WELCOME TO YEAR 1

Chestnut Class - Mrs Jackson

Beech Class - Mrs Rushton

Our topic this term is "Memory Box". 

Important information

Homework:

Alongside daily reading and Bug Club (see link below) we will ask you to complete a weekly workout from your CGP Mental Workout Maths books. In addition to this, we would also like you to complete a weekly workout in the English CGP workbooks. This will be handed out on a Friday and should be returned for Wednesday for marking. 

Click here for tutorial videos for support with accessing Bug Club Phonics and reading.

PE:
Beech and Chestnut class have PE on a Monday.

Children need to bring their PE kit (including trainers) in a bag, to get changed into at school. The PE kit consists of:

• black shorts or jogging bottoms
• a red t-shirt 
• a pair of plimsolls or trainers

Please ensure your child has no earrings in and that long hair is tied back on this day.

Swimming:

Beech class have swimming on a Thursday afternoon.

Chestnut class have swimming on a Wednesday afternoon.

Children need to have a swimsuit or swimming trunks and a towel. Goggles are optional. All children MUST have a swimming hat. Hats are available to purchase from the office for £1.50.

Please ensure your child's name is on all items of clothing.

Meet the Teacher - September

Please find attached the Meet the Teacher presention which took place in school on Friday 5th September. Thank you to all those who were able to attend - we hope you find this useful!

Phonics and Reading in Year 1

At Downderry Primary School we follow the My Letters and Sounds systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programme, validated by the DFE and aligned to the DFE Letters and Sounds guidance.

 Click here to access My Letters and Sounds downloadable resources including phoneme mats, audio of enunciation of letter sounds, formation practice sheets and many other resources that support the programme.

Please find below the presentation that was shared during the Year 1 Phonics Workshop. You will also find some useful links to websites to support with phonics and reading at home.

Thank you all for attending this year's workshop - we had an incredible turn out! 

We are enjoying settling into year 1. We enjoying hands on learning.

Our Topic is Memory Box. 

We have been thinking about how much we have changed since we were born!

In Maths we are focusing on knowing our number bonds to ten, comparing numbers, addition and subtraction. 

On Friday 11th September, we joined a live online event when Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler introduced their new book Gruffalo Granny. 

For Black History Week 2025 we focused our learning on the Beckenham Legend Floella Benjamin. We learnt about her life and how she felt when she arrived to the UK as a child from Trinidad.

Throughout the week we read the story about Floella's journey to the Uk. We spoke about the journey of other people from the Caribbean during Windrush. 

In poetry week, we designed and described our perfect cakes using many adjectives!

We are learning about materials in science.