Welcome to Turtles!

Please find below the information from our welcome letter.

• In Year 1 and 2 (and also in Covid times) we encourage independence. The children need to come in on their own and put reading books, notes, homework etc. into the classroom boxes / trays. Generally we will not be searching through book bags. In the morning please only speak to the teacher (from a distance) with quick messages, e.g. my child is going home with someone else tonight, my child is a bit upset this morning because…, my child might need their inhaler today. If you need to have a longer discussion please contact the teacher via the school office (using the phone or school email) and we will make an alternative convenient time to meet or speak on the phone, such as after school. It is important we do know when your child is being collected by someone else as we need to ring parents if we haven’t been told.

Homework  **This is for Year 2 only.

• Reading – school expectation is that children will read at least 5 times a week for approximately 15 minutes each session. This can include time spent discussing the story. Once your child is reading longer books we would not expect them to be reading a whole book in one session. Please write in the reading diary so we know your child has read, alongside any comments you might wish to make. Reading can be recorded in the morning and evening of the same day and several times over the weekend. This year we are continuing with re-read Thursday. It is important for children to re-read books to develop fluency and expression. Therefore we will not be changing books on Thursdays.

• We keep a record of reading to enable us to award certificates for reading 5 times during the week. The class in school with the highest percentage of readers will win Orlando Owl for the week. We will be continuing with the medals – bronze for reading for one complete term, silver for two and gold for all year.

• Each week we will also send home a piece of Literacy homework and a piece of Maths homework on a Friday. These will need to be returned by the following Friday. Children will miss some of their Golden Time if homework is not returned.

• Literacy homework will be spellings one week and reading comprehension the next. Spellings will come home on a sheet and will be based on a particular spelling pattern that we will be focusing on in our phonics lessons. Please keep this at home all week and do not return until Friday as your child should be practising the spellings little and often. Over the week please help your child practise the spellings using the look, cover, write, check method. Children will also look at the spellings in class. We will be testing the children in the form of dictated sentences rather than a spelling list.

• The reading comprehensions, as explained last week, should be completed independently if possible. However, if your child is finding it tricky to read the text you may read it to them and then discuss the possible answers with them. This will begin to develop their understanding of a story. Reading comprehension can be returned as soon as it is finished or on the Friday.

• Maths homework will give some ideas for practical activities you may want to do with your child following up on what we have been focusing on in our ‘number sense’ part of our Maths work. There are also some short written activities for your child to complete. These can be returned as soon as they are finished or on the Friday. The children will be completing Minute Maths in their class. We have started all the children back on Level 1 because of their missed schooling and also to build up their confidence and speed on fairly straightforward skills. When these come home can you please check how they are doing and offer help if they seem to need it.

• This term’s topic is “Space” which is science based. Your children may like to find out more about this at home with you, but at the moment due to the Covid guidelines we are unable to have artefacts sent in from home.
• For the same reason please do not send in items for show and tell.  

• More information on curriculum and current topics will be available on the school website.

• Please make sure all uniform is named. Children bring items to school in a school book bag which also needs to be named and one small keyring attached if wanted. We do not have room for rucksacks in school.

• Please send in a named PE bags to be kept in school. Please name all parts of PE kit including daps. At the moment we are not getting changed for PE but it is always useful to have a change of clothes in school!  

• Thank you for your co-operation in these difficult times! We are really pleased with how the children have settled back into school.