Welcome to Year 1 Badgers Class Your New

Welcome to Year 1! Badgers Class

Your New Teachers • Class Teacher – Miss Downes • Teaching Assistant – Mrs Pennington

Some information about Miss Downes • • • Hi! Nice to “meet” you all. I’m very excited to be working at St George’s Primary Phase and am looking forward to learning with your child and you! I have a degree in Drama and Theatre Arts so I love it when children tell me imaginative stories and anecdotes about what they get up to at home! I completed a 2 year part-time PGCE at Canterbury Christchurch University in 2016. I was a teaching assistant whilst I studied I taught year 1 for my NQT (newly qualified teacher) year before moving into year 2 where I was for 2 years. I then moved up to year 3 last academic year Outside of school I enjoy reading, walking, running and spending time with family and friends Hope to meet and speak properly with you soon!

What to expect in Year 1 • Transition process from Reception for at least the first 2 terms (up to Christmas) • Carousel based activities – short, sharp bursts of activities to keep children on task. Two groups will work with an adult whilst other groups work/play independently • Child-led learning – activities provided for children to access should they wish to • Outdoor area – work in progress! Miss Downes has ordered some fun activities and games for the children to use whilst outside

Expectations • • ALL uniform must be named – we have already had to be detectives trying to work out whose jumpers and cardigans belong to who! Water bottles must be named and provided – we cannot guarantee that your child will get a drink if they have no water bottle Forest School – our sessions are Friday mornings between morning play and lunch. Please ensure you have provided a change of clothes for this. The children should have an all in one suit, wellies and an extra layer for the Winter! Plimsoles for music and dance on a Wednesday (make sure they are named!)

How can you help? • Reading regularly at home – at least 3 times per week. Each book should be read on 2 separate occasions or until it is finished. Ask questions about the pictures, comment on what is happening, get your children to predict what the story might be about and what might happen next. • Maths – talking about numbers whenever you see them, practising counting, days of the week, months of the year, sequential numbers (1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd etc) • Phonics – you can access phonicsplay. co. uk at home. Please use this regularly with your child alongside our daily phonics sessions in school

Rewards Class Dojo is an online rewards system. The children have been introduced to this scheme already and are earning points!

Rewards • • Dojo points are given to the children for: Helping others Staying on task Participating in activities Resilience – not giving up Teamwork Working hard The adults will decide how many points each child receives and the child with the most points at the end of the week will be awarded with a small prize!

Rewards • The children will also take part in a celebration worship every Friday morning with Mrs Palmer • One child from each class will be awarded ‘Star of the Week’ for whatever the reason the class teacher decides • The Star of the Week will have a photo taken which is included in the weekly newsletter. This can be found on the school website and will also be emailed to you

Christian Values • A reminder of our Christian Values: • Creativity • Honesty • Resilience • Inclusion • Stewardship • Thankfulness The focus value this term is Stewardship. We will be looking for the children who are being responsible, sensible, looking after the school environment and making sure other children are making good choices.

Phonics • We take part in daily phonics sessions lasting around 20 minutes each • We will practice segmenting and blending, plus reading short sentences containing the focus sound for that day • We are continuing with the Letters and Sounds scheme of learning • We will recap Phase 3 this term with a view to moving on to phase 4 when the children are ready • There will be a phonics screening check in June 2021. There will be a meeting soon to talk through the process

Phase 3 phonics sounds

Phonics Screening Check • Your child will be assessed on their phonics knowledge in June 2021. • This is nothing to worry about, it is simply designed to work out where they’re doing well and where they need support • There will be a meeting to discuss the arrangements soon. Look out for messages!

Your child will have their first reading book for year 1 by the end of week 2! Reading • Your child will read regularly at school. This may be as a whole class, in small groups or one to one. • We will aim to read with every child once a week. • Their reading records will be checked regularly and books changed when a book has been read on two separate occasions (two different days) • Please comment on your child’s reading when you have read with them and sign your name. Please aim to read with them daily for at least 5 -10 minutes. This will really help with their learning in school and their overall progress.

Home Learning • The children will be provided with a home learning grid by the end of week 2 • This will highlight tasks that they should complete over the course of the term. Choose 6 tasks to complete. • They can do the tasks in any order • Good examples of home learning will be displayed in class to share with the other children • Dojo points may be given for great effort with home learning!

Topic this term • Our topic this term is called ‘Me, Myself and I’ • Thank you to all who brought in photos of the children when they were babies. These are now on display in the classroom! • The children will be learning about the body (naming and labelling basic parts), how our bodies change as we get older (growth), how we are similar and different to each other, the 5 senses and the body parts associated with each sense, where we live in the world, the location of the continents in the world, their own families and basic family history

Topics This Year… Term 1 Me, Myself and I Term 2 Our Furry Friends Term 4 London’s Burning! Term 5 Sunshine and Rainbows Term 3 There’s No Place Like Home! Term 6 How Does Your Garden Grow?

Useful websites… • https: //www. phonicsplay. co. uk/ - phonics support • https: //www. topmarks. co. uk/ - cross curricular but most supportive for maths • https: //www. ictgames. com/ - cross curricular

Thank You! • Thank you for all your on-going support • We understand this is an uncertain time for all, but rest assured we are doing the best we can to provide a safe, friendly environment for your child • If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask Miss Downes, Mrs Pennington or the lovely Mrs Bianchet and Miss Walker in the office! You can also write a note in your child’s contact book