Welcome back to Term 2 to Elf Owls!

PE: Tuesdays/ Forest School: Thursdays

Dear Elf Owl Families,

We hope you all had a great half term break! We have an exciting, busy term ahead and our new topic, ‘How do we celebrate?’ is perfect for this time of year! We will begin by discussing our experiences of different celebrations, before focussing on Bonfire Night, Remembrance Day, Advent, Christmas and Hanukkah. Parent/ Teacher evenings will take place on Tuesday 25^th and Thursday 27^th November. These provide a great opportunity to share your child’s learning and progress so far in Elf Owls. You will receive a parent mail to sign up for a time slot with Mrs Ray and Miss Taylor.

 

Monster Phonics

The children have got off to a great start with their phonics! They have been learning single letter sounds and a few digraphs (2 letters to make one sound, such as ck). This term we will continue to learn the remaining single letter sounds, as well as introducing further digraphs. Below is a weekly overview of what we will teach before Christmas.

W.B. 3^rd Nov: Graphemes: j v w x / High frequency words: if off you my they for

W.B. 10^th Nov: Graphemes: y z zz q/ High frequency words: was will all went from help

W.B. 17t^h Nov: Graphemes: ch sh th ng/ High frequency words: too her with are yes

W.B. 24th Nov: Graphemes: oo Cool Blue/ High frequency words: then them this that said

W.B. 1^st Dec: Graphemes: ar Tricky Witch/ Practise all high frequency words learnt so far

W.B. 8^th/15^th Dec: Assess and consolidate

 

Reading and Book Bags

Thank you for your support with reading at home. The children will continue to bring home a Monster Phonics book every Friday, along with four other books to share and read at home throughout the week. Please support your child at home by reading the books with them for 10 minutes each day. You can vary which ones you choose to read, but the Monster Phonics book will be perfect for supporting your child to segment (s-a-t) and blend (=sat) as they will only include the sounds we have taught in class. The books given can be kept at home for the week and returned each Friday, but please send your child to school with their book bag and yellow reading record daily (so that staff can record in them too).

Regular reading at home is important as it provides children with the opportunity to consolidate their learning at home on a 1: 1 basis. We will continue to read with the children individually and in groups as well as sharing lots of stories in school.

 

Maths

This term we will focus on finding different shapes in the environment, describing and naming 2D shapes, as well as describing position and direction. We will also concentrate on number which will include finding totals, recognising numbers, counting sets and finding one more or one less than a given amount. We will also continue to have a big focus on ‘subitising’. This is when we ‘say the amount without having to count’ and can be likened to throwing the die during a board game and instantly recognising five without counting. Subitising builds a strong foundation for number sense.

 

P.E Day and kit

P.E this term will be taught by Mrs Ray on Tuesdays. The children should come to school wearing their P.E kit each Tuesday. This includes a white t-shirt, black joggers/ leggings, a dark sweater or hoodie and plimsolls or trainers. Our focus for this term will be Manipulation and Coordination which will include balloon (week one) and ball handling skills, rolling and retrieving, and kicking a ball. We will also practise hopping, jumping and stepping in some fun coordination games. (As we have individual school photos on Tuesday 4th November, please send your child in uniform for this first week and we will play our balloon games to start the unit in uniform).

 

Forest School and Outdoor Learning

As well as daily outdoor opportunities, this term the children will have Forest School on Thursday afternoons. They should come to school in normal school uniform and get changed into their forest school clothes after lunch. Please make sure your child has full kit in school for this:

• A waterproof suit/trousers and jacket.
• A woolly hat/ gloves.
• Wellies.
• A change of old clothes (including layers in cold weather).

We look forward to a brilliant term ahead! As always, please do come and chat to us if you have any queries or concerns.

With our warmest wishes,

The Elf Owl Team

Mrs Ray, Miss Taylor, Mrs Harris, Miss Sansom, Miss Putt and Mrs Fairfax