Dear Parents,
I hope you all enjoyed the Easter break and that your children have shared many PGL stories. We had a wonderful time!
I have updated the 'What are we doing this term?' page and added the PGL photos, which you might like to look at. I have also left the initial letter below in case you need a reminder about homework, spellings, pencil cases etc. because little will change this term. The main headlines are that weekly comprehension homework needs to be in on Tuesdays; spellings should be practised for 5-10 minutes at home every day; all of the children have a Times Table Rockstar account to help them practise their tables on a daily basis and everyone should be reading every day. SATs Week for the Year Sixes is 13th-16th May. After half term, we will begin work on our summer production. Other events already planned for the summer term are a rugby tournament at Malvern Rugby Club, bellboating, an activity day at Malvern Priory, some science magic for the Year Sixes, a rounders tournament and a Year Five Athletics Day.
There are no parent teacher consultations this term, but if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch either on the playground after school, or via email (office@hanleyswanps.org.uk).
Thank you very much for all your support last term,
Anita Wilkins
Dear Parents,
I hope you all enjoyed a lovely summer holiday and are well. I have written this letter to say, “Hello” and answer some of the questions you may have about Class 4.
Mrs Sauntson and Mrs Cairns are our teaching assistants and will support groups of children in class. The class is split into two groups for maths: the Y6 curriculum is taught separately to the Y5 curriculum. Mr Pratley will teach computing and RE on Wednesday afternoons and languages on Friday afternoons. For the majority of PE lessons, the children will be split into two groups and taught by Mrs Sauntson and Mr Pratley. In the Autumn Term, there are swimming lessons on a Monday afternoon. Please see the separate swimming letter for details.
The children have been given a Home Liaison Book each. We can use this for messages between ourselves, which is useful if you cannot get into school that day. If you do write something, please ask your child to show me because the books won’t be checked every day.
Children will have the opportunity to read every day in class, but they benefit greatly from reading at home every day as well. Although many of them can now read (decode) the words, they are still meeting new vocabulary and if you can explore the meanings of these together it is extremely beneficial. Regular practice also improves the children’s fluency. We ask them to record their reading in their Home Liaison Books. Last year, the children completed weekly comprehensions at home which we then discussed in class. These helped to develop their comprehension skills and have hopefully helped to prepare the Year Sixes for high school homework. With your support, I would like to continue these this year.
Spellings from the statutory lists will be given out on Friday and assessed on the following Friday. They do not practise these in class so any support that you can give your child is extremely helpful. If you can also revisit words from previous weeks, they are more likely to be correct in your child’s everyday writing. The children will also have a ‘Home Spelling Book’ which will support this work at home. Spelling is probably the most difficult area of the curriculum and it is extremely important that they practise some each day (and revise words which they think they already know). I expect them to do a little bit of spelling practice every day and they should complete at least two sides in this book. The first list will come home on Friday 8th September.
Every week, the children will complete a ten by ten times table grid against the clock. To achieve a team point, they have to improve their score or their time each week. Practice every evening will help them achieve this and make their maths in class a lot easier. Each child has a Times Tables Rock Star account which will support their learning.
I would appreciate it if children could have their P.E. kit in school from Monday-Friday. Children should wear their school PE kits (dark coloured tracksuits are allowed when the weather gets cooler). A pair of trainers is far more suitable than plimsolls for this age-group. Children should be able to remove their own earrings for PE and swimming and they will be kept in a safe place until the end of the lesson. If a child cannot remove their earrings (because they have only just been pierced) then they should bring in a roll of micropore tape to cover them. Please could the girls also have a spare pair of socks in their PE bags when they start wearing tights in the colder weather.
All children are allowed a small pencil case in school, which should fit into their tray. Children will start writing in pencil. When a certain standard has been achieved, they will be able to practise their handwriting in pen in specific lessons and when this is neat they will be able to write in pen in ordinary lessons. All Year Six children achieved this standard last year. A fibre-tipped handwriting pen is given to every child. However, if they wish, children may also use their own pen (biros and fine tipped gel pens are not suitable for books or handwriting).
I hope this letter has been helpful. Initial parent teacher consultations are usually in the week before half term but if you do need something before then, please do not hesitate to ask: I will be on the playground most afternoons at 3.15pm. Alternatively, you can email me office@hanleyswanps.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Anita Wilkins