Brize Norton Primary School
Station Road
Brize Norton
Oxon OX18 3PL
01993 842488
www.brizeprimary.org
Headteacher Mrs. Anna Fairhurst
Friday 28th April
Dear Parents
It is lovely to see the children back in class so filled with enthusiasm. This year seems to have gone very quickly already; the class has made so much progress in all areas of learning since September, we are now on the final push as the summer will very soon be upon us. Our value for this term is co-operation, we shall be focusing on working together.
Our new topic for this term will be animals. I am hoping to arrange for a local veterinary nurse to visit to talk to the children about caring for animals. We shall be setting up our own vet’s surgery in the role-play area. We will also be hatching and caring for chicks in our classroom. If any parents would like to bring in any (tame and friendly) pets to show and talk to the children about please let me know.
In Literacy we will be continuing to follow the ReadWriteInc program for phonics. We will focus on non-fiction writing this term, with children adding labels, writing instructions and recounting events. We will continue with our regular Monday morning diary writing. I aim to take in Year 1 reading folders on Wednesdays and FS on Thursdays, if you feel your child is ready for a new book before these days please see me in the morning or leave their reading folder on my chair.
In Maths we will be consolidating our number knowledge and place value, beginning to explore fractions using half and quarter, using the language of time, measuring capacity and counting in twos, fives and tens.
Children are expected to read daily at home with an adult, please record when and what they have read in their reading diaries. There will continue to be words and sounds to practice weekly. In addition I will begin to send Maths games home to consolidate learning in class, your child will not bring one of these home every week, but when they do please play with them and completed the feedback form to let me know how they get on. Other topic related activities may also be sent home occasionally; these are then included in your child’s learning journey and contribute to the end of year profiles.
As you are aware, we have started swimming on Wednesdays this week. All children need to be provided with a swimming hat (these are available from the office) as well as swimming costume and towel; please remember earrings must be removed. Class 1 will continue to have forest school with Mrs. Rae on Monday afternoons and will need suitable clothing and boots in school. These sessions cover the entitlement to physical education, however, I would still like to be able to have additional PE sessions as the children benefit from these and we hope to be able to enjoy some sessions in the summer sunshine! I plan to do some additional PE sessions either on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons with flexibility to allow for other timetabling, therefore your child will still need to have PE kit in school, please ensure footwear fits as children’s feet grow rapidly.
At the start of this new term, we would like to remind you of the importance of regular attendance at school. Our target is 95% because it has been proven that children who attend less than this can suffer damage to their education. 95% attendance is still the equivalent of 2 weeks’ missed learning over the year. Children who attend fewer than 90% of sessions can find this having a serious impact on their learning, because that is the equivalent, over a year, of 4 weeks’ missed learning, or 100 missed lessons.
Finally we would like to welcome Sarah Edmunds to our class, as an experienced teaching assistant she will be working alongside us to support special educational needs within the class.
Cooking money for this term is now due (£5 voluntary contribution, however, if insufficient funding sessions will not be able to take place).
Many thanks
Bridget Winter
Key Dates for this term:
Monday 15th May: whole school maths puzzle solving day
Tuesday 16th May: FS and Y1 to St Hugh’s College for Teresa Heapy author talk
Thursday 25th May: parent celebration assembly
Friday 26th May: INSET DAY
Saturday 27th May – Sunday 4th June: HALF TERM
Monday 12th June: Y1 phonics screening check week
Tuesday 20th June: whole school PE wow day
Monday 26th June: whole school maths wow day
Thursday 6th July: whole school shuffle up day
Sunday 9th July: school and village fete
Monday 10th July: FS multi-skills event (St Christopher’s)
Tuesday 11th July: reports to parents; KS1/ FS summer concert
Friday 14th July: parent celebration assembly
Monday 17th July: sports day
Tuesday 18th July: reserve sports day; 3.30-5.30 open evening