Dear Parents/Carers
Welcome back to school. We hope you are all keeping safe and well and enjoyed a well-earned rest and quality time with your families over the summer holidays. It is lovely to be back and welcome the children into our new classroom. We are very proud of how quickly they have settled in and are really looking forward to a fun and exciting year together!
In English, the children will listen to and follow instructions to complete different tasks and follow routines. They will have daily opportunities to listen to and share a range of class stories, non-fiction texts and poems enabling comprehension skills to develop. Through sharing different texts, we will focus on links with other areas of the curriculum. Speaking and listening skills will be developed through interactions with adults and peers through role play, new vocabulary and group question times. Reading will be developed through daily phonics activities, learning common and tricky words and spellings. Writing opportunities will focus on handwriting formations, grammar and punctuation of sentences and will link to topic areas.
In Mathematics, children will be learning how to develop their own ideas and solve problems through the areas of investigating numbers, finding patterns, solving calculation problems and exploring relationships between addition and subtraction. They will be learning how to ‘convince’ each other what they know in maths. New vocabulary will be learnt and skills will be developed using ‘hands on’ resources, drawings, pictures and photographs. Children will be recording maths pictorially and in written form. They will learn to select the resources they need and build independence through handling objects when solving problems and demonstrating how they can record their knowledge to share with other children and adults.
In Science, children will be identifying, naming, describing and comparing various animals. They will be asking and answering questions including looking for patterns, making observations and performing fair tests in scientific activities. They will also be making comparisons linked to seasonal changes across the four seasons.
Geographical skills will be developed through using fieldwork and observational skills and looking at key human and physical features of the environment. They will be identifying weather patterns and seasons in the local area and UK. Historical skills will link to ‘changes over time within living memory’ comparing similarities and differences between different families, looking at family trees then and now.
Through Art and Design the focus will be on paintings inspired by local artists and we will be looking at the work of Mackenzie Thorpe. Children will have opportunities to develop their own art ideas, through drawing and painting – using various materials, colour, line, pattern, texture, shape, form and space. We will explore and compare different artists’ work with our own. In Computing, children will learn about staying safe when using computers. They will also develop their digital literacy, recognising common uses of information technology beyond school. Through music, the children will be using voices expressively and creatively singing songs, chants and rhymes and will listen to a range of high-quality live and recorded music to develop their concentration and understanding. Through stories there will be opportunities to play tuned and untuned instruments.
In PSHE and C, through SEAL themes and ‘My Happy Mind’, we will be finding out about ‘new beginnings’, ‘getting on and falling out’ and ‘Meet Your Brain’ – how we learn from mistakes to develop our self-esteem, independence and confidence and form positive relationships with our peers. In RE, the children will learn about Judaism. They will also consider how and why we celebrate special and sacred times.
In PE, children will explore invasion games and multi skills, building up stamina through running, jumping, throwing, catching and team work. Through dance, we will perform different movement patterns. Year 1 children will continue going to forest school where they will develop a range of skills. During this time, Year 2 will join Year 3 and 4 for PE with Mr Swankie.
Reminders
- Book bags come in to school and go home every day.
- PE days are Tuesday and Friday. Wear outdoor PE kits on these days.
- Water bottles come in to school and go home every day.
We look forward to a busy and exciting term.
Miss O’Neill and Mrs Guyll