It is difficult to believe that we are now in the final month of the school year. The weather is certainly not helping! Every year time seems to go by quicker but it really does feel like yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas!

Anyway we are in June and everyone within our school is busy bringing everything together for the end of term. All pupils have been busy completing final assessments, many pupils are taking part in various induction and transition activities involving primary and secondary schools. We continue to develop the role of our Family Support Worker, Hazel, through drop in sessions and our very popular after school baking, our musicians are busy preparing for their showcase event and when we have a little spare time we are busy celebrating success! Our school has been awarded the National Nurturing Schools Award, two P7 pupils received SLC awards on Monday on behalf of the Digital Leaders and St Andrew’s Hospice Ambassadors and on Tuesday we presented our chosen charities with our Lenten Fundraising efforts! Wow! I was also delighted to attend the St John Ogilvie Junior Prizegiving on Monday evening and celebrate the continued success of many of our former pupils. Meanwhile in the classes there is definitely no rest ….

 

P1a and b have been revisiting rhyme this week in literacy. In maths they have been working on shapes and identifying sides and corners. I are they used Katie Morag as inspiration to create super collage kilts. P1a also read Katies’ Secret baking and made porridge. They have also been practising for Sports Day on Friday.

P2 were out and about at Almond Valley Farm Park. They learned all about the Jersey cow and how they were looked after and milked. They then used water colours to create scenic backgrounds and will print their cows on top.

P3 have been learning all about fractions. In literacy they have been developing knowledge about tenses past and present. Hamilton Acc Football Club continue to deliver skills during PE time.

P3/4 have been learning about direction and right angles. In literacy they have developed their use of adjectives and punctuation. In Art they have developed different techniques to draw portraits of themselves.

In music P4 have been practising their Samba band performance for the showcase. They have been calculating area in numeracy, making balloon powered cars in science and learning how to write a procedural piece in literacy! A very busy class!

P5 have been busy too practising their performance for the music showcase. In music they have been using musical terms to describe the music being played. In Art they have been learning to create portraits of their friends that were in proportion. In Literacy they are developing their reading skills through the Demon Headmaster.

P6 finally got to the woods despite the weather being against them to continue their John Muir Award. They have investigated insects and their life cycles. They will use their learning to write a report next week. They have also been out in the school garden creating an insect hotel for the whole school to enjoy!

P7 have been completing end of year assessments and performing their solo talks. They applied their reading strategies to understand the challenging poem ‘The Highwayman’. They too have been working hard preparing for their final assembly using words and song.

Many thanks for reading my blog. The June Newsletter will be published early this week. Please look out for notification on our school app.

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

This week belonged to our Primary 4 pupils. They worked tirelessly all week to prepare for the very special occasion of their First Holy Communion. And it was worth it! We had a super celebration of faith on Saturday morning where 22 of our Primary 4 pupils made their First Holy Communion. My thanks to the pupils, families, Mrs McGraw and so many of our staff who helped and prepared our children in so many ways. We look forward to this Thursday when all our sacrament children this year will gather to give thanks for the sacraments they received this year and then join in celebration with their family and friends.

 

We had a super busy week with P1 and P7 completing their National Assessments, a visit from the Legion of Mary on Tuesday, P6 leading a Garage Band workshop, P6 off on an educational excursion and P7 visiting SJOHS for their 2 day visit! We also welcomed our family worker this week Helen! We are delighted that Helen has become part of our team. Helen will be with us every Thursday until Summer and then two days per week next session. Helen will host her first Brew and Blether for all families from school and nursery this Thursday at 9am in the Parents’ Room. Please come along and say hello!

 

Meanwhile in the classes….

P1 have been sequencing the Katie Morag story Tiresome Ted. They also wrote fantastic descriptions of Grannie Island and Katie Morag. In science they went on a material hunt in the playground used the iPad to photograph glass, metal, stone and wood. They also worked very hard on their National Assessments.

P1n have also been developing literacy through their descriptive writing of Grannie Island and Katie Morag. In Re they have been learning about Mary. They enjoyed the good weather as they developed PE skills outdoors and in health they were learning about what a baby needs.

P2 have been learning about fiction and non-fiction texts and how to differentiate between the two. They have been learning how to measure using metre sticks, their feet and their hands. They have been developing their knowledge about Mary and the importance of her in their lives.

P3 have been learning about ordering numbers. They have been continuing to develop their reading comprehension skills during literacy. During PE they too were outside developing their striking and fielding skills in the sun!

P3/4 have been learning about weight in numeracy. In literacy they have been developing comprehension skills. In Spanish, they have been learning about different hobbies and sharing their favourite hobbies with one another.

P4 have been busy preparing for their First Holy Communion. They made beautiful paper flowers to crown Our Lady for the month of May. They have also enjoyed the last chapters of their novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

P5 have been learning about the relationship between decimals, fractions and percentages.

P6 enjoyed an excellent trip to the National Museum of Scotland. They participated in Get Energised workshop and learned about solar and wind power. In Art they created their Miracle of the Sun oil pastel piece, linked to our learning about Our Lady of Fatima.

P7 have had an exceptionally busy week completing and doing very well in their National Assessments! They have started to study God’s Loving Plan and revisited the Creation Story. They loved their 2 day visit to high school and are very excited about the big move!

 

In the nursery…

Due to the lovely weather the children spent most of their time in the outdoor area this week. They had great fun making an obstacle course with the tyres and planks of wood. A lot of risky play safely took place! The mud kitchen was changed into an ice cream parlour with lots of different varieties of ice cream offered. The construction area was changed into a building site where children made cement with sand and water to build their walls. Football skills were also developed by our visiting coach, former parent, Derek. Transition reports and Progress Reports will be issued for all children on Monday.

 

We have also been very busy preparing this week to welcome Helen Stollery on Wednesday for our National Nurturing Schools Programme assessment. We are looking forward to showcasing the wonderful work in our school.

We also have Parents’ Evening this Wednesday. Times were sent home with report cards on Friday!

 

And we are also looking forward to a lovely long weekend starting on Friday after a very busy month of May! No blog next week.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog.

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

The staff had a super day on Tuesday working together to evaluate this year’s work and identify focus for next session. They also elarned about the new ParentPay, cashless system, coming to our school. Please check your child’s bag for important updates.

Enjoy reading about our very busy three days of learning …

 

P1a and b have been working hard on double consonants this weeks. Through studying Katie Morag they have developed their mapping skills and made a map of Struay. In numeracy they have been learning  about sorting information.

P2 have been learning about the suffix –ing. In numeracy they have been learning to read information from a table and display in a bar graph. They have also been studying the role of Mary and learning information about her life.

P3 have been working on an expressive piece of writing on children using mobile phones. In Re they too have been studying Mary. In Spanish the focus has been classroom objects.

P3/4 have been measuring using cm and m. In Literacy they have been learning about proper nouns and the irregular past tense.

P4 have been learning about the difference between literal and inferential questions. In writing they have been developing their use of sequence words. They have been creating some Wonka inspired pictures using paint.

P5 have been learning about the difference between mixed numbers and improper fractions. They have also been using iPads to consider the role of an MSP.

P6 wrote superb exposition texts about homework and emailed to myself. They were most persuasive! They have continued with their John Muir Award work in Glenlee Woods and carried out at extensive litter survey.

P7 have been exploring the views in their novel Divided City. They completed recounts from the view of the character Graham. They were very excited about the SJOHS Maths Challenge and the Passport to Europe study. They have been learning about the use of parenthesis in their writing.

 

The children in the nursery have been welcoming their P1 teachers from our school and others this week. This will continue in coming weeks. Some children displayed an interest in planets so they took this forward making papier mache planets. They can name a few. P5 should come and visit! Mud kitchen was transformed into a café and children were making all sorts of exotic dishes. Children have been supporting each other during risky play outdoors and developing super balance skills. As well as this some children were off for their weekly visit to Aberglen and the library.

 

This week is an exceptionally busy week for all! We will carrying out the SNSA programme with P1 and P7. We will work with P4 next week. This week P4 are in the final week of preparation for their First Holy Communion and P7 are off to SJOHS for their two day visit. As well as some nursery visits by our Primary 1 teachers getting to know our new intake. Report Cards will be in bags this Friday alongside parent interview times.

Good luck to our senior football team who are participating in the Davie Copper Tournament tomorrow for the first time in many years. Thank you to Mr McGovern for coaching our team.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Our school community had a very busy week, with children out and about at various learning opportunities from swimming to the Apple Store in Glasgow.

In the classes ….

P1a and P1b have been learning the ‘th’ and ‘sh’ sounds. In Art they drew fantastic pictures of Katie Morag. in HWB they learned about brushing their teeth and can sequence the steps in the correct order.

Primary 2 have been working hard to divide numbers equally between 2, 3, 4 and 5. They have bene learning how to change a word from singular to plural by using the suffixes –es and –s. They have also been introduced to their new IDL topic Dairy Farming. They can identify foods that are made using milk.

P3 have been working hard to create procedural writing pieces. In Health & Wellbeing they have been learning to keep safe around medicines, and wrote a letter to George from ‘George’s Marvellous Medicine’ about how he has been irresponsible. In Numeracy they have been learning numbers to 1000 and multiplication.

P3/4 have been proofreading and learning about propositions in Literacy. In Numeracy they have been learning about expressions and equations and solving number problems. They have also been learning about elections and our local councillors in their topic.

P4 have been finishing their leaflets on how chocolate is made and learning about root words. They have also been learning how to find fractions of numbers. They have been creating Wonka art and they have been continuing to prepare for First Communion.

P5 have been learning lots about the solar system, developing their knowledge of the features of each planet. They enjoyed creating scaled 3D models and taking their learning outdoors to re-enact the orbit of the planet. They have been learning about fractions and developed their understanding of mixed numbers.

Primary 6 have been working hard in Numeracy developing their formal written multiplication and division skills. They welcomed their parents for a family learning class to share their strategies. They began their John Muir Award in Glenlee Woods on Wednesday and have begun planning their conservation work.

Primary 7 have been working hard on reading comprehension and exploring text. They have been creating line graphs and pie charts and working with databases to 5 conditions. They have been reading the Gospel stories about the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. They have been exploring sectarianism in Scottish football and society.

I hope everyone enjoyed the May bank holiday and we look forward to welcoming children back to school and nursery on Wednesday 8th May. The newsletter will be published this week – apologies for the delay.

 

Thank you for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

I hope everyone had a happy and holy Easter and enjoyed the Spring break.

This week we returned to wave goodbye to 25 of our Primary 7 pupils as they headed to Ardentinny for a week of outdoor adventure. The weather was on their side and the photographs looked stunning! Miss McKendry, Mrs Hall and Mrs McLean gave a very quick update on Friday that they had a super week with many children developing skills across a number of areas. We look forward to hearing more about this on Monday. More pictures will follow as well! Thank you to our committed staff for enabling this super learning opportunity to take place.

 

On Friday evening there was no rest for 2 of our senior pupils and 7 more pupils from P5-6 as we participated in the Swimming Gala at Larkhall. Mrs Cran and myself were very proud of all pupils who completed their races. Special mention to Caitlin, Erin and Xander who secured a place in the final and congratulations to Xander who won a bronze medal! Well done everyone and thank you to Mrs Cran for organising the event.

 

In school this week some Primary 6 pupils welcomed their parents for their first family learning class on numeracy. This was a great success and both Miss Prentice and parents were very positive about the impact it will have on parents being able to support pupil learning. Another 3 sessions to go! Thank you to Miss Prentice for enabling this opportunity for our pupils.

 

Mrs McLaren and Mrs Harley also started the Families Connect programme on Tuesday. We were delighted to welcome 8 of our new Primary 1 pupils along with their parents. This is a 8 week programme designed to support parents and carers and children. We look forward to week 2 on Tuesday! My thanks to Mrs McLaren and Mrs Harley who are leading this worthwhile programme.

 

In addition to the music initiative in Primary 5 we welcomed Mrs Duffy to Primary 4 this week to start the music programme with them. We look forward to showcasing our pupils’ talent in our Music Showcase on Monday 17^th June.

 

I met with the Parent Council this week to plan the Summer Fayre. This year will be slightly different from last so please make sure you come along and support! Friday 31^st May 3pm-5pm – save the date!

 

The Senior Nurture group visited Memories Tea Room on Thursday and supported the guests with their company. The nursery also visited Aberglen Nursing Home to share snack this week. We look forward to some of the residents coming to visit the nursery playroom in the near future.

 

SLC Schools Modernisation Team have been meeting with staff to finalise details for our expansion. This will take place over the Summer months. When we return in August we will have a fabulous facility that will deliver 1140hours of early learning and childcare for 72 young people.

 

Many thanks to all our pupils, staff, friends and family for your efforts during fundraising week. The final total raised was a staggering £3150.28! Superb! We will be inviting our chosen charities to assembly very soon to make our presentations.

Our uniform supplier Academy will be in school on Monday and Wednesday this week from 2.30pm for ordering of uniforms for next year. Please come along and get organised for next session!

 

The April / May Newsletter will be issued this week. Please make sure you access this on the school app or request a paper copy from the school office to keep up to date of all dates at this busy time of year.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

The whole school celebrated mass on Thursday for St Cuthbert’s Feast Day. Primary 4 led the mass beautifully and we were delighted to be joined by number of family and friends.

Mrs McLaren and Mrs Harley have been out of school on Thursday and Friday attending Families Connect training delivered by Save the Children. We look forward to delivering this highly successful programme in our school in the future. Look out for further details.

P1a have bee learning the ‘ai’ sound and ‘ve’ sound. They have been continuing to learn subtraction stories of 7,8,9 and 10. They have made craft cards for their special person. In PE they have been developing their ability to perform a teddy roll. In RE they made stained glass windows to think about Jesus’ life during the season of Lent.

P1b have been creating descriptive pieces of writing amount their mum. They too have continued to focus on subtraction and made stained glass windows.

P2 have been focussing on questions. They have been practising writing questions using a range of question words. In Numeracy they have been recalling the 2,5, and 10 times table. They are practising every day! Practice makes perfect!

In literacy P3 have been studying connectives and using these in their information report in writing. The pupils have also been working hard to use their ‘Learn its’ in numeracy. In Spanish they have been learning vocabulary for weather.

P3/4 have been working hard adding and subtracting money this week. They have been learning about adjectives in literacy and created their own word webs. Children have created their own areas of improvement for their local area.

P4 have been learning about how chocolate is made. They have also been introduced to inverted commas and their use. In maths they have been applying their knowledge to word problems. Classroom language has been the focus in Spanish.

P5 have been working on durations in time using the 12 and 24 hr clocks. In PE they have been learning about shooting and in Science they have been learning about the water cycle. They have been experimenting with inverted commas around keyword with searching for information on the internet.

P6 had a super busy week. They worked tirelessly to prepare for their excellent Market Day on Friday as part of their Make £5 Grow project. It was a fabulous success with all products selling out within 30 minutes! They have been developing their summary writing skills using Newsround and also studied the Mysteries of the Rosary.

P7 have continued with their focus on bearings and matching these to compass directions. They have begun studying Divided City exploring sectarianism. On Thursday they received a visit from their Mock Court tutor lawyer accompanied by a local sheriff to hear their cases in class in preparation for their appearance in Hamilton Sheriff Court this week. Our meetings with SJOHS also took place between staff and P7 enjoyed a Spanish lesson from Mr Sharif during this time.

 

In the nursery Barney brought Active Bear along to meet the boys and girls. Active Bear took the boys and girls to the gym hall and they all took part in relay races. In the playroom the children transformed the home corner into a vet’s surgery. The children participated in role play at the vets with some very sick animals. More children went to visit their friends at Aberglen Nursing Home and enjoyed drawing pictures with them. The Snowdrops went to Bookbug this week and the Rainbows visited the library. On Friday everyone enjoyed our Sponsored Sing a long. Total to be counted and shared as we inform parents reduced cost of our Summer Trip.

 

Once again my blog highlights the wide range of super learning experiences our children receive weekly in St Cuthbert’s Primary School and Nursery Class. The delight on the faces of our P6 pupils was fantastic on Friday as they realised that their hard work had resulted in success and profit! I look forward to this week and watching our pupils perform in Hamilton Sheriff Court. An outstanding opportunity.

 

This week coming is our annual fundraising week for our Lenten charities. Please look on the app for further details. Reminders will be sent daily for the activities.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog.

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

 

Congratulations to our Primary 3 pupils who made the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Thursday evening. It was a very prayerful service with the pupils and families joining together to make this important step on their faith journey. My thanks to Miss Keeney and Father Dornan for all their support and hard work during this time.

 

P7 took great care of all ten chicks this week and hosted visitors from across the school and nursery. Six of out pupils from P5-7 attended a Space Transition Event at St John Ogilvie on Wednesday. They worked together with Mrs Clark to create a super space man to take with them and this contributed to the fabulous display across The Street. Pupils were commended on their behaviour and attitude and were super ambassadors for St Cuthbert’s. Well done!

 

Unfortunately, the weather called off the cross country race on Friday morning for our Primary 6 and 7 pupils. An alternative date is being suggested but at present we are unable to make this for a variety of reasons.

 

In the classes …

P1a have had a busy week again! In literacy they have been learning the sounds ‘nk’ and ‘v’. They have been developing their descriptive skills and wrote all about  a farmer. They are continuing to develop their subtraction skills to 10. They made salt dough shapes and police cars for their topic. A busy week indeed!

P1b have also been learning the sounds ‘nk’ and ‘v’. In PE they have been developing their skills to bounce and catch a ball. They used a variety of collage materials to make their police cars for their topic.

P2 have been learning more about joining words. In numeracy they have been introduced to the concept of multiplication and have been impressing Miss Lamont with their skills!

They have also been painting spooky backgrounds to display their castles.

P3 have worked hard all week preparing for their Sacrament of Reconciliation. They demonstrated their faith learning on Thursday evening and made Miss Keeney and their families very proud! They have also been developing their ability to round numbers to the nearest 10.

P3/4 have been developing their procedural writing skills. They worked together to write the procedure they used when making their clay models. You will see them soon! P3 had a wonderful evening on Thursday. In numeracy they are continuing with work on fractions.

P4 have been analysing characters through their reading of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In Spanish they are developing their vocabulary for classroom objects. In ICT they have been introduced to StudyLadder, a tool they can use at home to support learning.

P5 have been learning about time this week. In Technologies they have been learning how to effectively use search engines, choosing key words. In writing they have been creating the resolutions / endings to their narrative stories. They also had a visit from a real captain this week as they continue to learn about The Titanic. Captain Rice was sharing lots of information about ships and weather!

P6 have been working very hard getting ready for their enterprise project market day next week. In numeracy they have been calculating durations of time. In gymnastics they have been working on jumps and balances.

P7 have been very busy this week as always! They have been creating their storyline for court and preparing their evidence. They are nearly finished the patterns for their gowns as they need to be submitted for approval. In literacy they have employed their pre reading strategies for Divided City. They completed PowerPoints about the chicks and how to care for them.

 

In the nursery ….

Barney Bear brought another friend this week. Active Bear. The children were very eager to talk about being active and display their skills in keeping fit.

Children showed an interest in sharks this week after a great discussion about Deep Sea World. Some children were able to talk about the different parts of sharks. They will take their learning forward this week as they use a range of media to create art relating to sharks. Children were creative this week making kites that they then took outside to fly. They had great fun flying them during Storm Gareth! Amazing!

 

What a wide range of activities this week to take our children forward in all aspects of their learning from nursery to P7.

 

This week we look forward to P6 Market Day on Friday and the nursery sponsored singalong. On Thursday we have our feast day Mass in the school hall at 1.15pm. All are welcome to join us.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

 

 

 

If you follow us on Twitter you will know all about the going ons in P7 and the arrival of the living eggs. Everyone in the school will have the opportunity to visit the chicks.

On Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday in school. Father Dornan very kindly came into school on Wednesday afternoon to distribute ashes due to the inclement weather stopping us from walking to church in the morning.

Mrs Hall and Miss Prentice will begin the Lenten morning prayer services this Tuesday. These will run every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the school hall at 8:45am. All pupils, families and friends very welcome.

Details of the Lenten Fundraising activities will follow.

 

In the classes this week …

P1a worked hard to learn the ‘ng’ and ‘ea’ sounds. In numeracy they loved using pancakes to learn ½ and ¼. In ICT they have been learning about passwords and logging onto a computer. They also learned about the important work the police do.

P1b continue to work hard with their sounds, learning ‘ng’. In maths, they also enjoyed using pancakes to learn about fractions. In R.E., on Ash Wednesday, they made Lenten promises. In ICT they have been learning to log on.

P2 have continues to practise the formation of capital letters. In Numeracy, they have ben learning about edges, corners and faces of 3D objects. They made Lenten promises on Ash Wednesday and also got to enjoy pancakes on Tuesday!

Primary 3 have been working hard in Numeracy on finding the number between two given numbers, as well as developing their knowledge of times tables. On Thursday the whole class had a fantastic time on their educational excursion to Glasgow Science Centre and developed their learning about the earth, moon and sun. The children have also been working very hard during R.E. as they prepare for their First Reconciliation.

Primary 3/4 have had lots of fun in music using boomwhackers to try to keep the beat and create a tune. The Primary 3 pupils have been learning how to calculate fractions. The Primary 4 children have been developing their understanding of equivalent fractions.

Primary 4 have been studying Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and have ben looking at characterisation. In writing they have been focussing on description. In Art, they used oil pastels to draw Wonka’s factory. They have started formal preparation for First Communion.

P5 have been learning about weight and volume this week in Numeracy. In Science, they were learning more about how the sensory organs interact with our brains and keep us safe. They were lucky enough to have a visit from a neurological nurse to explain this in detail and they participated in some experiments while investigating how their senses worked together. The children all built models of the Titanic ship and have asked our followers on Twitter to vote for their favourite model! How exciting!

Primary 6 have been developing their skills in converting 12hour and 24hour times. In Literacy, they wrote their own ‘Winter Wardrobe’ narrative pieces. In HWB, they have been learning about different types of drugs and how they affect our bodies. Tey have also developed a variety of jumps in gymnastics.

Primary 7 welcomed the Living Eggs this week and have been thrilled to watch hatch and care for them all week. In maths, they have been multiplying fractions and finding fractions of quantities. They have submitted their Adjustments for Mock Court an are preparing their productions for the trials.

In the nursery the boys and girls have been out and about this week as well as learning both indoors and out. The discovery pit opened up this week and this resulted in the children finding worms and snails. They decided to have a race in the fairy garden. I must find out who was the winner! Another of Barney’s friends came to visit – Nurture bear! The boys and girls have been learning about how to care for one another and protect each other from harm. The bears are a huge addition to our nursery and visit daily to help children understand many aspects of their health and wellbeing. Some pm visited children attended Bookbug this week and our morning children are now attending a library session also with Mrs Reilly. Our weekly visit to Aberglen care home also took place.

The most recent newsletter has been published on the app. Please read to keep up to date with all going ons. This Thursday our Primary 3  children will make the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Please keep them in your prayers.

Good luck to our cross country runners who take to the field on Friday morning. Let’s hope the weather is kind!

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

 

 

All pupils, including some friends from the nursery, enjoyed a performance of Oliver Twist by M and M Productions on Friday afternoon. It was a great opportunity for our school community to enjoy a live performance. Thank you M and M.

All teaching staff participated in some professional reading on Tuesday evening as part of their professional learning. The subject was Cost of the School Day. The staff had some very interesting discussion around the topic and are all committed to explore this area further in coming months. This topic was also discussed at a recent Parent Council meeting. SLC have all schools to make this area a priority to ensure all pupils have access to all aspects of school experience without financial strain. If anyone wishes to discuss further or make suggestions around this please contact myself at the school.

 

In the classes….

P1a have been learning to add amounts of money in numeracy. They visited the local shop and used 50p to make a purchase. They then wrote about their experience in class. In their topic they have discussed the role of the school crossing patrol and how this keeps us safe. They have also been learning ab out the stated of solids, liquids and gases in Science.

P1b also enjoyed their shopping experience to buy their snack. They write their recount in writing. Their phonics continue to develop with the ‘wh’ and ‘or’ sounds. They have been making a doctor’s bag as part of their topic study.

P2 have been learning to order words alphabetically. They have also written a narrative piece of writing featuring an introduction, problem and solution. In numeracy the focus has been on odd and even numbers. They have been learning the identifying features of a castle and how castles were attacked.

P3 have been creating maps of their local area. They have been reading Giraffes Can’t Dance as part of their health and wellbeing study to develop their understanding of resilience and being unique. They too have been developing their narrative writing.

P3/4 have been applying their table knowledge to division problems. In writing they have been learning how to write an information report. They practised their cutting skills in technology on Monday and made some lovely smoothies. They had an excellent trip to the Science Centre on Wednesday linked to learning in class.

P4 have also been working on multiplication and division. They have started their class novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and have been exploring the character of Charlie. In writing they have been developing their use of adjectives and learning about similes.

P5 have ben learning about The Titanic, investigating different areas of the ship and finding out about different classes of passengers. In Drama they have been learning about body language and facial expressions and how to use these. In literacy they have been learning about narrative writing and past tense verbs. In numeracy they learned how to find the perimeter of a 2D shape.

P6 have been developing their adverts to sell their products for their enterprise topic. In Art they have been inspired by the Scottish Painter Samuel John Peploe and have created their own paintings. They have also developed 4 digit mental subtraction.

P7 have been adding and subtracting fractions of different denominators. In both handwriting and grammar they have been extending their use of direct speech. They had a visit from their Mock Court tutor this week and completed their adjustments to their defences. Everyone has been assigned their roles and there are preparing their witnesses and productions.

 

In the nursery the children this week showed interest in the fire service and cafes and so the learning took that direction.  The children thoroughly enjoyed icing biscuits in the cook room. Children then made their own story books with their tales. The children that went to see Oliver Twist thoroughly enjoyed the show and were not at all scared! There is a café forming in the nursery designed by the children.

The children have decided to have a sing a long to raise some money to reduce the cost of their annual family trip. The sing along will be on Friday 22^nd March.

 

A very busy week ahead as our senior pupils make the Sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday evening at 7pm. Father Dornan will celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation with these pupils on Monday morning.

We have Parent Council on Tuesday evening at 6.30pm and an information evening for our Ardentinny trip at 7.30pm on Tuesday. The information evening is for pupils and parents / carers.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

The Digital Leaders presented very well at assembly as part of Safer Internet Day. Their presentation and drama informed the school about consent and permission when using someone’s image online. The Digital Leaders then hosted a drop in session during lunch to help inform pupils about what happens to their data that they share online. Excellent Work!

We also discussed Children’s Mental Health Week at assembly and spoke about sharing ‘big worries’ with others.

 

P1a have been learning all about money this week. They have been organising coins from 1p -£2. In literacy they have been learning about vowels. They have been learning about healthy choices for food and made healthy pizzas. Boys and girls were encouraged to try different healthy toppings.

P1b have also been learning about vowels and money. In PE they have been developing their racket skills using balloons.

P2 have been learning to order numbers to 100 from largest to smallest. In Literacy they have been learning about nouns, verbs and adjectives to improve their writing. In PE they are working on football skills, learning to dribble, pass and shoot.

P3 have been learning about narrative writing in Literacy. In health they have been learning about safe and hygienic food preparation. In numeracy they have been learning about the link between addition and subtraction sums. They have started the written method of adding to 100 with bridging.

P3/4 have been developing their analogue and digital time in numeracy. They have been learning the vocabulary for classroom objects in Spanish and developing maps of the local area.

P4 have also been learning about analogue and digital time. They have been developing their use of adjectives to make their writing more interesting. In ICT they have been developing their word processing skills.

P5 have been working on addition and subtraction strategies this week. They have also been learning about measuring accurately using cm. This week they welcomed Miss Kelly to the class who is a student that will be with us for 10 weeks.

P6 and 7 welcomed Bishop Toal this week as part of their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. P6 asked some excellent questions and engaged in some interesting discussion around the Holy Spirit. P6 decided to study the Scottish Artist Peploe and have begun their own pieces in his style.

P7 completed an unseen text as part of Safer Internet Day and developed their comprehension skills. The Defence Team created their defences for the Mock Court. Pupils are now adding and subtracting to 3 decimal places using the standard written method.

 

In the nursery the children have enjoyed making a bus and acted out all roles involved. They have been using coins and tickets as part of their play. There was also plenty singing on the bus and discussion about various destinations.

Last week the children asked to make cakes in the cook room. Mrs Reilly took this forward this week with lots of measuring, mixing and pouring to make cupcakes. Children also learned about the danger of hot ovens and how an adult must be there to help.

 

Please remember school is closed to pupils on Wednesday 13^th Feb for staff development. They school staff will be looking to enhance literacy resources and the nursery staff will focus on responsive planning.

No blog next week as we have such a short week with pupils.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher