Nettlebed Community School

April 01, 2020

It is the last day of the school term. Everyone is ready for a holiday.

 The last two weeks have been a new learning experience for all of us. Thank you for all the comments about the activities that you have been doing at home. It has been wonderful to see the artistic work, the enjoyment of the countryside and all the opportunities that have been provided in your home.

There are no daily plans for you to look at over the holiday period but there will be more books allocated on activelearn so please login to look at them.

We hope to see you at the assembly at 3.00 o’clock today.

We send you our best wishes, stay well and enjoy the holiday.

March 31, 2020

It is almost the end of term, the last Thursday of  term 4. We have been working hard and having fun over the last few days. 

Today we will be thinking about Easter and many of the suggestions have an Easter theme. 

The maths is very practical and you could choose to involve food  when exploring sharing and halving.  

Please remember to let us know what you are enjoying doing. 

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March 30, 2020

It is the first day of a new month today. April usually brings warmer weather, sometimes snow and, of course, those April showers.

Ms Roberts has put some information for seasonal French traditions for le1er Avril and Easter on the Language page in the Learning Links. There are links to videos and a song slide show.

The words which go in the word bags have been put on the Adventure page - Flashword Cards. These can be used by everyone. 

The daily plan has a focus on a very important service in our community - rubbish removal.  This happens every week and we don’t pay much attention. Now is the time for us to show our appreciation of their work and how we can help by checking the items put in each bin.

The phonics sessions continue to help the children remember taught sounds and apply them.

The maths sessions are a mix of activities for the children to remember number relationships and show their understanding.

 Please remember to send information on the adventureclass@nettlebed.oxon.sch.uk email. Thank you. 

March 29, 2020

In this second week we are suggesting some new activities to link to the books chosen. We hope you have fun setting them up  and doing them.

 In the phonics plans sound buttons on words are used. There is information about what these and how they are used to read words on our page.

Please remember to continue to take each day at a time and work out how everything will fit into your day. 

March 29, 2020

The second week at home may have a more settled feel, with a routine beginning to develop. It could be that you have decided to keep it the same or add more to your day from the daily plan. Phonics, literacy and maths sessions help with the basics and refresh the memory.

We start this Monday by thinking about the people who help us by delivering post to our homes. In this ‘stay at home’ situation it is important to understand that these roles continue.

The daily plans will have suggestions for reading books such as Postman Pat, or maybe you have books at home about delivering letters: The Jolly Postman is a very good one. There is some history in one reading book and it is interesting to find out more about local Nettlebed history, see the link on the daily plan.

For the first part of the week in maths we will be looking at time. The hour went forward at the weekend, another change to adapt to It is always useful to remember the order of the days of the week. It is much harder to remember which day it is during periods out of routine, when you are not going to swimming lessons, gym or going to school.

Reminders

Login to your active learn account and use the allocated resources.

Use Teach Your monster to read.

March 26, 2020

Friday- the last day of the school week is here.

The class timetable is a little different on a Friday compared to other days, with P.E. in the morning and the assembly at the end of the day. The plan for today reflects this.

How has it all been going? Please remember to send us a quick update message.

This is the first weekend after being home all week and giving it a weekend feel and focus  is important. This could be by contacting relatives or having a special meal. 

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March 25, 2020

Thursday -It is getting nearer to the end of the school week. The affirmation for today is ‘I am hardworking.’

Everyone is working hard to adjust to all of these changes. Usually your children are in school for several hours and have become used to the school days. The days may seem to be very busy, with working from home as well for some parents. We must remember that it is important to relax as well. As part of each school day there is a time to be quiet and calm and suggestions for this are in the plan for today. Maybe this be will be a time when adults can sit, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee and become refreshed.

 Best wishes.

Mrs Lonsdale

March 24, 2020

It is mid-week Wednesday and time to reflect on how the week is going. Certainly the weather couldn’t be better!

 Thousands of people from all over the world have been keeping fit with Joe Wicks each morning. It is a good workout and a will energise you for the rest of the day. Joe Wicks, the Body Coach at 9.00 a.m every morning The Body Coach T.V channel on You Tube.

It has been a sunny start to the week and spending time outside is in the daily plan for Wednesday. A mix of activities to share and enjoy.

Best wishes.

Mrs Lonsdale

March 23, 2020

It was glorious weather yesterday and we hope that you were able to be outside and have fun.

Please remember that every day is flexible and whatever suits you and your family is right for you. Each morning and afternoon will be different and dependent on the weather, energy levels and interests. The suggested activities from school are only part of the opportunities each day.

The sunny weather is a reminder that spring is here. Perhaps one outdoor activity could be to choose a plant, tree or bush to observe over a period of time. Photos could be taken and a simple diary could be kept.

A fun way to start the day would be to join Joe Wicks, the Body Coach at 9.00 a.m every morning. Look for The Body Coach T.V channel on You Tube- P.E. with Joe. It is live every morning for you to join in with.

The daily plan builds on the activities from Monday. If you have a great idea on the same theme then go ahead and use it, e.g. magnetic letters for phonic work, playdough for number bonds. Each home will have favourite items to engage children in activities. If you are writing then it may be helpful to keep it tidy by putting everything together in a book or file.

Best wishes.

Mrs Lonsdale

March 23, 2020

Good morning everyone,

This is the first day of the daily plan. All very new and exciting, and maybe a little daunting.

 The affirmation of the day is ‘I am a superstar.’ This is a brilliant mantra to say to yourself today.

Generally on Mondays the focus of the week is introduced and during the week there are more activities which help the children to consolidate and practise. In Foundation Stage the activities involve discussion and practical, with some writing and recording. There is very much a cross curricular approach, especially in the afternoon sessions.

 In school the timetable helps to give a structure and routine for the day. There are specific playtimes and these give children the opportunity to run around outside, ride on the wheeled vehicles and develop social skills in the outdoor environment.  At home please make the school suggestions fit in with your own day. Flexibility is key at school and we would recommend a flexible approach at home.

There are some resources available for the children to use when writing in the classroom. These are Phase 2 and Phase 3 sound mats, Phase 2 and 3 high frequency word mats from the Twinkl website.

This week we are finding out about the medical profession, doctors, nurses, paramedics and all the support staff. This is a huge coincidence, considering the current situation, and the plan was formulated weeks ago! It is going to be easy to link it to real life situations.

The plans for the week will include a wide range of activities: writing, role-play, music and looking after each other.

March 20, 2020

In this extraordinary  situation we are working together to find the best way forward. Here is some more information for you to add to the Home Learning Letter sent out by Mrs. Greenwood. 

All children in Adventure class in school today should have additional books in their reading folders  and  extra words in their word bags. A pack of resources has also been sent home. Earlier in the week children were given activelearn login information, username and password, glued into their planners at the front. The learning link on the school website has an Active Learn section with a log in box. If there are any problems with the login please let us know, via the class email address. For those children not in school the pack  and login details will be posted out. The class email address is Adventureclass@nettlebed.oxon.sch.uk

On Monday there will be a daily plan on our page with suggestions for activities. This is a learning experience for all of us and it will change over time as we become more familiar with the activities and  resources. The website has been packed with resources for easy access. 

Please spend time learning in many different ways and have fun. Your feedback via the email address will be invaluable. 

We will miss the children in school and wish you all good health over the next few weeks. 

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March 18, 2020

¡Hola!

This is an update of the Spanish teaching sessions. We have been learning about greetings, colours, numbers, and in some of the classes animals too. Please see below the links that we have been using in the lessons.

Enjoy at home!

Greetings:

Hola song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4deUxsQOGps

Buenos dias song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdDu8pFbnRc

Numbers:

Numbers up to 10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1ZIRC_LMzE

Numbers up to 20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q8NfAY6Ejk

Colours:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpLQSdu4V94

Numbers and colours challenge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiNFXntWOJw

Animals:

Farm animals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldF4o3jc07A

Wild animals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeIu8yhaRk4

March 18, 2020

Here is some information about the  class activities during a week and more general information about resources available.

 Our daily timetable starts with phonics then we have a session generally linked to a  book based on the focus of the topic for the week. This week one book has been ' 15 things NOT to do with a granny.'after snack and playtime  recognition of numbers, ordering and working out number relationships is the starter for the maths session. Supported  adult led group activities focus on the main learning, whether that is shape, direction, addition or subtraction. During the sessions there is continuous provision of activities the children choose from. 

The afternoons are mainly based on topic work, again with continuous provision of activities. 

There are some websites and apps we use regularly to support learning. The websites  include Topmarks education, Jolly phonics songs, alphablocks and Mr Thorne , for phonics. The apps include Bee bot, sketch book, Memory Block and Flow Free.

There will be further updates during the week. 

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March 13, 2020

This coming week we will be thinking about all the fantastic people who help us at home. There are many books we can read to help us with this. If there are any books from home which we could share in class please send them in.  We will be asking and answering questions and also thinking about how we can be helpful too. This links well to a special day coming up at the weekend.

 Our maths work will include activities on position and direction, including left and right. We will be singing songs to help us remember which is left and which is right. 

Our phonics focus this week is on writing sentences using the sounds we know. Consolidation of known sounds is always part of the sessions. 

Reminders

Please check that the names on uniform remains clear. We find items in the classroom and a clear name is helpful to us. 

March 07, 2020

The children very much enjoyed last week, especially Thursday when we had a wonderful set of heroes and villains in the classroom. Thank you for supporting this special event. 

This coming week we will be looking at how the fire service helps us. What do they need? How do they use the equipment? What can we learn about keeping safe and preventing fires? 

Our maths work will be to look at place value of numbers and then ordering them correctly. We will be estimating  a group of objects and then checking how many in the group by counting them  accurately. The numbers to 100 will be used in many activities this week. 

In phonics more sounds will be introduced and we will use these to read words. These words are real and alien words. The children have to think carefully to work out which set the word belongs to. 

This week there will be a flexible timetable due to Henley Youth Festival events in school. 

Reminders

Parent teacher interviews on Monday and Wednesday. Information slips were sent home, but please come and check with a teacher if you need to. 

P.E. day is Friday. Please send full kit in so that your child can change and join in. We have a limited amount of spare kit in school. Thank you. 

February 28, 2020

It was a fantastic start to the topic this term. The children thought of so many people who help us, including family and army.

This week we will be finding out about the police force. We will look at some books which have police characters in and carrying out role play.  The writing is linked to the speech of the characters in the books.  Our design and technology focus will be to look at police vehicles, then  design and make  our own. 

In maths we will be measuring length, height and distance using non- standard units. At home measurement takes place in different ways. Perhaps you can work out the tallest in the family, the tallest and shortest tree you can see, the length of dog leads or  the length of shoes and clothing. 

In phonics we will be be writing words and sentences to consolidate sounds learnt so far and learn new sounds. The children are using their knowledge to read in many different sessions in the classroom , as well as reading their books.

Reminders

Information slips with times and dates for the parent teacher interviews will be sent out on Tuesday.

February 24, 2020

Welcome to Term 4. All the children gave a thumbs up to their week of half term and are ready for our new topic. It is 'People Who Help Us'.

This topic is rich in opportunities to find out about occupations and community life. If you are able to come along and talk about your job, e.g. police officer, librarian, health professional or any role which helps others please talk to us  arrange a time.  We already have one parent offering to come in. 

This week we will focus on people who help us in school . The children will be thinking of questions and conducting interviews to find out more about the people working in school. We will use this to create a display 

Our maths is about solid shapes.It would be helpful if you can find cuboids, cubes, cylinders, cones, pyramids or spheres. We have already found some of these shapes around the school. 

The phonics work will introduce combinations of letters and how to read and write these. We will be  reading sentences  daily. 

Reminders

Parent teacher interviews will be held on 9th and 11th March. Information about these will be sent out this week. 

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February 08, 2020

 The children made  amazing lanterns last week. They look great hanging in the classroom. 

This coming week we  have to find out about pandas, the national animal of China. we will find out what they spend their time doing and eating. If you have a soft toy panda please bring it into school. We will be carrying out observational drawings of pandas using charcoal. This could be quite messy! 

In our maths sessions we will look at doubling and halving. If you have dominoes or games which involve rolling doubles on dice then please dig them out to play with them at home. We continue to recognise numbers,, count accurately and work out one more and one less. 

In phonics there will be revision of taught phonemes and supporting children to write these correctly in words. Please continue to use teachyourmonster to support use of phonics and reading words in sentences. It is important to practise the recognition of the words in the word bags. The blue background words are those tricky ones for sight recognition. The confident recognition of these words will help with fluent reading. 

Reminders

Thursday is helping hands day. Children can come in home clothes and will help to clean and tidy the classroom.

Friday is the last day of term 3. How quickly that has come round!

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February 01, 2020

We enjoyed making, cooking and eating the spring rolls in class last week. We hope that you you had a taste at home. We also had fortune cookies, prawn crackers and tried to have a long noodle for long life. The children are widening their knowledge of Chinese culture.

This week we will continue to learn about the celebrations of Chinese New Year by looking at lanterns and making our own. We will be finding out about sources of light and exploring shadows. 

In maths we will continue to think about time. Are there specific times of the day in your home?  getting up time breakfast at 8 o'clock? when is bedtime? We will look at clocks and think about times in the school day. 

Our phonic sessions continue to consolidate all taught sounds by using them to read and write.  Alongside the sounds we teach the names of the letters and this is important for helping to spell  words and read combinations of letters.

 Thank you for coming to see the books and displays in class on Wednesday. It was wonderful to hear the children explaining their work to you. 

January 25, 2020

Last week we had some brilliant Chinese music created by the children based on the music we listened to in class. We also found out more about the country of China and put together some books.

It will be an amazing time  of celebrations for the New Year in Chinese households for the next fifteen days. In class we will be making red money packets, cooking and eating some Chinese food and  learning about these celebrations. Cooking enriches the curriculum but does take time so the timetable becomes flexible to enable us to do the cooking with all the children through the week.

 The maths work always involves counting, number names in order, both forwards and backwards and working out one more and one less. Time will be  a focus, using vocabulary and developing an understanding of time periods. 

In phonics we will be focusing on  writing sounds, either for single sounds or when combinations of letters  are needed, eg. ee, igh, sh, ch.  This helps to spell words correctly or have a go using phonic knowledge. 

Reminders

The postponed open classroom session is on Wednesday 29th January.

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January 17, 2020

Last week we used Google Earth to find China and looked closely at the Great Wall. We followed this up by building walls with different resources. 

This week we will be finding out  more facts about China. We will be making books to show our research. 

In maths work we will be adding numbers together, using addition vocabulary. We will focus on the number pairs for numbers up to ten. At home activities to support this would be to get  a group of toys, e.g. six and work out how they can be placed in two sets, two on the floor and how many on the chair? Any other ways to do this? one on the floor and how many on the bed? 

 In music the drums were played with gusto last week and this week the children will be exploring the sound  of a range of instruments. 

Blending will be a big focus of the week for phonic work, reading unfamiliar words and working out if they are real or alien words. This will link to reading sentences containing phonic sounds taught so far. 

Reminders

On Friday morning there is a visit from NHS nurses to weigh and measure the FS children.  

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January 10, 2020

It was very interesting to look at our village of Nettlebed using Google Earth and find out about the important buildings we could see. The children were excited to see our school , the grounds and where they play. 

This week we are going to look at a different part of the world, which is very different to our local environment. We will use Google Earth again to find China and some important land features. Our research will lead to some fun activities, including building walls with a range of resources. 

In maths we are going to revise repeating patterns, and increase from two element to using three or more elements. Perhaps you can look for repeating patters in the environment, e.g.on cushions, clothing , wrapping paper and in nature? Odd and even numbers will be introduced, with activities to help this. At home matching pairs of objects , finding out there is an odd one (especially those socks! ) will help. 

Our phonic work continues, with an emphasis on using sound buttons on words. 

Reminders

P.E. continues to be on a Friday but we recommend that the kit is in school from Monday 

January 06, 2020

Firstly, thank you for all the good wishes, cards and presents given to staff at the end of last term. We very much appreciate them. 

We hope that you are have enjoyed the festive season, opened amazing presents, eaten favourite foods and spent some time with family and friends. It is back to a new term at  school tomorrow, rested and refreshed. 

This term our topic is 'A Land Far Away'. The first week we will be thinking about our local environment, what we see and do in this area before finding out about other parts of the world. 

We continue to count, order numbers  and learn  more about teen numbers. We will be estimating amounts and checking the number in sets. 

In phonic sessions we will consolidate known sounds, use them to spell words and read those tricky words.

We are going to introduce guided reading sessions this term. This is an  adult led activity during which we look at the same book, use strategies to read unfamiliar words and discuss the characters and plot. 

Reminders

Independence

We expect all children to be coming into school by themselves, at least from the second black gate. The staff are around in the classroom to help them with their belongings. 

When the children change for P.E. there is a range from quite independent,  to those who need reminders about which item to start with. Please support your child to become more independent to change. Staff will always help with tricky items such as  zips, shoes and jumpers. 

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December 15, 2019

We are extremely proud of all the children in the Starlight performance last week. Wow! There are some aspiring actors, singers and performers in our class. It is after the performance that we reflect on the amazing confidence, understanding of where to move on the stage, passing and speaking into a  microphone and singing of the children who are in their first term of school. Well done to everyone. 

This week we will continue with Christmas festivities. There will be Christmas maths, phonics and crafts. 

Reminders 

The present room is open on Monday afternoon. If you would like to send money in please remember to put it in a named envelope. The adventure staff have been collecting the money and have a list in a box.

There is some mystery money in the box. Please check with the staff if money has been sent in loose. 

Please send in a large carrier bag for items to be taken home in on Wednesday.

It is the end of term on Thursday. The KS2 children will be singing and we will be joining in with some songs before the end of the term at 1.30.

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We wish you all a very happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year, 2020.

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December 06, 2019

December is here and with it the excitement of Christmas around the corner. Last week we began by thinking about how grateful we are for all the fantastic people and what they do for us in our lives. Some wonderful thoughts from the children. 

Last week we were getting ready for the performance of the nativity play. Thank you for providing the items of clothing for the costumes. The children will have their trainers or plimsolls with their costumes from now. If they need  them for a club they can use them and return them to their costume bag. Of course rehearsals continue this week until the performance on Thursday. 

 We carry on with phonics, consolidating and using the known sounds to read and write words. 

Our maths work will be linked to a Christmas theme, adding presents, taking them off Santa's sleigh and ordering numbers.

Amongst all the preparation for Christmas we will hear readers, maintaining our aim to hear each child. Please be understanding about time pressures during this very busy period.

Reminders

Thursday 9.30 a.m Starlight performance by F.S. pupils.

November 29, 2019

Last week we danced, thought about where weddings take place and learnt about  traditions linked to some religious ceremonies. 

This coming week we are going back in history to look at the origins of Thanksgiving in America. We will be thinking about our lives and how we have many things to be thankful for. 

Of course next week is December and this means Christmas will be a focus until the end of term. As we are acting out and singing about the Christmas story it is great to see confidence in speaking grow. There are some children with hidden talents coming out. There is a mix of speakers and actors and some  children will be given their lines to work on at home. Please help them to remember what they say, speaking slowly and clearly. Thank you. 

We continue to say numbers forwards and backwards, recognise and use coins in practical shopping activities. If you could look at coins at home that would help with recognition. Shopping with money is becoming less common and the use of cards for payment is increasing. Children love to role-play shopping using coins. 

Our daily phonic sessions are consolidating learning so far and using our sounds for reading sentences. We are singing an alphabet song to learn the names of the letters. 

Reminders

A letter about costumes for the play was handed out last week. Please send in the items requested by Wednesday. Any questions please ask.

Most of the class are coming into the school grounds independently, putting belongings away and then going out for a short playtime. The buddies from Endeavour class are being wonderful at greeting and helping children who are less confident. If you could help your child to make a step forward towards independence  if they are not yet coming into the classroom by themselves this would be good. 

November 22, 2019

It was great fun to find out about our birthday months, how we celebrate with food and games, and counting candles on cakes. 

This coming week we will be finding out about wedding celebrations. There will be many links across the curriculum, writing guest list, designing wedding cakes, and buying flowers in the shop. We will be looking at how weddings are all different. 

Maths work will link to the wedding theme. We will be looking at the solid shapes of the presents and using correct vocabulary to describe them. We will learn to recognise coins and begin to ad coins to pay for items  in practical shopping activities. 

We are learning the songs for the Christmas nativity play each day. We will begin to rehearse regularly from now on. Next week there will be a letter giving information about parts and costume requirements.

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Reminders

P.E. kit should be in school every day. It comes in useful as a change of clothes if children fall over in the very  wet playground. Plimsolls will be used in the nativity play. 

November 15, 2019

Last week we found out about Festivals of Light in two different religions. The children are beginning to understand that we need to respect how  people live and celebrate in different ways. 

This week we are thinking about how we celebrate birthdays. This will be such fun, to find out how we celebrate within families, what happens on the birthday and at party times. In our writing we will put the information on invitations to a party and write labels for presents. 

The maths will link with the birthday theme. When are our birthdays? Which month? Which season? How old are we now, on our last birthday, on our next birthday? We will be using boxes for wrapping presents and use mathematical language to describe them. 

Request

Please could you send in some boxes for the wrapping activity. Thank you.

Reminder

It is open classroom on Wednesday. 

November 08, 2019

We enjoyed of the  firework activities last week. art, pretending to be fireworks and composing our music. We did remember the history behind the celebration and wrote about Guy Fawkes. 

It was wonderful to have such good weather for the cross country event on Thursday morning. All of the participants ran or walk/ran  the course and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thank you to all the marshals and to Ms Roberts for organising the event. 

This coming week we will be looking at two festivals from different religions. We will be thinking about respect and responsibility to fit in with the values of the term. How are festivals celebrated? Is it different to our experiences? Artwork and baking special biscuits will be part of building our understanding.

Our maths work will focus on saying numbers  to at least 20, and as well as counting forwards we will be working hard to say the numbers backwards. There will be practical activities to count objects accurately and recognise  numbers to match to groups of objects.

The phonics focus is to use the sounds we know to read words and to read captions for pictures.  New sounds will be introduced too. We continue to work on letter formation in these sessions. 

Reminders

Please return the permission slip  for Teach Your Monster password information to be given out, If you have not received the letter please ask for one. 

P.E. kit should be in school everyday. This term we will be using it more frequently. 

It is great to see more  children coming in to the classroom independently. Thank you for supporting this step forward. 

November 04, 2019

Welcome back to term 2. We are working on an exciting new topic- Festivals and Celebrations. This will include a number of well known celebrations such as  birthdays, weddings and will look at  festivals from different cultures to help us become aware of our diverse world. 

The first week has Bonfire Night as the focus. Wonderful artwork is already featuring on the main display board. We will be making music for fireworks, bonfires and will play our interpretations to audiences. 

Our maths work is about comparing objects for length, height and capacity. Measurement  is part of everyday life and extending and using comparative vocabulary happens without realising. Is your cup full? Perhaps you can work out who is the tallest in the family? Who has the longest hair? 

This term phonic sessions will consolidate all the sounds learnt last term and move on to learning about sounds made from combinations of letters.

Reminders

On Thursday there will be a cross country event. More details will be sent out nearer the time. 

It would be great to see the children becoming more independent when coming into the classroom. This week there will be  a member of Adventure staff by the second black gate to encourage children to come in from there. We