Hi all,
It’s that time of year again where head lice makes an appearance! Could I ask that parents are aware of this and are checking their child’s hair if they suspect their child has them.
Please ensure it is treated at home until all head lice have cleared to prevent them from spreading. The best time to check for head lice is when your child’s hair is wet and by using a fine nit comb.
Thank you!
I cannot believe that we are nearing the end of September! Mrs Cumming and I look forward to seeing you at the Learning Trio meetings to plan next steps for pupils. These are 27th September and 10th of October.
Please can we remind pupils to only have WATER IN WATER BOTTLES for class time, flavoured water and juice does not follow our healthy schools guidelines.
HOMEWORK: PLEASE NOTE pupils have reading every day. Homework and reading should be recorded in homework diaries (small blue jotter).
SPELLING – Pupils should write their words 3 times and then include them in sentences, a silly story etc. DUE FRIDAY
MATHS – Pupils should continue to use SUMDOG and really focus on times tables development and mentally adding and subtracting numbers within 100.
Numeracy
This week in numeracy we will be looking at doubles and halves within 100 (and beyond) as well as consolidating place value to a million. For numeracy homework pupils have a times tables challenge card and there has been a learn its letter sent home (click here) to explain what areas of metal maths P5 should be working on and revising. We encourage at least 10 minutes of metal maths every night to really boost numeracy skills and confidence.
Literacy
Pupils have reading homework most nights, it is important to hear your child read and discuss their reading with them. Each group has spelling words to learn for Friday and their dictation test is on Monday.
Please remember to check your child’s homework, we encourage cursive handwriting and best work both at home and school. If possible please sign their homework diaries.
SCHOOL PHOTOS – TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY – Depending on time taken etc.
Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th of September are a Holiday and In service day. Pupils resume on Wednesday.
All the children appear to have settled back into school quickly and are ready to get on with learning. We welcome Liam into our class this year.
Miss Amy Clements is a teaching student on a placement with us until February.
Just to remind you Mrs Cumming will be in class on Monday and Tuesday and Mrs Hinton on Wednesday and Thursday, we will alternate on Fridays.
Please ensure that your child has their reading book and diary every day as reading will take place daily (with the occasional exception) with homework given. All children should have a T-shirt and shorts for PE to be kept in school.
Monday: Music with Miss Grigor and spelling homework given out to be returned on Friday.
Tuesday: PE
Wednesday: Mandarin
Thursday: PE with Mrs Duncan and Numeracy homework given out to be returned the following Wednesday.
Friday: Assembly
Literacy and Numeracy will be taught every day. The class will also be continuing to learn French, Topic, Science, Health and Wellbeing, Maths, Religious and Moral Education, Handwriting, ICT and problem solving.
Every child will be given a times tables challenge card. This is to help them learn their tables and will be awarded certificates on successful recall of times tables facts. Please make sure your child has this with them every day. If your child feels they are ready to be tested on a times table they should let us know.
Next week: The school photographer will be in school on Tuesday and Wednesday.
As always if you have any questions or concerns please contact us.
We look forward to working with you and your child this year.
Regards,
Karen Hinton and Lisa Cumming
P5 Homework:
Spelling Homework
Spelling homework will continue to be taken home on a Wednesday afternoon and returned the following Tuesday morning. Please make sure this is checked by an adult.
Pupils will write their spelling words on a new page of their jotter on Wednesday each week. At home they should use:
LOOK THINK COVER WRITE CHECK
to write out their new spelling words, three times, in neat columns. They should also complete a green activity card which will earn pupils 2 credit card points. An optional red activity may be completed for extra practice (and 1 credit card point) but is not mandatory.
Reading Homework
P5 are now on week 4 of their second round of Literacy Circles and are demonstrating some great comprehension skills during book group meets. New reading pages are written at the back of their spelling jotters with relevant role cards to be completed for their book group on Wednesday 29th May.
Maths & Numeracy Homework
Please continue to practise times tables for the ‘Times Table Hot Seat’ testing this week. We have been working our way through these over the year and are now ready to show off our talents – good luck!
Pupil Talk Homework
Pupils have all received their chosen dates and times of their second round of Pupil Talks (see slip). There has been time allocated during the school week to designing Powerpoints but this is not an expectation as posters and props work just as well. Please ensure you support your child in being prepared for their talk date as it really means a lot to them. Thank you!
Health Week plan:
08:50 Warm up in the playground to music
( Mon,Tues and Wed)
Monday
SPORTS DAY starts at 1pm. Weather permitting. Mrs Donnelly will make a decision by 12 noon if weather is going to be problematic for the events to proceed. Spectators welcome.
Tuesday
HOCKEY – DANCE- TAE KWON DO
2PM BIKE RIDE for those who applied.
Wednesday
GUT BRAIN WORKSHOP – KARATE – CRICKET – BASKETBALL – FUN RUN
Thursday
BIKE to school BREAKFAST @08:30.
Tennis (tbc)
Friday
SPORTS SHOWCASE assembly ( CS/CY and MP/GM)
SUMMER FAIR starts at 11:30am. P5 pupils, UNLESS PICKED UP, will remain under Mrs Roy’s care until 12:25pm and then they can make their way home as usual. Please stress to your child that they do not leave without checking in with Mrs Roy first so they can be ticked off the register. Thank you!
A busy week ahead but should be lots of fun!
Thanks for your support,
Mrs Watts & Mrs Roy
Safety Online!
e-Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Loanhead Primary School . We have extensive security measures in place in school, which are monitored both internally and externally, to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material. Any e-Safety incidents are recorded and managed. e-Safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online.
We can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with parents to ensure the e-Safety message is consistent. It is important that parents speak to their children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online.
Recently, many of the children have been talking about the Momo challenge and have been increasingly worried about it. Like many of these online phenomenon the publicity and hype has made this a lot bigger than it needs to be. For a quick briefing on it see the link below.
https://parentzone.org.uk/article/three-minute-briefing-momo-challenge
It’s essential to be realistic – banning the internet or technology will not work and it often makes a child less likely to report a problem. Education around safe use is essential.
Please note that no search engine is ever 100% safe but below provides some links to some “safer” search engines:
Research searching
Google offers a safer search option for children searching on the Internet. You can find out how to do this by downloading the instructions at the bottom of the page.
Image searching
Gaming
When children are accessing games via Xbox LIVE, privacy settings can be set up. To read more, click here
FORTNIGHT BATTLE ROYAL – WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW
Social Media Platform Guides
Click here to access to modern and relevant information on the most popular online phenomenons and social media platforms
https://nationalonlinesafety.com/resources/platform-guides/
Happy New Year!
Welcome back and hope everyone has enjoyed a restful holiday. A huge thank you for your generosity to both Mrs Roy and myself for all the Christmas gifts.
We got off to busy start to the term on Tuesday writing our New Year Resolutions for 2019 and hope to make this year another memorable and fun learning experience for all.
As we enjoy a week of celebrating all things Scottish, pupils have chosen a poem to learn and recite in class next week. Two pupils will then be chosen to go forward to represent P5 in the Loanhead PS Scottish Poetry Competition on Friday 25th January 2019. Pupils chose from the following three poems:
P5 will also be learning both ‘O’Flower of Scotland’ and ‘Auld Lang Syne’ during class time and will enjoy singing these with the whole school during our up and coming assemblies.
The only other homework this week will be our normal 10 spelling words and associated activity cards.
Spelling: everyone now seems familiar with the spelling activity cards with pupils enjoying the variety of activities and option to complete as much as schedules permit. All pupils are aware of the homework expectation but I would remind parents to initial or sign homework jotters to prove that red activities have been complete.
Up and coming events:
Tuesday 22nd January to Tuesday 5th March 2019 – Pupil Talks (details to follow)
Wednesday 6th February 2019 – Parent Consultations, 17:30 – 20.30pm
Thursday 7th February 2019 – Parent Consultations, 15:30 – 17.30pm
Monday 11th February – Friday 15th February 2019 – Holiday
PE – Tuesdays and Thursdays
Finally, a reminder that children should have a pair of indoor shoes to change into. This ensures the floors are kept clean, in particular classroom carpets where children sit when sharing news etc.
Many thanks for your support,
Mrs Watts & Mrs Roy
