1. Welcome to Year 1!

2. What to expect in Year 1. Year 1 can seem a little daunting at first – it is a move away from Foundation Stage and children are taught the National Curriculum. The children are settling well! They will still have some activity time but more formal routines will be in place.

3. TOPICS THIS TERM Our topic for the term is ‘ALL ABOUT ME!’ All our work across the curriculum relates to this. Phonics, Literacy and Maths are all taught daily.

4. Out of Lesson Learning Reading – this should be done daily and comments should be written in the reading journals sent home. If children read 5 times in a week, they will be rewarded with a Merit. Please keep reading records in your child’s book bag every day so they are available when adults in school read with them. They will be checked and signed every MONDAY. Phonics and spellings/flashcards – how does this work in each class? OLL (phonics and spelling) will be sent out every THURSDAY and will be checked via our ‘Secret Work’ the following Wednesday.

5. Termly Project Children will also have a termly project to work on, related to our topic. This will be a creative project and can be completed over several weeks. It is not compulsory to complete a project but most children love taking part in it! There will be a chance for children to share their project work with the class when complete and display their masterpiece in school as part of a whole school exhibition. Details of this will be sent home on Friday.

6. Early Bird Reading Come and join us for Early Bird Reading on Tuesday and Thursday mornings – 8:30 until 8:45! We would love to see you and younger siblings are very welcome too! On the days with no Early Bird Reading, please try to wave your child off at the door and encourage them to come to class independently. We know this can be very hard sometimes…but the children really are so happy as soon as they are in class !

7. Reach for the Stars! Children were introduced to our whole school system of ‘Reach for the stars’ last year so are already quite familiar with it. So…how exactly does it work? It focuses on effort and behaviour rather than work (which is rewarded separately with merits!)

8. Star of the Week! We also select a child each week to be our ‘Star of the Week’. This child is chosen for trying their absolute best! Children will take home their class teddy if they are ‘Star of the Week’ and they can write about what they get up to over the weekend to share with the class. We would love to see some pictures too! Please return the teddy and diary to school on the following MONDAY. Please also take care of the badge! A final reminder – no toys in school please!

9. General Information The children look incredibly smart this term! Uniform – ensure children wear full school uniform, including black school shoes. No make-up (including nail polish and temporary tattoos) and no jewellery other than stud earrings. Earrings: On your child’s PE days, ensure your child has medical tape for the ears or remove them on these days. PE Kit - Shorts, t-shirt, plimsolls, jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt. PE lessons are on: Wednesday and Thursday for Ladybird Class Wednesday and Friday for Honeybee Class. Please ensure all clothes are NAMED! Show and Tell – look out for the letters home.

10. To end with a poem… Whose Child Is This? "Whose child is this?" I asked one day Seeing a little one out at play "Mine", said the parent with a tender smile "Mine to keep a little while To bathe his hands and comb his hair To tell him what he is to wear To prepare him that he may always be good And each day do the things he should" "Whose child is this?" I asked again As the door opened and someone came in "Mine", said the teacher with the same tender smile "Mine, to keep just for a little while To teach him how to be gentle and kind To train and direct his dear little mind To help him live by every rule And get the best he can from school" "Whose child is this?" I ask once more Just as the little one entered the door "Ours" said the parent and the teacher as they smiled And each took the hand of the little child "Ours to love and train together Ours to take care of and cherish forever."

11. We are here to work with you and your child…we are looking forward to getting to know you all and working with the children. ANY QUESTIONS?