Unicorn Spring Two Newsletter 2017 Dear Parents, What a busy half term we have had! We’ve visited the Great Barrier Reef with Google Expeditions, written and performed our own poetry with the help of Conrad Burdekin and written discussion texts about the housing development in Bramhope. The Curriculum This half term in English, we will be reading Beowulf by Michael Morpurgo. It is the oldest surviving Old English poem. It was told by the wave of Anglo Saxons who settled in England during the dark ages and was first written down around the end of the first millennium AD. It tells the story of a Geatish hero, Beowulf, and his battles against the monster, Grendel, the sea hag that was Grendel's mother and the hardest battle of all, against a giant, treasure-hoarding dragon. Since then, it has been retold many times, by many great authors. We will be using it to write diary entries, character and setting descriptions and recounts of events in the story. In Maths, we are continuing to explore fractions. Any help with times tables would be much appreciated. We shall be looking at adding fractions, equivalent fractions and continuing to practise fractions of amount. We shall then move on to measure before the end of the half-term. In RE this term we will be asking 'How different religions' beliefs are expressed through arts?' We will think about symbols that may represent us and then how symbols, and the arts, represent different religions throughout the world.
In History, we shall be studying the Anglo-Saxons. We shall learn about their links to our village before moving on to develop our skills as historians by investigating different aspects of their day to day lives. We will then be studying the Vikings. We shall be taking the year 3, 4 and 5 children on a school trip to Murton Park to bring their learnings on the Vikings to life. A letter will follow early next half term with more details. The Anglo-Saxons were great craft workers. They made intricate jewellery and we will be investigating and recreating similar patterns in art. In science, we will be investigating rocks and soils. Over the course of the half term, we will investigate the different properties of rock and examine soil composition. In addition to this, we will take a closer look at fossils and the process involved in their formation. Homework The homework for Unicorn is: Reading 10 minutes every evening. Book records to be returned on a Tuesday. Reading to be recorded every evening. Monday– Maths – to be returned by Thursday (Unicorn and Griffin maths group only) Monday –Key skills – to be returned by Thursday. Thursday – Spellings to be learned for the following Wednesday. Children are tested by their morning partners on a Wednesday morning and then at the end of each term by ourselves. Please note we shall be moving to spelling patterns over the course of the half term as children have made excellent progress with their word walls. We will also be sending home a homework menu with details of some projects to be completed over a half term. If at any point, you are struggling with any aspects of the homework, please do let us know and we will be happy to discuss it with you. Encouraging Reading.
The children have made a brilliant start with their reading this term and already are moving along our ‘Hot Air Balloon Reading Challenge’ in the classroom. Please could you continue to support your children reading for 10 minutes every evening and record this in their reading record. If your child is struggling to find a book in the library, then please do get in touch. Learning Platform A reminder about logging onto the learning platform. Please remember to log on as each week I try to: - Update parents on what we are covering in class (posted each Monday morning). - Run class discussion pages on recommended books to read. - Reply to messages direct from parents in case of any problems or queries. - Upload useful documentation: handwriting practice, timetable etc. Equipment If your child doesn’t have an art shirt in school, please bring one in. It can be an old shirt or t-shirt. Please also make sure that the children have all the correct equipment in school for writing. They will all need pencils, rubbers, a long nonflexible ruler and a whiteboard pen. We are able to supply white board pens for 50p in school. Parents Evening Please note the parents evening dates have changed. Please check the school calendar for and newsletter for details. Contact Please contact me via the learning platform or by leaving a message via the school office. Yours Sincerely
Unicorn Team
