Miss Lockwood would like to welcome you to Dandelion Class.

Welcome Back Dandelion Class!  

Summer 1 2024 

Dear Parents/Carers, 

We hope you had a lovely Easter break and your children are ready to come back to school for the last term. Hopefully as the weather gets warmer there will be more opportunities for us to spend time learning and playing outside!  

Curriculum  

Our next Learning Means the World unit is called “Record Breaker – The Story of Sir Ranulph Fiennes” with a key subject focus on history and the four competencies of courage, commitment, creativity and community. The unit tells the inspirational story of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who is famous for his daredevil achievements and record-breaking expeditions, some of which he used to raise large sums of money for many charities. Pupils will learn, through his life story, all about his achievements and what he hopes to accomplish in the future.  

This thematic approach to learning through a global curriculum has been designed to help pupils acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to thrive in the twenty-first century. 

The WhISK (What I Should Know) sheets are attached for further information. 

An outline of what we will be covering in each subject area this half term is displayed in the table below: 

PE and Forest Schools 

PE lessons will continue to be on Monday and Thursday afternoons this half term. Dandelion Class will practise different stretching, strengthening and breathing exercises in Body Management lessons and improve their kicking, stopping and teamwork skills in our Attack, Defend, Shoot unit. Children should arrive in school wearing their PE kit on the days they have PE lessons. It is very important that children have the correct school PE kit as well as a pair of trainers so that they can participate in these lessons fully and safely. Also, a reminder that long hair should be tied back and earrings should be covered for these lessons. 

Dandelion Class will continue to take part in Forest School once a week on a Friday morning. Forest Schools education continues to be led by Mrs Shreeve. On Forest School days, children should come to school wearing a complete change of weather appropriate clothes and footwear. Please ensure your child brings waterproof clothing to protect them during cold or wet weather sessions. They should bring their school uniform to change into for the afternoon. 

Reading 

You should encourage your child to read daily at home and discuss with them what they are reading. Please continue to record their progress on the Dandelion Class Padlet – we are doing brilliantly and it is a wonderful celebration of what the children are reading! We are supporting the children in school to select books that are appropriately challenging for them in our weekly library sessions, which they can borrow and return as part of our library system. Please support your children to return their books each week so they can change them and borrow new ones. They are unable to take new books home if they have several outstanding. Alongside this, children will continue to be sent home with phonics books to aid their fluency and comprehension skills. Reading records are for you and your children to write about their phonics books or comprehension texts; other texts can continue to go on the Padlet. 

What your child needs in school 

The children must have a named water bottle with them in school at all times which will be placed in a box in the classroom each morning. No other items need to be brought into school; this includes fidget toys, pencil cases, toys, stationery and jewellery, unless adults in school request it or it is required to support additional needs. If we think your child may benefit from a fidget tool to support them in school, we will discuss this with you and provide one. Please feel free to ask if this is a discussion you wish to have with us. 

Uniform 

Please consult the school website to see what is expected to be worn to school in terms of uniform and PE kit. Smart trainers may be worn as long as they are completely black. Please ensure your child is bringing a coat into school and that all uniform items are named so we can return these to you if anything is misplaced. 

Bags and Wellies 

The children may bring in one bag, which must be a suitable size for hanging on their pegs, and a separate, named bag for their wellies (both of which must be named) to be stored on the welly rack. In addition to wellies, your child should have a set of alternative clothing for playing on the field during break and lunchtime (waterproof trousers/all-in-one/old joggers). 

If you have any questions at all about these or any other matters, please email me on hlockwood@pulham.norfolk.sch.uk. If you would prefer to speak in person, then please feel free to arrange a meeting with me via email or the school office. Please support your child to speak to me (or another Dandelion staff member) if they have any worries or problems so we can address these promptly. Alternatively, remind them of the class Worry Monster where their concerns will be read and followed up as needed. 

We look forward to another exciting half term as signs of summer start to creep in... 

Kind Regards, 

Miss Lockwood and the Dandelion team 😊