Welcome to Primary 7.
The first term in Primary 7 is a very important time for the children.
As before, this will be an exciting and fun term, full of lots of opportunities to experience, learn and develop a range of skills and concepts across the curriculum.
As the oldest children in school they are now expected to take more responsibility for getting themselves organised for class and be more independent as learners; using and developing the skills they've been taught in previous years, especially in preparation for 'big school'.
Literacy: By P.7, most pupils are already independent readers. All children are expected to read for AT LEAST 20 minutes on a nightly basis as part of their homework and will benefit greatly from being encouraged to read and discuss books with a parent or carer. Alongside this, children should still record what they have read each night in their homework diaries, as this will still be heard in class. Children should complete AR tests when the have finished reading a book.
Numeracy: Throughout P.7 we will be learning lots about the five main areas of Numeracy and Mathematics which include - Processes in Mathematics, Number, Data Handling, Measures, Shape & Space and Problem Solving activities. In P.7, children will be learning appropriate number facts and times tables up to 12x12. These need a lot of practice at home until the child is secure in his or her knowledge and recall of the relevant number facts and tables. Children have access to Times Tables Rock Stars to help with their tables. Please make sure you are able to access this site.
Religion: Primary 7 is a very important year as we celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation. We worked closely with Admore Parish and the Derry Catecetical Centre to ensure we were well prepared for this special day. Thoughout the rest of the year we will follow the Grow in Love programme, and follow this up with other activities.
World Around Us: This term we will be learning all about preparing ourselves for big school/ our feelings and moving on. This will be linked with our class novel - Wonder. P7 will also be participating in the Beginning Business programme with Danske Bank/ Young Enterprise this term.
I.C.T: P.7 will get the opportunity to participate in a variety of ICT based learning activities. They will gain experience of using laptops, digital cameras and virtual learning environments such as Learning NI. They will utilise the Interactive Whiteboard in their learning experiences across various aspects of the curriculum. We are also very excited to be using iPads to help our learning this year. We will be making animations, videos, digital photos and ebooks. This is a great new way to showcase our learning.
Music: Music/tin whistle classes take place every Thursday afternoon with Mr Cutliffe. Please ensure not to forget these instruments at home or in school, and to practise as much as possible!
P.E: We have various PE sessions this year. We have soccer with the Ryan McBride Foundation on Monday afternoons, Gaelic with Annette on a Tuesday afternoon and swimming on a Tuesday in Foyle Arena (after Christmas). Please wear the appropriate PE kit/ gear on these days.
Personal Development and Mutual Understanding: We thoroughly enjoy learning about all aspects of PDMU because we get the opportunity to explore our personal and emotional development. Through circle time and weekly lessons we learn all about health and safety, relationships with others, and how we can work together for our own good and the good of our community.
