Welcome to P1!

Our teachers are Mrs Logan, Mrs Henry and Mrs Thompson

Our classroom assistants are Mrs McIlroy, Mrs McQuillan and Miss Todd. 

February- March

It’s hard to believe your child is almost more than halfway through their year in Primary One!

We have really noticed how much the children have come along since they started school in September – their work is improving day by day. We’re sure you’re amazed at what they can do!

Thank you for all the effort you have put in at home and please continue to keep this up.

Old McDonald Had a Farm

Our theme until Easter is “Old McDonald had a farm”. We will be learning about the role of a farmer, baby animals and their mothers, where our food comes from and we will be looking out for signs of Spring!

Don’t forget to send in any farm toys you have at home- the children love setting these out for display in our classrooms.

We Love Literacy!

We are working on Grammar in P1.

This is what the children will be learning – it is really just the “first steps” of good grammar.

• Holding a book correctly
• Holding a pencil correctly
• Knowing to start reading and writing from the left hand side
• Correct letter formation
• Putting a space between each word
• Ensure the sentence makes sense
• Understand what a full stop, question mark and exclamation mark means.

Mad about Maths

In Numeracy we will be learning to count to 15 and write the numbers 6-10. Help your child count forwards and backwards – they love to pretend a rocket is blasting off after zero!

If you are baking at home, get your child to help weigh out the ingredients – we have been doing this in school recently, using the words heavier and lighter.

We will be learning about money very soon. To give your child a head start, why not teach them to recognise each coin. However, we will only be using 1p coins to make our “purchases” in school.

** We would appreciate it if all parents could please send in ten 1p coins. It is much more beneficial to use real coins when teaching money **

Have a lovely Easter Holiday!

Let’s hope the weather is good so the children can get outside and be active – too much screen time is not good for them!

Why not visit the park, fly a kite, go on a Spring walk and talk about what you see, wrap up warm and go on a trip to the beach, or get out the bicycles!

Jan-Feb

Happy New Year! We hope you all enjoyed your Christmas holidays and Santa came to the boys and girls!

Our theme until February half term is “Helping Hands”. We are going to be learning about people who help us. We will learn about the roles of a teacher, the school cook, a fire fighter, a doctor and nurse and the police. We will have some visitors in the classroom and we will act out the various roles at playtime.

Maybe you could point out some people who help in the community when you’re out and about with your child?

Literacy

Reading is going well! We are very encouraged by the children’s progress, thank you for helping with this at home! 

Just keep practising at home each night. Make sure your child recognises the key words in each book e.g. and, a, the, is, it, had.

Numeracy

In Numeracy, we will be learning how to write the numbers 6 – 10. Again, we use the little rhymes to help the children remember the correct formation.

Keep practising these at home – we always say that practice makes perfect!

6 – down we go and make a loop, number 6 makes a hoop.

7 – across the sky and down from heaven, that’s the way we make a 7

8 – make a ‘s’ and do not wait, that’s the way we make an 8

9 – make a loop and then a line, that’s the way we make a 9

10 – first a one, then a zero, number 10 is our hero!

November - December   

We are really into the swing of things in P1 now! We can’t believe we will soon be starting the countdown to Christmas!   This will be a busy half term for your child as we commence Jolly Phonics, reading books and begin to practise for the Christmas Nativity…  

Jolly Phonics

Please give your child as much support as possible with Jolly Phonics. Knowing the sound each letter makes and being able to write it correctly is so important. Without learning these skills, your child will struggle with learning to read and write. Please check the newsletter for ideas and don’t forget to do the homeworks each night! 

Reading Books

The children will feel so “grown up” when they get their reading books. Don’t forget the importance of hearing your child read every night – but also continue to read some bedtime stories for enjoyment!  

Numeracy

We have been learning the numbers 1-5 and are ready to move on to 6-10. Please keep practising 1-5 at home. We have been thinking about 2D shapes – circle, triangle, square and rectangle. Why not have a look for these around your house?  

Christmas is coming!

It’s an exciting time of the year for the children!   Our Nativity this year is “Christmas Counts”. All children will be taking part – either as a character, in the band, or in the choir. All parents and family members are invited to the performances on either the 10th or 11th of December. Please plan to attend – it will help you get into the festive spirit!  

Why not write a letter to Santa at home – cutting toys out of catalogues is a great way of practising scissor skills!  

Please see the dates for the diary below.  

Sept – Oct

Ready for school!

Please ensure your child has the following items in school every day:

• Coat
• Lunch box with healthy morning snack, drink and packed lunch (if taking packed lunch in school)
• Homework folder (when homeworks commence). These are purchased directly via the school.

Is my name written clearly on all of my clothing?

Remember to check Seesaw regularly for updates!

We would appreciate it if you could send in the following items as soon as possible:

 - one large box of tissues

- one large glue stick

- one large bottle of handwashing soap with a pump top

Our Theme

Our theme this half-term is A Time to Rhyme. The children will be learning lots of familiar nursery rhymes and many lessons will be based on these.

You can help at home by sending in any nursery rhyme books, DVDs, costumes, puppets or any items mentioned in the nursery rhymes.

The nursery rhymes we will be learning are as follows:

- Baa Baa Black Sheep                                   - Wee Willie Winkie

- Humpty Dumpty                                         - Twinkle Twinkle 

- Hickory Dickory                                          - Hey Diddle Diddle

- Incy Wincy Spider

They will also discuss and become more familiar with their own daily routines, both in school and at home, for example, time to get up, time to go to school, time to play, time for bed etc. Why not help your child by identifying and emphasising these significant times in their day?

We love Literacy

Your child will be learning how to write their name. Practise this at home. Please refer to your handwriting sheet (given out in June) for further guidance. Remember – no capital letters except for the first letter!!

We will be teaching the children to hold their pencil correctly – using “froggy legs”. Ask your teacher if you’re unsure what this means!

Every day in P1 we have a story time. Why not continue this routine at bed time… time for a story! This will help your child improve their concentration and prepare for learning to read.

Mad about Maths

From now until Halloween, maths activities will include sorting, sequencing, counting 1-5, recognising the numbers 1-5, writing the numbers 1-5 and making sets of 1-5 items. These will be taught through practical, fun activities.

Encourage your child to count in practical, everyday situations, for example, setting the table – how many forks do we need? At the supermarket you could ask your child to get you ___ apples etc. How about sorting the laundry? Shirts in one pile, socks in another pile etc.

Dates for the Diary