Red Kites
Welcome to Red Kites Juniors
Here at Thornton Watlass, we teach Years 3 to 6; our fantastic class team is led by Mrs Sutcliffe and supported by Mr Webster, Mrs Dawes and Mrs Southam.
In Red Kites, we strive to always try our best. Our team work hard to instil a love of learning and make the curriculum engaging and accessible for all our learners. We work hard to provide a safe learning environment, where it is okay to be wrong and we see that as an excellent opportunity for learning.
In our class, we build upon the solid foundation the children receive in Robins Class and aim to give children a supportive, stimulating environment where we encourage personal development and give them opportunities to challenge themselves. Using metacognition, we help the children to understand their own learning processes and to become independent and curious learners.
PE
Our PE days are Monday and Tuesday but children should bring PE kit into school on a Monday and take home on a Friday as due to weather and staffing, days may change at short notice. Please note that earrings and other jewellery must be removed for PE sessions for safety reasons, and hair should be tied back if long enough.
Supporting learning at home
Children are expected to read at home regularly; this should be recorded in their Homework and Reading Record. Helping to foster a love of reading has so many benefits including fuelling their imagination, transporting them to new worlds, broadening their vocabulary and building their comprehension skills…the benefits are immeasurable!
Children will receive new spellings on Mondays to be tested the following Monday. They also have access to Spelling Shed which they should use to practise spellings. They will receive spelling homework which should be returned to school weekly as this supports the learning and retention of the new rule.
We encourage any support which can be given at home in the learning of times tables. These are a vital foundation to support the understanding of many areas of maths, and a secure knowledge of times tables (and the associated division facts) can increase confidence and attainment in maths. To engage children in learning their times tables, children have access to Times Table Rocks Stars. If you need further information, advice or resources to support your child, please don’t hesitate to catch a member of staff.
Every half-term we set a list of creative homework tasks linked to our topic. These homework tasks are all designed to enhance and deepen your child’s learning in school. Children will earn points for each task completed; those who earn 15 points over the half-term will be awarded a Headteacher’s Star and have their work celebrated and shared with the class.
In addition to this, all children will receive a short grammar or maths focus homework per week too. This will usually be set on Century online and children will have their logins given to access this weekly. Please support your child to complete the tasks to the very best of their ability.