Welcome to Diversity Class 2015-2016 Class Teacher: Miss Kate Harper Teaching Assistant: Mrs Angela Riley/ Mrs Linda Collis.

Welcome to Diversity Class

2015-2016Class Teacher: Miss Kate Harper

Teaching Assistant: Mrs Angela Riley/ Mrs Linda Collis

• Class teacher: Miss HarperI am responsible for ensuring your child makes progress and enjoys exciting and

stimulating lessons.

Through my planning, I ensure your child receives the breadth of study that they are entitled to, as set out in the National Curriculum.

Through my teaching, I will support and challenge your child to help them develop a positive attitude to school and learning.

Through my assessment, I will track your child’s progress to ensure they have grasped key concepts and are meeting their expected standards.

• Teaching Assistant: Mrs Riley/ Mrs CollisMrs Collis is currently recovering from a knee operation. Until she is fit and able to

return, we have Mrs Riley supporting individual children and small groups where necessary in English and Mathematics. Mrs Riley was previously a secondary school teacher of MFL (Modern Foreign Languages) and will be teaching French on Wednesday mornings before swimming. She will also listen to readers and oversee times table testing.

• Other adults working with your child:Science: Mrs HartleyMrs Hartley qualified as a teacher before having children and has a passion for

teaching Science.

PE Coach: Miss StancliffeMiss Stancliffe is our new PE coach, replacing Mr King who recently got a new job.

The Team

Topics for 2015-2016

• Topics this year will be:

• September to February - China• February to July – (a surprise!)

Details of what the children will be learning this term are in the Diversity Class newsletter. I have worked with the children in my planning in the hope that the areas studied match the children’s interest whilst maintaining the level of rigour required of year 6.

Class Routines• Year 6 will welcome their Reception

Buddies in the morning and help them to line up on their way to their own line. • In the morning, the children will respond to

marking in their books or complete a short activity on their whiteboards before a prompt start to the day with spellings or guided reading. • Reading books will be changed in either the

class library or school library when necessary. Children are expected to do this independently.• PE kit needs to be in school at all times

(including outdoor trainers), and hung up neatly in the cloakroom.

Groups• Your child will be expected to work independently,

with a partner or with a small group depending on the nature of the activity and your child’s understanding and confidence level. These partners and groups will change regularly so that the children benefit from each other’s existing knowledge, thought processes and attitudes to learning.

• The children will not necessarily get to sit near and work with their friends, as we work on developing mature attitudes and social skills that they will need in secondary school and life beyond.

Home Tables

These are the tables that your child will sit at during registration times and until they are otherwise directed.

Home table groups will change every half term.

Guided Reading/Reading at school

• This year your child will take part in Guided Reading.• Your child will be part of a small group that

will work on developing comprehension and questioning skills. Each group will work with an adult in guided reading for 20 minutes, once a week. • In addition, your child will also read

individually with an adult once every week.• Groups may change depending on progress.

Homework • Homework expectations are that your child

will:

• Read to an adult at home at least three times a week and this should be recorded in their reading log (written and initialled by the adult please!)• Learn their spellings set by their spelling

teacher (starting early October)• Practise Times Tables• Complete the compulsory activities, plus two

additional activities from the homework grid sent home every fortnight (starting 16th September).

Reading at Home • Reading at home has a direct impact on

your child’s progress.• It can take as little as 5 minutes per day to

share and enjoy a book with your child.• Reading isn’t just about decoding the

words! • Comprehension and understanding is just

as important. Ask your child questions about what they have read, for example: What might happen next? • Comprehension is an important part of

SATs (which your child will take at the end of Year 6).

Spellings

• Your child will be allocated a spelling group within the whole-school spelling scheme. • Spelling groups will be three times a

week- days to be confirmed!

SwimmingDiversity class will be swimming on Wednesday mornings between 10am and midday at Towcester Leisure Centre, for ten weeks.

They will be taught by either Mrs Bird or a qualified swimming teacher from school (Miss Harper, Mrs Fisher, Mrs Lydon or Mrs Pittam).

Children must bring with them an appropriate swimming costume and towel. Girls must not where any jewelry and should have their hair tied up.

We do not encourage the children to wear goggles.

Year 6 SATs• Year 6 will be taking their SATs in May 2016. Provisionally,

this will be the week commencing the 9th May. • SATs are important as they impact on the expectations

and support your child will receive at secondary school. • Initially, reading at home with your child on a regular

basis and encouraging them to use their maths knowledge in everyday situations (eg. calculating percentage discounts in the shops) will help improve your child’s confidence.

• The tests your child will sit will be as follows:• Mathematics- arithmetic (30 mins), Reasoning 1 (40 mins),

Reasoning 2 (40 mins)• Reading- 1 hour to read and answer comprehension

questions• GPS (Grammar, punctuation, spelling)- Grammar and

punctuation (45 mins), spelling (15 mins)

Changes to SATs and life-without-levels• As of last year, a more rigorous new curriculum

has been implemented, and this will be what your child is assessed against in May 2016.

• The expected standards are higher and the top scores more difficult to achieve. So what does this mean? It means we have to work hard!

• You will be given your child’s raw score (the actual number of marks they get), alongside their scaled score and whether they have reached the national average. The score needed to reach the national average has yet to be announced.

Follow Diversity Class

• You can follow Diversity Class on Twitter: @DiversityPPS• Also, take a look at our Class Page on

the new school website- http://paulerspuryschool.co.uk/ • These sites are updated on a weekly

(sometimes daily basis) and include lots of photos and information on what we have been doing.

Questions?

This PowerPoint Presentation will be available to view on the Diversity Class Page on the Paulerspury School Website.