Happy New Year!

We have had a busy start to the term and we are looking forward to the learning ahead.

Next week our focus in Literacy will be learning to spell words with the sound pattern ‘au’ or th’. We are learning some words in Scots and will be writing simple sentences describing an animal in Scots. In reading, we are focusing on reading with expression and have started to talk about summarising a story in our own words.

In Numeracy, we are continuing to look at addition and subtraction strategies and are focusing on partitioning through ten. We are starting to focus on how to read the time on analogue and digital clocks.

In P.E, we will be starting a block on gymnastics will begin with a focus on balancing. Our project this term is based on the Victorians and will begin by creating a timeline. We will be introducing Sikhism and learning basic greetings in French.

The Primary 3 Christmas party will take place on Monday afternoon (16th December), during school hours.

The Primary 2 Christmas party will take place on Wednesday afternoon (18th December). during school hours.

The children can wear their party clothes to school that day, but will be outside at break/lunch and so will need suitable footwear/outerwear.

Alternatively the children can bring their clothes with them and change in the classroom after having lunch, or have a home lunch and return to school promptly for 1.30pm.

A small snack and juice will be provided. We would ask that children bring an unbreakable cup/beaker with them to avoid generating unnecessary plastic waste.

Reading books and spelling words will not be changed today. We had a very busy week getting ready for the show last week and we will continue to work on our reading books and spelling words in class this week.

We are working hard this week to complete the final draft of our imaginative story and to revise addition and subtraction strategies. We will also be working on our Scottish dancing in preparation for our parties next week.

Our dress rehearsal went well this morning and we look forward to seeing you at our performances this week. We all hope you enjoy our performance of ‘The Last Monster in Scotland.

This week our main focus is perfecting the songs and actions for our big show performances next week. We are working really hard to learn all the words. In Art, we have been completing our landscape paintings of Loch Ness and have been experimenting with colour mixing and blending. In P.E, we have been practicing Scottish dances for our Christmas parties. In Numeracy, we have been adding on ten to two digit numbers and using number patterns to help us solve addition and subtraction questions. In Literacy, we have started to write our own imaginary stories based on Loch Ness and have used pictures to help us plan the beginning, middle and end of our stories.

Thank you to all who handed in the costumes for the school show in a labelled bag this morning. Can all remaining costumes please be handed in by Friday at the latest as our dress rehearsal is on Monday morning. We are dressing up as children who are on a school trip.

Costume – own school clothes, hats, wellies and rucksack.

Many thanks

Tomorrow is the final day that we can accept ticket money for the school show. Thank you so much to those who handed in their slips and money by Friday the 29th of November. Tickets will be coming home today.

This week we are very busy learning and singing all our songs for the school show. Thank you to everyone who has helped learn the words at home. We are excited to visit the library tomorrow and to checkout our own book to share at school. In Literacy, we are starting to write an imaginative story based on Loch Ness and we will be working hard to use adjectives in our sentences. Our new spelling patterns are ‘wr’ and ‘ue’, and word lists have gone home in blue jotters today. In reading, we are trying to explain what has happened in the beginning, middle and end of the book. In Numeracy, we are working on addition strategies with a focus on adding to the next multiple of ten. In Expressive Arts, we are going to sketch and paint a landscape picture of Loch Ness. We are going to mix colours to create different tones.

As this week is a short week for the children with the INSET days on Thursday and Friday, I will not be issuing new reading books until the following week to allow us the chance to undertake some whole class activities around developing reading comprehension skills. We will also be taking some time to revisit and consolidate the phonics/spelling patterns we have worked on this session. As this is my first day in class this week, the yellow spelling jotter will come home today to be shared. If the yellow jotter was not returned last week then the spelling check up was unable to be completed today.

Our school show will be performed on Tuesday the 10th of December and Wednesday the 11th of December at 1.45pm. More information to follow about purchasing tickets. The song list and words have been re blogged and it would be fantastic if they could be practiced at home.

We have also just had confirmation that the school will be used as a polling station on 12th December, which means that the school will be closed to the children on that day.