The First Week.

Hello Class 2 Parents,

We have had a really good first week in Class 2. The children have been happy and helpful. I am sure you will find they are also tired - with a new teacher, and for the Year 1s a new classroom, there has been a lot to take in. 

The week has been focussed on all of us getting to know each other and the classroom routines. Mrs Neal and I have also been assessing the children's reading, spelling and maths following the long summer break. Thank you for your patience with reading books etc - we will aim to send home learning books and reading books home tomorrow. 

Reading books. 
Mrs Neal and I have been assessing the children's word reading and comprehension. Following this we have allocated them a book level. We have found that their current levels don't always match up with where they were in July, so please don't worry if your child comes home with a different level book than you are expecting. It can take time after a summer holiday for children to regain confidence and fluency with reading. The important thing is that your child is reading at a level they are confident and comfortable with, in order to make progress.

P.E.
A couple of you have asked about P.E. days. It will be on a Monday. P.E. kits can stay in school so your child can just come into school in school uniform as usual. 

Thank you also for your patience with me as I learn which parents match which children! I am looking forward to meeting you all more soon when we have our Class 2 welcome meeting. 

This week the children have:

Been learning to find things in the classroom. I have had quite a change around and it looks very different! We carried out a classroom treasure hunt on Monday and the children are already learning where to find all of the important things they need.

Made a book tree. When you are in the classroom you'll see our book tree. Over the course of the year we will be adding characters from our favourite books, as well as thoughts and opinions about the books we read. 

Made a friendship flower. Our school value this half term is 'Friendship.' The children made a beautiful flower together, each decorating one huge petal. We thought about what it means to be a good friend. The children had some good ideas to add to the flower. 

Read the story 'Lost and Found' by Oliver Jeffers. This is going to be a key book for us over the next few weeks so you might hear quite a bit about it. 

Learnt about passport jobs. During class time, the children will either be learning on the carpet together, or with an adult as a small group, or carrying out another job without an adult, or carrying out passport jobs. Each week there will be a choice of 6-8 activities for the children to choose from. They will complete the jobs independently and receive a passport stamp when they have done so. The jobs will relate to our current learning and will cover a range of areas of learning. For example, this week's jobs have been:

To create more leaves for our tree (art and DT)
To build a boat out of anything you like (DT)
Re-create your favourite illustration from Lost and Found (art)
Go on a 5 senses hunt outside (science)
Un-muddle the giant 100-square we have in our classroom (Maths)
Find some new books in the book corner to read (English)

Taken part in a range of short assessments as myself and Mrs Neal get to know them and there next steps in learning. 


Started our topic story, 'Lost and Found'. The children learnt about a (fictional) 'Wildlife Lost and Found Office'. They learnt about the sort of wildlife that might be found in the area. After that, using drama, they found various lost animals to bring into the offices. 

The next day was a bit of a muddle. All of the animals were in one room and needed sorting out. We sorted them into mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and fish. All seemed well in the Lost and Found offices. 

Unfortunately, a terrible noise started coming from the mammal room! Using drama, we went into the room and found the fox chasing the rabbit and the weasel chasing the mouse! It turned out that there were predators and prey all in the same room. Luckily, once we talked about carnivores, herbivores and omnivores we managed to solve the problem. 

I hope that has given you a little insight into the first week of Class 2. Tomorrow your child will have their home learning book in their book bag as well as a reading record. 

Homework this week:
The only homework this week is this sheet. There will be a copy in your child's home learning book to fill out!

It has been a very good first week. Thank you all for your welcoming smiles!

With best wishes

Mrs Simpson