Dear parents,
Welcome back from your Easter holidays, I hope you all managed to enjoy a break and some family time. We have a great overriding theme, this term, of Man on the Moon, which lends itself well to Literacy, History, Music and Science!
If you have any questions, please contact me at hsullivan@blackboys.e-sussex.sch.uk
Best wishes
Mrs Sullivan
Year 1 Phonics Screening
All Year 1 children, and those Year 2 children who didn’t reach the pass mark in Year 1, across the country will be screened in June to assess their progress within phonics. It allows us to ensure we are identifying the children who need extra help with learning their phonics. The format of the screening is 40 words to be read, 20 real words and 20 alien words. The alien words use the phonemes that the children have been learning, so they test whether the child knows the phoneme and can blend them into a word, rather than their knowledge of words. We will be practising these in school to prepare the children for this screening. The Phonics Screening Check week begins on Monday 10th June. You will be informed of your child’s score in the end of year report.
English
In English, we will be focusing on the theme of Man on the Moon and will start with a lovely text called, “Man on the Moon (A day in the life of Bob)” by Simon Bartram. This is the first in a series of books and has a fun look at a man who works on the Moon entertaining tourists! We will be writing our own stories about a man on the moon. Following this, we will be reading some space-themed poems and writing our own poetry about space. We will then be reading a book called “Footprints on the Moon” by Mark Haddon and writing newspaper reports about Neil Armstrong reaching the moon.
History
In History we will be learning about how space travel has changed over time, starting with the German V2 rocket, looking at the different animals that went into space, finding out what satellites are and finishing by learning about the International Space Station. We will answer the question “How has space travel changed?” After half term we will focus more on the concept of exploration, learning about Neil Armstrong and his journey to the moon, but also making comparisons between his journey and the journey made by Christopher Columbus. We will answer the question “Who was the first man on the Moon?”
Computing
In Computing, we will be continuing to use Purple Mash as our main tool to learn about spreadsheets and pictograms.
PE
We welcome SportsCool back to Blackboys for the summer term, and they will be teaching the children some exciting sports. Mrs Hall will continue to teach PE on a Thursday morning and she will be preparing the children for Sports Day later in Term 6. As we are now in the “summer” term, there is no need for tracksuit bottoms or leggings for PE, if your child is cold they may wear their school jumper over their t shirt and shorts. Please check that they have suitable footwear for outdoor PE.
Music
Our music, this term, links nicely with our space theme and the children will be learning about Gustav Holst and exploring the music of his Planet Suite. There will be opportunities for listening to music, playing music and composing music.
Homework
Homework will continue in the same format as previously. Please help your child to remember to hand their homework in on a Monday as this gives staff enough time to mark and stick in the next piece of homework before the books are handed back out on Wednesday.
Key Dates
Friday 17th May – Class 2 trip to Herstmonceux Science Centre
Thursday 23rd May – Scorcha Skate School Day
Monday 10th June – Start of Phonics Screening Check week
Wednesday 26th June – Sports Day
Wednesday 3rd July – Reserve Sports Day
Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18th July – Whole School Production
Friday 19th July – Last day of Term 6
Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd July – INSET Days
Maths
In Maths, this term, we will be working on learning to tell the time, so it would be a great time to get out those watches and help your children to recognise the hours and minutes on the watch. Year 2 children need to be able to tell the time to the quarter of an hour, however, if they are working above the standard for their age, they are expected to know the time to the five minutes, e.g. 5 past, ten to etc. Year 1 children need to know the time to o’clock and half past. We will also be doing some work on statistics, understanding tally charts and pictograms, and finishing term 5 with some work on position and direction. During the term, we will be revising many of the concepts previously learnt, eg addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions through our daily Early Bird Maths.
Science
In science this term we will be learning about materials and how objects are different from the materials they are made from. We will be conducting several investigations about the properties of different materials, for example finding out the best material to use for the soles of our shoes. We have a school trip planned to Herstmonceux Science Centre to enrich this learning.
DT
We will be doing DT in term 6, learning about levers and sliders to help us to design and make a moving picture of a space rocket.
Art
In Art we will be focusing on textiles, learning about Karen Rose who is a textile artist who creates artwork on the theme of space. We will be building on the sewing skills we learnt in Term 4 to create some lovely embroidered collages.
RE
In term 5 we will be returning to the religion of Judaism and how Jewish people live, focusing on the festival of Chanukah.
In term 6 we will be focusing on the Christian concept of Gospel, trying to answer the question: What is the good news that Jesus brings?
PSHE
In terms 5 and 6 we will be learning about relationships and how we are changing as we grow older. In relationships, we will be talking to the children about families, resolving conflict with friends and how to trust people. In the Changing Me unit, the children will be learning about how they have changed since they were babies and will be learning the correct names for boys’ and girls’ body parts. Through both units they will be exploring physical contact with others and what is acceptable.
Reading Books
We will be continuing to send home the Monster Phonics and Dandelion Readers each week. Some children will be bringing extra books home in preparation for the Phonics Screening and to help your child secure their knowledge of all the graphemes they have learnt so far in Phonics.
Please remind your children to change their other books once they have finished reading them. These can be changed as often as needed but you are also welcome to read books that you have at home. Please remember to keep filling in the reading records to help your child achieve certificates in our Gold Book Assemblies on a Friday.
Forest School
It is Class 2’s turn for Forest School this term and you should have received a copy of the groupings before Easter. Please ensure your child brings in suitable clothing and footwear for Forest School sessions, including a coat in case of poor weather. We currently have a few volunteers to help with Forest School on a Thursday afternoon, but there are some weeks where Mrs Godfrey hasn’t got anyone to support her. She needs two parents each week to enable her to take the children to the woods, which are a wonderful resource for the skills the children will be learning. Please see the school office if you are able to volunteer to help.
