Summer Term

Welcome to the Summer term in Harborne class. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday and are ready for a busy term full of wonderful learning opportunities, including our residential to Kingswood just before half term.

Our topic this term is ‘What a tragedy!’.  Our theme of ancient Greeks will run through the whole of the curriculum; please look at our topic web on the website to see the specifics of our learning in each subject this term. In topic lessons we shall learn about life in ancient Greece, the Olympic games, the Greek alphabet and about Greek philosophers and scientists. We shall investigate the different city states in ancient Greece and the battle of Marathon. Our work in ICT will involve designing a ‘Scratch’ quiz with an ancient Greek flavour and during art and design work with Miss Bracewell the children will be enjoy using a range of mediums in their work

Our guided reading book for this term ‘s ‘Who Let the Gods Out by Maz Evans. The children are very welcome to buy themselves a personal copy.

Please continue to focus on reading at home- great readers produce great writers so reading is at the centre of our English work. If possible, reading 4 times a week is ideal. Children are never too old to be read to, books that are slightly too challenging for your child are perfect as it widens their vocabulary (chatting through the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary is essential to aid understanding) and reading experiences.

Homework will continue to be given out on a Friday and collected in on a Wednesday. Last term the children impressed me with their home learning and the way they took the suggested tasks and ‘ran with them’. I am looking forward to the children demonstrating their creativity and producing unique pieces of homework again this term. I have introduced a ‘pupil choice’ task- the children may think up any task they would like based on the ancient Greeks…their creativity can lead them anywhere! A piece of maths work will be given each week and spellings will continue to be assessed on a Tuesday. The expectation is that the children will practise these at home to support our work in class.

Please encourage the children to continue to practise their times tables at home by playing ‘Times Tables Rockstars’ regularly. Thank you!

The children will continue to do PE on Wednesday afternoons, Harborne have completed their swimming lessons for the year but I know many children swim outside school which is fantastic.

As the weather warms up it is essential that the children bring in a freshly filled, labelled water bottle to school every day. We have drinking water in the class so children can refill their bottles during the day.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or queries either in the morning, on the playground or via the school office. Thank you for your continued support.

Miss Holliday.

Spring Term

Bonjour! Hola! Ciao! Ola! Hei!  Welcome to Spring term in Harborne class. I hope your Christmas was restful as well as lots of fun. I am delighted to be teaching Harborne class and plan to keep Mrs Skinner’s routines in place to ensure we all know what we are doing and when.

Our topic this term is ‘Europe Explored’.  We will be taking a journey around Europe exploring the human and physical features of different countries, studying famous European artists, cooking our own European inspired breads and producing a range of writing based on our topic. This is a tiny snap shot of what we will be up to- please see the topic web on the school website for information about all subject areas covered this term. Towards the end of term we will have a ‘European Explored day’ to celebrate and extend our learning on the topic. As a class we will be doing lots of research in school together, but any extra information or resources the children may have at home connected to ‘Europe Explored’ are always welcome.

Reading continues to be central to home learning, ideally 4 times a week at home. This can be a book (fiction/ non-fiction), comic or magazine and should be recorded in their reading record book.

Homework will continue to be given out on a Friday and collected in on a Wednesday. I will give a list of spellings and a homework grid (6 to be completed before Easter) at the beginning of the term. The expectation to complete 6 items will continue although the children can do as many as they want! I am looking forward to the children demonstrating their creativity and producing unique pieces of homework. A piece of maths work will be given each week.  Spellings will be assessed on a Tuesday and times tables on a Friday. The expectation is that the children will practise these at home but they will also have time during morning tasks to practice their spellings and times tables to consolidate their home learning.

The children will continue to do PE on Wednesday afternoons, please ensure your child has their PE kit in school and that all items are clearly labelled. PE lessons are regularly outside so please make sure your child has trainers and warm tracksuit bottoms.

A freshly filled, labelled water bottle needs to be in school every day. We have drinking water in the class so children can refill their bottles during the day.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or queries either in the morning, on the playground or via the school office.

Miss Holliday.

Autumn Term

Welcome back! I hope that you have all had a really lovely summer break and are looking forward to another action-packed year at Tackley school.

 

This term our class topic is ‘From Field to Fork’, which will be about the origins of our food. This will include learning about different climate zones and how they affect produce that can be grown, the history of farming and the effects of the industrial revolution. We will also be planning and making a savoury meal. As a class we will be doing lots of research in school together, but any extra information or resources the children may have at home are always welcome. A topic web is on this reverse of this letter. It will also be available on the school website for information about all subject areas covered this term. Please remember to check out the website for class information and updates.

 

Regular reading (be it a book, comic strip or magazine) at home is still very important in KS2. Children should read at least 4 times a week and record it in their reading records.

 

For homework this year, children will receive both a mental maths piece of work and spellings on a weekly basis. This will be due in every Wednesday and will be handed back out on the Friday. A spellings test will take place every Tuesday.

 

Times tables continue to be a focus in KS2 and children will be tested every Friday.

 

In addition to this, at the start of term, children will be provided with a range of topic homework activities that would support their learning for our topic. The expectation is that children will complete at least six of the activities over the entire term, from September through to December.  Although there will be suggestions on how these activities could be presented it would be great for the children to put their own interpretations, style and personality on their homework, so it becomes unique and meaningful to them.

 

The children will be doing PE on Wednesday afternoons, please ensure your child has their PE kit in school and that all items are clearly labelled. PE lessons are regularly outside so please make sure your child has trainers and warm tracksuit bottoms.

 

Please make sure that all clothing is clearly labelled. Children should be sent with a labelled water bottle to keep in class which they can access throughout the day.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or queries either in the morning on the playground or via the school office.

 

Mrs Skinner

 

 

Topic Webs

Cycle B September 2017 – July 2018
Cycle A September 2018 – July 2019