Primary 1 Yester Primary School 2014/2015 

I hope everyone managed to find the bundle of letters put into schoolbags on Friday, especially appointments for Parents’ Night!

On Thursday, we went to the school library. We enjoyed looking at some books with our friends. We looked for capital letters, full stpos and tried to spot some keywords.

Yesterday, our P1 Buddies from last year (now Primary 2) very kindly asked us for afternoon tea!

They have been learning about a story called “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch.” In the story, Mrs Grinling makes all sorts of sandwiches for Mr Grinling’s lunch….as well as some mustard sandwiches to trick the seagulls. Thankfully, the Primary 2 children didn’t put mustard in our sandwiches – just cheese and ham!

At the end of the day, instead of Mrs Jamieson reading us a story, we watched “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch” on the big board. Why don’t you watch it again together?

This morning, a dance teacher called Rhianne came to work with us. She read a story called “Giraffes Can’t Dance,” then we learned some of the dances from the story.

We danced a cha cha cha, a tango and a waltz!
Giraffes Can’t Dance! on PhotoPeach

We had a great time. Rhianne even gave us some homework…. to go home and teach a grown up one of our dances. Look out Mr Jamieson!

I wondered if I could give everyone a polite reminder that the big green whole class reading jotters should be returned on a Monday morning? (We were missing 7 today.) These jotters need to be prepared on a Monday evening ready for the lesson which is first thing on a Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, whole class reading lessons will need to be carried out on worksheets rather than in jotters if they have not been brought back to school on time and I will be unable to send them home for your information and support.

Thank you.

After everyone went home today, Mrs Jamieson put some new activities in the Learning Areas ready for next week. Here is a sneaky preview!
New Learning Areas on PhotoPeach

Unfortunately, the East Lothian News photographer was held up on Thursday and was unable to take our photograph. We have rearranged his visit and the class photograph will now be taken on Tuesday, 24th September 2013 at 10 o’clock.

As well as finding out what’s behind every door in Yester Primary School, we have also been finding out about the grown-ups that work in our school.
Today, the children “interviewed” Mrs Hilsley about her job. If you ever wondered what a Head Teacher does all day, watch the slideshow very carefully!
What Does Mrs Hilsley Do All Day? on PhotoPeach

……they forgot the picture about looking for her glasses!

Over the last few weeks we have been working very hard to recognise and write numbers. Today, we used what we’ve learned to play a Dinosaur Drive game.

We had to roll a dice, count the spots and use the picture on the board to help us decide what we could draw on our dinosaur. Lots of concentration and fun! The finished dinosaurs looked amazing. 🙂

 Dinosaur Drive on PhotoPeach

If you wanted to play some interactive games at home, here is a site to help your child learn about number six. I know most children can manage this…..but it’s good fun!
Click on the links to take you to a range of activities.
https://hwb.wales.gov.uk/cms/hwbcontent/Shared%20Documents/vtc/story_of_6/eng/Introduction/default.htm

Over the course of this week, I am rearranging the children into different reading groups.

As the children progress through their keywords, it is essential that the books they bring home are at an appropriate level. I also need to be able to manage our book cupboard, so having 12 children read the same book (when we only have 10 in school) is impossible! I apologise for any inconvenience or confusion in advance, as some children will change reading days or group names. Please see your child’s reading diary for details.

Changing children between groups now and then is all part and parcel of life in Primary 1 – nothing to be concerned about. Just because your child has changed groups does not mean they are “falling behind” or finding things difficult. Please be assured that if I thought we needed to give your child more support, I would be in touch immediately. Assume everything is fine unless stated otherwise!
Could I also ask parents to ensure that reading bags/diaries/extended stories are returned on the correct day? If these are not handed in before lunchtime it makes things difficult for us in school, especially if another group is waiting to read the book you have at home. Unfortunately, if a child does not return their reading things, we cannot send a new book home. We will, however, work on the book in class with the rest of their group.

Thank you for your continued support.