To start off this exciting new term together, both year 1 and year 2 will be going on an adventure to Bekonscot Model Village, where they will be looking at the different styles of homes. In addition, the children will be looking at the countries that make up the United Kingdom and where Cuddington is in relation to other places that they know. We will also be looking into different houses and homes around the world, exploring how and why they are built and who might be living in them.

In Science, the children will be looking at the properties of everyday materials and will be able to label these by the end of the unit.

Phonics

The children will have daily phonics lessons and will be regularly assessed. Within the phonics scheme Bug Club Phonics, we follow a systematic synthetic approach to our phonics teaching which means that the children’s reading books will link to the phonics they are learning in school. There is more information about supporting your child’s phonics knowledge on our phonics curriculum page.

Phonics Screening Check

This year, your child will complete the Phonics Screening Check. The Phonics Screening Check is an assessment to check your child’s ability to read words using phonics rules. This check helps us to identify your child’s progress within phonics from EYFS to the end of Year 1, and it also helps highlight if any extra support needs to be given.

We will send out an email to you all during the first half term with resources to help support your child with their Phonics Screening Check, which will take place at the beginning of the second summer term.

Homework

After the October half term, the children will receive an online piece of Maths and Spellings homework. This often consists of an interactive game that reinforces the children’s learning in school. At various points in the year, a specific one-off Learning Log homework linked to an annual or national event such as World Book Day will be set. It is important that all children complete the homework. Please email me if your child is experiencing any difficulties with the completion of the homework.

All homework will be set on a Friday and will need to be completed by the following Friday.

Reading books

In Year 1, the children will have two books for the week. One will be a book of their choice, from the library, and the other will be a phonics-based book. The phonics-based book will help your child practise the graphemes they are learning in school. It is vital that the

children become fluent in reading words with the graphemes they learn, so practising to read their phonics book is important for them.

PE

The children need to make sure that they have the correct PE kit. This should stay in school all the time for ease. We have PE on a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.

Forest School

Forest school sessions will be every two weeks on a Monday afternoon. The children will be divided into two groups and each week a different group will be exploring. We will be going outside no matter the weather (excluding thunder and lightning), so please ensure your child has the correct clothing.

Lost property

Please can I ask that you ensure all your child’s clothing is clearly named. Having items clearly named helps us to ensure pieces do not go missing. It will also help other parents to return items, in the event of their child taking home another person’s belongings.

Thank you for your continuing support,

Miss Bailey