parent letters and information

Parent Information

07.09.2022 Whole School Attendance Letter 2022-2023

Spring 2023 - Year 5-6 Parent Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back into the Spring Term in Year 5/6.Your child will have been given Knowledge Organiser for Science and non-core subjects which they should keep at home. These are a handy reference for you to see and discuss the key points that they are learning in different subjects.

In the Spring term, our focus for the Year 5 children is to fully embed their learning from the beginning of the year and expose them to new concepts specific for Year 5 learning. The Year 6 children will begin their Thursday morning SATs booster sessions (whilst the Year 5 children are swimming) and their learning in class will begin to focus upon techniques necessary for the testing in May.

Entry - Unchanged
Continues to be 8.40am so children are in school to begin morning work at 8.50am
Exit 3.10pm

They should still remember their lunch, healthy snack, coat, hat and/or sun cream. Most children will have a locker to keep these in. Water in bottles are kept in class.

Learning
The curriculum details for the Spring term are provided here.
Snacks
Staff continue to check these are healthy in line with school policy.
Homework
All of the children in 5/6 have their homework set through the online platform of EdShed. The children will continue to receive Maths, Grammar, Spelling and Reading homework which is set on a Wednesday and expected to be returned on the following Wednesday. As a supplementary tool, the children have access to TTRockstars. This is an online platform for the children to practise their times tables and we strongly recommend the children use this on a weekly basis.

Children do have the opportunity to receive paper copies if there is an issue with using technology.

Physical Education
This is every Wednesday. Children should come to school dressed ready for PE, wearing a named North Wootton polo-shirt and hoodie, black or navy shorts and in the colder months black on navy tracksuit. All long hair must be tied back and where possible, earrings should be taken out. Please remember that the children will be outside whenever possible and therefore a spare pair of socks would be advised on wet days. If your child is too unwell to participate in a PE lesson, please send in a signed note to inform the class teacher.

The 5/6 general timetable is provided separately along with the parent curriculum overview details.

If you have any queries about the above, please contact the office in the first instance and the appropriate member of staff will do their very best to assist.

As always, we very much appreciate all the support you give us.

Regards,

Mr C. Blackmur

Year 5/6 Phase Leader
Elder Class Teacher

Year 5/6 Overview - Spring 2023

Year 5/6 Timetable - Spring 2023

Spring 2023 - Year 3-4 Parent Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back into the Spring Term in Year 3-4.Christmas seems ages ago as we have leapt into 2023 and already launched positively into our Spring Term learning.

Your child will have been given Knowledge Organiser for Science and non-core subjects which they should keep in their homework folders. These are a handy reference for you to see and discuss the key points that they are learning in different subjects..

In the Spring term, our aim remains for learning to be appropriately challenging and fun. With this in mind, here is some information that you will need about the classes and routines for this term. Not too much has changed but Year 4 parents will become aware of an increased focus on learning times tables.

Year 4 Multiplication Times Table Check
This is a statutory test that our Year 4’s take, along with other Year 4s nationally, in which they are expected to know ALL their times tables up to the 12 times table. We will send Year 4 parents more information about this in due course but for now, encourage our pupil to share with you their quick fire times tables knowledge at home.
DATE FOR YEAR 4 PARENT DIARIES – Parent Awareness presentation on this by Miss Buschman and Mrs Penston Tuesday 7th March 2023 3.30pm here in school – further details will follow nearer the time.

Entry - Unchanged
Continues to be 8.40am so children are in school to begin morning work at 8.50a.m
Exit
3.10pm – via Tesco gate. Again, this has previously been advised.
Communication
It is of course now easier for us to have a quick chat with you on the playground if needed. Please continue to contact the school by email or telephone in the first instance. Rest assured, teaching staff get back to you as soon as possible.
Equipment and items brought in
Children need not bring in their own equipment for class. We will provide this but they can bring in a slim pencil case that fits easily into their trays. Some pencil cases this term have been too bulky and caused problems fitting other items into their trays.

They should still remember their lunch, healthy snack, coat, hat and/or sun cream. Most children will have a locker to keep these in. Water in bottles are kept in class.
Hand sanitizer
This is still used at appropriate times and handwashing stations are outside too. If your child need to bring their own in, this is not to be kept in their bag but instead out of reach for health and safety reasons.
Learning
The curriculum details for the Spring term are provided here.
Snacks
Staff continue to check these are healthy in line with school policy.
Homework
Each child has a homework folder to bring in every Wednesday with their reading record and reading book.
Three sets of homework (Maths, Spellings and Grammar) will be given out every Wednesday except the last week of each half term. Year 4s will need to increase their times tables practise.

A homework topic morning where children can bring in their special homework project is being planned and children will receive details of this soon. These details should be kept in their homework folder for ongoing reference.

Reading
Children are encouraged to read at home 5 times a week. If your child is a free reader, they will be given a guided reading book and told up to which page they are expected to read by the following Wednesday.
Non free readers are expected to read as much as they can daily.
Each class can change their library book weekly (Willow/Maple on Mondays. Rowan on Fridays)
Physical Education
This is every Tuesday. Children should come to school dressed ready for PE, wearing a named North Wootton polo-shirt and hoodie, black or navy shorts and in the colder months black on navy tracksuit. All long hair must be tied back and where possible, earrings should be taken out. Please remember that the children will be outside whenever possible and therefore a spare pair of socks would be advised on wet days. If your child is too unwell to participate in a PE lesson, please send in a signed note to inform the class teacher.
Swimming
It is anticipated that our Year 3’s will go in the Summer term.

Hopefully, you will find this information useful. The ¾ general timetable is provided separately along with the parent curriculum overview details.

If you have any queries about the above, please contact the office in the first instance and the appropriate member of staff will do their very best to assist.

As always, we very much appreciate all the support you give us which in turn benefits your children – always our first priority. Here’s to another great term.

Regards,

Miss M. Buschman

Deputy Principal/Years ¾ Phase Leader
Maple Class Teacher

Rowan Class Timetable - Spring 2023

Maple Class Timetable - Spring 2023

Willow Class Timetable - Spring 2023

Year 3/4 Overview - Spring 2023

Spring 2023 - Year 1-2 Parent Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

We would like to welcome you and your children back to school for a new year and a new term. We trust that you all had a restful break.

Whilst much of the learning and procedures will continue as they were before Christmas there are a few reminders that we would like to make.

P.E.

All three classes will continue to do P.E. on a Monday afternoon. They will need to come to school wearing their P.E. kit and with earrings removed for safety reasons. Please make sure that your child has suitable clothing for outdoor lessons, as I fear we will have more challenging weather to come as the term progresses. May we also ask that trainers only have laces if your child is able to tie them for his/herself. This also applies to school shoes except in exceptional circumstances.

Homework

Homework will continue to play an important part in your children's learning. The use of individual reading books is vital for Key Stage 1 children and we ask that you read with your child at least four times a week for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. Short daily sessions are often more effective than one long session and we find that the children who do read every day make more progress. Please record the book/pages your child has read with you in the `Reading Record` book along with any other comments you would like to make.

We will be increasing the teaching of tables in school this term and this will need to be reinforced using the online resource in order to maximise progress. Initially the children will be learning the two, five and ten times tables and the associated division facts.

Spelling

Spellings will be sent home on a Thursday in the purple book. Please practise these on the grid each day. Testing spellings will take place regularly in school.

Maths

Maths homework will be sent home in the purple book on a Thursday.

Contact

As a school we like to promote an `open door` policy and we are pleased that parents are once again be able to access the school site. We appreciate that you may at times need to give the staff a message. The best way to do this continues to be by email or by telephoning the office. If you do need to speak briefly to the teacher, we would again ask that you wait away from the main line of parents until all the children have been collected. This allows a free flow of children and enables any conversations to be more private.

Library

Please note that from next week (week beginning 16th January 2023) Pine Class and Cedar Class will be changing their library day to a Wednesday.

Please find the separate curriculum overview to see what we will be learning about this term.

We look forward to a successful 2023.

Regards Mrs Saddleton, Mrs Leader, Mrs Salmons (January 2023)

Year 1/2 Overview - Spring 2023

Spring 2023 - Reception Parent Information

Dear Parent / Carers,

Welcome back to school after, what I hope was, a fantastic and well deserved Christmas break. I hope your child has settled back into school after their first week back.

For the first half of the term, up until February half-term, our learning will be based upon two topics: Dinosaurs and Space. After February half-term, our learning will be based upon Growing and Changing inc Animals and their Babies. Please see the attached curriculum summary document.

In March, we will be opening up our doors again for you to come and spend an hour with your child to have a look at their work since your last visit. We really enjoyed having many of you in the Autumn term and I know the children especially enjoyed sharing all of their learning with you.

Continued support from home is really beneficial for your child’s learning. Therefore, we would like these home learning activities to be carried on:

Reading – Now that your child has completed a third of their first year at school, it is absolutely imperative that your child is reading their two school reading books to you. We appreciate it isn’t always possible to read daily therefore, our expectation is that they read at least 4 out of the 7 days. If they achieve this, they will receive a reading certificate on a Monday and this will be posted onto Tapestry. Reading books are changed every Monday and Thursday.
Homework – We are really happy and impressed with the homework engagement for Phonics and Maths. Long may this continue. They receive 5 monster points if this is completed.

We will continue to visit the school library on a Tuesday, so please ensure your child has their library book with them, so they can choose a new one.

We are changing our Forest School sessions to a Wednesday, so please make sure your child has the warmest school uniform on for this as February and March can be particularly cold months. Miss Bond will be taking Acorns and Conkers on a Wednesday, one class in the morning and one class in the afternoon.

PE continues to be taught on a Thursday afternoon. For this half-term up until February half-term, Miss Broughton and I will be teaching Gymnastics while Mr Smalls will deliver Ball Skills.

Thank you very much for your continued support. If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to speak to myself or Miss Broughton.

Best wishes,

Miss Bond – (EYFS) Phase Leader

Reception Class Overview - Spring 2023

Reception Class Timetable - Spring 2023

Space

Dinosaurs

Autumn 2022 - Year 5-6 Parent Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am delighted to welcome you and your child back to North Wootton Academy and into Year 5/6 and we hope that you are all looking forward to this new school year as much as we are.

Here is some information that you will need about the classes and routines for this half term.

Your Staff

Class Teachers – Mr Blackmur, Mrs Morley, Mrs Allen and Mrs Bamber

Teaching Assistants – Mrs Acourt, Mrs Thorpe and Mrs Petherick.

Entry and exit

The gates will be open for your child at 8:40am and will be closed at 8:50. Both the bike shed gate and the gate closest to the school sign will be open for your child to both, enter and exit. The school day for children in year 5/6 will finish at 15:10. Pupils do not need to have an adult present but permission must be given to the school office for the children to be dismissed without being collected.

Homework

Following the success of using online platforms to support our home learning last year, our homework will be paperless again, using the online platform EdShed. Homework will be given out and expected back in every Wednesday starting week commencing 12th September. Maths homework will normally be calculation based and the spelling and grammar homework will be appropriate to their age-related curriculum expectations. The children will be tested on their spellings each Wednesday. Home readers will also be sent home on a Wednesday with an expectation of up to 30 pages to be completed within a week and notes to be taken by your child to document this.

We would also appreciate your support with learning their spellings and times tables up to 12 x 12. 

Physical Education

Children will have PE on Wednesdays. If your child is unable to participate in PE, please contact the school office, who will inform the class teacher. Children should come to school dressed ready for PE but will need to be wearing a North Wootton polo shirt and hoody. For those without North Wootton PE clothing, they will be expected to attend in full school uniform, bringing a PE kit and then will be able to get changed at school at the beginning of the PE lesson. Please remember that the children will be outside whenever possible and therefore a spare pair of socks would be advised on wet days.

Finally, please know that our doors are always open. We are more than happy to discuss any issues after school. However, if you feel you need an appointment with myself or your child’s class teacher, please arrange this with the school office. Thank you very much for your support and we are really looking forward to a successful year ahead.

Regards,

Mr C.Blackmur

Year 5/6 Phase Leader

Mr Blackmur– Upper Key Stage 2 Phase Leader

Year 5-6 Timetable - Autumn 2022

Year 5-6 Overview Autumn 2022

Autumn 2022 - Year 3-4 Parent Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to all of you returning to school and into Year 3-4. Our Year 3-4 team would also like to welcome our new pupils and their families. We hope you are all ready to enjoy your new school academic. The aim is always to make it both appropriately challenging and fun. It feels like we are getting back to some form of normality but we remain mindful of just how difficult life can be in the current climate.

Here is some information that you will need about the classes and routines for this term.

Staff

Class Teachers – Miss Buschman - Maple, Mrs Turner (Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Maple), Mrs Penston - Willow and Mr Lindley– Rowan.

Teaching Assistants – Mrs Harrison, Mrs Giller, Mrs Clarke, Miss Neville, Miss Yallop and Mrs Lingham.

Entry
Continues to be 8.40am coming in through the Tesco gate as advised in a previous email.
Exit
3.10pm – via Tesco gate. Again, this has previously been advised.
Communication
Please continue to contact the school by email or telephone in the first instance. Rest assured, teaching staff get back to you as soon as possible. It is of course now easier for us to have a quick chat with you on the playground if needed.
Classes
The priority will always be to keep our children as safe. Our playground is no longer split. This means your child can now play with any child in Year 3 or4.

Equipment and items brought in
Children need not bring in their own equipment for class. We will provide this but they can bring in a slim pencil case that fits easily into their trays. They should still remember their lunch, healthy snack, coat, hat and/or sun cream. Most children will have a locker to keep these in. Water in bottles are kept in class.
Water Container
Hand sanitizer is still used at appropriate times and handwashing stations are outside too.
Lining Up
Classes will still have a lining up order when moving around school.
Learning
The curriculum details for the first term are provided here.
Toilets
These will be the boys and girls¾ toilets outside Maple and Willow classes.
Snacks
Staff will be checking these are healthy in line with school policy.
Lunch
To be eaten sitting around class tables in the junior hall.
Homework
Each child will be given a reading folder to bring in every Wednesday.
Three sets of homework (Maths, Spellings and Grammar) will be given out every Wednesday beginning Wednesday 14th September. Maths homework will normally be calculation based and the spelling and grammar homework will be appropriate to their age-related curriculum expectations. There are still websites that we use as options for some of the homework for helping to learn multiplication facts. More about these as the weeks progress. A homework topic morning where children can bring in their special homework project or task is being planned and the deadline date will be advised shortly.
Reading
We aim to send reading books home by the end of the first week. Children are encouraged to read at home 5 times a week. If your child is a free reader, they will be given a guided reading book and told up to which page they are expected to read by the following Wednesday. Non free readers are expected to read as much as they can daily.
The library has a yearly stock take and is opening within days.
Physical Education
This is every Tuesday. Children should come to school dressed ready for PE, wearing a named North Wootton polo-shirt and hoodie, black or navy shorts and in the colder months black on navy tracksuit. All long hair must be tied back and where possible, earrings should be taken out. Please remember that the children will be outside whenever possible and therefore a spare pair of socks would be advised on wet days. If your child is too unwell to participate in a PE lesson, please send in a signed note to inform the class teacher.

Swimming
Our Year 4’s started swimming in the first week on Thursday 8th September. You should have already received details about this. It is anticipated that our Year 3’s will go in the Summer term.

Hopefully, you will find this information useful. The 3-4 general timetable is provided separately along with the parent curriculum overview details. Next Wednesday, your child will also be given printed Knowledge Organisers for certain subjects in the first half term. We will ask pupils to keep them in their homework folders so you can also see the key points of learning.
If you have any queries about the above, please contact the office in the first instance and the appropriate member of staff will do their very best to assist.
We very much appreciate all the support you give us which in turn benefits your children – always our first priority. Here’s to a super year ahead.

Regards,

Miss M. Buschman

Deputy Principal/Years 3-4 Phase Leader
Maple Class Teacher

Year 3-4 Timetable - Autumn 2022

Year 3-4 Curriculum Overview - Autumn 2022

Autumn 2022 - Year 1-2 Parent Information

Dear Parents and Carers,

We would like to welcome your children into the Year 1 and Year 2 phase. My name is Carolyn Saddleton and I am the Phase Leader and will be teaching in Cedar Class. Mrs Salmons will be teaching in Pine Class and Mrs Leader will be in Fir Class. We will be supported by Mrs Harvey and Ms Martin (Cedar), Miss Emsley and Miss Burt, (Pine) and Mrs Ames (Fir).

Timings

Please follow the drop-off and collection arrangements already sent to you by email.

What to Bring

Your child will need to bring a bag that is easily cleaned with their reading book, purple homework book, drinks bottle, lunch if bringing from home, hat, coat and sunscreen, if not using the long-lasting variety, as we may get some lovely weather over the next few weeks. They will need to bring these into school and take them home each evening. No stationary etc will be needed as this will be provided by the school. Please make sure all items are clearly named. Free fruit will be available for snack.

P.E.

All three classes will be doing P.E. on a Monday afternoon and should come to school wearing their P.E. kit. They will need to wear a school T-shirt and hoody, shorts or tracksuit bottoms. (See school uniform policy for further details). Trainers will be needed for outdoor lessons. Please be aware staff will not be able to tie laces for the children so only send shoes and trainers that they can fasten themselves.

Homework

Homework plays an important part in your children`s learning. The use of individual reading books is vital for Key Stage 1 children and we will be sending one of these home by the end of week one. Please record the book/pages your child has read with you in the `Reading Record` book along with any other comments you would like to make. We ask that your child reads with you for at least ten minutes a day.

Homework books will be sent home weekly on a Friday. These need to be returned on the following Wednesday to be marked and new spellings and maths sheets added. Spellings will be tested regularly so it is important that time is taken to learn these at home.

Contact

As a school we like to promote an `open door` policy and we are pleased that parents will once again be able to access the school site. We appreciate that you may at times need to give the staff a message. The best way to do this continues to be by email or by telephoning the office. If you do need to speak briefly to the teacher, we ask that you wait away from the main line of parents until all the children have been collected.

We look forward to a successful year.

Regards

Mrs Saddleton, Mrs Leader, Mrs Salmons

Year 1-2 Timetable - Autumn 2022

Year 1-2 Curriculum Overview - Autumn 2022

Autumn 2022 - Reception Parent Information

Dear Parent / Carers,

I am delighted to welcome your child to North Wootton Academy and I am sure that your children will settle quickly into their new class and enjoy their first year at school.

Up until October half-term, our learning will be based around ‘All About Me inc My Local Area’. After October half-term and up to Christmas, we will move on to learn about ‘Journeys and Transport inc My World’. Please find attached the Curriculum Overview for the Autumn Term. I have also attached two knowledge organisers that you can discuss with your child to prepare them for their learning.

To support your child’s learning in school, there are a couple of things that we would like your child to do at home as part of their home learning activities.

Reading – We expect your child to read with you at least four times a week. We will provide your child with two books to read at home. One of the books will be linked very closely to the Phonics we are learning during the week and the second book your child will receive is an age-appropriate colour banded reading book which is decided by their class teacher. Additionally, your child will bring home a reading record which is where we would like you to comment on how well they got on with the given book. Your child will receive a new reading book on a Monday and a Thursday.
Extended Home Learning Activities – From Friday 16^th September, your child will have 2 homework activities to complete on a weekly basis. Your child will have a Phonics (spelling) based activity and a Maths activity to complete. Both the Phonics and the Maths homework will be set on a Friday and is expected to be complete by the following Friday.

We appreciate and understand that family time is precious, however at North Wootton Academy we expect children to engage in their home learning activities as these are designed to consolidate in school learning.

Your child will take part in Forest School sessions every half-term so it is wise to dress your child appropriately depending on the weather, e.g. tights instead of socks with skirts/dresses. Please make sure you have provided your child with a pair of wellies and waterproofs that will remain in school for the year.

Please see Tapestry for the dates of Forest School.

On a Tuesday, Acorns and Conkers will go to the school library to borrow a book to take home for the week and share with the family. Please ensure your child’s library book is returned every Tuesday so they can borrow a new one.

Children in Reception will take part in PE and Balanceability Bike sessions on a Thursday afternoon. Please ensure your child’s PE kit is sent into school during the first week of the half-term and we will send these home at the end of the half-term.

Please ensure your child arrives at school with their book bag and a clearly named water bottle every day!

Finally, please know that our doors are always open. We are more than happy to discuss small, quick issues after school. However, if you feel you need an appointment with me, please arrange this with the school office.

Thank you very much for your support and we are really looking forward to what this year will bring!

Best Wishes

Miss Bond - EYFS Phase Leader

Reception Class Timetable - Autumn 2022

Reception Class Curriculum Overview - Autumn 2022

All About Me

Journeys and Transport