Fox Class – Autumn 2020.

Welcome back to all the children and parents, we hope you have had a lovely summer break and are ready for our return to school after a rather turbulent few months for the whole world. School will look somewhat different to when we were all together in March, when the school was closed, and details of start times and routines will be sent out separately via parentmail. Many of us were lucky enough to be able to come back to school for most of Term 6 before the break, so know roughly what to expect. However, if you were unable to do this, please don’t worry – we will be focussing on settling the children into the new routine and procedures gently, and I am confident they will all quickly adapt. This year, we are very lucky to be able to have a single, small year 6 class which means that staff will be able to devote more attendtion to individuals. It will also mean that greater responsibility will be placed on the children as everyone will have a key leadership role, such as house and school representatives.

New timetable

One notable change is a new timetable for the school. For Fox Class, this will mean that there will be three main lessons in the morning, including English, maths and one other core subject (such as science). This has nothing to do with Corona virus as it was planned to happen in the summer term before the break, but obviously had to be delayed due to school closures in response to the pandemic. We hope it will result in a more effective use of available learning time. Please be aware that one of the morning sessions will be an additional PE lesson, so children should have their kit available in school throughout the week.

In Term 1, the children will again take part in the personal development trainng provided by Tiger Troop, which will be adapted to account for their participation last year. This will be purely for Year 6 and has been bought-in to help support the children’s re-integration after the school closure. This will start in week 2, and further details will be sent out early in the term.

Health and wellbeing

I intend placing a greater emphasis on health and wellbeing for the children, and will be introducing regular short sessions in yoga, mindfulness and breathing techniques – some of these will involve exercises as short as one minute. Evidence shows that these can create a relaxed and calm learning environment that support learning in the classroom.

Maths and Times Tables

We will be progressing our maths work using Power Maths, based on the maths mastery principles of developing mathematical fluency, and which is already seeing the benefits of increased confidence and competence across all the children.  We will 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 Years 5 and 6 should be proficient in all their tables up to the 12 times table.  

English. 

We continue to focus on raising literacy standards.  Reading is one of the most important activities that can increase the comprehension and writing skills of children, as it introduces them to a wide range of vocabulary and techniques.   It is obvious when marking the children’s writing who are those who read regularly.  Please encourage them to read at home and listen to them read where possible.

Using tablets

Following the extensive, successful use of Google Classroom during ‘lockdown’, we have taken the decision to provide each Year 6 child with an Android tablet for use in school and home, if they wish. I will be using Google Classroom regularly, to set morning work, home learning and in-class assignments. If your child does take their tablet home, please ensure that they bring it into school with them each day (charged), as there will be no spares available for them to use in class.

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.