Chestnut Class – Term 2 Newsletter 2015
Class teachers
Monday and Tuesday Mrs Sewell
Wednesday to FridayMrs Challis
Teaching Assistants
Morning / AfternoonMonday / Mrs Shaw / Mrs Morris
Tuesday / Mrs Shaw / Mrs Morris
Wednesday / Mrs Shaw / Mrs Summers
Thursday / Mrs Shaw / Mrs Summers
Friday / Mrs Lynam / Mrs Lynam
Dear Parents
We hope your child has enjoyed their first term. We are very pleased with the way all the children have settled into both the class and school routines. Well done to them all. Please remember to look at our website for useful information.
What we will be learning next term
Our topic next term will be ‘Let’s Celebrate’. We will be learning about Bonfire Night, Diwali, Stir up Sunday, Advent and Christmas. There will be a number of areas that will be focused around these celebrations including craft, writing, reading, knowledge and understanding of the world and role play.
In PE the children will be developing their ball skills as well as being taught Dance by Mrs Douch, our specialist PE teacher who works closely with school across the PE curriculum.
In maths we will looking at forming the numbers 11 to 20, adding and subtracting using a range of different objects and in different environments, 1 more and 1 less than a given number and playing with money.
Show and Tell
We always provide each child with the opportunity to speak to the class about something that interests them. ‘Show and Tell’ is a great way for children to develop their speaking skills as well as self- confidence. This term the children will have a set day when they can share their ideas/pictures/books about a celebration they have been to or know about.
Week commencing / Mrs Sewell (Mon or Tues) / Mrs Challis (Wed, Thurs or Fri)Week 1 – 2nd November / Martha / Lucas
Week 2 – 9th November / Phoebe / Charlotte
Week 3 – 16th November / Imogen Earl / Henry
Week 4 – 23rd November / Jessica / Elizabeth/Casey
Week 5 – 30th November / Imogen M / Jake/Summer
Week 6 – 7th December / Bailey / Miles/Arthur
Week 7 – 14th December / N/A / N/A
Water/Snacks
As you know we provide all the children with a healthy snack during the morning. If your child does not like the fruit or vegetables on offer please provide your child with a piece of fruit or vegetable so that they do not go hungry during the long morning before lunch.
Water will be available throughout the day for your child to access. We encourage the children to have regular drinks throughout the day.At the end of the school day please collect your water bottle or leave it in school for us to wash through and refill the next morning. On a Friday please take the water bottles home, returning them on Monday.
PE kit
We have already sent the PE kit home to be washed and checked that everything still fits. Please return on the first day back after half term.
Coats, Scarves, Hats, Gloves
As we move into winter, the children may need to wear hats, gloves and scarves to school. In school we ask the children to look after their own clothes, making sure they hang them up and take them home at the end of the day. Please make sure all items of uniform are clearly named—for a small school we have a large quantity of unclaimed uniform!
Reading with parents
We would like to invite you into the classroom on Friday 20thNovember 2015 between 9.45 and 10.30am (after Whole School Assembly, which you are all invited to each week). During this time you can read to your child or a group of children or you can listen to the children share a book with you. The children will also share their Learning Journeys with you.
At the end of the 20 minutes reading/Learning Journey session we will hold a short meeting (in the IT suite) to talk to you about our approach to reading and writing. This should last for about 20 minutes. If you are unable to make this meeting we will send out notes from the meeting in your child’s bookbag.
We hope you are able to come along and enjoy this reading time with children in Chestnut Class.
Phonics’ or ‘sounds’ work and Number of the week
The children are doing really well with their phonics. As you know we have covered s a t p i n m d g o c k this term. It would really help the children if you could practise these over the half term. A good game is to make small flashcards and to spend 5 mins each day saying and recognising the sound.
You will see the phonemes we will cover next term in the table below. We will discuss the new sounds for the next week each Friday. Please encourage your child to practise the sound, as this will help them to retain it.
Please would you help your child to choose an item/ drawing/ picture that contains the weekly sound to bring into school. For example: apple, top An idea might be for your child to see how many things they can find in the house beginning with that sound, or contains the sound, and then choose one to bring to school. (Not too big please!).
We will also focus on two numbers each week in both practical activities and how to write them.
Week commencing / Mrs Sewell / Mrs ChallisPhoneme Number / Phoneme Number
Week 1 – 2nd November / ck / 10 / e / 11
Week 2 – 9th November / u / 12 / r / 13
Week 3 – 16th November / h / 14 / b / 15
Week 4 – 23rd November / f / 16 / ff / 17
Week 5 – 30th November / l / 18 / ll / 19
Week 6 – 7th December / ss / 20 / Recap / Recap
Week 7 – 14th December / Recap / Recap / Recap / Recap
Achievements
As part of your child’s ongoing learning we would like to continue to ask for your input with significant achievements they make at home. Simply use the attached ‘WOW cards’ to write a sentence to explain what they have done. They could reflect on any areas of their learning from personal and social development, something creative or a knowledge/understanding of a topic or book. We will then be able to share these ‘WOW’ cards with all the children and incorporate them into their ‘Learning Journeys’. There is no pressure to bring one in every week, but a couple of cards a term would be a lovely way for your child to share their learning at home with their friends at school.
Questionnaire re transition to school
Thank you for the returned questionnaires, your input is extremely helpful to us. If you have not returned it yet we would still like to hear from you. If you have mislaid the questionnaire please come and get another one oryou can fill it in at drop off or pick up time. Many thanks.
Nativity
Our KS1 Nativity play will be held on Friday 11th December at 2pm in the St Albans Church, Frant. All children will have a part. More details to follow in due course.
Please feel free to speak to one of us if you have any issues or concerns. Also, if there is any home information we need to be aware of please let us know, however small. In this way, we can ensure the children are happy and settled in school.
Kind regards Mrs Sewell and Mrs Challis
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