Willow Class 2022 - 2023

WELCOME TO WILLOW

Class teacher - Mr M Heathcote

Learning Support Assistant - Mrs W Rowland

Slavery

Welcome to Willow! I am really excited to be welcoming you all back to Whitegate and particularly your new class. I am sure it is going to be a brilliant year full of surprises, fun, learning, maturing and growing.

Our first term this year will be looking back in history at the history of legacy of the slave trade. We will be looking at how the trade began and how it impacted the lives of everyone then and also its legacy today. This will involve plenty of reading, research and a trip to Liverpool to the World Slavery Museum. More details of this to come soon!

Our author this term is Katherine Rundell and we will be reading together story “Rooftoppers.” It would be brilliant if you could purchase or borrow a copy of this text so that we can enjoy reading it together over the term. It is a truly stunning story.

Reading

Reading is at the heart of successful learning and we will immerse ourselves in a range of quality texts over the course of the year. As Reading is a priority across all subjects, we regularly use a range of fiction and non-fiction texts in our lessons to help inform richer learning across the curriculum in the afternoon.

In addition to this cross-curricular learning, a single day might also see us exploring the motivations of characters in our gripping class novels or simply allowing children time to develop a love of reading through our provision of high-quality fiction books. Wherever and whenever possible, we will prioritise developing the skills and positive attitudes towards Reading that will enable Willow class to become confident, informed and engaged learners.

Our star author this term is Katherine Rundell. We are really excited to be getting into some of her stories soon!

Home Reading expectations are detailed below, but should your child express and interest in a particular author, series or genre, please let us know and we would be delighted to order books from our library partners free of charge. Visits to your local library are also encouraged!

PE will be happening twice a week and the pupils will need to come into school in their PE kit. Our PE days are Tuesday and Thursday.

Homework

Please ensure your child reads at home at least 4 times per week. In Year 4 and 5, they are expected to record their own reading in their Home – School contact books; parents just need to sign each time.

TT Rockstars should be practised at least 3 times per week also for a minimum of 10 minutes each time.

Don't forget about Education City as well!

Both TTRS and Education City will be up and running the coming weeks.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with me using the Home-School book or by email via this address: contact@whitegate.cheshire.sch.uk