A request! We still need egg boxes, or similar recycled ‘rough’ cardboard packaging for our design challenge over the next few weeks. Please send some in with your child if you have any, as these will be vital for our puppets!

This week in English, we will be continuing to organise our writing into paragraphs, prior to starting our own stories based on the feature books, Perfect and King of the Sky, both by Nicola Davies.

Guided reading this week will be an extract from the book ‘Fortunately, the Milk’ by Neil Gaiman. This hilarious book tells the story of a dad who goes out to buy some milk, but who faces a number of different adventures along the way! The children will investigate the text and answer questions about comprehension and composition.

In Maths this week we will be continuing with multiplication and division. The focus this week will continue to be on multiples of ten, looking at the related calculations and the reasoning skills needed when multiplying. 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 start a new project. We will be looking at designers, building up to designing our own moveable puppets.

We will continue work on our UK topic as well this week, a geography focus, looking at the United Kingdom. This week, we will be taking a closer look at Northern Island.

Mrs Johnson will be starting the Salvation unit this week, further considering why Christians call the day Jesus died ‘Good’ Friday.

On Friday, we will be welcoming Mrs Hawker to Maple Class. Mrs Hawker will be starting the next science unit, looking at light, plus working on money skills with the children. Mrs Hawker will also be coming swimming with us in the afternoon.

Maple class have PE on Thursday with myself and Mr Luckhurst, and then swimming on Friday as usual. Please do email if you have any questions about this and remember to send your children in with everything they need for these 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