St. Brendan's Primary School and Nursery

Dear Parent/Guardian,

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas break. After the excitement of Christmas we have now settled back into our working routine. This is a brief outline of the work that we will be undertaking within the class during the third term.

Literacy

We will be continuing to follow the North Lanarkshire Active Literacy Programme in phonics and common words. This term we will be using the 5 A Day computer program in class to support the learning of phonics and common words. The children will continue to read one or two books per week with associated writing tasks in class to develop their comprehension skills. It is important that the children continue to bring their books into school daily to ensure they are able to use them to carry out their tasks. In Big Writing this term the children will be given opportunities to write narrative, information and persuasive pieces of writing.

Numeracy

In Primary 3 we will be learning Multiplication and Division (by 2, 5 and 10), Data Analysis (Tally’s, Tables and Pictograms) and Fractions, Decimals and Percentages (1/2, 1/3, 1/4 and 1/5). Within numeracy the concepts are taught and the children are given opportunities to learn as a whole class, with a partner and participating in active maths activities where the children will be given opportunities to put their knowledge into practice.

Religious Education

Our focus in term 3 will be on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The children will receive a booklet to guide them on their journey up to the Sacrament, this will require some support at home as well as in school. Nearing the end of the third term the children will be learning about New Birth/Baptism and Lent. The teaching and learning will take the structure of a prayer service/circle time, Bible readings and written tasks.

Health and Wellbeing

In P.E. the learning will be focused on Possession, Central Net and Wall Games. The children will practice and improve their skills to develop control and flow. They will learn to follow and understand the rules and procedures of a variety of games. Please ensure your child continues to bring their P.E. kit to school on a Monday and take it home on a Friday.

Interdisciplinary Learning

This term our interdisciplinary learning will be based on the story ‘Fly, Pigeon, Fly!’ by Julia Donaldson. As part of this learning the children will be finding out about our closest city, in particular, the history of the famous Clyde Shipyards. We will also explore the theme of friendship using the story as our stimulus.

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

Kind Regards,

Mrs O’Donnell

Class Teacher Primary 3

Dear parents/carers,

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year. After the Christmas break the Primary 2 children are working hard and looking forward to a busy and productive term ahead. Here is a brief overview of some of the learning experiences planned for this term:

Literacy

We will continue to work on North Lanarkshire’s Active Literacy programme for spelling and phonics. Children will learn new sounds and words each week and this will be consolidated through class work and homework. The new phonemes for this term include: igh, y, i-e, o-e, a-e and u-e. For reading, the children will continue to read one or two books per week. I would be grateful if you would continue to support reading at home and ensure that your child brings their book into school each day.

Numeracy

This term we will be focusing on the following key areas of numeracy: multiplication and division, data analysis, fractions and percentages and patterns and relationships. The children will experience a variety of active lessons as well as written tasks in order to develop their skills in each of these subject areas. We will also continue to work on addition and subtraction as well as mental calculation skills.

Health and Wellbeing

In P.E. the children will be taking part in gymnastics which will help develop coordination, flexibility and strength as well as promote self-esteem and confidence. Children should bring their P.E. kit to school on Mondays and take them home each Friday.

This term we will also be exploring the theme of ‘Safe’. This aims to help children become familiar with how to keep safe within their community and different risks that may arise and what to do if they find themselves in an unsafe situation. This theme will also explore road safety.

Science

Our Science topic for this term is ‘Exploring Materials’. The children will learn about the properties of a variety of materials and will carry out some hands-on activities and experiments to support their learning.

Religious Education

This term we will be focusing on the themes of ‘New Baptism’, ‘Eastertide’ and ‘Lent’ as we approach Easter. If you have any family pictures of the children at their Baptism you would like to share with us, please send them in and they can be added to a special display (photographs will be returned).

Interdisciplinary Learning

Our topic this term is Scotland with a focus on the life of Robert Burns. What better way to kick-start this topic than having our very own Burns Supper in Primary 2 this Burns Night?  As part of our topic we will look at the birth place of Robert Burns and different historical places of interest which Burns is associated with. The children will enjoy activities such as creating their own tartan. Our new role play area will shortly be set up in the classroom which will run alongside our topic.

Thank you for all your continued support and if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Miss Degnan.

P2 Class Teacher