Everyone looked fantastic in their outfits for World Book Day today. 😊
Author: Miss Jones
Beech Class Weekly Newsletter 17.2.23
What a long and busy week we have had! The children thoroughly enjoyed the disco on Wednesday and it was great to see so many of you at Parent’s Consultations earlier in the week and have the opportunity to have a chat about their progress and next steps. I hope you enjoyed looking at the children’s writing and seeing how much progress they have made. I hope you also found the information about the Early Learning Goals useful. If you mislay your copy or need another for any reason, these can always be viewed electronically near the bottom of the Beech Class Information page along with other useful information.
This week in Drawing Club we read the story The Ugly Duckling and the children had lots of fun drawing the ugly duckling, the pond he hatched in, their own idea of what else he could have transformed into and what he could turn the other ducklings into with a magic wand/potion! They also learnt some quite tricky vocabulary this week – peculiar, hideous, malicious, transform, elegant and fulfilled.
In phonics they have learnt the tricky word ‘you’ and the next four sounds ‘ur’, ‘ow’, ‘oi’ and ‘ear’. The sounds and tricky word have been added to their sound bags. Remember you can use them as creatively as you like, not just for them to practice sounds but they could be used to practice blending by making words for them to read, especially with the digaphs they are learning. By making them with the cards it is easier to see that it’s still three sounds even though it has more than three letters e.g. c,oa,t, l,igh,t, m,oo,n. If they are confident reading them you could challenge them to segment words to spell them using the cards rather than writing them.
In Maths we have been learning about length and height, comparing by using the words long/longer/longest, short/er/est and tall/taller/tallest as well as learning to measure length and height by using cubes. We have also been talking about ordering the days of the week and explored measuring time using the timer and by counting how many things we could do in a set time.
After talking about how we can look after our wonderful world and recalling seeing some of the icebergs melting in the Snowchick, the children then explored ice cubes and frozen blocks and thought of different ways to free the trapped penguins! They had great fun melting and breaking the ice to see what was most effective. They then predicted how long it might take to freeze more water to make more ice cubes and icebergs.
Well done to all our super readers who were able to choose a prize from the lucky dip box. Please remember to keep reading over the next week and we will change lucky dip day to Mondays for the next half term so those who read over the half term will be able to choose a prize when we return to school.
After half term we will be celebrating World Book Day on 2nd March. The children can come to school dressed as their favourite book character – we have been having a chat about ideas this afternoon. We can’t wait to see what everyone will come as. 🙂
After half term PE will be on Fridays only. Children should wear school uniform on all other days. Please ensure on Fridays children come to school wearing their PE kits (plain white t-shirt, black or dark blue shorts or jogging bottoms) and a school jumper and that any earrings are removed for PE as per school policy. Thank you.
Have a wonderful week next week, hopefully the weather will be kind!
See you on Monday 27th February.
Miss Jones & Mrs Kenny
Beech Class Weekly Newsletter
This week we continued our adventures with Pingu in Drawing Club and ended the week with our writing assessment where the children drew and wrote about a short clip called Something Fishy, where a lady at the laundrette looked into the washing machine and it became an underwater scene with sock fish, hat turtles, a t-shirt squid and a jeans shark at the end! They really enjoyed watching the clip and did some great writing. You will be able to see their books on Monday and Tuesday during Parent’s evening and see the progress they have made in Drawing Club since September and with their writing assessments.
If you still need to make an appointment or need a reminder of your time please email me on beech@crowmoorschool.co.uk.
In maths we have been consolidating our knowledge of the composition of numbers to 8 and have been working on recognising different representations – e.g how it looks on a ten frame, on fingers, on a dice or in a dot formation for numbers 7 and 8 and of course the numerals. We have been working on writing them as well as reading them and checking that they are formed correctly.
Phonics is starting to get really tricky as we learnt four new phonemes this week but only three graphemes. The long ‘oo’ (like the moon) short ‘oo’ like a book, ‘ar’ as in star and ‘or’ like a horn. New sound cards have been added to their bags to practice recognising at home as well as our new tricky word ‘my’. Please remember to read at home as often as you can and ensure that it is recorded in their yellow reading records. Reading for just a few minutes a day can make such a difference. The winners of prizes from the lucky dip box for reading 5 times at home this week are: Agatha, Ayla, Billy, Harriet, Isla, Isla-Grace, Piper and Tommy. Well done to all of you! A couple of children just missed out this week and only needed one more read so keep it up!
Next week we are reading the traditional story of The Ugly Duckling for Drawing Club and will be measuring and comparing length, height and time in maths. In phonics we will learn the next four sounds and then we will only have three more left for level 3. We will then spend several weeks recapping and becoming more confident with reading and writing words (and sentences) containing those sounds.
We hope you have a lovely weekend!
Miss Jones & Mrs Kenny
Beech Class Newsletter 03/02/2023
We had a great day yesterday on our trip to The Sea Life Centre and although the journey there was a little long for some, they thoroughly enjoyed the day and were particularly pleased when Monty the Penguin came over to say hello!
We had a lovely walk round most of the centre to see all the different animals before going to the classroom at 12pm to sit down and eat our packed lunches. We then had time to go round again and see some of the animals that we had missed or who had been sleeping such as the cheeky sea otters! The journey home took much less time than the way there as there was hardly any traffic and the children were busy chatting about their busy day!
I will be posting some of the photos on Tapestry over the weekend now we have been through them to pick our favourites today so don’t forget to pop on and have a look. If you have any issues accessing Tapestry please let me know. The class email is up and running again so you can contact me on beech@crowmoorschool.co.uk if you need to.
We watched the animation of Pingu this week in Drawing Club, where he is looking after an egg. We have only managed a couple of days this week with having the trip yesterday and focusing our drawing and writing about it today so will continue next week. The children have really enjoyed our Helicopter Stories session and I had a queue of children wanting to come and tell me stories for us to act out next time so I am really looking forward to next week!
In Phonics this week the children have learnt the next four sounds in Level 3 – ai, ee, igh, oa and the tricky word ‘was’. They have the practice sheets for each sound in their bags and the sound cards will be added to their sound bags on Monday.
In Maths this week we have met Numberblock 8 and have been looking at the composition of 6,7 and 8 by moving different objects into different arrangements and recognising it is still the same number e.g. 8 fish in a pond into 4 groups of 2 or 2 groups of 4, 6 blocks split into 2 groups of 3 or 3 groups of 2 etc.
Thank you for returning your Parents Evening slips so promptly. All returned forms have been sent back to you over the last couple of days with your time slot on. If you are unable to make your given slot please let me know as soon as possible and I will see what I can do.
Well done to Tommy, Ayla, Blake, Esme, Harriet, Isla-Grace, Piper and Agatha who have all read 5 times this week and picked a prize from the Lucky Dip box! I will be stocking up this weekend so I hope to see more children winning prizes next week. 🙂
Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Jones & Mrs Kenny
Beech Class Weekly Newsletter 27.01.23
What a lovely week we have had continuing our learning about penguins and other polar animals. As one of the things the children wanted to know was where penguin babies came from we watched part of a documentary/film called Snowchick where we saw a chick hatch from an egg that was cared for by the father whilst the mother penguins were out gathering fish to feed the chicks on their return. The children enjoyed pretending to be penguins, carrying their babies on their feet whilst they tried to waddle around. They have also loved looking at our penguin information books and finding out what toy/model penguins we have in our small world penguin play area.
In Drawing Club we read the story Penguin by Polly Dunbar and have been creating food for the lion to stop him eating penguin, finding ways to rescue penguin and designing places to hide from him. I particularly loved the ‘brick suit’ idea so Ben and penguin could just hide in front of a brick house but look like the bricks!
In Maths we have met Numberblocks 6 and 7 and have been looking at all the different ways the numbers can be made and represented as well as ordering them correctly. We have been working a lot on the children’s reasoning so asking them HOW THEY KNOW it’s a particular number or WHY that number should go there to ensure children have a good understanding of number order and structure and don’t just recite/recall.
In phonics we have learnt four more sounds and three tricky words. These have all been added to their sound card bags for them to practice. The children are finding some of the digraphs quite tricky so a little practice each day will help with this.
Please remember to record in your child’s yellow reading record when you read with them at home so we know if their book needs changing on a Tuesday or Friday. If they have 5 or more recorded reads in a week they will be able to choose a prize from the lucky dip box. Well done to Ayla, Tommy, Piper and Isla-Grace who have all read five times this week. 🙂
Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Jones & Mrs Kenny
Beech Weekly Newsletter 20.01.23
It has been a lovely week being back with the children again and catching up with all their news and hearing about what they learned with the supply teacher whilst I was off poorly.
In Phonics they have learnt the next set of sounds in Level 3 – y, z, zz, qu and ch. The new sound cards for this week and last week’s sounds have been added to their sound bags, as well as the tricky words ‘he’ and ‘she’. Although it is important that children practice recognising the sounds and tricky words it is equally important to also practice blending by putting the sounds together to read simple words. The more they practice this, the easier they will find it to read the words in their reading books.
Just a reminder (as we have had a few queries lately) that children can change their ‘free-reader’/’free-choice’ book from the book corner whenever they like but their phonics book (with the Phonics Bug logo) is changed by or with an adult, after the second recorded read in their yellow reading record. We ask for each book to be read at least twice to help the children build their fluency and begin to recognise high frequency words.
We read a great story for Drawing Club this week called ‘Poles Apart’ by Jeanne Willis & Jarvis. The children loved telling me why the Pilchard-Brown penguin family and Mr White (a polar bear) did not know who the other was. They also had great fun drawing a new friend for Mr White (which in some cases included sending ME to the North Pole to keep him company!) and they also designed some super-fast transport so the Pilchard-Brown family and Mr White could travel the 12,430 miles more quickly so they could see each other again. It’s been great to see that, with a little encouragement, more of the children are starting to write their own passwords and phrases using the sounds they know, rather than using my model. In phonics and Drawing Club we are encouraging them to listen carefully for the sounds in words when they write so that they become more confident, independent writers.
In Maths this week we have been exploring measures and using the correct vocabulary for weighing using balancing scales, filling and emptying containers and measuring how many spoons/cups of water a container will hold or how many items we could fit in different sized boxes.
The children really enjoyed their PE session with Mr Green on Monday. We will continue to have PE on Mondays for the next four weeks until half term. Next week we have an EXTRA session with Mr Green on Tuesday so children need to come to school in PE kits on Monday AND Tuesday just for next week. Please remember that all earrings should be removed on PE days as per school policy. Thank you.
Hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Miss Jones & Mrs Kenny
Beech Newsletter 16.12.2022
We’ve had a very busy but lovely Christmassy week with the church, dinner, a disco AND  a special visitor yesterday. I can barely believe the term is over already. The children have worked so hard this term I am sure they are more than ready for a rest.
They have come home with cards and decorations they have made as well as cards from friends and a little gift from the adults in Beech Class so please ensure bags are checked and emptied before we return on 4th January.
We hope you all have a lovely time together over the Christmas break but please do try and make time for a little reading over the holidays so the children return ready to learn new sounds as we start the next level of phonics in the new year.
We wish you all a very merry Christmas and we will see you in the New Year.
Miss Jones Mrs Kenny and Mrs Evason
Beech Class Weekly Newsletter 09/12/2022
Another week has flown by and only one more now until the Christmas holidays!
We have had a lovely week this week reading and retelling the story of The Gingerbread Man in Drawing Club and the children thoroughly enjoyed following the recipe to make them on Wednesday. Some of the children decorated them as gingerbread men and others chose to turn them upside down and decorate them as reindeer instead! I’m sure they were all just as yummy either way! 🙂
In maths we have been consolidating our knowledge of number facts to 5 and also learning about using language related to time. We have been talking about morning and afternoon, day and night and also understanding yesterday, today, tomorrow and identifying the correct day of the week.
Next week we will be doing PE on TUESDAY so children are to come to school in their PE kits on TUESDAY NOT FRIDAY please. In the new term our PE will be on MONDAYS starting 9th January until February half term. Children should attend school wearing their PE kits on Mondays only and should be wearing school uniform all other days. Just a reminder that school PE kit is dark blue or black jogging bottoms (or shorts), a plain white t-shirt and a dark blue or black hoodie or they can just wear their school jumpers.
Please ensure children continue to read as much as possible and that you record each time in their yellow reading records. Children who read at least 5 times per week will be able to choose a special prize from my lucky dip box. Book bags should be in school every day but especially TUESDAYS and FRIDAYS when phonics books are changed. Children are welcome to change their free choice book whenever they wish.
As this cold snap continues, please ensure children have a warm coat to wear and hats gloves and scarfs are also recommended.
Next week we have lots to look forward to, with the Christmas sing song at the church, Christmas dinner AND Disco all on Wednesday 14th and we will be having a little Christmassy celebration in our class on the last day too (Friday 16th).
Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Jones, Mrs Kenny and Mrs Evason
Beech Class Weekly Newsletter 2.12.2022
Well what a week! Full of practices and performances but I hope you will agree they all did amazingly well, learning all those songs and lines, remembering when to get on and off stage and all in a matter of weeks! I am so proud of them as I’m sure you are too. Thank you so much for coming to see them, although they can get a little stage fright at times, it means so much to have someone there. Thank you!
I have posted photos on Tapestry for you so please let me know if you have any issues accessing your account or viewing the pictures.
This week we have also managed to squeeze in some phonics, recapping some of the sounds they were a little unsure of when we assessed last week and continuing to work on blending the sounds to read words and for those confident with that, we are focusing on segmenting the words for spelling. Everyone has been practicing their letter formation, writing simple words and even some simple sentences. It is still a little tricky, but they are finding the more they practice, the easier it gets!
In Maths we have continued to look at our bonds to 5 and started looking at subtraction facts too – so if 4+1 = 5 then we know 5-1 = 4 etc. We will continue working on this next week.
I know the children are very excited about the upcoming festivities and holidays and are starting to get a little run down after a long term, but please try to keep practicing sounds and reading as much as possible as they still need to keep doing a little each day to embed those blending skills.
Over the next couple of weeks, although we will be creating and doing lots of lovely Christmas crafts and activities, we will still be doing phonics daily, reading, writing and maths so it is essential the children continue to attend school every day, so they don’t miss out on any learning and also bring their book bag every day. Thank you for your support.
The children have brought home a Book Trust pack today. This is a free gift from the Book Trust and is for the children to keep. They do not need to be returned to school.
As always if you have any queries, please feel free to email me on the class email address or speak to me at the end of the day once all the children are safely with their adults. Thank you.
Have a lovely weekend,
Miss Jones, Mrs Kenny & Mrs Evason