Squirrel Group 2024 - 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Squirrel Group, we hope you had a fantastic Easter break and we are excited to welcome the children back. The teacher in the Squirrel class is Mr. Stroud and the teaching assistants are Miss Dawn and Miss Alli.

What we are learning this term:

In English we are going to be developing our writing by looking at information texts, using an extract from Our World in Pictures' "Trees, Leaves, Flowers and Seeds". Following this, we will pivot to fiction, producing a narrative text inspired by Jeanne Willis' "Stardust", before completing our final sequence of lessons on biographies, where we will draw from "Malala's Magic Pencil", an autobiography written by Malala Yousafzai herself!

Our Year 2 children will be learning all about where our food comes from in Geography, from farm to shop. They will then be completing a short Design and Technology unit, making fruit smoothies, before learning more about Islam. At the end of the half term, we will be completing a local studies week, before diving into more Science, building on what we know of plants, before an adventurous History Unit, comparing Neil Armstrong to Christopher Columbus.

Our Year 4 students will be completing topic lessons through transitions, either with Hedgehogs or Year 4. Please refer to these class pages if your child is transitioning.

In P.S.H.E, all students will be focussing on Growing and Changing this half-term. In Computing, students are learning about Coding.

P.E.

Children will take part in weekly P.E lessons. P.E. will take place on individual days as per your child’s timetable, with an additional whole class lesson on a Friday afternoon. These individual days will be confirmed to you by Mr. Stroud. Children must come to school in their PE kits (white top, black trousers/shorts/leggings and appropriate trainers). Please make sure children have the correct PE kit.

If your child is in Year 4, they will also be taking part in swimming. This will take place between 9:45 and 11:40 on a Monday morning, and they will be accompanied by Miss Dawn.

Reading

Children will be given two books a week to read at home. The first book will be matched to their reading ability. The second book will be a sharing book. This is a book the children have chosen themselves. They may not be able to read this independently however it encourages them to develop a love for reading. Children should read daily for 10 minutes. Children will be given a reading record to record when they have read to an adult at home. Please sign the reading record when you have read at home with your child or if they have read independently.

Homework and Spellings

In Squirrel Group, English homework will be to practise phonics and spellings, while Maths homework will be a revision of their current topic. Homework will be handed out on Friday. Children will also be expected to complete 10 minutes a day on Numbots, Timestable Rockstars, Mathletics or Lexia. Children’s logins will be stuck into the front of their homework books. 

Please contact us if you have any questions,

Mr Stroud