We are so excited to welcome you all into Year 1. We have a brilliant team in Year 1 and we aim to create an engaging and safe environment to enable your children to learn and grow. We are really looking forward to meeting you all and having a wonderful year together. Please take your time to read through this letter which includes some important information about life in Year 1. The year leaders for 24/25 will be Mrs Gibbins and Mrs Westley and the staff in each class are as follows:

1GW - Mrs Gibbins (Monday-Wednesday) and Mrs Westley (Wednesday-Friday) with Mrs G

1TM - Ms Martin with Miss Palmer 

1JR- Miss Robinson with Mrs Jenkins and Mrs Isaac

 

 

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Our curriculum this term: 

 

Autumn term

This is a brief overview of what we will be learning during the Autumn term in Year 1.

 

Writing     We will have daily writing lessons which will focus on an engaging book over a short period of time. By the end of Year 1 the children will have been exposed to a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts. Our first book in Year 1 is ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.	Reading     We will have two daily Phonics lessons as well as daily Reading sessions. Your child will read with an adult in a small group focusing on decoding, fluency and comprehension.	Maths     In Maths, we are starting with Place value which focuses on number recognition, counting, comparing and ordering numbers. We will then move onto addition and subtraction within 10.	Science     In Science we will be looking at Forces, space and Seasonal changes.
PE	Art	DT	Music
During the first half term we will focus on ball skills and in the second half term we will be doing gymnastics.	We will explore formal elements of art and children will be able to develop their art and design skills.	We will look at sculptures and create windmills.	All about me: Pulse and rhythm. Animals: Classical music, dynamics and tempo.
Geography	History	PSHE	RE
In Autumn 1 we will look at our local area and ask, ‘What is it like where we live?’	In Autumn 2 we will look at our history and ask, ‘How are we making history?	In PSHE we will explore families and relationships. There will also be lots of opportunities provided throughout the week to give children time to talk and be mindful.	In RE our topic is People and the world around us: We will answer the key questions -  What does our world look like?   Who is in our community?
Computing   During the Autumn term, Year 1 will start to visit and use the computer room with Miss Cope. We will focus on logging on, mouse control and basic program skills.

 

 

Important information...

Arrival and Pick Up Times:

Children need to arrive at school at 8:35am. Please walk your child to their classroom door where they will be greeted by a member of staff. 

 

Year 1 pupils must be collected at 3.10pm. The children will be released from external classroom doors where they enter in the morning. Children will be released one at a time for safety so please bare with us.

 

Uniform:

Children should wear their school uniform four days a week and an outdoor PE kit on their PE day. Children can still wear their own clothes on their birthday.

 

PE:

Please ensure your child wears a warm PE kit such as joggers, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt and a pair of trainers as we will be doing PE outdoors. Please try to keep these plain and in dark colours such as black or navy. Children must have their hair tied up for PE sessions and no jewellery is allowed in PE for health and safety reasons. If your child wears stud earrings and cannot remove these themselves, we recommend that you remove these before your child comes into school. Year 1 PE will be on the following days:

 

1GW - Monday (Pupils in 1GW wear PE kit)

1JR - Monday (Pupils in 1JR wear PE kit)

1TM - Wednesday (Pupils in 1TM  wear PE kit)

 

Bags, Stationary and Water Bottles:

Your child can bring in their book bag or a small bag for reading and home learning books. Your child will receive a school water bottle. This should then be taken home, washed and returned to school each day, filled up with water. Water bottles can be re- filled with drinking water in the classroom during the day. Your child does not need to bring any stationary. We ask that any pens/pencil cases or similar are left at home please. 

 

Lunch:

If your child has a packed lunch, they can bring it in a lunch box or in a plastic bag. We do recommend keeping ice packs with the lunch to keep it cool and fresh. The children will be eating in the dining hall. All children in Year 1 are eligible for Free School Meals. If your child is having a hot dinner at school this must be booked in advance. Mrs Buck will not be able to book meals on behalf of parents anymore due to Data Protection, therefore you must book your child's meal. If you do not book a meal, then you will need to provide one and bring it into school. Please no nuts or nut products in school lunches. 

 

         Snacks:

       Fruit is provided by the school for the Year 1 children at break time.

 

Home Learning:

Home learning will be introduced gradually at the beginning of term. In Year 1, home learning is set on a Friday and is due back in on a Thursday. Your child will bring home a home learning book with their homework stuck into. Our non-negotiables that we expect to be completed are as follows:

• Reading daily - Please record in their reading records when you hear your child read.

• Maths, spelling, phonics and online learning to be completed weekly.

 

  Reading: 

Reading is extremely important at Southfields and supporting your child with their reading is expected. Reading should be completed daily, and the more often, the better! Reading books will come home with your child on a Wednesday. They should be returned the following Wednesday. We will be sending home our new ‘Little Wandle’ Phonics books which are matched to your child’s Phonic ability. It is crucial that these are returned weekly as we use them in school for reading sessions. Your child will not get their new book until their previous book is returned. Please look after the book. If it is lost or damaged, we would expect this to be replaced. Please encourage your child to reread their reading book throughout the week as this supports their fluency and understanding of the text. Reading books should be kept in your child’s book bag and brought to school every day.

 

Spellings:

In Year 1 new spellings will be set every Friday. The spellings will reinforce what your child has been learning at school and provide an opportunity for them to apply their phonics skills. Children will receive a copy of their spellings in their home learning book to practise. Your child will have their weekly Spelling assessment on Friday. 

Online Resources:

Your child will have access to Spelling Shed, Purple Mash. We recommend that your child uses their membership given by the school to the best of their advantage by thoroughly exploring these websites at home. The children will keep their logins and passwords for online resources throughout their time at Southfields so should have these already. However, if you need these again, please ask your child's class teacher who can help with these.

Class Dojo:

We love to use Class Dojo to communicate with you at home. Please make sure you are connected to Class Dojo and keep an eye on Class Dojo for day-to-day class and whole-school information, photos and updates of our fun learning, updates on your child's behaviour and messages from the class teacher. A key priority of ours is the relationships between teachers and adults at home to ensure that the children are fully supported at home and at school. Please do not hesitate to communicate with your class teacher or year leader if you have any questions, comments or worries. It should be noted that this tool is to be used in an appropriate and friendly way. At Southfields Primary School, we operate a zero tolerance approach to the use of inappropriate and disrespectful behaviour anywhere on the school site, social media or via our communication systems with parents. We hope you can all support us with this so that we can continue to use this helpful online tool.

 

 

We look forward to working with you and your children throughout the year. Thank you!

The Year 1 Team