Year One Newsletter

September 2015
Welcome back! I hope you all had a lovely summer break. My name is Miss Sanders and I have been the Year 1 teacher at the
Harris for the past six years. As well as me, your child will be working with Miss Rigby who has been at Harris Primary School
for two years and we are fortunate to have her all day every day. Miss Rigby will be teaching the class every Wednesday and
Thursday afternoon. We also have Miss Mansfield working with the class all day every day, Miss Mansfield has been at Harris
Primary School for 2 years. The 3 of us are really looking forward to the year ahead and will work closely together to plan
exciting and challenging lessons for your child. I look forward to meeting you all over the next few weeks. If you have any
queries or concerns please do not hesitate to speak to me, before or after school, I will be happy to help.
English
We will be starting off the year with a non-fiction unit in which the children
will look at labels, lists and captions. We will be linking this unit to our
Creative Curriculum headings: Good to be me! and Horrible Histories
Please could you send your child in with two family photographs that they can write a caption about.
One will be for their Literacy books and the other one for a display.
We will also be reading the story: The Gingerbread Man. We will identify
the main events and re-tell the story through role-play and in our own words.

Reading
We are in the process of issuing children with their reading books and reading records. Hopefully by the
start of next week we will have sent all books home. Your child will have their books changed at least
once a week and will be heard at least twice a week; please ensure their books are in school every day.
Please could we also ask that you listen to your child read at home this will make a real difference
to the progress they make. When your child has completed a book we ask that you sign and date in the
columns next to the corresponding title. We also ask that you add your comments on the blank pages
that follow each reading sheet.
You will find some useful tips and advice about supporting your childs reading in the front of your childs reading record, and in the back
you will find the targets they will be working on throughout the year.

Library
We will be taking the children to the library on Wednesday to choose a book. Please make sure your child
brings their school library book in every Wednesday so they can be changed.
Phonics and Spellings
In Year 1 we stream the teaching of phonics between three groups and your child will be in the group
that currently meets their needs. The children will be given spellings to take home and learn every
Friday for a test the following Wednesday. The spellings will include the spelling patterns they are
covering in their phonics sessions. If your child does find some of their spellings easy then challenge
them to write it into a sentence for you. Your child will receive their first set of words to learn next Friday 11/9/15.
Maths
This half term we will be practising our number formation, reading, writing and
comparing numbers and estimating and counting objects. We will be developing our
understanding of addition and subtraction, looking at the related vocabulary and
different strategies and resources that will help us. We will also be looking at 2D
and 3D shapes, describing and completing patterns.

Homework
Homework will be given out every Friday and should be returned to the box in class the following
Wednesday. Homework will either be a writing task (front of the book) or a Maths task (back of the
book). Please ensure your child completes their homework in pencil.
Blog
Please find time in the week to check out our Year 1 page on the schools Blog. You will find some useful
information to support your childs learning and useful links to educational websites that support the
work they do in school. We will also upload videos to share with you some of the work the children
complete. You will also find a copy of the Long Term Planner which explains everything we will be covering
this year.
The Whole School theme for this half term is...
Good to be me! & Horrible History
Year 1s Creative Curriculum Overview
History

Geography

Science

Art

DT

Great Fire of London

Where is London?

Events/Key facts
Samuel Pepys/Charles
I

Human and physical

features of London.
Famous landmarks in
London
Label a map of the UK
Capital cities in the UK

Seasonal Changes
Autumn

Good to be me
Self-portraits

Food technology:
Bake bread

Ourselves Body parts,

senses, keeping healthy

Artist - Picasso

Structures/Houses
from 1666 London

Fire in Preston 1947

Materials and their

properties

Portraits of Samuel Pepys

London in 1666 observational
paintings

Dance

Music

Role Play

Experiences

Visits

Dance events from

the GFOL retold
through dance and
improvisation.

Exploring soundsfire,
water, wind

Pudding Lane Bakery

Forest schools
Make houses out of sticks and look at
how quickly they burn compared to
brick.

Fire Station

Sing songs
Londons Burning

Computing
We will have opportunities to use ICT in all areas of the curriculum. We are fortunate enough to have
access to the schools laptops and iPads at least once a day. We also have 2 computers in class, a digital
camera and a new interactive screen. This half term we will be looking at using the internet safely.
French
We will be learning the French words for family members and learning a song in French.
PE (Physical Education)
Our PE lessons take place every Wednesday and Friday, please ensure that kit is in school on both these
days and earrings are taken out. This half term we will be doing games and dance; if the weather is
suitable we may go outside so please remember to include pumps in their PE kit.
PSHE (Personal, Social & Health Education)
Relationships
RE (Religious Education)
Islam Why do some people think God made the world?
I am really looking forward to the year ahead and hope I have the opportunity to meet with you all this week. Remember if there is
anything you need to discuss with me I am happy to help.
Thank you
Miss Sanders