Archive 2020-2021
Transition updates
This week a letter went out about swimming lessons in Y2 and what kind of kit they will need to be able to swim. Here is a photo of the types of swimwear described in the letter. No bikinis only one-piece swimming costumes and no baggy swim shorts please only trunks. Your child will be unable to swim if they have nail polish on fingers or toes. Please ensure clothes and kit are named so your child can locate all of their items when they are changing. We have been on a visit to the swimming pool and have shown the children that they will be able to reach the bottom at all times because they are taller than the pool. Ask your child about the visit with Mrs Screen and what they found out while they were there.
Some of our Y1 Highlights
Mindfulness Superheroes - Today we explored different feelings, situations and how we respond to them. We made a glitter bottle together and put in glitter to represent different feelings. Then we shook it up. It was hard to see which feelings were in there. We can feel like that sometimes and being mindful can help us to calm our brains and respond positively to situations we face. We watched the glitter in the bottle settle and it was much easier to name the different feelings and understand what we were dealing with. If you would like to make a glitter bottle, there are lots of ideas online that you can access.
Despite the heat, Y1 did an amazing job during the sponsored walk! We are so proud of all of them!
Sports 2021
The George Stephenson Workshop
Our Sports Workshop
Multiskills
Odd Day
Learning about the parts of the body and creating our own body transient art outside
Learning about 3D shapes, building them and finding them in real life
Learning about ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd etc) by having conker races.
Painting Blossom Scrolls
Provision and other creative things we have been up to!
Making Wind Gauges
The Santa Dash
Learning about the senses - taste tests and scent samples
Oh my, how you've all grown! Here are some photos of you when you first arrived in Y1.
Math - Learning about numbers to 20 and enjoying mathematical musical chairs
Testing which dyes run the most using what we had learnt about postage stamps in History
Making Christmas cards and calendars for parents and carers and printing Christmas cards for residents of the care home
We have been studying things that fly just like Leornardo da Vinchi and the Wright Brothers. We learnt about papier Mache and then made our own insect sculptures.
Building bridges to help the Gingerbread man cross the river.
Y1 Puppet Nativity
Links
Our Learning
Click on the stars below to find out what we have been up to in class this half term.
Welcome
Soon it will be time for your child to move to their new classroom. Please find below information you and your child will be keen to know.
Notes that would normally be shared at the parents meeting
Staff in Y1
Who will be in your new class to help me?
Miss Evans will be your teacher.
Miss Langley will be your teaching assistant.
Mrs Wilson will teach you on a Thursday afternoon.
Your classmates will be there with you too.
Routines
What time does the school day start?
School starts at 8.50 for us.
Where do I wait?
Your special waiting area or zone will be area by the basket ball net on the junior playground right by the ks1 block.
While you are waiting please distance yourself from each other and keep your children close by - they are not to go off or run around.
When your teacher/TA arrives at the top of the steps, you will say goodbye to your grown-ups outside and come and make a line at the bottom of the steps. Then your teacher will take you in - it's safer for everyone that way! We will go in to wash our hands.
What will I need to bring with me?
- a water bottle with plain water in it. Please check your child can operate the lid independently at drink time.
- a nut free snack for afternoon playtime and a bottle of still juice for playtime if you wish (a drink is optional and most just have a drink from their water bottle after play).
- a waterproof coat so that you are all ready on all occasions for outdoor learning and those spontaneous drizzly play times that we get here.
- your packed lunch if you are sandwiches.
Please note - bags are not needed nor recommended. Should you feel one is necessary in certain circumstances e.g. for returning books in bad weather or to transfer essential things to after school club then we will leave this up to your discretion (no rucksacks please, bookbags are perfect). Unfortunately, there simply isn't room for rucksacks and bags under the tables.
Medication/Allergies etc.
- Please bring any medication your child needs on your first morning with us with a completed medication form. (There should be some of these in the outdoor classroom.)
- Please note that if the item is an inhaler, this will need signing in. Bring the inhaler and medical form to your waiting area and an adult will bring you the sign in sheet once all of the children have been taken into the classroom.
- If your child had an inhaler in reception, this will have been passed onto us ready for them to use.
- If your child needs to bring in a change of clothes for medical reasons, let us know so that we can put them in the most suitable place for them to access if they need to.
What day is P.E. on?
P.E. happens on a THURSDAY.
Your child will have their P.E. sessions on Thursdays. Please send your child in their outdoor PE kit. They will stay in this all day so it will need to be suitable for the weather and being outside for a sustained period of time (e.g. lunchtime).
Where will I play at morning playtime?
Our class will have our own special little playground. We will not be able to mix with other classes yet. Our class will play on the junior playground near the basket ball net. It is just outside our block at the bottom of the steps.
Your teacher will put out a box of fruit box at morning playtime and you can eat your piece of fruit then.
Where will I have my lunch?
If you are school dinners you will go down to lunch and eat your lunch at a table with other children from your class.
If you bring sandwiches, you will eat them in the classroom or on the playground if it the weather is nice.
If your child wants to change from dinners to sandwiches or from sandwiches to dinners please contact the office as they need a week's notice before the switch can take place. Please note - the children are not able to switch between school dinners and sandwiches on a short term/daily basis.
Where will I play at afternoon playtime?
Our class will play by the basket ball net again in the afternoon. The children will eat the nut-free snack they brought in from home at afternoon break.
What about reading books?
Returning books
Every day a box will be placed outside the classroom door so your child can return the books they have finished as they walk into class.
The changing of books
Books will be changed on TUESDAYS only, to ensure that there aren't too many staff changing books at once. Each class will have a day to change the books for their class.
New books
Two new books will be given each week and you will be assigned online books on Reading Planet (an online resource) so that you can read more if you want to. This will help you to ensure your child is able to read at home should they have to self isolate at any point over the year. We can't give out any more I'm afraid because they will need to be quarantined when we get them back and there won't be enough books to give out to all the children.
Reading records
At the start of the year we will give you a new reading record to keep at home and use at home. You don't need to return it with your books.
The books you have read on Reading Planet will automatically be recorded online once you have done the quiz at the end.
Contact with us about your child's reading
Please do get in touch if you need to share something with us about your child's reading or ask any questions you might have about reading.
What time does school finish?
School for us finishes at 3.30pm.
Where do I need to wait when I collect my child?
At the end of the day please wait by the basket ball net. The teacher will line the class up outside the classroom by the fence and will call the children one by one as the staff member spots their adult. The children should not go unless their name has been called. Don't forget to contact the office if someone else is collecting your child on your behalf.
At first, dismissing the children may be a little slower than it was in their old class. It will take us a while to recognise all of the new faces but please be assured that we will learn them all. Our priority is making sure your child get to you safely with all of their belongings so please bear with us.
Which toilets will we use?
Everyone in our class will use these toilets.
Will there be an assembly?
No. We can't have an assembly yet but we will have a time of reflection in our classroom and we will still celebrate your achievements on Friday in class with medal certificates.
Anything else?
There will be regular hand washing/ sanitising throughout the day.
Thank you for your co-operation. We really appreciate it. We can't wait to meet you all.
Learning and our classroom
Will there still be areas like the construction and the creative area?
Yes! There will be areas for you to discover new skills and to revisit things you started learning about in Reception.
Outdoor Area
This is the outdoor area outside our classroom. We will also use the grassy areas around school such as the school field along.
Block Area
Writing Area
Small World
Role Play Area
Art Area / Creative Area/ Workshop Area
Maths Area
Construction Areas
Enquiry/Discovery Area
Water and Sand Area
