Welcome to Donaldson Class
Our teacher this year is Mrs Moore and our Learning Support Assistant is Miss Copping.
Rules and Rewards
At the start of the year, we created a class agreement together to ensure we have a safe and welcoming environment to come into and spend our days together.
These are:
Look after each other.
Use our classroom voices.
Sit nicely on the carpet.
Put our hands up to speak or ask a question.
Listen to each other and our teacher.
Look after the equipment in our classroom.
We encourage the children to follow these rules all of the time and they also remind one another.
The children also earn individual green cards for exceeding expectations and going above and beyond. They are rewarded for every 10 green cards in our celebration assembly, working through bronze, silver, gold, super gold and platinum certificates. Mr Potter also rewards outstanding achievement with his very special Headteacher certificate and BIG awards.
All the children are in house teams which run across the school: Keats (Red); Shakespeare (Green); Shelley (Blue); Wordsworth (Yellow). Each week your child can earn house points for their team by following the school rules, displaying good manners and trying their best. Throughout the year, your child will also participate in inter-house competitions and events.
Our Topic titles this year will be:
Autumn 1: Once upon a time.
Autumn 2: Castles and Dragons.
Spring 1: Footprints in the snow.
Spring 2: Amazing Animals.
Summer 1: Fabulous Food.
Summer 2: Beside the Seaside.
Reading and Phonics
Please ensure your child’s reading folder is in school every day. We aim to listen to your child read on a weekly basis, this includes their phonics card and will be recorded in their reading record. Please use your child’s reading record to evidence you are reading with them at home. This can just be the date and a smiley face or a comment on what they have read. Your child will receive two books a week and they will be changed on a weekly basis. Your child will receive a ‘reading for pleasure’ book and a text that supports with their phonological skills.
PE
Please ensure your child has suitable clothing (black shorts/trousers, white t-shirt, black jumper) and footwear (plimsolls or trainers) for both indoor and outside PE lessons, this will be kept at school.
Our PE days are Tuesday and Friday.
Please ensure all earrings are taken out for these days and all long hair is tied back.
Support at Home
Please help to enhance your child’s education by supporting them at home to extend, practise and apply their knowledge.
How you can help:
- Reading – listen to them read, supporting them to blend the sounds to create words and recognise high frequency sight words (words that are common and can’t always be sounded out). Question them about what they are reading to check understanding but also link to their own experiences.
- Phonics – your child will have a phonics card in their reading folder that is following their current phonic knowledge. You are able to find more useful guidance on the Oxford Owls website (https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/at-school/) and interactive games via Phonics Play (https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/).
- Numbers – counting forwards and backwards, what is one more/less than any number from 1-20, addition and subtractions number sums. Mental calculations in practical situations – for example – ‘there are two plates on the table how many more do we need if we have six people for dinner?’
- Homework – will be set each week ranging across all curriculum areas and will be accessible via your child’s Seesaw account. Once a half term the children will be set a practical homework activity. Please see the homework section of the website for more information.
- Online Homework – As part of the homework children may be asked to log in to Purple Mash. Their log-ins can be found in their reading records.
Please check the parents area on the school website under “supporting your child” where there is extra information and ideas for how you can be a help to their learning at home. Please do encourage the children to engage in a range of these activities at home but it is more effective to complete shorter burst, more frequently, of focussed time rather than sitting down for a long duration. Try involving these in everyday activities, e.g. bath time and into their play so they are enthusiastic to show you their skills and knowledge.
We encourage comments on the children’s achievement and progress which helps to assess their understanding and application of skills in another context. If you have any queries, big or small, I am available on the playground at the end of each school day. If it is something of a personal or urgent nature you can contact me via the school office.
Thank you for your support and I look forward to our year together.
Mrs Moore