Welcome to Squirrels' Class Page!
Class Teacher: Mrs Howell
Class TA: Mrs Hobbs

with TA team: Mrs Eddleston, Mrs Pope & Mrs Watts 

The new school year is well underway and we're already writing the story of Squirrels 2023 - 24!

We know there'll be a lot of good learning happening in the months ahead as well as an array of triumphs to celebrate, challenges to master and ideas to explore. There will definitely be some great memories built along the way too and we'll enjoy sharing them with you! 

From the outset, the children said that our class should be creative, kind, calm, fun and sporty and, with everyone signed up to our class charter, we think you'll agree that some great things have been quickly set up for our year together! 

Squirrels' Class Charter 2023 - 24

Stay up-to-date with 

 This Week's Homework &  This Week's Spellings

Terms 1 & 2
Our Active Planet 
Moving and Shaking: Hurricanes & Earthquakes

In Terms 1 & 2 we'll have a Geography focus to our learning as we explore the power and might of our Active Planet. 

As always, all our work will come from the planned learning & key questions in our 

Topic Web   

I'm really excited that we're reading Onjali Q. Raúf's brilliant 'The Boy at the Back of the Class'. It's such a great book!

This is a beautiful, open-hearted debut from Onjali Q Raúf that should help children be the best they can be and realise the power of kindness. The Book Trust

Based in part on the stories she encountered when working in refugee camps, Onjali Q. Raúf’s remarkable debut deserves to be ranked as a modern classic. Told with humour and tenderness, it is an unforgettable story of hope, curiosity and the importance of kindness. Waterstones

 
In Squirrels, we'll make lots of connections in our learning so we'll be finding lots of links with things we already know and things we want to find out more about.  As always, there are big questions to explore in Science, RE, History and PSHE, great lives to encounter, new stories to hear and key skills to learn. We're going to stay creative and curious and, every day, we'll make sure that we use our Learning Powers and that we bring a Growth Mindset and our Gem Powers to everything we do.  

 
Other Important Information

1. Personal Reading Books
The children should all have an ongoing book which they bring into school every day. Free readers can choose books from home or from our class collections and we ask them to read a variety of authors and genres over the course of the year. Those not yet free readers should bring in a book of their choice as well as their school reading book. Our regular "I recommend..." sessions are great opportunities for the children to hear about the books others have loved reading too. 

Please remember to sign your child’s home/school book each day that they read at home so that they can get all their certificates and rewards. Thank you! 

Squirrels, if you're deciding on your next book, take a look at some of these suggestions. You could encounter some unforgettable new characters, meet some very familiar faces or discover lots of fascinating new facts! Which books would you add? 

50 Great Reads Y4  50 Great Reads Y5 Poetry BooksNon-Fiction Choices  Similar to...   Books of the Month

2. Other Weekly Homework
A main Homework task is set every Friday and is due in the following Wednesday unless otherwise stated. These tasks will also be available through the link at the top of this page. 

Spellings: Also found via the link on this page, our weekly spellings are set on Mondays & tested on Fridays. Please encourage your child to regularly practise their words. In the back of your child's home/school book you'll find the lists of the Y3&4 and Y5&6 words that they'll need to be certain of too.

Doodle Maths (& Doodle Tables): Each child has a Doodle login and a personalised weekly target. We recommend that they spend at least 10 minutes a day on each of these.

Times Tables: The 12 Times Tables are used and tested lots each week as they underpin so much Maths work. Lots of practice at home is always key in getting everyone to be quick, secure and confident in their recall. There's Monster Multiplication and the timed Multiplication Check on Purple Mash and lots of other online games and activities available to help too.

Thank you for your help and support in all this.

3. P.E.
Our PE lessons are on Mondays in Term 1/Tuesdays in Terms 3-6 and Thursdays so, as before, children need to come to school already dressed in their correct kit on those days. We'll aim to do all lessons outside, so suitable outdoor kit is important. A reminder that school PE kit is as follows

• Farmborough House Group t-shirt or a plain coloured t-shirt in your House colour
• Navy blue/black sports shorts, skorts or joggers
• Plimsolls or trainers
• Sports socks
• Outdoor kit for cooler/wetter weather eg long joggers and plain/school hoodie or sweatshirt 

We won’t run lessons outdoors in very wet weather, but it will be really useful for the children to bring in a spare set of clothes and footwear when the weather's not so great. If preferred, these spares can be left in school in your child’s P.E. bag.

** All items coming into school do need to be clearly named. Thank you! **
 

4. Anti-Bullying Resource

Click on the logo to see the Anti-Bullying Alliance's Parent Pack, published to accompany this year's Anti-Bullying Week in November 2022

5. Staying Safe Online
Children, whenever you're online, remember to practise your online safety skills so that you stay Sharp, Alert, Secure, Kind & Brave.
Click on these images, either to explore Interland or to watch the Family Adventure together:

                           

And here are some good places for parents and carers to visit for useful advice and information too:

Parent Zone       Be Internet Legends Parents' Page  &  Parent Info
Thinkuknow       Internet Matters        LGfL       Net Aware

 6. General Reminders:

• The children will all need to have a water bottle in school every day. 
• They'll also all need a rainproof coat with hood and wellies in a named carrier bag in school every day. Again, please check that everything that's worn or brought in is clearly named. 

Thank you!

Finally, if you need to get in touch or you have any concerns or queries about anything, please use the Class Mailbox which I'll check regularly. I'll be in the playground at the end of most days too and, as always, you can send messages via the Office and your child's Home School Book. If there's an urgent matter, though, it's always best to phone or email the Office. Thank you!

Looking Back & Looking Ahead:  

In our Collective Worship at the end of Friday 20th March 2020, as we closed for the first lockdown, this traditional Blessing was prayed for our school community. Now, whatever this new year brings, we still value these words and hold them for everyone.