Author Archives: perranporth132

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we have started reading The Wind in the Willows which the children are really enjoying. They have written diary entries as though they are Mole, and in drama they have acted out parts of the story.

In maths, we have continued to practise using number lines to subtract and find the difference between numbers – can your child explain to you how to do this?

In topic, we have been printing using string, basing our designs on sketches of leaves. The final prints are looking lovely – well done everyone! We have also continued to monitor our seeds which are finally beginning to grow.

Sports Day will be on Thursday 21st May at 2pm on the field. Obviously this will be weather dependent, so we will keep our fingers crossed for some sunshine. Please ensure your child has a full PE kit in school at all times.

If you have any questions, please drop in to see either of us or email on sburns@perranporth.cornwall.sch.uk or esmitheram@perranporth.cornwall.sch.uk .

Thank you.

Mrs Burns and Mrs Smitheram

Penhaligon Newsletter
24th April 2015

Dear Parents and Carers,

This Week, we have been learning more about our topic, Sowing and Growing, and have now planted some seeds. We are carrying out an experiment to find out what the seeds need to grow – some are outside, some are in the fridge and some are covered up so they don’t get any light.

In Maths, we have looked at using partitioning to help us with addition and also practised using number lines. We have begun to use counting on to help us find the difference between 2 numbers as an alternative way of subtracting.

In literacy, we wrote letters to Jack to thank him for sending us the seeds to plant for our experiment.

During PE lessons, we are practising for Sports Day, which we hope will be just before the half-term holiday – we will confirm the date next week. Some children are still not bringing in PE kit – please check with your child that they have a full PE kit with trainers. Thank you.

Spellings and homework will be back to normal next week! Spellings will be sent home on Monday to be practised at home ready for a test on Friday and homework will be sent home on Wednesday to be returned the following Monday.

As always, if you have any questions, please email on sburns@perranporth.cornwall.sch.uk or esmitheram@perranporth.cornwall.sch.uk or drop in to see us. Thank you.

Mrs Burns and Mrs Smitheram.

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we have been finishing off our Town Mouse and Country Mouse topic. The children have produced some great work this term and they should be really proud of it.

I am really pleased to let you know that we have been able to give all the children in Year 1 and 2 access to the Mathletics programme. This is a website which has maths activities and questions to support your child’s school learning. Once your child has logged on, they will be directed to individually levelled activities. To access the site, log on to www.mathletics.co.uk and sign in using the username and password on the card in your child’s book bag. Children work towards certificates by earning points from correctly answered questions.

Next term, as you know, Mrs Smitheram will be teaching the children on Mondays and Tuesdays, we will jointly teach them on Wednesday mornings, Mrs Bennett will continue to teach on a Wednesday afternoon and then I will teach on Thursdays and Fridays. The children and I are really looking forward to working with Mrs Smitheram!

Our topic next term will be Sowing and Growing. We would love to grow some plants in our outside area so if anyone has spare containers or some compost, we would be really grateful.

Over the holidays, please ensure your children keep reading regularly and keep a note in their reading records. It makes such a difference to their progress.

We will be doing athletics next term in PE, so when the children come back, could you please ensure that they have a full PE kit with trainers or plimsolls. All kit needs to be labelled to avoid confusion over whose kit is whose.

I hope you have a lovely Easter, fingers crossed for some lovely weather!

Mrs Burns

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Dear Parents and Carers,

This week
We have been investigating living things and looking at some of the characteristics of living things – they respire, reproduce, need nutrition and they grow. We looked around school and found living things, things which used to be alive and are now dead (eg leaves which have fallen off trees), and things that have never been alive, like tables and chairs.
In maths, we have starting subtraction using partitioning or using the column method, depending on which group they are in.
This week and next week we will be writing persuasive texts, they children have written some great adverts so far!
Well done to everyone for their fantastic World Book Day costumes!

St Piran’s Welcome
Please arrive between 5.45 and 6pm on the Inner Green near Perranporth Beach. The children need to be dressed warmly in black and white, black and gold or ‘olden days Cornish clothes’. Please note that Key Stage 1 children need to be accompanied by an adult at all times. We hope you can all make it.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to drop in to see me or contact me on sburns@perranporth.cornwall.sch.uk .

Thank you.

Mrs Burns

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to all of you who came to our assembly. I am sure you will agree that they performed brilliantly! Thanks also to those of you who stayed afterwards to attend the phonics workshop. We hope you found it useful.

This week we have been finishing our ‘Celebrations – Two Queens’ topic which the children have been engrossed in. It has been a real pleasure to teach them as they have shown such an interest in the subject.

Next term, our new topic is Town Mouse and Country Mouse. We will look at the traditional tale of these friends as well as looking at habitats in science and contrasting geographical locations.

I will not be setting any homework over the holidays, but please ensure your child keeps reading every day and also practises their 2, 5 and 10 times tables – there are some great songs to help with this on YouTube.

Have a lovely break and we will see you back on Monday 23rd February.

Thank you.

Mrs Burns

Dear Parents and Carers,

Assembly
This week we have worked really hard on our assembly – the children have written their own parts and can’t wait to show you on Tuesday!

Phonics
As you know, this half term, we have trialled mixed age group phonics lessons. It is now apparent that it would be more beneficial for the children to be taught their age appropriate phonics with any gaps in learning filled during extra sessions. Starting on Monday, children will stay in their usual class for their phonics lessons and the session will be differentiated to ensure all abilities are catered for.

Phonics training for parents
Please come to our training session for parents straight after our Class Assembly on Tuesday 10th February. There will childcare for the children in Key Stage 1, Foundation Stage and any siblings who you need to bring along. We will explain how we teach phonics and how you can support your child at home. It will be very informal and we hope you will find it extremely useful.

Reading
It is essential that your child reads at least 5 times a week at home, ideally every day. It only needs to be for 10 minutes so please make the time. Helping you child to read will have the biggest impact on their learning for the rest of their lives.
It has become apparent that some children are changing their books without finishing them so from now on, children will need to check with us before they change their book as they have done in previous years. Please write in their reading record so that we know where they have read to with you. Many thanks for your support with this.

If you have any questions, please come in to see me or email me on sburns@perranporth.cornwall.sch.uk.

Thank you,

Mrs Burns

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to everyone who made such an effort with their Victorian costumes.  We had such a great day and the children were engrossed in their activities.  We will tell you all about it at our class assembly on Tuesday 10^th February.

In Maths, we have been thinking about measurements and which unit we use to measure different things, eg minutes to measure how long it takes us to eat breakfast, kilometres to measure how far it is to Newquay, metres to measure how tall a house is.   We will continue with this work next week.

In literacy, we have started reading a fantastic book called The Mystery of the London Dragonfish.  It is set in Victorian London and features a girl called Slightly Jones!  The children are really enjoying the story so far – can they tell you what has happened and what they think may happen later in the book?

I would just like to let you know that I will be sending spellings home on a Friday from now on, so children will have a full week to practise them, ready for the test on the following Friday.

In order to further support the children’s spelling and reading, Ms Lampier, Miss Kitarurth and I will be hosting a Phonics Workshop on 10^th February at 3.30 (just after our assembly.) We will show you how we teach phonics and how you can support your child in their reading.  We really hope as many of you as possible will make it to this important session.

If you have any questions, please drop in to see me or email me on sburns@perranporth.cornwall.sch.uk .

Thank you.

Mrs Burns

Dear Parents and Carers,

Firstly, I would like to welcome Kai to our class.

This week
In maths, we have been looking at data handling and converting tally charts into block graphs. The children then answered questions based on their graphs. In literacy, we have been improving our descriptive writing techniques ready for Big Write today when we wrote out own versions of Cinderella. In our topic work we looked at and compared the Diamond Jubilees of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as discussing the Commonwealth and its countries.

Next week
In Maths next week, we will be focusing on different methods of recording addition and subtraction. In literacy, we will be finding out about Queen Elizabeth II and writing a biography and in our topic work, we will continue studying the Commonwealth.

PE kits
Just a quick reminder that some children do not have a full kit at school – can you please check that your child has trainers/plimsolls, shorts and a change of shirt for PE each week, please.

Victorian Day
On Thursday 29th January, I am planning to have a Victorian Day in class – it would be great if the children could come in Victorian-style clothes as we will be having lots of Victorian school activities and lessons. It should be fun! Hopefully this gives you plenty of time to find some suitable clothes.

Dates to remember
29th January – Penhaligon Victorian Day
30th January – Penhaligon’s turn to provide cakes for the cake stall
10th February – Penhaligon Class assembly

As always, if you have any questions, please come in and see me or email me on sburns@perranporth.cornwall.sch.uk .

Thank you.

Mrs Burns