Monday 29th June

Morning P6/7.  Final 2 days of term.  I had a brilliant morning with the P7s on Friday.  It was lovely watching pupils having the opportunity to re-connect when they collected their rewards at school.  I think we have all missed face to face contact instead of relying on technology, which I have to say, has served us really well during school closure.  I wish P7s all the best, I will be thinking of them over the holidays and on their first day of school.  I know you will all do your very best and have a brilliant five or seven years at school.  To the P6s - I look forward to you coming back to Mrs Whyte and myself in August.  It will be lovely just being able to talk to you, teach you face to face and know how we can best help and support you. I checked studyladder on Friday evening and I need to give Grace Johnston a special mention - she has reached the elite 3 award - over 7000 correct answers.  That is an amazing achievement.   P6, we will have lots to do, lots of topics to cover but I am so confident that we will do it!!  Anyway, have a brilliant summer holiday and whatever you do, be safe and come back to me.

Mrs Miskelly and Mrs Whyte

Thursday 25th June

This week is very different this year for a few reasons, tomorrow will be our last day of home schooling (something I never thought I would be saying) and tomorrow is P7's virtual prize giving. It will be an emotional day as the teachers say good bye to our P7's and I know that the P6's would wish them all well as they move on to their next schools.

As much as it has been lovely to be at home and spend time with family there is no doubt that we have all missed school in our own ways!

The sun is shining today and it fills me with hope that everything can soon go back to normal and we will see each other again very soon. 

I hope that you all enjoy your summer holidays, have fun, relax and make memories. We can't wait to see all the P6's again at the start of the new school year which by then you will be our new P7's!

So we are presenting our class prizes today and there is a special class certificate for P6 and P7. You will all also receive a special certificate by email for completing your school year.

Finally P6 and P7, can we just say that it has been an absolute pleasure teaching you all this school year, we have had fun and plenty of laughs and you all have made our jobs the best in the world! Thank you!

With love from Mrs Miskelly and Mrs Whyte

Accelerated Reading Certificates- Well done everybody!

Primary 6- Dylan, Grace, Lauren, William, Jack and Sophie

Primary 7- Jemimah, Ieva, Amy, James, Alfie and Sam W

Studyladder Certificates-

Bronze Ribbon- Aaron

Platinum Medal- Lucy McKee

Silver Ribbon- Sam W, Jack

Silver Medal- Sam G

Gold Medal - Sophie

Elite 1- James

Elite 2- Ieva and Seth

Lovely memories, Katie and you all played so well in Portadown, against very strong competition.  You never let the side down!!

Monday 22nd June

Hi P6/7.  This is the last full week of school and the last week of study ladder.  You have all done really well and worked very hard!!  I definitely think that you deserve your summer break after all this learning.  Keep reading, two of you are so close to reaching your target literally 1 and 2% away.  Remember the summer reading scheme will be operating during the summer holidays which is a great way to maintain the progress you have made throughout this funny old school year.

I have a very special task for P7s.  I want you to record, write, type, draw favourite memories from your time at Cortamlet. 

Finally a reminder for P7s that there will be a virtual assembly at 10am.  Please join, details will come later.

Love

Mrs Miskelly

Friday 19th June

Hi P6/7.  I hope you are all well.  I have absolutely loved pictures and videos sent to me this week.  It made me feel a little sad because I miss speaking with you, teaching you and laughing with you all.  However, overall, they made me feel happy, you all have such an eclectic mixture of skills and talents!

Next Friday there will be a virtual P7 assembly using 'zoom'.  I know that some of you are familiar with this app or programme.  I have found zoom easier to operate as an app on a phone or a tablet / ipad.  However the downside is, we won't see everybody.  The app only allows up to 9 screens (9 people) and I would love it, if all of us could be seen together.  Therefore it would be best to use zoom on the computer.  I will issue out more information, including zoom codes next week.  However, don't worry if you use your phone, tablet etc... I don't want to put anybody off.  Technology can be difficult at the best of times!  So, I'm wondering, P7, could you send me in your favourite memories of your school experience.  You could write them down, type it or send me in a video of you telling me them.  I can't wait to hear from you!

You have worked so hard this week and if you're not on studyladder, I am sure you have been working on other things and learning valuable life lessons.  Indeed, I was so impressed with Sam G's skill of growing vegetables - I would love to be able to do that.

I have handed out, virtually, loads of certificates.  They were to:

Gold certificate: Luke

Gold Trophy award:  Sam W

Platinum Trophy award:  Sam G, Aaron and Sam W

Bronze Ribbon award:  Sam G

Silver Ribbon award: Sam G

Gold Ribbon award: Sam G

Platinum Ribbon award:  Sam G

Bronze Medal award: Sophie

Silver Medal award: Sophie

Gold Medal award: James and Lucy M

Platinum Medal award: James

Elite 1 award: Selina

Elite 2 award: Grace, Amy, Dylan, William, Lauren, Jemimah and Alfie

NI Libraries are beginning a summer scheme to promote reading over the summer months.  I would recommend that you look into it.  It's really obvious who has read, even just a little, through your initial classwork in September.  I know reading isn't everybody's thing but a little is better than nothing and the library has good books, ebooks and audio books.  Here is the website for you to check out:

https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

Monday 15th June

Hi P6/7. I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  Only two full weeks to go.  Wow, time has flown.  I came across a great website with mini maths videos which clearly instruct you how to do certain maths questions.  I urge you to watch them, especially the P7s,

because I want you to enter high school as confident as possible!  The link for the site is below

https://open.online.clickview.co.uk/libraries/categories/26205666/mathematics?sort=productionyear

If we were in school, we would have been holding a talent show.  Therefore it would be great if you could picture your talent, write about your talent or even video your talent and send it to me.  We could have a virtual talent show.  Your talent can be anything - 'keepy uppies', hockey skills, reciting a poem, something you have made, a new skill you have learned during lock down.  Anything!

Have a great week everybody!

Friday 12th June

Hi P6/7.  We hope you are well and had a great week.  Mrs Whyte and I have been getting the classroom ready for when we get back to school.  We really miss all of you and the classroom is not the same without you lot!!

You have been working so hard this week and lots of certificates have been awarded this week.  They go to:

Silver Award:  Katie

Gold Award: Rebecca and Alanna

Bronze Trophy Award: Tilly

Gold Trophy Award: Sam Gibson

Platinum Ribbon Award: Sophie

Bronze Medal: James and Lucy McKee

Silver Medal: James and Lucy McKee

Gold Medal: Selina

Platinum Medal: Ieva, Seth, Dylan, Jemimah and Selina

Elite 1 Award:  Alfie, Lauren, Amy, William, Dylan, Seth, Ieva and Jemimah

The certificates go to :

Monday 8th June

Good morning P6/7.  I hope you all had a lovely weekend and ready for another week of home learning.  I know how tough it is on everyone, including parents.  I miss the instant contact and it makes me appreciate that we rely on connectivity of people.  I have been watching the news and the events in America have made me sad.  I am reminded of words written by:

"This planet is for everyone, borders are for no one.  It's all about freedom."

Benjamin Zephaniah, Refugee Boy

and in War Horse, Michael Morpurgo wrote:

"Any problem can be solved between people if only they can trust each other."

Kindness matters.

"Just like that (they're) gone.

Things can change so quickly,

One second you're in the present,

The next you're remembering the past."

- Janet Gurtler

Hi P6/7.  I hope you all had a lovely week.   Big congratulations to the P7s who all got their first choice secondary schools!  I'm sure high school is becoming a little bit more real now.

 Thank you so much for your dedication to your home learning and any photos or contact made with me this week.  It is very much appreciated! Quite a few of you achieved Study Ladder certificates.  They are:

Bronze Trophy award: Sam W

Silver Trophy award:  Sam G

Gold Trophy award: Aaron

Platinum Trophy award: Jack

Gold Ribbon award:  Lucy M and Sophie

Platinum Ribbon award:  James and Lucy M

Bronze Medal award: Selina

Silver Medal award: Dylan, Ieva, Selina and William

Gold Medal award:  Amy, Lauren, Jemimah, Dylan, Seth, Ieva and William

Platinum Medal award: Amy, Grace, Alfie and Lauren

Elite 1 award: Grace

Well done to everyone in the above list and to those who are working towards a certificate.

We are nearly approaching the end of session 5 of A R and I would love a few more of you to reach your target.

A little message from the Road  Safety Education - DfI

Dear Parent,

During the month of June, there will be a weekly task designed for you to work alongside and complete with your child/children in relation to a key road safety issue:

Road Safety Education - Week 1 Task (Child Cycle Safety)

This week the focus is on cycle helmets – please ensure your child wears a cycle helmet every time they are riding their bicycle and that it is properly fitted and adjusted to reduce the impact of a fall or collision at slow speed.  The attached document has been supplied by Department for Infrastructure ‘Safe and Accessible Travel’ as a guide for you and your child to use.

For further information on cycle safety: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/cycling-safety

To view the road safety calendars issued to schools: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/road-safety-teaching-aid-calendars

Monday 1st June

Hi P6/7.  Can you believe that we've made it to June?!!!  And the weather is gorgeous!  I hope you are all slapping on your suncream and getting your vitamin D outside.  This week the whole school is holding not just Sports' Day but a Sports' Week!  The event will take place in your garden.  It will be a little different than usual but hopefully and with this weather, good fun.  All classes have been asked to send in photos of a variety of events - running, long jump, skipping, welly throwing, running an obstacle course.  You can run against members of your family, including your dog or run on your own - which is my tip if you always want to win.

I've been interested in growing vegetables and here is a great website:

http://legacy.ccea.org.uk/growing/may.php

This will give you a month by month guide of what and when to plant also when to harvest.  There are also tips to protect your crops, videos, to do lists...loads of information!

Finally Ulster Teachers' Union are holding an International Relations Competition.  For your age group, if you want to participate, you need to write and illustrate a short story or a poem based on "What I am looking forward to after lockdown."  Any medium can be used.  There will be cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  Please email your entries to Competition@utu.edu

Friday 29th May

Hi P6/7.  I hope you are all well!  Hasn't the weather been gorgeous and I really hope you have been making the most of it, going for walks, bike rides or even getting the paddling pool out!!  However you have been working really hard and, again, I want to thank you for that.  This week, quite a few of you earned study ladder certificates:

Silver award:  Lottie

Platinum award:  Tilly

Bronze Trophy award:  Sam Gibson

Silver Trophy award:  Aaron

Gold Trophy award: Jack

Bronze Ribbon award: Sophie

Silver Ribbon award: James and Sophie

Gold Ribbon award:  James

Platinum Ribbon award:  Ieva, Seth, Sylan, William and Selina

Bronze Medal award: Jemimah, Amy, Lauren, Seth, Ieva, Dylan and William

Silver Medal award: Alfie, Jemimah, Grace, Amy, Lauren and Seth

Gold Medal award: Alfie

Special mention for reaching their A R targets go to Ieva, Amy and Dylan.  Well done!

Tuesday 26th May

Hi P6/7.  I hope you all had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend.  We don't have too many weeks to go until the end of term so please keep up the momentum of home learning.  This week, I would like to see as many people participating in an AR quiz and I wonder who could reach their target by Friday, although you do have a few weeks to do this.  Like always, if you are doing something fun and interesting, take a picture of it and send it to me as it is lovely to put up on the website.

Below is a link to the Royal Society Website which contain home science experiments which you could try out!  If you do, please take photographs and send them to me.

https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/education-skills/teacher-resources-and-opportunities/resources-for-teachers/science-at-home/primary/

Friday 22nd May

Good morning P6/7.  I hope you are all well and thank you, again, for the photos that you have sent me.  Did anyone watch the video on knitting that Mrs Whyte posted?  It looked good fun but beyond my capabilities!!  Who loved the gorgeous rabbit that Mrs Whyte knitted?  I thought it was fantastic.  Mrs Whyte is obviously very talented, unlike me!

Remember that Monday is a bank holiday so you can all have a little break from your learning and hopefully the weather will recover again to what it has been.

I am posting up a poster competition aimed at "Protecting the Planet"  You have to create a picture which displays ways in which we can do our bit to help our planet.  These changes can be massive or very small.  You decide.  Check out the page.

https://www.bitcni.org.uk/post-news/protecttheplanet-picture-competition-for-kids/

You are all working so hard on study ladder and doing quizzes.  I want to thank you and your parents for keeping going - so say a big thank you from me to them.  The following people earned study ladder certificates.

Silver certificate:  Luke Armstrong

Gold certificate: Tilly Park

Platinum certificate: Sam Watson

Bronze Trophy:  Aaron Oliver

Gold Trophy:  Sophie Warnock and Olivia Preston

Bronze Ribbon:  Lucy McKee and James McBride

Silver Ribbon:  Dylan Hill, William McNiece, Seth Warmington, Selina Nicholson and Lucy McKee

Gold Ribbon: William McNiece, Amy Hill, Ieva Bukyte, Seth Warmington and Dylan Hill

Platinum Ribbon: Lauren McMurdie, Alfie Miskelly, Jemimah Anderson, Grace Johnston and Amy Hill

Bronze Medal:  Alfie Miskelly and Grace Johnston

!!Update!!  Gold Trophy Award:  Sophie Warnock

Gold Ribbon:  Selina Nicolson

Well done everyone!!!

A special mention to Grace Johnston and Lauren McMurdie for reaching their reading target!

The Pupil of the Week certificates are awarded to:

Tuesday 19th May

Good morning everyone! So as you all know this week is Eco week so yesterday I had a go at turning an old t-shirt into yarn to knit with. It did actually work but it was a slow process and was very effective. I have included a YouTube video below of how it can be done if anyone would like to try it. If you don't have an old t shirt perhaps you have old bits of wool lying around that you could recycle and turn into a scarf etc.

When I was in primary school the one after school club I loved to attend was the knitting club and still have my bunny I knitted in primary 6! Perhaps when we are all back at school we can set up an after school knitting club!

If you don't want to knit perhaps you could use your old wool to make a Pom Pom which is what I have Jessica trying this week. 

If you try something, remember to send your photos of your work in progress and your finished project, Mrs MisKelly and I would love to see what you decide to try.

Monday 18th May

(There seems to be a few issues with Study Ladder today - Mon 18 May so bear with it.  I think you can access a few of the activities)

Good morning P6/7.  I hope you all had a lovely weekend. This week I would like you all to take a look at the Oxford Owl website - google "Oxford Owl".  This is an online guided reading book scheme.  You will need to login.  Your username is cortamlet 2 and your password is owl67 (no spaces).  You can scroll down to find your age group and if you notice, there is a 'level' key.  When you click on it, you will see colours and they match with your reading scheme in school.  Most of you are either on blue or red.  I think "dark red" must be the red plus books we use in school.  Don't feel compelled to use these colours.  If you click on a grey book, level behind blue and you like it - read it.  Please don't feel pressurised to use this resource.  I know a lot of you have loads of books at home or you are using libraries NI.  This is just an additional reading resource and I am signposting it out to you because I believe it contains books of good reading quality.  I was looking at a book called "Air Raid" by Jean May.  Its in the 9 - 11 age range.  As you know I love Michael Morpurgo's "Friend or Foe" and this book remind me of it.  Above the book, it states "Other Good Reads".  If you click on this, books on similar themes will come up.  Take note of the page number you finish reading on and you can type it in next time you open up the book.  The other good thing is - some of these books are on the accelerated reading scheme.  Air Raid is but not all of them are so you can check this out using the     A R bookfinder website.

Audible books also provide some free children's audio books.  However to access this, I had to change my browser to google chrome.  I listened to one of my all time favourite childhood books - "Anne of Green Gables".

This week is Eco week and if we were in school, we would be doing some eco activities designed by our eco council.  Instead watch out for an Eco task which Mrs Whyte will post up for our class.  Please send me some photos of you participating in this task or any eco activity which you would normally do as part of your daily lives.

I know you are all working hard and 'lockdown' seems to be going on for a long time.  I think of you all everyday and I am amazed how motivated and dedicated you are to complete tasks, keep up your learning and parents staying in contact with me.  Don't fret if you have an 'off' day or even an 'off' week.  During these 'off' times just cover the basics - take one set of tables to learn really well but challenge yourselves - try the 7s or the 12s and read for enjoyment.  Hopefully you will feel refreshed to continue your online learning the next day.

Friday 15th May

Hi P6/7.  How are you all?  Thank you for the photographs that you are sending me.  I love keeping the contact up.  Please keep sending them and let me know how things are going.

Here's a lovely maths story that you could read.  It's written in the form of a narrative poem and its all about financial capability - being clever with your money.  A skill that will be useful to you, particularly in the next few years.

Thank you for working so hard this week and I have been able to give out some study ladder certificates:

Bronze certificate goes to Theo

Platinum certificate goes to Sam Gibson

Bronze Trophy awards go to Sophie and Jack

Silver Trophy awards go to Olivia, Sophie and Jack

Platinum Trophy awards go to Dylan, Selina, Seth, Lucy M and James

Bronze Ribbon awards go to Amy, Dylan, William, Ieva and Selina

Silver Ribbon awards go to Lauren, Alfie, Amy, Jemimah, Grace and Ieva

Gold Ribbon awards go to Jemimah, Alfie, Lauren and Grace.  Well done everyone!

Also BBC Bitesize have added great Britannica encyclopaedia information.  Look up BBC Bitesize and see if you can find anything which interests you or is useful to your learning.  But back to business.  The certificates this week go to: 

Tuesday 12th May

Tomorrow would have been the first day of Balmoral Show.  I'm sure loads of you are missing this big event.  Therefore why don't you send me some photos of you and your family at previous shows.  Let's remind ourselves how great it is and then we can really look forward to going again! 

Monday 11th May

Good morning P6/7.  My weekend was great but it was made even better when I listened to Lottie on Radio Ulster.  She spoke so articulately about what she has been doing during these weeks outside of the classroom.  She has been broadcasting the facts of Covid 19 from her house and to lighten the mood, she suggests a craft activity to keep ourselves busy and to stop us from thinking too much about the situation.  In addition, the Ulster Gazette also wrote an article about Lottie's "Corona Cast".  Well done Lottie!

When we were at school, we enjoyed PE with Chris every Monday.  Also some of us stayed behind for Healthy Kidz Club.  I'm sure you miss this so Healthy Kidz has created a virtual Sports Day which you can do in your own garden!  Below is a booklet which will explain everything you need to do!

Inside the booklet, it lists all of the events

- sprint

- long jump

- high jump

- egg and spoon race

- well toss

- creating your own obstacle race

There are coaching tips, what you need and how to prepare for your event.  To get involved you need to register via the healthy kidz app.  Don't worry there is a Frequently Asked Questions section at the back if you have any difficulties.  Please get involved!

I didn't receive very many photographs last week so I'm wondering if you could send photos of your virtual sports day.  What equipment are you using? - You might have to be creative if you don't have any markers.  Also some of you would have been training with Mrs Whyte for your cycling proficiency award.  I would love some photos of you on your bike, obviously with a helmet on. 

Thursday 7th May

Hi P6/7.  I have really enjoyed your photos and contributions this week.  I have particularly enjoyed Aaron's fact file on V E day.  Here is a link to Winston Churchill's famous speech

https://youtu.be/efvwJjzqKUk.  Have a listen!  Are any of you doing anything special for

V E day tomorrow?

You have been working hard and the following people achieved their study ladder certificates: 

Tilly earned her Silver certificate.

Sam Watson and Sam Gibson earned their Gold certificates.

Dylan and Olivia earned their Bronze trophy awards

Dylan and Seth earned their Silver trophy awards.

William, Amy, Ieva, Seth, Lucy McKee and Selina earned their Gold trophy awards.

Lauren, Alfie, Jemimah and William earned their platinum trophy awards.

And a special mention goes to Grace and Lauren who earned their Bronze Ribbon awards.  Well done!!

Special Update:  Well done to Aaron who achieved his platinum certificate.  Well done to Dylan and James who achieved their Gold Trophy awards.    Well done to Amy and Ieva for earning their Platinum Trophy awards and special mention to Jemimah and Alfie for achieving their Bronze Ribbon awards!

The certificates of the week :

Monday 4th May

Hi P6/7!  I hope everyone is well and had a lovely weekend.  The weather was better and that made a big difference.  I have week 5 tasks already up on study ladder.  Remember, this Friday is a bank holiday so I don't expect you to work on that day.  You can have an extra long weekend!   However please don't forget the significance of this bank holiday.  We normally have May bank holidays on a Monday, but it's on a Friday to mark the 75th Anniversary of VE day - "Victory Over Europe" when World War 2 officially ended.  Unfortunately, Covid 19 is overshadowing this momentous occasion.  As we see so much bravery in our communities - particularly our NHS battling the virus, we also see bravery in men and women who deliver key services such as postal workers, refuse collectors and those who work in shops.  However men like Captain Tom Moore fought for us so we could live freely and the men and women left behind strived to keep our country going.  Please don't forget! 

As you know, I love Maths and I use a great scheme of work called White Rose Maths.  The maths subjects are clearly laid out and well explained.  The only thing is  - it is a scheme of work from England and therefore our curriculum doesn't always match in with theirs.  Usually, you would have to pay to use it but if you google White Rose Maths home learning there are a wealth of resources all free!  Currently, the scheme is at week 3 of summer term and for year 6 (P7) they are concentrating on fractions - simplifying, comparing and adding and subtracting.  There are colourful child-friendly tutorials, activities and even answers to go along with them.  The scheme is laid out in exactly the way I would teach it so please give it a go this week!  For P6 (year 5) the scheme is concentrating on multiplication and division.  However year 4 resources are also very relevant - introduction of tenths and hundredths, if you need a little reminder or revision.  Thankfully they have left up week 2 and week 1 resources so ratio, angles, decimals and percentages are all covered!  Listen and watch the tutorials if you're a little unsure of these concepts.

Finally today is Star Wars Day. If you have access to facebook, Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is hosting  a star wars day today!  So why not have a look, if you're a fan!  May the fourth be with you!

                                                            Friday 1st May

Good afternoon P6/7.  Sorry for being a little bit later than usual.  I've really enjoyed receiving emails and photographs from you.  There's lots of learning going on inside and out!  Let's  hope the weather picks up, we definitely feel better when we see lots of sunshine.  Next week I'd love to see more photos of you learning how to touch type, using the website www.typingclub.com  Also remember to quiz on accelerated reader, the targets have been set!  Lots of you have been working hard.  Luke and Katie earned their bronze certificate.  Alanna and Rebecca received their silver certificate.  Aaron earned his gold certificate.  Amy, Selina, Dylan and Jack received their platinum certificates.  Next Selina, Amy, Ieva, James, Lucy McKee, William, Seth, Grace and Jemimah earned their bronze trophy awards.  Silver trophy awards were given to Alfie, Lauren, William, Selina, Jemimah and Grace.  Grace, Jemimah, Lauren and Alfie received their gold trophy awards and Grace earned her platinum trophy award!  Well done everybody!

An Update!  Since typing this, a couple of hours ago,  more pupils have achieved awards.  Silver trophy awards go to Amy, Ieva, James and Lucy McKee.  Also Sophie earned her platinum certificate.  Well done again!

Mrs Whyte and I have had another difficult week to decide our certificate recipients.  However the certificates are awarded to:

. Hi parents and pupils!  Scholastic, an educational magazine, have resources and have designed a summer term home learning time table.  Website below:

resource-bank.scholastic.co.uk/content/Home-Learning-Daily-Timetables-40028

                                                           Tuesday 28th April

Hi parents and pupils.  The Department of Education have released a link to their website offering additional support for home learning. 

www.education-ni.gov.uk/articles/support-parents-and-pupils

                                                          Monday 27th April

Good morning!    I hope you are all well!  I have the tasks for week 4 already set up on study ladder.  I've kept on week 3 but please concentrate on week 4 tasks and if you have any spare time at the end of the week then you can do any task that you missed in week 3.  Remember to keep your reading up, new targets have been set so you can quiz when you are ready.  I'm sure you know about all other resources out there - it's actually quite overwhelming but isn't it great that people believe how important this home learning time actually is!  BBC teach even have celebrities delivering some of the lessons!  It makes sense, as they can't do their normal work either.  The challenge this week - send me in a photo of you doing a  hockey skill or any kind of sporting skills if you don't own your own hockey skill.  Christine, our hockey coach, has been putting up short tutorials on face book.  Also I put up on study ladder the touch typing web site - www.typingclub.com.  Touch typing is a great skill to have and something I was planning to teach in term 3.  Enjoy week 4!

Mrs Miskelly and Mrs Whyte

                                                             Friday 24th April

Good morning P6/7.  As I write this I'm thinking that we would be stuck in the middle of our Friday test.  Some brave person will be sticking a hesitant arm up in the arm to gently remind me that hockey is due to start and we would rush outside and enjoy Christine's lesson.  I miss Fridays in school.  However the weather is great and I really hope that you are all getting outside at some point in the day.  We went to the park since they re-opened them and it has been brilliant!  Strangely, the police were walking around but they were only making sure that no-one is going against the social distancing rules.  We looked at different types of trees and flowers, stuff that we would never do but this was part of our home/school learning day.  Again, you are doing really well on study ladder and new targets have been set for Accelerated Reader.  If you were to ask me my 3 top tips for successful learning, I would say immediate response of times and division tables (of course!), physical exercise (maintain health for optimum learning) and reading!  Reading will improve your spelling, comprehension work and your creative writing.  I want to make a very special mention to Alanna and Rebecca who achieved their bronze certificates.  Aaron, Jack, Sam Watson and Sophie who achieved their silver certificates.  Amy, Dylan, Olivia, Jack and Sophie (again) achieved their gold certificates.  Lauren, Alfie, Grace, Ieva, James, Lucy Mckee and William achieved their platinum certificates.  Finally Lauren and Alfie also achieved their bronze trophy awards.  Well done!  Also don't forget to download the safer schools app, the details on the website. Some really useful information on it, such as great youtube learning sites, an explanation of corona virus and band width advice as many of us are using more broad band than usual.

This week the certificates go to:

Back to (home) school (learning)

Hello P6/7.  It is lovely being back in contact with you all again.  I received some photos over the holidays which I loved and have added on to the website but looking forward to seeing lots more.  Hasn't the weather been great?  Initially, I thought, typical!  When we go into lockdown the sun comes out and we have to go in.  However the kids and I have really enjoyed pottering in the garden and going out for our daily walks. I hope you all feel refreshed and ready to get learning again.  You will notice that I have your tasks back on Study Ladder this week and we are on week 3.  Let me know if you have any problems / issues and I will quickly respond.  Remember to read and use those online resources such as NI Libraries and try out Carol Vorderman's  'Maths Factor'.  There are so many resources out there now so it's important not to get too over whelmed.  If Study Ladder is enough along with reading then great. 

Easter 2020

Hi P6/7.  Have a fabulous Easter holiday.  Don't eat too many eggs and do something different other than school work.  Sometimes we get our  during the summer weather  Easter holidays and hopefully you will be able to get outside and get some fresh air.  I'm going to get the lawn mower out and think about what I could do with the garden.  I'm also going to learn a new recipe and I am going to enjoy eating my Easter egg.  I won't be adding new tasks to study ladder but you are welcome to finish tasks from the last two weeks. 

Regards

Mrs M and Mrs W

End of Week 2

This would have been the last day of term 2 and I would have been handing out Crème eggs and wishing you a happy Easter.  Well, I can still do that and I'm sure you will be eating chocolate over the next two weeks.  You have been working really well and embracing this new learning experience!  I want to give a very special mention to the following people who achieved over 500 points and therefore attained their gold certificate: Ieva, James, Lucy Mckee, Selina, Alfie and William   Also the following people are being awarded their Accelerated Reader Certificates: Sophie, James, Amy, Dylan, Lucy Mckee, Ieva, Grace , Lauren and Alfie

Just out of interest - is anyone keeping a log or a blog or a vlog of these strange times.  I went to Hunters Supermarket the other day and it was so strange.  We had to queue on a marked 'x' and as one person left, one person went into the shop.  No one dawdled and there were no children in the entire store! 

I am loving your photographs and they make me feel more connected to you and what you like to do outside of school.  Remember - you are a brilliant class and you make my job one of the best jobs in the world.

Keep safe

Kind regards

Mrs Miskelly

Where do you do yours.....?

Ok, who can send me photos of "where do you do yours....?"  Basically, where in the house or even out of the house do you do your learning, this could be reading, mental maths / English, spellings, tables, online learning, other skills that are not even taught in the classroom.  So far Selina is learning new skills down on the farm, Lauren is doing mental maths from the kitchen table and Aaron's practising for his driving test at the front of his house.  Come on ….. I need more photos! 

Week 2

Here are the lovely photos I have received over the weekend:

Class Certificates Week 1

Mrs Whyte and I discussed who should receive the certificates in P6 and P7.  We awarded them to Jack Shilliday and Sam Gibson for brilliant work.  We wonder who will get the certificates next week?

Hi Class

Here's a fun website for Mental Maths.

www.10ticks.com/login

I have signed you all up and you all have a user name and password.  Your user name is your name and your password is: homelearning   (homelearning is all lower case and no spaces.)

For example:  Alfie Miskelly's is 

User name: Alfie

password: homelearning.

However there are 2 exceptions to this rule:  Sam Watson and Lucy Whyte.  This is because I have 2 Sams and 2 Lucys in the class.  So their user names are as follows:

Samw 

Lucyw

Their passwords are the same as everybody else!

Please please please try it out!  I can see who uses it and who doesn't and it'll be a nice change from study ladder or RM easi maths.

Mrs M

School Closure

Hi everyone!  What strange times?!  However hope you are enjoying a new learning experience at home and above all - keeping safe!

In case you're getting bored with the learning packs or have completed them, here are a few ideas:

• Look up "The Maths Factor" this is a programme devised my Carol Vorderman and is now free for the duration of the school closure period.  Great programme, pupil, parent and teacher friendly
• "Iseemaths" by Gareth Metcalfe.  I use his resources in class and he is now doing youtube programmes for year 5 and 6 (P6 and P7) also year 3 and 4 (P4 and P5).  He loves number patterns, place value and all that stuff.  Great reasoning and problem solving resources
• Check out David Walliams :  He is releasing an audio story every day as part of "Audio Elevenses" for next 30 days.
• On BBC iplayer they are running Enid Blyton's famous novel "Mallory Towers" as a 13 part series.  This takes me back to my younger days!  I loved Enid Blyton
• Also some audible (audio books) are now free due to school closures -check it out if you're looking for something different!

It's great to see so many people reaching out to help us to home-educate our children.  This is a tough job but we're not on our own.

I love receiving photos and here they are:

Hi!

The P6/7 Classroom is a very busy place.  We love learning a variety of subjects.  We have two teachers, Mrs Miskelly and Mrs Whyte, we also have one classroom assistant, Mrs Watson.  Apart from Literacy and Numeracy, we learn about the world around us, practise our digital skills, participate in a variety of sports such as football, gymnastics and hockey and study music.  We work hard but we also like to have fun with our learning!  This is just a snap shot of what we do on a daily basis.

Literacy

This term (Autumn) we have been focusing on our class novel, "Friend or Foe" written by Michael Morpurgo.  We have enjoyed reading it, discussing the characters and writing our own book reviews.

Science

We have been looking at the different properties of water.  We made lava lamps and tried to figure out why the colours of skittles never mix together when you put them in water!

Maths

Mrs Miskelly teaches us all about number - sequences, properties, fractions and so on.  Mrs Whyte teaches us about measure, handling information.  Sometimes Mrs Whyte takes us outside to figure out the area of our playing pitch using resources we make ourselves.  In the following pictures, we made a metre square and we used this to measure the area.

Ditch the Dark

Just before our October half term, we held a special day in which we all dressed up in very bright clothing.  We raised money for our school funds but we highlighted the importance of making ourselves visible if we are walking in the evening times after school.

Accelerated Reader

In P6/7 we read a lot!  We read out loud during literacy, maths and other subjects.  However we read silently during independent reading and we read as part of a reading group assigned to us.  We think of the phrase "The more you read, the more you know..."  The Accelerated Reader programme promotes the importance of reading and tracks how well we are doing. These pupils reached their target set in the first six weeks of term.

Spanish

In Spanish we have been studying names of clothing, parts of our body and adjectives so that we will be able to describe ourselves in Spanish.

Bee Safe Talk

On 31st January P7 enjoyed a very informative and talk covering many relevant health and safety topics.  These included 'cyber safety', ' Stranger Danger', How to prevent fires from occurring in the house, Domestic Safety, Keeping safe on the bus going to and from school and Maintaining Positive Mental Health and Well-being.  There was so much information to take in but the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Drumlin Wind Energy Programme

On Wednesday 12th February, we had a visit from Drumlin Wind Energy. Mr McAlister and Mr Press taught us all about the benefits of wind power as a renewable source of energy. We had to design our own wind turbine towers and make a circuit to allow the propellers to spin. We were provided with lots of materials to build our constructions. To make the task even trickier, our aim was to try and make the motor spin 360 degrees.

We really enjoyed the programme and look forward to finding out who the winning group will be!

Snow Day Like a Snow Day

We had great fun in the snow.

Music Award

We are so proud of James who achieved a distinction in his Grade 1 music exam.

Ulster Hockey Tournament 2020

On March 2nd the boys' hockey team travelled to the Ulster Tournament in Portadown.  We had a great day and the boys played brilliantly.  They really did the school proud!  Well done team.

World Book Day

On Thursday 5th March, it was World Book Day.  This year we celebrated by dressing up as a character from a book.  We watched a live show streamed from the puffin books website which was educational, interactive and great fun.  On top of all that there was another reason to celebrate; it was Selina's birthday!

Healthy Kidz Talk

On Monday 9th March, Gail, from Healthy Kidz talked to the class about keeping healthy.  She talked about keeping our eyes healthy especially when we are looking at our devices.  She taught us the 20: 20: 20 rule.  Every 20 minutes when we are on our devices, take a 20 second break and stare at something 20 metres away.  She talked about the benefits of outdoor play and activites.  She taught us the correct way to brush our teeth and what foods we should eat and what foods we should avoid.