I hope you have enjoyed the summer holiday and are looking forward to the new school year as much as we are. We have had a lovely few days back and I am very proud of how well the children have settled back into school life. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them all and them getting to know me, and I am very excited for a great year ahead!
The teaching staff working in Class 2 are Miss Chant, Mrs S Wilson, Mrs Stephens, Mrs Gleadow and Mrs Buchanan. Mrs Buchanan will teach your child on a Friday. We have a lovely class of 19 children this year.
This half term our topic is Rainforests. Children will be geographers as we study the rainforest and the amazing animals that call it their home. They will also be scientists learning about the properties of different materials and as designers, they will create a 3D sculpture using a design criteria. In Religious Education we will look at the harvest festival and why Christians celebrate this festival. We will also be authors and will study three key books ‘One day on our Blue Planet in the Rainforest’ (non-fiction), and After the Fall (fiction) and looking at poetry linked to the rainforest. Through studying these books the children will learn a variety of skills but with a particular focus on punctuation, word classes and sentence structure this half term.
Reading
All children were given reading books at the start of the week. Please use the yellow reading record book to make a note of any reading done at home. We aim for the children to change their reading books every Thursday and to choose enough books for the week ahead. If your child is a keen and enthusiastic reader, then they are welcome to choose more books. Thank you for all the effort that is put into reading with your child at home, it really does make a difference. 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.
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 let me know if you pay via BACS. If your child would like milk, this can be arranged via the Cool Milk website.
Lunches
Please remember to order lunches before 9 am. It would be helpful to chat with your child about what they are having. Your child is welcome to bring in a packed lunch from home but please try to ensure that this contains things from all the food groups. An example would be a sandwich/pot of pasta, yoghurt/cheese string, a fruit or vegetable portion, a small bag of crisps and a small treat such as a chocolate bar.
PE
From next week, PE will be on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please ensure PE bags stay in school and contain named tracksuit bottoms, spare socks as well as named shorts, a green Storth PE t-shirt and trainers. Space is at a premium at the moment, so it would be really helpful if P.E bags had a drawstring, so children have more space for coats on their pegs. 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
Home project folders 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 put into the folder, 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 these sheets into their home project folders as well.
Housekeeping
Children should bring the following to school every day;
• a named, filled water bottle
• a named book bag 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 in the year ahead. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to talk to any member of the team.
Best Wishes,
Miss Chant
