Mr Applegate

The children were very enthusiastic on Monday when they received a letter asking them to become the archaeologists. At first they researched what an archaeologist’s job is and made a list of equipment needed to complete their dig. The children took great care and were really excited to take on one of the different roles – archaeologist, scientist, reporter, photographer and preservation team. They were quite surprised to find their role hidden under their chair at the start of the lesson.

This was the start our topic ‘Dig and Discover’ where the children have uncovered many artefacts from The Stone Age. We will be researching these over the coming weeks and taking the children back in time. We will be focusing our learning on answering our big question ‘Is all change needed?’

Next week we will be sending out our topic web and knowledge organiser after we have shared this with the children giving you and your child the knowledge needed for our topic this half term.

A few dates for your diary:

• Generic curriculum evening for 3/4/5/6 – 18th September at 7.20pm – this is for those that cannot attend our curriculum morning.
• Curriculum workshop – Tuesday 23rd September – This will give you details about the coming year with a Maths focus. You will then be invited to join your child for their Maths lesson.
• School trip – Friday 4th October – Trip to Stone Henge
• End of term museum – 24th October at 2pm – we would like to invite you to see all the children’s learning at our museum – more details to follow

Year 3 team

Hello and welcome to Year 2!

We are really pleased with how well the children are coming into school and how quickly they are settling into the new term. We are enjoying getting to know the children and are already excited about our new topic of ‘Everyday Heroes’ where we have started our learning using the adventures of the hero, Traction Man, from the books of Mini Grey.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our Curriculum Morning next week, Thursday 19th September, between 9am and 10am. We will give you a brief overview of the Year 2 Curriculum followed by a focus on Maths; where you will be invited into the classroom to join the children in their Maths activity. We hope to see you there but if you can’t make it there is also a Year 1/2 Curriculum Evening between 6.30pm and 7.15pm on Wednesday 18th September.

Our PE days are Tuesday and Wednesday. Please make sure that PE kits are in school on a Monday morning.

We look forward to getting to know all of you over the coming weeks. Please come and see us if we can help in any way.

Year 2 Team

Mrs Rosso, Miss Burgess, Miss Tamblyn

Hello and welcome to Year 5!

We have been enjoying getting to know the children over this first week and have already got stuck into our first topic of Space, as well as Maths and English.

As we’re sure you have heard, we had a fantastic day at Winchester Science Centre on Tuesday. The children were given the opportunity to explore the exhibits independently, take part in a workshop and then enjoy the excitement of the planetarium in the afternoon. The planetarium was awe-inspiring and was a fantastic addition to the start of our topic, leaving many children curious about life outside of Earth.

Don’t forget it’s our Curriculum Morning tomorrow, between 9am and 10am, where a brief overview of the Year 5 Curriculum will be given followed by a focus on how Maths is taught at St Mark’s. You will also be invited into the classroom to join the children in their Maths activity. We hope to see you there!

Year 5 Teachers

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Y6!

We have been very impressed with how the children have come back after the holidays. They are already showing themselves to be excellent role-models to the rest of the school and are working hard in lessons.

There are many exciting activities to look forward to this term and we will keep you updated with website posts as often as we can.

Here are a couple of key points for the Autumn term:

PE kits

These must be in school on a Monday and will be taken home on a Friday. Our PE days are Tuesday and Thursday but there could be extra lessons added in at any point which is why we ask them to be in school all week. Please make sure all items of clothing are named too.

Curriculum workshop

We hope you will be able to attend the Y6 workshop on Thursday 26th September 8:45am-10:00am which will give you information on our maths curriculum. You will be welcome to visit your child’s class to complete an activity with them after the presentation. If you are unable to attend, there will be an evening presentation on Wednesday 18th September at 7:20. You do not need to attend both.

Homework

We will issue homework twice a week. Maths will go home on Fridays and children will have until the following Friday to complete it. SPaG homework will be issued on a Wednesday and be due in on the following Wednesday. We aim to support with homework wherever we can and it will link to what we have been doing in class that week. Miss Pettitt is running homework club after school on a Monday – there may still be some spaces for children if you check with the office! Our first piece of maths homework will be issued this Friday. A revision spelling sheet will be issued weekly too. Please encourage your children to learn these as they will be tested on these each Friday.

Windmill Hill

On 24^th September, at 6:15pm, the Y6 teachers will be holding a Windmill Hill information evening for all parents of children attending this year’s residential trip. It will be an opportunity to find out more about the structure of the week, ask any questions you may have, and to collect a medical form which will need completing before the trip.

We hope you are as excited about the year as we are! Please feel free to come and see us if you have any queries.

Year 6 Team