The Rissington School Spitfire Class
Spitfire
PE is on Wednesday and Friday
Maths homework is usually set on Friday and due in on Monday
Spellings are tested on Tuesday
Welcome back to the Autumn Term. We are thrilled to have everyone back in school and are excited about the learning we will do during the 2023/2024 school year. We hope you all had a fantastic summer break and that you are now ready for a very busy Autumn term.
The Curriculum: Our main focus this term will be Terrific Toys where we will be exploring the children’s favourite toys, the materials they are made from and how toys have changed over time. After half term we will be discovering more about children’s lives “a long time ago” by exploring a Victorian school.
In English we will explore the story “Traction Man”, learning about his adventures and the characters he meets on his journey. We will be writing our own version of the text and creating exciting new stories. We will also be reading the text “Old Bear” and will start by exploring our favourite toys and then look back in time to discover what toys our parents and grandparents played with. We will think about how they compare with our toys and which we would rather play with. Later in the term we will begin an investigation into Victorian Schools and what it would have been like to learn in those days. We will then write information texts about Victorian schools, letters, instructions and poetry.
As geographers, the children will be exploring the UK and countries where toys have originated such as Russian dolls. In history, children will ask their own questions about how life in the present compares to recent history through a comparison of things that are familiar to them.
Through a range of creative and practical activities linked to Toys and Schools we will design, make and evaluate a range of craft activities including using junk modelling to make model cars by thinking about moving toys and exploring wheels and axles.
Maths: Building on prior knowledge from reception and year 1, we begin the Autumn term with Place Value, counting and estimation; place value in 2-digit numbers; numbers on a line; comparing and ordering 2 digit numbers and counting to 100; knowing 1 more and 1 less and understanding ordinals. Later in the term, we will learn how to add and subtract through partitioning numbers; remembering number bonds and counting on and back in 1s and 10s. We will be comparing and measuring lengths using our number knowledge; telling the time to quarter hours; recognising coins and amounts of change, as well as understanding halves and quarters and doubling & halving; odd and even numbers and counting in steps of 5 and 10.
At the start of the term the children will be issued with their login details for Mathletics. This is a fantastic maths resource which we will use in school and is available for you to use at home. If you do not have access to technology at home please do let us know and we can always send paper copies home.
Science: Everyday materials is our focus of learning this term. Children will learn how to distinguish an object from the material it is made. They will identify and name a variety of everyday materials and be able to describe simple physical properties, as well as group and compare a variety of materials based on their properties. Considering our focus on Toys, we will discuss what toys are made from and how this has changed over time, as well as explaining why some materials are better for building than others.
As a continuum throughout the year, we will learn about seasonal changes across the four seasons, describing the weather associated with the seasons and how day length varies from autumn, to winter and spring into summer.
RE and PSHCE will involve a range of activities that continue with wellbeing with Mrs Barnes. We will also be thinking about “What makes me special and how have I changed?” In Religious Education, we continue to follow the Gloucestershire Curriculum for RE and begin with considering Who do Christians say made the world? As usual at this time of year, we will also think about our own new beginnings and participate in Harvest celebrations. As we near the end of the Autumn term we will of course be participating in our Christmas celebrations and Nativity.
PE: Spitfire class will have PE on a Wednesday and Friday. Children should arrive in their PE kit and remain in it all day. PE will be Fitness and Gymnastics.
PE kit must comprise: blue t-shirt, black shorts/skort (or as the weather becomes cooler – plain leggings), a warm jumper/school sweatshirt, long dark coloured socks. It is essential that your child wears good fitting, outdoor training shoes so we can go outside for Fitness weather permitting.
Home Learning and Homework: It is our aim to support the children in becoming self-motivated and organised with their home learning.
Expectations are:
READ EVERYDAY: Please spend time reading and listening to your child read for at least half an hour each day and make a record of any reading in their reading journal. The reading journal will be monitored by an adult (teacher, reading volunteer, teaching assistant) during guided and individual reading sessions each week.
The children’s books will be closely monitored and re-reading a book will form a key part of reading for fluency and understanding as well as de-coding the words on the page. As a guide, phonically decodable or banded reading books are likely to be changed each week and the children will also be asked to choose their own sharing book to take home.
Spelling lists will be sent home each week. Children should learn their spellings at home using the “Look, Cover, Write and Check method” as well as oral recall. This will give them a chance to practise their handwriting too. The words will go home on Wednesday and be tested the following Tuesday. There will also be an expectation that the learnt spellings will be used in their written work too.
Maths: Please practise key number facts with your child at home as often as you can. Especially counting in 1s and 10s as well as number bond to 10/20, days of the week and months of the year. A copy of the Key Instant Recall Facts for your child will be sent home at the start of term.
In addition to the home learning above, your child will be issued a separate maths activity based on the learning that week. This will be given out on a Friday, to be completed by the following Monday.
CLASSROOM ORGANISATION: Bags, lunch boxes. Cloakrooms and classroom space is very limited, especially as coats get bigger in the Autumn and Winter months. It is important that we minimise the amount of equipment brought in from home. Our cloakroom area is shared and can become cluttered VERY quickly. Please ensure that you use the school book bags and any lunch boxes brought into school are of a reasonable size. All personal property must be clearly named.
The children will be expected to maintain good hygiene and to hand sanitise throughout the day. Children are always able to access and drink water throughout the day, as such children should bring a named, and refillable water bottle each day. Water bottles must be taken home and cleaned thoroughly each evening.
Additional Information
If your child has an inhaler, please could you make sure that it is clearly named and in date. Their inhaler should be in school to be accessed at all times. If your child requires any other medication please could you make us AND the office staff aware.
Formal parents evenings will be held in October to discuss settling in and your child’s progress to date. However, if you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s education or have any concerns at any time throughout the term, please do not hesitate to make an appointment with your class teacher.