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Class 3 News
AUTUMN 2010
Welcome to Class 3 - I hope your child is glad to be back at school and looking forward to their first year in Key Stage 2!
A leaflet will be going out to you shortly detailing the work that we will be covering during the Autumn term but I felt I ought to bring up one or two matters by way of introduction.
Reading at Home
One of the major objectives of the KS2 curriculum is the acquisition of self-study skills, giving the children the capacity to work independently. Central to this aim is the ability to read well. The children will read to an adult regularly and there will be quiet time set aside for them to read for themselves. Nevertheless, it is important that you listen frequently to your child practising at home. Ten or fifteen minutes a night would make a valuable contribution, not only to their reading ability, but to their access to the curriculum as a whole. It does not necessarily have to be the school reading books - any material which interests your child (e.g. newspapers, magazines, websites, even comics) would be of benefit. Please ensure that your child understands what they are reading. It is far more constructive to spend 10 minutes ensuring a full understanding of the events of 2 or 3 pages then to let him or her read 8 or 9 pages which s/he fails to comprehend!
Homework
Homework will become a regular occurrence as they pass through Year 4 and into Middle School. However, the majority of the homework they will receive this year will relate to spellings and maths facts. More ‘formal' homework will be given as and when I feel the children need to consolidate something we have been covering in our literacy or maths lessons. In most instances they will have a full week to complete it. I would not expect any child to spend more than half an hour on any homework task, whether finished or not. In the other subjects there will occasionally be some ‘thinking' homework, usually in preparation for something we will be looking at the following week (e.g. in science we will be looking at materials so I may ask the children to think about what how different materials are used for different purposes). I would encourage parents to become involved in their children's homework, with the emphasis, if necessary, on prompting rather than doing! Let your child take the lead. If you feel your child is struggling with a particular concept then please put a note on the homework sheet or in his/her reading diary and I'll find a quiet moment to go over it in class.
The Big Write
A regular extended writing session is still on the timetable though, to allow for more flexibility, this will not always be on a Thursday, as it has been in the past and won't necessarily be every week. Generally, I speak to the children a few days before and advise them of the subject so that they have time (if they want!) to consider their ideas and maybe come up with a plot or plan for their story. In order to allow you to become more involved in your child's writing, and hopefully encourage a little more enthusiasm in them, I will send home details of the writing task. It would be useful if you could spend 10 or 15 minutes maybe discussing some ideas with your child or helping to structure the story. I'd be quite happy for you to write down a few notes for them to bring in, suggesting for example some relevant vocabulary or a rough outline of the text - but please don't write the whole story for them! The intention is simply to give your child a little more confidence and to allow them to concentrate on their individual targets rather than worry excessively about ‘what to write'. I don't want the task to be too onerous; it could simply replace one of the evening reading sessions at home. I know Mrs Bather did something very similar last year so I'm sure the concept isn't new! To get the children back into the swing of things, over the next week or so the children will be looking at factual texts and learning about some of the features (e.g. headings, sub-headings, pictures, bullet points etc). They will then consider a very familiar topic...themselves! By the end of next week, each child will create the equivalent of a children's encyclopedia entry about him- or herself on an A3 sheet. You may like to talk to them about what biographical details they could include and how they could lay it out to make it interesting to the reader.
Topics
The main topic this term is called ‘Know Your Place' and involves studying the geography and history of the local area. Over the next few weeks we will be taking a walk around Heath and Reach and Leighton Buzzard (volunteer helpers will be welcome!) and I have contacted the Greensand Trust in the hope of visiting Tiddenfoot Waterside Park and a local quarry. In conjunction with our RE study of Worship we will also spend an afternoon at St Leonard's church.
On the subject of local history it would be very helpful if we could find a ‘mature' person or two to come to speak to the children about their memories of this area. We will have a visit from the LB Historical Association but If there are any relatives or friends out there who have child-friendly and interesting stories to regale about the Leighton Buzzard of 50 or 60 years ago (and who would be prepared to share them in class) then they would be most welcome.
PE
For 10 sessions each term your child will receive swimming lessons from qualified coaches at Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre. Autumn term's lessons start on Monday, 13th September. For your information, the clothing advice given by the coaches is as follows: Boys should preferably wear swimming trunks rather than shorts. If shorts are worn then they must not go below the knee. For girls, a one-piece swimming costume is recommended. Please remember to bring a towel! I appreciate that some children can get quite anxious for the first few lessons, particularly if they are non-swimmers. Please comfort them though, with the knowledge that the coaches are experienced in dealing with nervous children and won't force them do anything they don't want to do for themselves. I have known children go through the whole first term without getting their hair wet! Nevertheless, the success rate is excellent and it is rare to have a child who doesn't have at least a 5m certificate by the end of year 3.
For our other one hour PE session, on Thursday afternoon, I am hoping to get onto the field as much as possible before half-term. As we can't rely on the weather, would you please ensure that, in addition to the normal indoor PE kit (plimsolls, shorts and tee-shirt), your child has clothes suitable for a British autumn (e.g trainers, tracksuit bottom, long-sleeved top, or similar).
Snacks
Unlike KS1, the children won't be provided with a mid-morning piece of fruit. They can bring in a snack for the first playtime break but, in line with school policy, it must be considered a ‘healthy' snack. Fruit or vegetables are recommended....but please, no crisps or chocolate! I would also recommend they always have a fresh bottle of water in school with them.
And finally...
There will be a parents' consultation evening shortly before half-term to talk about how the children are settling. In the meantime, if you have any concerns, questions or queries about what this year holds in store for them then please feel free to call into class any evening after school.
With thanks,
Mr. Kilshaw
(Class 3)
Last Updated: 3/9/10
