Welcome back to Summer Term 2!

3.6.24

Dear Elf Owl Families,

We hope you had a lovely half term break! We can't believe we are in the final part of the school year already! This term our topic is 'How does your garden grow?' As part of the topic, we will be visiting the village allotments, growing plants, learning about seasonal changes, as well as reading wonderful stories, such as 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'The Little Gardener'. We will also think about humans growing and changing over time. We have an exciting school trip planned for Tuesday 2nd July when we will visit 'Science Oxford' https://scienceoxford.com/. (More information to follow in a Parent Mail soon).

Transition to Year One

We know many of you will be looking ahead to September at this stage of the year and thinking about your child starting in Year One. We have already been making small adjustments in preparation for the changes ahead so that being in a new classroom with new staff won't be a huge shock! These include joining the rest of the school for worship assemblies on Mondays and Tuesdays, visiting other classrooms and the wider outdoor areas, as well as regularly joining the rest of the school for morning break times as well as lunch time play. During the course of this term we will plan for the Year One Staff (once they have been confirmed by Mrs Frost) to spend time with the children, playing and reading stories and getting to know them. The children will also spend the day with their new teacher and support staff on Monday 1st July as part of our 'whole school transition day'. 

Phonics

This term is all about consolidating the sounds we have taught throughout the Reception Year. We will continue to practise reading and writing CVC, CCVC and CVCC words, as well as words with more than one syllable. We will also focus on reading and writing 'high frequency words' (words which appear often in texts, such as 'the'). There will be more emphasis on writing sentences independently, so any practise at home with this would be amazing- e.g. writing a “Thank You” card to a relative. 

Reading

We read with the children in school 2-3 times weekly using the Monster Phonics books.  At the end of each week, your child will come home with a Monster Phonics book; please read and enjoy this with your child as it helps them to practise and consolidate their learning. In addition to the Monster Phonics books, we send home 'reading for pleasure' or practise books; please spend 10 minutes each day sharing these books with your child. Ideally, they will read to you, but if they are particularly tired one day, you can read to them! As the children progress towards Year One, you may like to consider introducing your children to a greater variety of texts and enjoy some non-fiction books together; these could be related to our current topic. 

Book Bags

It really helps us (and Year One and Two staff) if the children bring a book bag to school each day (rather than keeping their books in a backpack on their peg). This is because the children put their slim book bags into a central box in the classroom where we can easily find and open the book bags to change books/ write in reading records. See Mrs Biel in the office or school website to order a new one if needed.

Maths

This term in Maths, we will firstly focus on sharing, grouping and doubling. We will then move on to identifying patterns before creating our own and replicating constructions. Throughout the term we will consolidate the year's teaching and have a big focus on problem-solving.

P.E and Forest School

P.E this term will be taught by Mrs Ray on a Monday when the children will participate in a variety of agility-based activities. They will learn to recognise the difference between actions such as moving quickly, softly and powerfully, as well as using different equipment such as balls and beanbags. We will mostly do P.E outside this term, so please ensure your child wears full P.E kit, including a sun hat and arrives with sun cream applied. Forest school will be taught by Mrs Howlett on a Thursday. Please send your child to school wearing school uniform on Thursday, but make sure they have a set of old clothes, waterproofs and wellies in school to get changed into.

Uniform and Clothing

Please make sure your child comes to school in full school uniform (see 'Our Parents' page on the school website for more details). The children will also need a sun hat, water bottle and sun cream applied in the morning (we can help your child to apply additional sun cream later in the day, if they bring their own bottle in, clearly labelled with their name). As the children have access to the outdoors in all weathers, it is very important that the children have some spare clothes, waterproofs and wellies in the cloakroom at all times. 

Thank you for your ongoing support this year with our amazing class! We are excited for a fabulous Summer Term ahead!

With our warmest wishes

The Elf Owl Team

Mrs Ray: Teacher (Mon-Wed)

Miss Taylor: Teacher (Thurs-Fri)

Mrs Howlett: Teaching Assistant and Forest School Teacher (Daily- all day/ Forest School on Thurs)

Miss Belcher: Teaching Assistant (Daily- mornings)

Miss Bush: Teaching Assistant (Daily- afternoons)

Mrs Fairfax: Teaching Assistant (Thursdays)