We have spoken so much about our glorious Queen this week; what she meant to us, what she represented to our nation and the lessons we can learn from her long life of service. To me, this quote sums up what we should all strive to do in our daily lives; to do our best, to always try and to put our faith in God. This is what I hope for for Year 1 - that they will always try to do their best and place their love I the Lord.
I have been touched by the conversations we have had this week about the death of Queen Elizabeth and how Year 1 have thought deeply about what a lovely lady the Queen was and how much we are all going to miss her. I shall keep Year 1 in my heart on Monday as I watch the funeral coverage of Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II and reflect on all that we have discussed this week.
"Each day is a new beginning, I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God." Queen Elizabeth II
English - this week we started our RWI lessons. The children have been split into three groups which are taught be either Mrs Veasey, Miss Sanderson or me and thsi enables us to deliver phonics work which is tailored to the needs of the children. During these sessions we all focus on phonics, reading, spelling and sentence development. We have also started on work on our pre-cursive handwriting in which we focus on how to write our letters, starting on the line. Please see handout sent home last week.
Maths - this week has all been about Variation - the many different ways in which we show a number, either as a digit, a word, the number on a dice, with our fingers…..the list is endless!! We have looked at comparing all these different ways to show a number and found that although they all look different, they mean the same. That is our little mantra….same but different!
RE - this half term is all about Creation - we have started by looking at the Creation story and the wonderful world that the Lord that created for us.
Science - our topic this half term is all about our bodies. This week we focused on our senses and which part of the body we use for each sense.
History - our focus is all about ourselves and life within our living memory. We have started this with what all bout our families and the people who are special to us. This week we made a family tree.
Art - the children have started their Painting unit with work all about the primary colours.
We are very proud of all of the children this week, but these are the pupils we are celebrating this week….
Golden Award - Aaliyah for being a super role model in Year 1 and showing excellent behaviour for learning.
Writing Award — Georgie for wonderful independent writing in RWI showing she can ‘hold a sentence’ in her head and write it down.
Maths Award - Leighton for super variation work this week, showing numbers in different ways.
General pieces of information
PE will be on Monday and Friday so please send the children into class in the PE kits on those days. No earrings can be worn for PE so please ensure that they are taken out at home.
Water bottles - This will come home each night to be cleaned and re-filled. Please only use the school bottles and ensure your child brings theirs each day.
I will not be in class on a Thursday afternoon, as it is my release time. This will be covered by Mrs Veasey and Miss Sanderson and is also when the children will have Music with Miss Hope
Homework Expectations - please see the Homework page for what I expect the children to do at home…..don’t worry, it’s mainly just reading!! Year 1 News letterYear 1 Homework Expectations - Autumn — Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School (squarespace.com)
This half term our main focus is ourselves and our family, in order to support this work we like to make a ‘family tree’ of all our Year 1 families. Please could I ask you to send in a family picture of our display board. This could just be the people in our household, or your wider family, which ever is easiest for you. Please ensure your child’s name is on the picture and we will ensure it is returned to you during the year. Alternatively, you could email me a picture at the Year 1 email address and I can print it out in school. Many thanks.
READING BOOKS
Thank-you for baring with us whilst we assess the children and put them into their Guided Reading groups. This always takes a little time. All the children now have a Guided Reading group and a Guided Reading Day. As I stated in the Welcome Letter, reading is approached through three inter-linked ways in Year 1.
Firstly, all the children are heard to read by an adult EACH DAY in their RWI lessons, this is where the teaching of reading takes place.
Secondly, they have one Guided Reading session week where the children apply the skills of reading they are taught to read as part of a group and discuss stories and how sentences are written and stories developed. The children will bring home ONE guided reading book each week. This should be just at the right level for their reading. This will be changed weekly.
Thirdly, the children will be given a BASKET BOOK which will be taken from a selection of books that the children should be able to read well to develop a love of reading and encourage them to read as it is a book they CAN read and not something they have to sound out each word and struggle with. This will be changed weekly.
As of TUESDAY 20.9.22 - The children’s Guided Reading books and basket books will be changed weekly on their Guided Reading day. Mrs Veasey will put a note in the children’s reading record to tell you which day this is. Please sign their reading record each time they read to an adult an home as this means they get a sticker on their reading bookmark. As well as school books, they children will get stickers for reading their own books, so please note that down too!! Many thanks.
And finally…..have a lovely weekend and remember that school is closed on MONDAY 20th SEPTEMBER. Mrs Hollinghurst, Mrs Veasey & Miss Sanderson.
Any questions, just catch me at the gate or use the year 1 email
