November Newsletter
Homework - To be handed in on Friday 6th November
Welcome back to term2! I hope you all enjoyed the October break and are ready for the build
up to Christmas. This is a busy term and so will be a hard working one too. We have lots of
events and activities to cover from now until the end of term including Remembrance Day,
Children in Need, Christmas Fair, Christmas concert, Pantomime and parties to name a few!
I was really pleased with the way P5 had settled and were working by the end of term 1. I
hope that we start term 2 in the same way and keep building to being the best class we
can be. At assembly last week we showed how well we are doing when nearly all of the
winners of the highest endeavour point earners for term 1, P4 – P7, came from P5! I am
so proud of you all. Let’s see if we can do the same in term 2.
Specialist timetable this term
Monday - P.E.
French
Tuesday – Music Recorders Choir
Wednesday – I.C.T.
Thursday – P.E. with Mrs Wilson
Friday – Assembly
Remembrance Day
Poppies will be on sale from Monday this week. Please take a small donation for
this worthy cause and show your support, for all of those who fight or have been
affected by war, by wearing a poppy.
Children in Need
The theme this year is, “Dress as your hero” (A separate letter has been sent home with more
information) Items for Pudsey will be sold in school from Monday 9th November and will
continue to be sold throughout the week until stocks last. If you would like to buy one of the
items then please remember to take your money in next week.
Also, we are collecting spare 5p and 10p coins to try and fill our Pudsey Paws so please take
in any spare change for this if you can.
Spelling this term
We started the Active Literacy Spelling programme last week. This focusses on two areas,
the phonic side, looking at how words are spelled from the way they sound, and the strategies
we can use to help us spell the words that cannot be sounded out. We work in small blocks
with activities each day based around the sound or strategy we are working on. We are
adopting this approach throughout the school and, as I mentioned, P5 started last week. The
programme does not give spellings for homework every week and any lists given focus on
common words. This will be different from the usual weekly spellings that have been given
in past years. After last week I can say that we have started well. Let’s keep this up P5!
Reading
Reading from now on will also follow the Active Literacy Programme. We will be using a
class reader, Fantastic Mr Fox, over the next six weeks where we will work on the different
strategies for reading. Again, we will work on activities every day to reinforce each week’s
strategy.
As we are working on the same book in class, every pupil has been given an Accelerated
Reading Book based at their own level to read at their own pace. These books can be taken
home to read and time in class will also be given. After finishing each book a test is taken and
scores are recorded before choosing another book.
At the end of the work on all of the strategies I will give out reading books again with
activities in class continuing as daily tasks based on these.
Maths – we will be working on money, time, shape and number this term. However we will
still need to keep working on our tables and homework will be related to this so that we can
get this really important aspect of maths embedded firmly in our thinking.
Project
We will continue to work on our topic of Britain this term and as part of this we set up
our own pop/rock bands. This week I am setting a homework task based on what each
group discussed in class time. Every group member chose an instrument to play. Over
the next 3 weeks I would like you to make your instrument at home. Use your
imagination as to what you can use to make it, cardboard, wood, plastic containers, wool
for strings etc. It’s up to you but it should be a life size model and be coloured with the name
or letters of your group displayed somewhere. You have 3 weeks so that you can do a good
job and have time to work on it. I look forward to seeing the different designs you come up
with. Please have them ready for Friday 20th November.
T – Shirts
As part of our pop band work we have been designing images to iron on to t shirts. If you
would like your design to be put on to a top then please take in a plain, light coloured t shirt
along with £1 to put towards the cost of the transfer paper and the printing inks. You can then
model your design for the class.
RECIPE
In class we have been looking at the landscape of Britain and the types of crops, animals and
fish that we have here. This week I would like you to find a recipe that uses some of the
produce of Britain. If we all bring in one recipe we can make a little recipe book with them
all. I would like you to write the recipe, NOT print, and display it in an attractive way. Think
about the layout and any pictures you would have. You should also be able to tell what
ingredients are British and where about in Britain you would mostly find them. We will then
choose, as a class, some of the recipes to cook!
Homework this week
Done
Maths – 9x table
Instrument for group – think about/ plan design
Accelerated reading book
T Shirt – if you want your design printed
Recipe –
1. Write the recipe
2. Decorate it
3. Write what ingredients are British
4. Write where in Britain these ingredients are mostly produced.
Happy Belated Birthday to Beth whose
birthday was at the end of the holidays!
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