Fractions......eugh!! How can you help your child?

Fractions……..a lot of us remember them with dread from our own school days. At Breens, fractions are currently the focus of our numeracy programme and it’s amazing to visit the classes and see the variety of approaches being used to understand the concept of fractional thinking! Pizza cutting, compass turns, groups sharing, problem solving, speed challenges……the list goes on and on. The students are tackling fractions from all angles and a visit to any numeracy room is an exciting experience. The buzz of learning is thick in the air.
At home, why not add your support to their learning by bringing fractions into conversations and questions as much as you can. Fractions of time and measurements, fractions of a turn and of food. There are many ways to get your child thinking about fractions. This is a big target for us this term and we are determined to see the success in our numeracy programme continue to grow. So give it a go at home. Another area that is always popular with our students is quick fire mental math. It is so useful for our students going onto high school that they can confidently work out simple (and sometimes more tricky) calculations in their heads. They enjoy the healthy competition of beating a calculator and their own personal best times with mental computations. Ask your child’s teacher for resources or worksheets that might help further their learning at home.
On another topic, this Friday, we would like to invite you to join us for our Celebration Assembly. These assemblies take place once a month on a Friday to celebrate the varied and wonderful learning that goes on all around Breens. At the assembly this month, we will have presentations from each class and displays of learning from a number of groups throughout the school. There will also be presentations to mark the achievements of many of our students; so do please come along and join us as we celebrate the achievements and enjoyment of your children on Friday at 2pm in the Breens school hall.