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

Dear Parent/Guardian,

It was lovely meeting you all at parent’s night and thank you for all of your hard work at home in supporting you child’s learning.

I hope you all had a fabulous October week and are looking forward to the forthcoming festivities.

Once again this letter will provide you with a brief overview of the learning that will take place this term in Primary 6. This information provides you with an insight into your child’s learning.

Literacy

The children will continue to follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy programme for Spelling, Reading, Writing and Listening and Talking. This programme will help to develop further their literacy skills and provide exciting and new challenges.

The children will take part in a group novel study with a text suitable for their age and stage. This will be an opportunity for the children to apply all of their prior learning from Term 1 and demonstrate their ability and understanding of the Active Literacy Strategies. The novels will be read at home by the children and there will be reading homework on a weekly basis. The children should be encouraged to complete all reading homework on the allocated nights as the classwork will coincide with the reading homework.

Numeracy

This term Primary 6 will explore maps and coordinates, subtraction and time. The children will have the opportunity to learn these skills and concepts through a mixture of both active and written tasks. This will enable the children to apply their learning across contexts and see a real purpose to their learning. Children should continue to regularly practice their times tables at home to help support ongoing classwork.

Health and Wellbeing

Health and Wellbeing will be taught across the curriculum. This term in Physical Education the children will develop their skills in central net and ball games.

Interdisciplinary Learning

The children of Primary 6 will be exploring World War 1 this term. Various element of WWI will be examined such as the outbreak of war, life on the frontline, the Christmas truce, rationing and much more. The children will apply their learning across the curriculum with a particular focus within the curriculum areas of Social Studies, Expressive Arts and Technologies.

Religious Education

Religious Education will be taught through the ‘This Is Our Faith’ programme. This term Primary 6 will explore other world religions with a particular focus on Islam. Throughout November in Term 2, the children will explore the feast days of All Saints, All Souls and St Andrew. Additionally, through the month of December the children will explore the season of Advent as a special time of preparation for Jesus’ birth. The children will investigate the signs and symbols associated with this liturgical season and how these have developed through time.

Homework

The children’s homework will help to support their on-going classwork and I would appreciate your continued support in ensuring the children keep up with all homework tasks.

Many thanks,

Mrs Williamson

I can’t believe we are into Term 2 already, what a quick start to the new school year! The children enjoyed the responsibility of being buddies and have taken on other roles such as monitors and organising the new Golden Time clubs. Here is a brief overview of what your child will be learning in Term 2.

Literacy

Children will continue on with North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy Programme for Spelling, Reading, Writing and Listening and Talking. They will learn new words weekly and will complete active tasks within the class and at home.

The children will now be working in their Literacy groups with a novel appropriate to their level. They have revised the comprehension strategies well in Term 1 through the modelling block to enable them to carry these tasks out with more confidence in Term 2.

Maths

In Term 2 we will be looking at Units of Measure, Addition and Maps and Coordinates using the Pathways programme. Again, we will be keeping the learning active for the children through station work and group activities along with written tasks and assessments at the end of each topic. We will continue with our mental maths practice and revision of times tables.

Health and Wellbeing

The Science and Health and Wellbeing will be delivered by the McCrone teacher in Term 2 again. I will continue to take my class for both their P.E sessions. P.E will be on a Monday and a Thursday for the first 5/6 weeks due to a timetable change and will return to a Monday and a Friday afterwards.

Social Studies

Our I.D.L topic for Term 2 is World War 2. I had a discussion with the class and they were given the chance to suggest ideas that they would like to study and the majority were very keen on World War 2. This is a fabulous topic to do and one that I myself will thoroughly enjoy. There are so many different aspects to it and I can’t wait to get started!

R.E

In R.E this term we will be focussing on ‘Scottish/Celtic Faith Heritage’, ‘Jesus and Justice’, ‘Mary’ and ‘Advent’. P.7 are also leading First Thursday mass again this term and I am sure they will work hard on this and show maturity throughout.

If you have any queries don’t hesitate to use your child’s diary as a means of contact with myself.

Thank you in advance for all of your support so far this year.

Many Thanks,

Miss Mitchell

Primary 3/2 are a very hard working class who love to learn new things and have lots of fun.

This term, our Interdisciplinary Learning theme is ‘Me and my Community.’ During our class discussions we have been considering the different ways which we can show respect for the world around us and each other.

We understand that everyone has different beliefs and that as good citizens and friends we must respect each other. Through the ‘Friendship Terrace’ programme we have been thinking about the qualities that make a good friend. We read a story all about a boy called Fitzroy. He lives at Number One Friendship Terrace and he always wants to be first. In Primary 3/2 we know that fairness and caring are important in building positive relationships so we were shocked to hear that when Fitzroy doesn’t win he becomes moody and often hurts his friends.  We explored the story of ‘Fitzroy First’ in our drama lesson this week and in groups created some fabulous Freeze Frames to show how we would feel if Fitzroy was our friend.

Together with Miss Cassidy we have made a pledge to become better citizens this term. We know that we have to show respect to our friends and our community for this to be successful.

We have considered ways to look after our school and the local community. Our ideas on how to do this were fabulous. This is a big task for Primary 3/2 so we decided that starting our action plan in school was a great idea. Over the next few weeks we will be working in the quadrangle to make sure it’s an area that can be used by all the children. We are excited to take on this big responsibility and to take care of our school.

As practice we have been busy planting sunflower seeds for all the classes and staff of St. Brendan’s.  We can’t wait to use our new skills to make the quadrangle a place that the children of St. Brendan’s can be proud of.

Here are some pictures of our fun planting lesson.

Dear Parent/Guardian,
Primary one have settled in well to school life and have made lots of new friends. Day by day, the boys and girls are becoming increasingly familiar and confident with the routines of the class and the wider school. We are all looking forward to a fun year of learning here at St. Brendan’s.
I will like to take this opportunity to thank you for preparing the children for starting school by presenting them so smartly in their school uniform and ensuring that their behaviour and attitude is of a high standard. This term with your continued support and help we aim to ensure your child achieves their full potential.
Here is a brief overview of the learning that will be taking place in our primary one class during term one.
Literacy
Children will follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy programme for spelling, phonics and reading.
Primary one will be introduced to the initial sounds through a multi-sensory approach. Two sounds will be introduced each week alongside three common words. Children will be learning to recognise and write initial sounds and begin to blend sounds together and read three letter words.
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 to practise letter formation and early writing patterns.

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. You can help your child by talking about the pictures in the book to help find clues about the story and it’s characters and also encourage them to make predictions about what may happen next in the story.
Numeracy
Primary one are currently focusing on numbers 0-10. They will be learning to recognise, count and write these numbers. Numeracy is taught actively here at St. Brendan’s through stories, games, number rhymes and songs. They will also be developing the ability to recognise, sequence and write numbers to 10, while exploring numbers before/after/between/largest/smallest. You can help at home by practising numbers to ten (counting forwards and backwards, missing numbers out when counting and asking your child to tell which number is missing etc…) and reinforcing the above vocabulary

Social Studies
Our Topics this term are ‘Traditional Tales’ and ‘People in our Community’. Through the topic, ‘People in our Community’ we will be learning all about the many different jobs people have in society. We will start by discussing the help we get in our homes and school and then go on to look at the emergency services and health care. We also plan to welcome various visitors to our classrooms to find out about the important jobs that they do. There will be lots of opportunities for active learning through role play, art, writing and stories.

Science

In science children will be learning about mini beasts and plants with Miss Cochrane

Health & Wellbeing

PE this term will be on a Monday morning and Wednesday afternoon. The
children will be working on a ‘Mini Athletics’ programme which will include running, jumping, throwing and catching.

R.E.
In R.E. we will be learning about the Bible and how to treat it with reverence. They will be listening to stories from the Old and New Testament.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

Many thanks

Mrs McCarron

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Primary one have settled in well to school life and have made lots of new friends. Day by day, the boys and girls are becoming increasingly familiar and confident with the routines of the class and the wider school. We are all looking forward to a fun year of learning here at St. Brendan’s.
I will like to take this opportunity to thank you for preparing the children for starting school by presenting them so smartly in their school uniform and ensuring that their behaviour and attitude is of a high standard. This term with your continued support and help we aim to ensure your child achieves their full potential.
Here is a brief overview of the learning that will be taking place in our primary one class during term one.

Literacy

Children will follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy programme for spelling, phonics and reading.
Primary one will be introduced to the initial sounds through a multi-sensory approach. Two sounds will be introduced each week alongside three common words. Children will be learning to recognise and write initial sounds and begin to blend sounds together and read three letter words.
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 to practise letter formation and early writing patterns.

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. You can help your child by talking about the pictures in the book to help find clues about the story and it’s characters and also encourage them to make predictions about what may happen next in the story.

Numeracy

Primary one are currently focusing on numbers 0-10. They will be learning to recognise, count and write these numbers. Numeracy is taught actively here at St. Brendan’s through stories, games, number rhymes and songs. They will also be developing the ability to recognise, sequence and write numbers to 10, while exploring numbers before/after/between/largest/smallest. You can help at home by practising numbers to ten (counting forwards and backwards, missing numbers out when counting and asking your child to tell which number is missing etc…) and reinforcing the above vocabulary

Social Studies

Our Topics this term are ‘Traditional Tales’ and ‘People in our Community’. Through the topic, ‘People in our Community’ we will be learning all about the many different jobs people have in society. We will start by discussing the help we get in our homes and school and then go on to look at the emergency services and health care. We also plan to welcome various visitors to our classrooms to find out about the important jobs that they do. There will be lots of opportunities for active learning through role play, art, writing and stories.

Science

In science children will be learning about mini beasts and plants with Mrs. McLaughlan.

Health & Wellbeing

PE this term will be on a Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon. The
children will be working on a ‘Mini Athletics’ programme which will include running, jumping, throwing and catching.

R.E.

In R.E. we will be learning about the Bible and how to treat it with reverence. They will be listening to stories from the Old and New Testament.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

Mrs McCann

A warm welcome to you all.
As you can imagine the children are very excited about becoming the new Primary 7’s. They have been very enthusiastic about their new role as leaders and role models within the school and have thoroughly enjoyed being buddies this first week back. Here is a brief overview of what your child will be learning in P.7 this term.

Literacy
Children will continue on with North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy Programme for Spelling, Reading, Writing and Listening and Talking. They will learn new words weekly and will complete active tasks within the class and at home.
We will be completing a modelling block in Term 1 where the whole class will work from the novel ‘The Dark Isle’. This will help refresh their knowledge in all of the comprehension strategies and ensure they fully understand how these should be carried out. The children will also take a home reader to help keep their fluency up.

Maths
In Term 1 we will be looking at Units of Measure, Expressions and Equations and Place Value. We will be studying place value in greater depth than before as we continue along the new Pathways Programme. Maths will be kept active for the children and they will be involved in ‘station’ work where they will move around a variety of active tasks and finish with some written work once the concept has been grasped. In addition to this, we will be continuing with our mental maths approaches and focussing on learning our tables even better than before so we can increase the pace in which we do our calculations.

Health and Wellbeing
Mrs McLauchlan will be delivering most of the Health and Wellbeing this term along with Science, however, I myself will be taking P.E for my own class. Children are to receive 2 hours of P.E every week and each class is timetabled to do so. Please note that children should bring their P.E kits in every Monday and they will receive P.E on a Monday and a Friday throughout Term 1.

Social Studies
Our I.D.L topic for Term 1 is the Rainforest. I am really looking forward to tackling this with the class as it is so vast and I feel the children will learn a great deal. It fits in well to our whole school theme of ‘Our Wonderful World’ and it’s great that all of the children’s topics from P.1 through to P.7 are related in some way. We will be looking at deforestation, medicines from the rainforest, animals and their way of life. I also know we will be able to produce some fabulous art work from this topic and make the children’s working environment a really attractive one.
Due to the fact that P.7 are involved in the play ‘Divided City,’ we are also going to focus on some of the themes raised in this. We will look at sectarianism in Scotland and the history behind it. This will enable the children to have a stronger understanding of the play and the background behind it.

R.E
In R.E this term we will be focussing on ‘Creation and Science’, ‘Other World Religions’ and looking at the life of Our Lady. P.7 are also leading First Thursday mass this term and I am sure they will work hard on this and show maturity throughout.

If you have any queries don’t hesitate to use your child’s diary as a means of contact with myself.
Thank you in advance for all of your support this year and we all can’t wait to get started.

Many Thanks
Miss Mitchell

Dear Parent/Guardian,

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 are beginning to set personal targets for this term. Here is a brief overview of the learning that will be taking place in our P.2 class this term.

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 weekly and this will be consolidated through class work and homework.

In reading, children will usually bring home two colour banded books each week. Please ensure they return their books the following day. In writing children will continue to practise correct formation of letters. Please try to encourage this at home where possible.

Numeracy
Children will begin this term by learning the sequence of days in a week and months in a year. We will then move on to learn about our number system. Children will discover that this is built around the digits 0-9 and be able to use the digits in different combinations to make numbers. Children will also learn how to read, write and order a range of whole numbers.

R.E
In R.E we will discuss the love God has for us, why he made us the way he did. We will also focus on various parts of the mass and develop mass responses this term.

Health and Wellbeing
In P.E our main focus this term will be large ball skills. P.E days will be Mondays and Wednesdays. In Health Education our focus will be the drug education programme ‘What’s the Score’ were the children will gain an awareness of substances and potential dangers. In science Mrs McLaughlin will be looking at living things and their environment.

Social Studies
This term the children will take part in the whole school theme of ‘Our Wonderful World’. Primary 2 will explore the local area and will enjoy looking at Scotland in a wider context. Children will learn through play, discussion and many group activities to develop their understanding of our local environment and places of local interest.

Thank you for your continued support and please use your child’s homework diary to communicate any concerns/comments.

Eileen Doherty – Class Teacher P.2.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I am very much looking forward to my probationary year at Saint Brendan’s and am delighted to have the Primary 5 class! Our first week together has been lovely as the children have settled into their school routine after the Summer break. I have been getting to know them through educational games and lots of fun activities, and the children have also set themselves targets to achieve this term. Miss Hill, who is my mentor, will teach the class on a Tuesday.

Literacy

For literacy, we will be implementing the North Lanarkshire Active Literacy Programme. The children will learn new spelling strategies to help consolidate their learning.

As for our class novel, we will be studying – and enjoying! – Tilly and the Badgers. The children will explore the six reading strategies (prior knowledge, metalinguistics, visualisation, inference, main ideas and summary) when working on this book which will aid their understanding. Books will be part of our weekly homework routine and I know you will encourage your child to become bookworms.

Numeracy

Our first topic will be Place Value which involves the children looking at what the digits in a number represent up to 10,000. We will begin by revising our previous study of the topic but will then progress to more challenging numbers. The children will then move onto measure where they will be working with a variety of different types of standard units.

R.E

This term during R.E the children will be learning about the Bible and its importance in our daily lives. The children will also be looking at Saints and stories from the Bible.

Health and Wellbeing

We have P.E. twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays and the first thing we will be doing is athletics. As our Science co-ordinator, Mrs McLauchlan will be taking the children on a Friday to cover Science and substance misuse.

Interdisciplinary Learning

I am really excited about our project this term which is a whole-school topic called, ‘It’s a Wonderful World’. Primary 5 will investigate and explore the rainforest! Within this topic, we will focus on Social Studies, Expressive Arts, Health & Wellbeing and Technologies. I can’t wait to see the wonderful imaginations and ideas of our class.

Remember, you can help your child with homework and ensure they continue to bring a water bottle, P.E kit and a positive attitude towards their learning.

Thank you in advance for all your support this year. I am looking forward to meeting you all as we all enjoy watching the children grow and flourish.

Elizabeth (Lisa) Burns