Willow Class

Teaching Team: Mrs Pring, Mrs Packham and Mrs Hawker

willow@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back! We hope you enjoyed a restful Easter break and are ready for the new term. Our topic for Terms 5 and 6 is ‘Exploring the World’ and this will form the basis for our Time and Place work, some of our English and Communication work and some of our Science learning.

As part of English and Communication, we will be learning to use the suffixes ‘ed’, ‘ing’, ‘s’, ‘es’, ‘er’ and ‘est’ in our writing and will discuss how these suffixes can change the meaning of a core word. We will also be learning to use the ‘un’ prefix. Over the summer term, we will use story and information texts to link to this learning and our topic of ‘Exploring the World’. We will develop our letter/postcard writing skills using fictional texts and describe different locations on an imaginary journey. We will make a packing list for our journey and use labels to add details to illustrations. We will use our oral story telling skills and role play to recount some traditional tales from around the world and will use some non-fiction texts to help us write about each continent.

In our Time and Place lessons, we will be learning the names of the 4 countries which make up the United Kingdom and will locate them and their capital cities on a map. We will also be learning about the compass directions: North, South, East and West. Next we will be learning about the locations and names of the 7 continents of the world and the world’s 5 oceans. We will then learn more about each continent’s key features and its weather.

In Science lessons, we will be learning about plants and trees. This will include identifying and naming a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees. We will also identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants, including trees and will observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants. We will also be continuing our work on seasons and will be observing and describing changes in our local environment, the day length and the weather as we enter summer. We will also talk about what the weather is like in different parts of the world as we learn about each continent.

In our Design and the Arts lessons, we will be looking at the work of Andy Goldsworthy and his use of natural resources to make land art. We will create our own artwork using natural resources and clay, individually and in groups. We will also be looking at the artwork of Katerina Apale, who uses bright colours, flowers and animals as a basis for her work, and creating some art inspired by that.

In Maths this term, we will start by learning to count in 2s, 5s and 10s. We will then move on to making equal groups of objects, making arrays and doubling numbers. This term we will also be learning fractions (halves and quarters) and describing position and direction. We will also be learning about place value for numbers up to 100, money (including recognising coins and notes) and time (including sequencing the days of the week and telling the time to the hour and half past the hour).

In our RE lessons, Willow Class will be learning about stories form different faiths. This will include Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist stories. We will also talk about each religion’s Holy Book and their beliefs about God. In Term 6, we will also learn about Aboriginal dreamtime stories and the Shinto creation story.

In our Sport, Exercise and Health lessons, we will be developing our athletic skills in preparation for Sports Day and will be playing some team games to develop ball control and accuracy in passing.

In our Computing lessons, we will be learning to move Bee-Bots from one place to another by giving them instructions and programming animation on the laptops.

Just a few reminders:

PE Kits

This term, PE will be on a Wednesday morning and Thursday morning. PE Kits should include a house T-shirt, shorts and plimsolls or trainers. Long tracksuit-type trousers are useful in the winter months for outside PE. Ideally your child’s PE kit should be in school every day. Long hair needs to be tied back for PE so please ensure your child wears a hairband to school. Also, earrings need to be removed or covered with tape during PE lessons. If your child is unable to remove their own earrings, please provide some microporous tape to cover them. Please ensure that your child’s belongings are labelled.

Water Bottles

Please make sure that your child brings a labelled water bottle to school with them every day. We kindly ask that bottles are filled with water only rather than juices or squash. Please do speak to us if this is an issue.

Start of the day

Children should arrive at school between 8:30am and 8:45am and go into school via the Willow Class outside area. If you arrive after 8:45am, please send your child via the main entrance/office so that we are aware they have arrived and can make sure their lunch choice is recorded.

Collection Arrangements

If someone else is collecting your child after school, please tell a staff member in the morning or telephone the school office if arrangements change during the day.

Toys and Games

We kindly request that toys and games from home are not brought into school.

If you have any concerns or queries about the information in this letter or any other matter relating to your child’s education, please do not hesitate to contact us via the class email address: willow@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk.

Many thanks,

Mrs Pring and the Willow Class Team

----------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 3! The adults working with your child this term will be Mrs Pring, Mrs Atkinson, Mrs Packham and Mrs Chavush.

Our topic this term is called ‘I need a hero!’ and initially we will be focusing on everyday heroes. We will then move on to learning about some significant people in history. After the February holiday we will be focusing on narratives for heroes such as Traction Man. Our topic work will form the basis for our English and Communication work and our learning related to the Time and Place curriculum.

As part of English and Communication, we will be learning about non-chronological reports and how to write them, using labels, lists and captions to record our ideas and writing a superhero narrative.

In our Time and Place lessons, we will be learning about significant individuals who have contributed to national and international achievements, such as Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, and thinking about how their lives were different to modern day life in terms of transport, communication, housing, hygiene and supplies.

In Science lessons, we will be learning about animals including humans and finding out about different animal groups and their characteristics. We will also be learning about seasonal changes from winter to spring and will make a weather chart to look at how the two seasons differ.

In our Design and the Arts lessons, we will be looking at the work of Miranda Lloyd and her use of line and colour in her artwork. We will also be looking at the work of Romero Britto, Alma Thomas and Beatriz Milhazes and their use of geometric shapes, patterns, colour and collage. We will produce our own artwork inspired by the artists we have studied. We will also be discussing which art pieces we like and why.

In Maths, we will be learning about place value within 20, addition and subtraction for numbers up to 20 and place value for numbers up to 50. We will also be learning how to measure length, height, weight and volume.

In our RE lessons, we will be learning about Christianity and the concepts of Gospel: What is the Good News that Jesus brings? (Term 3) and Salvation: Why does Easter matter to Christians? (Term 4).

In our Sport, Exercise and Health lessons, we will be learning how to play hockey, use dancing to explore movements to music and develop our gymnastics skills.

In our Computing lessons, we will be learning about Data and Information and how to group data. We will also be learning ow to create digital painting and writing.

Just a few reminders:

PE Kits

Water Bottles

Start of the day

Collection Arrangements

If someone else is collecting your child after school, please tell a staff member in the morning or telephone the school office if arrangements change during the day.

Toys and Games

We kindly request that toys and games from home are not brought into school.

Many thanks,

Mrs Pring and the Willow Class Team

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are so excited to welcome all pupils back to school this week. We are writing to inform you of the home learning provision that is in place for Willow class this year so that we can work together to best support your child while at school and at home.
Please read the following information carefully and do not hesitate to contact Mrs Pring or a member of the Year 1 team directly if you have any questions or queries.
Here is the diet of home learning activities that your child will receive in Yr1:
· Weekly Learning Update: Each week we will post a weekly learning update on the Year 1 Blog. This will keep you updated on your child’s main learning activities for the upcoming week.

· Reading: We expect all children in Year 1 to read for at least 10 minutes, 5 times per week. We kindly request that book bags and reading records are brought in to school every day. Please write in your child’s reading record every time you hear your child read and clearly indicate when you have finished with a book so that we know that you want it to be changed. If your child is struggling with particular words or a particular book, please let us know via their reading record so that we are aware and can make any necessary adjustments to book selection.

· Building a love of reading: We want children to develop a love of reading. Sharing stories and books with an adult at home can be a lovely way to do this. In school we enjoy looking at picture books and discussing details of the illustrations in the books. Reading to your child, making predictions about what might happen next in a story, looking for familiar words in books, food packets and shops can also be a fun way to build children’s reading skills.

· Wider Curriculum Activities: A wider curriculum activity matrix is currently being created for your child. When it is complete, we will send a copy home with your child and add a digital version to the Year 1 Blog.

Completion of these activities is not compulsory and families can choose how many of these activities they complete each term. If your child would like to share a completed wider curriculum activity, they can hand it in to their class teacher or send it in via the class email address.

After the Christmas holidays weekly maths/phonics home learning activity will also be set for your child to complete. However, we will provide more information relating to this activity closer to the time. If you have any questions or queries relating to any matter discussed in this correspondence or indeed any matter relating to your child’s learning, please do not hesitate to contact us via the class email address.
willow@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk

Many thanks for your continued support,

The Willow Team