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Dear Parents,

I hope you had a fantastic Christmas! This term we will be learning about Evolution and Inheritance through our topic of ‘Survival of the Fittest?’, focussing on habitats, famous scientists and animals around the world. Our PE days are Fridays, but please ensure your child’s kit is always in school; as the timetable can sometimes change – trainers and coats every day are essential.

Reading	Please read with your child regularly. Their books and book bags will need to be in every day.  You may like to add a positive or helpful comment in their reading diary, but please acknowledge the fact that the book has been read by signing and dating in the comments space. A member of staff will be checking reading records on Fridays and children are expected to have read at least 3 times a week with an adult. Adults at school will not write in the books as we have our own records. Don’t forget, children can earn raffle tickets for weekly reading! Year 6 also have a CGP Reading Activity Book – this is theirs to keep so please can they use it to work through and practice their reading skills.
Spellings	Spelling will be tested each week on a Thursday morning.
Times Tables	Please ensure that children are using Maths Rockstars at home to practise their times tables.
Maths	Y5 Maths homework will be on My Maths. Please ensure you support your children to complete this. This is given out weekly and due in on Fridays. Year 6 have Grammar (due every other Friday) and Maths Arithmetic books they are using for homework.

Helping to enrich our topics

It is always great to have items or visitors that support our topic, so if anyone has any knowledge or items that may help us with any of the work we are doing this term, we would love to see and hear about them.

Parent Readers

We are always looking for extra parent helpers to hear readers, please let me know if you are available, even if it’s a one off!

Reminders

Please make sure your child brings in a water bottle each day with fresh water; ensure all jumpers are labelled and bring a coat for any wet weather.

Many thanks, and I hope you have a great term!

Miss Purcell

Questions you could ask your child about their learning this term

• What does ‘Evolution’ mean?
• What does ‘Inheritance’ mean?
• Can you give an example of how an animal is adapted to survive?

Websites to Explore

• www.bbc.com/bitesize/topics/zvhhvcw
• www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-adaptation-and-evolution

Learning Map