9th - 12th October 2023

Another brilliant week, we continue to be so proud of how the children are in Year 1 and have been clearly showing the routines and rules of their learning.

Highlights of the week:

● Phonics – This week in phonics we have been learning the -se /s/ and –ce /s/ letter groups. We have read the letter groups at word level and sentence level and the children have practised writing words and sentences containing these letter groups. Please remember to practise these sounds and previous sounds at home with your child using the sheets inside their phonics folders.

● English – This week we moved onto our first English lessons in Year 1. To support the children’s transition into Year 1, we have taught Drawing Club which they have been familiar with in Year R. However, from now on, this will be changed to English lessons, to begin our new unit of English learning after half term. This week we have focused on learning about verbs to support our sentence writing. The children have learnt what a verb is (an action word), and how to use these within sentences to describe what someone or something is doing. We have read the book ‘Oh No, George!’ which the children have thoroughly enjoyed, and discussed what George did at different times of the story.

● Maths – We have begun our addition and subtraction unit of learning and this week the children have explored parts and wholes. We have used a part-whole model to show two parts of a whole number to solidify their understanding of number, in preparation for addition. We have learnt the ‘+’ (plus) and ‘=’ (equal to) symbols, and how to write an addition sentence using these and our part-whole knowledge.

● Art – This week in art we have learnt about the artist, Romero Britto. We have explored different artwork of his and talked about what we liked/disliked and the different media and colours he uses in his work. We also painted our final pieces this week in preparation for our art exhibition next Wednesday 18th October. We combined our knowledge we have learnt over this painting unit, using primary colours to make our secondary colours for our artwork. The children have independently created beautiful paintings that showcase their learning.

● Science – This week we have begun our ‘Everyday materials’ unit of learning. We explored different objects around the classroom and learnt what properties are. We then matched properties to the objects to describe their materials. For example, we discussed that a cushion is soft because it is made from fabric. Have a look around your house and see if you can discuss what different objects are made from and their properties (hard, strong, weak, soft, rough, smooth etc).

Home Learning:

● Phonics/Reading - Recap our new phonics letter group -se /s/ and -ce /s/ - you will find in your child’s phonics folder. Please read your child’s unit book with them too.
● NumBots – Continue playing NumBots at home and work hard to level up your character! We are so impressed with how many children have been awarded NumBots certificates in celebration assembly already!

Key Information:

● PE days are Mondays (indoor PE) and Tuesdays (outdoor PE) - please make sure your child has a fully LABELLED PE kit in school for both days. As the weather begins to get cold/wet, please be mindful that tracksuit bottoms may be more suitable, especially for outdoor PE sessions.
● Our library day is Thursday - please make sure your child’s library book is in their bag every Thursday, so it can be returned and changed for a new book.
● As the weather continues to be unpredictable, please can you send your child to school with a labelled coat.
● Our art exhibition for parents/carers to come see our unit of learning this term is on Wednesday 18th October from 2:50pm – 3:20pm. Please see email sent to you for more information or ask your child’s class teacher.