LKS2 Spring Newsletter 2023

The LKS2 team is now well established and is working really well together. We are enjoying being a team. We have: Mrs Clipsham, Mrs Shepherd, Miss James and Mr Farrant as the class teachers. Our hard working support staff include: Mrs Thornton, Miss Black, Mrs Murray, Mrs Walker, Mrs Turnbull, Mrs Cross and Mrs Steeples. We are all looking forward to continuing to support your children this term.

Homework

Homework will continue to be set on a Friday and is to be handed in on the following Thursday. Homework will be set in children's individual homework books and can be handed in early if completed. Children will receive weekly dojo points for completed homework. Children will have the opportunity to practise their spellings in school on a daily basis through English lessons, RWI lessons and morning tasks.

Reading is incredibly important. All children in LKS2 will now be on the Accelerated reader programme and will be able to chose a book from our library and then complete a quiz on the book. These quizzes can be completed at school or at home. Some children will continue on the RWI programme to further support and develop their reading. They will be bringing home a RWI book on a weekly basis. Please do read with your child and enjoy that time together asking them questions on their book.

Children need to have their diary in school with them every day so any reading or quizzes that have been completed can be recorded.

If you have any questions regarding RWI or Accelerated reader, please speak to your child's class teacher who will be more than happy to help.

Books we will be reading this term are - Secret's of a Sun King by Emma Carroll, Wonder by RJ Palacio, The Sound Collector by Roger McGough, Song of the Witches by Macbeth, Everything Volcanoes and Earthquakes by National Geographic Kids and Water Cycles by DK.

In our school we follow the White Rose scheme of learning to plan and deliver our maths lessons. This scheme allows children to experience a wide range of strategies to use across the different operations and pushes the children towards mastering the subject by allowing children to use what they know about number relationships and patterns in different ways, helping them solve problems.

This term, the children in Year 3 will be learning about multiplication, division, length and perimeter, fractions, mass and capacity. The children in Year 4 will be learning about multiplication, division, length and perimeter, fractions and decimals.

TT Rockstars is a great way for your child to practise their times tables. Each child will be given log in details to play a range of games online. Times tables are particularly important in Year 4 as the children will be taking Multiplication Table Checks in May 2023. Get practising those times tables everyone. Other good games include 1 minute white rose maths, Topmarks and Hit the Button.

Our RE lessons this term will focus on learning about Sikhism and we will be looking at the question 'What does it mean to be a Sikh in Britain today?' Then we will look at Salvation and answer the question 'Why do Christians call the day Jesus dies Good Friday?'

Our core Christian values for the term will be Respect in the first part of the term and then Reverance in the second half of autumn. We will explore these themes in our daily worship sessions learning about these values. We will also be having weekly class worship looking at what is in the news currently and how this impacts on our lives.

Your child's PE day is TUESDAY. If your child is in year 4 they will be swimming each week. Your child will need to bring their swimming kit to school with them - towel, swim shorts / swimming costume. Hair needs to be tied back and children may bring googles or a swim hat with them if needed. If your child is in year 3 they will need to bring their PE kit with them to school. This needs to be a white t shirt, black or blue shorts or tracksuit bottoms. The children will also need trainers for outdoor lessons. Hair again needs to be tied back and please ensure your child removes their earrings on this day.

Our PE focus in Spring 1 will be dance and our focus in Spring 2 will be hockey.

This term we will continue to have our French tutor in LKS2 who will be teaching the staff and children some more French. In music, we will be learning about the genre of Jazz in Spring 1. In PSHE we will be having weekly lessons learning about safety and the changing body in Spring 1. In Spring 2 we will have a focus on Citizenship.

Attendance and punctuality

Your support in sending your child to school regularly and on time is vital. We are continuing to open the school doors from 8.45am and close them at 8.55am. It is important that children are in school on time so they have no lost learning time. Morning tasks are in place in all classes so lateness to school does impact on these tasks.

Mrs Clipsham will be on the top door each morning and another member of the LKS2 team will be on the bottom door each morning. Messages are passed on to other teachers. Please do not hesitate to approach or contact any LKS2 staff if you ever have a query. We also check our messages regularly on Class Dojo and will respond as soon as we can during the hours of 8:30-4:30pm.

Your child has also been given a diary which can be used to record homework, reading and pass any messages on. There is a reading record section so do record any reading with your child as it is always lovely if parents/carers sign the diary on a weekly basis.

Thank you

Mrs Clipsham, Mrs Shepherd, Mr Farrant and Miss James.