St Amand's Catholic Primary School

Dear Parents/ Carers,

Firstly, welcome back to a new school year and we hope that you have had an enjoyable and relaxing summer holiday. We are looking forward to an exciting, happy term and the children have already got off to a great start! Below are a few reminders for the weeks ahead. 

Reading

  Please encourage your child to read at home. The teachers suggest children read at least three times per week to an adult family member. Further, please could that person note their signature in the child’s Homework Diary. It would benefit the child greatly, if the text was further discussed by asking relevant questions.  These records should be kept in their book bags so that the staff can monitor reading, add comments during the week or read comments from home. Children will also continue to read with a teacher during Guided Reading Sessions.

   The Reading Challenge will continue and the number of reads your child completes at home, will be counted and they will have a chance to win a book of their choice each term, up to the value of £5. The more reads your child can do, means a higher chance of winning the prize!

Homework

  Homework will be sent out on Thursday, to be handed in, at the latest, by the following Wednesday. A spelling overview for Term 1 will be inserted into homework books and the children will be tested on the words they have learnt at home each Wednesday.

  The children are encouraged to learn their times tables and they will complete a ‘Times Table Challenge’ each week in school on Monday.  Please continue to help your child to learn their multiplication and division facts at home and to log onto Times Table Rock Stars during the week. Each child will be given an individual username and password so they will be able to access the game from home. If the children did two/ three rounds of TTRS per week, it would help them to build up their knowledge by rote and speed. The children will also be given ID and passwords for Mathletics (and Gooseberry Planet, later in the year) in their Homework Books.  Homework will be set for them each week to log into Mathletics and TTRS each week.

PE Kit and related items

  PE will take place on Tuesday (outdoors Games lesson) and on Thursday (Gym lesson) and the children will continue to come into school wearing their PE kits for these days. PE kit consists of trainers (brightly coloured trainers are not permitted), navy blue shorts, a white t-shirt and an additional layer (dark-coloured sweatshirt or jogging bottoms ) for outdoor PE in the colder months, if the weather is cold (no hoodies or leggings are allowed). Earrings should be removed before PE please, or better still, not worn on those days.  All long hair should be tied back every day, but especially on PE days. During games lessons (and at breaktime) the children are expected to wear shin pads if they are playing a contact sport, which should be clearly labelled. Please ensure that your child has a named water bottle each day and especially on PE days and during hot spells.  As the weather conditions turn wetter and colder, your child will need to wear a warm waterproof coat to school.  

Finally, if you do have any concerns about any aspect of your child’s learning, please email the school office and we will be informed.  We look forward to teaching your children and helping them to do their best each day!

Yours sincerely

Mrs Anna Loughlin

Mrs Rebecca Bennett

Long Term Overview 2024-25