Neil Armstrong Class is made up of 30 wonderful Year 1 children and our class teachers are called Miss Hardaker and Mrs Robinson.
(Mrs Robinson teaches us every Monday and every other Tuesday, and Miss Hardaker teaches us the rest of the days).
We are very lucky across Year 1 to be supported by lots of fabulous teaching assistants at different times during the week, and these are: Mrs Wilkins, Mrs White, Miss Hawkins, Mrs Dowthwaite and Mrs Salt.
On our webpage you will find some important information such as our spellings and any important dates for your diary. These will also be communicated on Class Dojo where further regular updates will be shared so please make sure you are connected.
We hope you enjoy seeing all of the fantastic things that we do in Neil Armstrong Class.
Feel free to send me a message any time on Class Dojo, or through my school email:
ghardaker@dovedale.derbyshire.sch.uk
Reading
Your child will receive a reading diary and a wallet containing 2 books. The first book is a black and white ‘storybook’ – this will be a copy of the book your child has learned to read in their Read, Write Inc phonics group. They will know this book and should be able to read it fluently – this is their book where they can show off their great reading skills to you! The second book is a ‘Book Bag Book’ – this book will be matched to your child’s phonics knowledge. Although they will not have read this book in school, they should be able to read it quite easily. This book enables your child to apply their phonic skills independently and for this reason, this is the book we encourage you to focus on at home.
Soon the children will be receiving a third book. This will be a book to share together at home. We promote a love of books and reading at school and would like to encourage this at home. We do not expect children to be able to read the sharing book themselves, but we do expect them to enjoy listening to it, learning from it and talking to you about it!
In order for our phonics teaching to work effectively, it is essential that all books are returned to school. After hearing your child read at home, or sharing a book together, please make sure all books go straight back into their reading wallet / bag so they are always readily available at school.
Please note:
- Some black and white storybooks have a space for the child's name. Please leave this blank as these are not personal copies, and will be re-used.
Finally, a reminder that we ask for you to hear your child read at least 3 times each week. Please sign your child’s reading diary after each read and include any comments you would like to make. If your child has read at least 3 times each week their name will get entered into our Reading Raffle!
Spellings
Your child will receive a booklet of each half term's spellings to learn at home. Please encourage your child to practise their spellings so that they are ready for their weekly spelling test. The spelling test will take place every Friday.
At the start of the year, the children will receive log in details for a website/app called Spelling Shed (linked below). Spelling Shed is used across the school and it allows the children to practise their weekly spellings in a fun way. The children love using Spelling Shed.
Please see the link below for other fun ways to practise spellings at home.
PE
Our PE Days for Autumn 2 are as follows:
Indoor PE - Monday afternoon
Outdoor PE - Wednesday afternoon
Children should come to school wearing their PE kit. The PE kit should include:
A plain red/white t-shirt (with or without the school logo)
A plain black sports jacket/zip-up jacket
Plain black or navy joggers or shorts (weather dependent)
Trainers or plimsoles.
- Monday 4th November - Inset Day
- Tuesday 5th November - Back to school
- Monday 11th November - Our school remembrance service
- Friday 15th November - Children in Need
- W/C Monday 2nd December - Celebration Week
- Wednesday 4th December - Expert Groups
- Thursday 12th and Friday 13th December - Santa's Grotto and Christmas Jumper Days
- Friday 20th December - Break up for Christmas
- Monday 6th January - Back to school
