Welcome back to all our Gems pupils and families.  We hope you have had a relaxing Easter break and are looking forward to this summer term.

This week we have started The Gigantic Turnip by Levin Kipnis. Pupils have focused well on the story and are becoming more familiar with each reading. If you don’t have the book, you will be able to find a recording on YouTube.

We will be making some turnips in our creation station, and we will be sure to include these pictures on Tapestry.

We really enjoy seeing what Gems children do outside of school so when you can upload to Tapestry, it is great fun to share these experiences with the children and their peers. Thanks to those who do this.

We look forward to discussing our plans with regards to trips to Kew Gardens and cafes (slightly further afield) in Richmond. We listen to parents’ requests that pupils are exposed more to social settings and learn to regulate their behaviour in public. It is also a vital life skill that they understand how a financial exchange takes place (e.g., money must be exchanged for a snack in a shop) and that we give them as much exposure to this as possible.

We plan to continue our pancake making session. Children have been requesting cooking (daily!) and we are delighted to hear them using words like “flour” and “milk” as they become more familiar with the recipe and the associated language. Thank you for the donations we have received. 

In phonics we have been learning/ recapping the sound ‘r’. Attention and concentration have been particularly impressive in this first week back, so the pupils deserve lots of credit. They are obviously refreshed after a good break. 

Please continue phonics work at home if you can. But rest assured, 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 Little Big Foxes, Number Blocks and RWI songs on their websites are a great source of fun and education. 

  

Key messages

• 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.