Welcome to our P7 page!!

There are two P7 classes in Ballykeel Primary in 2023/2024 year.  The P7 teachers are Mrs Gregg (P7SG) and Mr Hughes (P7JH).  Mrs Calderwood  is the assistant in P7SG.

We hope that this page will give you a flavour of life in P7.

We're sure that you can't believe that your child is in their final year at Ballykeel Primary School.  Over the course of the year they will participate in lots of activities and routines to develop an independence for their own learning and preparations for school.  We trust that you would also encourage greater responsibility at home, too.

May - June

We've reached our final term in Primary 7, and it promises to be the busiest one yet!!

Of course we can’t forget about our residential to Woodhall. Mr Hughes’s group will be going from Monday 3 June – Wednesday 5 June and Mrs Gregg’s group will be going from Wednesday 5 June to Friday 7 June. Information will be sent home regarding what’s happening and an essential packing list. Remember to keep checking the website while we’re away for photos and clips of our adventures.

Topics this term:

Our new theme in World Around Us will be Rainforests. We will be doing some mapwork to find out where the Rainforests are and research to find out about the Rainforest layers, climate, animals and plant life. We will also look at how the Rainforests are being destroyed and create a project to try to persuade people to save them. Work will be completed and shared on Google Classroom.

As it's the summer term, it also means exam time! In English and Maths we will be doing some revision ahead of our standardised and class tests at the end of April. In Maths we will also be looking at time, reading timetables, angles, volume, data handling, patterns and sequences, and using calculators. In English we will be looking at compound and complex sentences, and learning how to use punctuation like : ; , - properly. We will be completing some persuasive writing to encourage people to save the Rainforests.

Both classes will also be swimming this term - P7SG on Thursday mornings and P7JH on Friday mornings. Please be in at 8.50am as we need to leave at 9.00am sharp.

Preparing for Transition to New Schools

This term we will be finding out what schools we will be going to, visiting them and meeting the teachers.  As well as this, we will be taking part in a Transition workshop with Eve from Scripture Union, during which we will be discussing all the changes that lie ahead, how we feel about them and how we can feel a bit better about any worries we might have.

Your child will receive confirmation of their post-primary school on Saturday 18 May.  P7s will be visiting their new schools on Friday 14 June.  You will receive further information in your confirmation letter.

All P7s will be taking part in our Leavers’ Video which parents and friends can see via our website.

Definitely a busy few weeks ahead!

School Supplies & Information

Your child should have the following items with them in school.  These will stay in school throughout the year. 

• HB Pencils
• Rubber
• Sharpener
• 30cm ruler
• Pritt stick (not coloured)
• Biro pens for marking (blue, black, red or green) – no gel pens please
• Set of colouring pencils

Your child can also have their own bottle of hand sanitiser, which will stay at their desk.  You may send a small tube of moisturiser if needed. 

Homework

Homework is an important part of your child’s development and helps to reinforce the learning that has taken place during the school day.  

Each night your child will receive reading, spellings and mental maths / table facts.  Along with this, your child will also receive a written literacy homework on Monday night and a written numeracy homework on Wednesday night.  This written work will cover aspects of literacy or numeracy covered in class during the day, or revisit learning that has already taken place in the earlier part of the week.  Those sitting the Transfer Test will receive additional written homework aimed at increasing their knowledge ahead of the test. 

How can I help my child with homework?

Helping your child with their homework is an important factor in helping with their learning as it will serve to motivate and encourage them to continue to work at their best, both in school and at home.  There are a number of ways that this can be done; here are some suggestions:

• Listen to them read / ask them some questions about their reading book
• Ask them their spellings
• Go over their maths and tables facts
• Ask them some questions about what they learned today
• Check that their homework is completed and signed

Google Classroom is introduced in Primary 7.  This is a super resource which can be accessed both in school and at home.  Your child can log in using their C2K username and password.  We use Google Classroom for aspects of literacy, mathematics and World Around Us.  Within Google Classroom, there are websites created by Mrs Gregg and Mrs Hughes relating to the P7 literacy and numeracy curriculum, as well as the World Around Us topics which will be covered this year.

You can help your child to revise topics at home by using online games and websites.  We recommend that you download the Overdrive App from Libraries NI so that you can ‘borrow’ e-books and audio books.  They have a great selection. 

The BBC Bitesize Website is also great for revising, and YouTube has lots of helpful videos.  Just search for the topic you are after. 

Keep revising table facts and number bonds, as this will improve speed of recall.

Whilst these are simple things, they will make all the difference to your child’s learning.

Hopefully this page will you a greater insight into P7 life.  We hope you have enjoyed looking through it.  Come back soon and see what else we have been getting up to as the term continues.

Mrs Gregg & Mr Hughes