Hello, Year 1, 

A warm welcome to Year 1 2024-2025! We hope your summer holiday was awesome and you are ready for your new school year. We are very excited to see you in school tomorrow morning for your first day in Year 1. We hope your school bag is packed and you are just as excited as we are. 

Collection of children after school: Parents, please collect your children at the back doors of the Year 1 classrooms. You are welcome to wait underneath the trees until we release the children to you. Due to health and safety reasons we we ask you not to come to the classes via the ramp. If you would like to have a conversation with the teachers please wait until all children are released before coming up the ramp.

Remember to read every day, because reading makes you smarter. Please ask your adults to write in your Reading Record after you read. 

We have decided to share the following information with you to ensure everybody knows what is expected.

PE-NEWS

Our children enjoy PE and it would be fantastic if all PE bags and PE clothes are labelled so that we can identify items that may get lost or put accidentally into the wrong bag. Please could you also make sure that hair is tied up and earrings are removed on PE days? Your child will be having PE on the following days:

Miss Hall's class - Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Mrs Cranstone's class - Wednesdays and Fridays

Show and Tell

Children can bring ONE item to school on a Friday to discuss with the class. 

Friday        06.09.24 - Ruby

Friday        13.09.24 - Amber

Friday        20.09.24 - Emerald

Friday        27.09.24 - Sapphire

Please send the Show and Tell item in a carry bag. 

Year 1 email address

Please remember that parents can contact teachers at any time by using the following email address: year1@greatberry.essex.sch.uk. As teachers are obliged to read email messages sent to the Year 1 address at least once a week, parents are advised to communicate absences, doctor's appointments, and other matters that need immediate attention to the office email address.

Snack time in school

We have a small snack every morning before we go out for playtime at 10:15 a.m. The school provides a piece of fruit, but children do not always like the fruit on offer. Parents are welcome to send a piece of fruit to school for snack time. Please note that crisps, chocolates, biscuits, or any other sugary food are not allowed as we strive to teach children to enjoy a healthy snack.  Raisins and dried fruit will be acceptable. Could you please limit the size of the snack as we only have 5 minutes available for snack time?

Homework

Children have a Homework Book as well as a folder for Maths sheets. Homework will be available every Thursday. We will post a Weekly Overview document so that parents will know what we will be learning in a specific week as well as the homework. Parents will be able to see this document online on the Great Berry Primary School website when clicking on the Year 1 Class Page option. English homework will normally be done in the Homework Book and Maths homework will be a sheet that we will put into the Maths folder. Please return the Homework Book on a Tuesday so that it can be marked before the new homework activities are scheduled.

Reading

Children are encouraged to read daily to their parents/carers and reading books will be exchanged once a week. Please write the date children read to parents/carers in the reading diary and a short note about their reading.

Barnaby Bear

Last Friday Barnaby Bear went home with one child in each class. We know he will have an exciting time with the children this year. If your child receives Barnaby for the weekend, please send it back on Monday so it can be ready on a Friday to go to a different child. There is a book in the Barnaby Bear bag, and it would be great if children could write/draw pictures of the things he has been doing. 

We look forward to a wonderful half term with all our Year 1 parents/carers and children!

The Year One Team