Centipede Class (Year 1) 2025 - 2026

Welcome to the class page for Centipede Class.

Class teacher: Mrs Edwards

Teaching assistant: Miss Mitchell

Here you will find all of the exciting and wonderful things that your child will be learning during their time in Year 1. If you have any questions, please use Class Dojo or speak to a member of our team at drop off/ pick up.

Thank you

Summer Half-term One

This half-term our class will be learning and rehearsing our writing skills using the text 'The Secret of Black Rock' by Joe Todd-Stanton

Our writing focuses are:

Punctuate sentences using a capital letter and a full stop

Adding 'es' or 's' to plural nouns

Adding the suffix 'un' to root words

Using and to join sentences 

Adding 'er and 'est' to adjectives 

The children will be working on using story language, character and setting description and will be sequence simple sentences to form short narratives.  

Spellings

Children have spellings linked to their reading levels that are reviewed every week. For children who have completed these challenges in reading and spelling they progress onto the Year 1 and 2 common exception words. 

Make learning these words fun and creative.

This half term in maths we are going to be working on:

Multiplication & Division, Fractions and Geometry

                                                                                                              Multiplication & Division small steps:

Count in 2's, 5's and 10's, recognise equal groups, add equal groups, make arrays and doubles, make equal groups by grouping and make equal groups by sharing. 

Year 1 children will begin to use this fun, interactive maths game on their tablets. It is a great game to support children in fluency with numbers. They will be given a user name and password which can be used to access the game online at home. 

Everyday 8.50 - 9.30 am we will have our phonics lesson. Each child will bring home a shiny book and paper book which are matched to the sounds they are learning in their phonics group. Your child will have read the paper copy already in school and will be able to share this with you independently. The shiny book will be new to them and they may require some adult support with this as they decode the words. 

Reading Expectations

Read with your child every day even if it is just 2 minutes- this can make all the difference. 
Please record all home reading in your child’s reading diary so we can ensure that your child is receiving their vending machine book or reading buddy. Frequent reader prizes will be awarded on a Thursday. 

When reading, ask your child about what they think might happen next in the story, how they think the character is feeling, who the author is and what do they do. 

It does not have to be their paper or shiny book they read, it can be any. Remember, you too can read to them - change your voice for expression, bring the characters to life. 
Shiny book bag books MUST be returned to school every day ready to be changed every Monday. 
Paper books ( they are the same as what they are reading within their phonics lesson to promote confidence) should be coming into school every day so that they are ready to be changed every Friday. 
Reading diaries MUST come in every day regardless of whether or not they have been written in - we cannot replace them if they are continuously being lost or not taken care of.  

The children who have progressed off the RWI phonics scheme will be joining the Shared Reading Class. During these sessions they will be reading a shared narrative and learning more complex reading skills using our Ready, Steady, Read programme.

This half-term we will be learning all about plants:

In this topic children will:

Learn about plants and trees in their local area, look at parts of plants and trees, name some common garden and wild flowers, plant seeds and bulbs and observe changes over time

Working Scientifically

When working scientifically children will be able to:

Suggest different ways to test their scientific predictions, make predictions and recognise whether they were accurate, use their observations to answer questions, recognise if a test is fair. 

We will be having lots of fun learning through practical experiments and learning all about the famous author and scientist.

Beatrix Potter

This half-term will be studying Geography

Our topic is: What is the weather like in the UK?

The objectives for our topic are:

To name and locate the four countries of the United Kingdom on a map, identify the country the live in, identify the four seasons, the current season and the seasonal changes,  identify the four compass points and the direction of North, use the compass points to describe the location of features, observe and describe daily weather patterns, suggest appropriate clothing and activities for each season.

The children will take part in lots of outdoor learning, fieldwork and practical activities. This will enhance their learning and also support in embedding their understanding using a 'hands-on' focus. 

Your child will have a music lesson each week, where they will learn to play instruments and explore their musical abilities.

This half term our Year 1 topic is 'Under the Sea'

The music focus is: Musical symbols 

In PE this term, our topic is: 

Jumping 

       Our lesson objectives are: 

Pupils will apply the correct technique for jumping. They will develop their jumping skills to learn defending techniques. Pupils will develop fairness and courage and honesty when learning new games and their rules. 

Your child will have 2 PE lessons each week. Please ensure they come into school in their PE kit on these days. Centipede Class will have PE on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. 

PSHE

Each week children will take part in a lesson looking at their personal, social, health and emotional lives. 

Forest School

This half-term Centipede Class not be having Forest School lessons.

General Reminders:

Please ensure that your child's belongings are clearly labelled – uniform, water bottles etc.

Water bottles should contain water only.

Most communication will be done via Class Dojo. This is a great way to upload and home learning and WOW moments. You can also use this to contact your child’s class teacher if you have any questions or concerns.