Welcome to Dragon Class
Our Team
Miss Nyazika and Mrs Williams are our Class Teachers, alongside Mrs Doe and Mrs Smith our Teaching Assistants.
Equipment
Please ensure all equipment is labelled.
Please remember we are a nut free school, Miss Nyazika is particularly allergic to certain nuts. In addition, normally we like to encourage items from home to help your child settle in, unfortunately we cannot do that this term. Please do not bring in any toys, games, playing cards etc.
Coronavirus info:
In line with school policy, we are in set bubbles that do not mix with each other. We are also ventilating our classroom as much as reasonably possible, regardless of weather. Furthermore, we are washing hands more frequently now. Please do not bring in any toys, games, playing cards etc. from home.
Parent Partnership:
We love what we do and we are lucky to do it too! We will always put the children first and that means we need to have strong and positive relationships with all our Dragon families 😊
Please check your ClassDojo regularly as we frequently send messages on there. You can also use this to contact us and we’ll aim to get back to you asap. We enjoy hearing from you!
We always want to improve! Let us know if you have any ideas to help us level up yours and our class experience. Most recently, we had a parent recommend and create a brilliant “Logins” document that helped us keep track of where all the helpful online resources we use are. This was so helpful especially during lockdown and we are just so grateful to that lovely parent, thank you!
Show and Tell
Unfortunately we are still not allowed to show, however we are definitely allowed to tell! If anything particularly exciting happens and your child would like to speak about it, send us a Dojo message and /or even a photo. We will try our best to give them an opportunity to tell the class about it 😊
Phonics
Phonics is taught every day to all the children. Where necessary, extra phonics lessons are provided. They include time to revise previously taught sounds, learn new sounds, practise writing these and put them into the context of words or even sentences.
Reading
We will have two whole class guided reading lessons each week where we will explore the story of Flat Stanley. In these lessons, the children will have the opportunity to discuss the plot, setting and characters as well as explore new vocabulary and the effectiveness of grammar and punctuation in narrative writing. This is a great opportunity for all children to deepen their understanding of a text.
Individual reading also takes place with adults in school and the children are given the opportunity to choose their own books when as much as possible.
No school library visits for the time being, however reading books to take home will be changed once a week on a Friday. You will receive a minimum of 2 books:
Science
In science, the children will be exploring Plants and also what is living, non-living and never lived.
History
We’ve designed the History content this Summer with all our brave Dragons in mind. Watch as they learn all about the tragedy of The Titanic, marvel as we explore the mysteries of flight and become craft creators ourselves! We will “travel” through the ages and come out the other side wiser and more knowledgeable than ever!
R.E.
RE will focus on religious celebrations across faiths and why they are important to people.
P.E.
Our days are Monday and Thursday- please come to school in PE Kit, trainers included. This Summer term we will of course explore athletics, we will also play tag rugby team games!
Newsletter and Homework:
Except holidays, we will send a weekly newsletter letting you know what we have been up to so far and what to expect over the next week. Homework will also be on this letter which will be sent via Google Classroom and ClassDojo. Should there be any spellings, these will be tested on the following Wednesday.
For daily reading at home, we will change all books during our Friday slot.
Daily Home Reading - Rising Stars Priority Books
One of the best ways to support your child at home is to read with them on a daily basis. Research continues to show that learning to read is directly linked to children’s success at school and beyond. Your child will not always want to read to you, in fact some nights it will feel like a chore. We recommend keeping it short and sweet: 5 days a week for 10mins, unless they want to do more! Include fun little games like you saying random, mixed up words on the page and seeing how many they can find and touch in 1 minute.
The reading you do at home with your children has a huge impact on their overall learning.
Comprehension is key! We ask questions almost every time we read 1:1 with the children. Here are some examples of what we ask- please use these too and any others you can think of!
Some children are reluctant readers and it can be a challenge to encourage them to pick up a book, so please try alternative texts to engage your child. Any reading they do at home can be recorded in their reading log – not just the books provided by school. Think what appeals to them: maybe comics, joke books, funny poetry, graphic novels, non-fiction which will appeal to their passion like craft making, cooking, scooter tricks, football skills etc. Books do not have to be read cover to cover, any reading is good, so help them choose a book or comic they are interested in to develop their love of reading.
Parent Partnership
We strongly believe in working closely with parents to ensure all children have a positive and successful experience in their education. We welcome any information you can share about your child and their individual learning experiences outside of school. This can be easily shared through the Class Dojo communication tool. To keep you informed on specific activities in the school, your teacher will also use the Class Dojo to share news and photos of school events. In the Dragon class, we welcome children into a stimulating, fun and creative classroom atmosphere. Our aim is for all children to be engaged, happy and enjoy their learning, allowing them to make progress and reach their potential.
Supporting Your Child at Home
Our experience has shown us that the support children get from home has a positive impact on their learning. Here are some websites which parents and carers may find useful:
www.phonicsplay.co.uk
www.letters-and-sounds.com
www.topmarks.co.uk
www.maths-games.org/times-tables-games.html
www.timestables.co.uk
Miss Nyazika and Mrs Williams are our Class Teachers, alongside Mrs Doe and Mrs Smith our Teaching Assistants.
Equipment
Please ensure all equipment is labelled.
- A coat, regardless of weather forecast; unfortunately, we not allowed to give out our own spare coats or jumpers anymore. Your child will keep this on the back of their chair and take it home each day.
- A lunchbox, unless they are signed up to school lunch.
- A water bottle, preferably one they can open, close and refill without any adult support.
- We provide a washed snack and will ask all children to wash their hands before they take any. However, if it makes you feel more comfortable, you are allowed to provide your own snack for your child. This should be a piece of fruit, not sandwiches, cakes etc. All we ask is that you remain consistent in your choice so your child does not get confused, we will not be checking their bags for them.
Please remember we are a nut free school, Miss Nyazika is particularly allergic to certain nuts. In addition, normally we like to encourage items from home to help your child settle in, unfortunately we cannot do that this term. Please do not bring in any toys, games, playing cards etc.
Coronavirus info:
In line with school policy, we are in set bubbles that do not mix with each other. We are also ventilating our classroom as much as reasonably possible, regardless of weather. Furthermore, we are washing hands more frequently now. Please do not bring in any toys, games, playing cards etc. from home.
Parent Partnership:
We love what we do and we are lucky to do it too! We will always put the children first and that means we need to have strong and positive relationships with all our Dragon families 😊
Please check your ClassDojo regularly as we frequently send messages on there. You can also use this to contact us and we’ll aim to get back to you asap. We enjoy hearing from you!
We always want to improve! Let us know if you have any ideas to help us level up yours and our class experience. Most recently, we had a parent recommend and create a brilliant “Logins” document that helped us keep track of where all the helpful online resources we use are. This was so helpful especially during lockdown and we are just so grateful to that lovely parent, thank you!
Show and Tell
Unfortunately we are still not allowed to show, however we are definitely allowed to tell! If anything particularly exciting happens and your child would like to speak about it, send us a Dojo message and /or even a photo. We will try our best to give them an opportunity to tell the class about it 😊
Phonics
Phonics is taught every day to all the children. Where necessary, extra phonics lessons are provided. They include time to revise previously taught sounds, learn new sounds, practise writing these and put them into the context of words or even sentences.
Reading
We will have two whole class guided reading lessons each week where we will explore the story of Flat Stanley. In these lessons, the children will have the opportunity to discuss the plot, setting and characters as well as explore new vocabulary and the effectiveness of grammar and punctuation in narrative writing. This is a great opportunity for all children to deepen their understanding of a text.
Individual reading also takes place with adults in school and the children are given the opportunity to choose their own books when as much as possible.
No school library visits for the time being, however reading books to take home will be changed once a week on a Friday. You will receive a minimum of 2 books:
- Priority Rising Stars Book- Decodeable for your child’s based on their phonics progress.
- Additional book/s- To experience a wider range of text types, fonts, characters and more. These are not so easily decodeable so please do help your child with these.
Science
In science, the children will be exploring Plants and also what is living, non-living and never lived.
History
We’ve designed the History content this Summer with all our brave Dragons in mind. Watch as they learn all about the tragedy of The Titanic, marvel as we explore the mysteries of flight and become craft creators ourselves! We will “travel” through the ages and come out the other side wiser and more knowledgeable than ever!
R.E.
RE will focus on religious celebrations across faiths and why they are important to people.
P.E.
Our days are Monday and Thursday- please come to school in PE Kit, trainers included. This Summer term we will of course explore athletics, we will also play tag rugby team games!
Newsletter and Homework:
Except holidays, we will send a weekly newsletter letting you know what we have been up to so far and what to expect over the next week. Homework will also be on this letter which will be sent via Google Classroom and ClassDojo. Should there be any spellings, these will be tested on the following Wednesday.
For daily reading at home, we will change all books during our Friday slot.
Daily Home Reading - Rising Stars Priority Books
One of the best ways to support your child at home is to read with them on a daily basis. Research continues to show that learning to read is directly linked to children’s success at school and beyond. Your child will not always want to read to you, in fact some nights it will feel like a chore. We recommend keeping it short and sweet: 5 days a week for 10mins, unless they want to do more! Include fun little games like you saying random, mixed up words on the page and seeing how many they can find and touch in 1 minute.
The reading you do at home with your children has a huge impact on their overall learning.
Comprehension is key! We ask questions almost every time we read 1:1 with the children. Here are some examples of what we ask- please use these too and any others you can think of!
- What’s going to happen next?
- What is this character feeling at this point? How do you know?
- Can this word/phrase have more than one meaning?
- Which word told you that?
- Where else in the story did that happen?
- Find some words or phrases that tell you about the setting.
- Can you find a word which shows she is upset/naughty/being kind?
- What does this word mean? (use the context to help find the meaning of unfamiliar words)
- What other synonyms do we know for that word? Which is best for this sentence?
Some children are reluctant readers and it can be a challenge to encourage them to pick up a book, so please try alternative texts to engage your child. Any reading they do at home can be recorded in their reading log – not just the books provided by school. Think what appeals to them: maybe comics, joke books, funny poetry, graphic novels, non-fiction which will appeal to their passion like craft making, cooking, scooter tricks, football skills etc. Books do not have to be read cover to cover, any reading is good, so help them choose a book or comic they are interested in to develop their love of reading.
Parent Partnership
We strongly believe in working closely with parents to ensure all children have a positive and successful experience in their education. We welcome any information you can share about your child and their individual learning experiences outside of school. This can be easily shared through the Class Dojo communication tool. To keep you informed on specific activities in the school, your teacher will also use the Class Dojo to share news and photos of school events. In the Dragon class, we welcome children into a stimulating, fun and creative classroom atmosphere. Our aim is for all children to be engaged, happy and enjoy their learning, allowing them to make progress and reach their potential.
Supporting Your Child at Home
Our experience has shown us that the support children get from home has a positive impact on their learning. Here are some websites which parents and carers may find useful:
www.phonicsplay.co.uk
www.letters-and-sounds.com
www.topmarks.co.uk
www.maths-games.org/times-tables-games.html
www.timestables.co.uk
