Learning at Gordon Primary School is broad with a wide range of engaging experiences that reinforce key concepts in every subject. It is balanced so that children receive a full and rich curriculum containing all subjects, and implemented well so that children remember in the long term the information and skills they have been taught. We place priority on the children’s personal, social and emotional development because we know this is key to a successful school career and life in general. Our curriculum is designed to engage and meet the needs of all children and enables them to achieve success in all subjects. 

This term we will be working on the following topics:

English      

Our focus texts will Stone Age Boy, Ocean meets Sky, Kapok Tree and The Pirates Next Door. While exploring these texts we will learn to extend our sentences using a wide variety of conjunctions. We will create narratives using a range of tenses. We will create characters, settings and plots using descriptive devices efficiently, such as expanded noun phases and fronted adverbials.

When assessing the effectiveness of our writing, we will suggest improvements for spelling and punctuation as well as checking the correct use of grammar. We will also propose changes to our vocabulary to make our writing more interesting and engaging.

We will have Guided Reading lessons three times a week and Reading For Pleasure every day. When reading we will be discussing new vocabulary, use stem sentences to explain our understanding of a text, and we will justify our answers, opinions and arguments. Further to this, we will discuss our understanding by predicting what might happen next from details stated and implied. We will also draw inferences and justify them using accurate evidence from the text.

Maths        

We will be using the Maths No Problem mastery scheme to support our mathematical learning.

We will be learning about place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. We will apply this knowledge to solving word problems, using bar modelling as a key strategy.

We will also be working on practising and learning our 2, 5, 10, 3, 4 and 8 times tables.

Science       

We will be studying the science topic ‘Rocks and Soils’ this term. We will be grouping and comparing rocks according to appearance and texture, learning how rocks are formed, discussing what rocks are used for and how weathering can change rocks over time and planning, carrying out, recording and making conclusions from an investigation into durability. In the second half-term, we will be studying Plants and learning about how plants are formed and labelling the reproductive parts of a plant.

History        

In History, we will look at the Stone Age. We will learn about what life was like in Palaeolithic Britain, what was similar and what was different about the Mesolithic period and the Palaeolithic period and know how and why Neolithic people built huge monuments. We will also be learning about the changes that occurred through the Stone Age to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

Art & Design             

In our Art lessons we will be reflecting upon the purpose of cave art paintings and introducing a sense of proportion when drawing an animal, scaling up drawings in charcoal, to create tones and textures and experimenting with naturally materials to make paint and exploring the colours and effects that can be created.

Music       

In Music this term, we will be working on notation and duration, and continuing with recorders. There will be a focus on ensemble playing and music reading. We will be singing and working towards our school's Harvest Festival before we move onto our Christmas performance.

Recorders need to be brought into school every Wednesday or they can be left in school for these sessions.

Computing

This term we will be learning about networks and computer systems. We will be explaining that digital devices accept inputs, explaining that digital devices produce outputs and following a process.

Design Technology (DT)            

In our DT topic this term we will be discussing that fruits and vegetables grow in different countries based on their climates. We will be learning that ‘seasonal’ fruits and vegetables are those that grow in a given season and taste best then, and that eating seasonal fruit and vegetables has a positive effect on the environment. We will be designing our own tart recipe using seasonal ingredients, understand the basic rules of food hygiene and safety and follow the instructions within a recipe.

Physical Education (PE)      

We will be having tennis lessons with a professional coach where we will learn ball and racket control skills. We will play as a team and will learn how to be competitive in a healthy manner. We will also learn how to play basketball and develop game strategies.

French       

We will be learning key vocabulary and phrases through the following topics: Bonjour and En Classe.        

Religious Education (RE)             

In our lessons we will be learning about creation stories from a number of religions and learning about the importance of worship in different religions.

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

Our topics this term are: Families and Friendships, Safe Relationships and Respecting Ourselves and Others.

We will discuss what makes a family and the features of family life. We will discuss personal boundaries, safely responding to others and the impact of hurtful behaviour. We will be recognising respectful behaviour, the importance of self-respect, courtesy and being polite.

• Your child should read to an adult for 15 minutes three times a week and independently every day. It is also important that an adult reads to your child regularly. Please talk to your child about the book and check their understanding by asking questions about events and the characters’ actions. Please also explain new or unfamiliar vocabulary. Their book bag should come into school every day.
• Your child will have PE on Tuesday and 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.
• Your child needs to bring in a 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.
• 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. 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.
• 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
• Tuesday 5th December - Christmas performance - 2pm / Sports Hall
• Wednesday 6th December - Christmas performance - 9:30am / Sports Hall
• Friday 8th December - Children's Christmas disco
• Thursday 21st December - last day of the Autumn Term