Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed a restful Easter break and are ready for the new term. Our topic for Terms 5 and 6 is ‘Exploring the World’ and is predominately geographical based but will also form the basis for our English and Communication work and some of our Science work.

As part of English and Communication, we will be learning to use the suffixes ‘ed’, ‘ing’, ‘s’, ‘es’ and ‘est’ in our writing and will discuss how these suffixes can change the meaning of a core word. We will also be learning to use the ‘un’ prefix. Over the summer term, we will use story and information texts to link to this learning and our topic of exploring the world.  We will develop our letter/postcard writing skills using fictional texts and describe different locations on an imaginary journey. We will make a packing list for our journey and use labels to add details to illustrations. We will use our oral story telling skills and role play to recount some traditional tales from around the world and will use some non-fiction texts to help us write about each continent.

In our Time and Place lessons, we will start by locating Tunbridge Wells on a map and recapping some of its features. We will then learn about the name of the 4 countries which make up the United Kingdom and will locate them and their capital cities on a map. We will also be learning about the compass directions: North, South, East and West. Next we will be learning about the location and names of the 7 continents of the world and the world’s 5 oceans. We will then learn more about each continent’s key features, its weather and some plants and animals which live there, to link in with our Science work.

In Science lessons, we will be learning about plants and trees. This will include identifying and naming a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees. We will also identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants, including trees and will observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants. We will also be continuing our work on seasons and will be observing and describing changes in our local environment, the day length and the weather as we enter summer.  We will also talk about what the weather is like in different parts of the world as we learn about each continent.

In our Design and the Arts lessons, we will be looking at the work of Andy Goldsworthy and his use of natural resources to make land art. We will create our own artwork using natural resources and clay, individually and in groups. We will also be looking at patterns in nature such as leaves and animals prints and creating some art inspired by that.

In Maths this term, we will start by learning to count in 2s, 5s and 10s. We will then move on to making equal groups of objects, making arrays and doubling numbers. This term we will also be learning fractions (halves and quarters) and place value for numbers up to 100. We will also be learning about money (including recognising coins and notes) and time (including sequencing the days of the week and telling the time to the hour and half past the hour).  

In our RE lessons, Willow Class will be learning about stories form different faiths, including Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist stories. We will also talk about each religion’s holy book and place of worship. We will also learn about Aboriginal dreamtime stories and the Shinto creation story.

In our Sport, Exercise and Health lessons, we will be developing our athletic skills in preparation for Sports Day and will be playing some team games to develop ball control and accuracy in passing.

In our Computing lessons, we will be using Purple Mash to learn about coding, spreadsheets and using the arrow keys to guide objects through a maze.

Just a few reminders:

Home Learning: Home learning will be set on a Wednesday and needs to be completed in the Homework Book by the following Monday, when books will be collected in.  You will also find it on the Willow Class Blog at the beginning of the week.

PE Kit: It is essential that your child has a house T-shirt, shorts and plimsolls or trainers in school every day so that they can participate in PE activities. Long hair needs to be tied back for PE so please ensure your child wears a hairband to school. Also, earrings should not be worn on PE days. This term, PE will be on a Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Please ensure that your child’s belongings are labelled.

Water Bottles: In order to help your child stay hydrated and be ready to learn, please make sure that they bring a labelled water bottle to school with them every day. We kindly ask that bottles are filled with water only rather than juices or squash. Please do speak to us if this is an issue.

Start of the day: Children should arrive at school between 8:30am and 8:50am and go into school via the Willow Class outside area. It is important that your child arrives at school by 8:50am. If however you arrive after 8:50am, please send your child via the main entrance/office so that we are aware they have arrived and can make sure their lunch choice is recorded.

Collection Arrangements: Children will come out of the classroom once their adult has arrived to pick them up. The playground can become quite congested so please move away from the outside gate once you have collected your child. If someone else is collecting your child after school, please tell a staff member in the morning or telephone the school office if arrangements change during the day.

If you have any concerns or queries about information included in this letter or any other matter relating to your child’s education, please do not hesitate to contact us via the class email address: willow@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk. 

Many thanks,

Mrs Pring