2. The children will line up on the playground, come into school and then check their folder on the corridor for any letters to be given to me. They will then hang their coat up and come and sit in their carpet seats for the register. 1 st Morning session, Phonics – playtime 2 nd Morning session – dinner time / play time Reading session 1 st Afternoon session 2 nd Afternoon session – Home time. Children can access their water bottles throughout the day. The children have fruit every day and milk if they are registered. Children need their indoor and outdoor kits.

3. Our aim is to ensure that the children experience a smooth transition. Learning through play will continue to be an important part of the school day, then gradually the children will be eased into more formal learning as the year goes on.

4. Our R.E topics this term are Families and Belonging. Children will listen to Bible stories, take part in roleplay activities and complete different tasks. If you are able to take your child to church this will help them to have a better understanding of what is being taught in class. During Collective Worship, we gather, listen to a reading, reflect on the reading and then go forth – sharing with others what we have learnt. Children are encouraged to say their own prayers at the class altar as and when they feel the need.

5. English is taught daily and is based around a specific text from one of the following areas: Fiction / Non-Fiction / Poetry. As a whole class we focus on the objective and then split into groups. Speaking and listening skills are developed and encouraged within the activities. Children have a Phonics session every day and are placed into groups according to the phase they are up to. We read flash cards, play word games and write words and sentences on whiteboards. Children are encouraged to sound out unfamiliar words, including nonsense words – which will help with their Phonics screening test in June.

6. In school – Your child will read every day and have 2x 20mins sessions of guided reading with Teacher/TA each week. 3x 20 mins sessions will be spent on independent reading activities eg. E-books, Phonics games and comprehension activities. At home – Please encourage your child to read at home, 5-10mins each day, unless your child wants to do more! Ask your child questions about what has been read, what did they like / dislike? Characters and settings? Etc.

7. Children will take home two books each week – a library book which they can choose and a levelled home reader book that will be changed on Mondays when returned to school. Please bring book bags and reading records every day.

8. Maths is taught every day. The objective of the day is introduced and developed as a whole class, then children are split into smaller groups. They have teacher input at their level and also a variety of independent activities to work on eg. Games, computers or practical activities. Mental Maths is taught daily during the introduction of the lesson. In Year 1, number-lines and visual prompts are used to support and develop understanding. This helps your child to make links on how to work problems out mentally.

9. Homework will be given out on Fridays and placed in the children’s book bags. Please support your child to complete their task and note down how much support they needed, if any. Can these then be placed back in their book bags for the following Wednesday.

10. Spellings will be given out on a Friday and stuck into your child’s green home/school spelling book, for a test on the following Thursday. The child’s score will be noted down and mistakes will be highlighted, so that you will know how they did, every week. Spellings will be based on phonics/graphemes so will have sound buttons on to help your child to make links between the reading and writing of words.

11. Classroom rules have been set with the children so that they are happy in class and know what is expected of them and of each other. Children understand that if they do not follow the rules, there will be consequences. Traffic Lights! 2 warnings before going onto amber 2 warnings before going onto red If your child goes onto red I will speak to you at the end of the day and they will lose 5 minutes of Golden Time.

12. Stickers Billy Bear Chance Tickets House Points Golden Time

13. Something new for this year – at the end of each half term, we are going to invite you to come into Year 1 for ‘Stay & Learn’. This will be a time to play board games with the children, linked to Phonics or Maths. We will keep you up-to-date to let you know when this will be happening.

14. If you have any concerns or worries about your child or questions about homework etc. please feel free to come and see me any time.