Dear Parents/ Guardians,
Welcome back to St John’s!
I am thrilled to be able to welcome back all the children to full time education, and embark on the exciting year 6 curriculum.
We shall be continuing with regular spelling and times tables testing, along with allowing the children opportunities to complete their reading quizzes for Accelerated Reading.
PE – For the first half of this term our PE will be swimming on Thursday afternoons. For the second half of this term we will have GOAL on Tuesdays, and Forest School on Fridays. While we have the current restrictions in place, we ask that children come to school in their PE kit on the days they are due to have a PE lesson.
Reading – All of Year 6 are now working on the Accelerated Reading Programme and are busily reading and quizzing their books. As they are in year 6, I have asked that they read at least 5 times a week and write a brief note about what they have read into their reading records. Reading regularly is the best way to improve their reading speed and fluency. Parents often ask teachers what can they do to help support their child’s learning and progress. Without doubt, the biggest answer to this is … READING! This could be listening to your child read; reading a fabulous book to your child or having regular bedtime reading sessions. Listening to stories is proven to have a massive impact on children’s vocabulary development which then has a positive impact on their writing.
Spelling – One of the most important elements of the writing assessment framework is spelling. To this end, please ensure your children practise their spellings regularly.
Times tables – as with spellings, times tables are pivotal to success in maths. Please support your children with regular practise using TTRS.
Wider Curriculum - we shall of course maintain a broad and balanced curriculum, with regular art, music, history and geography lessons throughout the year. Our topics and themes for these subjects can be found on our long term plan.
We are really looking forward to a busy term with lots of great learning and experiences. If you do have any questions or concerns, please come and speak to one of us.
Best wishes,
Jonathan Mears