Year 1 Termly Newsletter
Dear Parents,
We hope you all had a lovely Easter holiday. It’s hard to believe we’re already in the final term
of Year 1! We are looking forward to another action-packed term and will, of course, keep you
informed of our plans. As the weather improves, we will be going outdoors as much as possible
so please ensure your children come to school with the appropriate things e.g. sun hat and
water bottle, as they can only use the water fountains during break and lunch times. Please
apply a good quality sun cream before coming to school as the school policy is to have no sun
creams in school.
As always, we have a couple of reminders:
Letters to school – if your child has any letters or payments for us, could you ask them to
hand these in first thing in the morning as we do not have time to check each child’s book bag.
Letters for the office can be posted in the box at the main entrance to the building. Please
do not send party invitations or thank you notes as we are unable to give these out.
Library books – the children will continue to choose 1 book to take home each week.
For Cedar class this will be on a Wednesday; Elm class on a Friday. It is important they
understand the differences between the fiction and non-fiction books that they borrow and
we would really appreciate it if you could re-emphasise this at home. They need to return
these the following week as we only have parent helpers in once a week to change and monitor
books.
Clothing – please ensure that your child’s clothing is named including sun hats – this avoids any
confusion when changing for P.E. and helps us to prevent a collection of unnamed jumpers in
the classroom. All children should have an apron or old shirt for Art. They also need full P.E.
kit in school
Show and Tell – we have returned to alternating between house groups each week.
Homework – reading continues to be a focus and we would like every child to continue to read
daily at home. Please initial the reading diary when they have read so that books can be
changed. We continue with the ‘key word’ reading system - please remember to learn these
and send them in for testing. Number Bonds will continue to be tested twice each half term
per child, please keep their current card in their book bag. Learning logs will be sent home
half termly with tasks related to our current topic.
Spelling tests – these continue to take place on a Wednesday. The weekly spellings are on a
“Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check” sheet, a good method to help the children to learn the
words. We recommend that they practice them at least 3 times a week, in preparation for the
test on Wednesdays. The sheet does not need to come back to school as the children have
their own spelling books in class.
Letter and number formation – This term the children will be encouraged to use some of the
joins that we have been learning in their own writing. Letter formation is particularly
important for this and it would be incredibly helpful if you could support this at home as well.
Topics – our topic for this half term is “Chocolate” – with links to plants, journeys and healthy
eating. The children have already identified things they would like to learn and have begun to
decorate our role play area. If you have anything that you could bring to school to aid our
learning (models, books, etc) or you would like to talk to the class, please let us know. Next
half term our topic will be “Scotland” with links to the human body, maps and Katie Morag.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to come and see one of us at the end of the
day.
Many thanks for all your support.
Mrs Priolo and Mrs O’Kelly
Summer term topics – ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Scotland’
English
This term, our English work continues to link to other areas of the curriculum, where possible.
Our non-fiction work involves reading information books and noticing the main features of this
style. We revisit non-fiction later in the term when we explore the writing of letters. In
poetry our work is based on poems about current topics and our senses. The children will be
reciting poems, making their own and performing to the class. For our fiction work we will move
on to family stories and stories with repeating patterns and phrases. We will discuss the main
parts of a story and use drama to make up stories before writing. In our daily phonics sessions
we are consolidating ar, or, ur, ow, oi, ear, air, ure, er ,au, ir ,and long vowel sounds (ay, ai, a-e,
ee, ea, igh, i-e, ow, o-e, ue, u-e). The children are generally able to read these sounds but we
are focusing on blending them to read words and spelling them – any extra support you can give
at home would be appreciated. In June Year 1 children nationally will be taking part in the
Phonics Screening Check. They will read 20 alien/nonsense words and 20 real words to check
their knowledge of phonic sounds. This will be take place as part of a normal school day and it
is very similar to the work that we already do. Details of websites that can be accessed to
practise at home are on our class pages on the school website.
Mathematics
We continue our work on addition and subtraction using a wide range of vocabulary (‘more’,
‘less’, ‘between’, ‘total’, ‘subtract’, ‘difference’ and ‘altogether’) and we use place value (tens and
units) to compare two numbers. We practise how to say 1 more/less up to 100, as well as 10
more/less of multiples of 10 and 2-digit numbers. This work is reinforced by completing
missing numbers in sequences which count forwards/back in 2s, 5s and 10s. When adding or
subtracting, we continue to use a variety of methods such as number bonds to ten and twenty
(5+5, 18+2), inverse operations (3+2=5 so 5-2=3) and counting on and back in our heads. We will
extend our doubles to 10 and will be finding half and quarters of groups of objects. We
continue to solve and record word problems, including money (totalling coins and giving change
from 10p/20p). In our measuring work, we will carry out practical activities to learn about
length, mass and capacity. We will also be revising ‘half past’ and the names and features of 3D
shapes.
Science
Our first topic is ‘Chocolate’, and we will be learning about plants and their different parts. We
will find out about the way things grow and start to think about the conditions needed for
growth. Lessons will continue to be largely based on a hands-on, investigative approach,
encouraging the children to use appropriate vocabulary. After half term we will find out about
the human body and our senses, which will link to our English work. We will think about what
different body parts are used for.
Computing
This term we will revisit algorithms and use these to create videos of ourselves explaining how
to do different tasks. We will use software to edit and improve our videos, then aim to put
some examples on the school website. This will link to the children’s revision and understanding
of concepts they have come across during the year. After half term, we will focus on using
audio books as a way to communicate ideas. The children will experience audio books and think
about why we might use them. They will go on to create their own examples using the iPads.
The children continue to use laptops, iPads, digital cameras and microscopes across all areas of
their learning.
History and Geography
In Geography the children will be developing their basic geographical skills in our work on
‘Chocolate’ and ‘Scotland’. For ‘Chocolate’ we will name and locate hot and cold areas of the
world in relation to the Equator and Poles when we find out where Cocoa beans grow and the
journey from seed to chocolate. After half term we will name, locate and identify
characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its
surrounding seas for our topic ‘Scotland’. We will also be consolidating vocabulary for
geographical features such as mountain, hill and lake. In History we will look at the history of
chocolate. Children will be recognising the differences between old and new, past and present.
Art and Design Technology
For ‘Chocolate’ this half term our theme in DT is ‘healthy eating’. The children will be learning
how to make a healthy chocolate dish. They will first examine healthy food. Then they will plan
and create their dish, evaluating their product at the end of the process. We will also practise
designing, planning, cutting and attaching while making items for out role play area. After half
term for ‘Scotland’ the focus will be Art we will use pastels, paint and collage materials,
focusing on representing images and experiences.
PSHE
PSHE sessions will be an opportunity for the children to think about communicating with each
other and with the adults in their class. This term we will begin by focussing on ‘Healthy body,
Healthy minds’ thinking about safety with household cleaners and medicines, sun safety, the
importance of regular exercise and the need for rest and sleep. After half term we continue
to think about safety. The children will develop ways of keeping safe in everyday situations,
we will also look at the transition to Year 2, talking about other changes we have made in our
life so far and dealing with any concerns.
RE
We continue to follow the Herts Agreed Syllabus for R.E and the theme for this term is
‘Special/Precious books’. Children will begin by talking about books that are special to them,
sharing their reasons with the class. They then move onto looking at precious books from a
variety of the main religions, including Judaism and Islam. We spend some time looking at
stories from the Bible and discussing the life and work of Jesus. The children will also be
discussing moral scenarios.
P.E (Cedar class – Monday, Wednesday; Elm class – Tuesday, Wednesday)
This term the children will be using the partnership skills that they have developed this year
to try simple versions of team games such as rounders and cricket. They will try out individual
skills before applying them to full games. Premier Sport will also be doing Athletics sessions to
build up to Sports Day. Please ensure your child has outdoor footwear – trainers or plimsolls.
They should also have a tracksuit in case of colder weather.
After half term, the children will try some country dancing as part of our ‘Scotland’ topic.
Music
The topic for this term is ‘Exploring Duration’ where the children will be studying the length
of notes, music and sounds. This will be taught by Mrs Sands, our specialist music teacher who
comes into school on a Friday.
One last thing….
We will be going outdoors as often as we can however we are hoping the weather will be fine
enough most of the time for us to not need wellies! Thank you.