Robins and Owls Class information evening. Welcome to Year 1 Robins and Owls Class information evening.

Who are we? Teachers: Mrs Ficuciello – Owls Mrs Mulligan and Mrs Pekszyc– Robins Teaching Assistants; Mrs Platt, Mrs Frost, Mrs Hunt and Mrs Richards. During our planning and preparation time, Mrs Davis and Mrs New will both teach a session on Philosophy4Children (P4C), PSHE and RE.

Timetable - Our timetable is not rigid but serves as a guide line for each day. During the day we have a mixture of whole class sessions, group learning; independently or with an adult as well as ‘busy learning’ – independent learning tasks. The duration of adult led tasks will increase during the year.

Every day - Each day consists of a Maths session, a Phonic session and a Reading session, with follow up teacher led tasks. There are a range of additional activities, some of which are ‘must’ jobs for the children to complete. Support staff will also lead some activities and at other times they will run small intervention groups to support additional learning.

Everyone Reading In Class (ERIC) - Our sessions are implemented daily and the children are heard by an adult twice a week. Sessions initially consist of 1:1 reading in order to indicate the child’s appropriate ‘level’ of reading as well as group reading with peers of similar ability. During these sessions, children might be asked to complete additional Literacy tasks such as group writing, Phonic games or even listening to Audio stories.

Reading at home - Sharing stories is so important to a child’s development, therefore where you can, please continue sharing books at home with your child. Reading record books will be given out this week. They are a communication between Home and school and are a log of what the children have read. The children will be guided to select a book to take home daily. In addition, the children will visit the school Library once a week; on Mondays, and will be able to bring home a book of their choice, to share with you at home.

Writing - All of our learning incorporates writing. Children are encouraged to apply their phonetic knowledge to support this, as well as referring to the THRASS chart. Knowledge of key words is important and supports children's writing. Outcomes are differentiated; must, should, could. Children are supported to think about their letter formation; starting in print and moving to pre-cursive and joined towards the end of the year.

Maths - Sessions are taught whole class and on a daily basis. Practical activities are incorporated to allow hands on experiences, as well as applying their mathematical knowledge through games and the use of the IWB. Children record their learning in books weekly and also on WOWO boards during whole class inputs. Numerical formation is just as important as letters!

Maths at home - Measuring, patterns, money, time, counting – Maths is all around us! Problem solving and reasoning; lots of open ended questions to allow children to explain their thought processes and reasoning.

Other areas - Flitwick Lower School deliver a topic based curriculum. Sessions are taught whole class through fun and engaging learning opportunities, which are meaningful to the child. Learning through play based activities supports children’s development in a range of areas and these are available throughout the week.

PE - Children participate in PE on Tuesday and Wednesday, plus occasional other sessions. No jewellery should be worn or hard headbands. Long hair must be tied up. Earrings removed at home prior to the day. Weather depending, shorts, t-shirt and trainers are acceptable and in colder months jogging bottoms and a jumper. If any children need specific clothing for an event this will be specified in advance.

Please name everything! We have lots of black jumpers! Lots of PE kits! Lots of clothes which look the same as yours!

Learning at home - This will normally come home weekly on a Friday. There will be various sections to complete. There will be regular Maths and Phonics and other sections will be based on our Topics and ongoing learning. The return date for the ‘Learning at home challenge’ will be written on the sheet. There is no expectation on presentation or what should be produced so long as the children enjoy completing it with you.

Odds and ends - Only fruit or vegetables are expected for snack at break time. Children can bring in bottles with water only, which they have access to throughout the day. Any letters or funds for the office should be in a named envelope with the child’s class. Please encourage independence; dressing and undressing, taking care of own possessions. Expectations; manners and living the school values. The day begins at 8.50am and ends at 3.30pm. Working in partnership is so important to us, therefore if you would like to share any of your child’s achievements outside of school, Celebration Assembly is on Fridays.

School/home partnerships- Parent-teacher consultation evenings. Open days. Reading record book. Written report. Learning at home. Newsletter. Group call. Please make sure the office or a member of staff have your most recent contact details. We need this in case of an emergency! If you need to talk at other times, pop in after we have dismissed the children at 3.30pm. Send a note or phone the office to arrange a time to chat We will see you as soon as we can! 8.50am is not always the best time! (Use a post it note).

Year 1 is fun! Come & See! Work with the children We welcome volunteers to support the children's day. If you are available at all, please state your availability on the sign up sheet so that we can refer to this during future planning. Work with the children Supervise art or DT activities Listen to readers Help with cooking Join us for trips or walks Prepare resources Help with displays Set up a role play area Share your special talents!

Thank you – We look forward to supporting your child with their learning and development in Year One.