Dear Parents,

Please find below an outline of subjects to be covered this term with indicators of revision guidance for exam week.

English
Tyrrhenian are studying Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ this term, and have made an excellent start on this most exciting of plays, as last week’s quiz showed. The boys are not short of dramatic talent. We are also continuing to hone our critical skills with a variety of poetry, and there will be more short stories to get our teeth into. work continues with weekly comprehensions, encouraging close reading and analysis of diverse texts. We continue to consolidate our knowledge of parts of speech, technical terms, punctuation and spelling, for example of prefixes and suffixes.

A variety of writing tasks - letter writing, essays, speeches, reviews, character studies etc - will prepare the boys for their summer tests. The format will consist of a comprehension test, a piece of personal writing ( a letter, a description or a narrative essay, for example) and a question based on ‘Macbeth.’
Note from Mrs Parsons: The library is continuing to grow and I have been pleased at how keen most of the boys are to read and to share their reading experiences. Thank you to those of you who obviously encourage your sons to read - it really does help! Speaking and listening are crucial parts of our English lessons and I have been pleased to see more reticent speakers beginning to shine as confidence grows. Tyrrhenian are enthusiastic debaters.

Maths
We will be studying the following topics: Fractions; Enlarging 2-d shapes. simplifying and finding equivalent fractions; adding and subtracting and ordering fractions;recognising the equivalence of fractions. decimals and percentages. Straight line graphs: plotting and interpreting linear graphs. Ratio and proportion. The probability scale and identifying mutually exclusive outcomes.

Spanish
We will be conducting an end of chapter exam on chapter one. We will then be revising chapter two covering where you are from, where you live, your family, describing yourself and pets. The Summer exam will aim to be an end of chapter exam covering all topics of chapter two.

Science
Students will be looking at Chemical reactions. An introductory course into chemical reactions, including elements, mixtures and compounds and lots of practical chemistry.

History
We are looking a the Medieval period 1066-1458, specifically looking at the impact of the Bubonic Plague – 1348- on the Medieval World.

Art
Tyr will be knitting….that’s all Ms Mazur is saying…! Can she put a plea out to parents for donations of wool, any colour ,and if anyone has a sewing machine they don’t want then Ms Mazur would gladly give it a new home.

French
We will be covering La Mode Topic: Clothes, Shopping, Pocket Money, Teenage Issues.
Revision for Exam: Describing Towns and what one can do; talking about the family and home life; an exchange visit to France; Health and Fitness; Fashion. For grammar students need to revise present past and future tense.

ICT
With the introduction of a staff managed but pupil run school website, the class will start by producing their own personal websites to be launched under the new CIPS website later in the term.

Filmmaking/Drama
We are still working on group films which the class are currently editing. Thereafter, the class will focus on two class drama film projects that will involve them as actors or crew.

Sport
Outdoor sports is on Wednesdays and is cricket for the first half of term. We will turn to tennis for the second half of term. Students are welcome to bring in their own rackets or bats if they wish to use them. Please ensure your child wears the correct shoes, being plimsolls or trainers. We may need to request that raincoats are in school to enable us to continue the lessons!

Swimming takes place on Thursdays and all pupils must wear goggles.

We have a week of exams in early June. We do expect children to revise work covered this year, but do not want them to become too anxious. The exams provide a useful indicator of progress for staff and for children and parents too. There will be no homework given for the week before half term until after the exams are over, but children must use this time to revise carefully.

If you have any queries or concerns about your child’s progress, please do not hesitate to contact me. Mrs Young is remaining in close contact with the school and I have regular meetings with her. She will be very happy (treatment permitting) to come into any meetings should you need to speak to her.

I hope the children have an enjoyable summer term.

Yours sincerely.

Harriet Sturdy
Principal
Cambridge International School