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Preston
Primary School
Academy

Unit 3 Autumn 2 Newsletter

PE—Dance

Sparrows: Tuesday PM

Starlings: Wednesday PM

Swifts: Wednesday PM

Please ensure your child wears a full PE kit on their PE day:

· White t-shirt/polo top.

· Navy or black shorts or tracksuit bottoms/leggings (or similar).

· School jumper or cardigan.

· Black trainers or plimsolls with white or grey socks.

Home Learning and Supporting the Curriculum at home

We have attached a selection of Knowledge Organisers for you to use to support your child’s learning at home. These set out clearly what we expect children to learn and remember in that subject. Please use these at home as conversation starters to reinforce and help embed your child’s learning. Please encourage your child to log into TT Rockstars on the Sound Check as often as possible. This will help alongside the dedicated sessions we do in school to boost their fluency at times table recall. Children should be fluent in tables up to 12x12 by the end of Year 4. The Sound Check will be similar to the Year 4 Multiplication Check that all children in Year 4 will undertake in June. You will also have log ins for SumDog and Spelling and Maths Shed. We are now using a spelling scheme of work called ‘No Nonsense Spelling’ that is built on progression of sounds and builds on children’s prior knowledge. Please continue to use Spelling Shed for practice.  

Reading

In school, children are encouraged to read daily. They take quizzes on Accelerated Reader (AR) about the books they have read and earn points for this. Children are also expected to log on to AR at home to quiz on the books they read at home. At the end of the half term, we will be giving certificates to every child who reaches their own individual target for points earned. To support passion and progression, we expect children to read daily at home for at least 15 minutes. Please support and encourage your child in this by listening to them read aloud often and talking about what they have read to help develop comprehension skills and develop an inquisitive nature about books.

School Value

This half term, in our Class Assemblies and PSHE lessons, we are learning about the value of responsibility and how we can apply it to our daily lives.

British Value

This half term, in our Class Assemblies and PSHE lessons, we are learning about the British Value of Individual Liberty, reflecting upon the choices we make.

Our Curriculum

Children in Key Stage 1 and 2 will enjoy a long and short enquiry each half term.

Long Enquiries

A long enquiry typically lasts five weeks and allows us to teach a subject, such as history, in depth. Clear expectations of what will be learned, is shared with parents and pupils through a Knowledge Organiser.  At the end of the work, we plan to use Enquiry Quizzes on our iPads to see how much each child has remembered.

Design, make and evaluate a shell structure to package a product:

In our Design and Technology long Learning Enquiry this half term we are designing and making a sustainable shell structure product. The purpose of this product will be to either protect or contain. The children will have creative freedom in designing their shell structure, thinking carefully about the purpose for it and how to make it more sustainable. We will request that children bring in some recycled packaging materials in the next few weeks. Please keep an eye out for these messages.

Short Enquiries

A short enquiry can last anything from 1 – 3 days and adds breadth to our curriculum.

Our Short Enquiry for this half-term is also Design Technology and is focused upon designing, making and evaluating a product with a functional pulley system. This is classed as ‘mechanisms’. Children will be designing a flag with a pulley system for our Woodland Camp.

Maths

Maths is taught in separate year groups, so your child may be moving rooms and teachers during maths time. In Year 3 maths, children are learning to add and subtract 3-digit numbers, using a variety of methods including the column method and recalling prior knowledge of bonds to 10 and 100. In Year 4, children are learning to add and subtract using the column method with 4-digit numbers up to 10,000.  This will involve renaming in the ones, tens and hundreds columns, developing on prior knowledge from Year 3.

Literacy

Children will write a poem based on the collection ’Poetry Pie’ by Roger McGough.  They will learn that poetry takes many forms and will choose their favourite form to write in. They will also be performing poetry. They will also be writing an explanation text based on the book ‘How Santa really works’, by Alan Snow. They will be writing to explain how objects work.

Messages

Please continue to contact the school office by email admin@preston.torbay.sch.uk or phone 01803 607075 with any questions or queries. There is also lots of useful information, as well as event dates and term dates, on our school website  https://www.preston.torbay.sch.uk/

School App

Our school app is the best way to get information about dates and events going on in the school. Search for ‘School News’ in your app store.

Dates to remember

Friday 9th December-FOPPS Christmas market and non-uniform day. Please bring a bottle for the tombola.

Tuesday 13th December-Unit 3 Carol Service in St Paul’s Church 6-7pm.

Wednesday 14th December-School Christmas lunch.

Friday 16th December-Christmas jumper day and Unit Christmas parties.

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

Phone
01803 607075