Hello, we hope you enjoy exploring all the exciting topics and lessons we are learning about in Owls class. We engage in a mix of practical, hands-on sensory activities and focused individual activities. Our lessons include Phonics, Literacy, Maths, Science and Theme (which includes History, Geography, Art and DT). We very much look forward to working in partnership with you to ensure the best care and outcomes for your child.
The Owls Team.
Class Teacher: Gill
Teaching Assistants: Chris (Mon-Wed), Simone (Thurs-Friday), Abby and Aylesha (Mon-Friday).
Welfare: Kate Gossage.
General Information
Home School Dairies
We ask families and carers to return the Home School diary each day, as this will enable the class staff to provide comments and information about you child's day in school. If there are particular things you wish to be informed about, please speak with the class teacher.
Individual Education Plans
These set out the priority educational targets that your child is working on for the term. IEPs are updated each term and sent home. If there is anything that you would particular like us to be working on please just let us know.
Reading Books
All children and young people are encouraged to engage in reading and develop a love of reading and listening to stories and non-fiction books. We have a wide range of reading books, sensory books and big books to support the learning style and levels for each child. Every Friday, your child will receive a new reading book and this will be sent home with them to enjoy with you over the weekend. Please encourage your child to engage with the characters and stories and fill in the reading record to let your child'd class staff know how they have gotten on and the please return to school on the Monday morning.
Class Funds
We kindly request that you send in £10 per half term. This contributes to any weekly resources that class might need. This may be sent in termly, or weekly. Thank you.
More than ever, our mental and physical well-being should be at the forefront of what we do. Here are some mindfulness links to help you switch off and relax...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUIGKhG_Vq8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olqt-Ghi-zo
https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-for-kids/#activities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKmRB2Z3g2s - Cosmic Kids Yoga (on the Farm)
Spring 1 - Farm to Fork
This half term we will be looking at farming around the world. We will be finding out where our food comes from (plant or animal?) and how it gets to our local shops and supermarkets. In Literacy we will begin with poetry and rhyme, with favourites such as 'Old MacDonald had a Farm'. We will also explore non-fiction to make our own 'Farm to Fork' information book. Owls class will act out and sequence the traditional story 'The Enormous Turnip' and have a go at mark making and writing a contemporary classic, such as 'Farmer Duck'. In Mathematics we will explore number, singing lots of rhymes that count forward and backward on a number line and use one-to-one correspondence to count, add and find a total. In statistics we will enjoy sorting, choosing and creating pictograms, graphs and charts to represent our favourite foods and animals. During 'Theme' lessons (Science, History, Geography, Art, Music, ICT/Computing and D.T.), we will enjoy looking at 'Sustainability', 'Fair Trade' and 'Grow your Own'. Activities will range from recycling empty milk cartons to plant our own herbs and salad, to using the computer to create our own pictograms! Watch this space to find out what we have been up to and to find weekly blended learning activities and suggested activities.
Autumn 2 Dinosaur Discoveries
This half term we will be exploring dinosaurs. We will launch our topic by finding a giant egg in the classroom! In literacy we will begin looking at the fiction book 'Gigantosaurus' by one of our favourite authors 'Jonny Duddle'. We will look at poetry and non-fiction texts to find out lots of exciting dinosaur facts. In mathematics we will explore number, singing lots of rhymes that count forwards and backwards on the number line. Secondly, look at calculation and finally look at shape. During 'Theme' lessons (Science, History, Geography, Art,Music, ICT/Computing and D.T.), we will enjoy looking at 'archaeology', 'the world when dinosaurs ruled', 'fact and fiction', 'rocks and fossils', 'past, present and future' and 'local discoveries'. Activities will range from making dinosaur fossils and eggs to making volcanic eruptions! Watch this space to find out what we have been up to and to find weekly blended learning activities and suggested activities.
Please visit the following links to watch some videos on the deadly dinosaurs! Which is your favourite dinosaur? Can you describe them?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z6882hv/articles/zhtqkty - BBC Bitesize Dinosaurs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH_dOScj9FU - Andy's T-rex Dinosaur Adventure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpjc3BvhKTM&t=194s - Andy's Diplodocus Dinosaur Adventure
Art Competition
Junk Modelling Dinosaur
Make your own dinosaur by recycling household items. What will you name it? What colour will you make it? What sound will it make?
Send it in to school and receive a surprise!
Bonfire Sensory Story Ideas
This fun activity helps you create a Bonfire Night sensory experience. Find a bonfire story you like and have fun recreating the story. Use an ice pack and talk about how it is cold in November. You can put on a scalf, gloves and wooly hat. Play the song 'Firework' by Katy Perry as it is lively and uplifting. Use bubble wrap and tape it to the floor and stamp on it to make a crackling fire sound. Can you see the bonfire? You tube have great clips of bonfires and firework displays. You can use a hot pack or wheat bag to feel the warmth of the fire. Cook some hot dogs and onions and let the smell fill the room. Snuggle up whilst all wrapped up and eat your hot dogs and watch the fireworks. Have fun!
AUTUMN 1
Over the Rainbow Month (September).
This month our focus has been on Mental Health and Well-being in Owl's class. We have taken part in 'Over the Rainbow Month' activities, all designed to promote a healthy body and mind. We have taken part in class yoga, mindfulness, memories from our time in Lock Down, and a big focus on how to keep healthy and how to recognise our different emotions and feelings. We have learnt about different strategies that can help manage our well-being and Mental Health. We have introduced a well-being scale in class, where we can tell our teachers and grown ups how we are feeling throughout the day and update this if our moods change.
Theme: Heroes and Villains
Our topic this half term has been 'Heroes and Villains'. In Literacy we have thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Supertato' by Paul Linnet and Sue Hendra. We have learnt about how to identify 'goodies' and 'baddies' and if they display friendly behaviours..or not!. Firstly, we enjoyed meeting the characters and acting out the story. Then, we went on a hunt around school to save hostages 'Carrot', 'Broccoli' and 'Cucumber' from the evil grasp of 'Evil Pea'. Next, we read the story and matched text to key pieces of writing. Finally, we had a go at writing speech bubbles for each character. We also explored onomatopoeia and added sound buttons to our story power point. In mathematics, we enjoyed using 2D shape to decorate our own superhero capes. We also looked at height and ordered the 'Supertato' characters we have made from 'shortest to tallest'. We have used non-standard measure to find out how tall we are using hand prints and boxes.