English       

Our focus texts will be Paddington Bear Stories, Vlad and The Great Fire of London, Toby and the Great Fire of London, Lila and the Secret of Rain and Meerkat Mail. Through these texts we will write for different purposes including fictional personal experiences and fictional narratives. We will develop our ideas for character descriptions, settings and story retelling.

When reading, we will develop our comprehension of a range of texts.

In grammar lessons, our focus will be adjectives, verbs, adverbs and sentence structure including the use of conjunctions to join simple sentences. 

Maths          

We will be using the Maths No Problem scheme to support our mathematical learning. We will be learning about numbers to 100 including place value, comparing numbers, number bonds and number patterns. We will explore simple addition and subtraction methods where we introduce renaming 10s.  

Science        

We will be studying two science topics this term. In Everyday Materials we will explore the different properties of a variety of materials and carry out an investigation to decide the suitability of these materials for a given purpose. In Plants we will learn about the conditions required for planting and growing bulbs and naming different parts of a plant.

Geography

We will be learning about life in Kenya and comparing this to life in Eltham.  

History       

We will be learning about The Great Fire of London and finding out what life was like before the fire. We will explore the similarities and differences between housing then and now. We will look at the long-term impact of the fire and how it changed the face of London.

Art & Design                

We will be exploring the formal elements of art: pattern, texture and tone; we will create printed patterns using everyday objects; take rubbings using different media and learn how to make three-dimensional drawings.

Music              

In Music this term, we will be learning about pitch and notation using tuned percussion. We will focus on reading music and learning songs for our school's Harvest Festival in the first half-term. In the second half-term, we will focus on performance skills, working on our Christmas production.

Computing

We will look at information technology at school and beyond, in settings such as shops, hospitals, and libraries. We will investigate how information technology improves our world, and learn about using information technology responsibly.

Design Technology (DT)                  

We will be designing and creating Ferris wheels, and considering how the different components fit together so that the wheels rotate and the structures stand freely. We will select appropriate materials and develop cutting and joining skills.

Physical Education (PE)                 

In gymnastics, we will learn to explore and develop basic actions on the floor and apparatus. We will develop gymnastic skills of jumping, rolling, balancing and travelling individually and in combination to create short sequences and movement phrases. We will learn to work safely with and around others and whilst using apparatus.

Religious Education (RE)              

In Hinduism, we will be learning the importance of families and why honesty and truthfulness are important. We will also be learning where Hindus pray.

In Celebrations, we will explore different Christian and Hindu celebrations and festivals. We will learn the meanings of the festivals for believers and how festivals are celebrated around the world.

Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE) / Relationships & Sex Education (RSE)  

Our topics this term are: Families and Friendships where we will explore how to be a good friend; Safe Relationships where we will discuss how to manage secrets and resist pressure; and Respecting Ourselves and Others where we will recognise things we have in common and our differences.  

• Children need to read ​every day.  This could include an adult reading to them and also the child reading to the adult. We expect to see three comments a week in the child's reading record book. Parents need to check and sign the record book at least once a week. Reading records will be collected in every Monday.
• Your child needs to bring in a labelled water bottle every day.
• The weather is often cold at this time of year and the children will go out to play if there is light rain. It is important that your child has a waterproof coat, gloves, hat and a scarf.
• Adelaide Class will have PE on Tuesday and Sydney Class will have PE on Thursday.  Their PE kit should stay in school in a named draw-string bag. Please make sure your child has an outdoor PE kit consisting of jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt.
• Please ensure all items of clothing are clearly named.
• We are a Healthy School. Please do not put sweets or chocolate bars in your child’s packed lunch. Please do not send in sweets or other treats when it is your child’s birthday. If you want to celebrate your child’s birthday with their classmates, you could buy the class a book, send in a healthy snack such as boxes of raisins or buy stationery such as a pencil, but due to the impact on the environment, we ask you not to send in plastic toys.
• If your child will be absent from school, please contact the school office. You can call 020 8850 5486 and leave a message detailing why your child is absent, send a message via ParentMail or email office@gordon.greenwich.sch.uk . If your child has vomited or had diarrhoea they can return once they are feeling better. They do not need to be clear of symptoms for 48 hours. Please try to book medical appointments outside the school day and note that absence due to family holidays will not be authorised.
• Donations of boxes of tissues would be very welcomed – thank you!
• If you have any questions or wish to raise a concern, please contact the class teacher in the first instance. Please use the email addresses above.

Please note the following events and add them to your diary:

• Wednesday 13th September - Safer Neighbourhood Meeting -6:30pm / Lower Hall 
• 25^th to 29th September - Cycle to School Week
• Tuesday 26th September - Nasal flu vaccinations
• Thursday 28th September - FoG Annual General Meeting – 7pm / Lower Hall
• Friday 29th September - Book Fair (until 4^th October) 
• Monday 9th October - Open Evening – 3:30pm to 7pm
• Tuesday 10th October - Harvest Festival (Years 1, 2 & 3) - 2pm / Sports Hall
• Wednesday 11th October - Harvest Festival (Year 1, 2 & 3) - 9:30am / Sports Hall
• Wednesday 11th October - Open Evening - 3:30pm to 6pm
• Friday 13th October - Inset Day – school closed to pupils
• Thursday 19th October - Cultural Evening – 5pm to 6:30pm / Sports Hall
• 23^rd to 27th October - Half Term Break
• Friday 3rd November - FoG Quiz Night - 7pm / Sports Hall
• Friday 8th December - Children's Christmas disco
• Thursday 14th December - Nativity (Years 1 & 2) - 2pm / Sports Hall
• Friday 15th December - Nativity (Years 1 & 2) - 9:30am / Sports Hall
• Thursday 21st December - last day of the Autumn Term