Studland Class

Welcome to our class.

Welcome to the Summer term. You will see below a copy of our newsletter giving all information and details for the term up until half-term.

Our class is organised as follows:

Mrs Rachael Brown teaches in the mornings and is supported by Mrs Perry

Mrs Debbie Tibbey teaches in the afternoons, supported by Mrs D Bennett

Mrs Butterfield and Mrs Loakes also support in the classroom throughout the week.

Curriculum Newsletter Summer Term 2010

Studland Class
Welcome back to the new term! I hope you have all had a good holiday and are ready for a fun-packed, but very busy Summer Term!
We will be covering 4 different topics this term with Grounds Week in the middle of them.

‘Pond Life’
Dates: 19th – 30th April
The children will begin the term by taking a closer look at our school pond and the animals that live there. They will try their hand at pond dipping, using nets and trays to find out what kinds of animals are living in the pond. In the classroom, the children will have the chance to look more carefully at the animals they catch, and identify them, using magnifying glasses and microscopes. The children will learn about the lifecycle of a frog and observe frogspawn and tadpoles in the classroom.

‘Under The Sea’
Dates: 4th – 28th May
The children will learn about different animals that live in the oceans. They will begin the topic by visiting Kimmeridge Bay. Here they will find out about and have hands on experience of the plants and animals found in rock pools, beaches and seas in England. They will find out about the different habitats these creatures live in and how they are adapted to their environment. Following the visit, the children will work in pairs, using the internet to find out more information about a chosen animal, and will make a poster about it using I.C.T. During music lessons, children will have the opportunity to listen to and create their own ocean musical pieces and in dance the children will create ocean dances using the musical pieces they have composed. In design and technology lessons, the children will make sea creature models using reclaimed materials and also bake sea creature biscuits.

‘Holidays’
Dates: 8th – 25th June
The children will learn about seaside holidays in the past and the types of holidays taken today. We hope to take the children on a trip to Swanage to find out about a typical Victorian day at the seaside and to make comparisons with seaside holidays today (more details to follow later). They will find out about how people travelled in the past and consider the best mode of transport for these journeys today. In the role play area they will be jetting off to far away lands, buying tickets, weighing luggage and using passports.

Grounds Week – Week Beginning 28th June – including Sports Day 30th June.

‘In the Outback’ – learning about other countries and cultures.
Dates: 5th – 23rd July
The children will learn about different aspects of other cultures in the country of Australia. They will listen to traditional stories and poems which reflect the lives of the native people of Australia. They will express their feelings about the culture through various art forms including dance, music, cookery and art such as painting and batik. The children will become familiar with the location and geographical features of Australia.

The topics cover skills from many subjects in the National Curriculum. However, subjects which are not specifically covered in the topics such as Maths and PSHE (personal, social and health education) will be taught in separate lessons.

P.E will be taught twice a week. However, the days on which these lessons take place will change because of the way the topics run so please could you ensure that your child has their P.E kit in school at all times.

In addition to this, we are very lucky that Gardening Club, which is run by some of our parents, will start again this term. The club will run on a Thursday afternoon during school time. The children will take turns to work in the school garden, planting vegetables and flowers and weeding the beds.

Homework
The children will bring home a maths game each week; these will be changed on a Friday. It would be very useful if you could fill in the book, to let us know how your child (and you!) finds the games or to let us know if anything is missing / lost from the pack.

Your child will also have reading books to bring home. As always, if your child has read at home and would like to change their books, then they can hand in their books with their reading record book on any morning.

Spellings are given and tested on a Monday morning. The children should have a spelling book which needs to be in school each Monday, so that they are able to write their new spellings in.

They may bring home additional homework but please could all homework be back in school by Wednesday so that I have time to look at it and change everyone’s by Friday.

Library books will continue to be changed on Friday mornings.

How can you help?

Join us on our trip to Kimmeridge Bay on 12th May.
Help the children on their Design and Technology day 25th May.
Provide your child with old shoes and an old adult shirt to protect their uniform when gardening.
Collect packets, tubes and other junk materials for our sea creature models.
Join us on our trip to Swanage – more details later!!

I hope that this newsletter gives you an overview of what your child will be experiencing in school this term but if you would like any more information about the curriculum, please do not hesitate to speak to me.

Thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Rachael Brown

If you have any questions or queries at any time, then please feel free to call in and see us - our door is always open!