Year 1

Hello Pear, Pineapple and Plum Families!

Members of Staff:

Pear class- Miss Stroud & Miss Loveridge

Pineapple class- Miss Salih & Miss Hall

Plum class- Miss Schulz (Head of Year) & Mrs Riwnyj

Welcome to the Year One page!

Below you will find some important information. Please do take the time to read it carefully and speak to your child's class teacher if you have any questions.

Year 1: Key Information

Please read on for some reminders about our school day and updates about our topics this half term.

Children continue to be welcomed at their doors from 8:40 am each morning. Once in the classroom, children are asked to read their books so please do ensure they are sent into school each day.  The register is taken at 8:55 am and we begin our lessons straight away. If your child’s door is closed, please take them to the office to be signed in. 

Children are provided with fresh fruit as a morning snack. Please send your child in with a water bottle (no fizzy drinks) and drink bottles will be topped up as needed. Milk can be ordered at www.coolmilk.com. You can also send in a healthy snack (no nuts as we have severe allergies in the year group or chocolate please!) for afternoon play.

Just a reminder that if you need to speak to your class teacher, please be mindful that the mornings and straight after school are always busy as we greet/dismiss the children. Feel free to wait around  or you can email your questions or concerns to our Year 1 email address including your child’s name and class in the subject line and main body of the email so it can be directed to the appropriate teacher. Thank you so much for your co-operation and we aim to respond to all emails within 48 hours.

Email: year1@lionel.hounslow.sch.uk

Curriculum Information: Summer Term 1

In Phonics the children will continue the Read Write Inc. program. This is where they will learn to use sounds to improve their reading and writing. Most children have now been taught all sounds and are reviewing set 3 and alternative sounds. Children should be reading words containing 4-5 sounds. Our confident readers will be reading compound words containing 5-7 sounds. We continue to send home weekly spellings that can be found on your child's Google Classroom page. 

In English, the children are enjoying the book called "The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters!" written by Janet & Allan Ahlberg. Children will be writing letters, character descriptions, stories, and much more! Children should be using consistent finger spaces, writing on the line, using capital letters and full stops in their writing. Children will be taught how to use conjunctions "and, so, but, because," how to write stories with a beginning, middle, and end, and to use exciting vocabulary. Children will continue learning the school handwriting style (not joined) and you can find tutorial videos on Google Classroom to support the children's writing at home. 

In Maths children will be looking at multiplication and division, fractions, and position and direction . Please ensure that your child is confident counting in 2s, 5s, and 10s to at least 50. Children should continue practising adding and subtracting within 20 until confident and speedy!

In Geography we will be learning all about Hot and Cold Climates! Children will learn about the Arctic and Antarctic, learn about the equator, and identify which continents are hotter or colder based on their location to the equator.

In History the children will learn about Castles. This topic is always a hit! Families that want to make the topic a bit more special could visit Windsor Castle. 

In Science the children will learn about Spring and how the changing seasons matter to them. They will then look at growing plants. Children should go for a walk around them and learn to identify some common flowers/plants that grow in England.

Other Key Information:

Please remember to bring PE kits back into school. Just a reminder that if your child does not have a full kit then they will be unable to participate. 

There is a special Tennis PE unit occurring this half term for Plum and Pineapple class. The children will be outside in the school's MUGA and will be needing full length bottoms and a school jumper/cardigan to wear. Please ensure that each piece of kit (including shoes) is labelled with your child’s name as they are easily mixed up when the uniform looks the same!

PE Days:

Pear- Thursday & Friday

Pineapple- Monday & Wednesday *Please note the day change for this half term only.

Plum- Tuesday & Wednesday

Homework will be posted every Friday evening on Google Classroom. You can find your child's log in details on the inside of their reading record book. It is important that your child completes the homework each week. Homework will consist of a weekly spelling list that will be tested on the following Friday, and their daily reading. Spelling results will be recorded on Google Classroom for you to see and incorrect words will be noted in the comment section for extra practice at home. You may assist your child with typing but please be aware that we always know which children have done the work using their own ideas. Children should write the words on paper or into sentences to help them. Some parents have given us feedback that they would like a Trace,Copy, Memory write template to print at home. This has now been added to the weekly spelling assignment. It is attached as "read only" to ensure the formatting is correct. 

Reading books are required to be in school daily. It is expected that the children practice reading daily for a minimum of 10 minutes.  Please note that we encourage reading in many different formats including independent reading done by the child, shared reading between the child and another person (sibling, parent, carer, family friend, etc.), and listening to reading by adults! Reading a variety of other books to your children is also important so they can hear how words flow together to form sentences, and develop a greater range of vocabulary. Please ensure you are recording in the school reading record books. We will be checking reading records throughout the week to monitor reading. 

At home, please encourage the children to sound out (not guess) the words and ask your child questions to make sure they have understood what they have read. It is very important that you assist your child’s learning at home by allowing them to use their new sounds, increase confidence over time and develop a love of reading!

Thank you and we look forward to a fantastic Spring Term !

The Year One Team