Miss Rafferty – Page 4 – Carmondean Primary School Blog

Primary 2 26.9.18

Primary 2 have been getting into the swing of things with 1950 & 60’s music and dance. We have been learning the hand jive, mashed potato, swim and the twist! We had great fun busting our moves in the gym hall to all the classic 1950 & 60’s music. We also spent some time singing some classic nursery rhymes- “There’s a hole in my bucket” this was our favourite!

We have sent new homework activities home this week. Remember the children have two weeks to complete these. Reading, spelling and maths must be completed however the other tasks are optional. Children will receive house points for extra effort. All notes and activities should be recorded in their jotter so they can share them with their peers.

Reminders: P.E kit and water bottles. Also after school clubs have started and we have had a few of the P2’s sign up which is great! We hope you enjoy them.

Miss Rafferty and Mrs Muir

Primary 2 19.9.18

A huge thank you to all the boys and girls who brought their “share it” jotters back to school on Thursday. It was great to see so many children completing our little exercises across the curriculum. We will be handing out new homework next Monday along with a new reading book. Children will be given 2 weeks to complete the activities again and will also be given the time to share their “share it” jotters with their peers in class.

This week is a short week but we are very busy! Primary 2 are going to be making biscuits, creating shopping lists, designing signs for our old stores and making items from the shops using plasticine.

In maths we are continuing to look at forward and backward numbers. We are also going to answer some questions from the textbook and write answers in our new maths jotters.

In health we are looking at the importance of our friendships and what makes a good friend. In RME we are learning all about Joseph and his technicolour dreamcoat.

Reminders: P.E kits, water bottles, reading books

Thanks, Miss Rafferty and Mrs Muir

Primary 2 11.9.18

Primary 2 have been learning about what home life was like in the past. We have compared household items that were used many years ago and what we use now. The children decided that life is much easier! Keep speaking to your children about many significant changes in life style to help them have a better understanding.

In Numeracy we have been writing and recognising numbers up to 100. Children have been using 100 squares, SEAL games and teacher led activities to become more familiar with these numbers and where they fall in the number line. In Maths we were naming a number of 2D shapes and this week we are going to be learning all about their properties.

We did some fantastic pieces of character writing last week about a Teddy Bear. The children tried to use a variety of adjectives to describe their bear which was found in an old fashioned Toy Store. This week we are going to describe the setting for our story and continue our focus on sentence structure and the use of adjectives.

We hope you are enjoying our new ORT books and managing to do lots of reading at home. Our phonic sounds this week are: ph and wh.

Homework is due on Thursday please (not reading books). We will allocate some time in class for the children to share their homework activities with a friend. New homework will be issued after the September break. We hope the new style of homework in P2 is working for you all.

Reminders: Water bottles, P.E kits and after school club letters.

Thanks,

Miss Rafferty and Mrs Muir

Primary 2 4.9.19

Welcome to Primary 2! We hope all the boys and girls are beginning to settle into their new classrooms. It was lovely to meet some of you at the meet the teacher last Wednesday. We will update the blog weekly with information about P2.

Yesterday we sent home our first piece of homework. The children are being given two weeks to complete the activities in their Share It Jotter. Reading needs to be completed regularly and we will change these books on a Monday (children must bring in current reading book before they are issued with a new one). After two weeks the children will be encouraged to share their homework activities with the class.

Our new topic is Grandparents. We are going to be learning about all of the activities, toys, food, music, dance, dress and technology from the 1950s-70s. Please encourage your children to speak to elderly family members or friends to get an insight about what life was like and how it has changed.

We are learning forward and backward number sequences up to 100 in Numeracy. The children are using 100 squares to help them with this and we are using songs to help remember all of our numbers, especially before and after numbers. We are also going to be learning the proporties of 2D shapes.

During reading the children will be completing reading tasks linked to their ORT reading book and will be encouraged to read aloud in class and involve themselves in the group discussions. Our main focus in writing this term is visualisation and understanding how to construct a sentence correctly. We will also be looking into the importance of adjectives and simple connectives during writing lessons.

Specialists: Both classes are receiving Art from Mrs Fox and Music from Mr Shanks. P.E will be taught by class teachers this term.

Primary 2 are allowed to bring in one small toy to play with during Free Time Friday, however we must stress that the children are responsible for looking after their own toy. If your child does not have a toy with them then they may choose a toy/game from the classroom to play with.

Reminder: Could all children please bring in a water bottle to have in the class. This is often drank during milk and story time or after P.E, break and lunch.

If there are any more questions please feel free to get in touch,

Thanks, Miss Rafferty and Mrs Muir

Primary 2/3 14.6.18

We had a very successful walk up Dechmont. We dressed as pirates and decided that it was a perfect lookout point. We could see for miles!

We have been busy bees this week getting ready for our open morning tomorrow. We have been learning about the world of work and talking about jobs that the children would like to do when they grow up. We look forward to showing you our work tomorrow.

We have an exciting week next week, with the Beach trip on Tuesday and Sports day on Wednesday afternoon. Primary 2 and Primary 3 have been given their residential letters for next year so please return these with the deposit as soon as possible.

Last week of homework this week!

Remember house colours for sports day and appropriate clothes for the beach.

Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3

We had a fantastic trip to North Berwick to take part in Plundering Pirates and Seashore Explorer. The children learned about local pirates and made real life treasure maps. We got to explore the Old Kirk and had lunch outside. We finished off on the beach exploring the sand and making sandcastles. We all had lots of fun and learned lots!

Today we are walking up Dechmont Law. Children have been learning that pirates always had to be on the look out for other pirates or dangers. We decided to go to the highest point in our local area to see how far we can actually see!! We might even see the sea!!

Recently we have been working hard learning how to tell the time. The boys and girls have been using clocks and digital clocks to tell the time. P2 have also been investigating number patterns and Primary 3 have been finding the fraction of a number.

Primary 2 have now learned all the phonic sounds so we are now revising all of the tricky ones. Primary 3 are still working their way through the Primary 3 programme with new sounds each week.

All children have had a letter inviting the parents to come to school next Friday for a Careers Day. At some point could you discuss with your children about what you do for a job/career? We have lots of activities planned next week and we can show you these on Friday when you visit.

We also have the Beach trip in 2 weeks time (Tuesday 19th June). Could you please fill out the EE2 forms and return to school?

P.E Monday and Thursday

Homework: Spelling, Maths and Reading

Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 1.5.18

It’s the 1st May! We can’t believe how quick the year is going!

We have been working very hard in Primary 2/3. We have drawn ourselves with pencil and then added the features of a pirate: eye patches, Jolly Roger, hats, earings and black and gold teeth. We cut up coloured paper to make it more like a collage. They are now on display in our classroom with our own “Pirate name”.

We have been singing lots of pirate songs using a variety of instruments and incorporating dance moves. Encourage the boys and girls to perform one of the songs for you!

Today we are going to be writing a Pirate acrostic poem. We will use our writing skills and pirate knowledge to write some really interesting Pirate poems.

In Maths we have been learning about arrays. Both Primary 2 and Primary 3 have been using arrays to help solve multiplication questions and Primary 3 have been using them to help answer division questions too! We are so shocked at how easy times tables are becoming!

Its a big Eco-week this week and we will be learning about keeping our local environment clean and tidy, planting in our allocated planters and learning about the biodiversity of the coral reef. This should link nicely with our topic of Treasure Islands.

P.E- Outdoor on Monday, Indoor on Thursday

Thanks,

Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 24.4.18

Primary 2/3 did a fantastic job in their class assembly last week. We have received so many positive comments about our assembly from lots of teachers and children. Well done boys and girls!

We have now started our new and final topic for Primary 2/3 which is Treasure Island and Pirates! We received a message in a bottle from Pete the Pirate tell us that he was on a desert island hunting for treasure. He asked Primary 2/3 for their help to teach him all about Pirates, Desert islands and finally help him find the hidden treasure. All the boys and girls are very excited! We have also been learning some songs linked to pirates!

We will be linking lots of our numeracy and literacy to our new topic as well as IDL.

Primary 3 are off to Lowport this week! The remaining Primary 3’s will join Mrs Smith and the other Primary 3 children to complete some science investigations and take part in lots of arts and crafts.

P.E is outdoor on a Monday (Supported by our P.E students) and on Thursday with Mrs Ferguson our P.E specialist.

Mrs Fox is working with our class this term too. She is going to be crafting with the children to make treasure and jewellery.

Can all children please make sure that they have indoor shoes and water bottles.

Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 10.4.18

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday!

Primary 2/3 have their parent assembly next week (Tuesday 17th April) You are all welcome to come along to find out what we have learned about the Romans. It should be very exciting!

Could all children please continue to practise their lines and songs for our assembly. We will be allocating time in class this week to also practise and put our costumes on.

Our new topic will start next week- Pirates and Treasure Island! It is a very exciting topic and I am sure the children are going to love it and learn lots.

Our specialist timetable has changed so our indoor P.E slot has now moved to a Thursday morning. We will continue to do our Outdoor P.E lessons on a Monday. Please remember P.E kits on both of these days. The children will also be receiving Art from Ms Fox on a Wednesday.

In Maths- P3 are continuing work on their 3 times table and next week we hope to learn our 4 times table. P2 are learning how to half numbers which links nicely to doubling numbers which is what we were learning before the holidays.

Reading- Children have been given fiction texts to start the term. Please read regularly at home and encourage discussion about the text/story.

Homework:

Assembly lines and songs, Reading, Spelling (Time your climb) and Maths.

P.E: Monday and Thursday

Thanks, Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 13.03.18

Primary 2/3 have an assembly coming up after the Easter Holidays (17th April). I am still to hand out parts for this however we have started learning two songs. Please practise these between now and the assembly.

Easter Egg hunt for Primary 2/3 will take place this Thursday! We are looking forward to completing the hunt and eating some chocolate.

Homework this week:

Spelling, Reading and Maths for Primary 2 and 3.

Any questions, just let me know.

Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 7.3.18

Welcome back Primary 2/3! Thank you to all the boys and girls who completed snow day activities, read and posted on the blog. The work some of the boys and girls brought in was fabulous! Brilliant effort.

This week in maths we are continuing with division by 2 and 10 with Primary 3 and Primary 2 are finding doubles and near doubles using rekenreks and number lines. Some of of children are even managing to answer some of our questions mentally which is fantastic.

Children will be continuing to read their reading books from last week. The children have also been given a non-fiction text to read this week. Encourage your children using the contents page and discuss the facts from the book.

In our topic this week we are learning about Roman slaves. Boys and girls have been finding out that their lives were tough and being a slave meant you belonged to somebody. Some of our children couldn’t believe all the work they had to do. We are also going to begin looking at Roman Gladiators and how they battled in the Coliseum.

We will be doing our planned Health lesson with our comfort toys this Thursday. Could the children bring their toys to help aid our discussion and circle time.

We have Craig McLean coming into school today to talk to the boys and girls about becoming a commonwealth athlete. The children are very excited to meet him and ask him questions about his career.

P.E- Wednesday

Homework- Reading

Easter Egg hunt letters need to come back asap with a payment of £1 to take part in the hunt and receive a chocolate treat!

Thank you, Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 27.2.18

Primary 2/3 have been working hard over the past couple of weeks, learning lots about the Romans. Yesterday we were doing some mapwork. The children had to colour how far Roman Empire spread. They even learned some Roman names of countries that they had taken control of.

In ICT were are practising logging on and off the computers independently, using Microsoft word and hopefully using Google to help us with our research on the Romans.

In Health this week we are discussing the idea and purpose of a “comforter” when they were a baby. There has been a note put into the children’s diaries for them to bring their “comforter” or soft toy that they had when they were a baby and helped make them feel safe. We will be using them on Thursday.

World book day is on Thursday- please encourage your children to pick up a book and share that book with family and friends. We are celebrating this in school on Friday. All classes will get to visit each stage’s reading area and see and read all the new books that have been purchased recently.

P.E- Monday and Wednesday

Homework- Reading and Spelling (Time your climb)

P3 also have maths homework

Thanks, Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 21.2.18

Primary 2/3 had a fantastic trip to the North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre. The children took part in a Roman workshop. The children looked at maps, photographs and were able to handle some Roman artefacts. The children got to dress up in Togas, touch and hold a Roman soldier’s armour and helmet. The children were also given the chance to hold some Roman weapons and a huge Roman shield. We learned lots about the Roman Bath House and Hadrians Wall. To finish our trip off, the children got to design their very own Roman shield and they took a walk up the viewing tower which allowed them to see for miles. It was rather windy up there!

Last week was also very exciting because we learned about Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent. We enjoyed eating our pancakes and deciding something that they thought they could possibly give up for Lent. Some of us think that this will be a huge challenge!

In maths Primary 3 are continuing to learn their times tables (2, 5 and 10) and Primary 2 are learning how to double numbers using rekenreks.

In Science we are still working our way through the Polar Explorer programme. This week we are investigation how animals stay warm in the freezing temperatures and next week we are going to “pack our bags” for a polar explorer experience. What will we need to take to keep us warm?

Next Thursday (1st March) in Health we are looking at how we grow up and bounce back. Could all children bring in a toy or comforter from when they were younger please? We are going to be using them in our discussion.

P.E is still on a Monday and Wednesday

Homework- Reading, Spelling/Time your climb, maths worksheet

Thanks, Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 6.2.18

Primary 2/3 have been learning about Roman Mosaics. We are currently making our mosaics to decorate the classroom. The boys and girls have been taking their time to carefully place their mosaic tiles. We are also going to be learning about the clothes worn during Roman times.

We have a class trip organised for Thursday 15th February which we are very excited about! Could all children bring back their blue letter (EE2 form), lunch order and payment as soon as possible please?

I am looking forward to seeing you all at parents’ night.

Thanks, Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 30.1.18

Primary 2/3 would like to say a huge well done to Zara Walker and Oliver Wheelans!! They both did a fantastic job reciting their Scottish poem in front of the whole school. Well done!!

Primary 2/3 have been learning about Roman numerals. They managed to use the Roman numerals to count confidently up to 10 and also use them to crack codes. This week we are learning about Roman towns and villas.

In science, we have been continuing our lessons in the Polar Explorer programme. Yesterday we were learning about the Arctic food chain and how important it is in keeping some of our beautiful arctic animals alive! We even learned about a little fish called a copepod!

In health last week the boys and girls were learning about our feelings when we have good days and bad days. The children were able to describe these days and how it made them feel. We also learned that if we are having a bad day we can always turn it round to a good day by changing our thought process! Primary 2/3 are hoping for lots of good days to come!

Primary 3 have started learning their 2x tables and are hoping to move onto their 10x next week- keep practising P3!

Primary 2 are working hard in subtraction, using concrete materials and number lines. The children are also been working out missing subtrahends which can be tricky but they are doing really well. Keep up the hard work P2!

Reminder- P.E is on a Monday and Wednesday

Homework- Spelling, Reading, Maths

Thanks, Miss Rafferty

Primary 2/3 23.1.18

Primary 2/3 have been working very hard learning their Scottish Poems. The boys and girls have been practising in class and at home. Today the children are going to perform in front of their class and then two of our boys and girls will be invited to say their poem to the whole school. We wish them all the best of luck! On Thursday we will be learning about Robert Burns, singing Scottish songs and tasting some traditional Scottish food. I hope you all like Haggis!!

In our topic this week we have been looking and learning about the Roman soldier. We have discussed what they wear and why. The children have also learned what the Roman words are for shield, sandals and helmet. We are also going to be learning about Roman Numerals this week too.

Reminder- P.E is on a Monday and Wednesday so please can you send the children in with P.E kits. Also could they come to school with a water bottle.

Homework: Spelling, Reading, Poems/Scottish Song and Maths.

Thanks,

Miss Rafferty

Primary2/3 18.1.18

Primary 2/3 have been completing Polar Explorer experiments. We had to make boats out of plasticine and figure out how we could make them float. There was lots of problem solving. Our second experiment was investigating symmetry and balance. We had to make sure that we did not have uneven weight on our cargo ships. Today we are going to be doing some design and technology about grabbers which are used the the bottom of the ocean.

Primary 2/3 topic this term is The Romans. If you have any resources at home to help support our topic we would love to have them brought into school. We are going to be learning lots about Roman life, Roman Soldiers and Roman battles.

Primary 2/3 have P. E on a Monday (Outside) and Wednesday (inside). Please remember your P.E kit.

All boys and girls have a Scottish Poem to learn off by heart for our competition on Tuesday 23rd January.

Primary 2/3

Primary 2/3 and Primary 2 have a Scottish song to learn for our St Andrew’s Day Assembly next week. The children have a copy of the words to take home and we will practise the song and actions in class. We would appreciate your support in helping the children practise the words.

We have been also working on our Nativity. Children have been practising the songs, dance moves and lines. This will continue up until our show in December.

Primary 2/3 have been investigating which buildings we have in our community and what role they play in keeping our community functioning. Children have drawn these buildings and constructed some of them using our construction materials. They look brilliant!

Primary 2/3 have also been looking into our personal hygiene. We are now regularly brushing our teeth and we understand the importance of washing our hands to prevent the spread of germs.

P.E is on a Monday (Outdoor, weather permitting) and Tuesday

Homework:

P2- Reading, Time your climb, Common words,

P3- Reading, Spelling/sentences, Common words

Common words (could you please sign off common words once the children have practised them)

Primary 2/3

We have been very busy learning about our community. We have been learning about who lives and works in our community. We identified everyone who works in our community and made a big display in our class. We have also discussed places we visit in our community and the activities we can do there. Livingston has so much to offer!

We have started our Nativity rehearsals- if your child has a speaking part, please practise their lines with them. Everyone can practise our song which were posted on the P3 blog last week.

Well done to all the boys and girls who have been bringing in their P.E kits- reminder that PE is on a Monday and Tuesday.

P5 are running our Children in Need day on Friday and we have been asked to take part by coming to school in our PJs for a small donation. That day will be very comfortable for us, we can’t wait.

Homework-

P2 have common words, time your climb and reading

P3 have common words, spelling, sentences and reading

Maths homework will be handed out on Wednesday (3D Shape)

Primary 2/3 26.10.17

Primary 2/3 have a new topic called Our Community. We are going to be learning about who works in our community, who helps us and what we can do to keep our community safe and tidy.

Primary 2/3 have P.E on a Monday and Tuesday. Please remember to bring in a P.E kit.

Homework:

Primary 2 have: Reading, Maths, Time your Climb and common words

Primary 3 have: Spelling, two sentences, common words and maths

All homework is due on Friday please.

Tomorrow we are planning to do some spooky writing using lots of picture plans and interesting adjectives. Our stories should be great!

I am looking forward to seeing all the boys and girls at the Halloween Disco tonight!