Welcome to Squirrels' Class Page!
Class Teachers: Miss Woods & Mrs Budniak
TA team: Mrs Pope & Mrs Bradish

Welcome back to school Squirrels! I can't wait to see what the new school year has in store for us. I have no doubt that this new chapter will be full of fun, engaging and exciting opportunities in which you will all shine.

These links make it easy to stay up to date with  

 This Week's Homework  5 Minute Talk Rota

 Terms 1 & 2
The Tale of 3 Bridges:

Making connections in Bristol, San Fransisco & New York

We're taking a trip to the 'New World' for our first topic where we'll have a focus on North American geography in Term 1. During Term 2, we'll discover how the history of engineering links Bristol to some unlikely places in North America. 

Topic Web - coming soon

In Squirrels, we like making lots of connections in our learning so we'll be finding lots of links with things we already know, with our new learning and with things we want to find out more about. 
As always, there are big questions to explore in RE, History and PSHE, some great lives to encounter, new stories to hear and key skills to learn. We're going to stay creative and curious and, every day, we'll make sure that we bring a Growth Mindset and our Gem Powers to everything we do. Remembering these Learning Powers will be useful too!

What we'll be reading... 

 In keeping with our theme of science & engineering, this term we'll be reading The Matilda Effect by Ellie Irving.

Did you know that ‘The Matilda effect’ is an actual thing – a bias against recognising the achievements of women scientists? 

Taking its cue from this worrying trend, The Matilda Effect tells the story of a little girl, called Matilda, who loves science and wants to be an inventor.

Soon, Matilda discovers that her grandma was once an astrophysicist who actually discovered a planet. However, Grandma Joss’ boss took all the credit – and he’s about to be given the Nobel Prize. Can Matilda and her grandma get to Sweden in time to stop the ceremony and tell the truth?

Other Important Information

1. Personal Reading Books
The children should all have an ongoing book which they bring into school every day. Free readers will have a colour banded Free Reader book as they continue to refine their reading skills and they can also choose books from home, from our class collections and from the Library to enjoy too. 
Those not yet free readers can bring in a book of their choice as well as their school reading book.

Our regular "I recommend..." sessions are great opportunities for the children to hear about the books others have loved reading too. 

Please remember to sign your child’s home/school book each day that they read at home so that they can get all their certificates and rewards. Thank you! 

Squirrels, if you're deciding on your next book, take a look at some of these suggestions. You could encounter some unforgettable new characters, meet some very familiar faces or discover lots of fascinating new facts! Which books would you add? 

50 Great Reads Y4  50 Great Reads Y5 Poetry BooksNon-Fiction Choices  Similar to...   Books of the Month

2. Other Weekly Homework
A main Homework task is set every Friday and is due in the following Friday unless otherwise stated. These tasks will also be available through the link at the top of this page. 

Doodle Maths (& Doodle Tables): Each child has a Doodle login and a personalised weekly target. Spending at least 10 minutes a day on each of these will help them meet their target.

Times Tables: The 12 Times Tables are used and tested lots each week as they underpin so much Maths work. Lots of practice at home is always key in getting everyone to be quick, secure and confident in their recall. There's Monster Multiplication and the timed Multiplication Check on Purple Mash and lots of other online games and activities available to help too.

To find Monster Multiplication, log on to Purple Mash and then either
1. Check in your 2Dos to see if it's been set for you or
2. Go to Games and find it there or
3. Go to Mathematics then Times Tables and find it there.

Thank you for your help and support in all this.

3. P.E. 
During Term 1, we will have Gymnastics PE Wednesday afternoon and our Thursday PE lessons will be Lacrosse. Children will need to come to school already dressed in their correct kit on PE days. As usual, we'll aim for Thursday lessons to be outside and suitable outdoor school PE kit is important. A reminder that our school PE kit is as follows

• Farmborough House Group t-shirt or a plain coloured t-shirt in your House colour
• Navy blue/black sports shorts, skorts or joggers
• Plimsolls or trainers
• Sports socks
• Outdoor kit for cooler/wetter weather eg long joggers and plain/school hoodie or sweatshirt 

We won’t run lessons outdoors in very wet weather, but it will be really useful for the children to bring in a spare set of clothes, especially footwear, when the weather's not so great. If preferred, these spares can be left in school in your child’s P.E. bag.

** All items coming into school do need to be clearly named. Thank you! **
 

4. Anti-Bullying Resource

Click on this logo to see the Anti-Bullying Alliance's Parent Pack, published to accompany  Anti-Bullying Week

5. Staying Safe Online
Children, whenever you're online, remember to practise your online safety skills so that you stay Sharp, Alert, Secure, Kind & Brave.
Click on these images, either to explore Interland or to watch the Family Adventure together:

                           

And here are some good places for parents and carers to visit for useful advice and information too:

Parent Zone       Be Internet Legends Parents' Page  &  Parent Info
Thinkuknow       Internet Matters        LGfL       Net Aware

 6. General Reminders:

• Children will all need to have a water bottle in school every day. 
• They'll also all need a rainproof coat with hood and wellies in a named carrier bag in school every day. Again, please check that everything that's worn or brought in is clearly named. 

Thank you!

Finally, if you need to get in touch or you have any concerns or queries about anything, please come and speak to us after school as we'll be in the playground at the end of most days. You can also message us via Class Dojo although, if there's an urgent or time-sensitive matter, it's always best to phone or email the Office. Thank you!

Looking Back & Looking Ahead:  

In our Collective Worship at the end of Friday 20th March 2020, as we closed for the first lockdown, this traditional Blessing was prayed for our school community. Now, whatever this year brings, we still value these words and hold them for everyone.