St. Brendan's Primary School and Nursery

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I hope you had a wonderful Easter holiday! It was lovely to see all of you at parents evening and I am very grateful for all of your continued support. The following is a brief outline of the work which we will be undertaking within the class during the final term in Primary 3.

Literacy

The children will continue to follow the North Lanarkshire Active Literacy Programme in spelling and phonics. They will learn a new sound and a different set of common words each week and this will be consolidated through class work and homework. As part of the reading programme the children will read one book or chapter per week with associated writing tasks in class to develop their understanding. This term the focus will be on fact and opinion through written and verbal forms. It is important that the children bring their books into school daily to ensure they are able to use them to carry out their tasks. Within Big Writing the children will explore the features of the following genres; narrative, persuasive and explanation.

Numeracy

This term the children will learn about fractions, data analysis, patterns and relationships as well as weight and capacity and time. In fractions they will learn to use the correct notation for common fractions to fifths e.g. 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and 1/5. We will explore data analysis through our IDL. The children will select the most appropriate way to gather and sort data for a given purpose e.g. a survey, questionnaire and group tallies. They will use a variety of different methods including the use of digital technologies, to display data, for example, as block graphs, bar graphs, tables. carroll diagrams or venn diagrams. In weight and capacity the children will learn how to estimate how heavy an object is, or the amount it holds, using everyday things as a guide and then measure using appropriate instruments and units.

Religious Education

During Religious Education the children will learn about Mary and the children will decorate the class altar with flowers and icons of Mary in celebration of the month of May.  We will learn about the importance of Mass, prayer and worship as well as exploring other world religions.

Health and Wellbeing

In P.E. the learning will be focused on striking and fielding, moving our bodies or objects into a space to score or prevent scoring. We will also explore moving objects from the start to a set target. Both aspects of Physical Education will be demonstrated on sports day in June. It is very important that your child takes their P.E kit to school on the days in which they have P.E, Monday and Wednesday. All kits should be clearly labelled, so that it can be easily identified. NOTE: please check that your child has the correct P.E kit as a number of kits have gone missing throughout the year.

Social Subjects

This terms IDL (Inter-disciplinary Learning) theme is ‘Enterprise’. The IDL will take the form of a ‘Charity Enterprise’, encouraging the children to participate in decision making and to consider different options available in order to make an informed decision. The children will lead the enterprise making decisions including which charity to donate money to, what type of enterprise business to run as a class, where it will take place and when. Throughout the IDL the children will explore data analysis and revisit money as they will need to work out an amount of money needed in order to buy items and understand that they may not always afford what they want. The children will learn the different jobs involved in running a business enterprise and understand the role each person plays in its success.

Finally thanks again for your continued support and please do not hesitate to contact me concerning your child’s learning. You can communicate any concerns/comments through your child’s homework or behaviour diary.

Kind Regards,

Mrs O’Donnell

Class Teacher Primary 3

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We hope you all had a fantastic Easter holiday and it was lovely speaking to you all at Parent’s Night.

We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the children on making their Sacrament of Confirmation. It was a beautiful service and the children, along with their families, worked very hard to prepare for this sacrament.

This term will be particularly busy for our Primary 7 children as they head off to Kilbowie and continue their preparation for high school and planning their leavers’ events.

Once again this letter will provide you with a brief overview of the learning that will take place this term in Primary 7.

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.

This term the children will complete one group novel with a text suitable for their age and stage. This will be an opportunity for the children to apply all of their prior learning 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 7 will explore volume and weight, expressions and equations, patterns and relationships, angles, negative numbers and maps and coordinates. It is important that the pupils continue to practise their times tables at home to support their numeracy. 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.

Health and Wellbeing

This children’s Health and Wellbeing topic will link to Religious Education this term as the children will explore God’s Loving Plan. This programme helps children to develop healthy and respectful attitudes to their bodies and to relationships with families and friends.

This term in Physical Education the children will develop their skills in striking and fielding. The children will participate in a variety of games which challenge their team work, co-ordination, spatial awareness and stamina.

Interdisciplinary Learning

The children of Primary 7 will be exploring ‘18^th Century Scotland’ this term. This theme will provide opportunities for the children to examine historical Scottish society by exploring the Highland Clans and the lives of Scottish people during this time period which they will then compare with our current society. The children will apply their learning across the curriculum with a particular focus within the curriculum areas of Social Studies, Expressive Arts and Technologies.

Science

Primary 7 will be exploring an exciting science topic this term which is Forces. The children will look at friction, magnetic, electrostatic and gravitational forces and will also explore floating and sinking.

Religious Education

Religious Education will be taught through the ‘This Is Our Faith’ programme. This term Primary 7 will explore Holy Week, Eastertide, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday.

Homework

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

Miss McShane