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Preston
Primary School
Academy

Unit 4 Autumn 1 Newsletter

'Victory in Defeat'

Learning experience

Please find the details of our intended learning experience for the next 6 weeks: ‘Victory in Defeat'.

During this Learning Experience, children will explore what it means to have a ‘Dunkirk Spirit’ and link it to their own understanding of having a Growth Mindset. They will explore, in depth, the events that started World War 2, the Dunkirk evacuation and the geography of the region that we will be focusing on. As it is 80 years since the declaration of war, children will put together a special remembrance assembly commemorating this. From this Learning Experience, children will gather an understanding of the causes of the war and what role Torbay played.

Maths

During this half term, children will develop their knowledge and understanding of number, place value through the mastery approach.   The children will be expected to use their prior understanding of mathematical concepts to assist them in solving a range of mathematical problems. They will be challenged to become more fluent with their skills, which include multiplication tables and related division facts. There will be a particular focus on ensuring the children reason with their responses (asking themselves if the answer given is appropriate).

Literacy

Through the 6 week learning experience, the children will be expected to write a non-chronological report about World War 2 and a newspaper article about the events of Dunkirk. They will explore, in detail, the grammatical features of both genres to ensure they produce a high quality outcome. The children will continue to be encouraged to read a range of quality texts as these experiences broaden their vocabulary and develop their awareness of more complex punctuation and sentence structures.

Home Learning

During this learning experience, we would like the children to research their family history or local history in relation to World War 2. These will be shared as part of our remembrance assembly. Weekly spelling and maths tasks can be found on Sumdog/TT Rockstars/Maths Shed and Literacy Shed. For reading homework this year, we would like children to read regularly at home so that they can quiz on their books in school. Each child has been given a zippy folder for their books and any additional pieces of homework.

Science

This term will see the children continue to explore Earth and Space. Children will explore how the Earth and Moon move within our Solar System in relation to each other and the Sun. Children will look in depth at how the Sun appears to move in the sky and its effects on our planet. Finally, children will explore how seasons, days and years are influenced by the way in which our planet moves in relation to other objects in our Solar System.

PE / Art / Spanish / RE

In PE this half term, our focus will be tag rugby and swimming.

  • Eagles – PE on Monday/Swimming on Friday
  • Kestrels – Swimming Monday/PE on Wednesday
  • Hawks - Swimming on Tuesday/PE on Tuesday

In Art, we will explore wartime artists and produce pieces in their style.

In Spanish, the children will learn about rooms in the house/where they live

In RE, children will learn about Judaism and the signs and symbols of the faith.

Our School Value Focus: Respect

Throughout all our work this half-term, children will use and apply the value of Respect.      

We have children in school with a nut allergy. Please ensure you do not pack food that contains nuts for snacks or lunches to help us keep everybody safe.

Dates for your diary

Thursday 19th September at 2:45pm – Meet the Teacher

Monday 11th November at 10:45am - Unit 4 Remembrance Assembly

Vocabulary

Here are some words, your child will be using during this Learning Experience: conflict, vessels, ships, rescue, coastline, country, invasion, evacuation, continent, operation, shelling, bombardment, peril.

Address
Preston Primary School Academy
Old Paignton Road
Torquay
Devon
TQ2 6UY

Phone
01803 607075