Welcome back and Happy New Year! We hope that you all had a restful and peaceful Christmas break. We would all like to thank you again for the cards, gifts and well-wishes we received at the end of term, they were much appreciated. The end of term was incredibly busy and we were very proud of Year One, who blew us all away with their brilliant singing and acting in our Christmas performance. We have recharged our batteries and are full of enthusiasm for the new year and another exciting half term in Year One. The children are already off to a great start and it has been lovely to have them all back together in school this week. We have a new Geography based Topic in Year One this half term “What is the weather like where we live?” We will be learning all about the weather linked to seasonal change. More details about this topic can be found later on.
Reading and Phonics: We are pleased with the progress the children are making both in phonics and reading. They are enjoying our group reading sessions and are applying the skills they have learnt in our daily phonics sessions. Please continue to practise reading with your child as regularly as possible. You may have noticed that on the inside cover of each book there is a list of digraphs, tricky words and vocabulary, which we use in our group reading sessions. Reinforcing this work by asking your child about the meaning of new vocabulary and checking that they are able to read all of the digraphs and tricky words automatically will help them both with their reading fluency and their understanding of the text.
PE and a Healthy Active lifestyle This half term, we will be doing gymnastics and ball skills in PE. Mr. Richardson will be teaching gymnastics to Hazel Class and Birch Class on a Tuesday morning. He will also teach ball skills to Hazel Class and Mrs. McMillan will teach ball skills to Birch Class. We continue to be committed to ensuring the children get their active 30 minutes a day in school. We all enjoy our daily run, as well as using the balance bikes and outdoor equipment at afternoon play. We have plans for utilising the outdoor area this half term and for those days when the winter weather is just too wet, we use the website “GoNoodle.” This is an excellent resource to keep children active and includes different movement types such as guided dance, which the children love, but it also includes sensory and motor skills, mindfulness and social and emotional support activities. If you would like to use this at home you just need to register your e-mail address.
We continue to work hard to ensure that the children are happy and settled, and as ever, communication between home and school is key. Please do not hesitate to pop in and see us, contact us by telephone, or e-mail if you have any queries or concerns. We are also usually available before school for the passing on of quick messages and after school if you require a longer chat. Many Thanks Sally McMillan, Sue Ward and Heidi Walker
Please see below for what we will be learning about this half term in Year 1
English
Fiction - Traditional Tales Using Jack and the Beanstalk as our main text, children will be able to:
- retell their own version of a traditional tale identify openings and endings e.g. 'A long time ago in a dark forest' etc.
- identify how formulaic sentences are used e.g. 'There was once a…'
- write their own opening for a traditional tale.
Non-Fiction – Information Texts We will then write information texts about Giants, Trolls and other fantasy creatures!
MATHS This half term we will be learning all about place value to 20 and then addition and subtraction within 20. Children will learn to:
- count to and across 20, forwards and
backwards, beginning with 0 or 1, or from any given number
- identify one more and one less than a number to 20
- identify and represent numbers using objects and pictorial representations including the number line, and use the language of: equal to, more than, less than (fewer), most, least.
- read and write numbers from 1 to 20 in
numerals and words
- read, write and interpret mathematical statements involving addition (+), subtraction (–) and equals (=) signs
- represent and use number bonds and related subtraction facts within 20
- add and subtract one-digit and two-digit numbers to 20, including zero
Computing Programming-Moving a Robot
Children will learn about: Buttons – explain what a given command will do. Directions – act out a given word Forwards and backwards – combine ‘forwards’ and backwards’ commands to make a sequence. Four directions – combine four direction commands to make sequences. Getting there – plan a simple programme Routes- find more than one solution to a problem.
PSHE-Safety and the Body Changing Children will:
- know a number of adults in school
- know that they should speak to an adult if they are ever worried or feel uncomfortable about another adult
- understand ways to keep safe and not get lost and know the steps to take if they do get lost
- know the number for the emergency services and their own address
- understand that some types of physical contact are never acceptable
- know what can go into or onto the body and when they should check with an adult
- understand that there are hazards in houses and know how to avoid them
- understand and name jobs that people do to help keep us safe
Credits:
Created with images by Elena Schweitzer - "Magic forerst" • Pixel-Shot - "Open magic book on dark color background" • amazing studio - "Math Number colorful on white background, education study mathematics learning teach concept." • Pixel-Shot - "Colorful umbrella outdoors on rainy day" • haidamac - "Amazing winter scenery with bare trees covered by frost on snowy meadow under blue sky" • andranik123 - "Paintbrush on watercolor painted background.,Art.,Hobby" • LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS - "Selective focus of children doing gymnastic bridge on fitness mats, panoramic shot" • photology1971 - "Low angle view of an open musical score" • Prostock-studio - "Girl constructing robot and programming it on laptop" • Tomasz Zajda - "Holy Bible Closeup" • dechevm - "police car sign.,siren light"