Rainbow Class

3^rd September 2009

Dear Parents and carers,

We welcome your child to Rainbow Class. This letter is to inform you of some of our routines, to familiarise you with what your child will be doing on a regular basis in our class.

On Monday to Thursday morning we begin the morning with a reading time, which we like to share with as many parents as possible. This lasts from 8:45 until around 9:30 and during this session any parents (or grandparents and younger siblings) who are able to join us can share books with the children and participate in a number of activities. Please try to come if you are free. You do not have to stay until the end, but can leave when it suits you before then!

Children will read a book with an adult in class once a week, and change for a new one at that time. Each child should read on the same day each week, unless they miss that day for any reason - if you want to know what day your child will read, just ask me! It may not seem enough to read only once, but we read together in groups every day as well. Your child will then bring home a book to share with you at home each week. For pre-readers, all that is needed is that you to read to your child and encourage them to look at the pictures and talk about the story. For beginner readers the child will be offered a choice from a set range of books, a combination of reading schemes and free readers, to bring to read to you. You may also be given word cards to match to the sentences. Obviously, continue to read lots of other books at home, talk about stories and recall the events in a story in sequence. Each child has today been given a home/school book. It is helpful if you can write in it each time you read to or with your child, and adults at the school will do the same to keep you informed of your child’s progress. A book bag helps the child to access their books more easily.

In a week or so we will start our library sessions. Library books will be brought home each week, and changed on a Thursday, so please make sure they are in book bags on this day. We encourage all children to choose a new book each week (unless it is a particularly long book which can be kept for another week or so), and as the children gain in confidence they will be asked to talk about why they have chosen their book, or what they liked after they have shared it at home. We are aware that many children have lots of other books at home, but the library session includes finding their own named ticket holders, changing book tickets, and making choices about what they like to read.

In our class, P.E. is planned for two sessions per week (Monday and Wednesday) but these may vary so please ensure that your child has a full P.E. kit, including plimsolls, in school every day. It is helpful if this is hung on the peg in a separate bag to enable your child to find it easily.

“Showing time” will be on Monday and Friday, and children are encouraged to bring in something of interest to them to share with the class, or to talk about a special event in their week. Small toys may be brought in to school daily to play with, but these must be of a size to be stored in the child’s tray or bag, and not be precious in case they are damaged when they are taken outside in play! Please discourage your child from bringing in larger toys, we do not have room to store them and they stop the child being able to run around freely. If the toy to show is precious please hand it to the adults in class to look after.

On Friday afternoon we have “buddy time”. This year we will share activities with Sunshine class (year 1), including outside play, cycling, food activities, clay work, music, at different times of the year. If your child is going to need a change of clothes or wellies you will be warned in advance.

Children will be rewarded for good work, trying hard or behaving well with a stamp in a reward book. When your child has 10 stamps they are awarded a certificate, which will be presented during our special collective worship at the start of the day on Friday morning. You will be informed in advance if this is to happen to give you a chance to share this with your child. At this assembly children who have behaved in an exceptional way will also have their names read out from our golden book. For the first term Rainbow Class will not go into the other weekly assemblies with the whole school, to give them more chance to settle into our class.

As part of our behaviour plan, we have a rainbow in class on which all children’s names are pegged. When they show good behaviour, beyond the norm, their name peg is moved on to the sunshine, and at the end of the day they are rewarded with a sticker. If children are behaving inappropriately in class they are warned that their name will be moved towards a cloud. If they do have their name reach the cloud, parents will be told about it and the reasons why. Most children respond well to this and do not want their name to be on the cloud, so change their behaviour to avoid this! They are very proud to be on the sunshine.

At the end of the day, Rainbow Class finishes before the older children, at 2:50. At this time, the children with no older siblings in school (or who are not in a car share or after school club) are taken outside to the fence at the top of the field. Please park your car in the spaces along the fence, or if these are full wait in your car until someone moves off and one is free. Then come down to collect your child from the teacher- there may occasionally be only one adult outside at this time, so we cannot walk the child to you without leaving the others unsupervised. Children who do have an older brother or sister to leave with will wait with them until 3:00 in school, and then be brought out in the same way. Parents with children with older siblings will hopefully know the routine by now.

If you prefer to pick your child up from the class itself, feel free to come in from 2:40 onwards, when the outside door is unlocked by Mrs Cox, our full-time TA in class. Children are then sitting on the carpet and are not allowed to go to their adult until the teachers call their name, to avoid confusion. If you pick up your child at this time, please leave promptly to avoid cars blocking the parking spaces.

Thank you for reading this rather long letter! In the next few weeks we will timetable parent meetings where you can discuss how your child is settling in to school. If you have any concerns about your child before then, or wish to speak to me privately, I am available before school each morning. Please feel free to bring your child in to the class each morning from 8:20 onwards (school starts at 8:45), and to stay with them as long as you feel necessary, although most settle very quickly and will want you to go! We hope that this will be a very happy time for your child.

Claire Nerval and Rainbow staff team.

A reminder of the people working in Rainbow Class this year:

Mrs Claire Nerval, class teacher

Mrs Lindsey Cox, full time teaching assistant

Mrs Joy Earley, teaching assistant, mornings only

Mrs Jacqui Tinsley, teacher, Wednesday afternoon.