Dear Parents and Carers,
It was wonderful to see all of the children return after the Easter break full of enthusiasm ready to start a brand new term. Thank you for your support in helping the children with the transition back into our routines and collaborative learning.
Curriculum and key dates
Our project question for the term is ‘What Amazing Things Can Materials Do?’ This project builds on from the Autumn term where we looked at a range of materials and their properties and now we are moving on to look at how materials can be adapted and used in different ways for different purposes.
We launched our project in a fun and exciting way by looking at lots of different white and see-through materials and asked the children to write down their ideas about what they thought it was and how it felt. We then set them the challenge of making a fake snowball using what they had learned from the exploration before.
We have created a plan which encompasses what the question means but also looks at different aspects and how materials are used. Throughout the term we will be focusing on toys, technology, bees and zoos. The key elements of these sub-projects are to ensure the children have a range of experiences and learning through history, DT and PHSE.
Forest school
We will be organising some more Forest School sessions for each class in the second half of the term. In addition to all the lovely outside activities we’ll have planned we will also be using the garlic we have been growing in our school allotment to make garlic bread over the fire! More details to follow via ParentMail.
Homework and reading at home
Children will continue to bring their book band reading books home from school and they should be reading for 10 minutes every day. 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 during assembly times. On Monday’s children will continue to swap their reading books and have their reading record checked.
Maths and project homework will continue to be set on a Friday and needs to be handed in by the following Wednesday. This will be linked to the learning that we have been doing in class.
If you have any questions about your child’s homework please send us an email.
PE
This term, PE in year 1 continues to be on a Monday and Thursday and on these days, children should attend school in their PE kit. 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 their fruit snack for playtimes however if they would like to bring in an additional healthy snack for break time they can (for example, fresh fruit, a bagel, raisins, breadsticks). 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 please can we remind the children not to bring things in from home, thank you.
We are really looking forward to a great Summer term. If at any point you have a message for your child’s teacher, please contact us through the year group email: year1@stwilfrids-hh.school and we will respond as soon as we can.
Kind regards,
Miss Hedgecock, Mrs Davies and Mrs Drew
