Year 1
Welcome to Year 1!
The class teachers in Year 1 are Miss Ballinger and Miss Levesque-Wong.
Should you have any questions, please use the email addresses below to contact your child's class teacher. Remember, we are here to help and the pupils' well-being, safety and learning are our priorities.
Swallow Class - Miss Ballinger: kballinger@bestacademies.org.uk
Chaffinch Class - Miss Levesque-Wong: nlevesque-wong@bestacademies.org.uk
Key Information
PE Days - Both Year 1 classes have PE on a Wednesday and Friday. Please ensure that your child wears their PE kit to school on these days along with any other weather appropriate clothing such as sun hats. Please ensure that all items are labelled with their name and class. A list of the full PE kit required (for both indoor and outdoor lessons) can be found on the website under Parents > School Uniform. For safety reasons, please ensure that earrings are removed and long hair is tied up prior to the child attending school on these days.
Homework - Homework tasks are set every Friday and need to be completed by the following Wednesday. Homework will be set using workbooks. Details regarding which pages to complete can be found in the front of the workbook. One English or Maths activity will be set each week. We will also send a Homework Bingo grid home at the beginning of each half-term with a range of optional activities to complete related to our learning at school.
Reading Books - Children in Year 1 will bring home a phonics reading book to read related to their phonics sessions. This will be a book that they have practised at school. This book will be changed weekly on a Friday. There are key words to practise reading and spelling in the front of each book. At the back, there are questions, challenges and activities to be completed to check understanding. Please reread the book several times throughout the week to develop their fluency, confidence and comprehension.
In addition, Year 1 children will also be taking home a 'reading for pleasure' book. This will be a book that they have chosen themselves from our classroom library which they would like to share with you at home. The children may not be able to read these books independently. The aim of these books is to share and enjoy them together.
Please bring reading books and records to school daily. Please ensure that reading records are signed to show what has been read along with any comments on the reading.
Water Bottles - Please ensure that your child brings a named water bottle to school every day to have in the classroom with them. This should contain water only, not juice.
Snacks - Children may be provided with a healthy snack from home to consume during their morning or afternoon playtime. This should be fruit or vegetables only. This is not a necessity as children are provided with a fruit or vegetable snack by school each day. For allergy reasons, please ensure that no items containing nuts are brought to school.