Letter to Parents

Summer Term in the Balloon Room

April 2010

Dear Parents,

Welcome back. Despite volcanic interruption, we hope to have a  smooth start to the new term.

Below are a few details about what we will be up to this term.

Swimming

Please be aware that swimming is considered an important part of the curriculum and therefore we require either written or oral explanation from a parent or carer if you do not want your child to swim.

Reading

We do ask that children read a book per week, but this is obviously flexible, dependent upon the length of book and their ability. This term we are introducing book reviews, where children will be asked to share their reading experiences with the class.

Tables

Some children still need a great deal of practice with their tables, please reinforce at home at every opportunity.

Assignments

We have been blown away by the quality of the children’s project work from home. Despite being academically challenging and time consuming, the children appear to love completing these and sharing them with classmates. There will be two more assignments this term, one on deserts and the other on local history. Thank you for your continued support.

THIS TERM’S TOPICS

History

This term’s topic is Historical Sources. We will be looking at local history using a variety of sources such as photographs, census returns, maps, buildings, newspapers and various documents.

Geography

We will be undertaking a study of Deserts, looking at where they are situated, how they are formed, plants, wildlife, sand dunes and exploration.

Science

The children will be looking at Keeping Healthy. Areas covered include: food and drink, vitamins, fats, salt, a balanced diet, exercise, disease, injury, medicine and drugs.

Literacy

In non-fiction our topic will be Performance Poetry we will be comparing, performing and responding to poetry.

In fiction our theme is ‘The Art of Persuasion’. The children will be letter writing, creating posters and leaflets, writing persuasive arguments and presenting them.

Creative writing: the class will write a timed story each week.

Numeracy

Properties of number, time, length, perimeter, weight, volume, capacity, 2D and 3D shapes, co-ordinates and data handling will all be covered this term.

PSHE

To gain a greater understanding of current affairs, the children will be asked to choose a relevant topic.  They will then research this with two other pupils, ready to present it to the class. Each week we will choose three children to do this. We will let you know when it is your child’s turn.

Finally, we hope the above is useful to you, as always, we value having close contact with you, please come and see us with any queries.

Robert and Luke.