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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.

📅 Important Dates for This Half Term

• Monday 13th April – Return to school
• Thursday 23rd April – Chester Zoo Trip 🦁
• Monday 4th May – Bank Holiday (school closed)
• Thursday 14th May – Readathon 📖
• Monday 18th May – Walk to School Week 🚶‍♀️
• Tuesday 19th May – Family Bingo (3:15–4:30pm) 🎉
• Friday 22nd May – Feel Good Friday (non-uniform day) 😊
  • Break up for May half term
• Monday 1st June – Return to school for Summer 2

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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!

 

🔤 Phonics
Please keep an eye out in book bags and on our Facebook page for information and resources to support phonics learning at home, including preparation for the Phonics Screening Check.

📚 English
This term, we will be exploring a range of exciting writing opportunities linked to Manfred the Baddie. Our learning will include:

• Writing a “Get Well Soon” card or message to show empathy and kindness
• Creating instructions on how to make a sandwich (to inform)
• Designing a character description in the form of a wanted poster
• Producing a comic strip story inspired by Manfred the Baddie

We are looking forward to developing our creativity, writing skills and imagination through these fun and engaging activities!

➕ Mathematics
This term, we will be developing our understanding of:

• Length and height
• Weight and volume
• Money
• Multiplication and division

We will be using practical resources and real-life contexts to support our learning.

🌱 Science – Plants
We will be learning about plants, including identifying common plants and trees, understanding their basic structure, and exploring what plants need to grow and stay healthy.

🎨 Art – Sculpture (Yayoi Kusama)
In Art, we will be exploring sculpture inspired by the artist Yayoi Kusama, creating our own pieces using patterns and repeated designs.

🌍 Geography – Where am I?
Our geography topic focuses on understanding our place in the world. We will be learning about:

• Our local area and wider locality
• Where our town is located
• The United Kingdom
• The countries of the UK and the surrounding seas

🏃 PE – Athletics
In PE, we will be developing our athletic skills, including running, jumping and throwing.

🍎 Design & Technology – Preparing Fruit and Vegetables
In DT, we will be learning how to safely prepare fruit and vegetables, developing basic food preparation skills.

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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

• 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.ramsey@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!