28.09.20 - This week in Year 1

  This week in Year 1 we will be:

• Finishing writing the words to go with our pictures about our Wonderful World. We will then be turning all of this work into a little film.
• Learning to read 4 phoneme words, but this week the double consonants will be at the start of a word. (Words like glad, crab, flat etc)
• Continuing to learn how to spell our tricky words, remembering our "top tips" for spelling. (See the bottom of this blog for the words/top tips)
• Sharing and discussing the story "Ten Things I Can Do To Help My World" and thinking about what we can do, writing a pledge to make changes.

• Thinking about our World and how the changes we make or don't make can have an impact on wildlife.
• Using ordinal numbers in our Maths sessions and solving problems using a number line.

We have been trying to spell the following tricky words:

Phase 2 - I, no, go, to, the

Phase 3 - he, me, we, be, she, was, my, her, you, they, are, all

Phase 4 - so

Here are our top tips:

We are learning that if we can remember how to spell no and go then we can also spell so.

We are learning that if we can remember how to spell he then this helps us with me, we, be and she.

We have learnt that me has an "e" but my has a "y" (Saying e as in bee and y as in why)

We are learning that the tricky part of her is with the er sound, we need to remember that it is  "better letter" not "nurse with a purse"

We are learning that are is ar like "start the car", don't forget the "e" for the engine!

We are learning that you sounds like an "oo" but ends with a "u" (Saying u as in you)

We are learning that they is "the" with a "y" (Saying y as in yak)

We are learning that all is where a has all the l's 

Finally, we are learning that was is was not woz!

It would be fabulous if the children could have a go at spelling these words at home too.

Many thanks for you continued support, 

Miss Wakefield

28.09.20 - This week in Early Years

Welcome to the Early Years blog! It was so lovely to meet all the children on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Hopefully you have navigated our website and found the pages that are most relevant to you...but just in case you've missed them here they are again. 

We have a special area where information for the new intake has been placed. This can found be found here

I also regularly update our class page, this can be found here. I will always post a link on our blog to anything that has been added. The blog can be found at the bottom of the class page.

The home page of our website always has announcements on the left hand side of the page, here you can find links to any letters that have been published or see any other important messages. We also add the newsletters and other letters to our social media pages.

Finally, you can always contact me using earlyyears@downhallprimary.com.

NOW on to our learning for the coming week!

This week in Early Years we will be:

• Welcoming everyone into Pearl Class and learning about what we do at snack time and lunch time.
• Finding out about different areas of our classroom and around school - exploring the ladybird garden, field and adventure playground.
• Drawing pictures of ourselves for our classroom display.
• Talking about how we can work together to make our classes a happy place to work and play. (RRS Article 31)
• Taking a class photo for the Echo New Starters supplement.

See you all on Monday!

Miss Wakefield

21.09.20 - This week in Year 1

 This week in Year 1 we will be:

• Writing the words to go with our pictures about our Wonderful World. 
  
  
  
  
  
• Continuing to work on 4 phoneme words, this week we will be listening carefully when segmenting to check we hear all 4 sounds.
• Learning how to spell some of our Phase 3 words in our Phonics sessions.
• Introducing the < and > symbols in our Mathematics sessions,  we will start by watching the Numberblock episode "Blockzilla".
  
  
  
• Using our Year 1 Maths books again, checking that all of our numbers are correctly formed.
• Spending time in the Ladybird Garden, seeing what different creatures we can find.
• Enjoying our first PE session of the Autumn Term on FRIDAY.

Some of our lovely drawings from our "Draw with Rob" sessions are now on the school's Instagram account, you can find it by clicking on the link below. The children really enjoy these sessions and are always proud of their drawings.

Instagram

Thank you for your continued support,

Miss Wakefield

14.09.20 - This week in Year 1

 This week in Year 1 we will be:

• Continuing our mini project by thinking about ways we can take care of our world and all the creatures that live on Earth. 
• Working on 4 phoneme words in our Phonics sessions, watching how the Alphablocks change words from 3 to 4 phonemes and then trying it for ourselves.
• Finding 1 more or 1 less than a given number in our Mathematics sessions.
• Adding to our "Draw with Rob" book by learning how to draw 2 more things. *Keep an eye on the school's Instagram account as some of our drawings will be appearing soon.
  
  
   
• Continuing with our Daily Mile challenge.

You may have seen in the newsletter this week that all of the school have been given a piece of homework. We would really like to decorate the fence along Downhall Park Way with some of the children's work. For further details please see the newsletter which can be found by clicking the link below. It would be lovely to have some work from the Pearl and Quartz children.

Newsletter

I just want to add that it has been so lovely to have the children back in school and I am so proud with how well the children in Pearl and Quartz have adapted to the changes that have had to be made. Every day they have come to school with smiles on their faces and tried to do their very best, they are a credit to you all. Thank you also for your patience and support, particularly at drop off and pick up times, it is much appreciated. 

As I no longer have the chance to speak to you at the gate as I once did, please feel free to use the email earlyyears@downhallprimary.com to let me know of any worries or to ask any questions or you may even just want to tell me about how your child has felt after returning to school. If you would prefer a phone call then please ring the office and leave a message and I will ring you back as soon as possible. 

Many thanks

Miss Wakefield

07.09.20 - This week in Year 1

 This week in Year 1 we will be:

• Welcoming everyone back to school.
• Talking about our Class Charter and making any changes which we need to help keep us safe in school.
• Starting a mini project around the book "Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth" by Oliver Jeffers.
  
  
  
• Recapping the sounds we had learnt in Phonics and using them to read and write simple words.
• Sorting and ordering objects and then writing the correct numeral for each group in our Mathematics sessions.
• Starting to complete our Daily Mile each afternoon.

  

I am looking forward to seeing all the children again tomorrow. If you have any queries please email me using earlyyears@downhallprimary.com

Miss Wakefield

Pearl and Quartz Welcome back!

Hello Pearl and Quartz families!

I hope you are all well and that you and your children are ready and looking forward to returning to school on Monday. We have been busy in school getting everything ready for their return and this blog is just a few reminders ready for Monday.

The children will only need their water bottles and lunch boxes (washable, of any type), all the children are eligible for the school packed lunches. The menu can be found here: Lunch Menu

All the children will be coming in and leaving by the Downhall Park Way entrance. We have chosen this entrance as it enables us to have a distinct entry and exit point (like in most public buildings) so we can maintain social distancing and keep our community safe. Please see the photo for clarification.

As there are staggered start and finish times, the children returning to Pearl and Quartz are due to start at 9.15am and finish at 2.45pm. However if your child has an older sibling then they can start at the same time as their sibling, as all siblings start at the earliest time. Older siblings may come home at 2.45pm or, if you prefer, they can be collected at their individual collection time.(i.e.more than one collection time for you). If you decide to pick up your children at different times please email me and let the office know. (My email is at the end of this blog). 

The letter with the start and finishing times for all classes can be found here: Start and finish times

Any visits to the school, including the office, are strictly by appointment only and so it is very important to ensure that your child has remembered to bring everything they need with them. 

I will still post on this blog the work we will be covering in class. As the children are now in Year 1 it will be a mixture of Year 1 learning alongside things they would have needed to cover in the summer term in Early Years. In the morning we will focus on Phonics, English and Mathematics and in the afternoon we will be focusing on project work, completing the daily mile and having story times. There will be no PE for the first 2 weeks. 

If you have any further questions please email me using earlyyears@downhallprimary.com

The DfE have published guidance for parents about children returning to school. This can be found here: Returning to School

Thank you in advance for your patience and support. We are constantly reviewing the situation and adapting our plans accordingly and will of course update you as and when needed via our blog.

Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Miss Wakefield