Meet the Teacher Year 1

Year 1 Newsletter Mrs Kent

Daily Routine Handwriting – children are now being taught to form ‘Cursive’ Letters (see handout). All letters begin on the line and should be formed using the correct formation. Maths / English – children have daily lessons involving short adult input with whole class followed by a range of adult led and independent activities. Phonics – children continue to have daily phonics sessions. Please keep practising at home. Topic – Each half term we will have a new topic. Our topics will incorporate science, geography, history, art & DT.

Weekly Activities Spelling Lesson – every Thursday morning with Mrs Carr. Spellings will be taken from the spelling patterns children have been practising during the lesson. PSHCE & Music – These will be taught by Mrs Carr on Wednesday afternoons. French – children have a short French lesson each week. Currently focusing on greetings. P.E. – children have two P.E. lessons each week. Monday afternoons and Wednesday afternoons.

Supporting Learning at Home Homework - given out on a Friday and should be returned completed on or before Wednesday of the following week. Activities should take around 30 minutes. Spellings - given on a Thursday and should be practised regularly. Spelling books should be returned on a Wednesday morning so that they can be checked. Please see the back of your child’s book to see how they have done. New spellings will be given each week. Reading – In order for children to make the greatest progress with their reading they need to read regularly at home. Ideally everyday for 10 minutes. Please let us know how they are getting on by recording their reading in their reading records.

Behaviour and Rewards Expectations / Class Rules Children are polite and listen to others during group work and whole class activities. Children behave kindly to others and don’t behave in a manner which could hurt others. Children follow school routines and instructions given by adults in school. Children move around school quietly and sensibly and take care of their possessions and the possessions of others. Children concentrate on their learning and try their best.

Behaviour and Rewards Rewards / sanctions Children who are following these expectations are rewarded through the use of stickers, house points and using the behaviour chart in the classroom e.g. name moving to the rainbow. Children whose names are on the rainbow at the end of the day for 3 or more days each week will receive ‘Golden Time’. Children not following class rules will be given a reminder of how they should be behaving. If they continue to not follow rules their name would be moved to the ‘sun and cloud’ and if negative behaviour continues their name would be moved to the rain cloud. In Year 1 if children’s names are on the ‘Sun and cloud’ they are encouraged to make a ‘good choice’. If children deliberately hurt another child their name would immediately be moved to the cloud and they would miss some / all of their playtime according to the severity of their behaviour.

Topics In Year 1 we follow the National Curriculum which identifies what the children need to learn in each subject during the year. Oceans and Seas – Science, Geography, Art Toys – History, Science, DT Homes and Transport – History, DT, Science Plants – Science, Geography Carnival of the Animals – Science, Art, Geography Our School and Local Area – History, Geography Please keep sharing what your children do at home using their homework book. Particularly if you think it links to one of these statements.

Phonics Phonics Screening Check – Takes place in June. More information will be provided closer to the time. Please keep practising letters and sounds at home and reading regularly. Common Exception Words – Lists of words previously referred to as ‘tricky words’ that children are expected to be able to read and spell by the end of each year (see front of homework book). Please practise these regularly. The more words the children can recognise on sight the more fluent their reading will be. Phonics Play – a great website. Lots of games and activities to support children at all stages of phonics. Subscription £12 a year.

Reminders Punctuality– Please try to make sure that children are at school ready for the bell at 8.45. We begin handwriting activities immediately. Milk – Can still be ordered from the cool milk website if any of the children would still like it. This is available for them to drink at playtimes. Head lice – Please check children’s hair regularly and ensure treatment is followed according to the instructions, particularly follow up advice.