Hello everybody,

We have been engaging in a lot of conversation here in room 1 recently about books and how to pick a new book as this can often be a challenging task! We have been visiting the school library and reading from a range of different texts and genres.

I have linked some reading questions you can ask your daughter before, during and after reading. It is important to take the time to read with your child daily and discuss what you have read. This helps with their fluency, comprehension, articulation and vocabulary skills. Engaging in conversation after reading will check comprehension and understanding of the text.

I would encourage all students to keep a journal over the summer months where they can record new vocabulary. When children come across new words in different contexts, they develop a stronger understanding and a more detailed vocabulary. Try using new vocabulary from the reading in daily conversations!

Be aware of your own daughter’s ability when helping her choose books. Read the blurb together and discuss the choice. I have linked below the ‘five finger rule’ which can be very useful when picking a suitable book.

A huge thank you to all of the fifth-class girls in Ms Furness’ class who have been doing paired reading with us over the past few weeks. It has been another fantastic opportunity to talk about reading!!

Five finger rule poster.

Guided reading questions.

Guided reading questions 2.

Happy reading!

Maths week 13^th -20^th October.

 This week is maths week! During this week the children are encouraged to recognise Maths in our daily lives and play games that involve mathematical concepts. In class this week we will be playing lots of fun games and solving a range of different problems. This week the girls are encouraged to use their maths eyes to find shapes, numbers, colours….etc in the environment.

Maths is everywhere so we encourage you to keep Maths Week going at home! Ask your daughter maths related questions in daily routines. Use the clock and calendar, count up how much the shopping list will cost, weigh ingredients or observe shapes around you. I have linked some websites where the girls can play maths related games-Maths is fun!

The websites below have been tried and tested but it is important when the girls are online that there is constant adult supervision. I have also linked below notes for parents on the various topics we are covering this year which explain the content of each topic and some activities you can do with your child at home.

Time activities;

http://www.abcya.com/telling_time.htm :  time on analogue and digital

https://www.ixl.com/math/grade-2/match-analog-clocks-and-times : time quiz

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=matchingpairstimev3 : match digital to analogue times

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/online/clock.php :  time websites; some are more challenging

Adding and subtracting activities; 

subtraction notes for parents

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/addition-and-subtraction : adding and subtracting games

Rounding and Estimating activities;

counting and numeration notes for parents

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=DartboardRoundingv2 : rounding to the nearest 10 activity

http://www.abcya.com/estimating.htm  Estimating by rounding each number and then add (choose either + or – and level 1)

The maths week website also has some great information-http://www.mathsweek.ie/2018/

Keep an eye out for some of the exciting things we will be doing in room one this week- happy maths!

– Ms Duffy

Here in room 9 the girls have been working extremely hard this term. We are currently learning more about the topic of ‘Time‘ as well revising a range of math’s skills. As a class we have discussed the importance of learning our tables as it makes working with numbers a lot easier for us! So keep up the hard work ladies! 🙂

Our focus over the past week has been on the topic ‘Time’. We have been reading the time on the analogue and digital clocks and we have been learning how to convert hours to hours to minutes and so on.

Below are some tips for learning the time at home:

• Use an analogue clock or watch to read the time. If your daughter has her own watch she will be able to use it daily and get used to counting the minutes on the clock face.
• Encourage your child to count ahead using the clock or watch e.g. It is 20 past 2 now, basketball starts at 3, how many minutes is that?
• Encourage your child to convert minutes into hours and minutes e.g. 94 minutes is the same as 1 hour and 34 minutes (revision of 6 times tables will help, it will help count in 60s- 60,120,180 etc.)
• Use real life word problems e.g. If I walk into the supermarket at 11.04 and leave at 11.48, how long did I spend inside?

Good Luck!!

A huge thank you to everybody who came along to our Italian day last Tuesday. We had great fun showing you all of our hard work and of course tasting some yummy Italian food!

Here are some pictures of the morning!