Welcome back to summer term in school!  Our theme for this half-term is ‘What a Wonderful World’; as Spring turns to Summer, we will appreciate the beauty and wonder of the natural world and understand our responsibility as global citizens to protect our beautiful planet. 

Understanding the World

We celebrate Earth Day on 22 April. We will look more closely at our natural environment, notice and respect the living things that grow and live there.  We will understand how our actions can have an impact on our world and know some of the ways that we can make a difference in protecting our planet.

We have planned a special visit from ‘Dylan’s Reptiles’ on 21 May. The children will get a chance to experience a close encounter with a range of amphibians and reptiles, learning lots about their habitats, discovering how they feed, move and protect themselves in the wild.  We hope this experience will dispel any fears or misconceptions the  children may have about these amazing animals and offer them the opportunity to hold some too! 

Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Our Christian value for this half-term is ‘Service’. We will celebrate St George’s Day on 23 April and fully appreciate the significance of serving others when we commemorate the 80^th Anniversary of VE Day*. The children may come to school dressed in red, white and blue on Thursday 8 May, ready to join in with a traditional British street party celebration with food, songs and dancing.

*Please let us know if you have any memorabilia, artefacts or family connections to this historic day: from the servicemen who fought, to children who were evacuated, and women on the home front, we would love to know more!

Mental Health Awareness Week takes place during 12-18 May, with the theme ‘Community’.  We will understand the importance of our home, school and local community, knowing that when we have strong connections with other people we will thrive and are not alone.  In RE, we begin Branch 5 ‘To the Ends of the Earth’, we will listen to the Bible stories of The Ascension and Pentecost; we will know that The Holy Spirit was God’s promise of a special gift after Jesus went back to Heaven. 

Literacy

We will focus on the work of the author Eric Carle and will introduce the children to his many stories, non-fiction books and poems celebrating the natural world.  We will recognise non-fiction texts as information books and use them to find out new things to answer questions about how and why things happen in the natural world. The children will read and write their own captions, labels and instructions and learn how to use diagrams, photographs, the contents page and index as tools to gain further information.

We begin a new rotation of phonic teaching groups this week, based on end of term assessments.  As the children have to be familiar with their reading books in school and at home, your child will bring home the same book to read over 3 (or more) days.  Please send their small transparent reading wallet into school every Wednesday, to ensure they receive a new reading book/ditty sheet each week.

Communication and Language

We will share a collection of nature-themed stories every day, developing comprehension skills by recalling and recounting significant events that we experience, incorporating increasing detail to engage the listener.  You can help develop comprehension skills by asking ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘why’ and ‘how?’ after sharing stories and books together. These questions can really support this aspect of learning.

Mathematics

We will build numbers beyond 10, identifying numbers to 20.  The children will begin to see that numbers are made of full 10s and part of the next 10, eg 14 is one full ten and four. Developing calculation skills, we will introduce the ‘First, Then, Now’ structure to create addition and subtraction stories in meaningful contexts. The topic of ‘Measures’ will be explored via practical activities as we explore growing.  The children will have opportunities to compare, measure, estimate and record the length, weight, mass, shape and size of various objects (including themselves) and will develop related mathematical vocabulary.

Expressive Arts & Design

On Earth Day, we will use recycled and natural materials to create a range of eco-crafts, including musical instruments, fairy homes, sun catchers, planters or wherever the children’s imagination takes them!  We will look at the natural artwork of Andy Goldsworthy and attempt to recreate some pieces of transient art using natural resources outside.  In preparation for our VE Day celebrations, we will learn traditional wartime songs and dances and make flags/bunting and decorations for a very special display commemorating this historic event.

Physical Development

Our dance teacher Mrs Neil has choreographed another exciting dance and movement session for us based on the wonders of the natural world.  We will begin ‘team games’ in PE.  This will be good preparation for Sports Day practice in our PE lessons, during which we will develop a range of throwing, catching, balancing, racing and jumping skills for 6 field events.  Further details to follow re: Sports Day in a separate notification.

As the children are now in summer uniform with many new items of clothing/shoes, it would be helpful to check that any new summer uniform/new school shoes are clearly labelled to aid the children’s independence in looking after their own belongings and reduce the stress for everyone when things get lost!