Dear Parents,
Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas break and are feeling ready for 2017! We would just like to say a huge ‘Thank You’ again for all the cards and presents at the end of last term. You were very generous and they were much appreciated!
The children all had a fantastic first term: we found out about ourselves, studied Autumn, learnt all about Space and the Solar System and performed our Nativity play, as well as making an excellent start in Read, Write Inc, and good progress in Maths. This term we hope to build on those successes with some more great topics.
We will start by discussing ‘Winter’. We will go on a Winter walk and discuss the changes the season brings to the weather, as well as looking at how we and other animals adapt to the colder temperatures. We will follow this with a topic on Dinosaurs, looking at different types and how we can determine their diet from their physical features. We will also have a week’s focus on fossils and another on volcanoes. Midway through the term, we will briefly interrupt the topic to discuss Chinese New Year which this year falls on the 28th January.
In addition, we will continue with our daily sessions of Read, Write Inc. but will also be introducing weekly spelling tests to help the children with their blending and segmenting skills. Further details, along with spelling books will be sent home shortly in book bags.
Some weekly reminders:
Reading books are changed on Mondays and Fridays.
P.E. takes place on Mondays. Please ensure the children have kits in school on this day although it is helpful if they remain in school throughout the week in case we need to reschedule.
Show & Tell takes place on Friday afternoons on a rota system. The dates for each biscuit group are as follows:
| 13th Jan | 20th Jan | 27th Jan | 3rd Feb | 10th Feb | 17th Feb |
| Bourbons | Cookies | Custard Creams | Digestives | Jammie Dodgers | HALF-TERM |
| 24th Feb | 3rd Mar | 10th Mar | 17th Mar | 24th Mar | 31st Mar |
| Bourbons | Cookies | Custard Creams | Digestives | Jammie Dodgers | EASTER HOLS |
Some of you may already know from our website, we had a lovely piece of news just before the Christmas break – Mrs Jones, who has been taking the children on Friday mornings while we have our planning, preparation and assessment time, gave birth to a baby girl – Isabella Pixie, a wonderful early Christmas present! She will be much missed by everyone in Reception but we have sent our congratulations and wish her well at this exciting time. To provide cover on Friday mornings from now on, we are pleased to welcome Mrs Penn to Skyswood. Some of you may have met her already as she started with us on the 6th January. She was an instant hit with the children and already feels a great part of the team.
Now that the children are settled, we are looking for parent helpers to listen to children read, as well as any volunteers to help with the preparation of resources (printing, cutting, laminating etc) on Fridays. If you would be willing to help, please let us know and we will make arrangements.
We are looking forward to a busy and productive term. As always, if you have any questions or concerns at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Jenny Kerr and Mrs Jane Carmichael