Autumn 2005

16th September 2005

Dear Kennick Parents

Welcome back after the lovely summer break. We hope that everyone is suitably rested and ready for an action packed term.

We have attached a copy of the Kennick timetable although please do bear in mind that this is subject to change. Children will need to have their PE kit in school all the time and children with long hair do need to ensure that they tie in back. Jewellery is not permitted and stud earrings will need to the taped over for the duration of the PE session.

In terms of literacy and numeracy the children will be following the national strategies. In literacy the genres studied will include stories in familiar settings, poetry, reports in the form of information booklets, and play scripts. In numeracy children will be consolidating and extending their skills in number, calculation, and measures, shape and space. Homework will be set and marked by Mrs Turner this term (we take it in turns) and so will be given out on a Wednesday for collection on the following Tuesday. Ms Collins will be running the spelling component of homework. Spellings will be given on a Friday for a test on the following Friday. The homework and the spellings will be to support the work that the children are currently doing in class. Homework should take no longer than 30mins and spellings should be learned using the Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check method.

With regard to reading, children will know what reading band they are on and will bring books home to share with adults. You, as parents and carers are responsible for keeping a record of the reading that the child does at home. In class reading skills are developed in the guided reading sessions and it would just be an impossibility to run the individual reading programme as well. Please don?t hesitate to come and talk to us if you would like further guidance on reading with your child at home.

Science this term is split into two smaller topic areas. This first half term we will be studying Materials. The children will be extending their knowledge of the range of materials we use and the properties that characterise them. Older children will also be focusing on the differences between solids and liquids and recognising that the same material can exist as both solid and liquid. They will identify changes that occur when solids and liquids are mixed and how to separate undissolved solids from a liquid. In the second half term we will be looking at Rocks and Soils. . The children should come to recognise that underneath all surfaces is rock, which they may not be able to see, and that rocks get broken down into pebbles and soils that have different characteristics. Pebbles and soils from different rocks consequently have different characteristics. Ms Collins is hoping to arrange a trip to support the work covered in this unit. More details to follow.


We will split the Humanities this term. We will study History during this first half term: ?Why did Henry VIII marry six times?? Through answering this question we hope to learn about what life was like in the Tudor times in terms of the politics, culture, education, health of the time. We have started this history topic already and the children do seem very motivated and interested in Tudor life and times. For your information the Primary Times were advertising an Elizabethan Weekend on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October at Buckland Abbey 10.30 am ? 5.00pm. ?Discover the excitement of Tudor life with dancing demonstrations, workshops with music and entertainment. Meanwhile in the kitchen the cooks will be hard at work to prepare a feast.? Sounds rather interesting. Ms Collins will be taking her children at sometime during the weekend and I?m sure Christow families could meet up at some point. We will study the Geography unit ?An island home? after the half term break. We will focus on the Caribbean. We will want to investigate the transport, environment, land and building use, differences and similarities to our locality, culture and food. The idea of a Caribbean Christmas Carnival is very attractive at the moment, so watch this space.

Our artwork for the autumn term is looking at patterns in nature, and we are hoping to get lots of inspiration from a trip to The Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. Further details in an earlier letter.

Our ICT will run alongside the art unit. Children will be examining natural objects using our digital microscopes and using their saved images to produce a booklet on patterns in nature. They will also learn how to find and save images on the Internet and will be using a software package called Revelation Natural Art to reproduce their favourite patterns.

DT this term, is a unit called Joseph?s Coat. Building on the work covered in ICT the children will produce a simple paper pattern of a garment for a toy which they can decorate using a variety of techniques. If there are any dressmakers amongst you, we would be very grateful for any fabric off-cuts and trimmings, which we will collect in class from this week.

This half term, we are lucky enough to have Mr David Mikhail, a PE teacher from South Dartmoor. He will be working alongside both myself and Mr Butt to teach netball skills to the children in Kennick and Bowden. He is coming in every Monday afternoon; therefore it is important that the children are equipped with a PE kit suitable for outdoor work on that day.

In music, we are thinking about note duration and the children will develop the ability to discriminate between long and short sounds. We will use the sounds to make sound sequences.

On a Thursday we have a slot for discussion of current affairs. Please do not be surprised if your child wants to cut up your newspaper to bring in articles that have caught their attention. However, I would appreciate a little editing before they arrive on my desk and if the child has discussed the news piece with you first they will be more able to present the main points to the class.

Staffing arrangements for this term continue as before. Mrs Turner will teach from Monday to Wednesday morning, Ms Collins the rest of the week. Mr Lamoon teaches RE from 11.15 until lunchtime on a Wednesday to allow us to have our planning meeting.

Hope this letter is informative and useful. However, please do not hesitate to contact either of us if you have any concerns or need further information about Kennick Class.

Best wishes


Trudy Collins & Anna Turner
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