Friday, 14 February 2025

 


Friday 14th February 2025  

Dear Parents and Caregivers.

What a busy term in has been and we cannot believe we are now halfway through the year! Your children have worked so hard so far and it is lovely to see them make progress. Thank you for all your support and the homework, extra times table practice and reading you do at home - it really does make a difference!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Monday 17th February - Friday 21st February - Half Term Holiday

Monday 24th February - INSET Day (school closed)

Tuesday 25th February - Return to School

Monday 3rd March - Year 3/4 visit to Harry Potter Warner Brother Studios

Thursday 6th March - World Book Day


There is no homework set for the half term but please keep up with times table practice and reading

Reading: 

Remember 15-20 minutes everyday is super important but we understand this is not always manageable. Make sure you are reading as much as you can - at least 3x a week and recording what you read in your child's reading record. These will be collected by teachers and checked regularly.  When you have finished your Accelerated Reader book, you can take a quiz at school. Remember that you need 3 100% scores to move up a level.

Times table practice - Please log on to TTRS and complete your challenges.

Can Do
Continue logging on to TTRS and Sumdog -  your logins are stuck in the front cover of your reading records. 

Reading Skills

Every week we encourage you to keep up all your reading at home as this makes such a huge difference. We wanted to spend a little time this week speaking more about reading skills.

Understanding what they have read (or comprehension) is vital for the children  and we support this through our VIPERS reading skills. This stands for:

Vocabulary    Infer    Predict    Explain    Retrieve    Summarise

You can explore these ideas with your child after reading using some of the following question prompts:

Vocabulary - have a good range of vocabulary in order to understand the text

  • What does the word _____ mean in this sentence?
  • Find a word that means _____ on this page.

Infer - understanding reached through reasoning about what you have read

  • Why was _____ feeling _____?
  • Why did _____ happen?
  • How do you know?

Predict - what you think will happen based on what you have read

  • What do you think will happen next?
  • How will this character's action affect what will happen next?

Explain - what your thoughts and opinions are about the book

  • Who is your favourite character? Why?
  • Would you like to live in this setting? Why?

Retrieve - discuss the characters, events and setting of the story

  • Who did _____?
  • Where did _____?
Summarise - pick out the key events

  • Retell the story in your own words.
  • Pick out the important parts.
We hope this helps you discuss the books your child reads at home as the more they practice these skills the more fluent in comprehension they will become.

Have an amazing half term break and we will see everyone back at school on Tuesday 25th February!

Miss Harvey and Mrs Devlin

Friday, 7 February 2025

Friday 7th February 2025

 Dear Parents and Caregivers.

It's been a busy week and we are all looking forward to some relaxation at the weekend. The children have represented the school fantastically this week and we are very proud of them.

Well done to all the children who took part in the Sumdog competition but special congratulations go to Sunflower Class who came 10th overall: they enjoyed extra playtime as their reward today.


DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Friday 14th February - PTA Wear Red for Valentine’s Day

Friday 14th February - Last Day of Term

Monday 17th February - Friday 21st February - Half Term Holiday

Monday 24th February - INSET Day (school closed)

Tuesday 25th February - Return to School

Monday 3rd March - Year 3/4 visit to Harry Potter Warner Brother Studios

Thursday 6th March - World Book Day


Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
This year the children in Year 4 will be participating in the multiplication tables check (MTC) in June. The purpose of the check is to determine whether the children can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help your child’s school to identify if your child may need additional support. The Times Table Club is taking place on a Thursday after school (3:15 to 4:15), to help them prepare for this.

Spelling Frame Rule 17 - https://spellingframe.co.uk/

This week we would like the children to focus on: Spelling Rule 17
Your child has their login details glued into their reading diaries. They will be tested at the end of every week on these spellings so PLEASE practise at home. These have been stuck in your child's little blue book. If your child did not have theirs in school, they were given the spelling list.

Times Tables
The children have these stuck in their little blue books already and we are now revisiting the 4x & 8x tables (Y3) and 9x (Y4) The children will be tested and taking part in times table activities throughout the week. Using TTRS is an excellent way to practise these.

Year 3/4  Homework Tasks

Year 3
English - Page 4 - Nouns
Maths - 3x and 8x tables activity sheet


Year 4
English - Page 4 - Nouns Maths - Short Division - 2-digit and 3-digit numbers divided by 1 digit.
The children have been given a sheet to complete. They decide which page they complete (either 2 or 3-digit numbers) as they feel confident.

Must Do

Reading: 

Remember 15-20 minutes everyday is super important but we understand this is not always manageable. Make sure you are reading as much as you can - at least 3x a week and recording what you read in your child's reading record. These will be collected by teachers and checked regularly.  When you have finished your Accelerated Reader book, you can take a quiz at school. Remember that you need 3 100% scores to move up a level.

Times table practice - Please log on to TTRS and complete your challenges.

Can Do
Continue logging on to TTRS and Sumdog -  your logins are stuck in the front cover of your reading records. 

Reading Skills

Every week we encourage you to keep up all your reading at home as this makes such a huge difference. We wanted to spend a little time this week speaking more about reading skills.

Understanding what they have read (or comprehension) is vital for the children  and we support this through our VIPERS reading skills. This stands for:

Vocabulary    Infer    Predict    Explain    Retrieve    Summarise

You can explore these ideas with your child after reading using some of the following question prompts:

Vocabulary - have a good range of vocabulary in order to understand the text

  • What does the word _____ mean in this sentence?
  • Find a word that means _____ on this page.

Infer - understanding reached through reasoning about what you have read

  • Why was _____ feeling _____?
  • Why did _____ happen?
  • How do you know?

Predict - what you think will happen based on what you have read

  • What do you think will happen next?
  • How will this character's action affect what will happen next?

Explain - what your thoughts and opinions are about the book

  • Who is your favourite character? Why?
  • Would you like to live in this setting? Why?

Retrieve - discuss the characters, events and setting of the story

  • Who did _____?
  • Where did _____?
Summarise - pick out the key events

  • Retell the story in your own words.
  • Pick out the important parts.
We hope this helps you discuss the books your child reads at home as the more they practice these skills the more fluent in comprehension they will become.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Harvey and Mrs Devlin


Friday, 31 January 2025

 

Friday 31st January 2025

 

 Dear Parents and Caregivers.

We hope that you have all had a lovely week (in spite of the weather).

It has become apparent that some of the children are beginning to wear items of clothing that are not within our school uniform policy. Could you please make sure that the children are dressed in the correct clothing (including shoes), labelled if possible. 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Friday 14th February - PTA Wear Red for Valentine’s Day

Friday 14th February - Last Day of Term

Monday 17th February - Friday 21st February - Half Term Holiday

Monday 24th February - INSET Day (school closed)

Tuesday 25th February - Return to School

Monday 3rd March - Year 3/4 visit to Harry Potter Warner Brother Studios

Thursday 6th March - World Book Day


Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
This year the children in Year 4 will be participating in the multiplication tables check (MTC) in June. The purpose of the check is to determine whether the children can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help your child’s school to identify if your child may need additional support. The Times Table Club is taking place on a Thursday after school (3:15 to 4:15), to help them prepare for this.

Spelling Frame Rule 16 - https://spellingframe.co.uk/

This week we would like the children to focus on: Spelling Rule 16
Your child has their login details glued into their reading diaries. They will be tested at the end of every week on these spellings so PLEASE practise at home. These have been stuck in your child's little blue book. If your child did not have theirs in school, they were given the spelling list.

Times Tables
The children have these stuck in their little blue books already and we are now revisiting the 8x tables The children will be tested and taking part in times table activities throughout the week. Using TTRS is an excellent way to practise these.

Year 3/4  Homework Tasks
***UPDATED**
Year 3 English - Pages 20 and 21 - Conjunctions
Maths - Pages 27 and 28 - Using Times Table Facts

Year 4
English - Pages 22 and 23 - Conjunctions Maths - Page 29 - Written Multiplication

WHOLE SCHOOL SUMDOG COMPETITION

Calling all of you amazing mathematicians! 

You have been entered into the East of England Sumdog Competition. It starts on 31st Januaryat 3.30pm, and finishes at 3.30pm on 6th February.

Why not have a go and get your class on the school leaderboard?

I will be monitoring how well each class is doing. The winning class will get extra playtime!

Let's show our school what great mathematicians we are!

Good luck.

Mrs Hurley 👍

Must Do

Reading: 

Remember 15-20 minutes everyday is super important but we understand this is not always manageable. Make sure you are reading as much as you can - at least 3x a week and recording what you read in your child's reading record. These will be collected by teachers and checked regularly.  When you have finished your Accelerated Reader book, you can take a quiz at school. Remember that you need 3 100% scores to move up a level.

Times table practice - Please log on to TTRS and complete your challenges.

Can Do
Continue logging on to TTRS and Sumdog -  your logins are stuck in the front cover of your reading records. 

Reading Skills

Every week we encourage you to keep up all your reading at home as this makes such a huge difference. We wanted to spend a little time this week speaking more about reading skills.

Understanding what they have read (or comprehension) is vital for the children  and we support this through our VIPERS reading skills. This stands for:

Vocabulary    Infer    Predict    Explain    Retrieve    Summarise

You can explore these ideas with your child after reading using some of the following question prompts:

Vocabulary - have a good range of vocabulary in order to understand the text

  • What does the word _____ mean in this sentence?
  • Find a word that means _____ on this page.

Infer - understanding reached through reasoning about what you have read

  • Why was _____ feeling _____?
  • Why did _____ happen?
  • How do you know?

Predict - what you think will happen based on what you have read

  • What do you think will happen next?
  • How will this character's action affect what will happen next?

Explain - what your thoughts and opinions are about the book

  • Who is your favourite character? Why?
  • Would you like to live in this setting? Why?

Retrieve - discuss the characters, events and setting of the story

  • Who did _____?
  • Where did _____?
Summarise - pick out the key events

  • Retell the story in your own words.
  • Pick out the important parts.
We hope this helps you discuss the books your child reads at home as the more they practice these skills the more fluent in comprehension they will become.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Harvey and Mrs Devlin

Friday, 24 January 2025

Friday 24th January 2025

 

 Dear Parents and Caregivers.

We hope that you have all had a lovely week (in spite of the weather).

It has become apparent that some of the children are beginning to wear items of clothing that are not within our school uniform policy. Could you please make sure that the children are dressed in the correct clothing (including shoes), labelled if possible. 

Primary Dance Festival

Well done to all the children who competed at the Primary Dance Festival on Wednesday. We are very proud of all of you for your fantastic performance.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Friday 14th February - PTA Wear Red for Valentine’s Day

Friday 14th February - Last Day of Term

Monday 17th February - Friday 21st February - Half Term Holiday

Monday 24th February - INSET Day (school closed)

Tuesday 25th February - Return to School


Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
This year the children in Year 4 will be participating in the multiplication tables check (MTC) in June. The purpose of the check is to determine whether the children can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help your child’s school to identify if your child may need additional support. The Times Table Club is taking place on a Thursday after school (3:15 to 4:15), to help them prepare for this.

Spelling Frame Rule 15 - https://spellingframe.co.uk/

This week we would like the children to focus on: Spelling Rule 15
Your child has their login details glued into their reading diaries. They will be tested at the end of every week on these spellings so PLEASE practise at home. These have been stuck in your child's little blue book. If your child did not have theirs in school, they were given the spelling list.

Times Tables
The children have these stuck in their little blue books already and year 3 are now revisiting the 3x and 4x tables and year 4 are revisiting the 7x tables. The children will be tested and taking part in times table activities throughout the week. Using TTRS is an excellent way to practise these.

Year 3/4  Homework Tasks

Year 3 English - Pages 58 + 59 - Inverted Commas
Maths - Page 8 - Counting in Multiples (if you haven't done it)

Year 4
English - Page 62 & 63 - Punctuating Speech using ! ? Maths - Page 22 - Written Addition
Must Do

Reading: 

Remember 15-20 minutes everyday is super important but we understand this is not always manageable. Make sure you are reading as much as you can - at least 3x a week and recording what you read in your child's reading record. These will be collected by teachers and checked regularly.  When you have finished your Accelerated Reader book, you can take a quiz at school. Remember that you need 3 100% scores to move up a level.

Times table practice - Please log on to TTRS and complete your challenges.

Can Do
Continue logging on to TTRS and Sumdog -  your logins are stuck in the front cover of your reading records. 

Reading Skills

Every week we encourage you to keep up all your reading at home as this makes such a huge difference. We wanted to spend a little time this week speaking more about reading skills.

Understanding what they have read (or comprehension) is vital for the children  and we support this through our VIPERS reading skills. This stands for:

Vocabulary    Infer    Predict    Explain    Retrieve    Summarise

You can explore these ideas with your child after reading using some of the following question prompts:

Vocabulary - have a good range of vocabulary in order to understand the text

  • What does the word _____ mean in this sentence?
  • Find a word that means _____ on this page.

Infer - understanding reached through reasoning about what you have read

  • Why was _____ feeling _____?
  • Why did _____ happen?
  • How do you know?

Predict - what you think will happen based on what you have read

  • What do you think will happen next?
  • How will this character's action affect what will happen next?

Explain - what your thoughts and opinions are about the book

  • Who is your favourite character? Why?
  • Would you like to live in this setting? Why?

Retrieve - discuss the characters, events and setting of the story

  • Who did _____?
  • Where did _____?
Summarise - pick out the key events

  • Retell the story in your own words.
  • Pick out the important parts.
We hope this helps you discuss the books your child reads at home as the more they practice these skills the more fluent in comprehension they will become.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Harvey and Mrs Devlin

Friday, 17 January 2025

 

Friday 17th January 2025

Hoping you have all managed to have a lovely week. 

It has become apparent that some of the children are beginning to wear items of clothing that are not within our school uniform policy. Could you please make sure that the children are dressed in the correct clothing (including shoes), labeled if possible. 

Next Monday, 20th January, the children have been asked to participate in the class coin run. Please check our newsletter for more details. 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Tuesday 21st January - KS2 Dance Festival

Monday 10th January - PTA Coin Run **new**

Friday 14th February - PTA Wear Red for Valentine’s Day

Friday 14th February - Last Day of Term

Monday 17th February - Friday 21st February - Half Term Holiday

Monday 24th February - INSET Day (school closed)

Tuesday 25th February - Return to School


Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
This year the children in Year 4 will be participating in the multiplication tables check (MTC) in June. The purpose of the check is to determine whether the children can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help your child’s school to identify if your child may need additional support. The children in Sunflower class have brought a letter home today about Times Table Club that will be taking place on a Thursday after school, to help them prepare for this.

Spelling Frame Rule 14 - https://spellingframe.co.uk/

This week we would like the children to focus on: Spelling Rule 14
Your child has their login details glued into their reading diaries. They will be tested at the end of every week on these spellings so PLEASE practise at home. These have been stuck in your child's little blue book. If your child did not have theirs in school, they were given the spelling list.

Times Tables
The children have these stuck in their little blue books already and year 3 are now revisiting the 5x tables and year 4 are revisiting the 6x tables. The children will be tested and taking part in times table activities throughout the week. Using TTRS is an excellent way to practise these.

Year 3/4  Homework Tasks

Year 3 English - Pages 40 + 41 - Question Marks
Maths - Page 8 - Counting in Multiples

Year 4
English - Page 38 - Question Marks Maths - Page 40 + 41 - Divide by 10 and 100
Must Do

Reading: 

Remember 15-20 minutes everyday is super important but we understand this is not always manageable. Make sure you are reading as much as you can - at least 3x a week and recording what you read in your child's reading record. These will be collected by teachers and checked regularly.  When you have finished your Accelerated Reader book, you can take a quiz at school. Remember that you need 3 100% scores to move up a level.

Times table practice - Please log on to TTRS and complete your challenges.

Can Do
Continue logging on to TTRS and Sumdog -  your logins are stuck in the front cover of your reading records. 

Reading Skills

Every week we encourage you to keep up all your reading at home as this makes such a huge difference. We wanted to spend a little time this week speaking more about reading skills.

Understanding what they have read (or comprehension) is vital for the children  and we support this through our VIPERS reading skills. This stands for:

Vocabulary    Infer    Predict    Explain    Retrieve    Summarise

You can explore these ideas with your child after reading using some of the following question prompts:

Vocabulary - have a good range of vocabulary in order to understand the text

  • What does the word _____ mean in this sentence?
  • Find a word that means _____ on this page.

Infer - understanding reached through reasoning about what you have read

  • Why was _____ feeling _____?
  • Why did _____ happen?
  • How do you know?

Predict - what you think will happen based on what you have read

  • What do you think will happen next?
  • How will this character's action affect what will happen next?

Explain - what your thoughts and opinions are about the book

  • Who is your favourite character? Why?
  • Would you like to live in this setting? Why?

Retrieve - discuss the characters, events and setting of the story

  • Who did _____?
  • Where did _____?
Summarise - pick out the key events

  • Retell the story in your own words.
  • Pick out the important parts.
We hope this helps you discuss the books your child reads at home as the more they practice these skills the more fluent in comprehension they will become.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Harvey and Mrs. Devlin

Friday, 10 January 2025

Friday 10th January 2025

 Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome to 2025 and the start of the Spring term at Down Hall. We hope that you all had a wonderful festive break.

This term, we are all looking forward to getting stuck into our new project, Around the World in Eighty Days. We have already started looking at Jules Verne's story in English.

Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
This year the children in Year 4 will be participating in the multiplication tables check (MTC) in June. The purpose of the check is to determine whether the children can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help your child’s school to identify if your child may need additional support. The children in Sunflower class have brought a letter home today about Times Table Club that will be taking place on a Thursday after school, to help them prepare for this.

Spelling Frame Rule 13 - https://spellingframe.co.uk/

This week we would like the children to focus on: Spelling Rule 13
Your child has their login details glued into their reading diaries. They will be tested at the end of every week on these spellings so PLEASE practise at home. These have been stuck in your child's little blue book. If your child did not have theirs in school, they were given the spelling list.

Times Tables
The children have these stuck in their little blue books already and we are now beginning to revisit . the 2x, 5x and 10x tables. The children will be tested and taking part in times table activities throughout the week. Using TTRS is an excellent way to practise these.

Year 3/4  Homework Tasks

Year 3 English - Pages 60 & 61 - Punctuating Speech
Maths - Page 26 - 3, 4 and 8Times Tables

Year 4
English - Pages 60 & 61 - Punctuating Speech Maths - Page 28- Factor Pairs
Must Do

Reading: 

Remember 15-20 minutes everyday is super important but we understand this is not always manageable. Make sure you are reading as much as you can - at least 3x a week and recording what you read in your child's reading record. These will be collected by teachers and checked regularly.  When you have finished your Accelerated Reader book, you can take a quiz at school. Remember that you need 3 100% scores to move up a level.

Times table practice - Please log on to TTRS and complete your challenges.

Can Do
Continue logging on to TTRS and Sumdog -  your logins are stuck in the front cover of your reading records. 

Reading Skills

Every week we encourage you to keep up all your reading at home as this makes such a huge difference. We wanted to spend a little time this week speaking more about reading skills.

Understanding what they have read (or comprehension) is vital for the children  and we support this through our VIPERS reading skills. This stands for:

Vocabulary    Infer    Predict    Explain    Retrieve    Summarise

You can explore these ideas with your child after reading using some of the following question prompts:

Vocabulary - have a good range of vocabulary in order to understand the text

  • What does the word _____ mean in this sentence?
  • Find a word that means _____ on this page.

Infer - understanding reached through reasoning about what you have read

  • Why was _____ feeling _____?
  • Why did _____ happen?
  • How do you know?

Predict - what you think will happen based on what you have read

  • What do you think will happen next?
  • How will this character's action affect what will happen next?

Explain - what your thoughts and opinions are about the book

  • Who is your favourite character? Why?
  • Would you like to live in this setting? Why?

Retrieve - discuss the characters, events and setting of the story

  • Who did _____?
  • Where did _____?
Summarise - pick out the key events

  • Retell the story in your own words.
  • Pick out the important parts.
We hope this helps you discuss the books your child reads at home as the more they practice these skills the more fluent in comprehension they will become.

Have a lovely weekend.

Miss Harvey and Mrs Devlin