Primary 5/4 have settled in very well to their new class, quickly building positive relationships and a strong sense of community. Together, they created a class charter using boats inspired by St Brendan, reflecting on their rights and responsibilities to help steer their class in the right direction. Each pupil has been given a class job that changes weekly and they are really enjoying taking on these roles and contributing to the smooth running of their classroom. At the start of term the class also took part in fun ‘getting to know me’ activities, helping everyone learn more about each other and feel welcome.
Our learning so far
Literacy
In Literacy, the children have been engaging enthusiastically with the Active Literacy spelling programme, where they are introduced to a new phoneme each week. They have been using magnetic boards to help build and break down phoneme words, which is developing their understanding and confidence. Alongside this, they are becoming more secure in using a range of spelling strategies to learn their common words. As part of their reading, the class has been working through a Modelling Block on ‘The Best Dog In The World’, learning how to approach and lay out tasks using the new Active Literacy guidance. In writing, the focus has been on narrative, where the children have explored character and setting descriptions. They have been applying their grammar learning, particularly the use of powerful adjectives, to make their writing more descriptive and engaging.
Maths and Numeracy
In Maths and Numeracy, the children have been developing their understanding of place value, exploring aspects such as the value of digits, ordering and comparing numbers and identifying numbers in both digit and written form. To help bring this learning to life, they applied their knowledge within the context of the rainforest, creating eye-catching displays featuring rainforest plants and animals, each labelled with numbers written in digits and words. This real-life context has helped deepen their understanding and made their learning both meaningful and creative. The children are also developing their Number Talks strategies with a focus on addition, becoming more confident in explaining their thinking and sharing how they have solved sums orally with the rest of the class. They are learning to use a range of mental strategies and are beginning to explain their methods clearly and confidently. Alongside this, they have been taking part in active tasks to help reinforce their knowledge of the 3 and 4 times tables, making their learning both engaging and effective.
Learning across the curriculum
As part of their Health and Wellbeing learning, the children have been exploring the concept of a growth mindset. They worked on identifying fixed mindset statements and successfully changed these into positive, growth mindset alternatives, creating detailed and colourful visualisers to show their understanding. They also looked at how Usain Bolt demonstrated a growth mindset throughout his journey to success, using him as an inspiring example. In P.E, the focus has been on athletics, where the children have been developing their skills in various types of races, including exciting relay races on the MUGA. They have also enjoyed practising their throwing skills using sponge javelins, which has been a fun and active way to build their coordination and strength.
In R.E, the children began the year by writing thoughtful prayers, thanking God for the skills they already have and asking for His guidance in the areas they hope to improve during the school year. They have also been learning about the Ten Commandments and how these teachings help guide their actions and choices in daily life. The class explored the importance of the Bible, understanding why it is treated with respect and reverence in the Church. To reflect this learning creatively, they produced beautiful paintings of the Bible on the lectern, inspired by the pointillism style of artist George Seurat.
Primary 5/4 are also excited to be taking part in the music project with the Diocese this year, where they are taken out every Friday to develop a range of musical skills. They have been learning about singing, keeping a steady beat, recognising rhythm patterns and working together as a group to create music. We are also proud to share that some new members from our class have successfully joined the school choir this year and are already showing great enthusiasm and talent in their singing.
We recently enjoyed our first Community Friday, which was a wonderful way to come together as a school. We celebrated our first ‘First Friday Mass’, taking time to reflect and pray as a community. As part of our ECO day, we learned all about pond habitats, exploring the different plants and animals that live there and why they are important. We also took part in Outdoor Learning, where we had fun discovering and identifying different types of leaves, helping us to connect with nature and learn more about the world around us.
Primary 5/4 took part in a sponsored litter pick this week to help raise money for our Christmas Pantomime and we had a great time doing something positive for our community. We collected an impressive 3 bin bags of litter, weighing a total of 15 lbs! The children enjoyed using the litter pickers and wearing hi-vis vests to stay safe while out and about. It was a fun and rewarding way to help our school while also looking after our local environment.
Celebrating our successes
Our class was delighted to win ‘Rover the Dog’ at assembly this week for showing excellent behaviour. This special award recognises how well we have been following our class rights and responsibilities, showing respect to others, making good choices and helping to create a positive learning environment. We were very proud to welcome Rover for the week as a reward for our hard work and great attitude.
