Dear Parents/Carers
Welcome back! We hope you all had a restful and enjoyable Easter break, spending quality time with your families. Hopefully, your children are feeling refreshed and ready for the exciting and busy term ahead. We’re really looking forward to sharing a fun and memorable Summer term with you all!
In English, children will continue to develop their independent writing skills by exploring a variety of writing techniques and formats. They will have daily opportunities to listen to and share class stories and poems. Speaking and listening skills will be enhanced through question-and-answer activities and regular group work, encouraging collaboration and idea sharing. Writing tasks will focus on sentence grammar and punctuation, often linked to cross-curricular topics. Handwriting will remain a key focus, with Year 1 practising pre-cursive writing and Year 2 refining their cursive handwriting. Reading development will be supported through phonics-based activities, as well as the recognition of key words, tricky words, and spellings.
In Mathematics, children will develop their problem-solving skills and explore their own ideas through a range of topics, including number investigations, understanding time, exploring fractions (with a focus on equivalence and reasoning), and working with measures such as length, mass, and capacity. They will build new vocabulary and deepen their understanding using practical resources, drawings, pictures, and photographs. Children will record their mathematical thinking both pictorially and in written form. They will also learn to independently select appropriate tools and use hands-on materials to solve problems, demonstrating and sharing their understanding with peers and adults alike.
In Science, children will be asking and answering questions including looking for patterns, making observations and performing fair tests in scientific activities. They will be identifying, naming, describing, comparing various plants and habitats, as well as exploring their own senses in various ways. As part of their learning about seasonal changes, they will make comparisons between Spring and Summer, deepening their understanding of how the natural world changes throughout the year.
Geographical skills will be developed through understanding the similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country. Historical skills will compare similarities and differences of ‘the lives of significant individuals in the past’, during the Victorian and Edwardian times (Queen Victoria, Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole and Edward VII).
In Design and Technology, the focus will be on exploring food and nutrition- learning where food comes from and understanding the importance of a healthy diet. Children will have the opportunity to develop and plan their own food ideas, while also comparing the similarities and differences between the foods we eat and those from other cultures. In Music, the children will concentrate on composition, using Purple Mash to explore a range of virtual instruments and create their own musical pieces. They will also listen to and reflect on a variety of music genres. In Computing, children will continue using Purple Mash to deepen their understanding of online safety, with a particular focus on searching for and sharing information responsibly. They will also engage with Lego Builders and Coding activities, which will help them develop their knowledge of algorithms and programming.
Activities in RE will include experiences and learning about ‘What can we learn from sacred books?’. We will investigate sacred books in more than one religion and explore the learning and teachings of these books. In PSHE, through SEAL themes and ‘My Happy Mind’, we will be finding out about ‘Engage’ and ‘Relationships’- creating personal goals and exploring the different types of relationships we encounter.
Through PE, children will practise gross motor skills during PE sessions and at Forest School (Year 1) where we will explore and investigate the environment around us. Children will explore athletics and multi skills building up stamina running, jumping, throwing, catching and teamwork. They will develop balance, agility and co-ordination as well as tactics for attacking and defending in net, wall, striking and fielding games.
Reminders
- Book bags come in to school and return home every day.
- Homework and spellings are handed out on Friday, and due the following Friday.
- PE days are Tuesday and Friday. Wear outdoor PE kits on these days.
- Water bottles come in to school and return home every day.
We look forward to a busy and exciting term.
Miss O’Neill and Mrs Guyll