Dear Parents,
Welcome to a new academic year. Fireflies have already made me feel very welcome at Corfe Castle School. What a wonderful class they seem to be, full of interesting characters with a wealth of talents and potential. Of course my mission this year is to unlock that potential and allow everyone to share and develop their talents to the full. I very much look forward to a partnership with you to ensure this can be achieved.
We are currently developing our routines within the class, which aim to ensure our oldest pupils have the organisational skills and independence so that they are secondary-ready. I feel it is important to clarify our ideas and expectations for the term, and year ahead, as early as possible so that we can work together to make the most of the opportunities available.
Ms. Friend
We are lucky enough to have the support of Ms. Friend this term. Ms. Friend is an excellent Teacher’s Assistant who has worked with Fireflies before, which will be invaluable for continuity, especially in our early days. She will be listening to readers, working with small groups in maths and English and generally supporting the class. We also have the support of Mrs Varney for a morning, specifically to help us deliver extra challenges for some of our pupils.
Journeys Topic
This year we are delivering a new curriculum and so our planning and assessment models have been changed. In Years Five and Six we will continue a topic-based approach to learning. However, we will be working in half term blocks. You will receive an outline of our learning soon, taking us to October half term, to be followed by one in November which will take us to Christmas. Our topic is based around the classic book “Journey to the River Sea” by Eve Ibbotson and will involve us exploring the general theme of journeys but also the journey of a river and biodiversity in science. We hope to have an ecologist visit us, who can demonstrate the protection of biodiversity within our local environment, later this half term.
Homework
By Year Five and Six, pupils should be spending 20-30 minutes per evening on homework. Homework may take the form of an activity linked to our learning, finishing off work started in the lesson, learning facts, or a research task. I will endeavour to set the following homework on a weekly basis:
· English: 20-30 minutes, usually set on Fridays
· Maths: 20-30 minutes, also usually set on Fridays
· Reading: 1 hour per week, split as you choose.
· Additional research or topic related activities as and when they arise
In most instances I will give the children a week to complete their homework, for the following Friday. The work will often be on a sheet which they will need to trim, if necessary, and stick into the special homework books provided.
Pupils may also receive spellings and times tables to learn if appropriate. If work is not completed to a reasonable standard or quantity in a lesson, children may be asked to complete this as additional homework. If your child wishes to do some extra work on an area of interest, this will always be welcomed and rewarded.
I will aim to ensure that all homework is recorded in the homework diary and will check these on a weekly basis, signing to show that I have seen them. Please can I ask that you also sign the diary to encourage your child to complete homework and demonstrate its importance. I will also use the diary to communicate any positives or concerns regarding homework, attitude and behaviour. Please use this as a home/school communication book and your child can alert me to a note inside at any time.
If children do not complete homework on time, they will be given an extension of one day. They will then be expected to stay in at lunch in order to complete the homework. If your child does not understand the homework, please encourage them to ask me for support before it needs to be handed in. If there is a genuine reason why homework cannot be completed, or if your child has worked for 30 minutes and not completed the homework, please write a note in the homework diary. We hope homework will be a positive experience. Some pieces may need support from you but most will be work which you child can complete independently.
Uniform
All year five and six pupils are expected to wear a shirt and tie to school with their shirt tucked in and their top button done up. Please encourage this at home. A few Fireflies have ties that do not clip on but they are unable to tie them after PE/Games. Please can you help them by practising this at home. PE and Games are on Thursday and Friday respectively, but please ensure kit is in school every day as our creative curriculum means we may need it on other days.
Reading
Most Fireflies are now ‘free readers’ and they will all be by the end of the year. This means they are responsible for choosing and supplying their own reading book, either from the school library, their local library or from home. Children are expected to have a reading book in school every day. As mentioned above, I would like children to read for at least an hour over the course of a week. If you have the time to read with your child for a few minutes a week, this can be extremely encouraging, even for the most independent reader.
Equipment
As in previous years, we will supply all the equipment that your child needs. However, some pupils have expressed a desire to use their own stationary. If this is the case, please support us in ensuring that they have the correct items: a blue handwriting pen (not biro or rollerball, preferably not a fountain/cartridge pen), a pencil, rubber, sharpener, coloured pencil crayons and a ruler should be sufficient.
Many of the children are still using book bags which are extremely useful for keeping homework, reading books and letters safe. However, some have been lost over the years and some Fireflies have expressed a desire to use a folder of their own instead. A ‘concertina’ type file with sections for different letters, work etc is useful and reasonably inexpensive. However, any kind of file or book bag is acceptable as long as they have something in school to transport essentials backwards and forwards. They will regularly contain their Reading Diaries, reading book, Homework Diaries and Homework Books.
End of Key Stage Two tests (SATs)
Year Six will have tests in Mathematics, Reading and Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling in May. These are an important indicator of the progress that your child has made in primary school and will form part of the assessments that we pass onto secondary school. I will organise an information session later in the year in order to help you and your child to prepare for these tests. Please be assured that Year Six will be adequately prepared over the course of the year through our curriculum, whilst Year Five learning will not be disrupted or compromised in any way. These tests will take place on the 11th-14th May 2015 and must be taken on the days allocated. Therefore can I politely ask that, if your child is in Year Six this year, you avoid booking any holidays during this week!
I hope that this letter answers many of your questions and that you are able to support us in achieving our aims this year. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to pop a note in the homework diary or contact me via the office. I look forward to meeting you all.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs Painter