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FARNHAM COMMON INFANT SCHOOL

CURRICULUM NEWSLETTER - SUMMER TERM 2007

  May, 2007

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to a new term and also welcome to the new parents of children in Chestnut class.  This newsletter will give details of some of the work that each year group will be covering during this term.  School activities can also be seen through a selection of photographs and work on the school website at www.farnhamcommoninfant.ik.com. 

THURSDAY MORNINGS

Thursday mornings between 9.15 a.m.  and 9.30 a.m. are reserved for parents to speak to teachers, without prior appointments.  Please try to take advantage of this time, as this is an opportunity for you to ask questions about your child?s progress, or to raise any concerns.  If this time is unsuitable, teachers can make alternative arrangements with prior appointments. This time is not available for parents of children in Chestnut Class, please speak to Mrs. Staynor to arrange an alternative time.

MUSIC WEEK (18^th ? 22^nd June)

This is always an enjoyable week and the timetable includes visits by Alan Roberts (a percussionist), a Jazz Trio and ?Travelling by Tuba?.  If any parents have any musical talents that they might wish to share with the children, please let Mrs Coleman know.

SCHOOL VISITS

Later this month, Oak and Silver Birch classes will visit Shortenills Environmental Centre, and Willow and Sycamore classes will travel to Batchworth Canal Centre to look at life on a Victorian canal.  Early next month, Beech and Chestnut classes will visit Odds Farm as part of their topic on ?Farmer Duck?.

RECEPTION ? Beech and Chestnut Classes

The six areas of learning of the Foundation Stage curriculum will be accessed primarily through the following books: ?Day and Night Animals?, ?Jack and the Beanstalk?, ?The Hungry Caterpillar?, ?Handa?s Surprise? (deferred from last term) and ?Commotion in the Ocean?.  Some children will focus on the initial phonic sounds of t,j ,v ,c ,i ,d ,r ,m ,h , w and l.  Other children will extend their phonic knowledge by working on the medial sounds- ?a?, ?e?, ?i?, ?o?, the initial blends ? ?sh?, ?ch?, ?th? and words ending with ??l? and ??d?.  Mathematical development will include activities to develop recognition, sequencing and recording of numbers to 10, counting in 10?s to 100, recognition of numbers up to 20 and addition to 10 for the older children, as well as continuing to work on 2D and 3D shapes, measurement, pattern and simple time. 

The topic for this term for both the Year One and Year Two classes is ?Adventure?

YEAR ONE ? Oak and Silver Birch Classes

Maths work this term will involve learning to count in 1?s,2?s,5?s and 10?s to 100 and back again, then on and back from any small number. They will continue to partition two digit numbers into ?tens and units? and work on addition with totals beyond 10.  The children will explore the language of subtraction, as well as extending their ability to use addition and subtraction to solve simple word problems.  The children will measure capacity using uniform non-standard units, e.g. yogurt pots, before progressing to using litre jugs.  In Literacy, the children in Oak and Silver Birch classes will be looking at a variety of fiction and non-fiction books, e.g. ?Danny and the Great White Bear?, ?Playing safely? and ?Elliott and the big wave?.  They will focus on initial consonant clusters of

 st str squ thr shr sc scr sk, as well as words ending with ft ld mp nch lf lth lp.  They will continue to extend their writing skills in both fiction and non-fiction activities, including the use of question marks and capital letters for personal titles, as well as continuing to improve their reading and handwriting skills. Science work will include looking at physical forces, magnets and sound.  In History, the children will find out about Saint George and compare present transport and travel with the past.  Geography work will include doing a weather watch, as well as following Barnaby Bear around the world.  In Art, the children will be doing observational drawings, painting mini-beasts and contributing to a display following their trip.  The children will be designing and sewing felt fish in Design and Technology.  In ICT, the children will use a programmable robot and continue to use a variety of CDrom?s and programs to supplement their learning, including literacy and numeracy.  In PHSE, the children will look at people who help us, animal life cycles and road safety, as well as considering their own successes at school.

YEAR TWO ? Sycamore and Willow Classes

In Maths, the children will revise odd and even numbers to 100, as well as being able to read and write whole numbers to at least 100 in figures and words.  They will work on adding/subtracting 9, 11, 19 and 21 by using adjustment.  In money, they will be using finding out totals, deciding what change to give and which coins to use, as well as applying the concept of multiplication to examples using money. The children will use litres to estimate, measure and compare capacity.  They will revise the names and properties of 2D and 3D shapes. They will use mathematical language to describe position, direction and movement including whole, half and quarter turns, both clockwise and anti-clockwise.  Throughout the term in Literacy, the children will be carrying out work on a variety of fiction and non-fiction books - e.g. ?Grace and family?, ?The storm seal? and the ?Insect body parts?.   They will also be developing their own writing skills with the use of exclamation marks, commas and speech marks, interesting adjectives and verbs, as well as continuing to improve their spelling and reading skills.  The phonic focus will be on words containing vowel phonemes: air are ere ear or oor ore.  The children will practise the four basic handwriting joins.  In Science, the main focus will be on physical forces, electricity and looking at the school grounds in Summer.  In History, the children will be finding out about the past in relation to transport, life on a canal and the seaside.  The work in Geography this term will include another weather watch, comparisons between Farnham Common and Tenby, and looking at hot places such as deserts.   Artwork will include looking at art from Africa, canals and the seaside.   In Design and Technology, the children will be designing and making wheeled vehicles.  ICT work will include developing their word processing skills and finding out information using the internet, as well as using a variety of CDrom?s to enhance their learning.  PHSE work will involve the children looking at both road and water safety, as well as considering their own successes at school.

WHOLE SCHOOL

R.E. - Whole school assemblies and class lessons are based around weekly themes, which will include learning about special places ? the seaside; the natural world ? changes in seasons, looking after our environment; stories about Jesus as well as strength and courage; relationships ? our community, keeping safe, people who help us.

HOMESTUDY IN YEAR TWO

The children in Sycamore and Willow classes will continue to receive work to carry out on a regular basis, although there may be times when we feel that there is no appropriate work that will reinforce or enrich work carried out in school.

Yours sincerely

Mrs. C.A.Staynor, 

Deputy Headteacher.