While we do not expect any school closure to occur, recent severe weather warnings have led us to create a ‘Winter Weather Home Pack’ for each stage. If the school isn’t able to open as a result of severe weather of any kind, below are some activities for the boys and girls to complete at home. Simply click your class’ link to access these activities.
January in Primary 4/3
A big hello and welcome back to our blog!
The boys and girls have been very busy since returning to school at the start of the month and are excited for what is going to be a very special term. Our Primary 3 children have already begun their preparations for the sacrament of Reconciliation and are looking forward to their Reconciliation retreat with Father Brown this coming Wednesday. Our Primary 4 children will begin to prepare for the sacrament of First Communion in the coming months.
Returning to school on the 5th of January allowed the class to learn more about the story of the Three Wise Men and we all enjoyed creating our very own Epiphany collages for display. Below you can see us hard at work on this activity.
The class has had great fun in the wild January weather. We have been using the weather as stimulus for different types of writing. We wrote our own instructions about how to build at snowman and even ventured outside on one particularly blustery day to get some inspiration for our own windy day stories.
Our class will be working hard to create our own newspaper over the course of the term and we can wait to share our hard work with everyone.
Miss Burns & Primary 4/3
Primary 2 – Mrs McLauchlan
Dear parent/guardian,
After a well-earned Christmas break, the children are settling well into the third term and are looking forward to a busy few months ahead. Here is a brief overview of the learning that will be taking place.
Literacy
Children will continue to follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy programme for spelling and phonics. They will continue to learn new common words and a new phoneme each week and this will be consolidated through work carried out in class and homework.
In reading, children will continue to work on the banded book reading scheme and will be developing fluency and comprehension strategies. They will bring home a book each day to practise reading at home. Children should bring these books into school each day, as they are required for tasks in class. In writing the children will be learning how to write simple instructions as well as continuing to develop their skills in writing personal and imaginative stories.
Numeracy
This term the class will be learning about handling data. Children should be able to read and interpret a range of data displays and be able to present information in different ways. We will then move on to learning about money. The children will use a range of mental and written strategies to calculate costs and change in problem solving. Much of this learning will be carried out using an active approach, using as many real life scenarios as possible.
RE
In RE we will be working on the theme ‘My Uniqueness’ where we will be discussing what makes each child special. Children should be able to see signs of God’s love for them since he created everyone special and unique. We will then move on to ‘New Birth/Baptism’ where children will learn about Baptism as a beginning of our faith journey. Finally, we will explore the signs, symbols and themes of Lent.
Health and Wellbeing
In P.E. the class are currently working with students from Motherwell College on a variety of fitness games. In other P.E. sessions our main focus is ball skills. P.E. days are currently Monday and Tuesday, but please note that this is subject to change. Therefore, please ensure your child brings their P.E. kit to school on a Monday and they can take it home at the end of the week.
Our focus in health education is ‘Food and Health’. For this, we will be learning more about what it means to be healthy and what foods can help keep us healthy. The children are already rather excited at the prospect of cooking a variety of healthy meals and snacks in class.
Social Studies/Science
This term we will be learning about ‘The Human Body’, which is complimented by our ‘Food and Health’ topic. Children will learn and understand more about the main functions of the body and how the organs work.
Thank you for your continued support and please use your child’s homework sheet to communicate any comments or concerns.
Kind Regards
Mrs. C. McLauchlan – Class Teacher P2
Primary 1 Room 1 – Term 3 Curriculum Letter
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Here is a brief overview of the learning that will be taking place in our Primary one class during term three.
Literacy
Children will follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy programme for spelling, phonics and reading.
In phonics we will be learning the sounds sh, th, ch, ng, wh, ph, and ee, as well as consolidating all of our initial sounds. Children will be introduced to the phonemes through a multi-sensory approach. Two sounds will be introduced each week alongside three spelling words. Children will be able to recognise and write initial sounds and begin to blend sounds together and read three letter words. We have now covered all initial sounds within the alphabet. Please continue to revise all common words and sounds taught in term one and two regularly with your child so they are able to recall the sounds or words instantly.
We will be co-ordinating our handwriting with the sounds we are learning. Children will use whiteboards in class along with other kinaesthetic and visual materials such as plasticine to practise letter formation and early writing patterns. Please encourage your child to practise writing the letters using the correct formation.
Children will get two reading books each week. (Monday and Wednesday) These books give you an opportunity for you and your child to enjoy reading together. Children should begin to identify the common words within the reading books and use their knowledge of sounds to sound out words. You can help your child by talking about the pictures in the book to help find clues about the story and the characters and also encourage them to make predictions about what may happen next in the story.
Numeracy
In numeracy we will be learning about addition, time, position and movement, and weight. Numeracy is taught actively here at St. Brendan’s through stories, games, number rhymes and songs.
Social Studies
The story ‘Rainbow Fish’ will provide a context for the interdisciplinary learning this term. Through the story the children will learn to work as part of a group. They will also be responsible for making decisions about their learning, where they work and the resource they will need to complete tasks. The children will also explore the theme of friendship and what it means to be a good friend. There will be lots of opportunities for active learning through role play, art, water play, construction, writing and outdoor learning.
Health & Wellbeing
PE this term will be on a Monday afternoon and Wednesday Morning. The children will be working on team games this term. They will be working on special awareness whilst learning to work with a partner or a small group.
R.E.
In Religious Education the children will be learning about their own uniqueness and God-given gifts. They will also learn the Christmas story and why Christmas is a special time for the Christian community.
French
Primary one will be learning some basic French words and phrases. I am sure they will be very excited to tell you all about the new French words and phrases they have learned!
Thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.
Many thanks
Mrs McCann
Primary 1 Room 2 – Term 3 Curriculum Letter
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Here is a brief overview of the learning that will be taking place in our Primary one class during term three.
Literacy
Children will follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy programme for spelling, phonics and reading.
In phonics we will be learning the sounds sh, th, ch, ng, wh, ph, and ee, as well as consolidating all of our initial sounds. Children will be introduced to the phonemes through a multi-sensory approach. Two sounds will be introduced each week alongside three spelling words. Children will be able to recognise and write initial sounds and begin to blend sounds together and read three letter words. We have now covered all initial sounds within the alphabet. Please continue to revise all common words and sounds taught in term one and two regularly with your child so they are able to recall the sounds or words instantly.
We will be co-ordinating our handwriting with the sounds we are learning. Children will use whiteboards in class along with other kinaesthetic and visual materials such as plasticine to practise letter formation and early writing patterns. Please encourage your child to practise writing the letters using the correct formation.
Children will get two reading books each week. (Monday and Wednesday) These books give you an opportunity for you and your child to enjoy reading together. Children should begin to identify the common words within the reading books and use their knowledge of sounds to sound out words. You can help your child by talking about the pictures in the book to help find clues about the story and the characters and also encourage them to make predictions about what may happen next in the story.
Numeracy
In numeracy we will be learning about addition, time, position and movement, and weight. Numeracy is taught actively here at St. Brendan’s through stories, games, number rhymes and songs.
Social Studies
The story ‘Rainbow Fish’ will provide a context for the interdisciplinary learning this term. Through the story the children will learn to work as part of a group. They will also be responsible for making decisions about their learning, where they work and the resource they will need to complete tasks. The children will also explore the theme of friendship and what it means to be a good friend. There will be lots of opportunities for active learning through role play, art, water play, construction, writing and outdoor learning.
Health & Wellbeing
PE this term will be on a Monday morning and Wednesday afternoon. The children will be working on team games this term. They will be working on special awareness whilst learning to work with a partner or a small group.
R.E.
In Religious Education the children will be learning about their own uniqueness and God-given gifts. They will also learn the Christmas story and why Christmas is a special time for the Christian community.
French
Primary one will be learning some basic French words and phrases. I am sure they will be very excited to tell you all about the new French words and phrases they have learned!
Thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.
Many thanks
Miss Cochrane
A Letter from Miss Burns in Primary 4/3
Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope that everyone enjoyed a fun and relaxing Christmas holidays and would like to welcome all of the boys and girls back for our third term in Primary 4/3. The children have enjoyed a very productive, albeit blustery and frosty, two weeks back at school and, with preparations being made for Sacraments for both stages, this term will be a very special time for the children.
Literacy
As always, the class will 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 in addition to consolidating sounds they have already covered. Many of our children have begun to work with longer texts and are enjoying working with skinny novels in class and at home. Again, children will work with both fiction and non-fiction texts to build fluency and comprehension.
With the experience gained during the first two terms, our Primary 4 children are now able to complete a range of challenging phonics and spelling activities with independence and this is something that will be encouraged this term. During this longer term, the children will undertake two novel studies, the first being ‘The Best Dog in the World’ and the second ‘The Butterfly Lion’. Ensuring that the children complete all assigned reading at home is important as this means they will be prepared for the activities they will be given in class.
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 continue to explore the theme of multiplication, looking towards division later in the term. Our Primary 3 children will continue to work with the 2, 4, 5 & 10 times tables. Our Primary 4 children will continue to work with the 3 & 6 times tables. I would encourage children to practice their times tables at home as being able to recall multiplication facts quickly and accurately is an important skill that we will be working on in class. Other topics that will be covered during the course of the term include money and position & movement.
RE
This term, children of both stages will commence making preparations for their respective Sacraments. Primary 3 will be preparing for and making the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Primary 4 will begin to prepare for First Communion, making the Sacrament itself in the last term. The children will be working with Miss Cassidy, Miss O’Donnell and myself as they get ready for these important events.
Health & Wellbeing
A wee reminder that PE for Primary 4/3 will continue to take place on a Monday and a Wednesday. We would encourage children to bring their PE kit into school on a Monday and take it home on the Friday to ensure that they have it whenever needed. This term, our focus will be on Games.
Cross Curricular
During the third term, our class topic will focus on the design and creation of a ‘Class Newspaper’. The children will be exploring the media, developing their skills in the use of multimedia technology and working to a given budget. All children will contribute to the running of this enterprise project. Later in the term, class will also undertake a short Science investigation into how exercise affects our breathing rate.
Again, please continue to communicate any queries or concerns using the homework diary.
Many thanks
Miss Burns
Class Teacher
Primary 7 – Confirmation Update
As you are aware, Primary 6 and 7 are making their Confirmation in March. We have been working hard researching all about it and learning about the importance of this sacrament. There are seven different themes in our Confirmation workbook and we have been working through these a week at a time to ensure that we fully grasp the concepts being taught. The children have also enjoyed a visit to the Pastoral Centre in Newmains recently. Although the weather wasn’t great to enjoy the beautiful gardens within the grounds, the children still thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The activities were beneficial and the children got the opportunity to; make posters, think about their qualities, make Confirmation hanging designs using beads and feathers to represent the Holy Spirit and reflect during prayer time. It was well worth the visit and a lovely day out for the children.
Miss O’Donnell & Primary 4 Term 3
Dear Parent/Carer,
Happy New Year and 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
This term we will be working on a variety of novels including Greyfriar’s Bobby, Horrid Henry, The Best Dog In The World and Through The Cat Flap. It is very important that the pupils are reading the selected chapters of their novel each night and they make sure they bring their novel to school every day. This allows the children to further develop their understanding of the comprehension strategies which we started working on at the beginning of Primary 4.
Maths
The boys and girls have worked very hard on adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers. We will continue to reinforce this throughout the week in class and sometimes as their homework. This term our focus is going to be Multiplication and Division. The children will look at patterns and links within the times tables and they have started learning how to do 2 and 3 digit multiplication sums. Division allows the children to link to their learning of the tables as it is the opposite of multiplication and they can work backwards. With Miss Hill on a Thursday and Friday the children have started looking at Position and Movement, including the vocabulary associated with this.
Interdisciplinary Learning
Well done to the boys and girls on creating wonderful models of a Titanic Cabin. I was very impressed with the hard work they put in and thank you to all the parents for supporting the children with this project. This term we are taking part in “Clyde In The Classroom”. An exciting project which begins with an outing to Glasgow Science Centre. The children will be learning about the River Clyde, environmental issues which affect the river and will be responsible for looking after fish eggs and nurturing them into little fish before we release them into the river.
Health & Wellbeing
The children are going to be learning the skills necessary for playing Badminton. While we are playing badminton the children will further develop their social skills of turn taking, helping one another and playing in friendly, supportive manner. With Miss Hill on a Thursday they will be doing Athletics. 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 the Church, starting with our local parish. We will also be looking at other local parishes, and the work of the church. The children will be introduced to parts of the church such as tabernacle, baptismal font, etc. We will then go on to look at Sunday and why it is such a special and sacred day. This will lead us very nicely into the preparation for First Holy Communion, later in the term. This will include a retreat as part of the First Holy Communion preparation.
This is a very special time in Primary 4 and I am looking for ward to working towards this with all the boys and girls.
Yours sincerely
Miss O’Donnell
Primary 4 (P. T.)
Primary 7 – Term 3 Curriculum Letter
Dear parents/carers,
I can’t quite believe Term 3 is upon us already. Time clearly flies when you are learning and having fun. The children have been enjoying their new roles as Peer Mediators and monitors and should continue with this responsible attitude throughout Term 3.
Literacy
The children will continue with the same North Lanarkshire Active Literacy Programme for Spelling, Reading, Writing and Talking and Listening in Term 3. They will be concentrating on non-fiction to start, moving onto two novels afterwards. We will be continuing with the same comprehension strategies for our reading, gaining confidence in these as the term progresses.
Maths
In Term 3 we will be looking at Multiplication, Measure, Division, Fractions and Decimals, 2D and 3D shape and Angles. Again, we will be using the active approaches suggested in the Pathways planners along with the Teejay programme.
Health and Wellbeing
The children will be continuing on with the Knowing Me Knowing You Programme during Term 3. They will also be introduced to God’s Loving Plan later in the term and this will be related to our RE programme also. During PE the children will be focussing on Central Net and Ball Games and they will also receive lessons on a variety of sports from Motherwell College Sports students.
Social Studies
Our IDL theme for Term 3 is The Scottish Parliament. We have a Bed4 student with us for most of Term 3 and she will be responsible for delivering most of this IDL theme. We are very fortunate to be going a trip to the Scottish Parliament in February and the children are really looking forward to this.
R.E
As you are well aware, the children are making their Confirmation this term. This is such an exciting and important time for them as they prepare to become full members of God’s church. The children should ensure that they complete all Home Sessions within the Confirmation booklet, fully discussing all themes with yourselves. We will also look at ‘Christian Witness’, ‘Pentecost and Trinity Sunday’ and ‘God’s Loving Plan’ throughout this term. The Primary 7 children have now led First Thursday mass twice and showed confidence and maturity when doing so. May this continue throughout Term 3.
If you have any queries don’t hesitate to use your child’s diary as a means of contact with myself.
Thank you again for all of your support so far this year.
Many Thanks
Miss Mitchell
Primary 3/2 Term 3 Curriculum Letter
Dear Parent/Guardian,
I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas break. Following a very busy term last year, the children have had a week to settle back into their normal school routine. They all worked very hard last term to prepare for the fabulous ‘Donkey Seller’ show and made everyone proud with their super performances. Well done boys and girls! This week however, it is back to business as usual with high standards to ensure that your child achieves his/her potential. Therefore, the children have been hard at work setting their targets for the new term ahead. We are excited for 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 exploring time.
Our primary two children will learn to tell the time using analogue and digital clocks for o’clock and half past. They will begin to make links between 12 hour times and 24 hour clocks. Children will work hard to be able to identify and relate key events and routines in their day with time.
The primary three children will also learn to tell the time using analogue and digital clocks. However, they will work on o’clock, quarter past, half past and quarter to. The primary three children will use the links which they have previously made between time and their routine, to begin to calculate simple time intervals by counting on.
Religious Education
This is a very important term for the primary three children as they will begin preparations to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Children will work at home and in class to ensure they are ready to receive the sacrament this term. More information will be shared at the Sacrament information night, which will take place on the 20th of January. This will be an exciting time for the children and something I am sure we will all enjoy.
This term the primary 2 children will explore ‘Other World Religions’ with a focus on Judaism. Children will begin by learning about other faith communities’ belief in God and about other faith communities’ places of worship. We will move on to explore prayer and worship within the Catholic Church and learn about the ways we can participate in Mass.
Health and Wellbeing
This term our Health and Wellbeing lessons will be supported by the ‘Teach Safety’ programme. This encourages children to assess and manage risk, to protect themselves and others, and to reduce the potential for harm when possible. We will further explore this theme during our science investigations when we explore our senses and discuss their reliability and limitations in responding to the environment.
We will also be looking at the choices we make and the impact this has on our general fitness. Please note that P.E is a mandatory part of our curriculum and our school delivers 2 hours every week.
Social Studies
This term the children have expressed an interest in exploring the traditions and culture of another country. Therefore, we will be investigating the daily lives of people in China and the historical past of the country. We will compare these traditions, the landscape and the natural environmental differences with those in Scotland. Children will learn through play, discussion and many group activities to develop their understanding of the differences between their lives in Scotland and the lives of people in China.
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)
