At Loreto we value the excellent education we provide, and are doing our best to find ways to continue to provide it even in the event of the school being forced to close temporarily. Our staff continues to work hard to develop a Remote Learning Environment which can be accessed from home, and which will enable parents to work with their children in order to minimize the interruption to their schooling.
For online sessions for your child please use the TEAMS or OUTLOOK calendar for your child. As pupils and teachers return back to the classroom to teach from 26th May, online Teams sessions for years 2,6 & 7 will cease.
For support in accessing Microsoft Teams via Office 365 or the App please visit our Help & Support section below.
PreNursery & Nursery 1
Hi Everyone,
This week we are meeting Jack and Jill and will be looking at their adventure.
Miss Smith & Miss Risso
| Jack and Jill |
| Peace at last story |
| Walking through the jungle |
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Nursery 2
Good morning Nursery 2,
Welcome back to another week of home learning.
Young children learn a great deal through play so I hope that they enjoy this weeks activities.
Our story this week is “The Three Billy goats gruff”
Encourage your children to build a small bridge with bricks or boxes. Colour in and cut out the goat and troll puppets. Act out the story of the brave Billy goats trying to cross the bridge. Acting out stories encourages children’s imaginative play. Count the goats, look at their different sizes. This is early Maths and encourages an understanding of bigger and smaller etc.
Have fun.
Mrs Wallace
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| Cut and paste frog shapes 1 |
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| The three Billy goats gruff video |
| P.E game |
| Recipe |
Pre School
This week we see the end of our weekly Letterland topic. We shall continue to work with Letterland in class but we will no longer be bringing in items for our table.
Our last letter is Z. Zig Zag Zebra.
We will continue to upload some videos for those of you still unable to attend school.
See below some work ideas for this coming week.
Suggested games and ideas to encourage fine motor skills include:
- Painting
- Colouring
- Threading
- Play-dough – www.sparklebox.co.uk has many ideas for using play-dough mats
- Peg boards
When at the beach it’s very easy to make shapes, numbers and letters in the sand to reinforce the name of the number or shape and the sound the letter makes.
Jigsaws and picture Domino games are also great fun for the children learning through play.
For art and crafts idea this week we have added a link for you to print out and make Zoo animal. In class we’ll be more environmentally friendly and we’ll be making our animals from loo rolls and drawing on faces, and paper-plates. Links to all ideas are here. Which ever way you choose to make your zoo we hope you have fun.
See you all next week with our videos from circle time in class.
Mrs Pitchford and Dora
| The letter Z |
| WHAT BEGINS WITH Z |
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| Zoo animals count and write activity sheet |
| Zoo cone animal |
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We have included the music below so that children can carry on singing the songs for the play.
Reception
| Dear Parents,
It’s week 10 and 3 weeks until the end of the school year. In preparation for a new academic year we are trialling a new way of carrying out our online teaching. We welcome any feedback after the trial. On Monday and Tuesday we will be asking to children to log in, as one group, with their teacher for two sessions. Ms Picardo’s class at 9am for literacy and 10.30am for numeracy. Mrs Yome’s class at 9.30am for literacy and 11 for numeracy. The idea is that those at home will be doing the same as the children in school at a similar time.The teacher will introduce the lesson and then the children will go and complete the work that follows the session. This will be the same for those at home and at school. We will let you know which pieces of work will be needed for the sessions. Our topic this week is under the sea and mermaids. There is a video of Ms Picardo reading ‘The Singing Mermaid’ and another of her providing ideas for story writing. We’ll be introducing the diagraphs er’ and ‘ur’ and revising CVC words. A few weeks ago we worked on doubling numbers and this week we’ll be halving them. The teachers will be explaining this during the Monday and Tuesday lessons. We look forward to seeing the children during these sessions. Kind Regards Ms Picardo and Mrs Yome |
If you need to contact us our email address is receptionteachers@loreto.gi
The school subscribes to a website called Twinkl. We have been able to give all parents of children at Loreto one months free access to high-quality learning resources to support home schooling. Setting this up is really easy – go to www.twinkl.co.uk/offer and enter the code GIBTWINKLHELPS
Literacy
er words
ur words video
cvc words p26 and 27
Handwriitng u and c
The singing mermaid writing frame
Numeracy
Halving powerpoint
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/ui2-m-59-halving-numbers-powerpoint#.XteVEliVbgw.link
Halving
More halving
Bees in the garden halving
Lady bird halving
Mermaid addition
Topic
Under the sea habitats powerpoint
https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-5574-under-the-sea-habitats-video-powerpoint#.XtdZjo9bCtw.link
Under the sea colouring
Mermaid colouring
Masks
Additional work
The parable of the precious pearl story
The parable of the precious pearl craft
First and Middle School
On 23rd March we launched the Loreto Learning Resource Centre.
You will be available access the weekly resources to help support in home schooling during term time, before the week commencing every Friday at 5pm.
Our teachers have made a herculean effort to produce this bespoke programme for Loreto pupils to continue their education in these difficult times.
Our platform is secure and will only be accessible using your child’s username and password. The resources will be available 24/7, published week by week. The children of years six & seven have been using office 365 this year and this should enable them to help younger siblings to access work set by their teachers.
In theses exceptional circumstances we are changing our email contact policy to ensure efficient communication. Please contact your child’s year team directly, the email addresses for each year group can be found on the SharePoint Learning Resource Centre home page or on websites Help & Support page above. We ask that all emails are sent from your child’s Loreto email (@loreto.gi) which is used as the username for logging in to the resource centre. Staff will reply directly back to these emails only.
You can now access our Weekly Learning Resources for First and Middle School children direct in their Microsoft Team teaching class, e.g. 7R General. Video below, a guide to view or print is available here.
Your child can now in First or Middle School can now upload their work as images, documents using their Class Notebook in Microsoft Teams for their class e.g. 7R. Video below, a guide to view or print is available here.
Music
All parents should have received an email with a password and login details to our music programme – Charanga YUMU, if you have any problems logging in or have not received this email then please feel free to email our Music Department on music@loreto.gi
To log in to Charanga YUMU please follow the following steps
- Go to https://charanga.com/yumu
- Enter your username and password into the boxes on screen
- Click on the Login button
These music lessons have been designed to cater for everyone’s ability and are designed can be followed at your own pace. We have also tried to cater for a range of instruments as we now this will vary from home to home.
Should you have any problems accessing material or with any instrumental work, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please also feel free to send any short videos clips / photos of your children playing / singing together at home.
Sports Week
Hello everyone!
This week would have been the week we would have done our Sports Days. I know we cannot do our normal Sports Days, with our races and team events, but we have organised a Loreto Virtual Sports Day, which will be taking place during our Loreto Sports Week (Monday 8th – Friday 12th June).
Loreto’s Sports House Captains have made some videos demonstrating an activity using our school P.E equipment (which the children in school will be doing) and will also show you how you can do similar activities, using items you will have at home.
There are 6 different activities for you to complete and below is a list of equipment you will need from home.
List of Equipment:
- Rolled up socks or foil balls
- Towels
- Chair
- Empty bin or wash basket (as a target)
- Ball (for bouncing or dribbling with your feet)
1 – Running:
Louis Pitto – St Philomena’s Sports House Captain
- Put two markers at either end of a corridor/living room/garden/patio (you can use two rolled up socks or two rolled up towels on the floor).
- Your aim is to run as many times between the two markers as you can in 60 seconds (count running there as 1 and running back as 2).
2 – Obstacle course:
Ruby Isola – St Joan’s Sports House Captain
- Using the markers you set up before, set up your own obstacle course (be as creative as you want) and include some running, jumping, balancing, agility etc.
- Your aim is to complete your obstacle course as many times as you can in 60 seconds (count running there as 1 and running back as 2).
3 – Targets Scoring:
Sebastien Gorny – St Anne’s Sports House Captain
- You will need lots of rolled up socks or foil balls, a rolled up towel and a target of your choice (empty box/bin/washing basket).
- Use a rolled up towel as a marker to stand behind and put a target (box/bin) a certain distance away from you. See how many objects you can score into the target in 60 seconds.
- If you have access to a Basketball or Netball post you can use this too!
4 – Targets Hitting:
Sebastien Gorny – St Anne’s Sports House Captain
- You can do the same as above, but now turn the target upside down and see how many times you can hit the target in 60 seconds.
- If you have a wicket or something similar to a dart board at home (you could design your own) you can use this too.
5 – Throwing and Catching:
Caitriona McGrath – St Catherine’s Sports House Captain
- Using a ball or rolled up socks/rolled up foil ball, count how many throws and catches (throwing with one hand and catching with two hands) you can do in 60 seconds.
- To give yourself more of a challenge, try it with one handed throws and catches.
6 – Dribbing:
Caitriona McGrath – St Catherine’s Sports House Captain
- Put two markers at either end of a corridor/living room/garden/patio (you can use two rolled up socks or two rolled up towels on the floor).
- Your aim is to dribble a basketball or football as many times between the two markers as you can in 60 seconds (count running there as 1 and running back as 2).
Check out the videos of your Sports House Captains demonstrating these activities below.
We have also attached a ‘Scorecard’ for you to print off and fill in, to help you keep track of your score on each activity (see PDF ‘Scorecard’ document). This card also has a certificate, that your parents can sign when you’ve completed your Virtual Sports Day.
To make it a Virtual Sports Day, we would like you all to do your sports activities on the same day as the children in your year group will be completing their activities. The dates are below:
- Reception – Wednesday 10th June
- Year 1 – Monday 8th June
- Year 2 – Tuesday 9th June or Wednesday 10th June
- Year 3 – Tuesday 9th June
- Year 4 – Monday 8th June
- Year 5 – Monday 8th June
- Year 6 – Thursday 11th June or Friday 12th June
- Year 7 – Thursday 11th June or Friday 12th June
Please make sure you do these activities in a safe environment and we hope you have a great time on your Loreto Virtual Sports Day. We would like you to wear your school P.E. kit on the day, so you really feel like you are at your Sports Day. Don’t forget to send us pictures and videos of you doing these activities. We would love to see how creative you’ve been at home! Send to PE@loreto.gi
Take care, have fun and stay safe,
Ms Grech and Ms McNally
Print your score card
Our Librarians have moved online, providing additional weekly content. Take a look at their recommended books, poetry or take a quiz!
For those of you who would like to continue borrowing books, here is a Suggested Reading List of books that we currently stock in our library. If you email us library@loreto.gi with your request, we will leave it at the office for you to pick up.
JK Rowling has written a new book called the Ickabog. It will be published in November but until then she is posting it free online by adding a few chapters at a time to the Ickabog webpage: https://www.theickabog.com/
If you enjoyed this video try the quiz below!
Also an audio book for the younger ones with questions and answers;
The Smartest Giant in Town Questions and Answers
Greek Mythology Olympian Quiz Answers
Week 10 – Book Recommendations
If you’ve read harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone?
Harry Potter First Year at Hogwarts Quiz
Harry Potter First Year at Hogwarts Answers
Enid Blyton
The Famous Five Well Done Famous Five Questions & Answers
Quiz:
Roald Dahl: how many fantastic facts do you know about the legendary storyteller and his books?
This week why not start on Harry Potter’s series of wonderful books?
Mrs Hippo’s Pizza Parlour audiobook and questions and answers.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Experts Quiz!
This week why not try the following quizzes?
Zog and the Flying Doctors Questions and Answers
This is the next video David Walliams, Behind the Author.
Hope you enjoyed this video, why don’t you visit The World of David Walliams’ for more activities?
https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/activities/
David Walliams audio book and questions & answers for our younger students.
David Walliams Theres’s a Snake in my School Quiz
Why not listen to the first book of Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown and then try the quiz?
Flat Stanley Questions & Answers
Audio books for Reception and Year 1’s along with the questions and answers.
Billy Tibbles Moves Out & The Jelly That Wouldn’t Wobble Questions and Answers
The Jelly That Wouldn’t Wobble Question & Answers
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Dear Parents and Children,
As you see in this video, The Chronicles of Narnia were written for children and adults alike so this week I would like to challenge and encourage the children and yourselves to choose one of the books from the series, read them and discuss it at home. Ask your child to write about their own fantasy world and send it in to nelkerbout-bonich@loreto.gi
Thankyou
Natalie
The Chronicles of Narnia Quiz Answers
In this video I would like to tell our pupils a little bit about the author’s life, his inspiration by relating his personal experience to some of the books that he wrote. I hope that it will motivate your child further and they look beyond what they read.
Thank you
DigiLit – Mrs Bonich-Elkerbout looks at Roald Dahl’s Gobblefunk
Help & Support
Attachments might require a PDF reader installed on your device Please download Adobe PDF here.
Should you require support with using the schools Office 365 platform containing our online Learning Resource Centre (LRC). Please contact support@loreto.gi, we aim to reply within 48 hours, Monday to Friday.
To access your child’s LRC you will need your child’s school email address and password. This has been sent to a parental email address. You can then login to www.office.com or click on a year below for direct access. Once you have logged in successfully, please click on the STAR in the top right corner to follow (bookmark) the page for future access.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 |
| Year 5 | Year 6 | Year 7 |
Should you need to ask a question regarding work in our Learning Resource Centre, please use the OUTLOOK email application in Office 365 and send an email from your child’s account. Staff will only be replying to the children’s email accounts.
For example, the email address regarding work for year 1 is year1teachers@loreto.gi Please substitute the ‘1’ for the year group for your child, i.e. 5 for year 5.
You can contact Miss Sciacaluga regarding the online Music website on music@loreto.gi
Should you have any Science related questions we ask you email Mrs Garner on science@loreto.gi
Work for children that have support from our SEND department can access resources in the SEND folder from our LRC.
Work for children who require extension tasks can be found in a folder on our LRC.
Video support
- How to access the Learning Resource Centre with the direct link emailed
- How to access the Learning Resource Centre by typing www.office.com
- How to use the Children’s OUTLOOK email to email class teachers for support
Microsoft Teams support
Useful websites
A list of websites that can be used for children to learn independently or with other children/parents.
- OAK NATIONAL ACADEMY Every lesson is free to use. To complement our own Loreto Resources and remote teaching parents can access all resources to support home learning.
- complement our own Loreto Resources and remote teaching.
- BBC Primary website. Video content is restricted.
- The school subscribes to a website called Twinkl. We have been able to give all parents of children at Loreto one months free access to high-quality learning resources to support home schooling. Setting this up is really easy – go to www.twinkl.co.uk/offer and enter the code GIBTWINKLHELPS
- www.switcheroozoo.com – Play game and learn about animals
- www.funbrain.com – Math and reading skill games
- www.kids.nationalgeographic.com – Learn about geography and animals
- www.pbs.org – Hang out with your favourite character whilst learning
- www.reading.ecb.org – Go “into the book” to play games that practice reading strategies
- www.starfall.com – Practice your phonics skills with read-along stories
- www.seussville.com – Read, play games with Dr. Seuss
- www.storylineonline.net – Have some of your favourite stories read to you by movie stars
- www.abcya.com – Maths and Reading skills learnt through games
- wwwhighlightskids.com – Read and conduct cool science experiments
To view/print attachments a PDF viewer or similar might be required, available to download here.
We would love to share photographs to our Loreto family of children working at home with examples of completed home learning. Please see some of the wonderful photographs and emails we have received below.
Please send your images to publicity@loreto.gi
Thank you Louise. I appreciate everything you and your staff have done and are doing throughout these unprecedented times. Unlike other friends’ children in other schools (in the UK and other countries) you have always given our children a routine, provided materials and assistance for them to continue learning and made them feel safe and normal. I know there will probably be complaints from people who think they have all the information but rest assured that the more reasonable ones among us are very grateful for everything you’re doing to keep our children safe while being able to continue learning.
I greatly welcome and appreciate the school’s further efforts in advancing the online programs to include small group sessions after the Easter break. I think this will work well and will provide the children with extra focus and discipline. I thought the ICT lesson given last week by Mr Clemens was great and worked very well indeed.
I wish to express my thanks to you, the teaching and support staff for keeping Loreto Convent open during this difficult time. Loreto Convent is more than a school, it plays a very important part in Gibraltar’s community and is loved by many
It’s strange times but I think the kids are doing well talking to other parents, and the flexible school work system loreto has put in place has been great for helping parents flex it around their new work/home life patterns. Talking to friends in the UK where there isn’t that flexibility with their schools they are struggling. So loreto has the balance perfect 👍
I know there has been some people asking for more virtual learning but personally I think what you have done for us in a short time has been exceptional. We know there will be gaps for every child in the world to catch up with, despite our best efforts parents are not teachers.
I just wanted to say that you are doing an amazing job for the children. We have had exceptional support from both teachers and the work we have been given is easy to understand and I have enjoyed (to a point!) doing it with them.
…whatever happens and would like to thank you and all the staff for supporting us remotely in these enduring times.
You all have a very special gift and I am pretty sure every parent out there now agrees!
I wish to express my thanks to you, the teaching and support staff for keeping Loreto Convent open during this difficult time. Loreto Convent is more than a school, it plays a very important part in Gibraltar’s community and is loved by many.
You and your staff have our full gratitude. The work and efforts of all at Loreto Convent is very much appreciated.
Muchas gracias. Deseando volver a la normalidad. Un beso y una abrazo enorme para todos.
Thank you for making the arrangements below for our children we are greatly appreciative of this. Please pass on our thanks to the team of Nursery teachers looking after our children during these difficult times.
Thank you very much – we really do appreciate what the school is doing to help parents and children at this time.
I’ve spoken to other parents and we appreciate all you and the other teachers are doing and have plenty to do with the kids. Especially if we add other websites and links that you have provided. It’s definitely made me appreciate a teacher’s role a lot more!
I do appreciate the considerable efforts the teachers have gone to to get the materials ready online
Thank you so much for this
I hope you are keeping safe and well in these turbulent times we are currently in. Thank you for this greatly appreciate from a single working Mum – this makes everything way more manageable. We are doing some nice vocational learning/cooking etc – I in tend to enjoy as much as I can some quality time with Izzy… while trying to stay sane!
Take care of yourselves and your families,
I would like to this opportunity and express our gratitude to the school for acting in the best interest of our children and, aswell, for all of Gibraltar. The work that teachers have already provided for our children to do at home is greatly appreciated. I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone in Loreto, teachers, maintenance staff and admin support. In these troublesome times, schools are proving to be an “Essential Service” in our community too! You are all heroes in this fight against covid-19.
God bless you all, and stay safe.
Estimada Sra. Napoli, muchas gracias por su atención prestada a los niños; ha sido una magnífica iniciativa para tenerles activos y, que sigan unidos a su colegio. Estamos muy contentos y agradecidos por ello. Me encargaré de que hagan sus tareas en casa. Les mando fuerzas para mantener el ánimo en estos difíciles momentos. Les tengo presente en mis oraciones. Un beso enorme para Ud. y su equipo.
Appreciate all that you are doing, the clear communication etc – it is really very helpful for us in terms of our day to day lives and keeping the show on the road as best we can!
Thank you very much for all of your hard work behind the scenes and for the constant email updates.
