Welcome to all the wonderful children in 1BH. Your class teachers are Ms Baxter and Mrs Hanstock and your fantastic learning support assistant is Miss Gargan. We are all so excited to be working with every one of you. We are committed to giving you all an amazing time in Year 1, and as well as working hard, we will be having lots of fun. 😊

Below you will find lots of information about our class. This will include information on the Year 1 curriculum, our school schemes, reading book days, PE days, homework menu and water bottles. We will update the website regularly and notify you of any important dates for your diary. 

Anything that you wish to share or talk about, please message us on Class Dojo. We endeavour to regularly check all messages and we will reply as soon as we can. We are here for your children, and we will always listen.

Phonics

Phonics is taught daily in Year 1. Phonics is a method for teaching reading, where your child is taught to read letters or groups of letters by saying the sounds that they represent. Your child can then start to read words by blending the sounds together to make a word.

Our school follows the Read Write Inc (RWI) approach to teaching early reading and spelling. This is a structured and systematic approach, that is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers, and willing writers. It is vital that your child is encouraged to pronounce phonemes (sounds) correctly.

For further information on RWI please visit the following website: -

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/ 

Book Bags

 Reading books will be changed regularly. Please send your child's book bag to school with them every day. 

In support of our approach to teaching reading, your child will take home a Read, Write Inc phonics book.  Your child will be reading the book during the RWI lessons, and we ask that you reinforce your child’s learning by revisiting the book.

Your child will also take home a book for you to read together for pleasure. We encourage that you ask your child questions about their book and that you encourage your child to ask their own questions. It is important to develop comprehension skills, as it supports your child with reading and writing. We encourage you to visit our amazing local library to expand your child’s knowledge and love of books.

EBooks will also be allocated regularly on Oxford Owl. Your child's log in details is the same as last year. If you are unsure about your child’s log in details, then could you please message us on Class Dojo.

PE

Our PE day this year is Thursday. Please ensure that your child comes to school in their PE kit on Thursdays.  No PE kits are to be brought into school.

‘The school PE kit is available from Lazer School Wear, St Mary’s Road in Garston.  This is a red t-shirt with the school badge and school blue shorts.  However, your child can also wear a plain red t-shirt and dark blue shorts that are available from most supermarkets.  The children can wear any training shoes for PE.  

This is part of our school uniform and must be worn for PE lessons. 

Football kits and other sportswear will not be allowed.’

Water Bottles

 There are studies to say, that drinking water and being well hydrated, improves the mood, memory, and attention in children. We would ask that you send in a water bottle for your child each day. We request that your child brings in water only and not juice or fizzy drinks. The bottle needs to have your child’s name on. The children will have access to their water throughout the day.

Homework Menu

Every half term, a homework menu will be given out with a selection of tasks to be completed, across all areas of the curriculum. It is your choice as to how many you complete; however, you must complete at least one piece and hand it in to school by the end of the half term. Your child’s completed work will be celebrated. 

Autumn 1

Our first half term in 1BH will be  exciting as we will be getting to know our new teachers, areas of the classroom and how we learn in year 1.

Our main priority is to ensure that our children feel happy, confident, safe and secure in school. The children will have lots of opportunity to talk, play and express their feelings.

This term our topic is toys. We will be reading some fantastic fiction, non-fiction and poetry books about toys. We will predict what will happen, answer questions and compare them to other books. 

RE: Our first topic is Families. The children will talk about their family and the love and care shown within a family. They will understand that God loves and cares for every family.

English: We will be continuing with our Read, Write Inc lessons. Books linked to the sounds we have learned will be assigned on Oxford Owl.

Whole Class Reading: Our whole class reading lessons will mainly be based on books about toys. In these lessons, the children will be taught and will use new, adventurous vocabulary. They will be encouraged to think about the text and use the text to help them answer questions.

Maths: We will be learning about the different ways we can make numbers, use number lines and have even practice how to spell numbers to 10!

PE: The children will be given opportunities to learn and practise a variety of skills, including moving and stopping safely, throwing, catching and kicking.

PSHE: The children will explore their feelings and emotions. They will realise that there are a range of emotions and different ways and how to recognise them. The children will also talk about why the are specials and who is special to them.

We will also include some Philosophy for Children  (P4C) lessons. The children will have the opportunity to give their thoughts and opinions on certain topics as well as listen to and respect the opinions of others.

RSE:  The children will learn to recognise signs that they are loved by their family.

Science: In science lessons, we will be naming and describing materials as well as looking at the properties of the materials. We will look at lots of toys and the materials they are made from.

Computing: The children will learn about coding, using Code Studio.

Music: The children will learn a new song, Hey You! Hey You! is written in an Old-School Hip Hop style for children to learn about the differences between pulse, rhythm and pitch and to learn how to rap and enjoy it in its original form. As well as learning to sing, play, improvise and compose with this song, children will listen and appraise other Old-School Hip Hop tunes

Art: We will be studying the work of artist, Kadinsky.  The children will create a self portrait based upon his style.

History: History lessons will involve us looking at how toys have changed over time. It would help your child if they could talk to you or another family member about toys or games you used to play.

DT: Towards the end of the term, we will make a moving toy car in DT. We will learn about the axle, axle holder and the chassis and the part they play in making a vehicle move.

Philosophy For Children (P4C):During this term and throughout the year, your child will have the opportunity to give their thoughts on various topics. During the sessions we will be encouraging the children to understand, that as well as their opinion being valued, it is also important to respect the throughs and opinions of others. The sessions are a time for discussion and debate and develop the children’s speaking and listening skills

We love Year 1, welcome to our class!

From Ms Baxter, Mrs Hanstock and Miss Gargan 😊