Dear Parent/Guardian,

Our primary 2 children are settling in well and we are all very excited for a fun year of learning here at St. Brendan’s. All the children looked so smart starting the school year and with your support we know this will continue. This term with your help we aim to ensure your child achieves their full potential in all aspects of learning.

Here is a brief overview of the learning which will be taking place in our primary 2 class during term one.

Literacy

We will follow North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy programme for spelling, phonics and reading. We will be revising all phonemes taught in Primary 1 and will then move on to learn new phonemes (ay, ea, ow, ue). Children will be introduced to the phonemes through a multi-sensory approach. One phoneme will be introduced each week alongside four spelling words. The children will continue to receive two reading books per week. Please ensure that your child brings their reading book to school each day. In taught writing the children will be working with Mrs. Docherty on developing skills in recount and narrative writing.

Numeracy

Numeracy is taught actively here at St. Brendan’s through stories, games, number rhymes and songs. The children will also be developing the ability to recognise, sequence and write numbers to 100, while exploring numbers before/ after/ in-between/ largest/ smallest.

You can help at home by practising numbers (counting forwards and backwards, missing numbers out when counting and asking your child to tell you which number is missing etc…) and reinforcing the above vocabulary. The children will be focusing on numbers to 100 this term. They will be learning to read, write and order whole numbers to 100 and learning about the value of the digits within each number.

IDL

This term we will use Dinosaurs as a context for our learning.  Throughout this context we will be encouraging the children to develop their listening skills as well as building confidence in the rules and routines of the school and classroom.  The children will have opportunities to explore and develop their emergent literacy skills, number formation and counting skills, creativity and ICT skills.

The children will also be learning to make decisions and encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and play, allowing them to become more independent. These learning experiences will provide the children with the opportunity to work alongside others, promoting teamwork and problem solving skills.

Health & Wellbeing

PE this term will be on a Tuesday morning and Friday afternoon. The children will be working on a ‘Mini Athletics’ programme, which will include running, jumping, throwing and catching. Primary 2 will also be working with P.E students from Motherwell College during their Tuesday P.E session and they will be developing a range of skills and techniques.

You can help your child by encouraging them to change and dress themselves at home, this includes fastening and undoing buttons on shirts and trousers/skirts. This will allow the children to be independent and confident individuals within the school environment.

This term we will also be exploring the theme of ‘Growth Mindset’. This aims to help children become engaged with learning and activities that they may otherwise try to avoid through fear of getting things wrong. The children will learn that intelligence isn’t fixed – it can change depending on how much effort is applied. Their brains grow and learn by effort, and hard work.

R.E.

In R.E. we will be learning about the Bible and how to treat it with reverence. We will be listening to stories from the Old and New Testament as well as learning and taking part in our daily prayers. We will also be learning about those who care for us and looking at both our families and the wider community and how we are supported.

 

Thank you for your support.

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

Miss Smith