Snow Leopards
Hello and welcome to Snow Leopard Class!
Our team is made up of Miss Bowdery, Mrs Yearwood and Miss Wilson.
Our School Day
Our school day begins promptly at 8:30am when we begin our morning activities.
Please arrive at school for 8.25am for our 8:30 start when we will begin our morning activities. You will need to bring a water bottle each day as well as appropriate clothing for the weather. (If it’s hot, make sure you have a hat, if it’s not then bring a coat.) Please make sure that all personal items are clearly labelled.
At break times children are provided with a healthy snack (e.g. fruit, vegetables). Children will need to bring a packed lunch if they are not having a hot school meal. Please remember that we are a healthy and nut-free school which means that nuts, chocolate and sweets are not permitted.
The school day finishes at 3:15pm Monday-Thursday and 2pm on Fridays.
Here is our timetable to give you an idea of our school day:
Physical Education
Our P.E lessons will be on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.
P.E. kit will need to be worn on P.E days, which consists of plain black jogging bottoms or shorts, a plain white top or Gagle Brook P.E. top, black pumps/trainers and a black jumper.
Learning in Nature
We will be having 3 Learning in Nature sessions on Monday afternoons in weeks 2, 4 and 6 this term.
If you don’t want your child’s uniform to get dirty, please can they bring in a weather-appropriate change of clothes for these afternoons. Wellies will also be needed if the ground is wet.
Our Learning this Term
At Gagle Brook we pride ourselves on providing a rich varied curriculum for the children and this is led by a big question each term. The big question this term is ‘Where will out future take us?’ The children participate in a hook day to excite them about their new learning, and we provide a variety of cross curriculum learning opportunities. For further information on our curriculum offered in Year 1 this term please see our Topic Maps and termly newsletters.
In PHSE we use the Jigsaw scheme and our Jigsaw piece this year is Jigsaw Jack, and we also have Jerrie Cat who helps us with our ‘paws for thought’ moments.
We use the Read Write Inc Phonics and Spelling programs and the children are familiar with Fred Frog, who helps us to read words. We use a three-phase approach in which contextual knowledge is acquired by pupils through access to a variety of linked texts, and writing is driven by a core text each term. (Please see our topic web for further information.)
We place a high value on children’s reading and enjoyment of reading. Within our class we have daily ‘Drop it and read’ sessions where children are able to enjoy a wide variety of high-quality texts as a class. Our English curriculum is driven by high quality texts, both for writing and reading.
Home Learning
We are often asked, ‘How can I help my child at home?’ and we recommend reading for at least 15 minutes daily, which you should record in your child’s reading record. ‘Chatter Time’ is also a great way of developing your child’s oracy skills, and much more!
Home learning is set once a week and recorded in your child’s Home Learning book. There will also be tasks set on Purple Mash throughout the term. Home Learning should take roughly 20 minutes. We also expect that spellings will be practiced at home each week. Home Learning will be handed out on a Friday and collected in on a Wednesday.
Parent helpers are very welcome to support with afternoon reading, or anyone with a particular skill who would like to volunteer once a week - let one of the team know!
We operate an open-door policy- please come and see us if you have a worry or a concern- we are here to help!
Best wishes,
The Year 1 Team