I have to start this week’s blog at the end of the week. The whole school and nursery gathered in the hall on Friday afternoon to hear the results of our annual house elections! Since returning in August Primary 7, under the guidance of Mrs Hall, have been studying the democratic system and for the first time ALL of our primary 7 pupils put themselves forward for election. Their learning culminated yesterday in all pupils delivering their election speech to the whole school. The quality of their speeches and slogans was outstanding and their delivery was polished and professional. I was immensely proud of ALL our Primary 7 pupils but the electorate voted in their polling stations and we had 10 successful candidates voted in. This again was part of the learning process and managed very well by both successful and unsuccessful candidates.
We were delighted to tweet the events throughout the day and enjoyed reading words of encouragement from our elected members Christina McKelvie and Monica Lennon. McMcKelvie was so impressed she has asked to come and meet with our newly appointed House and Vice Captains and discuss their new role!
Congratulations to Primary 7 and Mrs Hall for yet another successful house election. I have no doubt the high standard will be maintained next year as the chat in the dinner hall with P6 pupils was all about their campaigns for election next year!
In the classes this week ….
Primary 1a and 1b have been hard at work this week learning letters s and a! They are spotting sounds in words and writing letters and sounds. Miss McKale and Mrs Boyd have asked that all pupils return their new phonic folders every day to assist with learning. We hope our yellow ring binders arrive this week!
Primary 1a have been reading a story about Elmer the Elephant to help learn about how we are all unique. Primary 1b have been talking about God and discussing how looks after and cares for us.
Primary 2 have been working very hard on addition to 20 and using fast recall of our number bonds to 10. In Literacy they have been focussing on the correct formation of capital letters. In RE they have been learning the Eternal Rest prayer and thinking of those who have passed away.
Primary 3 have been working hard reading their new books and learning new spelling patterns. They have been discussing the importance of friendship and what we do to make friends.
P3/4 have been developing their understanding of place value. In Literacy they have been working on fluency and expression when reading aloud. In Science the focus this term is the Human Body. They have started to look at internal organs and have been discussing their function.
Primary 4 have also been studying place value with numbers to 10,000. Addition with carrying has also been a focus. In Literacy they have been learning about onomatopoeia using their new reading books. In Social Studies they have been using an interactive map to discover the spread of the Roman Empire.
Primary 5 have also been learning about place value with 4,6 and 9 digit numbers. The Rainforest is the context for their learning and they have been locating tropical rainforests on a world map. They have been learning about the 4 layers of the rainforest. They have been learning about the 7 processes of life using a special mnemonic MRS GREN. Mrs McLaren has been focussing on greetings and personal information in Spanish.
Primary 6 have been busy discussing the skills and qualities required to be a nursery buddy. Application forms have been issued and successful candidates will be interviewed by Mrs Hendry and Mrs Collins on Monday 17th September.
Primary 7 have been spending the week learning about the election process as you read at the start of the blog. In literacy they discussed content and presentation of their speeches. In RE they have been learning about St Cuthbert and exploring the value of faith. They used Luke’s gospels to help understand how Jesus responded to faith.
In the nursery …
Our new children have been exploring their new surroundings assisted by our returning children. Children have enjoyed the freedom of the gym hall and are learning to respond to adult direction. This week saw the introduction of the sewing machine. This was very popular and many children helped to make our new butterfly curtain. Our discovery room is developing well with our sensory area complete and children have enjoyed den making.
Another week full of exciting learning opportunities in our school and nursery. There will be no blog for the next two weeks as I am at the Catholic Head Teacher’s Conference, Thursday and Friday this coming week, and the following week is the September weekend.
Letters have been issued for our Race Night. If you can buy a horse please return the form to the school office. Tickets for the race night are also available to buy at the school office.
Many thanks for reading my blog,
Mrs Hendry
Head Teacher
