Welcome back to the beginning of a new half term! We began this new half term with the Feast of All Saints Day which we celebrated in church with a whole school Mass. It was a lovely way to start the coming half term and a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role models that we have around us and what we aim to be each and every day. Year 1’s behaviour in church was impeccable and reminded me how each of them are little saints and made in the image of God. A super start to the new half term.

English - this week we have been working on the set 2 RWI sounds and have been working on holding a sentence in our head and then independently writing it down.

Maths - this week we have been working on how to separate a number (the whole) into two groups (the parts). We have done lots of practical work, working in a systemic manner to make sure you get all the possible answers. The children have taken on the new language very well and have done lots of partner talk to practice using the new terms of parts and whole.

RE - we have started to think about our new topic all about Mary….we thought about Mary as the Patron Saint of our school and the example that she has set to us as a follower of Jesus. We have introduced the story of the Annunication and how Mary said YES to the Angel Gabriel and to God.

Geography - we have started our new topic all about the world all around us and our place in it. We started by using our atlas to find the seven continents of the world and naming them on our own map.

Science - this week started our new topic on animal classification. We began by looking at the main five animal groups and grouping animals accordingly.

Computing - this week we used the programme Stekchpad to create an image and use different colours and sizes of writing.

Design and Technology - this week the children begin their sewing unit by working be starting with weaving and sewing on buttons. As this unit is vert teacher intensive the children will work in groups on a round robin model to ensure the work in small groups to support the development of this new skill.

Congratulations to this week’s winners……

Golden Award - Izzy for super learning in Geography this week naming the seven continents and labelling them on her own map.

Writing Award - Draya for super work on pre-cursive handwriting, trying hard to ensure all her letters are all the same size.

Maths Award -Eleni for super learning in Maths this week using the part part whole model and working in a systemic manner.

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.
Trainers - if your children is wearing trainers with laces for PE they must be able to tie them by themselves. This is a health and safety issue - please ensure your child can tie their laces before sending them in lace-up trainers.
Water bottles - all the children were given a new school bottle this week. 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. Lost water bottles can be replaced at the school office, but I am afraid you will have to pay for those. Year 1 have orange tops.
I will not be in class on a Thursday afternoon, as it is my release time. This will be covered by Mrs Debowska and Mrs McCooey and is also when the children will have Music with Mrs Watson.
Party Invitations - I am afraid that Mrs Debowska and I will not be able to give out party invitations in class. Please do not send your child into class with them for them to give out - it creates upset and fuss about something that takes place outside of school.Thank-you for your understanding with this matter.
Key Rings - please do not put key rings onto your child’s school bag, it create fuss in class and then upset if they are lost.
School bag - please continue to use the red book bag that your child was given in Reception, we don not have the room to store large bags. Many thanks for your help with this matter.
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!! HOMEWORK EXPECTATIONS - YEAR 1 — Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School (squarespace.com)

Wild Animals – VR Experience!

Supporting Science at Our Lady’s

TUESDAY 26th NOVEMBER we will welcome into school a Wild Animals VR workshop from Education Group to work with Year 1, 2 and 3. (Each of these classes is learning about Animals this term, including Humans, so is fits beautifully with our curriculum.) We are really excited to bring to life our Science work with such a wonderful experience for the children. We are keen to bring as many learning opportunities as possible to Our Lady’s to widen the children’s knowledge, deepen their understanding and bring the world of learning to life in a way that will excite and engage them.

To support us with this we are asking for a voluntary contribution of £3 per child from parents. If you are able to contribute, please go to your Parent Pay account where this donation will be added. Many thanks for your support. (The rest of the cost of the visit will be met by school.)

Catholic Life of our school..

The following resources are a great way of keeping you all informed of our current liturgy themes and of the weekly Gospel scripture, with some activities that the children can complete at home. We hope you find these resources useful and that they help you to support prayer and worship in your own homes.

https://www.paperturn-view.com/uk/wednesday-word/faithfulness?pid=MTA101634&v=74.6

http://www.tentenresources.co.uk/prayers-for-home/parent-newsletter/

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Fortnite. This free guide provides expert insight into the risks associated with Fortnite, letting you know how to keep children safe while they play.

We hope you find these guides informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all. Thank you.