Welcome back, and we hope you all had a lovely half term. It has been wonderful to see the children return with such enthusiasm.

Maths

This week in maths we have been focusing on multiplication through practical activities and visual representations. We began by placing objects into equal groups and then building on this understanding by arranging them into arrays. We also represented multiplication sentences pictorially and have started to explore repeated addition as a way of working out answers. These activities have helped us to develop a stronger understanding of how multiplication works in different ways.

This approach allows us to make connections between concrete resources, pictures and written number sentences, which supports our confidence and understanding.

Next week, we will continue to develop this learning by further exploring multiplication and building on the strategies introduced this week.

Read, Write Inc.

This week in Read, Write Inc. we have been reviewing sounds we know and learning new sounds in our brand new groups! We have continued to use our sounds to read and write words, phrases and sentences. In particular, we have been looking for special friends in our words, saying the sounds and reading the word. Any practise at home reading a word by finding the special friends, saying the sounds and reading the word would be greatly appreciated!

We have also been working hard on our handwriting and writing sentences with capital letters and full stops.

Reading

Children will bring home two reading books each week: a RWI home book and a Learning Zone book (with a coloured sticker). RWI books will be changed by an adult every Monday, so please ensure all reading wallets are placed in the trays. Children should read their RWI book three times during the week to build fluency. Learning Zone books can be changed independently by the children on Tuesday–Friday mornings.

Minute Reads are also included; once completed, please ask the class teacher for a new one. Please read with your child regularly at home and sign their reading record each time. Both RWI books and Learning Zone books can be recorded in the reading record. Certificates are awarded weekly, with additional certificates for every 20 reads.

If you have any questions, please speak to your child’s class teacher.

Some children have completed the RWI coloured books, they will now have a ‘challenge book’ in their book bag, instead of a coloured RWI one. This will not be changed until they have finished it, as they are slightly longer!

PSHE

This week in PSHE, we have been learning about how our words can affect other people's feelings. We explored the difference between kind and hurtful words and discussed how the things we say can have a positive or negative impact on others.

We began by reading The Tiny Scratch poem and thinking about how hurt feelings can last longer than a scratch. We sorted words into kind and hurtful categories and talked about how different words might make someone feel.

We then learned how kind words can help people feel happy and confident. After reading Smile by Spike Milligan, we practised giving compliments to our classmates and shared positive messages. We also created smile pictures decorated with kind words.

Later in the week, we discussed what to do if someone uses hurtful words. Through role-play activities, we practised respectful responses, identified trusted adults who can help us and thought about ways to support others.

To finish our learning, we created artwork to promote kindness and friendship. We reflected on everything we had learned and shared positive messages through our creative work. This week has helped us understand the importance of choosing kind words and treating others with respect.

 

Love to Learn

This week, we would love for you to continue supporting your child by practising their sounds and reading both real and alien words at home. If your child has been given sound gaps in an envelope, please help them to practise these regularly. There is no need to record this practice.

This is all in preparation for the phonics screening next week. The children will not be told that it is a screening check; they will simply be reading with Miss Davey, who they already know and have worked with before. We hope this will help the children feel relaxed and confident.

Please continue to encourage your child to practise a little each day, as this will help them to feel well prepared for the assessment. Thank you for your continued support at home.

Science week

Next week is our annual Science Week, Hands On, Brain On, Get Curious! On Wednesday (10^th June), the children will be taking part in a variety of exciting scientific experiments and investigations.

To help make these activities as successful as possible, we would be very grateful for donations of clean plastic bottles in a range of different sizes.

If children would like to take their science creation home, they will also need to bring in a clean glass jar with a lid.

If you have any spare bottles or jars that you are able to donate, we would greatly appreciate your support. Thank you for helping us make Science Week a fun and memorable experience for the children!                                                                                           

                                

Art Competition Opportunity

The Kent Arts Conference is hosting the following art competition for schools:

Competition Topic: Everyone’s Talking About This

Please follow the below links for further information and to submit your artwork.

Art Competition Information - Schools Art Competition 2026 - Kent Arts Conference

Entry Form - Art Competition Entry Form - Kent Arts Conference

Show and Tell

A reminder that children should not be bringing any toys into school as these can get easily broken or lost. If children would like to do show and tell, please email a picture of the show and tell to class teacher(s) and we can use this when the children share with the class. Please could all parents ensure that children are not bringing toys etc in from home.

Additional Information

PE is now on a Monday afternoon please can children wear a plain white t-shirt, or our new Chilton PE t-shirts, black or navy bottoms and a plain black or blue sweatshirt.

Read at 3! This is where we would love to invite you into our classrooms and read with your child for the full 15 minutes. This will happen every Friday.

Spare clothes for year 1

We kindly ask that all Year 1 children have a spare set of clothes in school, including underwear and socks, in case of accidents or spills during the day. Having these items available helps us ensure your child stays comfortable and can quickly return to their learning.

If you have any spare underwear or clothing at home that your child has outgrown and you would be happy to donate, we would greatly appreciate it. These donations are very helpful for supporting all children when needed.

Thank you for your continued support.

Key dates

8th June – Year 1 phonics screen week 

17th – 24th June – Book Fair 

19th June – Zoe Artemedis (local Author) visiting school 

23rd June – Year 1 Come Dine with me picnic 

24th June – Class photos 

26th June – Year 1 Felderland Farm Trip

26th June – Non-school uniform day for all in return for Summer Fair donations (see Summer fair letter that will come out early term 6 for details) 

30th June – Music evening at 6pm 

2nd July 2.45– Year 1 class assembly 

3rd July – Summer Fair 3.15-5.15 

9th July – Reception, year 1 and year 2 Sports day from 9.15 on top field 

10th July – School reports sent home 

13th, 14th, 15th July– Transition days (children will spend these days with their new class teacher) 

14th July 2.45pm – Parents invited into child’s new class to meet their teacher 

If you would like to contact us, please feel free to email, alternatively we are available to catch at the end of the day or the start of the day by the door.

Team Ocean - Eloise.hall@chiltonprimary.co.uk

Team Sky - Poppy.winchcombe@chiltonprimary.co.uk and Elaine.howard@chiltonprimary.co.uk ( On a Wednesday).

Have a lovely half term and we will see you all on Monday 1^st June!

Miss Hall, Mrs Winchcombe and Mrs Howard