HAPPy new year! welcome to 2023
Happy New Year and welcome to 2023. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and the children are well rested from the holidays ready to start the Spring term. We have lots of new learning and topics all planned and ready to go with Easter to look forward to at the end of the term.
The UKS2 team is made up of Mrs Lashford, Mrs Fisher/Ms Tse and Miss Templeman as the class teachers. Our hard working support staff include: Mrs Harrison, Mrs Walsh, Mr Snowdon and Miss Reall. 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 receive 2 pieces of homework generally based on Maths and English each week. Please speak to class teachers if your child needs any support with their homework.
We are following a new writing cycle in UKS2 with a different genre being taught over a 3 week period. In our English writing lessons we will be focussing on biographies, balanced arguments, short stories (focusing on speech and characterisation), explanation texts and finally writing a letter of complaint. We will be using lots of hooks, looking at good examples of each genre and producing lots of great WOW work.
Reading is incredibly important. All children in UKS2 are 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.
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 Accelerated reader, please speak to your child's class teacher who will be more than happy to help.
Books we will be reading in Spring 1: Shacklton's Journey by William Grill, Warned by Sylvia Stults and Climate action the future is in our hands by Georgia Stevens. In Spring 2 we will be reading: Kick by Mitch Johnson, If by Rudyard Kipling and I am not a label by Cerrie Burnell.
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 5 will be learning about multiplication, division, percentages, fractions, decimals, perimeter, area and statistics. Year 6 will be learning about decimals, percentages, algebra, converting units, perimeter, area, volume and ratio.
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. The children in UKS2 also complete 10 for 10 arithmetic questions each morning and take part in the diamond dash. They are building their speed with their times tables.
Our RE lessons this term will focus on learning about Judaism and we will be looking at the question 'What does it mean for a Jewish person to follow God?' Then we will look at the Kingdom of God and answer the question 'Why kid of King is Jesus?'
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.
Our science work in Spring 1 is based on Animals including humans. We will be investigating 'Why is our heart the most important pump that we own?' The children will be learning about the circulatory system. In Spring 2 our science work is based on Evolution. The children will be investigating 'Have we always looked like this?'
We will be focusing on Art in Spring 1. Our topic is 'Make my voice heard'. We will be looking at the artist Claude Monet, Picasso and other graffiti artists.
We will be focussing on DT in Spring 2. Our focus will be on structured playgrounds and also food with a come dine with me focus.
Your child's PE day is FRIDAY. 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 needs to be tied back and please ensure your child removes their earrings on this day.
Our topics to focus on are Volleyball in Spring 1 and Orienteering in Spring 2.
For Spring 1 your child will also have extra PE lessons on a THURSDAY. They will need their kit with them on this day each week. The focus for the lessons will be Football.
In computing in Spring 1, the children will be learning about Search Engines. The children will also have a Safer Internet Day. In Spring 2, the children will be learning about Data Handling with an online safety lesson as well.
This term we will continue to have our French tutor in UKS2 who will be teaching the staff and children some more French. In music, we will be learning about composition to represent colour 'Holy Festival'. in Spring 1 and then film music in Spring 2. Class Wolves will be having samba drumming lessons with an external agency each week. In Geography The children will be learning about Rivers and answering the question 'How does the water go round and round?' In PSHE we will be having weekly lessons learning about Citizenship in Spring 1 and safety and the changing body in Spring 2.
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.
SLT will be on the top door each morning and a member of the UKS2 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 UKS2 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 Lashford, Mrs Fisher/Ms Tse and Miss Templeman
Credits:
Created with images by Stillfx - "Team" • Tierney - "English text with hands" • StockPhotoPro - "Tiny woman reading books and learning" • Towfiqu Barbhuiya - " Geometric shapes for games and children learning." • firewings - "Easter Vintage Background with Eggs and Flowers" • BlueOrange Studio - "Close up of cheetah" • mehaniq41 - "Fragment of colored street art graffiti paintings with contours and shading close up" • Jason - "Panorama frame Colorful playground equipment with tube slide bridge climbing bars and stairs" • Tierney - "Automation concept with person using a laptop computer" • magele-picture - "Curriculum"