Curriculum Newsletter

Spring TERM 2010 1st half

EARLY YEARS             

Mrs L Conneely
Mrs M Masiyano

Mrs C Rolfe, NNEB/Mrs C Solanki, NVQ/Mrs A Tilston, NNEB/Mrs M Williamson, NNEB

THEN AND NOW!

The first half of the Spring Term will begin with us going right back to dinosaur times.  All areas of the curriculum will be used to bring dinosaurs to 'life' in Early Years.  Guidelines for the homework challenge (make a junk model dinosaur) will go home at the beginning of week 3.

The focus will continue to build on knowledge and understanding of the world, where we will raise children's awareness of the past, and some of the changes that have occurred during their own lifetime.  We will also explore 'opposites'.  In order that you can support your child at home we have prepared a weekly overview.  Please see attached sheet. 

Each week a different group of children will cook - learning a specific skill.  They will make enough so that every child in Early Years has something to take home or eat in school.  We would ask for a one-off voluntary contribution of £1 per child which will cover the cost of ingredients from now until the end of the school year.  Thank you.

Please contact a member of staff if you are able to offer help during the Spring Term.        

EARLY YEARS - SPRING 2011 (1^ST Half)

 The above information is also available on the Early Years  class page.

YEAR 1        

Mrs L Healey 
Mrs B Allen/Mrs C Ryan
Mrs J Calfe, NVQ3; Mrs R Farley-Hulse, NVQ3;
Mrs D Harrison, NNEB

TOY STORY

We are planning to use "Kipper's Toybox" by Mick Inkpen and the Jane Hissey toys books for our topic and as an introduction to stories with familiar settings.  In Literacy we will also be studying poetry, pattern and rhyme and a variety of non-fiction books.  We ask that children bring a toy (not too big, precious or expensive) once a week.  We will develop the children's ability to talk about their toy using 4 sentences.  This gives children a structure and the confidence to stand up in front of others to talk about an object.

Our Science work will develop the understanding of forces and different sorts of movement related to toys. 

Our History focus will be to look at similarities and differences between toys today and in the past. We are hoping to welcome a visitor into school who has an extensive collection of old toys to show the children.

During our Numeracy sessions the focus will include: number facts, patterns and relationships between numbers and 2D and 3D shapes. 

We would ask parents to continue helping their children in these ways:

*         Share their reading book every day

*         Help them to learn their key words or spellings (we try to test them once a week)

*         We would like you to work with your child to make a toy with a moving part.  These can be brought into school at any time during the next 6 weeks.

*         Help them to complete their Maths Home Learning in their yellow book

Thank you for all your support.      

YEAR 2       
Mrs D Megeary/Mrs S Taylor
Mrs J Wells
Mrs K Cooper, NVQ3; Mrs C Harsant, NVQ3;

BLAST OFF!

In Literacy we will be using the story "Man on the Moon" by Simon Bartram to look at drama, settings and characterisation; culminating in an extended story about a visit to the moon.  In the second half of term we will be looking at non-fiction texts in relation to the planets, sun and electricity.  Please could parents continue to listen to their children read at home, and help them to learn their weekly spellings.

In Maths, children will work on a variety of topics with an emphasis on strategies for problem solving.  For those children who know their number stories to ten might like to move on from addition to subtraction facts, and then on to learning multiplication tables.

Our Science and Design Technology topics of Movement, Forces and Vehicles, will include making moon buggies with wheels that incorporate circuits and will light up. 

Achievments

We are a Beacon School


Basic Skills Quality Mark

School Achievement Award

Outstanding Ofsted Report

Healthy Schools Award

Activemark Award