Welcome to Elf Owls (Year 1)
A bright, warm welcome to Summer 1 in Elf Owls! As we step into this new half term, the children are ready to embrace fresh challenges, build on their growing independence, and dive into a whole new season of learning. With longer days and plenty of sunshine ahead, this half term promises exciting opportunities for creativity, curiosity, and confidence to flourish.
Over the coming weeks, the children will be exploring new themes, strengthening key skills, and continuing to shine across all areas of the curriculum. We’re looking forward to a joyful and inspiring start to the summer term and can’t wait to see all the wonderful things the children achieve.
Here is an overview of what we will be learning during this half term.
Our Christian Value this term is...
Kindness
Our author of the half term is...
Tony Ross
Tony Ross is a storyteller who loves creating bold, funny, and unforgettable characters. His books are full of lively illustrations, cheeky humour, and moments that make children giggle. Ross enjoys bringing everyday situations to life in imaginative ways, often showing the world from a child’s point of view. His stories are playful, expressive, and packed with personality, making him a favourite for young readers.
Our artist of the half term is...
Catherine Chalmers
"Love together always."
Our scientist of the half term is...
Jane Goodall
"The small chocies we make each day can lead to the kind of world we all want for the future."
Our sports person of the half term is...
Pele
"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning".
Our composer of the half term is...
Thomas Newman
"It's always nice to remember that there was a time when I loved something that I didn't know much about; it just reached my ears and moved me."
What can you find out about these special people?
Below are some helpful websites to support your child's learning:
Phonics
Phonics is a key part of the Year 1 timetable and is a daily session. We use the Twinkl scheme to teach phonics.
We will focus on phases 3 and 4 to begin with and move on to phase 5 by the end of the Autumn Term.
All children in Year 1 will take a phonics screening test in June. This is a standard test which takes place one to one and is made up of 40 words. 20 real words and 20 nonsense (pseudo) words. It is looking at how the children are able to segment and blend confidently.
Over the year the children will work on their phonics in class, one to one or at home for homework.
This screening is nothing to be worried about and the children will be fully prepared as we are able to use our phonics sessions to practice the skills required for the screening. The sounds for each phase that we cover are above the title.
Useful phonics sites are www.phonics.play.com
and www.phonicsbloom.com to support your child at home.
Reading
Reading is a key part of school life and early reading is the start of a wonderful journey into discovering a whole new world of stories, facts and adventures.
Every Tuesday we change our books as it is Choosy Tuesday - please return your reading for pleasure book to get a new one for the week to share with your family.
To support your child in their reading we encourage you to listen to them read as often as you can and make a note in their reading records on how they did.
If you would like to have more reading books for pleasure the link below is a great start to point you in the right direction as these are recommended reads for Year 1 pupils.
Recommended reading for Year 1 pupils
Reading Posters
Promoting our Go All In reading project this year, here are some posters below. They are all organised by theme and may help with children choosing books if they like a particular topic!
Maths
We follow the Big Maths scheme. Each lesson starts with a CLIC session that involves mental maths skills. It is a quick 5 minute warm up that enables children to learn number facts to support their maths skills. Wider maths is taught after this session and includes topics such as shape, measure, data and fractions.
Just a reminder:
Homework and spellings will be set on a Friday.
These are to be handed in the following Thursday.
Spelling tests will be on a Friday morning.
Our P.E. day will continue to be a Monday.
Autumn 1
Spring 2
Autumn 2
Spring 1
