This year you are lucky enough to have two different teachers within your class. You will have Mrs Hamm Balliu Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Mrs Lindop on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

You will also have Mrs Crompton in class on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Mrs Fowles on Thursday and Friday.  

PE will take place every Thursday.

For PE sessions please bring the following:

- Black shorts, leggings or jogging bottoms

- White t-shirt or polo shirt

- Black pumps or trainers

It is usually best to leave your child's PE kit in school for the half-term so that it is always available to use.

It is important that your child brings their reading book into school each day  as following our Read Write Inc scheme, the day your child's book is changed will be different each week, to match our planning. Also the days on which they will be able to read with an adult may change from time to time.

It is also crucial that you listen to your child read each evening and ensure that you sign their reading record highlighting what they have read and how they performed.

In addition to a book bag book (phonics book) your child will also be given a lending library book for you to read and enjoy with your child. 

Story bags will be given out on Monday of your child's focus week, they have some activities and toys to enjoy alongside a book! Please return the book on Friday and share any photos to see-saw. 

Homework will be set on a Tuesday through our online learning platform, SeeSaw. A link for which is placed below:

https://app.seesaw.me/#/login

All homework should be completed by the following Monday and will be checked by your teacher on this day. Please make sure that if you are having difficulties with the homework, that you contact your class teacher with plenty of time so that they can assist your child in its completion. 

We love to hear what your child has been up to at home, proud moments or achievements. Please send photos via the see-saw app so we can share as part of our show and tell on Friday!

Our current topic is: How do we know the pirates are coming?

This half term we are learning all about the story of  'The Pirates are Coming'. Some of our questions linked to this topic are...

Week 1 – Who’s coming on a treasure hunt? What’s a pirate? (Stunning start treasure hunt)

Week 2 – Why would a pirate send a message in a bottle? How has communication changed? Alexander Bell phone (History enquiry)

Week 3 – What might Tom see through his binoculars? (Geography enquiry) (Art focus, Alfred Wallis, painting) Parents evening

Week 4 – What might a diver find at the bottom of the ocean? Commotion in the ocean

Week 5 – What is the best material for a pirate ship? Making pirate ships (Science enquiry) Fantastic finish pirate party

Week 6 – Easter & Spring week

Our Personal, Social and Emotional focus for this half term will be...

• Self-Regulation

• Express his/her feelings and considers the feelings of others.
• Is able to identify and moderate his/her own feelings socially and emotionally.
• Is able to give focused attention to what the teacher says, responding appropriately even when engaged in activity, and shows an ability to follow instructions involving several ideas of actions (ELG)
• Shows an understanding of his/her own feelings and those of others, and is beginning to regulate his/her behaviour accordingly (ELG)

• Managing Self

• Sees himself/herself as a valuable individual.
• Shows resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge.
• Manages his/her own needs around personal hygiene.
• Knows and can talk about the different factors that support their overall health and wellbeing, regular physical activity.
• Is confident to try new activities and shows independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge (ELG)
• Can explain the reasons for rules, knows right from wrong and tries to behave accordingly (ELG)
• Manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs, including dressing, going to the toilet and understanding the importance of healthy food choices (ELG)

Building Relationships

• Builds constructive and respectful relationships
• Thinks about the perspectives of others.
• Forms positive attachments to adults and friendships with peers (ELG)
• Shows sensitivity to his/her own and to others’ needs (ELG)
• Works and plays cooperatively and takes turns with others (ELG)

Our Communication and Language focus for this half term will be...

• Learn new vocabulary.
• Use new vocabulary through the day.
• Articulate their ideas and thoughts in well-formed sentences.
• Describe events in some detail.
• Use talk to help work out problems and organise thinking and activities, and to explain how things work and why they might happen.
• Listen to and talk about stories to build familiarity and understanding.
• Retell the story, once they have developed a deep familiarity with the text, some as exact repetition and some in their own words.
• Learn rhymes, poems and songs.

Our Physical Development focus for this half term will be... 

• Gross Motor Skills

Dance – Copy & Explore

-To change actions depending on the pace and tempo of music

-Use my body and create simple theme related shapes, movements and actions

Gross Motor Skills

• Follow a sequence of instructions – from adult or peer
• Follow rules during PE sessions
• Select and collect equipment with other people
• Continue to follow rules for a game
• Begin to explain how to play a game
• Wait my turn to be a finder/leader

• -Create and follow new rules to a game

• With a partner
• Share thoughts and ideas in a pair or small group

• -Navigate space confidently

• Find space to move to avoid being caught … escape
• Search in specific areas to find objects

• -Think carefully to solve a problem

• -Think positively and believe in success

• -Continue to refine the fundamental movement skills they have already acquired: - rolling - crawling - walking - jumping - running - hopping - skipping – climbing

• -Begin to progress towards a more fluent style of moving, with developing control and grace

• -Develop overall body-strength, balance, co-ordination and agility

• -Use their core muscle strength to achieve a good posture when sitting at a table or sitting on the floor

• -Combine different movements with ease and fluency

• -Further develop and refine a range of ball skills including: passing, batting and aiming… pass,, aim

  .

• Fine Motor Skills

• Is developing his/her small motor skills so that he/she can use a range of tools competently, safely and confidently, e.g. pencils for drawing and writing, paintbrushes, scissors, knives, forks and spoons.
• Holds a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing- using the tripod grip in almost all cases. (ELG)
• Uses a range of small tools, including scissors, paint brushes and cutlery (ELG)
• Is beginning to show accuracy and care when drawing. (ELG)

Our Literacy focus for this half term will be...

Reading

• Blend sounds into words, so that they can read short words made up of known letter– sound correspondences

•  Read some letter groups that each represent one sound and say sounds for them

• Read simple phrases and sentences made up of words with known letter–sound correspondences and, where necessary, a few exception words.

• Read a few common exception words matched to the school’s phonic programme

  Pathways to Write Gateway Keys (non-negotiables/basic skills)

• Form lower-case letters correctly 

• Spell words by identifying the sounds and then writing the sound with letter/s

•  Re-read what they have written to check that it makes sense

Our Maths focus for this half term will be...

• Numerical Pattern / Number

  -Begin to familiarise themselves with numbers 9 and 10

• Find, represent and understand the composition of numbers 9 and 10
• Compare numbers to 10
• Subitise numbers to 10 – conceptually
• One more or one less of numbers within 10
• Doubles to 10 – find a double
• Doubles to 10 – make a double
• Explore odd and even numbers within 10

• Shape, Space & Measure  

  -Begin to introduce and talk about time

• To observe the clock and identify o’clock
• Order and sequence time

Our Understanding the world focus for this half term will be...

• Begin to use comparative language to measure time… shorter, longer, quicker, slower
• Understand when things happen… (see autumn) e.g. last week, yesterday, today, tomorrow
• Begin to use words to explain when events have happened / will happen… past, present, future
• Recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways, drawing on their experiences and what they read in class
• Talk about and share special celebrations birthday, Chinese New Year, Pancake Tuesday, Easter, Holi Identify similarities and differences between some celebrations
• Geography

• Local environment

• Visit the local park to look for minibeast
• Identify and talk about differences between the school grounds and local park
• Begin to use simple maps to find things / places or record journeys e.g. journey to the park, treasure hunt map… map
• Understand that some places are special to some people.

• Comparing the UK with other countries

  Begin to talk about:

• People within their community / family who have links with other countries
• Food they experience which has been grown in different countries
• Stories which are set in other countries.
• Animals that lie in different counties
• Houses that are in different counties
• Celebrations within other countries

Technology (liked to Kapow)

Computing systems and networks 2: Exploring hardware

-Children tinker and explore with different computer hardware

-Learn to operate a camera

Our Expressive, Arts and Design focus for this half term will be... 

• Being Imaginative & Expressive (Foundational Music/Dance)

  -Listens, moves and talks about music, beginning to express his/her feelings and responses.

  -Watches and talks about dance and performance art, beginning to talk about expressing their feelings.

  -Developing the confidence with singing in a group or on his/her own, starting to match pitch.

  -Is developing building storylines into his/her pretend play, with increasing independence.

  -Explores and engages in music making and dance, with support, beginning to perform solo or in groups.

  -Developing inventing, adapting and recounts narratives and stories with peers and his/her teacher.

  -Becoming more confident with performing songs, rhymes poems and stories.

  -Sings a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs.

  Creating with Materials (Foundational Art and D&T)

  -Is developing exploring and using artistic effects when expressing his/her ideas and feelings.

  -Is able to return to and build on his/her previous learning, beginning to refine and develop the ability to represent them.

  -Shares ideas, resources and skills to create something with the support from an adult.

  -Makes use of props, images and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories.

  -Is continuing to develop an understanding of how to safely use and explore a variety of materials and tools, experimenting with colour and texture.

  -Shares his/her creations, explaining what it is.

  Art focus

  Artist: Alfred Wallis

  Skill: Painting