Welcome to Beech Class. Term 3

We hope you had the best Christmas holidays and enjoyed the treats, time and togetherness of this special time of year. As the holiday was long and emotional for everyone, I am sure you have had a lot of WOW moments you will want to share but also maybe some OUCH moments that you might want to tell us about. Miss Arnone, Mrs Harding and myself are always here to listen. This time is an interesting time for reflections as this new, fabulous year unfolds and we continue to discover new, exciting things about the world together this commencing year 2025. Mrs Harding, Miss Arnone and myself are looking forward to our third term of learning together and we can't wait to delve into the mysterious and gorgeous icy world of Antarctica with you!

Our PE lessons this term will change this term as as we have Forest School on Wednesday afternoons instead of our usual teacher-led PE lessons on Monday afternoons. Please arrive at school on Wednesday with a warm PE kit on (no shorts or T-shirts allowed without a jumper too! Safety Rules!) and make sure you have wellies to wear to the Forest School grounds.

On Fridays, we shall be joined by Team Theme Coach José who will be teaching Tennis. Please come into school on Fridays wearing your PE kit (white t-shirt, black shorts/ jogging bottom, black hoodie/ jumper and trainers).

We value communication with our children's families to provide the best support and education for your children. Please either speak to us at the end of the school day or contact us via the school office with any queries or good news to share: [email protected].

Best wishes,

Miss Levasseur, Mrs Harding and Miss Arnone.

Reading

We use Accelerated Reader to help your child choose books suitable for their reading level. Please support your child to record their reading at home using the green Reading Record sent home on the first day of Term 1. The children will be expected to bring it in each time they have read anything at home and at least once a week on a Friday to monitor their reading. Each completed read should be recorded in the Reading Record with the title of the book, date read, number of minutes or pages read and a general comment (if you'd like to add one) or a signature. They must be signed by a parent or guardian so that this reading can be monitored by us. Additionally, you can encourage your children to complete AR quizzes at home as well, to develop their comprehension skills in addition to the reading opportunities we provide in school. 

Times Tables:

We use Times Tables Rock Stars in school to help your child practise their systematic recall of mixed times tables. Please continue to support your child by using this app/ website or use Hit The Button (on the TopMarks website) and select "times tables". A gentle reminder that the Year 4 National Multiplication Tables Check will be in June and you can train your child for this test by using the "Soundcheck" game on TTRS, which is exactly the same format as the National Multiplication Tables Check. 

Times tables are a key part of your child's progress in mathematics lessons and a systematic recall of these will improve their maths fluency and help them achieve the next level of their learning. 

Spellings

In addition to reading and practising times tables, you can also support your child at home by practising their spellings each week on Purple Mash or simply by completing the Look/Say/Cover/Write/Check worksheet sent home each Monday. Every week we shall explore a new spelling pattern in class from the Year 3 and 4 curriculum and practise words with that pattern throughout the week. Your child may bring home a slightly different list than the one practised for exposure in class and this list will be the one they will be tested on, each Friday. The list of Year 3 and 4 spellings explored in class will be available on this page, following the "Spellings" link at the bottom of the page.

Your child is welcome to choose any number of the suggested activities from the home learning menu above.

The activities are linked to the learning in school and will encourage their independence, develop their creativity and curiosity.

Please also continue to read at home with their reading practice books and fill in + return their reading record, signed.

Thank you!

Miss Levasseur