End of Term
Dear Parents & Carers,
First of all, I would like to thank you for the hard work and dedication you have shown, during a very difficult year, in getting your child(ren) to school on time and in every day. I know you want to ensure your child gets the very best possible start to their education and everyone in school recognises this.
It is disappointing that we are not able to hold the traditional school events, of leaver’s assembly and sports day, due to the current restrictions. However, we do plan to celebrate our year 6 children’s time in school. We also plan to hold an outdoor, end of year picnic on the last day of the term and this will coincide with the completion of some major changes to our playground and Early Years environment. We look forward to sharing these changes with you at the end of term.
Children will be told on Thursday who their new teacher is. Your child’s school report will be given out this week and we hope you are able to celebrate your child’s success with them and be aware of any targets set to further improve their work.
School will finish on Friday 16th July and children will return on Thursday 2nd September. Can I remind parents that our uniform policy is on the school website and that children are expected to wear the correct uniform. The policy also highlights expectations around shoes and haircuts. If you would like a paper copy, please let us know.
As we move into the summer holidays, we really want to ensure our children continue the hard work they have done this year in their reading. I wanted to make you aware of a project running at the library in Darlington and I have also attached some guidance to support your child(ren) with their reading
I have also added some information about a reading challenge at Darlington Library.
We hope you all have a wonderful summer holiday and look forward to seeing you in September.
Reading Challenge at Darlington Library
How to read a story to your child
How to read a story to your child
If you can find the time beforehand, read the read-aloud book to yourself first, so you can think about how you’re going to read it to your child.
On the first reading:
- Make reading aloud feel like a treat.
- Make it a special quiet time and cuddle up so you can both see the book.
- Show curiosity about what you’re going to read: ‘This book looks interesting. It’s about an angry child. I wonder how angry he gets…’
- Read through the whole story the first time without stopping too much. Let the story weave its own magic.
- Read with enjoyment. If you’re not enjoying it, your child won’t.
- Read favourite stories over and over again.
On later readings:
- Let your child pause, think about and comment on the pictures.
- If you think your child did not understand something, try to explain: ‘Oh! I think what’s happening here is that…’
- Chat about the story and pictures: ‘I wonder why she did that?’; ‘Oh no, I hope she’s not going to…’; ‘I wouldn’t have done that, would you?’
- Link the stories to your own family experiences: ‘This reminds me of when …’
- Link stories to others that your child knows: ‘Ah! Do you remember the dragon in ….? Do you remember what happened to him?’
- Encourage your child to join in with the bits they know.
- Avoid asking questions to test what your child remembers.
- Avoid telling children that reading stories is good for them.
Link to You Tube Video here: Summer Reading Challenge for Schools. – YouTube
Every year the library organises a Summer Reading Challenge to help prevent the “reading dip” which can occur if children don’t keep up their reading over the long holidays. We ask children to visit Darlington or Cockerton Library, borrow a book (or books) and they can enter themselves into a draw to win a range of exciting prizes including:
- Nintendo Switch
- Tickets to the Dolphin Bowl, Hippodrome Panto, Head of Steam Museum
- Fit Bit Watch
- Potter Lego Sets
- Scooters
The challenge started on Saturday 10th July and continues until 4th September. We would love to help keep your child reading during the holidays, so please help look at the link to the video above.
