Welcome to Keller Class –  Year 1

Named after Helen Keller (and exploring the value of friendship) – was an American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. Born in West Tuscumbia, Alabama, she lost her sight and hearing after a bout of illness at the age of nineteen months. She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan, who taught her language, including reading and writing; Sullivan’s first lessons involved spelling words on Keller’s hand to show her the names of objects around her.

Information for MacArthur Class – Year 1 

2020 – 2021

Dear Parents,

The children have had a fantastic return to school after a period of home learning. Thank you for your support with their learning during that time. They have thoroughly enjoyed learning and playing together again and have amazed us with their enthusiasm! We are excited to watch them progress throughout the rest of the year. 

Year 1 

Children in Year 1 follow the Year 1 National Curriculum for all subjects. Year 1 is the first part of Key Stage 1 and prepares the children for the learning in Year 2. At the end of the year, the children take part in the Year 1 Phonics Screen. 

What do the children do?

Our school day is broken into different parts. We have English, Maths and Phonics lessons every morning before lunch. Our afternoons differ each day of the week depending on the subject being taught. The children learn in a variety of ways. Sometimes their learning will take place independently and sometimes through games, activities and investigations with their peers inside or in our outdoor area. We also have time for continuous provision. Continuous provision means the resources and environment are set up to allow children to learn independently. In Reception the time given to it is called ‘Busy Learning’ in year 1 it is called ‘C.P.’  

What do the adults do?

Staff at school work and play alongside your child and help to teach them the next steps in their learning. Staff teach and model to small groups or the whole class depending what is being taught. When your child is working or playing, they observe and support their learning. Staff also set up games or activities for the children to access independently or as part of a group. Games and activities are tailored to the children’s next steps. 

Topics

We learn through a new topic each half term. Information on topics is given in the curriculum letter at the start of each term. In Year 1, we have a variety of exciting topics that our History, Geography, English and Art and Design lessons might link to.  

What does your child need every day?

• Water bottle
• Fruit (1 piece of named fruit provided by you if you wish your child to have two portions of fruit a day)
• Weather appropriate clothing (sun hat/warm hat/raincoat – bear in mind the changeable weather that we have in England and that your child may spend up to half the day outside)
• Welly boots and wet weather gear
• Reading folder

PE

PE lessons will be on Tuesdays and Fridays. Please make sure your child is wearing their PE kit when they come into school on these days.

Labels

Please clearly label all your child’s belongings so we can return them to you quickly if they get lost!

STIKINS labels are great and by purchasing them, you raise money for our school too. Click here and enter school fundraising number 14399 when ordering. Theses labels stick to everything!

Spare Clothes

Most children have the odd ‘wetting’ accident in school at some point. If you think your child is likely to have frequent accidents, please put a spare set of ‘bottoms’ (including socks or tights) in their bag. If your child borrows some spare clothes from school, please return them as soon as possible (nice and clean please!)

Messy Play

Learning through play can be a messy experience – so please be prepared for this!

Reading Books

Your child has been given a book bag so they can choose a new book each morning from the book box. They may also receive Games or Activities to support their learning in School. Please support them as much as you can.   

Seesaw

We use Seesaw to share evidence of your child’s learning at school with you – we love it when you share their learning at home with us. Please have a go at logging in so that we can sort out any issues for you. We also use Seesaw to post information, spellings and homework. 

Helpers

If you have a spare afternoon or hour a week and would like to come in and listen to children read, we would be extremely grateful. Please speak to Miss Burton or the office. 

Thank you for your support.

Best wishes

Pippa Burton

Homework