January 2020
Dear Parents / Carers,
Happy New Year! We hope that you and your families all enjoyed a lovely Christmas / Winter break and that the children are looking forward to the start of a new school term. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the generous gifts that you gave us before the holidays, we were really touched by your kindness.
With the new year comes a new topic, which this term will be based on The War of the Roses. The children will have the opportunity to identify areas of local history, examining St.Albans as a starting point for this conflict. Furthermore, we shall be studying one of history’s great controversies, discussing and writing about the deaths of the ‘Princes in the Tower’. The children will have time to evaluate the evidence, formulating their own views in regards to culpability. To reinforce this topic we hope to arrange a trip to the Tower of London after half-term.
Our English unit this term will be linked to our history topic. The children will be encouraged to discuss / debate their views and this will culminate in them writing a discussion text derived from the evidence they have studied.
The spelling scheme will continue as before, with the children generating their own spellings on a Monday and being tested on the Friday of that week. Please support your child to practise their spellings and any times tables they are not secure with, as well as reading at home regularly. Please also encourage your child to record each reading session in their school planner as the ‘50 night read’ competition will run again this term and this way all reading at home can be included in their tally.
In Maths, we will be continuing with the curriculum with future topics including area, perimeter and fractions. Manga High is a free maths resource and I would encourage any child to sign on regularly in order to practise areas of the curriculum that they find difficult.
Other areas of study this term will include ‘Forces’ in Science, ‘Quizes’ in ICT, and designing chocolate boxes in DT. P.E. lessons will take place on a Wednesday and Friday. However, it is advisable to retain kits in school in case of non-timetabled sessions.
Library books may be changed every week on a Tuesday, so please encourage your children to return any completed books and exchange them for new ones. It is important that children choose material that is both challenging and appropriate to their reading age.
As last term, the ‘Learning Log’ tasks will be given out on a Friday and will be due in the following Wednesday. Children may choose one of three tasks, which will include a Maths activity.
Lastly, a note for your diaries – parents’ consultation evenings are scheduled for Tuesday 10th and Thursday 12th March. If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact either myself or Mrs Traviss.
Kind regards,
Mr Grant Jones and Mrs Claire Traviss