Learning this half term – In our topic lessons this half term, we are going to be focusing on Geography and Science. We will be learning all about Shackleton’s expedition to the South Pole. We will be learning about the continents of the world, as well as how magnets work. In addition, we will be investigating the different stages of the water cycle and how this process creates our weather. Later in the half term, we will be shifting our focus towards links with our Maths topic of Position and Movement, looking at how compasses and directional language help us to navigate and explore. We will be looking at orienteering in our woodland camp, and how this area links with coding in computing.

Above all, we will be taking it slowly. The children may need to re-learn how to listen, follow instructions, and play well with their peers. We will be focusing on getting the children back in the classroom safely and happily. We will follow their leads and be responsive to their emotional and academic needs so that any impact of these lockdowns can be minimised. If you have any pastoral concerns or observations you wish to share, please speak to your class teacher at the end of the day, or email our pastoral team: pastoral@preston.torbay.sch.uk

Vocabulary – we will be exploring the following topic vocabulary:

Tier 2 – high level words: magnets, earth, north, south, east, west, rain, clouds, habitat, mountain.

Tier 3 – subject specific words: poles, globe, attract, repel, evaporation, condensation, precipitation, glacier, continent, endemic, equator, tropics.

Wider curriculum, including music, art, poetry and film.

We will be watching different short videos and documentaries to try and help the children learn lots of facts about Antarctica. We will also be producing art of snowscapes using different mediums. In addition, we will encourage the children to illustrate their writing taking inspiration from the high-quality books from literacy.

School Value – Teamwork

Instilling the importance of Teamwork in a child will shape their cognitive, social and emotional skills which will guide them throughout their life. It all starts with communication. Take turns to hear and be heard. Empathise with others and enjoy being in a team.

Maths - 

In Maths over the next few weeks, we will be learning all about shape, position and movement, perimeter and area. We will also be recapping any areas of Maths that the children feel less confident in from lockdown.

You can help your child out by using positional language ‘left, right, north, south, east and west’ in your everyday conversations.

We would also ask that you support your child’s fluency by encouraging them to use their addition and subtraction knowledge whenever it is relevant, as well as time on TTRockstars for the multiplication and division fluency.

Reading at Home –

We are excited to have access to MyOn – an online library of eBooks which all children can access. This is linked to their Accelerated Reader account, so they can pick books that are relevant to their reading fluency and comprehension skills.  We will be setting a project each half term with suggested books that are linked to the current topic that we feel will be of interest too. In addition, please encourage your child to read, both independently and out loud to an adult. Sharing stories is the best way of building a habitual love of reading.

Literacy

In literacy this half term, we will be continuing our focus on high quality texts as inspiration for our own writing. We will be continuing writing our non-chronological reports based on the Everest book, before moving on to writing our own ‘quest story’ based on the book Arthur and the Golden Rope, by Joe Todd Stanton.  

Home Learning –

Firstly, we want to say a massive thank you for all your support with your child’s home learning over the last lockdown. Please look on Teams for our creative, home learning challenge for the rest of this half term.

Create a piece of art inspired by your favourite Antarctic animal.

Please also support your child to use TTRockstars and Spelling Shed each week as part of their maths and spelling homework.

Dates to remember:

Monday 8^th March – School reopens for all.

Friday 12^th March – Whole School World Book Day

Thursday 1^st April – Last day of term.

Messages - PE days – children to come to school in full PE kit. Swifts – Monday.  Starlings & Sparrows – Wednesday.

Remember, no kiwi or nut items in packed lunches due to allergies.

Can we remind you that your child should not be bringing anything in from home, other than a water bottle and a packed lunch, if needed. Please ensure that they have a school jumper and a coat every day. We will be keeping the classrooms well ventilated so they may need a jumper even on a warm day.

Absence: Should your child be absent due to illness please call the absence line on 01803 607589 and leave a message with your child’s name, class and reason for absence. Alternatively, you can text this information to 07786208446. If your child has sickness and/or diarrhoea, they will need to be absent for 48 hours after the last episode of illness. For planned absences of any nature, you will need to complete an absence request form. These are available on the school website.

Times of the school day: The school day begins for us at 8:50am and finishes at 3:15pm.

Please remember to socially distance while on school premises and when leaving the site. Please wear a mask when on the school site. If you have messages for the office, please email on admin@preston.torbay.sch.uk.