Cost of English and Mathematics Home Teaching of Jimmy Simpson

Dear Parents,

another half-term has begun and the children have settled down to their varied tasks without fuss. Since the last newsletter, we have welcomed a new member of the class. He is 8-year-old George Currywho has settled commendably from the outset and has quickly settled into 2RR.

We included the names of children and staff in the last issue but we are repeating the lists as this is a half-term when they are requested for Christmas cards (no obligation to send!). Paul Cummings has left the school for a different job and his part-time post has been filledby Sarah Goding who was already familiar with all of the children.

The children in 2RR are:

George Curry, Oliver Voysey, Finlay Cordwell-Smith, Gracey Newman, Ameen Mohammed, Leighton Holmes and Shae Christie.

The staff team is as follows:

Russell Runnacles -Teacher

Danielle O’Sullivan - Speech & Language Therapist

Amy Cullen - Physiotherapist

Jo Hunt - Occupational Therapist

Krysta Bruynson - Classroom Assistant

HelkeDuggleby - Classroom Assistant

Trish Marr - Classroom Assistant (Part-time)

Sarah Godding - Classroom Assistant (Part-time)

Lynsey Smart - Dinner Assistant

We have no birthdays this half-term. School will break up for the next holiday on Friday, 18th December and will recommence on Monday, 4thJanuary.

Our termly overarching theme of ‘Food’ continues. In each of the curriculum subjects, links will be made to this theme. In English, stories include ‘The Elephant and the Bad Baby’ and ‘My Favourite Food’ and these will continue to assist the reinforcement of basic vocabulary and concepts including identification, matching and sequencing. Additionally, we will develop letter and sound recognition, syllable identification, spelling and reading skillsand apply them in functional settings wherever possible.

Mathematics work will focus on number recognition, relative values, weighing, money, shape, size and sequencing. In Science, we are examining the exterior and interiors of some common foodstuffs and investigating their changes when cooked.

In P.E, the dancetheme continues, the children further developing their exploration of how parts of their body move and how they are able to move in space. In this half-term, the focus will be on dance associated with particular festivals. In Art & Design, we are concentrating on process more than output. Work will include experimentation in a variety of media including sand, water and foam.

P.S.H.C.E. will link closely to fine motor skills.Listening, turn-taking and the acknowledgement of the activities of peers will be linkedto activities that include the correct handling of cutlery and the excavation of marbles from ice and plaster. History replaces Geography on the timetable this half-term and will be concerned with the most recent events of all: what we have done in the last day and the last week. Work will link to food by means of learning about which foods are conventionally eaten at which times and the children will match and order daily and weekly events.

In R.E., we are learning about the festival of Hannukah and this will be followed by an investigation of traditions associated with Christmas. We are continuing to sing and accompany songs about foodin Music for a short time before focussing on practice for The Nativity (details below).

In order to help your child at home, talk about the foods that you eat together and name the corresponding meal.Allow the children to participate in cooking, examining the ingredients in detail, weighing where applicable and observing carefully the changes in appearance, texture and temperature that take place. Continue to share stories and songs about food, use your judgement to involve children in the choosing, the costs and the paying that is involved in shopping and encourage good listening and turn-taking in your conversations.

Thank you for the magnificent support of our Book Fair that helped to ensure a record amount of sales, despite the decrease in pupil numbers on the Station Road site this year.

We have also enjoyed another fabulous visit from Live Music Now! This time, the concert was performed by a harpist. As always, the children were able to listen to the music and physically explore the instrument for themselves if they wished.

As is customary in this half-term, there are lots of upcoming events:

Friday, 13th November. It is Children In Need day. Children are invited to bring £1 to school and dress in fancy dress of any kind. There will also be a cake stall so please send cakes and/or money for this too if you are able. In the afternoon, we are going to hear stories read by different readers. If you have the time and inclination, please come and read a story (of more than one!) to 2RR between 2pm and 3pm that day. Please let us know if you are interested. No experience necessary!

Thursday, 19th November.2RR are going on their Christmas visit early this year so as to take advantage of a production of ‘Bear & Butterfly’ at Caedmon Hall in Gateshead. We will travel by Metro within school hours and take a packed lunch. The school can provide a meal but you are welcome to send in a packed lunch if you wish. The visit will be paid for by the school’s Christmas present to the children. Please ensure that the children are dressed in warm clothing and if your child usually walks into school, please send in his/her buggy.

Monday, 7th December.2RR Open Morning from 10.30 until 12.00. This is a very informal end-of-term gathering to share some refreshments, chat with staff, children and fellow parents and watch a slideshow of what the class have been up to through the term.

Wednesday, 9th December. 2RR will be amongst those Percy Hedley children singing Christmas songs in Eldon Square from 12.00 until 1.00. This event raises money for the Rotary Club and Percy Hedley has been one of the many past beneficiaries of the money raised.Similarly to the visit to Gateshead, we will travel by Metro within school hours and take a packed lunch. The school can provide a meal but you are welcome to send in a packed lunch if you wish. The children do not require money for this visit. Please ensure that the children are dressed in warm clothing and if your child usually walks into school, please send in his/her buggy. All family and friends are welcome to come along to the event which has become a fixture of Christmas preparations at Percy Hedley. If you attend, please ensure that you wait until the end of the hour’s performance before introducing yourselves to the children as some of our pupils become upset and emotional when seeing family and friends ‘disappearing’ into the audience after greeting them.

Friday, 11th December.Christmas jumper day. If you wish to, send in a small donation to charity and wear a Christmas jumper.

Tuesday, 15th December.Christmas dinner and Christmas party. You may send children into school in party clothes. No money or food required.

Friday, 18th December. At 10a.m. on the final day of term, families and friends are invited into school for the Nativity performance. As soon as details have been finalised, we will let you know if a particular costume from home would be helpful. Refreshments will be served afterwards and there will be a Christmas shop open after the performance.

Please continue to send in swimming gear and library books in time for the lessons on Thursdays, please ensure that there is at least one change of clothes and a pair of shorts (all labelled) in school all the time and please also send in medications, nappies and other personal care items as soon as you are able, following requests.We appreciate your co-operation in all of these matters that help the children’s schooling to be more effective.

Please continue to contact us about any concerns by means of the diaries, telephone calls or visits to school and we will endeavour to sort matters discreetly and without fuss,

R.Runnacles/2RR team

(Class Teacher)