Hello to everyone!
I hope you all had a fantastic summer and have come back to school rested and ready for a busy year. I am so excited to have you all back in Year 1.
It is difficult to avoid the elephant in the room and not talk about the things that were missed last year but I feel it is also important to look forward and get to our new ‘normal’. The most important thing over the next few weeks will be making sure the children settle into their brand-new Year 1 environment and routine. The next few weeks will be a great chance to meet and get to know Year 1 and get stuck into some great work.
As you can imagine, there will be some changes in school for the next little while but I know how resilient children can be and I know that they will get to love their new Key Stage and topic.
We are kicking off this year with ‘All About Me’. Over the next few weeks, the children will take part in a different aspect of this topic each week. First, the children will start looking at family-their own and others. We will be learning about the human body, healthy eating and the five senses in science. There will also be a history focus this half term (one of Mrs Shovlin’s favorites) and we will be learning about our local area and ‘Homes’ in particular. Each week, the children will take part in lots of different activities and continuous provision-based activities linked to their topic that week. We will also be out and about, exploring our local area and trying to get our weekly mile done (when the weather suits).
Look out for more information over the next couple of weeks in regards to homework and reading at home.
Year 1 will do PE on Mondays so this will be the day for your child to come into school in their PE kit and school jumper. All PE will be outdoors for the foreseeable so will be weather dependent. Black jogging bottoms will be fine to wear as the cold will not stop us.
I am so looking forward to welcoming you back to school.
Mrs Shovlin 😊
Hello to all Year 1 parents, grandparents and all those who read with a child at home.
Over the past few weeks, the children have been getting to grips with a new way of reading in our shared/1:1 reading time. To match up with our current phonics scheme, our new reading scheme gives your child a bespoke levelled reading book which has been given to your child based on a 1:1 assessment with myself. They move through the colour they have been given and with practice and increasing phonic knowledge, they move on to further colours. I hope the children enjoy showing you our new reading books. It is recommended that all children read with an adult at home, at least three times a week. It is suggested that the children read the book a minimum of four times with an adult before moving on to a new text.
Reading with your child
The books have different sections that you work through to help build fluency and early comprehension. Children should now be thinking more carefully about they have read in preparation for reading comprehension weekly activities in Year 2.
Glossary of terms
A list of Read, Write Inc. terms to help adults and children understand what the book is asking them to do.
Speed Sounds
Practise reading the speed sounds across the lines and in and out of order.
Green Words
Words made up of the graphemes (sounds) listed in the speed sounds and that come up in the story.
Red words
Common words with graphemes not listed in the speed sound box.
Vocabulary check
After reading the introduction and discussing this with your child, discuss the vocabulary to clarify any misunderstandings in meanings.
Read the story
Read the story on more than occasion with your child over several days. This will help to build comprehension of the story. It will also help your child gain confidence as they become fluent and familiar with the text.
Questions to talk about
Answer the questions to ‘read and answer’.
Speed words
Practise reading the speed words in and out of order.
All Stars Cricket
Key Stage One had a wonderful morning with Peter from All Stars Cricket. The morning started with an assembly to introduce what happened at each session followed by some taster activities out on the playground. The children had a great time. Check out some photographs below.
Walby Farm Park Christmas Extravaganza
We had a wonderful time at Walby Farm park for their Christmas extravaganza. We took part in a live nativity, made reindeer food, went inside a snow globe, met SANTA, played in the snow and graduated from the elf academy... that was all before lunchtime! After lunch we had great fun in the play barn. Once again the children were exceptional, a lady with a little boy stopped me to comment that the children were so well mannered and kind to her little boy. Thank you for your support with this trip, these moments make memories!
Merry Christmas from the KS1 team