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 English, History, Music, Art and Science!
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 8th June. You will be informed of your child’s score in their 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 what Bob does the next day on the Moon. We will also be writing a recount of how an astronaut gets ready for an expedition to the Moon. Following this, we will be reading some space-themed poems and writing our own poetry about the different planets. We will then be reading a book called “Footprints on the Moon” by Mark Haddon and will be retelling the story of Neil Armstrong and the first Moon landing.
Computing
In Computing, we will be learning about animation on the computer in particular learning about stop motion animation and how it works.
PE
We welcome Bright Sparks back to Blackboys for term 5 working on athletics skills and Miss Zara for term 6 working on fitness. 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.
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.
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, we will be starting to learn the time to the five minutes, eg 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.
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?”
Science
In science this term we will be learning about materials and how objects are different from the materials they are made from. We hope to have a school trip 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 Cecilia Vicuña’s work (knots, plaits, weaving etc) and creating their own woven wonder.
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?
Reading Books
The children will be continuing to read their Monster Phonics books each week in Guided Reading and these will continue to be changed every Friday. Reading for Pleasure will continue on a Monday, so please ensure your child’s big sharing book is returned each week.
Please remember that the children are very welcome to take other reading books home from our class library and these can be changed as often as needed. Please remember to keep filling in the reading records to help your child achieve certificates in our Gold Book Assemblies on a Friday.
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.
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. Mrs Godfrey will need parental support to be able to take the children into the woods for Forest School, so please see the school office if you are able to volunteer to help.
Key Dates
Sunday 10th May – PTA Spring Tidy Up at school
Thursday 21st May – Scorcha Skate School Day
Friday 22nd May – Class 2 trip to Herstmonceux Science Centre
Monday 1st June – INSET Day
Saturday 6th June – PTA Bingo and Bubbles Night
Monday 8th June – Start of Phonics Screening Check week
Wednesday 24th June – Sports Day
Wednesday 1st July – Reserve Sports Day
Saturday 4th July – PTA Summer Fair
Friday 10th July – Whole School ‘moving up’ morning
Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th July – Whole School Production
Tuesday 21st July – Last day of Term 6
Cup Assembly
Wednesday 22nd July – INSET Day
If you have any questions, please contact me at hsullivan@blackboys.e-sussex.sch.uk
Best wishes
Mrs Sullivan
