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Ballykeel Primary School & Nursery Unit

Extended Schools

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our school is in the very fortunate position of being funded under the Extended Schools Initiative. This entails providing the children with an extensive and wide-ranging programme of additional clubs and activities. 

This programme has been specifically designed to complement the extra-curricular, After School Clubs that are already offered by our school staff. Extended schools clubs focus on improving attainment in Literacy and Numeracy and on developing the mental health and well-being of the children in our care using the 'Take 5' initiative.

Breakfast Club

The Breakfast club begins on Tuesday 29th August. The children are able to arrive in school through the side gates at the canteen between 8:00 - 8:30am each morning. A wide range of delicious breakfasts are on offer, for example, cereal, scrambled eggs, toast and a variety of tasty drinks too. The cost of breakfast is 70p per day or £3.50 per week. Once the children have finished their breakfast, they can do any of the following before going to class:

  • play table top games
  • colour in
  • read
  • learn their spellings and tables
  • chat to their friends

Power Hour

This year extended schools will fund a P2 and P3 ‘Power Hour’ club. The children will focus on revising aspects of work done in class to help develop their Literacy and Numeracy skills. Activities are mostly practical and the children will play lots of games to make learning interesting and fun. The club will also focus on mindfulness and on developing the mental health and well-being of the children attending. We aim to encourage and promote the ‘Take 5 - Steps to Wellbeing’ through doing a wide range of fun and interactive activities each week.

Power Hour club will give your child opportunities to:

  • Be active and healthy - outdoor/indoor games and activities
  • Connect with others – teamwork activities and problem solving challenges
  • Keep learning and developing new skills e.g. art, craft, vehicles, construction, planting seeds etc.
  • Grow in confidence and self-esteem - through receiving and giving praise, developing new skills, making better friendships

Reading Partners

This year the Reading Partners Programme will be offered to children in Primary 3. Each term three Primary 3 children will do some additional 1-1 reading with Mrs. McBurney. The programme aims to improve children’s reading age and ability while developing their confidence at the same time. The children will:

  • revise sounds/blends
  • develop word attack/sounding out strategies 
  • develop greater fluency at their level
  • become increasingly confident reading aloud

At the end of each term the children receive a certificate highlighting their success and progress in reading.

Mighty Maths & Loving Literacy Bags:

Extended schools funding has enabled us to provide helpful Literacy and Numeracy resources for the parents of children in Primary 1. This year again, all children in P1 will receive a ‘Mighty Maths’ or ‘Loving Literacy’ bag to take home with them on a weekly basis. The resources provided will reinforce the learning which has taken place in school. We hope that these resources help to equip you in supporting your child's learning at home through the fun games and activities provided in each bag. The bags will be distributed after the first mid-term break.

Talk To Me:

Extended schools also helps us to cater for the pastoral needs of our children through 'Talk to Me' time. Mrs Young is our 'Talk to Me' teacher and she is available to listen to the children if they have any worries or concerns that they want to discuss. If a child has something to speak to Mrs. Young about then he/she can post a note in one of the 'Talk to Me' boxes placed in each resource area around the school. 

 

News

19th Dec 2023
Well done to our Christmas colouring competition winners in Breakfast Club today!...
 
 
 
 
27th Oct 2023
We had a great turn out to our Breakfast Club Open Morning. Thank you to the Nursery...