Newsletter 4 Summer Term 2

Many of our families at home are still embracing and enjoying home-learning, but we're getting reports that families and children are increasingly finding it hard to remain motivated and focused as the weeks go on. If your child isn't enjoying the home learning on offer, then you may like to look at the lessons offered by The Oak National Academy This site contains daily videoed lessons which may suit your children better. 

As ever, if you are unhappy or struggling at home, please do get in touch and we will do our utmost to help and advise to make the situation easier for you and your children. With the social distancing being relaxed from 6th July, we may have the capacity to offer a few more children places at school. However, as we are currently running groups in all of our classrooms and all of our available staff are already in 'bubbles,' it is highly unlikely that we will be able to offer regular days for any more year groups. Once in a bubble, children and staff need to remain within it, so we are very limited in terms of opening more widely to other groups. Please be assured that we are still working hard to explore options for transition for all pupils to their new classes and teachers. More information on this will follow next week. 

Online Singing lessons

Wren music have very kindly made three online singing sessions available to us. There are links to worksheets with the videos. We'd love you to have a go at these, to let us know how you get on and if you'd like some more. Good luck!
 Roll the Old Chariot Along https://youtu.be/Qaju27G8xkY
Freedom Land https://youtu.be/PfhT4m3JPno
The Exmoor Ram https://youtu.be/w7-oHRPyCT4

School Gateway
As the end of the year draws near, please ensure that all outstanding balances on School Gateway are paid. If you are awaiting a refund for a cancelled trip, this will be refunded directly to the original method of payment. 

Some highlights from the week

Click the links to find out more about what's been happening at school and at home this week: 
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https://www.southtawton.co.uk/year-3/marthas-marvellous-tongue-twister
https://www.southtawton.co.uk/year-2/group-7-pirates
https://www.southtawton.co.uk/year-1/group-3-pirate-antics-arrrrrrrrrrrrr
https://www.southtawton.co.uk/year-r/this-week-with-year-r

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More lovely online resources from the library service
Discovering Children's Books is a printable activity pack from the British Library. It includes cut-out-and-keep masks, fairy tale mashups, foldable boats, comic strips and imaginary maps and is aimed at children without access to screens.           https://www.bl.uk/childrens-books/activities/activity-pack

Eoin McLaughlin and Polly Dunbar have teamed up to write a sequel to The Hug - this time with physical distancing! A simple animation of the book is available here.  This is the link

The CLPE Power of pictures site has a wonderful selection of videos exploring the work of some popular contemporary picture books authors and illustrators: Benjii Davies, Alexis Deacon, Mini Grey, Chris Haughton, Tim Hopgood, Emily Hughes, David Lucas, Tom Mclaughlin, Viviane Schwarz, Joe Todd-Stanton and Ed Vere. This is the link

Pippa Goodhart reads her picture book Fair Shares, illustrated by Anna Doherty and published by Tiny Owl. This is the link There is a huge selection of other picture book titles available read by authors, teachers and librarians.
 
The Little Angel Theatre Company have made another of their fantastic puppet plays based on Chris Haughton’s picture book Don’t Worry, Little Crab. This is the link
 
Publishers Nosy Crow are offering a free picture book of the day to see and read along to e.g. Axel Scheffler’s Pip and Posy: The Super Scooter. This is the link
 
The Rainbow fish by Marcus Pfister is read by actor Ernest Borgnine with simple animations, music and the text on screen. This is just one of the stories available on Storyline Online put together by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.   This is the link
 
And if you are needing inspiration for a wish list The English Association have announced the shortlist for their 4 – 11 picture book award This is the link

Need a reason to keep writing? Try this competition:

Win an Apple iPad Mini! The International Agatha Christie Festival invites children and young people between 8 and 18 years of age who live or go to school or college in Devon, to enter a competition to find the county’s most promising young writers.   https://www.iacf-uk.org/home/iacf-2020-mystery-short-story-competition/

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