Hedgehog News (4th October, 2024)

5 weeks in hedgehog class, and I am so proud of what this group of children have achieved so far. The concentration, application and kindness your children have shown has made these opening weeks of term an absolute pleasure to have been part of. Now the tricky part, knowing where to begin. Our overarching topic is all about the Anglo Saxons, in English the children have been showing a remarkable amount of creativity, optimistic word choices and using a range of fronted adverbials to describe an Anglo-Saxon Island. ‘Nestled in the middle of the Atlantic, grand statues rise up from the depths of the ocean and stand as ancient guardians watching over this mystical island as they have done from the dawn of time’ is one of the example sentences I was amazed with! Every child has been developing their vocabulary since the start of the year and it is evident in their writing. Our current learning journey is the opposite we are describing an Anglo-Saxon battle focusing on antonyms from their previous work. Some of their passages have sent shivers down my spine. For math’s the children have just completed their place value unit and each and every one of them has shown a tremendous amount of effort in applying themselves which they should all be praised for. It has been great to see the number of children working on TTRS and I hope to see this continue for the rest of the year. In our topic the children have examined Saxon artefacts, discovered the mystery of Sutton Hoo and the importance of the helmet, we discussed life in a Village and met the formidable Hengest and Horsa. In our art the children have designed their Anglo-Saxon brooches including runes, creating them out of clay and also out of foil, the results have been beautiful and I am excited for when they get to take them home to show you. I know it can be daunting the step up to KS2 and for those new children coming into a new class but they have approached every lesson with enthusiasm and a want to work which is commendable. Keep up the amazing work Hedgehogs. I look forward to the next newsletter to share even more of what is happening in class.

 

Hedgehog 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, Hedgehog Class is taught by Mr Ralph and supported by Mrs Edwards and Mrs Allan. Mrs Miles will teach for a day on Wednesday each fortnight, providing statutory Planning, Preparation and Assessment time (PPA) cover for Mr Ralph. 

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 Hedgehog 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 and record these in their reading records.

 

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.

Timestables Rockstars.

All children will be set up with a TTRS account and these details will be sent home. This is a fantastic tool to help children learn and consolidate multiplication, division and number skills which are of vital importance in key stage 2.

If your child has any concerns around their homework, please encourage them to speak to me 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. The PE kits must consist of a school or plain red tee shirt and white shorts. 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.