December 2017 - Carlton Road Academy

“A Christmas Tree”

In recent weeks our pupil Julia created an original Christmas Poem called “A Christmas Tree” .

Her poem was so successful it featured in the Christmas Carol Concert at Lincoln Cathedral’s programme which Julia herself attended on Friday 15th December 2017.

She

Elf Visit to Carlton Road

The Cheeky Christmas Elf came to visit the staff and children this week to make sure they were working hard and behaving. However, the elf was very naughty and got up to all sorts!

A-LIFE – Healthy Living Workshop

On the 23rd & 24th November we had a visit by a company called A-life who are a leading provider of Healthy Living Workshops, Fun Fitness. A-life bring the curriculum to life with hands-on activities that are accessible for all ages and abilities.
Each year group had two slots throughout the day for their Healthy Workshop and fitness Session.
The children were first briefed about what they would be doing and then split into small groups.
The activities Included:
· Piecing together the human body, exploring the function of each organ
· Using puzzles to explore different fruits and vegetables and getting 5 a day
· Exploring how many grams of sugar and salt are in some favourite drinks and snacks
· Watching a short DVD to discover new ways of keeping fit and active
· Playing different games that show where food comes from, how food grows and foods from around the world
· Using maths to shop to a budget
· Putting on a fat belt and work out how heavy it is
· Investigating the nutritional values of different foods
· Using life-like foods to discover what a balanced diet is all about
· Simulating the effects of drinking too much alcohol, testing its effect on our balance and ability to walk (Year 5 upwards. Always supervised by an adult.)
· Following directions around a map to different takeaways
· Checking out their tooth brushing technique and see how their personal hygiene is
· Finding out how much sleep they need and whether they are getting it
· Sorting household items into ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ bins
During these activities was able to develop life skills as well these were
· Working in a team
· Leadership
· Listening
· Following instructions
· Independent work
· Sharing resources
· Learning new facts
· Boosting self-esteem
· Understanding how the children’s bodies works
After lunch the children returned for their fitness session designed to give them a full body workout combined with key messages about keeping healthy.
KS1 fitness session included
· well-paced 30 minutes of active play jungle trails
· Olympic activities
· short games
· combining fitness with numeracy and healthy living facts in a very active and thoroughly enjoyable session
This session was cleverly choreographed to incorporate bending, jumping, spinning, running, hopping, skipping and even lunging!
KS2 fitness session included:
· 45 minute circuit fitness session using a mixture of specialist equipment to challenge children’s strength,
· Jumping
· Balance
· Fitness
· Flexibility
· Coordination in a fun, but controlled environment.
The session exposed the children to new forms of exercise with circuits including boxing, trampolining, push-up hockey, the balance challenge, the gym zone and more. Set to a backdrop of energising music, children were motivated even more to push themselves to their limits and come out revitalised and smiley faced!

Family Learning

Week 1 – Independence and Health and Self-Care

We learnt about the value of independence, the children doing things for themselves. We played a game of rolling a dice and if you rolled 6 the child having to turn the jumper the correct way, put their socks and shoes on and put their coat on and do the zip before the next child rolled a 6 but the parents were only allowed to help by talking to their child (not with hands). We spoke about the importance of children to be able to dress and undress themselves and to manage their own personal hygiene. We practised dressing dolls with different fasteners – buttons, press studs and zips.

We made fruit kebabs and the children chose what fruit they wanted and then peeled the fruit (oranges/bananas). They used a knife confidently and put the fruit onto kebab sticks using fine motor skills.

We spoke about routines and the children cut out pictures of hand washing sequencing and put them in the correct order.

The parents were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their child’s routine, likes and dislikes and best practices to share ideas with one another.

Family Learning Week 2 – Communication and Language

This week in family learning we looked at the Early Years Curriculum and the learning objectives we learn in class. We recapped last week’s area of learning Health and Self- care and talked about their progress made in dressing themselves.

We discussed language in stories , songs and vocabulary building. We read the story of Goldilocks and the three bears and used questioning to develop language and their understanding.

We shared stories together and they were able to take a story home for reading a story before bed every night as part of their home routine. We talked about asking the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions to check their child’s comprehension of the text and to also stimulate further discussions about the book and ideas their child may have.

We talked about story pots to build vocabulary and ways to make your own story pots or story sacks with props as visual aids. They also had pictures to stories to sequence to show what happens at the beginning of the story, middle and end. A challenge set was for the parents to watch their children sequence Goldilocks and the three bears without correcting them, but prompting reordering if necessary through questioning.

We showed the importance of developing language through role-play and small world activities. We played games which developed mathematical language. They sorted different objects into size order in the Goldilocks role play area. They hid the teddy and had to describe using positional language where the teddy was.

At home this week the children are to read at home with their parents (the books in their book bag or the book given to them today or a book of their choice) and upload an observation onto Tapestry.

Family Learning Week 3 – Mathematical Development

This week the focus was Mathematical Development: Number and Shape, Space and Measures. We discussed what the children should be expected to achieve by the end of the year and we showed them activities that they could do with their children at home to help them achieve this.
Counting: we explained that they should be able to count objects with one to one correspondence and you can do this with lots of different things at home- counting coins, buttons, food, blowing bubbles etc.
Number recognition: we spoke about using different opportunities to recognise numbers and that numbers are all around us -phone, tablet, calculator, tv, signs, shops, birthday cards etc.
Matching amount to numeral- we played a game where the children had to match the amount of bananas to the monkey number on the bag.
Ordering numbers- with magnetic numbers, number cards, foam numbers, stampers etc
Estimating- guessing the amount and then checking- e.g. how many sweets in a jar.
Maths through role-play- we played making cakes with playdough and cut out different shapes using cutters, encouraging the parents to ask the children if they could name the shape.
One more and One less- games and songs that help us with this e.g. 5 little speckled frogs, 5 current buns in a baker’s shop, 10 green bottles etc. Using objects, fingers, counting and number lines to find the correct answer.
Calculating: addition and subtraction with objects, counting, number lines and fingers to find the answer. Playing games that help with these skills.
Size- ordering and sorting different sized objects, then measuring with rulers, metre sticks, string, tape measures etc.
Weight and capacity- using the language of heavy/light, heavier/lighter, heaviest/lightest and for capacity which holds the most or least, which is full, empty, half full with water play and different containers.
Shapes and Patterns- flat and solid shapes and patterns when making things in arts and crafts, constructing and recognising shapes all around us in the environment, wrapping different shaped parcels.
Time- saying and ordering he days of the week, months of the year and sequencing pictures.

Week 4 Literacy- Phonics, Reading and Writing

This week the parents were invited to participate alongside their children a Phonics/Letters and Sounds lesson so that they could see the structure of a Phonics lesson and how we teach it. We then discussed the benefit of after learning a sound looking at it in words and practicing writing it and discussed digraphs and trigraphs. They could also see the differentiated activities and how we link Phonics, reading and writing into our provision.
Then the children had the opportunity to play some phonics games and activities with their parents. We looked at the content of the Phonics pack and reading books in their book bags. The parents now feel more confident to support their children with their phonics, reading and writing at home.

Badminton Development Day

On the 23rd November Year 5 attended a Badminton Development Day at Haven High Tollifield campus. During this event, we were able to hone our badminton skills including serving and rallies. At the end, we enjoyed a competition to practice the skills we developed.

Remembrance Service

On the 10th November Year 5 walked to Boston War Memorial in the Memorial Garden to pay their respects to the fallen. We took part in the service held at the memorial and we laid a wreath that we had made in school.

Mobile Planitarium

On the 21st of September the children in Year 5 were visited by the mobile planetarium. In the planetarium we saw the night sky and learnt about different constellations of stars and different phases of the moon. We used this knowledge in the classroom to help us with our space topic in science.

FOUNDATION STAGE TERM 3 NEWSLETTER

Carlton Road Academy Foundation Stage News

FS2-Monkeys and Giraffes Newsletter Spring Term

Animals

Next term as part of our topic we will be learning about ‘Animals’ . We are looking at pets, farm animals, reptiles, jungle animals and marine animals. We will be looking at naming and describing animals, what they eat, their young and how we care for animals. We are also focussing on asking questions about the animals and finding out the answers in non-fiction books, the internet and computer software.

Please bring in photos of your pets or animal visits for ‘Show and Tell’ and speak with your class teacher if you wish to bring your pet into school.

We are walking to ‘Pets at home’ to look at different animals and learn facts about them and how to care for them. Then we are going to The Ark Wildlife Park to have close encounters with animals.

Tapestry Observations

Thank you to the parents that have been uploading observations from home onto Tapestry and keeping up to date with their child’s observations. We hope you are enjoying seeing what your child does at school and that the ‘Next Steps’ are helpful. We would love to see pictures of your child over the Christmas period uploaded onto tapestry.

Any queries regarding this please speak to your class teacher.

Learning

Literacy/Phonics– we are focussing on sentence writing remembering a Capital letter at the beginning of a sentence, finger spaces between words and a full stop at the end.

Maths – we are focussing on ‘Size and Measures’ this term. We are ordering objects by size and use vocabulary associated with size (small, medium, big, long, short, tall, and ‘er’ and ‘est’ endings and meanings e.g. taller, tallest). We are looking at weight: heaviest and lightest and capacity of whether a container in full, half full, empty etc.

We can note that our clients suffering from parasitic diseases are doing much better after using metronidazole. We suggest this treatment to be provided under control of attending doctor. In general antibiotics are very needed nowadays and safe lots of people on daily basis. Please always follow the instructions and don’t choose them by your own.

We are also beginning to add and subtract with single digit numbers.

Targets

Literacy– the children to be able to know all Phase 2 and 3 letter sounds and be able to read and write the words (all in the book bag).

Maths– children to count, name and order numbers to 20. Say 1 more and 1 less than a given number. To match amount to numeral. To name flat and solid shapes and describe repeated patterns.

Reminders:

Reading and Homework:

Please remember to listen to your child read and then sign your child’s reading record and do the homework that is set.

Please check tapestry for ongoing individual targets for your child.

Have a Happy Christmas!

From the Early Years Team

Dental Nurse Visit: Lincolnshire Smiles

Gina the dental nurse came to visit to talk to the children about how to care for their teeth.

With the help of Floss the dinosaur the children learnt how to brush their teeth correctly.

Gina also spoke about which foods were good for your teeth and which foods weren’t.

Was afraid trying Phentermine due to its connection with known drug, thought it would be something similar, but actually it removed the stress.

After Christmas the children will be brushing their teeth at school every day after their dinner. They received a toothbrush and toothpaste to take home.