Dear Parents,

Welcome back to a rather unusual start to a new term, but I hear the children did some very interesting topical work on volcanoes in my absence! Now the skies have returned to normal, so do we!

This first half term our topic will be Animals. A topic which offers countless possibilities, we will be learning about unusual animals in Year 2. We will investigate nocturnal animals from the British Isles and go on to research some endangered animals from around the world. We will learn new vocabulary such as endangered, habitat, threat, conservation. We will look at animal patterns and camouflage and consider why camouflage is important. We will identify animals that work and learn about caring for animals.

In the second half of this term our IPC (International Primary Curriculum) topic will be Saving Water. During this topic we will be finding out how much of our world is water, where the water is and what lives in and around it. We will also investigate how where you live affects how you use water. We will be finding out how much water is needed by a seed to grow it into a plant. We will look at the use of water in school to see if it is being wasted. We will measure how much water is wasted from a dripping tap.

In maths we continue working with the Hamilton Maths scheme, including ordering numbers to 100 and 200, pairs to 20 and tens to 100, continuing addition and subtraction calculation methods and continuing beginning multiplication and division facts. We will also be telling the time using ½, ¼ hours and o’clock, making graphs, looking at shape rotation and 3D shapes and measuring capacity.

In literacy we will use stories and poems connected to our topic as a starting point to writing our own. We will also be researching and recording factual information and presented our findings.

The children are keen to have a weekly ‘show and tell’ time or VIP talk. To lift this slightly to become a small presentation, the children are asked to choose a topic of interest to them; this could be a personal experience or outing, a favourite interesting article or artefact or perhaps a hobby they pursue out of school. They should then spend some time at home thinking about what they want to say and how they will present their talk to the class, bringing in items to support their talk if they wish. Some children find some brief notes help keep them on track. (Please find a list of suggested dates attached.) VIP talks are encouraged but not compulsory, so do let me know if your child is not comfortable having a turn.

We will focus on spelling high frequency words this term. I have attached a list of words that it would be beneficial for your child to know, both to read and to spell. In handwriting we will continue to learn joined up writing. I have also attached a sheet showing correct letter formation, it would be helpful if you could practise with your child if you see any incorrect letter formations.

The children will continue to do 20 minutes of Spanish 3 times a week and French twice a week. They enjoy these engaging lessons with lots of singing, action rhymes and games. They have 2 sessions of Art each week which is usually topic related and singing and music with a specialist teacher. Swimming continues to be on Tuesdays and Outdoor Sport is now on Thursday afternoons.

So that is what will be keeping us busy, engaged and working hard for the term ahead. To ensure the smooth running of happy school days can I just remind you of a few organizational things:

Morning routine:

1. If you need to make use of our early start facility, please book this in advance with Aggie. Drop off for this facility is only between 8.10 and 8.30am.

2. If you arrive after 8.30am, you are reminded to please wait outside in the playground with your child until 8.45am. During this time, your child is your responsibility and we would ask that you do not let them play on or with any school equipment. Please do not leave children unattended in a classroom.

3. At 8.45am, you are welcome to bring your child into school.

4. The school day begins at 9.00am promptly with registration and we would respectfully like to ask you to be on time dropping your child off.

Sports:

Swimming continues on Tuesday afternoons. Outdoor Sports are on Thursday afternoon this term instead of dance. Please ensure your child comes to school on Thursday in full PE kit (Navy blue tracksuit or shorts, white polo shirt and trainers).

Summer:

Please send your child to school with a cap or a hat, especially on Thursdays, but it is useful to keep one in school as we hope to make good use of the park during the summer!

If you wish your child to wear sunscreen, please apply it before school. If it is necessary to send some into school, please let one of the staff know so they can keep it and help apply it when necessary.

Dates: Please refer to the school calendar for events this term. We will keep you informed of details and any additional events by email or letters.

Reading and Homework:

Thank you all for being so conscientious about reading regularly with your child. 10 minutes a day goes such a long way to helping your child become a competent, independent reader. It helps enormously if book bags and reading records come to school with your child daily.

Homework will be given out weekly on Tuesdays, to be returned the following Monday. It will consist of spelling words and one other task which should take about half an hour. Please let me know if it takes much longer or shorter than this.

Finally, please do get in touch if there is anything at all you want to discuss. Mr. Orton or I are available briefly in the mornings or please make an arrangement for a longer meeting after school.

We look forward to a very enjoyable term.

Yours sincerely

Claire Willis and Dave Orton.

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CARIBBEAN CLASS CURICULUM LETTER – SPRING 2010

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to my favourite term of the year, where we now all know each other very well and can enjoy a productive, focused and fun filled term.

May I take this opportunity to thank you kindly for your generous gifts and cards at Christmas. I hope you have all had a happy and restful holiday.

We have the pleasure in Caribbean Class of extending a warm welcome to Mr. Dave Orton, who will be teaching on Thursday and Friday, I’m sure many of you have already had an opportunity to meet him.

If I could firstly outline some organizational notes for the smooth running of the school day:

Outside: We continue to try to find a good solution to minimising mud in the school! Please could the children keep a pair of named wellies at school, which they will need to wear at playtime and when we go out into the park. The children will then change into their school shoes once inside. Please be aware that it is uncomfortable for the children for me to have to keep reminding them to bring their wellies in.

Snacks and Water: Thank you for all being mindful of sending your child to school with a healthy snack. They discuss the merits of healthy food with each other at snack time and are quite sheepish if they are discovered by another child with so much as a chocolate chip evident! Please send a fresh water bottle daily, which the children can keep in the classroom for quick and easy access to water.

Swimming and Dance: Swimming will continue to be on Tuesday afternoons.

This term Dance will be on Thursday mornings in the church hall of the church where we had the Christmas performance. Children can continue to come to school in their P.E. kits and tracksuits on Thursdays, girls may also bring a leotard if they wish.

Homework/Reading Bags: This term Caribbean class continue to bring homework home on Tuesday to be returned the following Monday. This will include a topic /literacy related task, a spelling sheet and some optional maths. I appreciate the support you have been giving the children with their homework and they often show off their efforts very proudly in school. If there are any problems with homework, please let me know.

It is also wonderful to see the children are reading a lot at home. 10 minutes a day as part of their regular routine aids their progress enormously. Please help your child to remember their book bag daily and it is helpful and encouraging if you can fill in a short comment in their reading record book.

International Primary Curriculum (IPC)

We will work on 2 IPC units this term. The first half of term will be ‘The Circus’ (of which I am sure you are already very aware!) and the second half of term will be ‘Flowers and Insects’. The Circus is a very exciting topic which has already captured the children’s imagination. Through this topic we will be exploring the people and performances of the circus. In Art we will be drawing and painting faces and looking at expressions . We will look at artists who have painted pictures about circus life and use mixed media to create our own circus collages. In Design and Technology we will put up a tent and design and make tents. In History we will find out how circuses used to be and about some of the people who made circuses famous. We will also be finding out about how circuses have changed over the years. In Geography we draw maps and plans to show how circuses might be set up and use Atlases to find out about some of the countries circus animals come from. We will also learn about how to stay safe in busy places and find out about what different people think about using animals in performances.

Flowers and Insects will be a science based topic, through which the children will find out about flowers and insects and the environments in which they prefer to grow. We will find out how to grow different plants and about the life cycles of insects. We will investigate plants that grow in different countries and would love any parents to come in and tell us about plants from their home country or share knowledge about special plants.

Literacy: Our literacy will continue to be linked to the new primary framework and will also wherever possible be integrated through our topic work. If the children would like to bring in any storybooks or poems about the circus we would be delighted to share them.

In literacy we continue with our daily phonics program and the children will have spellings, usually linked to this for homework. This term we will begin to learn how to join our writing, please allow the children to have a go at this and encourage correct letter formation where you can.

I would also like to introduce a show and tell or V.I.P. talk session on a Monday morning. I will ask for volunteers to take the slot for the following Monday. Please support your child in preparing a short presentation on their chosen subject.

Maths: Our maths sessions follow the Hamilton maths scheme. This term we will continue to work with numbers to 100, adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. We will be looking at patterns and solving money problems. We will extend our learning of 2 and 3D shapes, symmetry, weight and handling data and using units of time.

There are many online maths games which children love and support learning: Try www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/numeracy/ you may find you need to try ks2bitesize with your child.

Finally, I would like to encourage more visiting speakers to visit us and share their knowledge and experiences. If you or a willing friend or colleague has any expertise in our areas of study I’d be delighted to hear from you to arrange a visit.

We look forward to a busy and happy term, we hope the children’s enthusiasm will mean that you hear a lot about what we are doing in school. Happy children learn best, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any worries or concerns.

Kind regards

Claire Willis

Dave Orton