Dorset Primary School

Dorset Primary School

TERM TWO FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER 2017

Dear Parents,

We have had a fun and productive first term of school. The students can be proud of the progress they have made since starting school. In term 2, we will be continuing our learning, as well as building on previously learned concepts.

The Foundation classes will be studying the topic “What’s it made of?” for our Integrated unit, which will focus on Materials and Properties. During this unit, we will be identifying the materials that different objects are made of, as well as building objects of our own.

We will be learning about ‘Fire Safety’ with the firemen coming to visit us at school. They will be teaching us what to do if there is a fire and also showing us their uniforms and firetruck. We will also be visited by ‘Responsible Pet Ownership’ who will teach us how to look after our pets and the correct way to approach a dog.

Below is an outline of the resources and strategies we will be using to develop our students’ Literacy and Maths skills this term.

READING

·  Guided reading in small groups

·  Independent Reading

·  Identifying characters, setting and sequencing events in known stories

·  Explicit teaching of comprehension skills

·  Decoding skills

·  Word shapes and letter/sound blends

·  Onset and rime which helps with the recognition of common chunks within words

·  Jumbled sentences

·  Hearing rhyming words and rhythm in poems

·  Take home readers and Language Experience readers

·  Read aloud with fluency and expression

·  Interactive books on iPads and the computer

·  Researching information choosing from a variety of non-fiction text

·  Cued Articulation and Tucker Blend games and activities

·  Using pictures as a reading strategy

·  Using punctuation cues when reading texts

·  Direct speech (conversation/dialogue) in reading texts.

WRITING

·  Spelling strategies including Look, Say, Name, Cover, Write, Check supported by Cued Articulation and Tucker Blends

·  Creating Spelling and word wall charts to have on display in the classroom

·  Focusing on correct starting points, letter formation and size, and beginning to write on lines

·  Different writing styles – reports, stories, diary writing, letters, poems, lists, questions, persuasive, explanation, etc…

·  Emphasis on using punctuation eg. full stops, capital letters, quotation marks/speech bubbles

·  Focus on common words used in daily writing

·  Proof reading and editing skills.

SPEAKING AND LISTENING

·  Show and Tell / Sharing time related to learning topics

·  Sharing of learning activities and written work

·  Restorative Circle time

·  Read and retell stories

·  Hearing rhyme and syllables in words

·  Poems and songs

MATHS

·  Make, name and order sets of objects up to 20+, including zero, focusing on teen numbers

·  Daily hands on mathematics skills using concrete materials

·  Write, make and say numerals 0 to 20 and beyond using one to one correspondence

·  Recognise number words to twenty

·  Exploring addition of two numbers

·  Estimate and make groups which are bigger or smaller

·  Sort, describe and name familiar shapes in the environment – 2D & 3D shapes

·  Time – Clocks analogue and digital, sequencing events

·  Making patterns

·  Making group of objects and sharing objects into groups

·  Measurement – length, capacity, mass and area

·  Measure using informal units

·  Problem solving

·  Money

Specialist timetable 2017 – (This timetable begins Term 2)

Music
with Mrs Page / LRC
(Literacy Resource Centre)
with Mrs Keogh / LOTE (French)
with Madame Annalisa / PE
with Mr Bell / Art
With Mrs Rowe
Monday / Monday / Monday / Tuesday / Thursday

All Foundation classes are split into 3 groups for Monday’s Specialist sessions in which the children will rotate through Music, LOTE and LRC. These groups are on your child’s class notice board.

PMP
with the Foundation Teachers / Cooking
with the Foundation Teachers
Mondays 2.30-3.30
Wednesday 2.30-3.30 / Wednesday 9.10 – 10.30

Uniform

Please be mindful of students wearing correct school uniform at all times, particularly school shoes, socks, jewellery and hair tie. Nail polish is not permitted. For more information please see the School Uniform Policy which can be accessed on the school website.

Parent Helpers

If you can assist anytime during the day, we always appreciate your support even if it is for a short time. We would love parents to listen to students read at the beginning or end of the day in the classroom. Also, if you are able to help in our PMP or Cooking sessions, it would be greatly appreciated. Please remember that all parent helpers in the classroom, must have ‘Working with Children Check’ which can be completed on line. Please let us know if you can assist in any way.

Term Events and Notes

·  50 Days of School – 4/5
·  Education Open Evening– 16/5
REPORTING DAY – STUDENT FREE (NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS) 17/5
·  Arts Day – 18/5
·  Market Day 6/6
·  Life Education – 8/6-20/6
·  Queen’s Birthday – 12/6
·  Responsible Pet Ownership – TBA
·  End of Term – 30/6

Regards,

Kate Lawley, Grant Wilkinson, Luke Seymour and Lenis Quigg.