Welcome to Willow Class - Year 1
 

Who are the staff members in Willow Class?

Hello and a big welcome to Year 1 and Willow Class!

My name is Ms Brown and I am the Willow Class Teacher. Mr Johnson, (our class teaching assistant)  will also assist your child with their learning every day. 

Mr Ward will be taking PE lessons on Tuesday afternoons and Mrs Miles-Bagshaw or Mrs Rundle will be teaching Willow Tuesday afternoons and covering me when I need to be working out of class. Mr Johnson will be teaching forest school on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings in the first half of the Autumn term and second half of the Spring term.

What are our routines?
Each morning before school, please come to the Willow classroom door (next to the Cherry garden) at 8:40. Please could your child bring a water bottle (containing water) and their book bag. Please note that toys from home should not be brought into school except for one toy clipped to their bookbag if they wish. Pick-up from school is at 3:15 from the Willow classroom door. 
Children in Key Stage One are entitled to a free school meal. Please order this via the ParentPay system. If your child would prefer a home-packed lunch, this can be brought in with their book bag and placed on our lunch trolley.  

What does your child need to bring with them?

Children will have PE on a Monday and Tuesday which will require them to come to school already dressed in their PE kits (house colour T-shirt and plain shorts/leggings/joggers). If your child has long hair, please ensure that their hair is tied up and please take out any earrings (or cover with tape). Also, if it is chilly outside, please ensure that your child is wearing their school jumper/cardigan or P.E hoodie on top of their house t-shirt and plain black or blue jogging bottoms or leggings. 

They will require Outdoor learning clothes on a Tuesday or Wednesday when it is their part of the term to partake in forest school. Outdoor learning clothes should just be slightly adapted PE kits, with the addition of warm, waterproof outer layers.

Wellie boots are required to be in school everyday so that children are able to go onto the field at playtimes when the ground is wet. Water bottles will need to be brought in daily with plain water please.

Children need to bring in book bags every day. On Mondays please return reading books and on Tuesdays library books for changing. They do not need to bring additional bags, toys or pencil cases into school.

What does a day in Willow Class look like?

In Willow Class, Year 1 children will access the curriculum through carefully planned learning activities. Miss Hudson  and I have worked closely to identify learning opportunities which may be needed, particularly in the Autumn term. Transition into KS1 is gradual to make the transition process from EYFS into Year 1 as smooth as possible. At the beginning of the year children will access different learning activities and challenges through play as well as having directed teaching and learning time as a whole class and in small, focus groups with an adult.

We generally concentrate on phonics/spelling, guided reading, handwriting, maths and English in the mornings. After lunchtime, we cover foundation subjects including science, history, geography, computing, RE, art, DT and music. 

Reading

Reading is incredibly important. I recommend reading 5-10 minutes every day with your child. At Coltishall Primary School, our reading books are aligned to your child’s phonics stage. Your child will be given one or two reading books every Monday to take home for the week. Books are to be returned the following Monday.
 

When reading, we encourage you to ask your child to read the same book again as this process will help to aid your child’s reading fluency and comprehension. You can make the reading experience more pleasurable for your child by discussing the book and what has happened, or what information we have found out when they have finished. Please record what they have read in their reading record with any comments you may have.
 

Phonics Screening Check

In June, Year 1 children will participate in the phonics screening check. This is a check in which children will read a mix of real and made up words containing graphemes learnt. Please be assured that your child will be put at ease by myself and will most likely not even be aware that they are participating in the screening check. They will most likely find it fun due to lots of nice, colourful alien pictures.

Homework
In Willow Class, homework will be given once children are settled after the Autumn half term holiday. Homework will be given once a week on a Friday and will usually consist of a small activity or task which focuses on recapping and embedding learning.

How can I contact you?

I am at the door in the mornings to speak to and I am available to message via Class Dojo. I will aim to respond to you as quickly as possible. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes,

Ms Brown