4 February 2016
Dear Families
Kia Ora and welcome to a new school year!
I am looking forward to working with you this year to make your child’s first
year at school a productive and memorable one.
The children are all settling in well,
and we are getting to know each other and learn the new rules and routines of
the classroom. We have got a lovely little class full of inquiring minds and
enthusiastic learners, so they will keep me on my toes!
Religious
Education
This term our major focus is learning
about the life of Jesus and we will also cover Prayer, Lent, Holy Week and
Easter. This week we are learning about the founders of our school, the Sisters
of Mercy.
Inquiry
The Inquiry topic this term has the
theme of “Hear the cry of the earth and the poor” and
it is a Caritas unit of work which looks at preparing for Lent, with a
particular focus on the experiences and challenges of people living in
Cambodia. (Caritas is a Catholic agency for
justice, peace and development).
Art
We are focusing on drawing this term,
and will incorporate this into our Inquiry topic. We will cover techniques such
as observation, shape, shading, and proportion.
Library
Our library day is Friday, and the
children are allowed two new books each week. Please try and return library
books and folders by Friday.
Homework
– Beginning Next Week
Alphabet
Some children are working on learning
the letters and sounds of the alphabet. Please spend a few minutes each night
going over the letter/sound, and completing the worksheet.
High
Frequency Words
Other children have moved on to learning
their Sight Words. It is important that these are learnt as quickly as possible
to help accelerate their literacy learning, so please spend a few minutes each
night going through the flashcards, or playing a game of memory. Tick the words
off as they learn them on their sheets, and once they know the all the words on
the sheet, please leave it on my desk for me to check and I will give out the
new set.
Spelling
Once children have completed the Sight
Words, they will move on to spelling. Children will learn the Essential Words -
these are the most commonly used words in the English language.
Maths
Task Books
The Maths Task Books will be kept in the
children’s reading folders and are designed for you to see what Maths Knowledge
your child is currently working on and for you to help with the next step at
home. Along with these, there will be a game for your child to play at home
that will match with the current activity. Once your child has mastered an item
you have been working on at home, please date it in the Maths
Task Book, and it can be left on my desk for me to check and update. When your
child is ready, I will also send home a basic facts folder to work on,
beginning with addition and subtraction facts up to 5.
Reading
Homework
Children will bring home a new reading book
Mon-Thurs. Please try and take a few minutes to read it with your child each
day. They have already read this book at school with the teacher, so it
shouldn’t be too difficult. The aim for re-reading these books at home is for
your child to read them at a good pace with lots of expression. If they are
stuck on a word, the first thing to do is to ask them to re-read back to the
start of the sentence and make the first sound of the unknown word, and think
what would make sense? If they still can’t read it, just tell them and move on.
This time should be enjoyable and relaxing, so no pressure – if the book is too
difficult, read it together. Reading
notebooks are kept in your child’s reading folder for you to record the book
for that day, and sign it to say your child has read it. Please make any notes
or comments on how your child found their book if you wish. It is really
important to return these reading books to school the next day, as children
will only be given a new book once they have returned the old one.
Religious
Education
The children will be bringing home
activity sheets in their RE clear-file folders. These activities are usually
completed at school, but some are designed to be carried out at home working
with the family. Please take some time to talk about these sheets with your
child to find out what they have been learning about and return folders to
school the next day.
Anniversary
Reporting
Once your child has been at school for
approximately four weeks, I will meet with you to set goals and discuss initial
assessment data. Your child will also have an interim report after 6 months of
school and after one year at school which will indicate how they are progressing
towards the national standards.
Don’t forget to check out the Room 10
classroom blog on the olv school website.
Susanne Stack
Classroom Teacher