Swift - YR

Welcome to Swift Class!

We are Swift class, a  mighty band of Reception children.

Our teacher is Miss Howlin, and our teaching assistant is Mrs Alexander. We may also work with Mrs Wilson, and Mrs Busson the Wagtail class teachers as we share our outdoor area with Wagtail class. Mrs Fielding, Miss Anderson and Wiltshire Wildlife will join us on Thursday afternoons for PE or Forest Schools (our Forest School Terms this year are Term 1, Term 3 and Term 5).

If you have any queries you can email the teacher on FPSswift@PalladianAcademyTrust.com

Miss Liz Howlin, Early Years Lead & Swift Teacher

Mrs Sam Alexander, Teaching Assistant

Welcome to Term 5

We hope you had a wonderful Easter holiday! We can’t believe that it’s Term 5 already! Here is a look into the term ahead.

In Phonics we will continue reviewing all the phonemes that we have learned so far. This makes it really important that you continue to read through the children’s red phonics homework book to revise the vowel digraphs and trigraphs (ai, ee, igh, oa, oo/oo, ar, or, ur ow oi ear air er) but also to look at every phoneme taught since the children started school. We will be beginning to read more complex words, such as words ending in -ing, -est -ed, and longer words such as compound words. Our Tricky Words will be: said so have like some come love do were here little says there when what one out today

Weekly sheets will continue to appear in the red books to keep you updated on what we have learned that week. If you need any support around phonics you will find the guidance sheets at the bottom of the class page plus you can access the parents area of Little Wandle here For parents | Letters and Sounds

In Maths we will be comparing numbers to 10, making amounts to 10, and looking at patterns in numbers such as odds and evens, doubles and halves.

In our Literacy and our Understanding of the World curriculum, we will be taking a step back in time, with the appearance of a mysterious object in the classroom that will unlock our understanding about change and continuity over time!

Our PE day this term is Wednesday.

On Thursdays we have Forest School. Please remember that this takes place in the afternoon so children will need to wear school shoes in the morning! Also do check the weather regularly – who knows from day to day whether we will need full waterproofs or a sunhat and sunscreen!

We are so exited about this term’s learning and can’t wait to share it with the children. Let the fun and games begin!

Highlights from Term 4

What a busy term we have had! We have gone on an imaginary train journey and followed as Duffy Driver chased The Runaway Train. We have been sequencing the story and writing parts of it. In maths we have been learning about symmetry, making symmetrical patterns and pictures. We have also been looking at how whole numbers can be broken into smaller parts and have been drawing and telling number stories. We are learning how to record our maths using part-whole diagrams. We have been scientists and carried out our own sound experiment after learning about Hedy Lamarr. We loved our visit from the Marvellous Magical Maths maestro. We have also been looking at maps with our friend Pip the Pirate Mouse and have been creating our own after a fantastic trip to the park. A huge thank you to the parent helpers who made it possible to go. We can’t wait for next term!

Welcome to Term 4

We hope you had a restful half term holiday! Here is a look into the term ahead.

In Phonics we will be reviewing everything that we have learned so far. This makes it really important that you continue to read through the children’s red phonics homework book to revise last terms sounds (ai, ee, igh, oa, oo/oo, ar, or, ur ow oi ear air er) but also to look at every phoneme taught since the children started school. We will also be revising all the tricky words learned so far – see red books and the tricky word bookmarks that you have been given.

Weekly sheets will continue to appear in the red books to keep you updated on what we have learned that week. We will be learning longer words (including words with two or more digraphs); compound words (made up of two smaller words – for example bedroom); and words ending in -ing.

If you need any support around phonics you will find the guidance sheets at the bottom of the class page plus you can access the parents area of Little Wandle here For parents | Letters and Sounds

In Maths we will be learning about reflective symmetry for our shape, space and measure curriculum. In number we will be partitioning (breaking into smaller parts) amounts to 10.  You may hear your child talking about what parts are inside whole numbers in the following way “One part is one, one part is four and the whole is five”.

In our Literacy lessons we will reading a new book about a journey that doesn’t quite go to plan and writing our own versions of the story. The book will also help children explore different environments and think about maps, transport and travel as part of our Understanding of the World curriculum. We will also be learning about special places and special times such as Ramadan and Easter.

Our PE days this term are Wednesdays and Thursdays. Mrs Fielding and Miss Anderson will be teaching the children on Thursday afternoons and continuing the gymnastics lessons we started last term. On Wednesdays we will be exploring dance which we are hoping will help inspire the children as they begin to use the new Stage in our Foundation Stage Outdoor Area!

All aboard for Term 4!

Welcome to Term 3

We hope that you all had a lovely restful Christmas break and wish you a Happy New Year! Here is a look into the term ahead.

In Phonics we will be learning the following phonemes, and practising reading and writing words with them in.

ai, ee, igh, oa, oo/oo, ar, or, ur ow oi ear air er

You will notice that these are all digraphs (2 letters 1 sound) or trigraphs (3 letters 1 sound). It is really important that you still practise all of the phonemes from previous terms but especially the short vowel sounds (a e I o u) as children can start reading ‘a’ (as in cat) as ‘ai’ (as in rain).

We will also be tackling more words with double letters and longer words.

This term’s Tricky Words are:

was you they my by all are sure pure

We will continue to send home the digraph handwriting sheets for you to use at home. They do not need to be returned to class but will help you talk to your child about the new phonemes that they have learned.  If you need any support around phonics you will find the guidance sheets at the bottom of the class page plus you can access the parents area of Little Wandle here For parents | Letters and Sounds

In Maths we are continuing, copying and creating our own patterns. We will be learning about the numbers 6 to 10 in greater depth.

In our Literacy lessons we will be exploring a new book which will teach children how to become active learners who are able to challenge themselves and keep trying when things don’t go to plan.  

We will also be exploring our Understanding of the World by thinking about living and non-living things, learning more about animals and exploring nature in Winter through Forest School. We will continue to learn about the world around us by learning about Lunar New Year celebrations. We will be exploring our own personal histories and thinking about how much we have changed and grown.

Here's to another exciting term of learning!

Welcome to Term 2

The children have settled back into school well and seem ready for lots of lovely new learning.

In Phonics we will be learning the following phonemes, and practising reading and writing words with them in.

ff, ll, ss, j, v, w, x, y, z, zz, qu, ch, sh, th , ng, nk

This term’s Tricky Words are:

Put, pull , full, as, and, has , his, her, go no to into, she push he of we me be

We will continue to send home the phonics books on Fridays so that you know exactly what has been taught that week. We will also send home the handwriting we have done in school until we get to the letter z. After that we will send the digraph sheets (2 letters 1 sound) for you to use at home. They do not need to be returned to class but will help you talk to your child about the new phonemes that they have learned.  If you need any support around phonics you will find the guidance sheets at the bottom of the class page plus you can access the parents area of Little Wandle here For parents | Letters and Sounds

In Maths we are comparing and sorting shapes, talking about their properties (how many sides or corners they have) and how we can use them in pictures and patterns. We will also be learning about the numbers 4 and 5 in greater depth.

In Swift Class we also had flying visit from a distressed pig, who was fleeing a certain Mr Big Bad Wolf Esquire. They left a fair bit of straw behind them! In our Literacy lessons we will be learning to tell the story of the Three Little Pigs, imagining becoming the characters, and writing labels and captions for pictures related to it.

We will also be exploring our Understanding of the World by thinking about the different habitats animals live in, including which animals might live on a farm like pigs and which do not.  We will also touch briefly on Bonfire Night and celebrations such as Diwali, before embarking on our learning about Christmas. We will be putting on a Christmas Nativity - look on the school calendar for performance dates and keep an eye on Parentmail for any updates about tickets!

It is going to be another fun term at Fitzmaurice!

Term 1

Welcome to Fitzmaurice School! It was lovely to see so many of you during the summer Stay and Play sessions and taster mornings. We are looking forward to getting to know you and your children and making sure that they have the best start to school life as possible.

This term children will be learning their first phonemes and beginning to read words! Please check out our Phonics workshop to find out how to support your child’s learning. In Maths we will be working with numbers to three and exploring our new classroom environment. 

Below you will find some helpful information to get you and your child started on their Fitzmaurice adventure!

General Class Information

In Foundation we are taught through whole class sessions, such as Little Wandle Phonics and Numbersense Maths, and then practise, develop and extend our learning through high quality play experiences. Please come to our Fitz Playdates to learn more about your child's education in the Foundation Stage and discover how you can support your child's learning. Please see the link to the workshop presentations below for more details.

This page will continue to be updated throughout the course of the year. 

Our core aim as educators is to get your children reading and become confident writers and mathematicians. Please read to your children and with your children as often as possible. Regular practise with their phonic reading book is a key expectation of learning at home but it is also really important for you to read to your children - that bedtime story is growing their vocabulary and understanding!  Regular counting in ones will support their maths and opportunities to write at home are always beneficial. However remember they have had busy days at school - so if you can only fit on one thing before they are too tired, please read!

Reading books

In Term 1 your child will receive their first reading book. Come to our Reading Scheme Playdate to learn more (see below). We change reading books every Tuesday and Friday, this gives you opportunity to read and re-read your book three times. We also send home the read and share bags with your Reading for Pleasure texts; we ask that these are returned every Thursday please.

Phonics home learning 

On Fridays your child will bring home a red book. It will tell you the sounds that your child has learnt that week. Please practise saying the sound that each letter makes, and we have included sheets so that you can practice writing the letter too. Please bring them back in on the following Wednesday so we can stick the next letters in for you.

Rewards 

We reward your children using positive praise, marbles and Wow tickets home. The marbles the children earn feed into a jar and when this is full we have a whole class treat- this is often things like extra playtime, extra time on the pirate ship play equipment or a dance session. A Wow ticket will tell you about something they have done that is amazing! Whole school rewards include recognition bands. This term (Term 2)  children will earn their bands by being Ready to Learn! Children will also be chosen to have a special hot chocolate with our Head of School Mrs Hill if they have demonstrated Over and Above behaviour. 

Fitz Playdates dates and timings 

We have run sessions on the importance of play, our phonics scheme, reading for pleasure, how our reading scheme works and maths in the Foundation Stage.

Dates and timings can be found in our Induction Programme but do keep an eye on our newsletters for reminders and any last minute changes! You can see the presentations for our workshops below.

FS2 Parent Workshop PresentationsFS2 Support Sheets - Letter Formation and Sounds

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