A very busy week preparing for our festival of sport on July 11th. Pupils have been practising the carousel of sports activities and focusing on listening and following instructions. They have put a lot of effort in, and we think they are brilliant mini athletes!

It was also an exciting week for Gems staff as we had the opportunity to meet the two new pupils who will be joining us in September. They will be here again for the welcome picnic, and we are very excited for the current Gems to meet their new peers after the holidays.

Please continue to practise socks and shoe work with pupils at home.  We really want this independent life skill to be embedded.

We also mentioned that we want pupils to understand the concept of money and payments. This will be particularly impactful when we access the community on Fridays. We hope to establish the idea that a transaction must take place when you are in a shop or café.

Ten Tiny Dinosaurs has been the book of our week and pupils have really enjoyed the rhythm of this book and the surprise element. Their interest and understanding of the story has grown each time we have read it.

A special mention this week goes to how well our pupils have been doing in music assembly. We love joining the mainstream on Monday mornings and we are impressed with their retention of lyrics, actions and singing with the rest of the school. Pupils sat with their peers and did not need any adult assistance as they listened to and enjoyed the songs. Big thanks to Mr Oliver for making it so much fun.

  

                                    

Attention bucket makes up a large part of our timetable. Pupils have progressed and responded positively to the many stages of this process. It is a fairly easy process and something you could do at home should you be interested. 

https://www.kidztz.com/attention-bucket/

Please continue Phonics work at home if you can. There is no expectation to know all phonics. All pupils are on a journey, and we want them to work at the pace that suits them. 

We also recommend “reading for pleasure” as much as possible. If stories are too difficult, even just looking at the pictures and seeing what their attention is drawn to, is great for developing concentration and awareness.

We will continue to send home differentiated reading packs. Again, this is just for confidence building.

We find that LittleBig Foxes, Number Blocks and RWI songs on their websites are a great source of fun and education. 

 

Key messages

• Festival of sport begins at 1.45 on 11th July. We would love to see you there if you can attend.

• If you are late in the morning and we have gone to OT, please bring your child to the main office and someone will help you from there.

• Please practise writing and saying the Set 1 sounds at home, using the phonics website by Ruth Miskin to help you. 

• Would families please be so kind as to donate some general cooking supplies to help with our Thursday sessions. e.g., flour, oil, eggs, butter, lifelong milk, cupcake cases. This is not compulsory. Donations welcome.

• Pick up time for Gems pupils is 3pm. Please try to be prompt so we can maximise the time we have to set up for the next day’s learning.

• Please ensure that you have notified the school if you are going to be late. Gems registers MUST be completed by 9am.