It has been a very busy week with everyone in St. John’s working hard. Twelve of our Primary 3 pupils held a prayer service on Monday afternoon, in preparation for the Sacrament of First Reconciliation. It was a lovely service and we were delighted to welcome Father Stephen as well as parents and grandparents along.  The children will celebrate the sacrament in Our Lady & St. John’s church on Tuesday 28th of February at 7.00 pm and we wish them luck as they take this next important step in their faith journey.

We had a surprise visit from Mrs Wong and baby Caleb on Tuesday. They are both doing really well and there was much excitement in the playground when Mrs Birtles took Caleb for a walk in his pram at lunchtime!

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and  we will be attending Mass in the church at 9.10 am to receive ashes. It also begins the season of Lent and you should have received a leaflet outlining the activities taking place in the school during Lent. The families of St. John’s have been most generous during school fund raising activities and we hope you continue your generosity for our 2 charities, Mary’s Meals and Let the Children Live!

On Thursday the 9th of March we have our official school opening! The children will be entertaining our guests in word and song as part of the opening ceremony. As part of the legacy of the opening, the pupils in Primary 5 and 6 have created a school poem in the spirit of Edwin Morgan’s poem for the opening of the Scottish Parliament. Congratulations to Caitlyn Tops in Primary 6, whose poem has been chosen as our school poem. This will be recited by the pupils at the ceremony.

In the classes the learning continues apace:

Primary 1/2

P1/2 have started working on their next IDL topic ‘The Farm’ and have enjoyed painting ‘Pigs in the Mud’ in Art & Design and learning about animal names. They have begun practising their song for performing at the school opening, ‘I’m a St. John’s Wean’. In writing the children have been using describing words to create animal information profiles as part of their topic. In Health & Wellbeing the children have been learning about Road Safety, an essential life skill.

Primary 2/3/4

The children have been learning about weight measurement in Numeracy & Mathematics. P2 have been identifying objects heavier/lighter than 1Kg. P3 have been working with Kg weights and P4 have been converting Kg to g’s. All children are also developing their division skills relevant to their age and stage. The children have been creating fact files on the Scottish terrier dog linked to their class novel Greyfriar’s Bobby. They have also been preparing questions for their visitor from the Dog’s Trust who visits the school on 6th of March and  learning the song Caledonia for the official school opening. A very busy time!

Primary 5/6/7

The children in P5/6/7 have been learning about the Highland Clearances and are creating their own class clans. In Numeracy & Mathematics, P7 are learning about angles and triangles. P5/6  are measuring lengths in metres and developing their long multiplication skills. In Literacy the children continue with their novel studies and are learning how to write a newspaper article. In Science the focus continues on the Salmon Homecoming project. As with all the classes, the children are rehearsing for the school opening, with P5/6 reciting our school poem and P7 performing a drama based on Robert Burns’ poem a Red, Red Rose.

Finally, a reminder that our monthly Partnership Group meeting takes place on the 1st of March at 6.00 pm in the school. Among the items on the agenda is the forthcoming St. Patrick’s night event in Blackwood Bowling Club.

Thank you for reading my blog.

 

Mrs McCart