St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

Admissions

If you wish to know further information relating to the curriculum in Class 1 please do not hesitate to speak to Miss Naylor, class teacher, via Class Dojo.

Literacy (speaking, listening, reading, writing)

We begin the term by finding out a bit more about our children; encouraging them to talk about themselves and their families and about what they like and what they don’t like. We share books on this theme; including ‘It’s OK to be different’ by Todd Parr and ‘The Great Big Book of Families’ by Mary Hoffman.

In our second full week at school, we began our daily phonics sessions, following a highly structured scheme called 'ReadWriteInc'. With a bit of help from Fred the Frog, we introduce the children to each letter sound and learn how to blend these sounds together to make words. This is an early stage of reading; we will send further information about this as we go to let you know how you can help your children at home.

Early writing begins with our daily ‘Funky Fingers’ activities; developing the fine motor skills needed through threading, pinching, placing and squeezing. The children begin to write letter sounds as they learn to read them- letter formation is linked to our daily phonics sessions. As the children’s knowledge of letters and sounds builds, along with their fine motor skills, they might have a go at writing words and phrases linked to our learning inside and outside the classroom.

Our YEAR 1 children continue their ReadWriteInc journey with the rest of the Key Stage 1 children in groups closely matched to their ability.

We enjoy learning lots of new songs and poems in this first term- hopefully we will be ready to perform some when you visit us for ‘Stay and Play’!

Understanding the World

Our class theme is ‘We are Growing’ and we will be sharing some wonderful books including ‘Oliver’s Vegetables’ and Eric Carle’s ‘A Tiny Seed’. The children will be planting their own seeds; beans, peas, pumpkins and sunflowers- and observing them as they turn into little seedlings! Once the frosty mornings are gone we will be planting these seedlings out in our garden. This leads nicely into learning all about ‘Minibeasts’- the children will enjoy some outdoor investigation and observation- looking for and describing ‘minibeasts’ and thinking about the sorts of habitats they like best. We will think about which minibeasts we might welcome to our vegetable patch, and which we might not. . . We will read stories about bees, ladybirds and worms.. 

Maths

Our focus this first term is counting and understanding the concept of numbers from 0-10. We will use NCETM materials to really master an understanding of these numbers- with a little help from the Numberblocks. We think about the composition of these numbers and their relation to other numbers and teach the children to subitise (knowing how many just by looking rather than counting).

Our YEAR 1 children join the rest of their year group for Maths each day and this term they begin with counting up to 30 and continuing to develop a sound mastery of number. They then move on to addition and subtraction.

R.E. 

Our Reception RE focus this term is ‘God’s World’. The children will learn and reflect upon God’s love and care for each and every one of us. They will hear about and respond to the things that God has created for us and understand that He made each and every one of us different and special.

The first RE topic for our YEAR 1 children is called ‘Chosen People’. We learn about how God has chosen us and how he chose Abraham and Moses.

The children begin to learn some simple school prayers and will enjoy bringing home the Class 1 Prayer Bag.

Physical Development

The children have PE sessions twice a week, on Thursday with Mrs Honeyman and Friday with Miss Brindle. These are the days where they come to school in their PE kits.

For the children with ear-rings these are the days that those ear-rings should not be worn to school please.

The fundamental movement skills of hopping, running, jumping, throwing and catching are developed and practised in these sessions through fun activities.

How can you help at home?  

A strong partnership between school and home is vital for your child’s education. During their time in school, your input will be required in different ways at different stages. You have already done a great job in preparing your children for school; we have had a very calm few days as your children have arrived with all the things they need, ready to learn.

At this point in the year, perhaps the most valuable thing you can do at home is to read with your child each day. Share stories; read stories in your home language; read the same ones again and again; talk about what you are reading, what is going to happen next? Who’s your favourite character? As we go through the year, your child will start to bring books home and they will read to you. We want to give our youngest children a love of books and reading that will be life-long.

EYFS – Home/School Learning Opportunities to Promote Communication and Language. The PDF below contains suggestions for activities to help with communication and language skills for reception children. 

EAL ( English as an additional language) RESOURCES for parents

The Nativity

It has been wonderful to watch our younger pupils in their performance of 'The Nativity'. They were amazing and have brought so much joy to those watching.

Library visit

Class 1 had a lovely visit to Barnoldswick library and listened to some special stories.

Stay and Play

 Some our families came for Stay & Play in Class 1. It was so lovely to share experiences in class including some exploring outdoors on this lovely frosty morning!

Long Term Planning

Planning

Please find below an outline of the topics covered in your child's class. 

If you wish to know further information relating to the curriculum in Class 1 please do not hesitate to speak to Miss Naylor, the class teacher.