Another great session at the swimming pool Friday! The groups are working well but there will be a number of children changing groups over the next few weeks, as their confidence increases and the pool instructors get to know the children. The decision about which group a child is in, is up to the pool instructors, so if you have any concerns, please do get in touch via the class email and I will let you know how your child is getting on.

Again, this week in English, we will be working with the text from the King of the Sky, a beautiful book by Nicola Davies. The children will be studying this book and using the emotional story to complement their learning. The learning this week will focus on direct speech.

Guided reading this week will include a poem, My Shadow by Robert Lewis Stevenson, with the children investigating the features of this lovely poem and answering questions about the comprehension and composition.

In Maths this week we will be continuing with multiplication and division. The focus this week will be increasing our working knowledge of the 3 times table to multiply and divide, before moving onto the 4 times table. Times tables learning will continue throughout the week, with opportunities for the children to practise their tables and complete a times table challenge.

In art this week, the children will continue looking at portraits generally, adding other examples and starting their own acrylic self-portrait. We will continue work on our new topic as well this week, a geography focus this term, looking at the United Kingdom.

Mrs Johnson will be continuing the Sikhism unit this term, discussing and making suggestions about what Sikhs believe about God. 

Maple class have PE on Thursday with Mr Luckhurst and then swimming on Friday. Please do email if you have any questions about this and do remember to send your children in with everything they need for both sessions. If in doubt please do ask.

Reading Records will generally be changed on a Monday and Thursday. We would continue to ask however, that children bring their books and Reading Records in to school each day and that they aim to read daily, ideally with an adult – details of this can then be recorded in the Reading Record. Pleased do contact me if you feel your child’s book is either too easy or too difficult, or if your child’s book has not been changed. There are times when a book will be sent home more than once, either because a child is reading chapter books, or if it is felt that the book needs to be read more than once to enhance familiarity.

I am always happy to answer any questions you may have so please do contact me if you have any queries, using the class email address:

maple@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk

Best wishes

Mrs Smallcombe and the Maple Team