Summer Term Newsletter

Dear Parents,
 Welcome back! I hope you have all had a relaxing Easter filled with chocolate! As you will be well aware this is a very important term for your child; they are about to take their SATs tests. However, the children do not need to worry about this at all! I have every confidence that they will be brilliant and be the very best that they can be (however I am sure they are most excited about the morning breakfast!) We will have another practise run of the SATS papers so we know we are preparing the children fully before the week, which takes place week beginning 11th May.

 It’s the last term at BSM and a busy, exciting and possibly daunting time preparing for their transfer to Secondary school. I hope that your child makes the most of their last term and ensures it is an enjoyable one. We do have some special events to make it memorable, such as the trip to the PGL, Arts week and Sports Day.

 This half term our topic is ‘Back in Time’ which has a strong History focus as well as Art and Geography. We will research The Indus Valley and Ancient Egypt and even have a chance to investigate the history of our own school. Please make use of the blog to keep updated with any new information and links to websites throughout the term. During our last half term our topic is ‘Superheroes’ where we will focus on Computing, Art and DT.

 In English we are starting to look at non-fiction writing – looking at report writing in particular (which we did begin to look at last half term). We will start off reading a variety of reports and discuss the success criteria for this before we write our own. We will be using Monsters Inc as a stimulus for this and write a report about the moment the child was discovered in their world! We will also continue to revise SPAG throughout the term, fousing on how we punctuate, language that creates an impact and of course continue with our spellings. I can not stress enough how important it is to read on a regular basis. Not only does it help with their reading comprehension but their spelling and can also help improve their own writing style.

 In Maths the children will continue to develop problem-solving skills, choosing from the range of strategies they’ve learnt this year to calculate the answers. They’ll be building on work they’ve done on shape and measures, becoming more confident with a wider range of 3D shapes as well as looking into the different methods of measuring weight, length and capacity. Also the children will learn about probability - being able to explain and predict outcomes.

 As ever, we’ll be getting into the seasonal sports. The children will be developing cricket and athletics skills. Children must ensure that they have a P.E kit in school throughout the week in preparation for PE lessons. Please make sure they have trainers that are to be used for sports and not worn as school shoes throughout the day.

 As the term progresses there will be opportunities for the children to prepare for the transfer to secondary school. We are sent activities and work from the Blandford School, which will help the children make links between both schools and understand the sort of work they’ll be doing. There will be other activities such as Transfer day and sporting events for the children to attend. To support this time of change the PSHE work will reflect the changes that children will be experiencing over this time, allowing opportunities to reflect and discuss concerns and future hopes.

 Home Learning will continue to go out every week on a Wednesday and due back in the following Monday. Home Learning Club will continue on a Thursday so please do make use of this time. It is important that the home learning that is produced is of a high standard and shows time and effort. It is incredibly important that learning continues at home. It will also help them next year when I envisage the homework load will increase!

 As you can see it is going to be a very exciting and jam-packed Term! I am very confident that each and every one of them will be ready and eager to start their new adventure to their secondary school by the end of the school year. Please do pop in if there is anything else you would like to now with regards to this. If you have any questions about anything else then please do not hesitate to come in and ask.

 Best wishes,

Miss O’Sullivan