Meerkats | Marcham C of E Primary School

The Meerkat Class Newsletter

Class teachers

Mr Josh Clack (Monday, Tuesday, Wed (am), Thursday, Friday)

Mrs V. Hutchinson (Wednesday pm)

Teaching Assistant

Mrs Maudie Swarbrick

Dear Parent and Carers,

Welcome back to a brand new academic year at Marcham Primary School and … welcome to the Meerkat class! It is remarkable to think that six weeks have passed so quickly, but I hope you have had a relaxing summer lounging in the sun and are feeling refreshed and ready to get stuck into a new term. I am very excited for the year ahead and I hope you are too, as we have a lot of exciting topics to explore over the next couple of months.

For those I have not met before, my name is Mr Clack, and I will be teaching the class every week, with the exception of Wednesday afternoons, with Mrs Hutchison kindly offering to teach the class French and Music. We are also very lucky to have the support of Mrs Swarbrick.

As for what the class will get up to this term, in KS2, our autumn topic is all about World War II, a fascinating period that changed the course of history and must never be forgotten. Fuelled by Emma Carrol’s Letters from a Lighthouse, the Meerkats will travel chronological through the war’s key events, looking at the causes of the conflict, the key figures of Churchill and Hitler, the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and how the population struggled with the nature of war at home. The class will also be visiting the codebreakers at Bletchley Wood, learning about the vital importance of the Enigma machine.

This term, PE will take place on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. However, from the 12th of September, the class will be attending swimming lessons at the Abingdon Leisure Centre for 10 weeks. It is your child's responsibility to ensure that their named PE kit is kept in school throughout the week (as additional lessons may take place) and taken home at weekends to be washed. If your child does not have their PE kit in school, they may have to use PE kits provided for them to ensure that they are complying with statutory requirements. Children should not wear jewellery in school, apart from stud earrings (which we advise should not be worn on PE days) and watches. In regard to swimming, a letter will be sent out with the necessary information, but if your child would like to wear goggles, written permission will be required.

Homework for the class will be set on a Wednesday, to be returned the following Tuesday, unless specified otherwise. Every week, I will send out a SpellingShed homework that aims to practice our weekly spellings, as well as revise patterns and rules so that the children become more confident spellers. I will also be setting TimesTableRockStars homework to help motivate the children to learn their multiplication and division facts up to 12 x 12. This is especially important, as this year sees the introduction of a statutory times table assessment for all year 4 students around the country. If you would like more information about this, please feel free to ask me any questions.

This year, I am promoting the ‘Top 100 Books List’, a collection of the ‘best’ books to read in year 3 and 4. The members of KS2 and the PTA have been searching high and low to provide the school with as many copies as possible, so it would be appreciated that the books are cared for when they are taken home. It is essential that you listen to your child read 4-5 times a week to help build their reading speed, fluency, their use of vocabulary and improve their writing and spelling. I will be keeping a log of the books that the class are reading, as well as sending home a reading record bookmark for an adult to sign. These can then be exchanged for house points and raffle tickets in the classroom. Also, when your child has finished reading a book, they should bring it back into school and exchange it for another, ensuring that an adult in school has recorded it.

Finally, we have a class open afternoon on the 23rd September to discuss more about how this year will work, so please do come along if you have any queries. I look forward to meeting you all, as well as getting to know your children as individuals. I am always available, so if you have any questions or wish to speak to me, please can you let the office know so that we can arrange an appointment. Thank you for your support.

Kind regards,

Mr Clack

Key Dates:

Homework: Due – every Tuesday and set every Wednesday

P.E days – Monday and Tuesday afternoons.

Swimming Dates – Thursday 12th September (10 Weeks)

Class Open Afternoon – 23rd September

KS2 Trip - 2nd December

Topic Web