Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the new term!
I hope you have had a lovely Christmas and we are looking forward to welcoming the children back for the Spring Term.
This half term (up until February Half Term) our topic is Brilliant Birds. As authors we will be looking at the book ‘The odd egg’ by Emily Garvett. It follows the theme ‘new life’ and we will be identifying different types of eggs, looking at the life cycle of a bird and creating our own ‘Eggs Spotters Guide’. In History, we will be historians learning about famous Kings and Queens such as Queen Victoria and Henry VIII. As Geographers and Scientists we will be looking at seasonal changes in the weather and observing the changes across the 4 seasons as well as across the world.
After February half term our topic is Space. As authors we will look at the story ‘Beegu’ and we will be learning to write letters and postcards, thinking how characters are feeling at different points in the story and write our own space story. We will be designers by creating our own moon vehicles by following a design criteria. We will be historians by looking at famous astronauts and the history of space travel. There will also be a Space Day this half term, more details will follow later on in the term.
Reading
Thank you for your effort last term with reading at home with your child/children, it really does make a difference, and helps them to progress with their reading and comprehension ability. We aim to listen to all children read their reading book with an adult at least once a week, and we will change books throughout the week. The children’s independence really progressed last term with this and they are independently changing their books when needed. This is instead of having a set day. If your child is a keen and enthusiastic reader, then they are welcome to choose more books. We recognise that some children may not always want to read their school reading books at home. If your child reads anything other than a school reading book, e.g. magazines, Top Trump cards etc, please make a note of this in their reading record book. In Class 2 we have a reading challenge where we ask you where possible to read with your child four times a week, once they have done this they move their butterfly to a different flower. There are 3 flowers and a golden flower, when the children reach the golden flower they receive a prize. Please make sure book bags are in school every day so we can check if books need changing and update the golden flower challenge – which was a big hit last half term!
Tuckshop and fruit
A selection of fruit is available every day, at no charge. We will continue to provide optional tuck for your child, the current choice is breadsticks, toast and rice cakes. There is a charge of 20p per day which can be paid daily, weekly or termly. Due to the time it takes for children to find coins etc, we would prefer tuck fees to be paid in a lump sum but do understand if it’s easier to pay in 20p’s. Please can you let me know if you pay via BAC’s. If your child would like milk, then this can be arranged via the Coolmilk website.
Lunches
Please remember to order lunches before 9am. It would be helpful to chat with your child about what they are having. If your child is bringing a packed lunch please be aware that we have a child with a serious nut allergy and therefore we are a nut-free school.
PE
PE will be still be on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please make sure PE bags stay in school and also contain named tracksuit bottoms and socks as well as named shorts, a green Storth PE t-shirt and trainers. Please make sure everything is named including school uniform, this makes getting changed and dressed much quicker! If your child has their ears pierced please make sure that they come to school on Wednesdays and Fridays with tape over the earrings, if they can’t be taken out and spare tape in their book bag. Please also make sure that your child is able to put the tape on themselves as staff are unable to do this.
Home Project
I really enjoyed looking at and chatting with the children about their home learning projects last term, and looking forward to what they bring in this term. Thank you for your support with this. Home project books contain a home learning grid with a variety of activities linked to what the children are learning about in school. There is a new grid every half-term. We ask for all children to complete 6 activities from the grid by the date shown at the top of the grid. We would be very grateful if you could support your child to achieve this. Any evidence of the activities such as photographs or answers on paper can be stuck in the book, as we would love to see what the children have been doing. There will also be separate homework sheets sent home to help consolidate what children have been learning in class, please slot or stick these sheets into their home project book as well.
Housekeeping
Children should bring the following to school every day;
• a named, filled water bottle
• a named bookbag containing reading books and reading record.
• a named waterproof coat
• a named jumper
• named suncream (if it is hot)
• a named inhaler if your child has asthma
Please make sure that everything is named as this helps everyone when getting changed for PE and at home time. If your child has long hair please tie it back in the morning and we ask that no toys are brought into school as they can get lost and broken which can cause children to get upset. We have plenty of toys in school for your children to play with! If your child has their ears pierced please make sure that they are only stud earrings, Not hoops for safety reasons.
We are always grateful for volunteers to help in Class 2. If anyone can spare any time to hear readers then please let me know.
We look forward to working with you and your children this term. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to talk to any member of the team.
Best Wishes,
Miss Chant