Rejoice: the Lord is nigh." As Christmas draws near, the Church emphasizes the joy which should be in our hearts over all that the birth of our Savior means for us. The great joy of Christians is to see the day drawing nigh when the Lord will come again in His glory to lead them into His kingdom. The oft-repeated Veni ("Come") of Advent is an echo not only of the prophets but also of the conclusion of the Apocalypse of St. John: "Come, Lord Jesus," the last words of the New Testament.

This Sunday is known as Gaudete Sunday. The term Gaudete refers to the first word of the Entrance Antiphon, "Rejoice". Rose vestments are worn to emphasize our joy that Christmas is near, and we also light the rose candle on our Advent wreath.

We have had another great week in Year 1; all the children are working very hard but these are the children we have chosen to celebrate in particular…..

Golden Award - Roma for her superb results on this week’s sound assessment along with an amazing attitude to all aspects of learning.

Writing Award - Olivia for detailed writing in her nativity booklet - wonderful!

Maths - Patrick for great subtraction work this week using a number line and a part part whole diagram.

This week we have been learning…..

English - this week the children have written their own Nativity stories, each day we have read a different part of the story and they have put into into their own words. What a marvelous job they have done. This week Mrs Veasey has also completed reading assessments with each of the children based on the phonics work we do each day in class. The children have all made super progress since September and we are very proud of each and every one of them. This week in phonics we have worked on ‘ow’ blow the snow and ‘a-e’ make a cake.

Maths - this week has been all about subtraction, using our number lines and also our part part whole models. We have looked at the fact that all subtraction questions must start with the whole number, unlike addition which can be done in any order. We have also focused on Number Bonds to 10 in our Menatl Maths work.

RE - this week has been about the Nativity story. We have also made an Advent Wreath and named each of the candles and looked at why they are circular and made using evergreen leaves.

Topic - in our Geography work this week we focused on Edinburgh and how the capital city of Scotland is the same and also different from London.

Art - our last group of sewers completed their Sea Creatures this week - so the tree is all finished too! They all look wonderful and we are very proud of the children and their efforts.

Work to do at Home - please follow the link to see our Year 1 expectations for what the children should be doing at home. http://www.ourladyassumption-sch.co.uk/yr1-homework/2020/11/13/autumn-term-expectations

SELF ISOLATING/HOME LEARNING - if your child is having to self isolate because either they or someone in your household is showing ANY symptoms of Covid 19, then please follow the following link to the NEW Home Learning page. From now on, this is where the work for the week will be posted. Please post photos of your child’s work into the Portfolio section of Class Dojo. It is only by working together to keep each other safe that we will manage to keep Year 1 and our school open. Please keep everyone safe by keeping your child at home if anyone in your household is showing symptoms: is awaiting a test or is waiting for test results. Many thanks. http://www.ourladyassumption-sch.co.uk/yr1-home-learning

Other things to mention…

SCHOOL CONTINUES TO CLOSE AT 1.15PM EVERY FRIDAY

Please sign your child’s reading record each time they read so that they can collect stickers on their bookmark. We ask that children read at home a minimum of three times a week.
PE - Monday and Friday. We now have Music on a Wednesday with our new music teacher Miss Benson. Children CANNOT wear earrings for PE.
Don’t forget your child’s school water bottle each day - thanks!
Please do not send your child into school if they are unwell or showing any signs of Covid 19 - we need to work together to keep each other safe. Many thanks for this.
CHRISTMAS CARDS - this year more than ever it is important to note that children MUST NOT BRING CHRISTMAS CARDS INTO CLASS TO GIVE OUT TO THEIR FRIENDS/CLASSMATES.. We will not permit these to be given out due to the current situation, nor will staff give them out. If you wish, your child can bring in ONE CARD for the whole class. Many thanks.

YEAR 1’S CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS - thank-you so much with all your help preparing the children for today’s filming of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ - they children were fabulous, all knew their lines and spoke up very clearly. They have made us all very proud of them. I have filmed each of the children today - Fr Jim is now going to work his magic and turn all the little videos into a film to be posted on the website next week! I will let you know when this is available for you all to watch. Many, many thanks to Fr Jim for agreeing to do this for us.

Panto - despite the fact that we are unable to go to the panto this year, this will not stop us from enjoying one in class!! The PTFA have kindly bought the rights to an on-line panto that we will watch at so point in class next week. They have even provided the children with treats to enjoy whilst they watch! A lovely way for us to celebrate the end of a long and challenging term back in school.

CLASS DOJO POINTS - well done to the children for reaching their 1000 target this week! Here’s to the next 1000.