Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome back! We hope you had a fantastic holiday. It is wonderful to see the children return to school happy and full of enthusiasm. We are writing to share some information about life in year 1.
Our two classes are Robins class with our teachers Mrs Davies and Mrs Chilton and Wrens class with Miss Lymer. Our teaching assistants are Mrs Greenland and Mrs Floyer, and Mrs Perrett will be supporting our learning in the afternoons.
Curriculum and key dates
The Autumn term will begin by stepping into a world of traditional tales, using our senses to find clues to help us retell our favourite stories. The classroom environment will enable us to do this through role play, small world, modelling and much more. All of these experiences will support us to create our own versions of familiar stories. In science the children will discover more about the materials used to build the homes that they live in and how these have changed over time. We would be delighted to have some visitors to give an insight into how homes looked and were constructed in the past to present day. During our R.E. lessons we will be learning about the story of ‘Creation’, moving onto ‘Incarnation’ later on in the term.
Forest School sessions for year 1 are on a Wednesday and will be run across the Autumn and Spring terms. Further details will be sent in a separate letter.
We will be having an Open Classroom on Wednesday 12 September where you will be able to meet the teacher and see your child’s new classroom. Later on in the term, we will be going on a walk within the local area to support our history and geography learning.
KS1 - Special assembly - This is on a Friday from 9.00 – 9.20am. The class teacher will send you an invitation when it is your child’s turn. Each week a different class will lead the assembly and 6 children will sit at the front. Every child will have a chance to share their work, giving an opportunity to celebrate achievements and find out about the exciting learning that has been going on in each classroom. Parents, siblings and extended family are invited. We try to invite the siblings within the school as well.
Homework and reading at home
Children will bring reading books home from school and they should be reading for 10 minutes every day. Please fill in their home school book each time you read at home, filling in the title and page numbers. If you would like to write a brief comment about how your child got on that is always helpful. The children will again be taking part in the reading challenge and we will send more information about this shortly.
Maths homework is linked to the learning that we have been doing in class. Spellings will be linked to the year 1 curriculum and will be tested in the back of their homework books, so that you can see how your child is progressing. The homework will be sent home on a Thursday and books are to be returned the following Tuesday.
If you have any questions about your child’s homework please come and ask.
Uniform
Please ensure your child has a waterproof coat in school every day. All clothing, including PE kit, should be labelled with your child’s full name. Lost property is located in the first aid area, near the infant toilets.
PE
PE in year 1 will be on a Monday and a Tuesday. Please can your child have their PE kit in school every day. PE kits will be sent home to be washed on the last day of each half term. If there is any reason why your child cannot participate in a PE session, please let the class teacher know through the Home/School contact book. PE is only cancelled in the event of heavy rain, icy or extremely cold conditions. Therefore, a pair of jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt (ideally navy) are useful. If your child does not have an alternative sweatshirt, they will have the option of wearing their school one. Children with pierced ears must be able to remove their own earrings or cover these with tape provided from home.
Water bottles and snacks
Please remember to bring in a named water bottle every day. Children will be provided with their fruit snack for playtimes.
If at any point you have a message for your child’s teacher, please come and speak to us, alternatively write it in their home/school diary as they are checked at the start of each day. We are looking forward to working with you and your children.
Please do contact us if you have any questions.
Best Wishes
Mrs R Davies, Mrs J Chilton and Miss A Lymer