Dear Parents and Carers,

All the children have settled in so well and I could not be more proud. They have adjusted to the new routines brilliantly and are a very keen group of children.  We are all enjoying teaching them so much. They really are a credit to you.

Here are a few things that you may find helpful to help your child at home.

Start and Finish Times

Our school gates open at 8.30 and you will hear the bell ringing at the start of the day at 8.45. The children will then line up on the bottom playground where we will come and greet them. The children will then walk into class where they will put their lunches, snacks and belongings on their peg. Children will then be registered and begin their day!

The school gates open at 3pm in preparation to pick up children from the playground. At 3.15, the bell will ring indicating the end of the school day.  The children will be taken by the staff to their designated space at the bottom playground.  It is very important that parents wait for children to be lined up and individually dismissed once we have identified their trusted grown up to go with.  It would really help us if you do not try to take your children from the line as we are walking. 

Reading

Please read with your child ( this can be reading to your child or listening to your child ) for at least 20 minutes every day. Please make sure their book comes to school everyday. Remember to question your child on what they have read to check for understanding. 

Phonics

The children have a 25 minute phonic session every day. This website is useful and helps you to know the set 1, 2 and 3 sounds and provides some useful links to help with pronunciation etc. 

home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/

We will also send home a phonics book so you and your child can practise the sounds.

Spelling 

I have also included the 100 high frequency words and common exception words that children in Year 1 will find useful. If your child is able to spell many of the words we send home you could choose a few of these each week in addition to the ones we send home in their homework book. However, please be reassured that the ones we send home are enough at this stage. Encourage your child to write a sentence containing the words they learn as often they can spell them in isolation but when writing a sentence they can often still be misspelt. 

High Frequency Words

Homework

Children will be bringing their weekly homework book on Fridays which they need to return by Wednesday.  Children need to choose from the activities from the Termly Homework which is stuck in their purple book.  

Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions or require any clarification. 

The grid is divided into three areas: Spelling, Mathematics and Other Learning.  Children are expected to complete at least two spelling activities (green section) and one maths activity (blue section) per week. Additionally, children choose another two to three activities from other areas of the curriculum such as History, Science, Geography or art from the purple section every term. 

The spelling words for the week will be stuck inside their purple Homework books every Friday. Children can use the activities on the Green section to practice their spellings.  It is more beneficial for children to practice a few times a week than several times on one day.  

Mathematics

In class, children use a variety of concrete equipment to help them solve problems practically and create images and pictures to help them understand mathematical concepts.  Below is a knowledge organiser which exemplifies some of the ways we use this equipment.  Additionally, I have added paper replicas of some of the equipment which you can print off at your discretion and the children can use to work out or solve homework problems. 

Please make sure you name all of your children's clothes. This really is hugely helpful and saves us a lot of time. 

I hope you find this helpful and if I can help in any other way please don't hesitate to contact me or grab me at the gate and we can arrange a time to talk.

Many thanks

Jo Page 

Maths 

Please find some useful resources to help your child. 

We use Numicon in class and this website is helpful.

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/maths/numicon-guide-for-parents/

I have also enclosed a 100 square. You could practise counting forwards and backwards, looking for number patterns ( eg odds, evens) or covering a number and asking your child which number is missing and why. Encourage mathematical language such as I know the missing number is ...... because it is one more than, one less than etc. 

There are some fun games to play on this site  https://www.ictgames.com/

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