Harrowgate Hill Primary School

Harrowgate Hill Primary School

School closes for teaching at 3.10pm / Thursday 28th March 2013
School re-opens for teaching / Monday 15th April 2013

School Times:

Foundation 2 / Gates Open / Children Assemble / Hand Over / Teaching Begins Gates Close / Children Finish
8.50am / Nursery Garden / 8.50am / 9.00am / 3.05pm
Curricular Information – Topics for the Term
Autumn 1
2012 / Autumn 2
2012 / Spring 1
2013 / Spring 2
2013 / Summer 1
2013 / Summer 2
2013
Cafe / Cave/Autumn / Toy Shop / Dentist / Snails / Veterinary Surgery
Hospital / Antarctica / The Building Site / Garden Centre / The Garage / Holidays/France
Personal,Social and Emotional Development / Pupils will experience the ‘Going For Goals’ SEAL topic. They will learn how to set their own goals and manage their success. They will also learn to celebrate the successes of others. Please send any certificates/trophies that your child achieves outside of school to school on a Friday, all personal achievements will be celebrated in the phase gathering.
Literacy / Pupils will explore a range of big books through shared and guided reading opportunities. They will develop sight recognition of phase three phonemes and will further develop oral blending skills. Pupils will also learn to read and spell phase three, four and five high frequency words. They will develop independent writing through a range of taught and self initiated writing opportunities. Pupils will experience a range of activities to improve letter formation and orientation.
Mathematics / Pupils will explore a range of Numeracy concepts including: time, number recognition, numeral formation, shape, place value, addition, subtraction, doubling, halving, sharing, weight, capacity, size and position to compare quantities and objects and solve problems. Pupils will consolidate their learning in the mathematical role play area and within continuous provision. Pupils will seek to improve number formation and orientation.
Understanding the World

/ Pupils will learn about the growth and function of their teeth. They will explore baby tooth loss and adult tooth growth. Nurse Dianne will visit and talk to the children about tooth care, dental hygiene and the positive effects of eating sensible food types. All learning will be contextualised in ‘The Dentist’ role play area. Please could you save and bring to school any clean toothpaste boxes and/or mouthwash bottles to enhance the role play area.
Pupils will investigate thefull range of plants and animals found in the outdoor garden area. They will plant and care for a bean seed and learn about the growth requirements of their seed. The children will also explore the life cycle of a butterfly by creating a butterfly garden.Pupils will be fortunate to care for ducklings as they hatch and develop into ducks. All learning will be contextualised in ‘The Garden Centre’ role play area. Please could you send to school any unused planting equipment, plant pots, plant labels, compost/peat, artificial plants, artificial flowers, real plants or seeds? All resources received will be used to enhance the role play area. Thank you for your continuing generosity and support.
Physical
Development / The children will experience a range of activities including, musical movement, parachute activities, action rhymes, kicking skills and skipping activities.Pupils will experience opportunities to use a range of tools in class to promote their fine motor control.
Expressive Arts and Design / Pupils will explore sculpture this half term; they will use these taught skills to produce a range of themed models. Pupils will learn to sing a range of themed songs in the indoor and outdoor teaching areas. Thank you for all of the recycled modelling materials received so far.
Homework Timetables
All Classes
Monday / Spelling Test
Spellings will be tested and new spelling sets issued.
Reading Books
Please return your child’s reading book and reading record to school. A new reading book will be issued and sent home every Monday evening.
Wednesday / Reading Books
Please return your child’s reading book and reading record to school. A new reading book will be issued and sent home every Wednesday evening.
Between Us Book
Please return ‘Between Us’ link book to school.
Friday / Your child’s ‘Between Us’ link book will be issued. Please use this book to document any memorable events that your child or family may encounter.
Reading / Home reading is a high profile event and to encourage frequent book change, reading certificates have been introduced. Your child may receive the following certificates:

• A bronze certificate when they have changed their book on 20 occasions
• A silver certificate when they have changed their book on 40 occasions
• A gold certificate when they have changed their book on 60 occasions

Please sign the white record book to indicate that your child’s reading book has been read and discussed at home. If this document is not signed then a new book will not be issued.
Creative Homework / Please refer to submission dates on the overview in the front of your child’s Creative Homework book. Please highlight the overview to indicate the homework tasks that your child has completed. Pleas e include photographs of your child completing their homework in the book provided. Good examples of work will be copied and added to the school website.
Feedback from Events Last Term

The children thoroughly enjoyed the textiles topic. Pupils engaged in designing and making a range of textile products during Expressive Arts and Design lessons. They were able to consolidate and extend joining skills and work imaginatively, whilst developing their use of descriptive language. Please send any unused textiles to school to enhance the textiles in the Expressive Arts and Design Area; clean curtains, sheets, towels etc can all be utilised.

Fundraising

A huge thank you to everyone who supported the School Raffle - we raised almost £200 for school funds!!

Our next fundraising venture will take place during the Book Fair when we will hold a Children’s Raffle. Winners will get the chance to choose a book from the Book Fair as a prize. Tickets cost 20p and will be on sale from 26th February.

At the end of term, we will hold a Children’s Easter Raffle – this will be drawn at the Merit Award Assembly on the last day of term. Parents will be notified when tickets are available.

Forthcoming Events
Event / Date / Information
Butterflies / TBA / Butterfly eggs will arrive in school for the children to observe and watch the amazing transformation of egg to chrysalis to butterfly.
Ducklings / From:
25th February / The children will observe duckling eggs in an incubator and watch them hatch into ducklings. The children will care for the ducklings as they grow and learn to swim. Photographs and possibly moving footage of the ducklings’ development will feature on the school website:
. You may be fortunate to see your child handling or caring for the ducklings.
Wrong Trouser Day / 27th February / We are asking children to help us raise money for St Teresa’s Hospice. For the sum of £1, pupils can come to school, on that day, wearing any pair of trousers. (Children must still wear their normal school shoes.)
Book Fair / 8th– 13th March / Further information to follow.
General Notices

ParentMail:

If you haven’t already done so, please register for this new system which will enable us to keep you updated with school news and events.

Clothing/Lost Property:

Please make sure that all clothes are clearly labelled with your child’s name, including uniform items, coats, hats, scarves, shoes, wellingtons and gloves/mittens.

If your child has been changed at schoolplease wash and return items as we often run short of spare clothes.

Water Bottles:

Please provide your child with a clearly labelled full bottle of water every day. Fizzy drinks, juice and flavoured water are not permitted in school.We do not have cups available for the children in school.

Snacks:

Milk and fruit are provided by the school and are available to all children during the day.

Contact with Teachers:

If you have any concerns and would like to see your child’s teacher, please make an appointment through the office or on the phone with the teacher in question. Whilst we are always pleased to see you, we often have after school meetings and cannot always see you straight away.

Call Parent Messages:

Please be aware that ‘Call Parent’ messages are limited to a small number of characters and are sent as general messages or reminders. The office will always contact parents/carers with specific information relating to individual children. If you require further clarity of any message, please phone the school office.

Lateness:

Please ensure that your child arrives at school on time every day. Children who arrive late are at a disadvantage and feel uncomfortable when they have to join a class which has already started their lesson.

Absence:

Please notify school of any absence, giving the reasons for that absence. Holidays in school time are not permitted and any holidays taken within the school term will be recorded as unauthorised.

Safety Notices:

We would ask that no pupils or pre-school children ride tricycles, bicycles or scooters on the car park, school paths or in the playgrounds before and after school. We would remind you that we do not encourage children to travel to school on bicycles or scooters as we feel the area surrounding school is too dangerous.

Please be considerate to residents and parents if parking a vehicle.

We also ask that parents and carers do not tie dogs to the perimeter fence, leaving them unattended, when they come to collect their children.

Free School Meals:

If you think that your child might be eligible for free school meals, please ask at the office for a form. The school gets extra funding for children who are entitled to free meals, even if they don’t choose to have them.

Chartwell’s Reminder:

If your child has school lunches please ensure that you hand in the correct lunch money on a Monday in a named, sealed envelope. If you wish to change your child’s arrangements, (from meals to packed lunches or vice versa), please give two weeks written notice to the School Kitchen.

Late Dinner Money:

Admin staff no longer handle any dinner money delivered to the office nor are they able to provide change. Parents are requested to post any late dinner money in a sealed envelope, labelled with the child’s name and class into the box on the wall in the main entrance. This box is emptied daily by Chartwell’s staff. The normal routine of pupils bringing their dinner money into school remains the same.

Assistance:

If you or anyone you know has difficulty accessing school communications or the building, please contact the office to request help.

Please remember to inform us of any changes to emergency contact numbers and of any changes to your child’s medical information throughout the year.

Mrs Peart (Assistant Headteacher – Foundation Stage)