Fox Class – Spring 2021.

We are delighted to be able to welcome all of the Fox Class children back to school after a somewhat longer than expected period of home learning.  I think everyone agrees that this last lockdown has been a little harder to endure than the novelty of Lockdown 1 which, it is hard to believe, started a year ago this month.   Although lessons will commence straight away, we will start with the aim of achieving ‘gentle reconnection’ in order to help all the children re-integrate with their classmates, their teachers and the school.  There will be a focus on mental wellbeing and personal development, to help the children cope not only with their return to school while restrictions are still in place, but also with any anxieties they may be feeling about secondary school.

Timetable

We will be reverting to the timetable we followed before Christmas, with a few minor adjustments, but with the flexibility to adapt this according to the needs of the children and the teaching team.  We will continue to use Google Classroom for setting work as this will also help prepare for secondary school. 

Maths and Times Tables

We will continue our work with Power Maths, which follows the ‘maths mastery’ ethos. We start the term with measure, moving on to ratio and proportion before the Easter break (a welcome relief from algebra, much to the relief of many!). We will also be trying to fill the gaps left by the prolonged school closure, which will be helped by the small class size. Please encourage your child to supplement this with times tables practise at home using TT Rockstars.  Children in Year 6 should be proficient in all their tables up to the 12 times table.  

English. 

For English, we will be concentrating more on spelling and grammar as well as reading comprehension, presentation and handwriting to make up any skills that may have become rusty due to working with computers for a large part of the past 12 months.   We will be also encouraging the children to read more and holding regular book exchanges (books will be quarantined for 72 hours before they are swapped).

General arrangements

The school provides fully-equipped pencil cases so children should not need their own, in order to minimalise the amount of items children bring in and keep the size of bags as small as possible.  PE will be held twice a week and PE kits should remain in school.  At least one lesson will be held outdoors so appropriate warm clothing will be required.  Playtimes may be held on the field if weather permits, so wellies should be brought in and kept in school where possible. 

Residential trip – The Buschraft Company

Unfortunately, our residential trip planned for summer 2020 had to be cancelled. However, we have been able to reschedule this for Term 6 2021 for the new Year 6 and 5 children. The Bushcraft Company is a leading provider of outdoor education, offering a range of real outdoor adventures to schools.  The children and staff will be staying outdoors in large tents and will be taking part in several activities that will promote resilience, self-confidence and teamwork. Further details will be sent out in the New Year.