Month: January 2017

Refection for Tuesday

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Today, on the 2nd day of Catholic Schools Week, we are asked to think about how we can care for our common home.

God gave us the earth and the earth gives us many gifts which helps us to live. It gives us water, food and energy. It gives us much to help us care for ourselves but Pope Francis asks us to think about how we can care for the earth. We can try to use only what we need and try to live our lives in ways that help the earth.

We can do this by recycling, wasting less water and caring for plants and animals.

The care we give the earth shows God how much we love him and the beautiful home he has given us.

Lord, help us to care for our common home always.  Amen.

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Daily Refections – Monday

Today is the first day of Catholic Schools Week 2017.

This year we are learning with Pope Francis about caring for our common home.

Our common home is not just the community or the country we live in but our entire world. Caring for our common home is so important that Pope Francis wrote a letter to remind everyone about our responsibility to love and care for the earth.

Today we think of the beauty of the world that God created for us.1

Our world is a gift from God. From the shining sun to the twinkling stars, the deep blue seas and the snowy mountain tops……

God made it all.

From the colourful flowers to the beautiful animals.

God made it all. We can see the beauty of God’s world all around us if we stop and take a look.

When we take time to see the beauty of our world, we can learn how important it is and we can remember to thank God for the beauty of his creation.

Lord, help us to always see the beauty of our common home.

 Amen.

Has your child the correct pencil grip?

The An Post Handwriting Competition is beginning soon with all classes taking part. Its a good time to remind pupils about the importance of the correct pencil grip. 

In our school we take great pride in handwriting and correct letter formation is developed from Junior Infants to 4th using a specific scheme .  We also pay particular attention to developing and maintaining the correct pencil grip.  Children go through several stages of development before they  master this and a lot of children begin school  using all their fingers to grasp a crayon .  The teachers help each child to develop a three fingered grip (in the last picture)  as this is the ideal grip for fluent and efficient writing.   This grip needs to be maintained in older children as they can easily revert  to less efficient ways of holding a pen and once an incorrect grip  becomes a habit , it is more difficult to remediate.

 

 

 

First Confessions

First Confession Dates :

Wednesday February 15th 2017 at 6pm  Ms. Gallagher and Ms. Harte’s classes at 6pm in the church.

Thursday  February 16th 2017 at 6pm  Ms. Stokes  and Ms. Curley’s classes at 6pm in the church.

Summer Holidays

The Department of Ed and Science has not released the standardised calendar for the 2017/18 school year yet . We are closing for Summer holidays on Friday, June 30th at 12 noon but we will not know the date we re-open until we receive the new school calendar.

February:  Mid Term: Closed Monday, February 20th to  Friday, February 24th inclusive (1 week)

St. Patrick’s Day: Closed Friday March 17th

Easter: Closing at noon on Friday, April 7th, Re opening Monday 24th April at 8:50 a.m.

May Bank Holiday:  Closed Monday, May 1st

June Bank Holiday: Closed Monday, June 5th and Tuesday 6th June

Closing for Summer  at noon on Friday June 30th   2017

Guided Reading

Guided Reading is an instructional approach that involves the teacher working with a small group of students who demonstrate similar reading behaviours and can read similar levels of texts. The text is easy enough for the children to read with support. In St.Brigid’s the Learning Support Team work with the Class Teacher four days a week teaching Guided Reading to Senior Infants, First Class and Second Class.

Assessment:

Before starting Guided Reading, children are assessed according to their Reading Behaviours,their Knowledge and Skill, the Strategies they use to figure out words, Fluency and Comprehension Skills. In Saint Brigid’s we use the PM Benchmarking  kit for assessment.

Children are grouped with others who read in a similar way or at a similar instructional level.The Instructional level is the level where optimum learning takes place. A group can have up to 8 children. Groups will change regularly as the focus of the group changes.

Tips for Parents:

  • Encourage your child to read and re read familiar books.
  • If they come across a word they don’t know they should:
  • Look at initial sound and picture for clues.
  • Ask does it make sense?
  • Can they pick out a tricky word from the text.
  • Write out the tricky word.
  • Question them about what they have read. Ask their opinion. Discuss characters.

Please

  • Avoid comparing levels of siblings and friends. Children make progress at different rates.
  • Handle books with care and return to school every day.
  • Remember these books are costly and can be difficult to replace.
  • Parents will be asked to pay for any damaged or lost books.
  • Do not allow  your  child to write on any part of the book including the worksheet on the back page.

Key Elements of the Guided Reading Lesson:

  • Book Introduction : The teacher guides children through the new book and they predict what might happen.

  • Teach strategies to support independent reading: e.g.looking at initial first letters, word endings, punctuation marks, etc.

  • Reading of New Book: in Groups or individually, discussing  and explaining throughout.

  • Word Work: Sight Words and word families are taught in the context of the GR book. Using whiteboards or magnetic letters.

  • Comprehension Skills: Understanding and reflection is promoted through a variety of questions.

  • Literal questions ask children to  recall information directly stated in the text .

  • Deductive and Inferential Questions ask children to “read between the lines” and go beyond the information given.

  • Rereading familiar Text:  This is done in school and  at home. By this time children should be reading their book with ease.

The re -reading of the familiar book is an integral part of Guided Reading reinforcing their new found knowledge, developing fluency and confidence as an independent reader.

  • Return and Respond to Text: Fluent Readers in First and Second Classes return to the text to discuss characters, form opinions, re write endings, design covers among other independent activities that develop their literacy skills.

Guided Reading

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”What is Guided Reading ?” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23adc400″][vc_column_text]Guided Reading is an instructional approach that involves the teacher working with a small group of students who demonstrate similar reading behaviours and can read similar levels of texts. The text is easy enough for the children to read with support. In St.Brigid’s the Learning Support Team work with the Class Teacher four days a week teaching Guided Reading to Senior Infants, First Class and Second Class.

Assessment:

Before starting Guided Reading, children are assessed according to their Reading Behaviours,their Knowledge and Skill, the Strategies they use to figure out words, Fluency and Comprehension Skills. In Saint Brigid’s we use the PM Benchmarking  kit for assessment.

Children are grouped with others who read in a similar way or at a similar instructional level.The Instructional level is the level where optimum learning takes place. A group can have up to 8 children. Groups will change regularly as the focus of the group changes.

Tips for Parents:

  • Encourage your child to read and re read familiar books.
  • If they come across a word they don’t know they should:
  • Look at initial sound and picture for clues.
  • Ask does it make sense?
  • Can they pick out a tricky word from the text.
  • Write out the tricky word.
  • Question them about what they have read. Ask their opinion. Discuss characters.
  • Please avoid comparing levels of siblings and friends. Children make progress at different rates.
  • Please handle books with care and return to school every day.
  • Please remember these books are costly and can be difficult to replace.
  • Parents will be asked to pay for any damaged or lost books.
  • Please do not allow children to write on any part of the book including the worksheet on the back page.

Key Elements of the Guided Reading Lesson:

  • Book Introduction : The teacher guides children through the new book and they predict what might happen.

  • Teach strategies to support independent reading: e.g.looking at initial first letters, word endings, punctuation marks, etc.

  • Reading of New Book: in Groups or individually, discussing  and explaining throughout.

  • Word Work: Sight Words and word families are taught in the context of the GR book. Using whiteboards or magnetic letters.

  • Comprehension Skills: Understanding and reflection is promoted through a variety of questions.

  • Literal questions ask children to  recall information directly stated in the text .

  • Deductive and Inferential Questions ask children to “read between the lines” and go beyond the information given.

  • Rereading familiar Text:  This is done in school and  at home. By this time children should be reading their book with ease.

The re reading of the familiar book is an integral part of Guided Reading reinforcing their new found knowledge, developing fluency and confidence as an independent reader.

  • Return and Respond to Text: Fluent Readers in First and Second Classes return to the text to discuss characters, form opinions, re write endings, design covers among other independent activities that develop their literacy skills.

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Click for a  sample information booklet 

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