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Reading is fun!

Your child will be bringing a reading book home very soon. At this stage, you can help with their reading by enjoying  books together. Talk  about what they think might happen next in a story and ask them to retell the story themselves using the pictures.  Can they think about what they would feel if they were in the story?

Your enthusiasm for a book will help children to understand that books are exciting.

Focus on the sounds of spoken language by playing games which point out similar sounds in different words. For example, how many things can you find around the house that begin with the sound ‘f’? Share favourite rhymes letting children supply the rhyming word or encouraging them to choose their own silly rhyme. Help children to understand that the marks on the page mean something. Explain that they represent the words and sentences we speak. Point to the words as you read. Show them examples of print around you: the sign on a bus stop, labels at the supermarket, traffic signs, and so on. Read alphabet books together to make the link between the sounds used in words and the letters used to write those sounds. Label your child’s bedroom door to help them to recognise their name.

Share the following books:

• rhyming books
• alphabet books
• a wide range of exciting stories
• non-fiction books about favourite subjects

Remember:

• Make sure your child sees you reading.
• Read to your child. Show you like the book. Bring stories to life by using loud/soft/scary voices – let yourself go!
• Spread books around your house for your child to dip into.
• Let your child choose what they would like to read – books, comics, catalogues.
• Read favourite books over and over again.

Enjoy!

If you have any questions about reading and how we teach this in Reception, please ask.

Learning together!

Reception have settled well and made new friends.

Staying safe around dogs

We enjoyed the visit from the charity Dogs’ Trust as part of Staying Safe week.

Fireman Sam!

30 September 2011

This week’s homework is Talk Time.

I can discuss the difference between legal and illegal drugs.

This week, children have decided on this topic for their talk time homework.  They have learnt lots about drugs safety through their sessions with d:side so now’s the time to discuss what they’ve found out.

Talk Time homework doesn’t need lots of evidence in the homework books; sometimes, we’ll suggest that just a comment from an adult to say you’ve discussed it is enough.

Good websites to refer to are: http://www.talktofrank.com and http://kidshealth.org/kid/grow/drugs_alcohol/know_drugs.html

Talk Time homework works best if you:

• switch the TV off
• get a few different adults around – mums, dads, aunts, cousins, grandads, neighbours
• take it in turns to speak
• adults go first
• write notes about what you discussed

30 September 2011

The homework this week is creative and is due in on Wednesday 05 October.

I can design a road safety banner.

Children should create their banners on the sheet attached to their homework books. The banners are then being sent off for a competition. If one of our banners is chosen as the winner, we’ll win some prizes for the school!

Suggested slogans for the banners are:

• Please Drive Safely
• 20 is Plenty
• Kids Say Slow Down

I will look forward to seeing your creations next week. Have fun!

30 September 2011

The homework this week is Creative and is due in Wednesday 05 October

I can design a poster about water safety.

It is completely up to your child what sort of poster they decide to do, as long as it’s related to water safety. Here are some ideas:

• a poster encouraging children to stay safe in the water
• a poster making people aware of potential water hazards
• a poster about being safe at the beach
• a poster about being safe near a reservoir or lake

30 September 2011

This is the second week of investigating the effect of adding ‘ing’ to words.

This week’s spellings are all words which have a short vowel sound before the final letter (think of the difference between the ‘o’ in hop – a short ‘o’ sound) compared to ‘hope’ (a longer sound, like ‘oh’).

When there’s a short vowel sound, you need to double up the final letter when adding ‘ing’.

Your child will be tested on eight out of the ten words on Friday 07 October.

Attendance

You’ll know that as a school, we monitor attendance closely.  Last year, we met our attendance targets, which is great news.

The attendance record for your child’s class – last year’s Y4 class – was broadly the same as Leeds overall, but there were two areas we’d like to improve this year:

1. the class’s attendance was lower than other schools of a similar nature,
2. the amount of unauthorised absence was significantly higher than similar schools, and even higher than Leeds overall – sadly, this was caused by a few individuals taking term-time holidays.

Please keep an eye on your child’s attendance.  Research shows that too many absences affect not only learning but a child’s social and emotional aspects of learning.

Attendance

You’ll know that as a school, we monitor attendance closely.  Last year, we met our attendance targets, which is great news.

The attendance record for your child’s class – last year’s Y1 class – was broadly the same as Leeds overall, but there were two areas we’d like to improve this year:

1. the class’s attendance was lower than other schools of a similar nature,
2. the amount of unauthorised absence was significantly higher than similar schools, and even higher than Leeds overall – sadly, this was caused by a few individuals taking term-time holidays.

Please keep an eye on your child’s attendance.  Research shows that too many absences affect not only learning but a child’s social and emotional aspects of learning.