Spring 2 Information
Mr Rutter - 07 Mar 2019
Welcome back to you all following the half term break. We have all been impressed with how positive the children have been with their learning this week - especially with so much going on in school!
Spring 2 Learning
We have already started our busy half term with pancake day on Tuesday and World Book Day today. Our reading ambassadors and librarians did us all proud with their amazing planning and leadership. We had a red-carpet walk in the morning to show off our amazing costumes and then in the afternoon we were treated to activities such as bookmark-making, charades and ‘Pin the Title on the Book’.
Tomorrow we will be completing our 'mini-project' on Mr Men by writing our own Mr Men books (including illustrations).
Our topic this half term is 'Dinosaurs' - which will give us lots of opportunities to read and write exciting fiction and non-fiction texts and make lots of science, history, DT, geography and art links. At the end of term we will show off our learning in our own 'Dinosaur Museum' for other children in school.
Next term Year 2 will be having their SATs throughout May. We will be doing lots of preparation and practise in class so that the children can feel ready to take these assessments. Additionally, Year 1 and some of our Year 2 children will have a phonics screening assessment. The children will be given a mixture of real and pseudo words (the children call these made up words 'alien words') and they will be asked to read them to me to check their understanding of the sounds they have been taught. We always reinforce that we should approach these tests like any other piece of work by trying our best and not worrying. If you have any questions about these assessments or would like to know how to best support your child with any aspect of their learning, please do not hesitate to contact me or arrange to meet with me.
Learning Review Meetings will begin later this month. We embrace this child-centered way of reporting on your child’s progress (both academic and social and emotional). The children will be busy preparing for their meeting and I will notify parents when slots are made accessible on the website.
Home Learning
Please keep reading regularly with your children - even when they become confident/indpendent readers it is so important that they read with adults regularly. This supports their fluency, comprehension and inference skills. Each child should have a bookmark in their reading record which gives you some guidance on how to support reading depending upon what stage your child is at with their reading journey.
We will be sending home a spelling investigation each week on a Tuesday this half term. Please ensure that these are completed and back in school for the following Monday. These investigations follow what the children have been doing in their phonics and spelling lessons. This extra practise at home (even just explaining their learning) really supports them with their confidence.
Last half term, many children made some great progress with their SMIRFs challenges - please keep practising at home. If the children are unsure about what their current targets are, they can check in with Mrs Cooper and she will ensure that they know what to practise at home.
Morning Routines
The children may have explained that we have had a bit of a change to our morning routines. Each morning the children will be working on different targets which have been identified for them. All children will continue to have regular handwriting practise, however this will no longer be daily. The targets include handwriting, SPaG, reading, independent writing and Maths challenges.
As the classroom will feel even busier than before because of the different tasks that are going on from 8.45am, we respectfully ask that parents allow the children to come in to class independently where possible. This will ensure that distractions are kept to a minimum and the children will be able to focus on their learning straight away.
If you have any messages (e.g regarding pick-up arrangements for the end of the day) - please pass these to myself or Mrs Cooper who will be ready to greet the children at the door.
The KS1 Oak Class Team
Mrs Cooper will support us in Oak Class all day and will teach Eco-Science and PE each Monday afternoon (outdoor clothing is essential).
Mrs Stoodley will also be with us all day and Mrs Ferneley will support us each morning. Mrs Harris will teach Music each Tuesday morning.
Please remember - we are always happy to speak with you. If any questions or queries arise during the next half term we are keen to discuss them with you as quickly as possible. Therefore, if you wish to speak to either myself or Mrs Cooper, please do not hesitate to let us know at the door in the morning. Alternatively, please leave a message at the school office for one of us to contact you.
Forthcoming Important Dates & Events
Wednesday 13th March – Friends Spring Disco 4:30pm
Friday 15th March – Red Nose Day
Thursday 4th April – Friends Bunny Bingo
Thursday 11th April – Finish for Easter 3pm
Monday 29th April – Return to School
May - Year 2 SATs (these will be spread accross the month).
Week beginning 20th May - School Photos throughout week.
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