Welcome to Year 1

Meet the Staff:

Class Teacher: Veronika Eager

Teaching Assistant: Amanda Butcher

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Click here to read the Class Newsletter - TERM 2

Term 3

English: The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith

This term, our class story is The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith. Through this beautifully illustrated tale, we will focus on enhancing sentence writing skills and incorporating phonics knowledge into our work. We’ll also continue building a rich vocabulary and exploring exciting adjectives and verbs to make our writing more expressive and engaging.

In Phonics, we are expanding on our knowledge by introducing new phonemes, prefixes, and suffixes to enhance reading and spelling. To improve handwriting and letter formation, we are introducing Funky Fingers—a daily activity to strengthen fine motor skills in a fun and interactive way.

Maths

Our Maths lessons this term will focus on mastering number bonds to 20 and applying our addition and subtraction skills to solve problems within this range. We’ll also dive deeper into understanding and identifying the properties of 2D and 3D shapes, helping to solidify spatial awareness and shape recognition.

Topic Work

• Science: We’re exploring the fascinating world of plants, distinguishing between deciduous and evergreen species, and learning about the life and work of Charles Darwin.
• Geography: This term, we’ll observe weather changes and explore hot and cold regions around the world, fostering an understanding of different climates.
• DT (Design Technology): Inspired by our class story, we’ll design and craft fox cone puppets, combining creativity and practical skills.
• RE: Our focus is Judaism, where we’ll learn about celebrating Shabbat and its significance.

Daily Timetable

 Our day follows this structure:

• Morning: Registration, Funky Fingers, Phonics, Reading, English
• Midday: Breaktime, Maths
• Afternoon: Lunch, Foundation subjects (Science, Geography, DT, RE), Story time

Punctuality is vital as our morning sessions lay the foundation for the day’s learning.

Ways to Support at Home

• Reading: Share a daily reading session with your child. Encourage them to read their weekly phonics book independently.
• Writing: Encourage creative writing activities at home, as these provide invaluable practice.
• Counting: Count forwards and backwards to 20, and introduce steps of 2 to build early multiplication skills.
• Online Learning: 
  • Numbots: Complete as many challenges as possible
  • IXL Maths: Focus on addition and subtraction tasks up to 20

Other Information

• PE and Forest School: Mondays (please ensure appropriate clothing is worn).
• Spanish: Wednesdays.
• Music and Computing: Thursdays.
• Uniform: Please ensure all uniform is clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Thank you for your continued support in helping your child have a fantastic term of learning and growth!