Welcome to a new school year - hopefully the weather will continue to be warm and dry and we can enjoy the school outdoor areas.

Communication: 

If there is anything you think I should know about your child, then Class dojo is the easiest way to contact me however if it is urgent or of a medical nature, then please let the office know and they will ensure I receive your message.

If you'd like to make an appointment to see me, please arrange this through the office. If you are changing the collection arrangements for your child, please let the office know by telephone or through the caistor enquiries email address. 

As you know, research has shown that the best support from home is when parents/carers talk to their child about their expectations in school. Do continue to encourage your child to listen, work hard, be ready to learn and behave well on a regular basis and this will have a huge impact on their achievements in school.

Best wishes,

Miss Robertson 

We love reading and we'd like to encourage our families to read together too.

Every child should be reading at least 4 times per week.

In KS2 we use Accelerated Reader. Each child completes an assessment at the beginning of term, which gives them a range of books from which to read (this is known as their ZPD or Zone of Proximal Development). Each book is given a number - the higher the number the greater the content and more challenging the theme of the book. Your child can chose any book from within their range. After they have read the book, they complete a quiz which checks their understanding of the book and they then are awarded points based on the book they have read. We will be checking weekly, to ensure that the children are completing these quizzes which can also be completed at home. 

Please use the link below to take you directly to our school site within accelerated reader. Most difficulties with logging on are usually the result of not correctly identifying our school  (https://ukhosted81.renlearn.co.uk/6710982). Your child's passwords will be in the back of their reading records. 

Accelerated Reader

Reading - comprehension

Pupils should be taught to:

• develop positive attitudes to reading, and an understanding of what they read, by:
  • listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks
  • reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes
  • using dictionaries to check the meaning of words that they have read
  • increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally
  • identifying themes and conventions in a wide range of books
  • preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action
  • discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination
  • recognising some different forms of poetry [for example, free verse, narrative poetry]
• understand what they read, in books they can read independently, by:
  • checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding, and explaining the meaning of words in context
  • asking questions to improve their understanding of a text
  • drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence
  • predicting what might happen from details stated and implied
  • identifying main ideas drawn from more than 1 paragraph and summarising these
  • identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning
• retrieve and record information from non-fiction
• participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say

Reading - word reading

Pupils should be taught to:

• apply their growing knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes (etymology and morphology) both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words they meet
• read further exception words, noting the unusual correspondences between spelling and sound, and where these occur in the word

Writing - transcription

Spelling - Pupils should be taught to:

• use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them 
• spell further homophones
• spell words that are often misspelt 
• place the possessive apostrophe accurately in words with regular plurals [for example, girls’, boys’] and in words with irregular plurals [for example, children’s]
• use the first 2 or 3 letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary
• write from memory simple sentences, dictated by the teacher, that include words and punctuation taught so far

Handwriting

Pupils should be taught to:

• use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined
• increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting, [for example, by ensuring that the downstrokes of letters are parallel and equidistant, and that lines of writing are spaced sufficiently so that the ascenders and descenders of letters do not touch]

Writing - composition

Pupils should be taught to:

• plan their writing by:
  • discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
  • discussing and recording ideas
• draft and write by:
  • composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures
  • organising paragraphs around a theme
  • in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot
  • in non-narrative material, using simple organisational devices [for example, headings and sub-headings]
• evaluate and edit by:
  • assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
  • proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns in sentences
• proofread for spelling and punctuation errors
• read their own writing aloud to a group or the whole class, using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear

Writing - vocabulary, grammar and punctuation

Pupils should be taught to:

• develop their understanding of the concepts by:
  • extending the range of sentences with more than one clause by using a wider range of conjunctions, including: when, if, because, although
  • using the present perfect form of verbs in contrast to the past tense
  • choosing nouns or pronouns appropriately for clarity and cohesion and to avoid repetition
  • using conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to express time and cause
  • using fronted adverbials
  • learning the grammar for years 3 and 4
• indicate grammatical and other features by:
  • using commas after fronted adverbials
  • indicating possession by using the possessive apostrophe with plural nouns
  • using and punctuating direct speech
• use and understand the grammatical terminology accurately and appropriately when discussing their writing and reading

 

Geography

Environmental threats, sustainability and World Geography Knowledge 

Art

In art, we will be learning to Sew. 

Computing

We will be studying publishing software. 

RE

We will be studying Christianity in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

PE

In PE this term we will develop our skills in a range of different sports. 

PSHE

In PSHE we will be focusing on:

• Being My Best
• Growing and Changing

Spanish

In Spanish we will be studying the unit 'fruit'.

Music 

We will be continuing with Ukulele.