This Term in Friesian Class

Welcome back! We hope that you all had an enjoyable summer break and look forward to catching up with you all in the coming weeks. 

Curriculum

This term in English, we will be focusing on poetry, ‘finding tales’ based on The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield, and instruction writing. We will also be learning about the life of mathematician and computer scientist, Katherine Johnson, and will read about her and other exceptional women in Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterly.  In our whole class guided reading, we will be reading Storm Hound by Claire Fayers.

In maths, we will be learning about place value, addition and subtraction, and area. We will be continuing our rapid recall of times tables facts and the children will be encouraged to practise their number bonds and times tables at school using the QR codes below. They will have plenty of practise using these sites at school, so don’t worry – they will know what to do very quickly!

In RE, we will be looking at the questions: ‘How and why do people try to make the world a better place?’ and ‘What is the ‘Trinity’ and why is it important for Christians?’. We will also continue to develop our philosophical thinking within our Philosophy for Children and regular spirituality sessions.

In the first term, in our Immersion Curriculum time, we will be learning about light and shadows in science, discovering all about the French Alps in Geography, and will focus in on monochrome graphics in our art lessons. After half term, we will be learning about World War I in history, Giovanni Giacometti and sculpture in art, and plants in science.

PSHCE will now be taught weekly and we will be centred on the theme of ‘Me and My Relationships’ in the first Autumn term, and ‘Valuing Difference’ in the second. We will be lucky enough to be visited by the SCARF team in the first few weeks, and will take part in an interactive workshop based on healthy relationships.

In computing, we will be learning about networks and computer systems before venturing into the world of stop frame animation – something I am sure the children will enjoy greatly!

We will continue to share information sheets regarding each Immersion Curriculum topic area via our class webpage (www.amberleyschool.co.uk/friesians).

Outdoor Learning and PE kits  

As a school, we are tightening up on our school uniform policy. Children are only permitted to wear simple stud earrings and a watch.  Please could we ask that hair is tied back and if your child would like to wear a hair accessory, it is plain and simple and in our school colours?

The children will receive two weekly PE lessons with Mr Spurrier. These will be on a Thursday and Friday. Children can come into school in PE kit and trainers on Thursdays, and bring their kit with them on Fridays. If you require any new kit, please return the old kit, in good condition, to Mrs Russell and we will arrange a replacement.

On a Friday, the children will also have outdoor learning, which is taught by Mrs Greenwoods. Children will need to come to school in their clothes for this lesson and ensure that in colder months they have additional layers. Please also ensure that children have spare footwear. It can get muddy in the Planny so wellies or old trainers would be preferable. We will provide waterproofs to all children, unless they wish to wear their own. Children will then change into their PE kit and clean trainers at school.

If your child does not have the appropriate kit, they may not be able to participate and will receive a slip home notifying you of this.

Reading books need to be in school every day, and will continue to be changed according to need. Reading regularly is obviously the best way for children to improve their fluency and understanding. We will continue to hear each child read every week, but the greatest impact for developing these key skills is daily reading at home. We would be grateful if you could write in their reading record each time your child reads at home, please

Times tables

All Friesian class members are expected to continue to develop the speed and accuracy of times table recall. Regular practice of timetables helps children’s fluency when working on more complicated problem solving and reasoning tasks. Quick fire questioning or in the car games will help your child to be more confident in recalling multiplication and division facts. There are also a multitude of games and activities online to help with the rapid recall, as well as many screen free dice and card games.

Children’s reading records will contain a QR code to a website which we would recommend using regularly. This is particularly important for Year 4, who will sit the statutory times tables check later in the school year. The Year 4 QR code uses a site similar to the actual test format which aids familiarity. Children are aiming to answer all questions at 6 second intervals. The class webpage also has links to Corbett Maths, a site offering daily 5 minute maths activities, for additional fluency practice.

Spellings will be sent home each week for the children to learn at home before assessing their fluency on Fridays. Children are asked to write a sentence for each of their spelling words as part of their homework. This should be written in their homework book, in pencil, using the same level of presentation and care as they would in school.

They will need to return their homework books on Thursdays, for us to read. We would highly recommend that children use the Lietner method to learn their spellings, as this has proven very effective for longer term retention. The class will be shown what is involved during the first week back, and there is a short explanation video on the class webpage should you wish to find out more.   

Pencil cases

Many children in Year 3 and 4 like to have their own pencil cases. Whilst we are quite happy for this, please could we ask that they are small enough to fit into their drawer? We will provide all the necessary stationary, so there is no requirement for them to have one.

We are, as ever, grateful for your continued support. If you have any questions or concerns, at any time, please feel free to get in touch.