Welcome to the latest edition of the Year F newsletter. Can you believe that Christmas is nearly upon us?
Reading
The children are getting into the routine of choosing a library book each week. These books are for enjoyment and are chosen by the children themselves. The aim of sending these books home is to promote love of reading, but we would also encourage you to use these opportunities to check your child’s understanding of what they have just read. Can they explain the story? What can they tell you about the characters? Did they enjoy the story and tell you which part they enjoyed?
Christmas Performance
Many of you have been asking whether the Christmas performances will be going ahead. At this stage, the plans remain as they are. The children are practising the songs every day and they are making good progress in learning the words to each song and Christmas carol. We are sure that many of the children have been singing the songs at home!
You should have received a note in your child’s book bag informing you of your child’s role in the performance. We would encourage you not to go out and spend lots of money on costumes. Use what you have around your home and make use of local charity shops. Please remember that all costumes need to be in school in a named bag by Monday 6th December.
What is my child learning?
In phonics, we have assessed each child in their ability to recall the Set 1 Speed Sounds and use ‘Fred talk’ to orally blend sounds to identify words. In the next week, the children will be put into phonics groups based on ability and progress. This enables each child to receive targeted support that matches their phonic ability.
Practising the Set 1 Speed Sounds from our phonics scheme – Read, Write Inc – is a great way to support your child’s phonics development. Below is a link that shows you videos of how to pronounce the sounds:
In Maths, we have been learning the names and properties of 2D shapes and exploring their similarities and differences. We have also been undertaking Shape Hunts in our learning areas – it is amazing how many different shapes there are in our Foundation area! What shapes can your child find at home? Can they tell you have many sides and vertices each shape has?
In Religious Education, the children have been learning about the role of Our Lady as mother of the Son of God. They have been to visit St Patrick’s Church and thoroughly enjoyed visiting ‘God’s house’ (in the children’s words!) The children have also been learning about Hinduism as one of the world faiths that we learn about at St Patrick’s.
Prayers
We have started to introduce the children to spontaneous prayer, teaching them that God listens to us all and wants to hear our prayers. We would encourage you to take a few moments at home as a family, find a quiet space, light a candle if you have one, and just be in God’s presence. The children have been doing incredibly well at learning to be still and calm during our daily collective worships and are enjoying the opportunity to offer up their own prayers!
The Year F Team