P4 Homework & Update – March 2021

✨Welcome back to school P4! ✨

We are delighted to back on school grounds and particularly so in this lovely spring weather. Obviously we still have to adhere to safety measure to ensure all children and staff in school are as safe as possible so please follow the FACTS guidance at all times. When we are working indoors,  it is still extremely important that our classrooms are kept well ventilated so the windows will be open throughout the day. Please ensure that your child also brings in a warm jumper/fleece as it can still get chilly and wearing layers is the best way to keep warm.

Unfortunately we are still unable to use the indoor hall spaces so will be as creative with the outdoor and classroom space as much as possible whilst ensuring everyone’s safety.

Homework

  • 🔡Spelling: will continue from w/b 22nd March with pupils writing new spelling words in their homework jotter on Tuesday each week. At home they should use:

LOOK   THINK/SAY   COVER   WRITE   CHECK

to write out their new spelling words three times in neat columns. They should also complete an activity card which will earn pupils 2 credit card points. An optional second activity may be completed for extra practice (and 1 credit card point) but is not mandatory. Completed spelling homework should be returned the following Monday to be marked and the next spelling pattern will be given for homework on Tuesday each week.

  • 🔢Numeracy & Maths: please use the enclosed activity sheet to practise work which has been taught in class. Pupils can write straight onto this sheet so no need to copy into their jotters and this can be returned in their folder on Monday of the following week.
  • 📚Reading: all pupils have been allocated a reading book which will go home twice per week to be read with an adult. It is extremely important that this activity is done at home as only through regular reading practice, will children improve this valuable life skill! Please ensure your child’s reading book is returned to school on the date written on the bookmark. It would also be helpful if you could initial this when you have heard your child read.
  • 👟PE/Health & Wellbeing: this will be an outdoor activity where possible and to that end, can children please come dressed for outdoor PE on the allocated day each week (see dates below).  An outdoor kit will consist of trainers, shorts/jogging bottoms/leggings, t-shirt, fleece and outdoor showerproof jacket. We have no changing areas at present so children will wear their kit for the day.
    Date P.E. / Health & Wellbeing Activity Day
    18.03.21 Thursday
    23.03.21 Tuesday
    01.04.21 Thursday
    02.04.21 to 19.04.21 Easter Break
    20.04.21 Tuesday
    29.04.21 Thursday
    11.05.21 Tuesday

Additional Information

🧪Science – P4 will continue to enjoy learning on Friday mornings with Mrs Cummings and their class teacher. These lessons will take place both inside and outside so please ensure pupils are appropriately dressed. Mrs Cummings is looking for some household items so if you are able to donate any of the following this would be much appreciated:

CDs, DVDs, plastic disposable sports bottles with lids, corks, old plastic loyalty cards, small wind-up toys, pringle tubes and lids, plastic ice-cream tubs.

🥐French – Mrs Caldwell will be teaching P4s a French Easter song which highlights some of the traditions celebrated in France.

🧧Mandarin – P4 have been lucky enough to have been chosen to receive a block of x 6, hour long Mandarin lessons every Wednesday from 17th March to 5th May. Ms Ling Sun will provide some introductory lessons over the 6 week period which we are sure the children will enjoy.

📅Diary dates:

Friday 2nd April 2021 – Monday 19th April, Easter Holiday

Tuesday 20th April 2021 – Pupils return 

If you have any queries regarding homework or wish to discuss another aspect of your child’s education please contact Mrs Roy or myself by email:

J.watts@mgfl.net

S.roy@mgfl.net

Many thanks for your support,

Mrs Watts & Mrs Roy

P1 Book Day activities

World Bood Day is Thursday 4th March, but we are not able to dress up or bring in items from home this year.  We have lots of fun activities in class and our home activity is EXTREME READING.

Reading does not have to be done in your bed, or on your sofa or a carpet in school.  I bet you have lots of books at home that you enjoy over and over again.  This challenge is to think of somewhere a bit unusual to read your favourite/or current book.  Ask someone to take your photo in your creative space (s) and send them to me at k.hinton@mgfl.net.  There may even be a small prize….

The extreme reading location can be inside, or outside.  Previous entries have included on a canoe, on top of a fridge, upside down and in an outside den.  This is designed to be a wee bit of fun and hopefully I can create a display of all your wonderful photos in our school library.

Submit photos from 4th – 11th March

Enjoy 🙂

Mrs Hinton

P4 Update – January 2021

Dear parents/carers,

We would like to wish you Happy New Year. I know this is not the start to the year we had hoped for but we are working hard this week to support key-worker families and get ready for Home Learning – Part 2 which begins on Monday 11th January 2021.
We had hoped that we would not be faced with another period of learning from home but unfortunately the virus has a sting in its tail and we need to re-focus our efforts on supporting our children and school community remotely in, hopefully, this final push before the vaccine is rolled out.
We will be using Google Classrooms as our delivery platform and packs of jotters have been organised. P4 pupils who did not take home jotter packs at the end of term, can collect theirs from the school office. The office will be open normal school hours so from the morning of Monday 11th January, people will be able to collect packs.
Mrs Roy and myself will continue to be active on Google Classroom on our normal days so Monday and Thursday – Mrs Roy and Tuesday and Wednesday – Mrs Watts plus alternating Fridays with Mrs Roy working Friday 15th January.
You can find your child’s login details glued into the inside cover of their homework jotters and we had a brief practise logging in on the last day of term but if you have any difficulties, Mrs Hinton is our expert and happy to help.
Daily learning at home will consist of:
  • 3 curricular areas – literacy, numeracy and one other
  • Daily post from teacher on group chat (Stream) within Google Classrooms outlining the days activities
  • Assignments will be posted and used to gather evidence of learning
  • Children can submit pictures of their work or work straight onto their assignment
  • Queries on assignments can be made via ‘Group Chat’ (Stream tab) which the teacher will monitor at intervals throughout the school day
  • More specific, individual queries can be made by e-mail to either class teacher
As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require any further information and we look forward to welcoming you on to Google Classrooms from Monday 11th January.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Watts – J.Watts@mgfl.net
Mrs Roy – S.Roy@mgfl.net

P4 Homework & Update – December 2020

Dear All,

It is hard to believe but we are now in December and as the weather is now well and truly wintry, it is really important that pupils come to school with a warm and waterproof jacket and appropriate footwear. When we are working indoors,  it is extremely important our classrooms are kept well ventilated so the windows will be open throughout the day. Please ensure that your child also brings in a warm jumper/fleece as it can get chilly therefore wearing layers is the best way to keep warm.

Although we still have quite a number of restriction, we will be doing our utmost to make sure pupils enjoy the run up to the festive season. Unfortunately we are still unable to use the indoor hall spaces so will be as creative with the outdoor and classroom space as possible whilst ensuring everyone’s safety.

Homework

  • Spelling: will continue until 15th December with pupils writing their new spelling words in their homework jotter on Wednesday each week. At home they should use:

LOOK   THINK/SAY   COVER   WRITE   CHECK

to write out their new spelling words three times in neat columns. They should also complete an activity card which will earn pupils 2 credit card points. An optional second activity may be completed for extra practice (and 1 credit card point) but is not mandatory. Completed spelling homework should be returned the following Tuesday to be marked and the next spelling pattern will be given for homework on Wednesday each week.

  • Numeracy & Maths: please use the enclosed activity sheet to practise work which has been taught in class. Pupils can write straight onto this sheet so no need to copy into their jotters and this can be returned in their folder on Tuesday of the following week.
  • Reading: all pupils have been allocated a reading book which will go home twice per week to be read with an adult. It is extremely important that this activity is done at home as only through regular reading practice, will children improve this valuable life skill! Please ensure your child’s reading book is returned to school on the date written on the bookmark. It would also be helpful if you could initial this when you have heard your child read.
  • PE/Health & Wellbeing: this will be an outdoor activity where possible and to that end, can children please come dressed for outdoor PE on the allocated day each week (see dates below).  An outdoor kit will consist of trainers, jogging bottoms/leggings, t-shirt, fleece and outdoor showerproof jacket. We have no changing areas at present so children will wear their kit for the day.
    Date P.E. / Health & Wellbeing Activity Day
    01.12.20 Tuesday
    10.12.20 Thursday
    15.11.20 Tuesday
    23.12.20 to 05.01.21 Christmas Break
    07.01.21 Thursday
    12.01.21 Tuesday
    21.01.21 Thursday

Additional Information

Science – P4 have been enjoying learning on Friday mornings with Mrs Cummings and their class teacher. These lessons will take place both inside and outside so please ensure pupils are appropriately dressed. Mrs Cummings is looking for some household items so if you are able to donate any of the following this would be much appreciated:

CDs, DVDs, plastic disposable sports bottles with lids, corks, old plastic loyalty cards, small wind-up toys, pringle tubes and lids, plastic ice-cream tubs.

Christmas Cards – all pupils can post cards in the postbox between Monday and Thursday where they will then be removed and isolated before delivery on the following Monday. This will be available from Monday 30th November until Thursday 17th December. Please ensure all cards have the name and class clearly on the envelope.

Filmed Nativity – Mrs Hinton and Mr Peacock will be filming our nativity and each class will have a slot for a ‘performance’ of a song. Midlothian Council has organised
Vimeo links for all schools to allow us to share this production safely with parents. Please complete and ensure permission slips are returned to school asap as we cannot include your child in the filming without your permission. Links to the video will be sent to all families involved in December.

Christmas Fun – P4 will enjoy a fun afternoon to celebrate the festive season on Tuesday 15th December 2020. This will consist of watching our panto/Christmas film with snacks and some outdoor games. We ask that children wear their Christmas jumpers to school on the day to bring some festive cheer to the proceedings. We are asking for a £2 per child donation to cover the cost of snacks, donation to mission Christmas and a donation to the Brunton Theatre.

Brunton Theatre Online Pantomime – P4 will have access to this years online pantomime and will enjoy watching this in class (see above).

Loanhead Parish Church – Can you help? Every year Loanhead Parish Church provide support to families in our area. We are collecting toys this Christmas to be delivered to local children. If you can help, please purchase a gift for a child (1 month to 16 years) and please do not wrap it. Hand it in to the school office and we will pass them on. We will be collecting from Monday 30th Novemember to Friday 11th December.

Diary dates:

Monday 30th November 2020 – Friday 11th December, Christmas gift drop off

Monday 30th November 2020 – Thursday 17th December, school Christmas post box

Tuesday 22nd December 2020 – Tuesday 5th January 2021, Christmas Holiday

Wednesday 6th January 2021 – Pupils return 

If you have any queries regarding homework or wish to discuss another aspect of your child’s education please contact Mrs Roy or myself by email:

J.watts@mgfl.net

S.roy@mgfl.net

Many thanks for your support,

Mrs Watts & Mrs Roy

P4 Homework & Update – October 2020

Dear All,

We have enjoyed a great September learning in our outdoor spaces and will continue this into October. As the weather is changing, it is really important that pupils come to school with a warm and waterproof jacket and appropriate footwear. When we are working indoors,  it is extremely important our classrooms are kept well ventilated so the windows will be open throughout the day. Please ensure that your child also brings a warm jumper/fleece as it can get chilly. 

Homework

  • Spelling: pupils write their new spelling words in their homework jotter on Wednesday every week. At home they should use:

LOOK   THINK/SAY   COVER   WRITE   CHECK

to write out their new spelling words three times in neat columns. They should also complete an activity card which will earn pupils 2 credit card points. An optional second activity may be completed for extra practice (and 1 credit card point) but is not mandatory. Completed spelling homework should be returned the following Tuesday to be marked and the next spelling pattern will be given for homework on Wednesday each week.

  • Numeracy & Maths: please use the enclosed activity sheet to practise work which has been taught in class. Pupils can write straight onto this sheet so no need to copy into their jotters and this can be returned in their folder on Tuesday of the following week.
  • Reading: all pupils have been allocated a reading book which will go home twice per week to be read with an adult. It is extremely important that this activity is done at home as only through regular reading practice, will children improve this valuable life skill! Please ensure your child’s reading book is returned to school on the date written on the bookmark. It would also be helpful if you could initial this when you have heard your child read.
  • PE/Health & Wellbeing: this will be an outdoor activity where possible and to that end, can children please come dressed for outdoor PE on the allocated day each week (see dates below).  An outdoor kit will consist of trainers, jogging bottoms/leggings, t-shirt, fleece and outdoor showerproof jacket. We have no changing areas at present so children will wear their kit for the day.
    Date P.E. / Health & Wellbeing Activity Day
    08.10.20 Thursday
    13.10.20 Tuesday
    19.10.20 to 26.10.20 October Break
    29.10.20 Thursday
    03.11.20 Tuesday
    12.11.20 Thursday
    17.11.20 Tuesday

Additional Information

Leaf Identification – P4 have enjoyed taking part in outdoor learning activities, particularly leaf classification. We will continue with outdoor learning throughout October as the class are really enjoying being out and about in our beautiful local area.  

Diary dates:

Monday 19th October 2020 – Monday 26th October 2020, October Holiday

Tuesday 27th October 2020 – Pupils return 

If you have any queries regarding homework or wish to discuss another aspect of your child’s education please contact Mrs Roy or myself by email:

S.roy@mgfl.net

J.watts@mgfl.net

Many thanks for your support,

Mrs Watts & Mrs Roy

P4 Homework & Update – September 2020

Homework

  • Spelling: pupils have written their new spelling words in their jotter on Wednesday this week. At home they should use:

LOOK   THINK/SAY   COVER   WRITE   CHECK

to write out their new spelling words three times in neat columns. They should also complete an activity card which will earn pupils 2 credit card points. An optional second activity may be completed for extra practice (and 1 credit card point) but is not mandatory. Completed spelling homework should be returned the following Tuesday to be marked and the next spelling pattern will be given for homework on Wednesday each week.

Thank you to those who have covered their child’s homework jotter using wrapping paper or old wallpaper to help keep it from ripping as it goes back and forth between home and school. All pupils have also been given a plastic folder to help with this transition.

  • Numeracy & Maths: please use the enclosed activity sheet to practise work which has been taught in class. Pupils can write straight onto this sheet so no need to copy into their jotters and this can be returned in their folder on Tuesday of the following week.
  • Reading: all pupils have been allocated a reading book which will go home twice per week to be read with an adult. It is extremely important that this activity is done at home as only through regular reading practice, will children improve this valuable life skill! Please ensure your child’s reading book is returned to school on the date detailed on the bookmark. It would also be helpful if you could initial this when you have heard your child read.
  • PE/Health & Wellbeing: this will be an outdoor activity where possible and to that end, can children please come dressed for outdoor PE on the allocated day each week (see dates below).  An outdoor kit will consist of trainers, jogging bottoms/leggings, t-shirt and outdoor showerproof jacket. We have no changing areas at present so children will wear their kit for the day.
    Date P.E. / Health & Wellbeing Activity Day
    01.09.20 Tuesday
    10.09.20 Thursday
    15.09.20 Tuesday
    24.09.20 Thursday
    29.09.20 Tuesday
    08.10.20 Thursday
    13.10.20 Tuesday

Additional Information

Bird-feeders – P4 have really enjoyed making their individual bird-feeders and placing these around the school and the woods in the Bing. We will continue with outdoor learning throughout September as it has been a fantastic way to help pupils adjust to being back at school full-time.

Diary dates      – Wednesday 16th September 2020, Loanhead Parent Council AGM

Friday 18th September & Monday 21st September 2020, September Holiday

If you have any queries regarding homework or wish to discuss another aspect of your child’s education please contact Mrs Roy or myself by email:

S.roy@mgfl.net

J.watts@mgfl.net

Many thanks for your support,

Mrs Watts & Mrs Roy

P4 Homework w/b 24.8.20

Homework

  • Spelling: pupils have written their new spelling words in their jotter on Wednesday this week. At home they should use:                                                    LOOK   THINK   COVER   WRITE   CHECKto write out their new spelling words three times in neat columns. They should also complete an activity card which will earn pupils 2 credit card points. An optional second activity may be completed for extra practice (and 1 credit card point) but is not mandatory. Completed spelling homework should be returned the following Tuesday to be marked and the next spelling pattern will be given for homework on Wednesday each week.

    Please cover your child’s homework jotter using wrapping paper or old wallpaper to help keep it from ripping as it goes back and forth between home and school. All pupils have also been given a plastic folder to help with this transition.

  • Numeracy & Maths: please use the enclosed activity sheet to practise addition work which has been taught in class. Pupils can write straight onto this sheet so no need to copy into their jotters and this can be returned in their folder on Tuesday of the following week.
  • Reading: all pupils have been allocated a new reading book which will go home on Wednesday each week to be returned on Friday for in class activities and then taken home to be returned again on Tuesday with their other homework
  • PE/Health & Wellbeing: will be an outdoor activity where possible and to that end, can children please come dressed for outdoor PE on the allocated day each week (see dates below).  An outdoor kit will consist of trainers, jogging bottoms/leggings, t-shirt and outdoor showerproof jacket. We have no changing areas at present so children will wear their kit for the day.
    Date P.E. / Health & Wellbeing Activity Day
    27.08.20 Thursday
    01.09.20 Tuesday
    10.09.20 Thursday
    15.09.20 Tuesday
    24.09.20 Thursday
    29.09.20 Tuesday
    05.10.20 Thursday
    13.10.20 Tuesday

Additional Information

Mrs Cumming will be joining P4 on Friday mornings each week to explore some science topics   – we are really looking forward to this!

If you have any queries regarding homework or wish to discuss another aspect of your child’s education please contact Mrs Roy or myself by email:

S.roy@mgfl.net

J.watts@mgfl.net

Many thanks for your support,

Mrs Watts & Mrs Roy

 

Welcome back P4!

Welcome back to school P4!

It really has been lovely to see the children back in school this week. There has been a lot of changes and new ways of working to get used to but we are sure, in a week or two, these will become second nature to the children and staff within the school.

This is a short message to inform parents that P4 will have Mrs Duncan once per week alternating between Tuesday and Thursday mornings for Health & Wellbeing activities, including PE.

PE will be an outdoor activity where possible and to that end, can children please come dressed for outdoor PE on the allocated day each week (see dates below).  An outdoor kit will consist of trainers, jogging bottoms/leggings, t-shirt, outdoor showerproof jacket. We have no changing areas at present so children will wear their kit for the day.

Date P.E. / Health & Wellbeing Activity Day
18.08.20 Tuesday
27.08.20 Thursday
01.09.20 Tuesday
10.09.20 Thursday
15.09.20 Tuesday
24.09.20 Thursday
29.09.20 Tuesday
05.10.20 Thursday
13.10.20 Tuesday

Homework will commence week beginning Monday 24th August and details about that will follow nearer the time.

Finally, can pupils bring a reading book/magazine from home to keep for reading in school when required.

Many thanks,

Mrs Watts & Mrs Roy

P4 Class Teachers