Welcome Letter
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back! It has been wonderful to see the children return to school happy and full of enthusiasm we are delighted to have all of them back in their new classrooms. We are writing to share some information about life in Year 1.
Our two classes are Wrens with Miss Hedgecock and Robins with Miss Pritchard. Our teaching assistants are Mrs Downs (Wrens) and Mrs Evans and Mrs Young (Robins).
Although things are slightly different we will be keeping the Early Years ethos going throughout the first term where the children will have time to lead their learning in different areas of the classroom and outside. Please continue to discuss with them the importance of washing their hands throughout the day and to try not to touch each other unnecessarily. We will be supporting the children in a positive way to help them keep safe at school.
Curriculum
Being new to the year group, we are both excited to learn alongside the children this year. Our BIG question this term is ‘Who Should Look After Our World?’ We will encourage the children’s curiosities about their local environment and beyond. The children’s ideas and questions will inform our learning. The classroom environment will cater for children’s different learning styles through activities such as role play, small world, art, construction and problem solving. In science and DT the children will discover more about the properties of materials and how they are used and re-used in the real world. We will be using our writing skills to help encourage people to recycle. Our question in R.E. links really well to our BIG question. We will be asking the children ‘Who Made Our World?’ The children will learn about Creation and be able to use this knowledge to think carefully about looking after the world that God created.
We will be using the outside learning environments throughout each day so please could you ensure that your child has a pair of named wellies to be left in school all term and always bring a named waterproof coat into school each day even when the sun is shining.
Forest School
We will be starting Forest School sessions later in the term. On these days the children will be asked to wear their own ‘forest school clothes’ for the day. You will receive more information about this at a later date.
Homework and Reading at home
This term, we will be changing reading books on a Monday. We ask that the children bring the books they have read in on this day with their reading record for us to see how they have been doing over the past week. We will then send home 2-3 new books for the week ahead. Please remember how important reading at home is. We recommend the equivalent of 10 minutes a day but this could be phonics games and activities that are based on reading skills. Please fill in their Reading Record 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 where they will be earning certificates for reading 20, 50, 100 times and beyond and these will be awarded to the children at school.
Whilst we are getting used to new routines, the children will be asked to just concentrate on their reading at home. From the week beginning the 21st September onwards, the children will start receiving homework. Further details about this will follow.
PE
This term, we will be teaching PE in Year 1 on Mondays and Thursdays. Please can children come into school wearing their PE kits on these days. If there is any reason why your child cannot participate in a PE session, please let the class teacher know via the year group email address. 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. Long hair should also be tied back.
Water bottles and Snacks
Please remember to bring in a named water bottle every day. Children will be provided with fruit snack for playtimes however if they would like to bring in an additional healthy snack for break time they can (e.g. fresh fruit, dry crackers or breadsticks, a bagel, raisins). Please ensure any snacks are both nut and egg free.
Uniform
Please ensure your child has a waterproof coat in school every day as children will only stay inside at playtimes if it is raining heavily. All clothing, including PE kit, should be clearly labelled with your child’s name. In addition to this your child only needs their water bottle and Bookbag. We are trying to reduce the cross contamination of things travelling from home to school and back again so we ask please can backpacks be left at home wherever possible.
We are really looking forward to a great Autumn term. If at any point you need to speak to either of us about any queries or concerns, please contact us through the year group email: year1@stwilfrids-hh.school and we will reply or respond by phone as soon as we can.
Best Wishes
Miss L Hedgecock and Miss H Pritchard