Kennick
Dear Parents/Carers,
We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break and are looking forward to the Spring
Term.
Topic
Our topic this term is the Romans and will be taught through most curriculum areas.
We begin by focusing on Art and learning about Roman mosaics. We will learn how
and why the Romans created these and then design and create our own using a
stick-printing technique.
We will learn about life in Britain before the Romans arrived and how the arrival of
the Roman armies affected the Celtic tribes. As part of this we will be making our
own Roman and Celtic shields. This will also lead on the learning about Boudicca’s
rebellion through music dance and drama.
We will study life in Roman times, the buildings and their purposes, engineering such
as roads and aqueducts and will then finally focus on clothing, food and daily life.
Homework
Homework – homework and spellings will be set each week on a Wednesday or
Thursday to be completed by the following Monday.
There will usually be either Literacy or a Maths piece of homework or both each
week. Sometimes I will set topic related work instead which may last for several
weeks. Children should also continue to practice their times tables for Monday tests
too.
The spellings are set and tested according to their spelling group where children
have the opportunity to practice and learn their words through a variety of tasks
and games on a daily basis in preparation for the Monday test.
Home support
Your child should be reading every day. This will develop both their reading and
writing skills. Each child is expected to take reading books home and they must be
kept in good condition. Your child is also being encouraged to take part in a
national competition called Read for My School.
Please ensure that you support your child with their homework by:

hearing them read daily

testing them on their spelling words before a Monday test
PE

testing them on their times tables

using the local library or the internet to support your child with their learning
This term the children will be developing their handball skills and taking part in a
handball tournament. They will be taught by Mrs Hancorn on a Monday and by a PE
specialist teacher from Teign, Tim Flint, for three Tuesdays this term.
Please ensure your child brings the correct PE kit into school on his or her PE days.
Several children have complained that their PE shoes/trainers do not fit so could you
please check with your child and make sure they have the appropriate kit in school.
Daily routine
Please make sure your child attends school regularly and is on time every day.
Kennick pupils are to line up at the door nearest the hall at 8:50 every morning
where they will be collect by either Mrs Hancorn or Ms Redwood.
At the end of the school day please collect your child at 3.11pm from the lower
playground.
Please make every effort to collect your child on time.
With kind regards
Ms Redwood and Mrs Hancorn
Kennick Class Teachers
READING
Reading has a very high profile within the school and we aim to create fluent,
discerning, life-long readers who love and value books.
We want parents to be actively involved in the process with their child, encouraging
them to read and share books together. Where this is regular practice, all children
make significant progress.
At Christow, time is set aside for regular reading and children are given the
experience of reading alone and together. They are encouraged to discuss and
make choices about their reading.
Children are taught to read fluently, understand extended prose, both fiction and
non-fiction, and are encouraged to read for pleasure.
We have a wide range of high quality reading materials to support your child’s
reading development.
WRITING
Children learn to write by using the language they speak. We encourage children to
‘have a go’, and then with skilful teacher input and support we work through the
recognised stages of development to achieve standard written English. Spelling,
phonics and punctuation are developed gradually through the children’s writing.
As they develop, children are encouraged to see writing as a powerful means of
self-expression and communication and to write for a range of purposes.
They develop the stamina and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling and
punctuation. They are taught the correct use of grammar, in context. The writing we
do includes narratives, explanations, descriptions, comparisons, summaries and
evaluations: such writing supports them in rehearsing, understanding and
consolidating what they have heard or read.
For handwriting we use a cursive script.
Read Write Inc
We now follow the ‘Read Write Inc’ Phonics programme designed by Ruth Miskin.
The school is committed to ensuring that all children learn to read with accuracy
and confidence.
The Read Write Inc programme will allow us to do this and also support you in
developing a lifelong love of reading in your child.
At the core of the programme is the lively and rigorous teaching of synthetic
phonics. Children learn the 44 common sounds in the English language and how to
sound-blend words for reading (decoding) at the same time as developing
handwriting skills and spelling (encoding).
As their confidence in decoding develops they are taught to understand and
compose ideas for their own writing. The children have the pleasure of reading
exciting storybooks perfectly matched to their level ensuring early success in
reading.
In each class at Christow children follow a planned programme of reading and
writing activities in small groups.
It begins in the Foundation Stage and once a child is reading at Level 2a they will
have completed the programme.
Read Write Inc Link - http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/parents
Art
Children are taught a range of Art and Design skills through a creative curriculum of
topic work. Teachers will ensure progression of skills across Key Stage 1 and 2.
We will work closely with Teign and Coombeshead Art departments and make use
of their facilities and resources wherever possible.
Each year we will hold an Arts week where children develop a range of work using
different media on a given topic culminating in an exhibition for parents and
governors.