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Year 1

Welcome to Year 1!

The Teachers and Teaching Assistants in Year 1 are:

Butterflies Class

Miss Gasson
Teacher

Mrs Moran
Teaching Assistant

Squirrels Class

Mrs Norbury
Teacher

Miss Duynisveld

Miss Duynisveld
Teaching Assistant

Team Leader: Mrs Norbury

Welcome to Year 1! Our team this year, consists of Mrs Norbury and Miss Gasson as the Class Teachers of Squirrels and Butterflies class. Working alongside them, are Miss Duynisveld in Squirrels and Mrs Moran in Butterflies as our wonderful Teaching Assistants. 

This is an exciting and important year for your child as they move from Early Years into Year 1. We aim to provide a smooth transition between year groups, by having thorough communication between teachers as well as settling in activities upon return to school in September. It is of great importance to us that the children are supported in the best possible way, to ensure they feel safe and happy to learn.

We build on the foundations which have been laid in Early Years and continue with an Explore and Discover based approach to our learning in the Autumn term.  Each area of the curriculum is based around small, focused teaching and learning time, as well as some free choice in that specific curriculum area. Gradually, as the year progresses, the learning will take on a more structured approach. We build on the length of time children can sit for a teaching input, as well as working independently and in groups on specific tasks. We work through a topic based approached to your child’s learning. This allows them to become immersed in the topic regardless of the specific subject.  By the time we reach the Summer term, structured whole class curriculum lessons are in place.

On a final note, we always welcome parents or grandparents to help with reading and other activities in class on a regular basis or for a specific purpose.  If you are able to offer your time, please get in touch with your child’s class teacher.

Thank you for your support,

The Year 1 Team

Summer 1 Topic - The Enchanted Woodland

If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise!

This half term, we are very excited about our upcoming trip to the Wakehurst Place, where we will learn about various trees, observe the wildlife, collect natural objects and take beautiful photographs of our adventure around the wonderful park. Throughout this topic project, we will learn how to sow and care for different plants and what they need to survive. We will also learn how to identify and categorise different plants and animals by using information books, leaflets, and the internet. We will listen, learn and reenact traditional tales which will inspire us to think about our own stories with a woodland theme.

Maths- This half term, we continue to explore numbers and the place value system to numbers within 100. Within this, we will look closely at numbers and 100 squares, finding one more one/one less, comparing numbers as well as partitioning two-digit numbers into tens and ones. We will also begin our first steps in learning about multiplication and division by examining the 10s, 2s and 5s timetables and how these can be grouped and shared. We will start to learn about time, focusing of reading clocks of o’clock and half past, as well as money (recognising coins and their value), and fractions, (halves, quarters) of both shapes and amount.

Literacy- We will start our writing journey this half term with the children recounting their Easter Holidays ensuring our recounts use the suffix -ed correctly and are written in the past tense. The children will also apply learnt skills of time connectives, adjectives, and the conjunction ‘and’ within their writing. After this, we will learn to write a set of instructions about how to plant, grow a bean seed, which they will get to bring home at the end of the topic. After this, our focus will be learning to retell and sequence traditional tales such as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ by Charles Perrault and ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by Brothers Grimm. We will use props and story cards to act the tales out, before using our memory of these traditional tales to write our own woodland themed stories.

Science- During this topic we will be studying and exploring different types of trees and plants, focusing on the different parts and the functions. We will also learn to identifying common UK woodland animals as well as animals across the world, we will compare their habitats and how they differ from each other.

Art- To kick off our new and exciting topic, we will take a walk through our school grounds to create our very own ‘Tree Boggarts’ using clay and found natural resources. In Art, we will explore different types of textures and patterns found in different materials and use this understanding to create a weave that represents woodland colours and textures.  On our school trip to Wakehurst Place, we will use natural materials to create ephemeral art in the style of Andy Goldsworthy. At the end of our project, we’ll have so much to share with you!

​Geography- During our trip to Wakehurst Place we will gather found natural objects and take photographs of our journey around the park. Once back at school, we will use the natural objects and photographs to create our own journey maps. This will not only help us to develop our mapping skills but also help us to remember our wonderful visit.

Computing- This half term, we will continue to develop our skills on the Chromebooks by typing on a keyboard and beginning to use tools to change the look of writing. We will then consider the differences between using a computer to create and manipulate text vs writing on paper.

Me and My World (RSHE)- Within Summer term 1 we will begin our new RSHE unit ‘Relationships’.  We will look at our families and what makes them special and identify special people in our lives. We will dig deeper into who is a friend and what they do to support us. This understanding will then help us to learn how we make friends and that friendships are important in making us feel happy and secure.

RE- The big questions in our Gospel unit this half term is ‘What is the Good News Jesus brings?’. We will learn that the Bible tells Christians stories about good news through the life of Jesus. We will focus on the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and the special stories they tell ‘The Tax Collector’ and its deeper meaning. Through studying these Gospels, we will also begin to recognise that Christians believe that Jesus gives instructions on how to behave and live a good and purposeful life.