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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, Mrs Hughes and Wiltshire Wildlife will join us on Thursday mornings for PE or Forest Schools.

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

Miss Liz Howlin, Early Years Lead & Robin Teacher

Miss Liz Howlin, Early Years Lead & Swift Teacher

Mrs Sam Alexander, Teaching Assistant

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.