Holly Class

Well, it is the end of the summer holidays and we are ready to come back to school!  We know it will be a little bit different to when you started in Holly class last September, but we are so excited to welcome you back for a few weeks until you are ready to move into Year 2 and Year 3!

So that we can keep everybody safe, we will be starting back at school in little groups, so you might not be coming back to school on the very first day on 3rd September.  Don't worry though - it will only be a couple of weeks until we are all back together again!

If you aren't starting back on 3rd September, there is a little home learning menu with some activities on for you to have a go at.  We will also be setting some 2do activities on Purple Mash as well - you can still use the same log in details that we gave you before!  If you have forgotten or lost your log in details, please contact the school office by phone or email and we will be able to get these for you.

Once we are all back, we are going to be doing some whole-school work on one of our favourite stories - The Rainbow Fish!  We love this story in Holly class because it helps us think about being a good friend, sharing and being kind to each other.  Hopefully we will be able to make some lovely work to go on our new display boards!  Later, we will be looking at another story called 'Here We Are'.  This is another lovely story - this book is all about the world we live in and how we can look after it.

An important message to remember is that you will not need to bring your bags and PE kits with you - the only things that you are allowed to bring into the classroom with you are your coats, a water bottle and a packed lunch (if you choose to bring one).  This is just to keep us safe by making sure we don't have too many things in the way - our classroom is looking a bit different than last year because we are trying to stay safe, and we are not allowed to use the coat cupboard because it is a bit of a squish!  See the photos below for a sneak peek of the classroom before you come back to school!

We are all so excited to see you again - I wonder how many of you will be nearly as tall as me already?  I bet you have done lots of growing to get ready for coming back to school!  We have missed you all very much and can't wait to hear what lovely things you have been doing over the summer holidays.

See you very soon!

Love from Miss Saul, Miss Stones, Mrs Chapman and Mrs Bennett xxx

SCHOOL CLOSURE!

We hope your having fun with your learning at home, keeping safe and remembering to wash your hands regularly every day. We are closely checking your work on Purple Mash and Times Table Rock Stars and are very impressed with your efforts so far. We have had some amazing work handed in and lots of lovely comments on your work. We have been so impressed that we have printed, mounted and displayed some of your work on the classroom topic display. Can you see your work?

Welcome to Holly Class!

Welcome to a brand new school year!  We hope you are excited to start a fantastic and exciting year of learning :) 

In Holly class, our classroom team includes Miss Saul, Miss Stones, Mrs Davis & Mrs Chapman to help you with your learning.  We cannot wait to start learning more about our new class!

Reading Superstars

At Kirkby Avenue Primary School, we believe reading to be extremely important.  Reading underpins so many other areas of the curriculum and supports the children in developing their imagination.  To support your child with their reading, we ask that you listen to them read at home as often as possible and record this in their ‘Reading Record’.

In school, we have a ‘Reading Superstars’ system for the number of times your child reads with you at home.  For Key Stage 1, the breakdown for this is as follows:
 

Three days out of 7 – your child will earn 1 team point

Four days out of 7 – your child will earn 2 team points

Five or more days out of 7 – your child will get a prize from our special prize box

PE

Our PE slot this half term is on a Thursday morning as well as a Tuesday afternoon, if your child does PPA PE. Your child requires: shorts, a plain white t-shirt, and plain black pumps. . As the Weather starts to become nicely, hopefully, we will be conducting our PE lessons outside on the playground and field. Therefore although we have allotted time slots in the hall for our PE lessons, if the weather is looking surprisingly nice, we may spontaneously change our timetable around to be able to go outside. PE kit should come into school on a Monday and will be sent home on a Friday

LIBRARY

Our Library slot this half term is on Friday morning. Your child should return their library book each week. If books are overdue, we will send out reminder letter however, if it is still not returned then payment will be due to replace it, and your child won't be able to take out another book until payment is received. 

If you need any other information, please come and ask any member of staff in our classroom, we're happy to help. 

Spring 2 and Summer 1

Our Topic is ...

Nocturnal Animals!!!

We will be expanding our learning through this topic over two half terms to ensure we get full coverage around our upcoming statutory SATs tests. 

Mathematics:

We will be continuing with our fractions learning from before half term, then moving onto time, measures and data handling such as graphs and charts. Alongside our mathematics lessons will be be revising our learning through interventions Times tables and Maths Meetings, to ensure we keep practising our key skills.

Literacy: 

We will still be split up into our RWI or Literacy groups to ensure we are giving each child the support they individually require. along side this we will be continuing with our spelling practise through target time and spelling lesson time. Keep practising them at home. WE will also be having weekly SPaG sessions to ensure our writing is to our best standard as well as practising descriptive writing, fact files and diary entries. Our class book this half term is The Owl Who is Afraid of the Dark which fits in with our overall topic and this is what we will be using to help continue develop our reading comprehension skills. 

Topic:

Through our topic of Nocturnal Animals we will be learning about different habitats, food chains and animal types in science. Looking at animals which are specific to Australia and why in Geography. We will be learning about Jesus' resurrection and the Easter story in RE. We will be practising using the internet to research facts and then using different computer software to create fact files, poster and presentations. We are getting very excited about our Art and DT learning these next two half terms as we have got a combined project using multiple skills as well as creativity such as collage and sewing. In PE we are continuing to practise our dance skills but this time putting our animal impersonations to music and then we will be developing out throwing and catching skills. 

Spring 1 

Fire Fire!

History- we will be learning about the cause and effect of The Great Fire of London as well as the impact it had on future life. How do you think they managed to extinguish the fire with a Fire Service?

Geography- we will be learning more in depth knowledge about China with linking it to the Chinese New Year. WE will be locating China on a map, as well as exploring the physical and human features of the country. What do you think China is like compared to England?

Art- we will be focusing on using charcoal to draw houses which existed before the fire. We will be exploring how we can use the charcoal to create different effects with our drawings. How different do you think it will be drawing with charcoal?

RE- We will be exploring the Jewish faith and learning about their festival of Passover. We will be looking at the story of Moses learning them out of Eygpt and the how the meal the serve on Passover represent different parts of the story. Do you think Passover is like any festival you celebrate?

Science- We are going to be learning about healthy living with a focus of healthy diet, hygiene and keeping fit. 

 Do you know why it is so important to get rid of germs - especially during the winter when there are lots of nasty 'bugs' about?

Autumn 2- Our new topic is...

MAGIC!

In History, we will learn about the origins of Bonfire Night through looking at Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot. Who was Guy Fawkes? Why is he important when we learn about Bonfire night?

In Science, we will complete lots of investigations and experiments such as making a firework in a jar or getting paperclips out of a jar of water without touching the water. Do you have any ideas what magic (or Science) Miss Saul will use? 

In ICT, we will be using the internet to do some researching for some posters as well as Coding. We will understand how to use algorithms to get fairies and characters in a magic castle to move around the screen.

In Religious Education (RE), we will be learning about the origins of the nativity and finding out what Christians believe about the birth of Jesus. We are going to find out why Christians celebrate Christmas and how.  

In Art,  we will be looking at some Pointilism as well as learning how to mix colour and use different medias such as paint, and chalk to create magical and Christmassy masterpieces. 

Autumn 1 - our new topic is....

Food Glorious Food!

Our first topic to start the new year is 'Food Glorious Food'.  We are going to be learning lots about food, linked to the story of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.  Here are some of the exciting foundation subjects we will be studying - for more information on all the different areas of the curriculum we will be learning about, please check our 'Parents Forecast' below for full details :)

History

In History, we will be learning more about Victorian life, just like in the Oliver Twist novel.   We will find out how different it would have been going to school in the 19th century, as well as comparing other aspects of our lives, like houses, fashions and toys, to see what similarities and differences we can find between the past and present.  What do you think school would have been like in Victorian times?

Geography

In Geography, we will be going on a journey around the globe to find out about different countries.  We will be learning how to locate these countries on a map or atlas, and think about the physical geography, such as the environment and characteristics of these countries.  We will also be thinking about the different foods that may be eaten, and consider which foods grow in different countries.  What foods can you think of that don't grow in the UK?

Art

In Art, we are going to be studying the Pop Art work of Andy Warhol, looking at his methods and the style.  We are going to learn how to mix primary colours together to make secondary and tertiary colours, and use these with different fruits and vegetables to make repeating prints in the style of Andy Warhol.  What fruits or vegetables do you think would make a nice pattern?

Design Technology

In Design Technology, we will be learning how to bake.  We are going to look at a recipe for Queen Victoria's scones, and learn how to weigh out the ingredients carefully, mixing them together and baking them according to the instructions.  It will be very exciting to try out our scones and see what they taste like!  Then we will evaluate them carefully to see what might be better next time.  What do you think the scones will taste like?  Will they be crumbly?

PE

In PE, we will be learning about keeping our bodies healthy, so as well as eating a healthy diet, we will think about how exercising can keep us fit and healthy.  We will be learning some gymnastics skills to stretch our muscles and warm our bodies up, looking at different ways we can move and link movements together.  Do you know why it is important to warm our bodies up before we exercise?