Dear Parents, Happy New Year!

We are already almost half way through the year and have a very busy term coming up. The children will be learning about a wide variety of subjects including: Geography: Geography: Road to Rio! We will be learning about Brazil: We will be looking at geographical features such as population, landscape, rivers and mountains, and also Brazilian culture; art and music and the carnival! Not forgetting the Football World Cup, which is taking place in Brazil this year! Science: Science This term we aim to cover a wide range of topics before the SAT tests. We will look at the different states of matter; solids, liquids and gases, changing state, reversible and irreversible changes and filtering. We will also be learning about changing circuits. Some children will be working with Mrs Felstead from Sundorne School, and will have the opportunity to visit the science labs at Sundorne (letter to follow) Art: To link to our work on Brazil, we will be looking at the work of Henri Rousseau and rainforest art. We will also be working together to produce collages and carnival masks. Music: We are going to be looking at how music is composed from a variety of different sources and composing our own pieces of music, considering pulse, rhythm and melodic phrases. DT: We are going to design and make motorised, controllable cars. RE: During RE lessons, we will be learning about religious stereotypes and the key beliefs of Christians. PSHE: The children will be looking at whats in the news, focussing on the media and how different media present stories from different angles. PE: We will be keeping fit with a range of indoor and outdoor sports. Please ensure that your child has PE kit in school every day, as some weeks we have additional PE sessions on different days. ICT: As well as using ICT to support the curriculum, we will be focusing on Designing an Amazon Jungle Shelter & Research Centre using SketchUp. Maths: All children need a big push in learning their multiplication tables as this has a big impact on their learning in all aspects of maths. We will be covering a broad range of topics, including written and mental calculations, shape and space and data handling. We will also be solving word and real-life problems by applying our mathematical knowledge. Literacy: In our literacy lessons we will focus on a wide range of genres including explanation text, persuasive writing, report writing and story writing. Again your help is appreciated in working regularly with your child to practise spellings as well as ensuring they understand the meaning of the words. Your child also needs to be reading most nights and answering questions on what they have read. Please see the back of the planners to look at reading focuses so that you can ask a range of questions. You do not need to sit with your child each night now that they are getting older especially if they are a fluent reader. However, discussing the story and asking your child to tell you what has happened will be beneficial. We see reading as good homework preparation for secondary school and therefore we do monitor that reading has been done at least three times each week and is signed by parents. The year 6 children also have their residential visit during this term which they are very much looking forward to. A project will be carried our by the children in school who have chosen not to go. We also look forward to seeing you at Parents evening in February. If in the meantime you have any questions or concerns, please come into school to see us anytime. Thank you for your support. We appreciate the help that you give your child at home and will continue to work together with you to ensure your child achieves their potential. Mrs Prior, Mr Kenyon and Mr Hunt