome back to the start of a new term. I hope you had a lovely break. This is a very busy term with lots of exciting events and opportunities coming up. Miss Hill will be working with the boys and girls on a Thursday and Friday.

Literacy

We have just completed our first novel of the year and are now starting to work on a variety of novels. This allows the children to develop their understanding of the comprehension strategies which we started working on last term.

Maths

The boys and girls have worked very hard on 4 digit place value. They are now reading, writing and ordering 4 digit numbers. This term our focus is going to be Addition and Subtraction. The children will look at adding and subtracting in number patterns, the links between adding and subtracting (the operations are opposite of each other) and developing their confidence in the written process for adding and subtracting sums.

Interdisciplinary Learning

Last term the children enjoyed learning about “The New Wonders of The World”. This term, we are going under the sea and finding out all about “The Unsinkable Ship”. I am very excited about this topic and I am sure the children will thoroughly enjoy it.

Health & Wellbeing

The children are going to be learning the skills necessary for Gymnastics eg: rolling, jumping, balance, etc. With Miss Hill on a Thursday they will learn some Scottish Social Dances. We will be spending time talking about the importance of our feelings and how we should deal with a mixture of feelings and emotions. We will also continue to work as a team and build relationships within the class.

R. E.

This term we have started by finding out about our patron saint – Saint Brendan. We have thought about the qualities which make a saint and will be learning about some other important saints. During the month of November children will remember the Holy Souls by discussing the idea of the ‘Faithful Departed’ and having happy memories of loved ones that may have died. We will also make links to the Poppy appeal. In December our focus will be Advent and preparing to celebrate Christmas. We will discuss Advent as a Liturgical Season and explore the story of The Wise Men and their gifts for baby Jesus.

I am looking forward to this busy term and I know that the boys and girls will work hard and have lots of fun!

Yours sincerely

Miss O’Donnell

Primary 4 (P. T.)

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Primary 5 have worked very hard during Term 1 and have showed lots of enthusiasm in all aspects of the curriculum. Here is an overview of what the children will be learning during Term 2.

Literacy

The children will be studying a group novel appropriate to their age and stage and will continue to use the six comprehension strategies (prior knowledge, metalinguistics, visualisation, inference, main ideas and summary.) Novels will be part of the homework and should be brought into school everyday to be used in class.

Numeracy

In numeracy we will be working on volume/capacity and addition and subtraction up to 10,000. The children will continue to take part in both written and active activities in class.

R.E.

This Term in R.E the children will be learning about Other World Religions, Scottish Faith Heritage and the Faithful Departed and Advent. Primary 5 are also leading the first Thursday mass this Term and I am very confident they will do an excellent job.

Health and wellbeing

For P.E this Term we will be doing aesthetics through gymnastics and the children will take part in a wide range of individual and group activities. Primary 5 are very fortunate to be taking part in golf with our active sports co-ordinator for the next few weeks. During this time our P.E days are a Monday and Friday. Children should continue to bring their P.E kits to school on a Monday and take them home on a Friday.

Interdisciplinary learning

This Term Primary 5 will be stepping into the past and studying the Victorians where they will learn all about the lives of Victorian people. Within this topic, we will focus on Social Studies, Expressive Arts, Health & Wellbeing and Technologies. I am sure the children will thoroughly enjoy learning about the Victorians and comparing our very different lifestyles!

Remember to continue to help your child with their homework and thank you for all your support so far!

Kind regards,

Miss Burns