Sycamore Class

12th June 2022 

This week looks like it is going to be very hot. Please ensure your child brings in a bottle of water, we recommend they put sun cream on before coming to school and bring a hat...named!

Thanks
Sue Belcher

28th March 2022

I know I have sent this out previously but I thought I would send it out again, as it may interest some of you. This is a free online course that explains the phonics programme we are following in school. There is also a video by the Sounds-Write team modelling supporting with reading with younger children.
We follow something called sounds write which is accredited by the department of education. This programme ultimately aims at building reading fluency and enjoyment for reading.
This first course focuses upon the early stages which we look at in Early Years and Key Stage 1.
I do hope some of you find it of interest, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

https://www.udemy.com/course/help-your-child-to-read-and-write/ 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cXoNZoKWQu4&feature=youtu.be 

Mrs. S Belcher

Thursday 3rd March 2022 - World Book Day!

We have been reading The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman. For World Book Day, we enjoyed dressing up in bright colours to represent fireworks. Some of us also enjoyed dressing up as our favourite book or comic book characters! 

In the morning, we watched some videos of Michael Rosen performing some poetry (Chocolate Cake was our favourite!) and decided to give it our own go. We practiced and performed the poem 'Crackle! Spit!' by Marie Thorn; focussing on using emphasis. 

In the afternoon, teamed up with Oak class and read them some stories. We read beautifully and helped the younger years to break down tricky words. 

Monday 14th February 2022

Here's a quick update on some of our new topics that we will be starting next week (Spring 2): 

Science - Sound 

History - The Rise and Fall of Rome

Geography - Northern Ireland

RE - Sikhism (Gurus) 

Computing - Consolidating touch typing skills 

PSHE - Drug Awareness 

Art - Monuments of Ancient Rome 

I will attach some of the knowledge organisers for these topics which are displayed in the classrooms, as well as in the children's books. These aim to reinforce key vocabulary and knowledge goals.

PE days will continue to be on Thursdays, however I will aim to let you know as soon as possible if there are going to be any changes.

I'm sure that the children will continue to excel themselves with their fabulous learning! 

Miss Kathryn Thompson

Friday 7th January 2022

Happy new year! I hope you all managed to have a wonderful Christmas. Here's a quick update on some of our new topics for this half-term:

Science - Ecology (looking at ecosystems and food chains) 

History - Life in Ancient Rome

Geography - Eastern Europe

RE - Hinduism (Exploring the story of Rama and Sita)

Computing - Touch typing 

PSHE - Diversity and community

Art - Design 

I will attach some of the knowledge organisers for these topics which are displayed in the classrooms, as well as in the children's books. These aim to reinforce key vocabulary and knowledge goals. 

PE days will continue to be on Thursdays, however I will aim to let you know as soon as possible if there are going to be any changes. 

Finally, I will continue to set times tables on TTRockstars and spellings on Spelling Shed each week. These will tie in to the maths and phonics work that we have been doing in school the previous week. Let me know if you need another copy of any login details. 

Thank you for your continuous support and here's to another productive year full of learning ☺!

Miss Kathryn Thompson 

9th December 2021 - DT Christmas Stockings Project

The children have been working really hard on their recent DT project. They began by looking at some existing stocking designs and thinking about which ones they thought looked appealing. They also considered what they needed to include in order to make their own stockings functional. 

Next, they tried out two different sewing stitches; running stich and over stitch. From this, they decided which one they would prefer to use to make their stocking and this helped them to begin planning their design. 

Once they had finished their designs and planned out the sequence of steps they needed to take to make their product, they were able to get started!

Finally, they evaluated their finished products by thinking about if they had met all of their design criteria, which parts of the project they enjoyed and found the most difficult and what they would do differently if they were to do the project again. 

The finished stockings looked fantastic and you could tell how much hard work the children had put into them. They were very excited to take them home in time for Christmas!

7th December 2021 - Joyeux Noel!

Today, Sycamore class have been getting into the festive spirit with a Christmas themed French morning. We started off by completing some French colouring by numbers which reminded us how to say and write the different colours, along with learning some new basic French vocab.

We also made some Christmas cards whilst listening to some famous Christmas songs in French!  

23rd November 2021

Goodness me, where has this term gone? Sycamore class have all been working so incredibly hard - they are really becoming such deep, contemplative thinkers. They have been focusing on their writing in all subjects and it is an absolute pleasure to see their progress. Keep it up guys! 

Just a quick reminder that the children are set weekly times tables on TT Rockstars and spellings based on the previous week's phonics that we have worked on. If you can squeeze in a little bit of time at home on these where possible, as well as reading, that would be greatly appreciated. 

Finally, I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you all for welcoming me in to the Marshland family. I feel so lucky to be part of such a special school and hope to remain with you for a long time to come. 

Thanks again for your continuous support, 

Kathryn Thompson 

7th November 2020

Hello all,
Hope you are all well.

I had originally sent this out to just the parents of my reception class but upon reflection I wondered if any of the rest of you lovely parents would be interested in doing this. Plus it is free and not often do we get the chance of a freebie!

I have a little learning opportunity for you all that I would like to signpost you to, should you wish to try it.

I have recently finished a 40 hour course on phonics called Sounds Write. I have been teaching phonics , reading and writing for many years but the academy trust invested in this training for all of their schools, as they wanted a universal approach to the teaching of phonics.
I must say that I did actually enjoy the course and it reaffirmed what I had been teaching all these years. I have been implementing some of the ideas the last few weeks and the children are as always very eager to learn. We also have more new reading books arriving soon that will closely follow the Sounds-Write approach.
Normally I would do a phonics and reading meeting for parents to explain our approach but as you will appreciate that is not possible at this moment in time. Luckily Sounds-Write have came to the rescue and produced a free online course for parents so that you will become familiar with the approach...the added bonus is that you won't have me on video explaining it!
So if you click on the link below or copy and paste it into your browser it should take you to it.

https://www.udemy.com/course/help-your-child-to-read-and-write/ 

I hope this helps you to understand the approach and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Thank you
Susan Belcher

22nd October 2020

Good morning everyone, hope you are well.

During half term could you please look out for a pebble or large stone to send into school with your child after half term. We would like to paint them with poppies for Remembrance and display them around the school.

Thank you so much for your support, we really do appreciate it. We have had a really enjoyable half term and we hope that your children have too. They certainly have been a credit to you all.

Have a good and restful break.

Susan Belcher

Hello to you all,

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our class pages, these will be added to over time, so please do check regularly for updates.

We are all so happy to be back altogether in school and we are making the most of our  learning time together.

Thank you for your continued support during these uncertain times.

Kindest regards

Mrs K. Buffery