Welcome to Dosbarth Glas !   Croeso !

My name is Mrs Townley and I am really looking forward to seeing you all back in school on Wednesday and welcoming you to Dosbarth Glas.

Our Learning Assistants are Mrs Holley ( Monday- Thursday) and Mrs Randall ( Friday ) . Mrs Randall also has lots of exciting things planned outdoors for you to explore and you will see lots of Mrs Oaten in our new Busy Room. Miss Macdonald will be here on PPA days and Miss Osborne will be giving some of you extra help with fun interventions to support your learning.

Our P.E. day is a Monday so please wear kit to school ready for lots of fun and healthy exercise.

Monster Phonics

Here at Glan Yr Afon we are using Monster Phonics to develop our skills for both reading and writing. We will meet all of the new monster characters and they will help us with their special sounds.

The Monster characters have a special song that will help us to recognise them. It's really fun. We have included some links so that they can explain who they are and how they work.

https://monsterphonics.com/free-resources/free-videos/the-monster-song

Reading

You will have a reading book in a book bag to take home every Thursday. Please return the bag by the following Tuesday so we have time to change the books. Also in the bag will be your child's personal log-in for Giglets which is an online reading scheme. Your child will have books allocated to them which they can read or listen to. Reading is very important and if you can read for 5 - 10 minutes at home every day it will really help you to improve your reading skills.

Autumn 1

Our first topic this year is Dyma Fi which means this is me in Welsh. 

We will be finding out all about ourselves and the things that help us to stay healthy. We will be finding out about food and what makes a balanced diet. We will be talking about food groups and what food belongs in each group.

Through a range of fiction and non fiction books we will explore feelings and emotions.

There will be lots of opportunities to express ourselves creatively through pictures and making music.

Summer 1

Our topic this term is Marvellous Materials

This term we are going to be Scientists. We will be finding out about different materials including wood, glass, metal, fabric and plastic. We will be finding out about the properties of these materials and why they are used to make different things. We will be investigating floating and sinking and making boats. 

We are going to read lots of stories including Jack and the Beanstalk. We will be asking Jack and the Giant lots of questions. 

Our class assembly is on Thursday 25th April and you are all invited to join us at 9.10am. There will be an activity for parents/ carers to complete with their children after assembly if you would like to stay. 

Spring 2

Our topic this term is Cymru a Fi!

This means Wales and Me!

We will be learning all about Wales and the other countries in the United Kingdom.

We will be celebrating Saint David's Day this term and all children will be taking part in our school celebrations which will take place on Friday 1st March.

We are expecting a visit from a dragon which will be very exciting!

Spring 1 

Our topic this term is Light and Dark.

We will be finding out about different light sources and the difference between natural and artificial light.

We will  be finding out about nocturnal animals like hedgehogs and owls .

We will be reading The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson. We will find out why Plop was scared of the dark and try to help him by making our own lights.

Autumn 2

Our topic this term is Through the Keyhole

We will be investigating our local area and looking at lots of maps and old photographs of Llanrumney. 

We will be going to Saint Fagans on Tuesday the 5th of December to  look at the old houses there. We will be comparing our own homes with houses in the past. We will be talking about similarities and differences between the two.

We will be reading the story of Goldilocks and writing our own versions of the story. We will also be writing letters, poems and making posters in the next few weeks.

We are very excited to be starting our new phonics programme which is called Monster Phonics. There are lots of new characters to meet and I am sure your children will be telling you lots about it at home.

Our topic this term is 

There is Only One Me!

We are going to be reading lots of lovely stories like

You be You by Linda Krantz

Supertato by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet

Germs are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick

We will be writing our own lists of fruit to make yummy fruit salad, inventing our own Supertato stories, writing instructions how to wash our hands and lots more.

We are going to be doing lots of learning outside the classroom as well. We are going to use natural materials to make faces, go on lots of scavenger hunts and make traps to catch the evil pea. 

As you can probably tell Dosbarth Glas is a very busy place!

Book Bags

All children should have been given a Book Bag to bring home. In the bag was a book, Giglets log in information, a list of key words and a letter explaining how our systm works. There is not a specific day for children to change books. Children can change them whenever they are ready. Just send the bag back and we will change the book.

Just reading with your child for 5-10 minutes a day will make a massive difference.