Spring Term 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Welcome back, we hope you have had a great Christmas and that you are looking forward to a fantastic year ahead.

Below are a couple of reminders and some added information about what is happening in Woodpeckers this term.

Theme

Our theme this term will be The Romans. A lot of our work in different subject areas will be linked to this theme and we will let you know if there is anything we would like the children to do at home or bring into school to support this.

Spellings and Times Tables

Homework will continue to be set as it was last term:

Maths - set on a Thursday to be returned by the following Monday

English - set on a Friday to be returned by the following Wednesday

Maths homework will continue to be linked to the objectives we are working towards in class. In addition to this the children will be expected to practise their times tables. The tables they need to focus on will be written in their homework books each week and the children will be tested on these each Monday.

English homework will focus on spellings. The children will be given their spellings in class on a Thursday and will work on them daily until the spelling test which will be on a Wednesday. At the moment their homework will consist of learning the spellings, evidence of them being practised would be lovely to see in their homework books and hopefully spelling test results will show success as the term goes on.

PE

Indoor PE we will on a Tuesday afternoon.

Outdoor PE will be on a Wednesday morning. Please ensure that correct PE kit is in school on both of these days. Trainers are better than pumps for outdoors. We do encourage the children to bring extra clothing for outdoor PE during the Winter so joggers and sweatshirt/hoodies would be great. We also stress the importance of having a water bottle in school, this can be used during PE lessons but also in the classroom whenever the children need a drink (water not squash).

If you have any queries or questions pleases do not hesitate to come and see me.

Thank you

Miss Bidnell

ART/DT PROJECT

To be returned by Friday 27th November. This replaces the next 2 week's English homework.

Task: To create a Wizard's hat for yourself.

At school we have created wizard's hats for our puppets. This is linked to our theme text 'The Wizard, The Ugly and the Book of Shame'.

Obviously the hats we have made are miniature ones but it has given the children the chance to follow a technique for making one. Please feel free to use this technique, or if you find another way then use that. The children should have a good idea of the technique however if they need reminding we googled 'How to make a Wizard's Hat' WikiHow. (Making small ones for the puppets meant we used our own measurements. Also wilkolife (Vlad's Wicked Witch and Wizard Hats). You tube would also have some ideas.

We have used art paper/card in school, your hat could be made from the same or fabric, the choice is yours!

When we have all your wizard hats back in school we will be looking out for the best creations. Prizes could be awarded for different aspects eg decoration, how well it is made, how well it fits!

Enjoy the task, we look forward to seeing your creations.

Added Challenge!

The Wizard in our story had a 'Red Book of Secret Spells' - just an idea if anyone would like the extra challenge.

WELCOME

Welcome back after the summer break, I hope you have all had a lovely few weeks. It is great to see how smart, happy, cheerful and enthusiastic the children are on this first day of the new school year. They have settled into the routine straight away, in fact it feels like we have never been away! I am sure all the children are ready to work hard and, above all, enjoy being part of the Woodpeckers team.

Joining myself and Mrs Hemming this year, we have Mrs Brown in Woodpeckers 4 mornings a week. Mrs Brown and Mrs Hemming will also be teaching Art on a Monday afternoon. On Tuesday afternoon's Mr McDonnell will be supporting us by teaching each year group outdoor games, and on Wednesday afternoon's Mrs Hall will be teaching Spanish and RE.

I have put the timetable on the website for you so you can see what the overview of the week looks like. There is also an overview of the term so you can get an idea of what we are covering in different subjects. In addition please see information about PE/swimming and homework.

Just a note about snacks and drinks. In KS2 if your child would like to bring a healthy snack (fruit, cereal bar) to school to have at morning break they are very welcome to do so. Also if they would like to bring a water bottle in they can have this accessible on the tables where they are working throughout the day.

We hope the children enjoy the term. Please feel free to come and see me if you have any questions or queries.

Miss Bidnell

PE/Swimming

This term the children will be having PE lessons on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday mornings. Please note, no earrings should be worn on these days.

Tuesdays

This will be an outdoor games/sports lesson led by Mr McDonnell. He will teach year 4 while I teach Science to Year 3, then we will swap the groups over. Please make sure your child has the correct PE kit in school including appropriate footwear (trainers preferably) and warmer clothes when the weather gets colder later in the term. Please also ensure your child has a water bottle for this lesson.

Wednesdays

Swimming lessons will start next Wednesday, 16th September. Half the class will go swimming with Mrs Brown and Mrs Hemming, while I teach half the class gym. After half term we will swap the groups over. I will let you know as soon as possible which children are in the first group to go swimming. We will send a letter out and a form to complete if your child would like to wear goggles.

For gym the children need to have school PE shorts and T-shirt.

Homework

There will be Maths homework and English homework each week (not this week!) The Maths will be sent home on a Thursday to be completed and returned by the next Monday. English will be set on a Friday to be completed and returned by the following Wednesday.

Maths homework will nearly always be related to the work we have been doing in lessons during that week. English will consist of either spellings, or a short task related to spelling, grammar and punctuation. The children will be tested on spellings each week (Wednesday).

We will be concentrating on multiplication tables a lot so please could I ask that whenever possible you practise these with you child. To begin with we will be revising x2 x3 x5 x10, then move onto x4 x8.

New reading records have been given to the children. in KS2 we ask the children to complete these daily themselves and we will also record times we have heard them read. At home if your child reads to you please record this, if they are getting to the stage where they do not read to you so much but they enjoy reading to themselves, please could you still indicate that they have read by signing their record.

We do stress to the children the importance of neat presentation in all areas of homework. We will be monitoring this and rewarding the children for their efforts.

Thank you in anticipation for all your help and support with homework, it is much appreciated.