Apologies for a late blog this week!

 

P1a have been working hard in literacy learning the igh / ie sounds and developing their reading skills. In numeracy they have been ordering and finding missing numbers. In ICT we have been developing our mouse control and created some very impressive fire engines! In Science we have been making our own bird feeders.

P1b have been learning the ea sound. In numeracy they have been learning to identify numbers before, after and between to 100. P1b also made bird feeders and hung them up outside in the yard.

P2 have been learning to identify 10 more and 10 less within 100. In Literacy they have been developing their understanding of proper nouns to enhance their writing. They have been exploring healthy and unhealthy snacks and used their touch and taste senses to describe different fruits.

P3 have been developing their reading comprehension skills this week. They have also been gathering data to create a bar graph and interpret the data. During IDL they were discussing the various types of housing in their local area with many children able to identify the type of house they lived in.

P3/4 have been practising their tables and applying them to 2 digit calculations. They have been learning about the safe storage of medicine and the rules about taking medicine. P3 have been busy preparing for their reconciliation.

P4 visited Memories tea room this week and entertained everyone with Willie Wastle and Scots Wha Hae. They have been weather watching everyday to record rainfall and temperatures. They have been developing their knowledge of the calendar and analogue clock face.

P5 have been continuing to develop their mental addition and mental multiplication strategies. They have also been working on 2D tiling patterns. In Literacy they have been describing their settings to enhance their writing. The children have also been introduced to CPR using the Annie dolls and have started to develop their understanding of sensory organs and looked at the different parts of the eye.

P6 thoroughly enjoyed investigating meteors and craters in Science. In Literacy they used a Venn diagram to compare character qualities during reading. They analysed their market research for their enterprise topic and made final changes to their project ideas.

P7 have been learning the skills of skim and scan to summarise text. This was part of their Mock Court project. They have completed their Writ and lodged this with the court! They have also been developing ability to add and subtract mentally to 3 digit places!

 

Parents and carers are reminded that the latest edition of the newsletter was published on Friday. Please read to keep up to date with our busy school!

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

We had a very busy second week of term. The nursery were welcoming our Intake 2 boys and girls and in school we were busy enrolling our children for Primary 1 in August 2019!

In the classes ….

P1a have been working very hard learning the z and ie sounds. They also practised their predicting skills when reading a story about Charlie the Firefighter. On Thursday they had a very special visit from the Fire Brigade. They loved learning all about their job and even got to use the hose. They created fantastic fire pictures mixing red and yellow paint to make orange.

P1b have also been learning about the ie sound. In numeracy they have been working hard on number stories up to 9. They continue to develop knowledge in their topic ‘People who help us’ and like P1a loved their visit form the fire service on Thursday.

P2 have been working hard to order numbers within 100. They have been able to identify numbers before, after and in between. In Literacy the focus has been on narrative writing and how to sequence correctly. They have also been learning about their senses and took part in a scavenger hunt within the class using their touch sense to find objects.

P3 have been developing their ability to use more interesting sentence openers during writing. They have also developed their ability to add and subtract to 100. The class have started their new topic ‘Our Local Area’ and look forward to developing their knowledge about Burnbank.

P3/4 have been up levelling their story writing using different openers and connectives. In numeracy they have been working hard to learn their table facts and also practising telling the time. In technology they were developing the skill of grating.

P4 have been learning about the water cycle and the difference between weather and climate. They have been learning to recite a Burns poem for Burns Day. They have discussed the Baptism of Jesus and the symbols used in Baptism.

P5 have been learning about lines of symmetry and reflective symmetry. In writing this week the children were developing their knowledge of effective descriptions using figurative language to describe a rainforest cycle.

P6 have continued their work on angles and have been developing their estimating skills. In literacy they have been learning about fronted adverbials how to use them to up level our sentences. They have continued with their Confirmation preparation by identifying the signs and symbols of the Holy Spirit. In Health and Wellbeing they completed their first bleep test developing their fitness.

P7 have been introduced to decimals to 3 decimal places. They have learned to sequence and round to 3 decimal places and now are displaying a better understanding of place value for decimals. They too are continuing with their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation by understanding the story of Pentecost and the signs/ symbols of the Holy Spirit. They have also been learning about the causes of World War II and the countries that were involved in the war.

All new children have settled well into the nursery routine. A group of children went to visit our friends at Aberglen Nursing Home and met some new residents. They took some of their favourite games with them to play. Children have been enjoying a wide range of learning both in and outside this week. Some children were building houses in the construction area and then moved to the creative area to paint their own houses. Outside pupils were using the puddles to role play as pirates and then came inside to make their very own telescopes! They then listened to a pirate story and sang a pirate song.

This week coming we look forward to the start of our Masterclasss programme during Right Time. Please speak to your child about the activities that are on offer to help them develop skills and knowledge while working with others. Thank you to all our staff for providing this opportunity for all pupils.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

 

Welcome back to my blog, the first for 2019. We were delighted to welcome back all pupils and staff on Monday refreshed after our Christmas break. We look forward to a busy and exciting term ahead full of learning opportunities.

The classes wasted no time in learning. Here’s what has been happening …

Primary 1 have been working very hard with their sounds and learning all about the ai and ow family and different ways to spell ‘ai’ and ‘oa’. In numeracy they have been learning number stories of 6 and 7. They started their topic People Who Help Us and learning about Mrs Hendry’s important job.

Primary 1b have been working very hard on the ai sound and the different ways to spell it. In maths they have learned the number stories for 7 and 8. Through their topic, they have been discussing all the people who help us at school.

Primary 2 have been learning to use interesting adjectives to describe their favourite person. In Numeracy they have been focussing on the link between addition and subtraction to 20. In RE they have been learning about being part of God’s family and also how our own family cares for us.

Primary 3 have been working hard to uplevel their sentences by adding adjectives. In Numeracy they have been learning addition to 100. In health and wellbeing they have been learning about the Eat Well guide and the different food groups.

Primary 3/4 have been learning how to log on to the computer and GLOW independently. In Numeracy they have been practising addition with bridging. They have also started their new topic, Our Local Area.

Primary 4 have been learning about parts of the eye – their names, where they are and what they do. In P.E. they have been practising their skills in hockey and developing teamwork skills. In Numeracy, they have been learning doubles to 20.

Primary 5 have been focussing on the properties of 2D shapes this week in maths. They have also revised the features of personal recounts and wrote their own personal recounts of Christmas Day. In Spanish they learned how to say when they have their birthday.

Primary 6 have been working on angles in Maths and developing their skills in using a protractor. They enjoyed working with their peers in P7 during Confirmation preparation and learned about Jesus as a priest, prophet and King. They are very excited to start their ‘Make £5 Grow’ enterprise topic.

Primary 7 began with a New Year Around the World comprehension and new reading books. They are learning about time, digital and analogue to 24hour clock and durations. They have begun their WWII topic, learning about the causes of the outbreak of war. For their Confirmation preparation they have explored the outward signs of inward grace by looking at the Sacraments.

In the nursery the boys and girls settled quickly into routine ready to help our new children starting this week coming. The boys and girls were busy making vegetable soup on Thursday in the cooking room. The children were also talking about what they would like to learn in the coming weeks giving the staff lots of ideas. We look forward to sharing their learning next week.

 

This week is enrolment week for boys and girls starting in August 2019. If your child is due to start school in August please make sure you contact the school and make an appointment to enrol.

Thank you for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

 

Congratulations to each and every one of our pupils from nursery to P7 who performed fantastic productions last week. Photographs coming soon on the app.

P1-3 began with some unruly sheep in Hey Ewe! P4-7 took us on an entertaining historical journey with How Christmas Came to Be and our youngest children finished with The Nativity. Many thanks to our pupils for their efforts and enthusiasm during rehearsals supported by our fantastic staff. Thank you also to our families and friends, business partner St Andrew Hospice and Aberglen Care Home for coming along and supporting our children at every performance.

This week we look forward to Christmas Parties. P1-2 will be Monday, P3-5 Tuesday and P6-7 Wednesday. On party days pupils can come to school dressed, bring a change of clothes or be collected at 12 noon and returned to school for 1pm. On Thursday ALL nursery children should attend for their party at 9am.

Thursday afternoon is our thanksgiving mass for 125 years of St Cuthbert’s Primary. Bishop Toal will be the main celebrant along with Father Dornan and Father Bogan. All are welcome to come and join us in the school hall for celebration of mass.

 

We finish for Christmas on Friday at 2.30pm for school and nursery.

May I wish all families a happy and holy Christmas and best wishes for 2019.

 

Mrs Hendry

Many staff joined our colleagues across St John Ogilvie Learning Community on Monday afternoon to celebrate mass as part of the recognition of the 100 anniversary of state funded education in Scotland. This was followed by an inspirational speech by David Wells.

We welcomed a super number of parents and carer to our school on Tuesday for our annual curriculum afternoon. Pupils proudly showed their families their learning environment and everyone was very impressed with our new facilities.

 

P1a have continued to work hard learning the sounds l and double ll. In numeracy they have been learning about doubles and learned a wonderful rhyme to help. They have also been learning about time. Focusing on times of the day and days of the week. They have been working hard learning the songs for their nativity.

P1b continue to work very hard in literacy, learning the l and double ll sounds. In numeracy they too have been learning about time focusing on days of the week and months of the year. They have been singing well during the nativity practices.

P2 have completed their recount writing and they have been using verbs and time words to sequence their writing. In numeracy they have been revising their knowledge of reading and writing times. They too have been working hard on the nativity.

P3 enjoyed themselves at the cinema watching Sherlock Gnomes as part of Into Film Festival. They have been developing their use of adjectives to make their writing more interesting.

P3/4 had a great trip to the cinema also. In numeracy they have been learning about 3D objects and identifying them by counting vertices and edges. They too have been practising hard for the Christmas Show.

Primary 4 have started rehearsing for their parts in the Christmas show. In Spanish they have been learning how to ask and say their ages and the vocabulary for the weather. In Science they have been learning about senses and developed our knowledge of Louie Braille.

Primary 5 had an exciting week this week. Firstly they learned that they raised £104 for the Rainforest Foundation UK by selling their rainforest recipe book at the Christmas Fayre. They were also lucky enough to receive a visit from two zoology lecturers from Glasgow University who spoke to them about the dangers of plastics on marine animals.

Primary 6 have been busy creating a movie that demonstrates our school values. They were extremely excited to create their reading dens and invited parents to join them during the curriculum afternoon. They have had lots of anti bullying discussions during this week and developed their own strategies to support.

Primary 7 have continued with long division and applying our skills in problem solving. In Science they have been studying the circulatory system, exploring their heart and discussing ways to prevent heart disease. Mrs Taylor visited for her first transition visit this session.

 

In the nursery the children were busy making porridge in the cooking room with Mrs Reilly as they had been learning the nursery rhyme Little Miss Muffet. They had great fun going on spider hunts throughout the nursery. The rehearsals for their Christmas Show are well underway.

 

All pupils in school and nursery will be working hard this week on their various Christmas performances. Nursery parents are reminded to speak with their key worker this week to organise a time to review and set targets for learning. On Tuesday evening all parents, carers and families are invited to attend our Supporting children’s wellbeing input at 7pm in the school hall. The evening will feature a film by Primary 6 featuring the whole school, an input from our Educational Psychologist and our local Community Safety Officer from Police Scotland. The session is not suitable for children to attend due to content being discussed.

On Thursday evening children and families from P3,4,6 and 7 are invited to attend a short service in St Cuthbert’s Church for presentation of their Family Workbook for Sacrament Preparation.

We were delighted and very grateful to have two of our dads facilitate the start of after school classes in badminton and football this week. Partnership working ensures we provide our pupils with a variety of opportunities.

Many thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

Lots happening in our classes this week….

Primary 1a and b have been learning all about being safe. P1a created super sparkler pictures. Primary 1a and b have also been busy making their Christmas crafts. Nativity Practice has started and they have been working hard learning their songs. In numeracy the focus remains on number bonds.

Primary 2 have been using rhyming words to create an acrostic poem about Winter. They sued their sense to discuss what they see, hear, feel, taste and smell. They have also been learning about the layout of the Bible and the new and old testament. They will be reading some Bible stories next week.

Primary 3 developed their knowledge of recount writing as well as mental strategies for addition. They have also been working hard learning about the life of David Livingstone and comparing their life to his.

P3/4 discussed the feast of All Saints specifically looking at the Apostles. In writing they were developing an imaginative piece focusing on the use of adjectives and connectives. P4 have been developing their calculations using rounding and P3 estimation on a number line. Christmas craft making and nativity rehearsals all underway.

The P4 class have been making super crafts this week for the fayre. They also visited the new technologies suite carrying out research on the Roman Gods. In preparation for their visit to Scotland Street school they have been learning about schools in Victorian Times.

P5 study the process to become a saint this week and started to research the saint of their choice. They also learned about Remembrance Day and its origin creating wonderful paintings inspired by Van Gogh’s Field of Poppies.

P6 had a fantastic trip to the cinema on Monday to see Coco. They made excellent contributions to their class discussion about mental health and how this can be affected by their circumstances. They then wrote super film reviews with many giving Coco 5 stars! They have enjoyed using the old school log books this week to discover the history of our school.

P7 also watched the film Coco as part of the Into Film festival. In their discussions after the film they discussed dementia and how is affects family and friends. This extended to a visit from Alzheimer Scotland and the whole class became Dementia Friends with an extended knowledge of this condition.

 

In the nursery this week our children began their visits to Aberglen Nursing Home. Some children visited in the morning and some in the afternoon. The children were superb and engaged well with the residents. This week’s activity was portrait drawing. What beautiful pieces of art work they brought back. In the nursery the children have been enjoying out focus on nursery rhymes.

 

A busy week past and a busy week to come. Please make sure you have read our latest newsletter published this week with some very important dates. This Friday is our Christmas Fayre. Please come along and join us from 3pm for some Festive Fun.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

This week we welcomed Isabella Sempie from the Care Inspectorate to our nursery. Our inspector spent two days with us speaking with children and staff and observing the fantastic opportunities our youngest children have. I am delighted to inform you that our nursery, in this inspection, has been given Very Good grades for the elements of Care and Support and the Enivronment. The whole nursery team are delighted and very proud of this report. We are delighted that the work to enhance our nursery environment has been recognised. Our nursery now has the grades of Very Good for all four elements. We look forward to continuing to enhance our nursery next year as we further expand to deliver full time places for more children.

Many thanks to our families for your generous donations for our Christmas Fayre raffle on Friday. Please save the date of Friday 16^th November for our annual Fayre.

Our whole school walked to church on Thursday to celebrate All Saints day. We had a great number of parents and grandparents helping us to walk safely to and from the church. Once again the behaviour and participation of our pupils was exemplary!

We have finally finished our technologies suite – the final part of our new building. My thanks to Miss Prentice for organising all our IT equipment, parents for assisting in unpacking boxes and Mrs Reilly who did a ‘big shop’ on Friday to fill our cupboards with all the basics! The children from school and nursery will start to access this super resource this week and will be out and about buying their supplies to develop their cooking skills.

 

In the classes ….

Primary 1a and 1b have been learning about the sounds ‘m’ and ‘r’ and also sentences. They have been learning number stories 2 and 3 and made fantastic pumpkin collages and spooky hallowe’en biscuits.

Primary 2 have been learning about recount writing this week. They constructed an email to Hamilton Foodbank inviting them in to tell them more about their charity.

Primary 3 have been focusing on addition in numeracy. They have also been creating bar graphs. They have also been learning about the history of Hallowe’en and the importance of All Saints Day.

P3/4 have continued their study of the Romans. They can now describe different types of houses. P4 have been developing their estimation skills and P3 have been doing vertical addition.

P4 have been embracing Hallowe’en and used their senses to describe a haunted house. They have been practising Spanish greetings and been learning about Victorian schools.

P5 have been learning about Dia de los Muertos and how it is celebrated in Mexico. They created their own Dia de los Muertos inspired skulls. They have been learning the Angelus prayer and created their own Angelus bells. They have continued to learn about the impact of deforestation on wildlife in the Rainforests of the world.

P6 have been very creative this week. They completed some fabulous WWI remembrance art. They have been learning about Dia de los Muertos in preparation for their cinema trip to see Coco as part of in the Into Film festival. They have almost finished their WWI letters and worked hard to include ambitious vocabulary.

P7 have been using the standard written method for subtraction to 5 digits and calculators to 9 digits. In literacy they were understanding the use of active and passive verbs. They have continued their exploration of the psalms and started to understand contemplative prayer. They have started to explore the Scottish Independence debate.

 

In the nursery…

In addition to our Care Inspector this week the boys and girls had a number of visitors. We welcomed two new members of staff Mrs Ciciala and Mrs Adam. We hope both ladies enjoy working in our nursery.  On Thursday we welcomed Kevin the postman. He spoke about how he delivers the mail. Some children also went out on Thursday to visit our local dentist. They learned all about cavities and the best time to clean your teeth. Our Snowflake group went to Bookbug on Tuesday also. This week we are starting our work with Aberglen Nursing home. Some children will visit the home this week to get to know the residents.

 

What a busy time! We also started our preparations for Christmas during assembly on Tuesday.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

 

It is hard to believe we have only returned for one week following our October break. I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful Autumn weather and are now ready to face the Winter months ahead. Our pupils certainly returned full of energy and our wonderful staff lost no time this week heading back into learning and preparations for Christmas!

All classes received the copy of their Christmas card design. Please return to school early this week with your order. Preparations are underway for Christmas performances and these will be shared after our staff meeting this Tuesday evening.

This week we celebrated Hallowe’en a little early but in style! Our fabulous Parent Council once again delivered a super disco for our pupils. Many thanks to them for their continued support and efforts and also to many staff members who came along as dwarves this year to look after Snow White from the Wicked Witch! (Poor Miss McKendry!)

However, the real stars were, as always, our pupils. Their costumes, and make up, were outstanding! A super evening of fun!

I had the pleasure of spending two days at Heathery Knowe Primary school this week as part of a self evaluation exercise. It was an excellent opportunity to share the life of another primary school. I look forward to sharing some practice from our school with their Head Teacher this week.

On Tuesday we welcomed Mrs Clark from Macmillan Cancer Support. We were delighted to present a cheque for £440 to Mrs Clark following Primary 7’s successful coffee morning.

 

We also welcomed Miss Sneddon, our new Quality Link Officer, to our school this week. She was highly impressed with our building and was very complimentary about the organisation of many varied learning spaces that we have created for our pupils. She visited every class and met pupils and staff. Our confident pupils shared what they were learning and what makes our school and nursery a great place to learn. We look forward to working with Miss Sneddon this year.

 

In the classes …

 

Starting with the nursery the fire engine has raced off in an emergency and in its place we now have the arrival of the Witches’ Den. I was well informed by children that there are only 4 witches allowed in there at any one time. Thankfully they did not name the witches! The children completed their learning about People Who Help Us by learning about the ambulance service. They made a super paramedic for display on the wall and learned how to make a 999 call. They also practised using a knife to spread butter on toast.

 

Primary 1a and 1b have been adding numbers to 10! They have also been introduced to the letter ‘h’. I witnessed some super speedy writing this week in Primary 1. It is amazing how quickly our youngest school pupils learn. They were all very excited for their first school disco on Thursday evening. They loved it! There were some very tired faces on Friday morning but it did not last as we had a super visit from a local author Elizabeth Finnegan who shared her wonderful stories about Buttons. P1 were soon twirling and whirling around the dinner hall!

 

In Primary 2 the pupils have been developing their ability to add three single digits together. They used the skill of pointillism to design their Christmas Cards. In Spanish they have been learning how to make the sign of the cross.

 

Primary 3 also welcomed a visitor to their class this week. Elena from the David Livingstone Centre visited with lots of artefacts. They made their own badges. In literacy they then used the experience to develop their recount writing.

P3/4 have been looking at landscape artists and expressing their opinion about art. They then used pointillism to create their own landscape. In drama they have been developing their ability to create freeze frames.

P4 have been learning about classification using living things and identifying vertebrates and invertebrates. They wrote their very own Hallowe’en spells. In literacy they have been discussing books read and providing reasons why they liked or disliked them.

Primary 5 have had a super exciting week. On Wednesday they visited Dynamic Earth taking part in two workshops about deforestation and climate change. They have been discussing the impact of deforestation and ways we can try to avoid using products that relate to this.

Primary 6 have been very excited about their reading challenge. They are keen to make reading dens in the classroom and they are looking for any donations of blankets and cushions to help. They are continuing to learn about life in the trenches and have planned their soldiers’ letters that they will write next week.

Primary 7 had a super start to the week with a visit from Christina McKelvie, our MSP. She visited their class after following the progress of their start of year House Elections. Primary 7’s next stop is the Scottish Parliament. In RE they learned about the psalms and began quiet prayer practice. In numeracy they are learning to subtract mentally to 5 digits.

 

Finally, our senior nurture groups had their monthly visit to Memories Tearoom. The pupils worked alongside the members bringing joy and laughter as they made poppy crafts and danced.

 

What a week of learning for our pupils aided greatly by our partnership working and visits to places of interest to support learning.

 

We are walking to church on Thursday morning to celebrate All Saints Day. If you can help us walk please meet at school at 9am. Mass is at 9.30am in the church.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

 

We had a strong focus on our faith this week. On Friday we walked to mass in glorious sunshine to celebrate mass with the parish community. Many thanks to the 3 parents and one grandparent who accompanied us by walking. This was disappointing as we have an increasing roll and without the support of our parents and carers we may be unable to continue walking to church as a whole school. This would be very sad as the children benefit so much from celebrating mass with the parish community. On Friday their behaviour, manners, reverence, respect, singing and participation during mass was outstanding. Primary 5 led our liturgy very well and our three servers also did very well. As always the parishioners were most impressed. Well done everyone!

On Thursday evening we had our sacrament registration meetings. We had a very high turnout. Many thanks to staff who came along and supported the school. If any parent could not make the meeting please contact Father Dornan as soon as possible.

On Tuesday we welcomed the Legion of Mary to our school to lead us in the holy rosary.

On Saturday evening I was delighted to see our school information displayed in Motherwell Cathedral as part of the timeline of schools to celebrate 100 years of Catholic Education. Founded in 1893 our school is one of the oldest in the diocese. We should be very proud of our school history. The children will be learning more about us in the coming weeks as we celebrate the 125^th Anniversary of our school.

 

In the classes this week ….

P1a have been focussing on the ‘ck’ sound this week. They have been counting to ten and identifying the missing number. They have been discussing their family tree and drawing them in class.

P1b are also working hard on numbers and sounds. They were exploring their senses blindfolded when the fire alarm went off this week. They responded brilliantly quickly taking off their blindfolds and making their way to their muster points. They have enjoyed exploring the sense of sight and touch.

P3 continued to work hard on place value this week. In health and well being they have been exploring rules in school and the community that keep us safe. They have continued to learn about David Livingston during their topic work.

P3/4 have been developing their estimation and rounding skills this week. In music they have been learning about tempo and moving to different types of music. They have also been learning about the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.

P4 have been learning about the functions of the organs in the human body. They have been working on rounding to nearest 10 and 100. They have been learning about the houses of the ancient Romans and making mosaics. A special well done to P4 who were getting changed after PE when the fire alarm sounded. Again they reacted superbly well and made it their priority to leave the building promptly. Well done!

P5 had a very exciting week  and brought some special visitors to our school! They visited Glenlee Woods twice, firstly to lay Pitfall traps to catch a range of invertebrates and secondly to collect their traps and specimens and bring them back to school! They caught many! They observed their catch, studied them in class and then used branched identification keys to classify. They then released the specimens to the school garden!

P6 are studying the novel Wonder. They used this to create improvisations in drama. They are developing their notetaking skills and used the iPads to find information and take notes on life in the trenches. Miss Prentice and Miss McKendry commented on their super singing and mass responses on Friday. Well done Primary 6!

P7 have been learning about food labelling and understanding healthy information. They have been learning about food storage and eliminating bacteria. They have been learning about different systems of government and defining democracy. In Maths they have been adding 5 digit numbers mentally.

 

In the nursery the focus moved onto People Who Help Us. Bridie our school crossing patrol came in to speak about how she keeps people safe. We also had some of our dads come in to help make outside dens. A great big thank you to all our helpers! We had a great discussion about fire fighters, their jobs and how they keep us safe. Please spend some time in our playroom looking at the wonderful displays created by our children.

 

 

On Thursday of this week we have our first parents’ evening. Times will be given to pupils on Monday. Please come along and take this opportunity to speak with your child’s class teacher. As we now have 9 classes, the hall will be very busy, so I would ask that pupils do not attend this event if possible. If childcare is an issue and pupils have to come I would ask that pupils take a seat in the waiting area and respect the parents and teachers who are engaging in discussions. Thank you.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful October week and the blog will return on Sunday 28^th October.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

 

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher

On Friday the 28^th September our Primary 7 pupils, led by Mrs Hall and supported by Mrs McLean, hosted a very successful coffee morning in aid of Macmillan. Many thanks to the whole school community who donated biscuits and cakes for the event and came along on the morning.  The morning raised an outstanding amount – £429.72! Well done Primary 7! In addition we had many unopened cakes and biscuits that will be uplifted by our local foodbank on Tuesday. An excellent morning’s work Primary 7 benefiting two very worthy charities.

 

On Thursday our senior nurture group paid their monthly visit to the Memories Tea Room. This was a special occasion as a BBC film crew were also present focusing on the benefit of music in the life of dementia sufferers. Once again our pupils were outstanding – a credit to themselves and their families.

 

The above two events evidence the positive ethos within our school and the commitment to work together to support our local community and those in need.

 

In the classes…

P1a have been working hard learning numbers 8 and 9. In literacy they have been learning the ‘n’ sounds. They can now say hello and goodbye in Spanish. Mrs Boyd introduced the class Worry Monster this week for anyone to share their worries.

P1b are also working hard learning sounds and numbers. In Health and Wellbeing they have listened to the story The Rainbow Fish and discussed the importance of being kind. In Spanish they have been learning to introduce themselves.

P2 have been learning doubles to 20. In literacy they have continued to develop their formation of all capital letters. In PE they have been learning to do a forward roll and land on their feet.

P3 have been focussing on place value in maths. In RE they have been learning about the importance of the bible and how we use the bible to learn about Jesus’ life.

P3/4 have been developing their dictionary skills. They have also been learning lots about The Romans and their attempt to conquer Britain. In RE they have been learning about the importance of the first two commandments.

P4 have been busy writing information reports about Roman Soldiers. In Science they have been learning about the organs of the human body.

In Numeracy P5 have been rounding to the nearest 10/100/1000. They have been using the x3 table to recall facts at speed. In Literacy they have been developing their understanding of pronouns and their use. They also wrote super informative reports about Rainforest animals.

P6 have also been learning about rounding but this time to 7 digits! In PE they have been using the Cooper run to develop fitness and stamina. In Science the focus is on sound and vibrations and P6 are very eager to learn about echolocation.

P7 have been sequencing and ordering numbers to 9 digits! They have been developing their reading strategies with their novels and learning about regular and irregular verbs. In RE they have been exploring our Celtic heritage and studied Melrose, Dryburgh and Kelso Abbeys.

 

In the nursery the boys and girls have been exploring signs of Autumn. Outside they have been experimenting with various pieces of wood making balancing beams on tyres. The children enjoyed using real nails and hammers to put together pieces of wood. Mrs Egan introduced our new parents to the Learning Journals online on Friday. I would encourage all parents / carers to access this valuable resource to keep up to date with your child’s progress. It would be great if you could post something from home and make comment on the posts from staff. The nursery all enjoyed a visit to the Coffee Morning on Friday having a juice and little treat while they were there!

 

This week coming is very busy indeed. Tuesday is our Parent Council AGM at 6.30pm in the staffroom. Everyone is welcome!

On Thursday we have our information and registration evening for sacraments this year. These meetings will be held in the church. 6.30pm for Confirmation, 7pm for Communion and 7.30pm for Reconciliation. Parents should bring their registration, issued this week, and child’s baptisimal certificate.

On Friday the Parent Council are holding a Race Night in the Greenfield Club at 7pm.

 

Please return the brown envelopes with annual data forms asap and also return the Parents’ Evening slip with requested session. Thank you.

 

Many thanks for reading my blog,

Mrs Hendry

Head Teacher