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🌳 Welcome to Oak Class – Year 1 🌳

Teacher: Mrs Ramsey
Teaching Assistant: Mrs North (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), Mrs Whitmill (Tuesday) and Mrs Cheetham (Thursday)

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👋 A Warm Welcome from Oak Class!

Welcome to Oak Class! We are a fun, friendly, and enthusiastic group of Year 1 learners who love to explore the world around us. Our classroom is a safe, supportive space where every child is encouraged to try their best, be kind, and enjoy their learning journey.

 

🗓 Weekly Reminders

• PE is every Monday – Please ensure your child comes to school with full PE kit, including suitable footwear.

• Spelling lists and homework menus are sent home at the start of each half term

• Book bags should be brought to school daily, with planners and reading books inside.
  Our school target is 4+ reads at home each week – thank you for your support!

• Label everything! – Please make sure all items of clothing, book bags, water bottles, and lunch boxes are clearly labelled with your child’s name.

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📚 What We’re Learning This Half Term

We have an exciting half term ahead, packed with lots of hands-on learning across the curriculum!

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📗 Reading & Phonics

In phonics, children will be continuing to build their reading skills with a strong focus on preparing for the Phonics Screening Check.

We will be:
• Practising daily phonics sounds and blending
• Watching helpful Phonics Portal videos (QR codes will be shared)
• Building confidence in reading words and short sentences

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📘 Writing

Our main text this half-term is Where the Wild Things Are.

Children will be enjoying the story and using it to inspire their writing, including:
• Creating story maps
• Writing character descriptions
• Designing missing posters
• Writing a letter to the Wild Things
• Retelling and innovating the story in their own way

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➗ Maths

We will be learning about:

Geometry – Length and Height
• Comparing and measuring objects

Number – Addition and Subtraction (within 20)
• Solving problems using practical resources and number skills

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🕰 History – Toys Through Time

Our topic is Changes Within Living Memory: Toys.

Children will explore questions such as:
• What toys do we enjoy today?
• What did children play with in the past?
• What did parents and grandparents do for fun?
• Why have toys changed over time?

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🔨 Design & Technology – Sliders and Levers

We will be exploring simple mechanisms by:
• Investigating how things move
• Learning how to make sliders and levers
• Designing and creating our own moving products
• Evaluating and improving our work

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💻 Computing – Grouping Data

Children will be learning how to sort and group information in different ways to help organise data clearly.

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💡 Science – Everyday Materials

We will explore materials through enquiry questions such as:
• What are materials?
• How are they different?
• What materials are toys made from?
• Why are certain materials used for different jobs?
• How can we compare like scientists?

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📌 Art – Printing

This half term we will be experimenting with printing, exploring the different marks and patterns toys can make.

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🎵 Music – Toys

Children will be learning about:
• Pitch and pitch patterns
• Tempo and how it affects music
• Composing a ‘toy-themed’ tune
• Improving their musical performance

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📅 Important Reminders

📖 Thursday 5th March – World Book Day
📸 Friday 6th March – Class Photos

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Here’s your updated Phonics section with the book bag note added in clearly and naturally:

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📚 Phonics at Home

Phonics is a really important part of your child’s early reading and writing journey. In school, we follow Read Write Inc. (RWI) to teach sounds, blending and tricky (red) words.

Practising little and often at home makes a big difference to confidence and progress 🌟

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🎮 Fun Phonics Games to Play at Home

These free websites are great for quick daily practice:

👉 Phonics Play
👉 Top Marks - Phonics Games
👉 Oxford Owl (free parent account)

 

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📖 Why Phonics Practice Is So Important

In Year 1, children will take part in the Phonics Screening Check in June.
This checks how well they can:

✔ Read real words
✔ Read “alien” (nonsense) words using phonics skills
✔ Blend sounds confidently

Regular practice helps children:

• Become fluent readers

• Feel confident in the screening check

• Improve spelling and writing

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📱 Read Write Inc. Portal – QR Codes

We will provide extra QR codes for the Read Write Inc. online portal so children can:

• Watch their phonics lessons again

• Practise sounds and blending at home

• Read matched books online

👉 These will be sent out at the start of term, but please ask your child’s teacher if you would like any extra QR codes.

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🎒 Book Bags – Home Support

Please keep an eye out in your child’s book bag for phonics supporting work and activities that can be completed at home.

These will help reinforce the sounds and skills we are learning in class.

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🧺 Other Information

• Library Day – Children will visit the library once a week to choose a new book.

• Celebration Assembly – Every Friday we celebrate the amazing achievements of our class, including our Star of the Week!

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💬 Communication

If you need to speak with me, please wait until all children have been safely dismissed at the end of the day.
Alternatively, you can send any pictures of homework or special celebrations to:
📧 rosie.tilbrook@brookfieldjunioracademy.org

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We’re really looking forward to a brilliant term in Oak Class — full of fun, learning, and new adventures!