Welcome to Holly Class!

Welcome to Holly class website page!  We are a mixed Year 1 and Year 2 class.  
The grown-ups in Holly class are Mrs Webster (was previously Miss Rogers!),
Miss Stones and Miss Brown!

Mrs Webster

SUMMER TERM!

Our Year 2 children are going to be very busy in the first half term revising for their SATs, which will take place in May.  Our Year 1 children will also be working hard on their phonics, ready for the Phonics Screening Check in the beginning of June.  We know that you will all try your best - we are so proud of you! 💛

We practise our English and Maths skills everyday in a number of ways!  We practise our individual targets each morning coming into school, as well as completing RWI spelling, Times Tables Rock Stars (TTRS), Maths Meetings and daily phonics sessions throughout the day.

In Maths this half term, we are going to start by revisiting fractions.  We will remind ourselves of halves, quarters and thirds, looking carefully at the notation (how we record the fractions, e.g. 1/2) and comparing equivalent fractions such as one half and two quarters.  We are also going to be looking again at the four main operations - adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing - to try to help us with our SATs.  We will also be practising a range of skills including counting, shapes, money and time in our daily 'Maths Meetings'.

In English, we are going to be carrying on with our daily RWI phonics lessons and RWI spelling lessons.  We are also going to continue with our exciting new English lessons, where we practise a range of reading, writing and grammar skills.  We are spending a lot of time focusing on correct punctuation (capital letters, finger spaces and full stops) as well as using our adjectives and adverbs (describing words) in expanded noun phrases, where we list two adjectives before the noun. 

In Science, we are going to conclude our series of experiments from the last half-term and move on to learning about plants! We will learn how to identify and name a range of common plants and describe their basic structure.  We will observe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants and find out what they need to grow and thrive.  
What are the roots for on a plant?  Do you know the names of any other parts of a plant?

Our learning topic!

Our big learning topic for the whole Summer term is going to be 'Flight'!  We are going to be trying to answer the big learning question 'Could Queen Victoria fly to Spain on holiday?'

Take at look at an overview of what we will be doing below!

In Art, we are going to be learning about the life and work of Dutch Post-Impressionist painter, Vincent van Gogh!  We will study some of his famous works, such as 'Starry Night' and 'The Sunflowers', looking at his painting techniques and trying them out for ourselves.  Towards the end of term, we will use these skills to try to make a self-portrait in the style of Van Gogh!  
Have you seen any of Vincent van Gogh's paintings before?  What kinds of colours has he used in his paintings?

In Design Technology, we are going to be designing and building a kite!  We will look at how kites have been used in the past, and look at the different parts and how kites are made.  We will test some materials to see what we think will be best for our kites, before planning our designs and writing a list of equipment and resources.  Once we have built our kites, we will evaluate it carefully, thinking about what worked well and how we could improve next time. 
Have you ever flown a kite before?  What kinds of things do you think are important to think about when designing a kite to make sure it can fly?

In Geography, we are going to be learning about people and their communities.  We will be comparing different types of environment, such as seasides, deserts and the rainforest.  We will find out about these different places to live before we role-play a journey to one of these places!  
How do you think you would need to travel to get to the rainforest?  Do you know the name of a famous desert?

In History, we are going to be doing lots of work towards our big learning question.  We are going to study the history of flight, right back to Ancient Greek times and the story of Icarus!  We will look at key events, such as the first hot air balloon flight, the first glider, the first plane, and even look at space travel!  We will check all the dates carefully on our timeline, before we do some learning about Queen Victoria, finding out what dates she was alive to see which modes of travel she could have used.  
Have you heard about Queen Victoria before, or do you know when she was alive?  Do you think Queen Victoria would have been able to fly to Spain?  Can you remember what date the Wright brothers made their first flight?

In Music, we will be focusing on our listening and composing skills.  We will listen carefully to some existing songs about flying and travelling, appraising them to see what we liked or didn't like, and whether we can identify any patterns in the music.  We will then have a go at composing and writing our own noisy poems and soundscapes.  
Do you already know any songs about planes or flying?  What types of musical instruments do you think we would be good to use in a flight soundscape?

In PE, we will be building on the key skills we learnt for invasion games.  We will use our ball control skills to practise playing sports like hockey and basketball, before moving on to athletics in the last half-term.  
Have you played basketball before?  Can you bounce the ball with control and pass carefully to a team mate?

In PSHCE, we will be thinking about different relationships we have.  These might be relationships with members of your family, friends, or people at school.  We will think about ways to resolve conflict in our relationships and how to set boundaries.  We will look at ways to show appreciation for people who help us and that we trust.
Do you already know some of the different members of your family, e.g. who your cousins are?  Which special people in your life do you trust to help you?

In RE, we are going to finish our work from last half term on sacred places, before we move on to look at faith communities.  We will think about symbols that are special to different religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - as well as comparing different versions of religious ceremonies such as weddings and baptisms.  
Have you ever been to a wedding or a baptism?  Can you think of any symbols that we have already looked at that might be special for a Christian or a Muslim?

Please see our Parent Forecast as well for more details, or come and speak to us if you have any questions! 
 

USEFUL INFORMATION

Homework

At our school, homework is set in the form of a 'menu'.  This will have a range of activities to give you choice and flexibility, e.g. you can choose more creative activities on quieter weekends when you have more time.  One task should be completed from the menu each week, plus Times Table Rock Stars (TTRS) practise online at home.  
In Holly class, homework will be set on a Friday, and is due back by the following Wednesday.

Our weekly spellings will be sent separately on Friday and tested on Monday.

Parent Forecasts

Our Parent Forecasts are available below for you to see a brief overview of some of the learning we are planning to do this half-term.  This is not exhaustive, but just to give you a flavour of what we will be up to!  If you have any questions about this, please come and see us.

Our PE day
We are finally able to bring our PE kits again!  Our new PE day is Wednesday.  However, we may have to change our slot because of things happening in school, or we may sometimes get an extra session.

Please make sure you bring your PE kit on a Monday morning and leave it in school all week in case of any changes.  Children should also have earrings removed in advance, and long hair should be tied back for safety.

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 earn 3 team points and a prize from our special prize box!

Our photo gallery

Keep checking this section for updated photos of our learning this half-term!