St Patrick
Welcome to St Patrick!
We are a class of year 1 pupils.
Our teacher is Mrs Kotamo
Our class teaching assistants are Mrs Cooley and Mrs Toms.
Class Teacher's email- kotaa042@mastacademy.co.uk
Below we have listed some helpful things about our class that we thought you might find useful to know.
Our Learning
Our curriculum
We are using a curriculum for our non core subjects that has impacted well on children’s attainment and motivation nationwide. This curriculum is published by Cornerstones. Our curriculum is based on inspirational learning activities which take place in a classroom environment and allow children to learn in a way that motivates and interests them. Cornerstones will provide our children with a good level of challenge, giving them opportunities to solve problems, apply themselves creatively and express their knowledge and understanding across the full range of National Curriculum subjects. Year 1 will experience 3 Imaginative Learning Projects in a year. Each individual project is split into sections, which see children progress through four stages of learning: Engage, Develop, Innovate and Express. We are confident that our curriculum will instil in our children a curiosity and love of learning / school, that it will develop their levels of mental health and wellbeing and ultimately will provide opportunities for each of them to achieve their full potential.
Core Subject Priorities
Our school priorities this year are maths, writing and challenge.
Children will be given opportunities to complete a maths challenge each day during their maths lesson. The children are also able to do our weekly maths ‘chocolate challenge’.
Children will be given at least one designated writing session each week to develop this skill and their ability to write for long periods of time. Everyday children will have a handwriting lesson following the Letter-join whole school handwriting scheme, they can also login at home using the schools unique code practice at home.
Children are also encouraged to complete termly curriculum challenges.
This Term our topic is called Bright Lights, Big City.
In the bright lights big city project your children will be writing adventurous narratives and using interesting descriptive words to describe characters. They will learn about the royal family and use maps to research and locate Buckingham Palace. They will add to their geographical skills by learning how to read compass directions and plan routes around London learning about the countries of the United Kingdom. Our research will take us back in time to the Great Fire of London and to famous London landmarks, as well as giving us an understanding of what it’s like to live in a big city. We'll take a virtual trip to London Zoo and make souvenirs for tourists.
The children will listen to and tell well-known stories about London and share traditional British songs and nursery rhymes.
They will be given a Knowledge Organiser to help support their learning at home.
Maths
Year 1
Our topic focus for this term...
Number - Place Value and addition and subtraction
The children will continue to focus on addition and subtraction within 20 and place value within 50
English
The children have daily spelling tests in their Read Write Inc group but any extra support you can give them would be fantastic. The children also do a termly independent write.
Knowledge Organiser
Children may also wish to extend their learning beyond the knowledge organiser if they have a specific interest in the topic.
Please use the knowledge organiser as a starting point for any extra study. The information on these sheets should be easily recalled by the children once the topic is completed.
Other exciting games to play
https://www.letterjoin.co.uk/
Behaviour
St Patrick class are expected to follow the School’s Golden rules at all times and are encouraged and rewarded for being ‘green to go’.
The Golden Rules are:
- We respect and follow our school values.
- We work hard to achieve and shine brightly.
- We listen carefully and follow instructions.
- We are kind, gentle. inclusive and supportive.
- We look after property.
- We are safe and honest so everyone can enjoy school.
If, after a reminder, a child continues to break a rule, their name will be moved on our class traffic lights. Each colour (yellow, orange and red) has a number of possible consequences, such as loss of play time. If a child has to move their name, they given the opportunity to earn their way back to green by sticking to the golden rules and showing “green to go” behaviour.
Rewards
We use ClassDojo in Saint Patrick class. During each day, children are rewarded with Dojos. Weekly Dojo winners pick a prize from the class prize box. Each term, the children choose a treat and work as a class to move their class star up to 9. This term they are working towards the class prize of golden time.
Homework
Homework for English and Maths will be sent home for each week on Fridays, it needs to be returned by the following Thursday. We would also like children to be practicing reading and writing the Year 1 common exception words.
Challenges
We love a challenge in St Patrick’s class. Every lesson has a challenge and every piece of homework does too.
The homework challenge and the class chocolate challenge are optional but we encourage children to complete them.
Children are also given the chance to enter the termly curriculum challenge for the chance to win a reward.
PE
PE takes place on a Wednesday and Thursday. Please ensure your child has their PE kit in school. Children may need jogging bottoms or shorts if we are outside as the weather changes. Children must be able to take out their earrings before the lesson and are responsible for looking after these. If your child is unable to remove their earrings, they must come to school with tape on their ears or you can show your child how to apply the tape themselves before the lesson.
Supporting learning at home
Where possible, we encourage children to learn at home through everyday experiences. Linking family days out to our theme is a brilliant way to do this and children love coming into school and telling the class what they’ve learnt.
Keep In Touch
We have an informal open door policy in key stage 1.
If you wish to speak to our teacher just catch her on the playground at the end of the school day after she has safely seen all of the children in the class out to their appropriate adult.
If after school is not convenient to you: phone up the school office and request that the teacher phones you back to arrange a more mutually convenient time.
Failing all of the above – write a note to the teacher asking to speak to them and get your child to pass it on.
If your child is registered with the school as having specific special learning needs, please look at the home learning links to meet their requirements attached to this link. Thank you.
