Otter News (4th October, 2024)

It has been a fantastic start to our new school year and we have all been really impressed with how quickly our Otters from EYFS have settled into new routines. It can be daunting starting in a new class but they really have hit the ground running and are enthusiastic and motivated with their learning. Thank you for all of your support at home in helping your child remember water bottles and book bags each week, it is really appreciated!

Our topic ‘What makes a family?’ has enabled everyone to share experiences of their family life and to celebrate the differences between families. The class have loved learning about Victorian houses and the features that they had, from tin baths to outside toilets! We have had many insightful questions which shows how curious our Otters are!

We were so lucky this week to have a class trip to the Science centre at QMC. From the minibus journey to the activities that had been arranged, the children had an amazing day of fact-learning and fun. The trip complemented our learning in science this term where we are exploring the animal categories carnivore, omnivore and herbivore and the planned activities gave the children opportunity to sort animals, handle skeletons and talk about why animals eat certain food.

Otter Class: Autumn1 Learning Overview

Welcome Back

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome everyone back after the summer break and share with you some information about this school year including our Learning Overview for the Autumn Term which follows the letter.

Staffing

As you are now aware, Otter Class is taught by Mrs Norton and supported by Mrs Miles, Mrs Baronne and Miss Capon. Mrs Rolph will teach Otter Class on Mondays and Mrs Miles will teach for a day on Wednesday each fortnight, providing statutory Planning, Preparation and Assessment time (PPA) cover for Mrs Norton. 

Rabbits class is taught by Mrs Jolliffe and supported by Miss Maisey, Ms Robertson and Mrs Claydon. In addition to this the year 1 children in rabbits’ class are taught by Mrs Norton.

Homework

Learning out of school is vital to developing successful learners. We want homework to be engaging and purposeful so that it consolidates the learning from the classroom. We also want it to be manageable as we appreciate how busy home life can be.

In Otter Class the children are set the following homework:

Daily Reading

Children are encouraged to have a balance of quiet, independent reading and reading aloud, whereby they can practise reading with the appropriate expression and fluency. We encourage the children to try out a range of genres and different authors.  Please record any reading in the yellow reading record in your child’s book bag.

 

Maths and English

A Maths or English sheet (glued into their homework book) will be given out every Friday. Children are expected to complete their homework by the following Wednesday, ready for marking in class that afternoon. The homework will revisit the knowledge and skills learnt in class the week before.

If your child has any concerns around their homework, please encourage them to speak to Mrs Norton before the homework is due in.

PE Kit

There will be two sessions of PE per week; one indoor and one outdoor session. These are planned for Mondays and Fridays. As with last year, we are asking for all children to wear their PE kit to school on their PE days. They will remain in their kit all day.

If you have any questions throughout the year, please come and speak to me. We look forward to continuing our fantastic start to the school year.