Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 19th April 2024

 Happy Friday, everybody, and welcome back to the Summer Term! We started this term with World Art Day on Monday and had an amazing day of lots of different art activities. Please be sure to check this week's newsletter to see what was going on.

New Reading Scheme

Today your child will be bringing home their new reading book from our new Anima Phonics reading scheme. These books are closely matched to our teaching of phonics and all the books are fully decodable which will help the children practise their phonics skills at home. Please read these books little and often at home during next week and record their progress in their reading diary as normal. Please do not be concerned if initially the books seem easier/harder than the books your child used to come home with as it may take a couple of weeks to fully establish the correct pitch as we introduce this new scheme to the school.

As the children will be reading these books in school as well as at home, can you ensure that the book remains in their bag every day, especially on Friday when we collect the books in and give the children their new book. 

New Spelling Scheme

Anima Phonics also provide a spelling scheme to go alongside the reading books so in order to be fully consistent, we will be moving to this scheme this week as well. Along with their new reading book, the children will bring home a spelling sheet of words to be practised throughout next week. Please use the sheet to practise on and bring it back into school with the other homework books. We will test the children on their spelling each Friday and issue them with a new set of words to work on.

Key Stage 1 Email

Just a reminder that the KS1 email account is now closed so any emails sent to this will not be seen. If you need to contact us for any purpose please either see us at the end of the day or use Class Dojo. If there is a change of collection arrangements during the day, please still contact the office.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 46 & 47.

For both Year 1's and Year 2's this continues to focus on mass and ways to measure. This is a fantastic opportunity to do a spot of baking as it will involve lots of practical measuring and reading of marked scales. Take a photo of any of your wonderful efforts (or of course bring us in a slice!) we would love to see them all.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day - we would love to see you!

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Thursday 28th March 2024

 Happy Thursday, everybody! Wow! We find ourselves at the end of the Spring Term! Everyone has worked so hard and achieved so much already this year. We are now looking forward to our last project of the year - "At The Seaside!" Have a look at our knowledge organiser to see the areas we will be covering in the Summer Term:

At The Seaside

Key Stage 1 Email

The KS1 email account will be closed as of today and will no longer be monitored. If you need to contact us for any purpose please either see us at the end of the day or use Class Dojo. If there is a change of collection arrangements during the day, please still contact the office.

New Reading Scheme

As mentioned in our Class Dojo announcement, we have collected in everyone's reading book this week to make way for the new reading scheme we are using after Easter in EYFS and Key Stage 1. The children will have a book which they will use in Guided Reading during the first week back and then on Friday 19th April, they will be bringing this book home as their home reading book. We will also be looking to align our spellings to this new scheme too so we will give you details of this in the first blog back after Easter.

Art Day

Our first day back after the holidays, Monday 15th April, is a special Art Day! On this day, the children will be taking part in a wide range of artistic activities. All the children will not be wearing normal school uniform but some old clothes that you do not mind getting a bit messy! Key Stage 1 will still be doing PE on this day so if they wear comfy clothes that will still be suitable for PE this will be great!

We would like all the children to have a relaxing Easter Holiday, so we are not sending homework books home this week but if you can keep up the reading little and often with books you have at home or at the library this will have a hugely positive effect on their progress.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Much love

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 22nd March 2024

 Happy Friday everybody - what an exciting week we have had in Key Stage 1! 

Colchester Castle

We all had a fantastic day on Tuesday - there was so much to do! We explored the different challenges in the Activity Room - exploring medieval medicines and food, looking at medieval writing and looking at the different people who would have lived in the castle almost 1000 years ago.

We had a story tour of the castle by a costumed guide who took us to places where the public can't go. We even went up on the roof!

We had time to look around all the exhibits and enjoy the hands on experiences - everyone had a great day and the children were extremely well behaved; we are all so proud of them. There are more photos of our day on our newsletter this week.

Termly Update

On Monday, your child will be bringing home a "How is my child doing this term?" sheet. This lets you know how your child is progressing towards their end of year expected levels. There will be an opportunity to discuss this sheet at Parent/Teacher Consultations on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Spelling Frame Homework

Spelling Frame

This week we are looking at Spelling Rule 4. This is the /ay/ vowel digraph for Year 1's and the /s/ sound spelt as c for Year 2's.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 44 & 45.

For Year 1's this continue to focus on mass or weight (we do not make a distinction between the two terms in Key Stage 1). Again, explore this idea practically - get a range of toys and see if you can compare them in terms of how heavy they are. Order these from lightest to heaviest, reinforcing the different language as you go.

For Year 2's this focuses on ways in which we measure. Explore how we use different units to measure different aspects of an object. Try measuring different objects using a ruler to the nearest cm, look at food and drink packaging to see the weight and volume of different objects and use a weather website to see how we measure temperature in degrees Celsius. If you record any of these ideas, pop them in your homework book - we love to see all your efforts at home!

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. Keep using the range of questions we have discussed previously as well!

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day - we would love to see you!

Have a super weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 15th March 2024

 Happy Friday everybody! It has been a busy week in school this week, however, all eyes have been on a certain event next week...

Colchester Castle - Tuesday 19th March

Just a few reminders about Tuesday - firstly, the trip will take place within the normal school day and we should be back around 2:45pm so collection time will be as normal. However, please ensure you arrive promptly on this day at 8:45am as we want to be on the coach by 9:00am to depart on time.

Secondly, the only things your child needs to bring is their packed lunch and a drink (unless of course you have ordered a school packed lunch). Preferably, this will be in a disposable bag so the children don't need to bring anything back on the coach with them.

If you have any questions regarding the trip, please just ask us - it will be a fab day!

Spelling Frame Homework

Spelling Frame

This week we are looking at Spelling Rule 3. This is the /oy/ vowel digraph for Year 1's and the "soft g sound" for Year 2's spelt as -ge.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 42 & 43.

For Year 1's this continue to focus on length and height - this time measuring. This is a great chance to become involved in some practical measuring of different objects around the house. Use a ruler/tape measure or use some non-standard  units such as hand spans and find out how long different things are. If you record any of these measurements, please pop it into the homework book as we would love to see this too! 

For Year 2's this focuses on equivalent fractions. Understanding how 2 quarters is the same as 1 half is an important skill for the children and being able to "see" these equivalent makes it easier to understand. The below website lets you explore how different fractions relate to each other by dragging the fraction into circles and then comparing. 

Circle Fractions

Turn On The Subtitles

https://turnonthesubtitles.org/parents/ 

Turn on the Subtitles!

Turning on quality subtitles means your child will read a staggering number of words. Put them on and your child will read the equivalent number of words that are in all the Harry Potter books, all of the Lord of the Rings, all of the Chronicles of Narnia and everything Roald Dahl wrote, combined!
Research has shown that it can double the chance of your child leaving school as a proficient reader. You can turn them on for the whole family or most streaming services will now allow you to do it just for children’s profiles.
Perhaps, after all, there is a magic button…

Maths Workshops For Parents

We are delighted to announce that we are running a number of Maths workshops for adults. You can be a parent, grandparent, carer, aunt or uncle - you are all welcome! Are you someone who feels they need some support with maths? Perhaps your own experience in school wasn’t a good one. Well fear not, we have the solution to this!

Multiply courses are free and fully funded by Essex County Council as part of their Multiply Maths programme.

Each course is 6 hours face-to-face in school. Each session will be between 1pm-3pm on the dates

below:

EYFS 16th / 23rd / 30th April

KS1 18th / 25th April, 2nd May

KS2 10th / 17th / 24th May

Here is the link for you to register your interest.  https://forms.gle/BV9pj1FmAegMRLhw8

WHOLE SCHOOL SUMDOG ESSEX COMPETITION

Calling all of you amazing mathematicians! 

You have been entered into the Sumdog Essex Competition. Taking place 15 March - 21st March

I will be monitoring how well each class is doing. The winning class will be announced in the school

newsletter and will each receive 2 Dojos!

Let's show our Down Hall community what great mathematicians we are!

Good luck.

Mrs Hurley 

Justgiving Page

Just a reminder of our justgiving page as a way of donating to our Comic Relief collection today: 

Down Hall Comic Relief Just Giving Page

Thank you for your continued support in our teaching of Children's Rights.  

RRS Article 2:  Children's Rights apply to every child, everywhere all of the time.

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. Keep using the range of questions we have discussed previously as well!

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day - we would love to see you!

Have an awesome weekend!

Much love,

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 8th March 2024

 Happy Friday everybody! We all had a fabulous day on Thursday, celebrating World Book Day. It was lovely to see all the children enjoy sharing some of their favourite books with their friends with many going "full book day" and dressing up too!

Colchester Castle Payment

Big thank you to everyone who has already paid for the Colchester Castle trip via Scopay. If you have not done so yet, please do so as payment also acts as consent for your child to go on the trip. If there are any problems, please see the office.

Justgiving Page

As a Gold RRS school we are proud to be raising money to help children achieve their Rights within the UK and in the wider global community.  This year we have set up a justgiving page as an additional way to donate to our collection fund if preferred.   

Down Hall Comic Relief Just Giving Page

On the day children will be able to buy a red nose for £2, bring in some jokes or something funny to share in class and come to school in non-uniform for a donation of your choice.  Thank you for helping us to teach your children about The Rights, and to learn that small actions together can make a big difference!  We are looking forward to a fun Friday taking part in Comic Relief next week!  

RRS Article 2:  Children's Rights apply to every child, everywhere all of the time.

Spelling Frame Homework

Spelling Frame

This week we are looking at Spelling Rule 2. This is the /oi/ vowel digraph for Year 1's and the "soft g sound" for Year 2's spelt as -dge.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 40 & 41.

For Year 1's this focuses on length and height. It is important to develop the correct vocabulary here; longer/shorter rather than bigger/smaller. Take the time to compare different objects around the home - choose 6 toys/items and order these in terms of their length or height.

For Year 2's this focuses on finding fractions of amounts. As usual, relate this mathematical concept back to the basic operation of division.

Doggy Division

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. Keep using the range of questions we have discussed previously as well!

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day - we would love to see you!

Have a brilliant weekend!

Much love,

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 1st March 2024

 Happy Friday everybody! It has been a very busy beginning of the Spring Term in KS1 - we have been looking at non-fiction texts in finding out about people became knights in English as well as looking at the different countries that make up the United Kingdom in Geography. But now on to an exciting announcement!

Colchester Castle - Tuesday 19th March

As part of our new project, "The Quest," we will be visiting Colchester Castle! This is a great opportunity to provide a real life experience to underpin all our learning about castles and knights. We made the same trip 2 years ago and know that it is a valuable and highly enjoyable day for the children in Year 1 and 2. You will receive a Google Form via message and email with further details today.

Spelling Frame Homework

Today your child will bring home a log in for the website Spelling Frame. This can be accessed via the link below:

Spelling Frame

Click on login to access the site, entering the details you have received. From here click on your child's Year group and thus week we are looking at Spelling Rule 1. This is the /ai/ vowel digraph for Year 1's and the "soft g sound" for Year 2's.

From the options, you can select "play" to play a range of games to practise these spellings and click on "view words" to see a list of the words that are being tested. At the end of next week, we will be testing the children on these words in class.

This process is followed throughout Key Stage 2 in our school, so we wanted to make the children in Year 1 and 2 ready for this experience when they move up. It will also help their spelling and is great fun too!

World Book Day

Just a reminder that World Book Day is on Thursday 7th March. To promote reading within our school community, for this day the children can bring in a favourite book from home which they can share with the other children in their class.

They can also bring in a prop which serves as a clue to their favourite book/character or come dressed up as a favourite character too if they so wish. On this day all the children will also receive a £1 World Book Day voucher!

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 38 & 39.

For Year 1's this focuses on quarters. Again, it is helpful when discussing fractions to relate it closely to division. So when discussing finding quarter, relate it to the same as dividing it in 4. The game below explores how to recognise halves and quarters in shapes.

Halves and Quarters

For Year 2's this focuses on thirds and quarters. As usual, relate these mathematical concept back to the basic operations of maths - dividing by 3 or by 4. The game below explores finding quarters and three quarters by sharing.

Finding Quarters By Sharing

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. Keep using the range of questions we have discussed previously as well!

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day - we would love to see you!

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 16th February 2024

 Happy Friday everybody! Incredibly we find ourselves half way through this current year! Looking back, myself, Miss Smith & Mrs Yuille are so, so proud of all the the progress the children have made - we could not have asked them to work any harder and it is lovely to see the pride the children have themselves for the achievements and successes they have made! Here's to the second half of the year being just as fab!

World Book Day

This year, World Book Day is on Thursday 7th March. To promote reading within our school community, for this day the children can bring in a favourite book from home which they can share with the other children in their class.

They can also bring in a prop which serves as a clue to their favourite book/character or come dressed up as a favourite character too if they so wish. On this day all the children will also receive a £1 World Book Day voucher!

We would like all the children to have a relaxing half term, so we are not sending homework books home this week but if you can keep up the reading little and often this will have a hugely positive effect on their progress.

Have an enjoyable and relaxing week!

Much love

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith