Croeso i Dosbarth Walnut

In Dosbarth Walnut, Miss C Jones is the class teacher. Mrs P and Mrs Lewis are the teaching assistants. On Thursday afternoons, Dosbarth Walnut are taught by Miss H Jones. 

In Dosbarth Walnut, the interests of the children encompass all the areas of learning. We encourage independence with our 'can do' approach, to develop confident and capable children. We aim to provide the children with as much real life experiences as possible. Our high expectations of the children ensure that they reach their full potential in a happy, safe and fun environment. 

Here, on our class page you will find information about our current topics and have the opportunity to see some of our learning in action! 

In this class, the children are at the heart of everything we do. They help pick the topics we teach so they can get excited about their learning.  The children follow a structured daily routine full of opportunities for hands on and play based learning. During this time, children experience a wide range of activities where they can independently consolidate their learning from focused sessions. 

Please take a closer look at our current topic to see what we will be learning this half term. 

You will also find the children's homework grid for this half term.

Don't forget to check out our Twitter page @alexcptweets to see the exciting things we have been doing. You can also post your homework there too! 

How You Can Support Your Child:

Read, Write Inc - We follow Read, Write Inc to help children develop their reading and writing skills through daily sessions at a level appropriate for their development. In addition to reading books, we also send home flashcards with the children to further support this at home. Please encourage your child to spend 10 minutes each evening looking through their flashcards and reading their book. Please see the link below for more information regarding Read Write Inc. See link below on how to help your children say their sounds correctly

Click the link -> Read Write Inc 

PE - Children in Dosbarth Walnut have PE every Tuesday morning. Please make sure your child has a PE kit consisting of a plain white t-shirt, black shorts and pumps or trainers. It is very important that your child's clothes are clearly labelled.

Forest School - Children in Dosbarth Walnut have Forest School every Friday morning with Miss H Jones. Forest School is a fantastic way to build up children's skills, abilities and confidence through practical hands-on activities in the outdoors. It provides children with rich opportunities to explore, learn and discover at their own pace in a safe and supportive space. Forest School uses natural resources to stimulate imagination, creativity and investigation. 

Forest School sessions will take place entirely outside in the natural environment whatever the weather. We will provide shelter from the elements, but it is still important that your child wears clothes that are waterproof, warm and clothes that are OK to get wet and muddy. 

Your child should wear:

• A waterproof coat
• Wellington boats (or sturdy walking boats/old trainers)
• Comfortable long trousers (waterproof if they own a pair)
• Comfortable, warm long sleeved top or fleece
• Thick socks if the weather is cold - thermal if possible or two pairs of thinner socks
• Hat and gloves
• Two bags, one to put dirty forest school clothes in and another bag for their wellies

On Forest School days (Thursdays), children will come to school wearing their full school uniform and will then change into their Forest School kit. Children will bring their kit into school weekly so that they can be taken home and cleaned. 

Snack - Children in Years 1 and 2 are provided with milk daily. We ask that children bring a healthy snack consisting of fresh fruit or vegetables only. 

Google Classroom  - Children in Dosbarth Walnut will access Google Classroom during the school day and also for some of their homework. Please see the link below. 

Seesaw - Seesaw is a fantastic tool that allows myself and the children to independently document their own learning by uploading photos, videos, audio recordings and more. This also provides opportunities for discussion and encourages the children to reflect upon their learning during this process.  This is a wonderful opportunity for you to see the progress your child is making throughout the school year. Please make sure you have joined our class Seesaw page and check it regularly as this is where I post important information. You can also contact me via Seesaw if you have any queries or concerns.  

Summer 1

At the beginning of this half term, we have two wonder weeks with a 'Dragon's Den' theme. As a class we will be using a variety of skills to create/ make/ bake a product which we will then sell to children across the school. We will be using our statistical skills to conduct market research and record data through tally charts, pictograms and block diagrams. We will use our literacy skills to write persuasive letters and posters that will advertise our product across the school.

After our wonder weeks we will be moving on to our 'Superhero and Villains' topic. We will be exploring different superheroes (both fictional and non-fictional), looking at their qualities and skills. Children will have the opportunity to voice what they would like to find out during this topic, encouraging them to lead their own learning. During this topic, there will also be an opportunity for us to explore how superheroes keep fit and stay healthy. Children will use information that they have learnt to create their own superheroes, thinking about their traits and qualities. They will also use their design skills to create new logos, outfits and capes for their new superhero. We will be linking this to Welsh by learning clothing vocabulary.

During this half term, we will be learning the 'Hansel and Gretel' story through the Talk for Writing approach. Children will imitate, innovate and independently apply skills to write their own conquer the monster story. In maths, we will be looking at 2D and 3D shapes and their properties. We will then begin our measurement unit to learn about length, mass and capacity.