Welcome back to all of the Year 1 children and families! I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas break filled with love and joy. I hope all the children are ready for the exciting and busy term ahead.
Our whole school theme of the “The Treasure Within” continues. The theme is underpinned by the Catholic Social Teaching of Human Dignity and supports our ‘BRW Spirit Strong’ motto. We will continue to focus on the treasures that we hold dare and share these together as a class.
Religious Education (RE):
RE is always at the heart of our learning. This year our RE topics will follow the “To know You more clearly” curriculum, this term we will be covering the following:
- Galilee to Jerusalem: We will learn and be able to answer questions about the story of Zacchaeus. We will spend time learning the stories and accounts from the Gospel of Luke being able to retell the stories to our friends and families. We will be able to identify some of the people that encounter Jesus.
- Desert to Garden: We will encounter the story of the life of Jesus. We will recognise that Angels bring God’s messages and are a sign of his presence. We will encounter the symbols used in prayer and liturgies.
This term we will be going on an exciting journey of discovery.
English: We will be using our Talk for Writing strategies to retell the story of “Tadpoles Promise” and “Somebody swallowed Stanley”. These stories will also inspire our creative writing, where we will be rewriting the story of the Tadpoles Promise and somebody swallowed Stanley. Alongside this we will be writing a non-chronological report on life cycles. We will be using our phonological skills to help us with our spellings, as well as focusing on our use of capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. We will be continuing to practice our handwriting daily to ensure our letters are formed correctly.
Maths: Our focus this term is place value within 20 and 50, addition within 20 and length and height.
Wider Topics:
Science: We will be exploring animals including humans looking at what they need to survive, the different types of animals and the different diets they have.
Geography: by the end of the term we will be able to locate the UK on the world map; we will be able to name the 7 continents and know the location of the 5 seas. We will also be learning about the different climates in the different continents
History: We will be finding out about all the different ways people have travelled throughout history. We will finish this topic by looking at the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong.
Our Physical Education (PE) lessons are very exciting this term. We will be taking part in Yoga and Gymnastics with Mrs Bathgate. As well as working on our team building skills and ball control skills in Football.
This term is going to be a very busy but exciting one. We can’t wait to get started!
How To Help At Home
Reading: Please ensure your child always has their reading book and diary in school. Listen to your child read each day and leave a comment in your reading diary. Your child will take part in guided reading sessions each week. Read stories to your child to encourage a love of books and visit the library to borrow a wide range of stories.
PE: Always have the correct PE kit in school. This term all children will need an indoor kit (white t-shirt and black shorts) and an outdoor kit (warm joggers/leggings, sweatshirt or hoodie, trainers).
Homework: Complete weekly homework challenges. This will normally include a maths task, reading and spellings. Spelling tests will take place every Wednesday. New homework sheets will be sent out on Wednesday.
Uniform – Please ensure that every item of clothing is clearly labelled with your child’s name. This makes returning belongings so much easier.
Useful Websites:
https://www.teachyourmonster.org/
Phonics and reading activities in a fun and interactive way.
A fun website to develop mathematical recall and fluency in addition and subtraction. regular homework will be set using this website.
Mathletics United Kingdom | Empowering Maths Learning Online
A fun website to help consolidate the learning done in school. Weekly homework will be set on this website.
Finally, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to speak to me either before or after the school day. Alternatively please phone or email the office to arrange an appointment at a convenient time.
Mrs Hudson
