Welcome to Year 1
We would like to welcome you to Year 1 at Blenheim Primary School.
Welcome to Year 1 – Neuschwanstein & Yellowstone!
We are delighted to welcome you to Year 1 at Blenheim Primary School. This year, our classes are proudly named Neuschwanstein and Yellowstone, inspired by two of the world’s most fascinating and beautiful places — a magical fairy-tale castle in Germany and a stunning natural wonder in the United States. These names reflect the sense of wonder, curiosity and discovery that we aim to inspire in our learning throughout the year.
In Year 1, we make the exciting transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 1. Our focus is on building strong foundations in reading, writing, and mathematics, while also encouraging creativity, independence, and a love of learning. The children will explore a wide range of topics across the curriculum through hands-on activities, stories, and outdoor learning.
Our classrooms are warm, welcoming and full of enthusiasm, where every child is encouraged to be curious, kind, and confident.
If you have any queries about your child in Year 1, please speak to us at the end of the school day and we will always do our very best to help.
Miss Childs & Miss Emmerson
This year, our class names at Blenheim are names of capital cities
Yellowstone Class (Y1SC) is taught by -
Miss Childs and Miss Campbell
Neuschwanstein Class (Y1SE) is taught by -
Miss Emmerson and Miss Collins
Mrs Wallace (HLTA) also teaches both Year 1 classes
Yellowstone
Yellowstone is a famous national park in the United States, known for its wild beauty and amazing nature. It has bubbling hot springs, spouting geysers, wide open spaces, and lots of animals like bears, wolves, and bison. It’s a place full of adventure and discovery, where nature does surprising things every day! In Yellowstone class, we’ll be curious explorers, asking questions, discovering new things, and learning all about the world around us — just like the amazing natural wonders of the park.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle is a beautiful fairy-tale castle in Germany, built high on a hill and surrounded by forests and mountains. It looks just like something from a storybook, with tall towers, grand halls, and magical views. It was built by a king who loved stories and wanted a castle as dreamy and imaginative as the ones in his favourite tales. In our Neuschwanstein Castle class, we’ll use our imaginations, tell fantastic stories, and build our learning just like this wonderful castle – strong, creative, and full of wonder.
Our Curriculum
Year 1 will be learning lots of exciting things this year. See below for this year's Long Term Plan.
Spring Term
Geography - Mountains, Rivers and Oceans
History - Toys
Science - Animals
PSHE - Drugs and Tobacco
PE - Dance and Football
Computing - Rocket to the Moon (Skills Showcase)
Music - Timbre and Rhythmic patterns
ART - Drawing & Painting
DT - Collage
RE - Hinduism and Judaism
Phonics
Children learn to read by learning the sounds letters make. First they learn the single letter sounds, then they learn the sounds made by 2 or 3 letters together. If you or your child want help to know what the sounds in English are, you can watch the videos below to practise them. Your child will love sharing their knowledge of phonics with you.
Read Write Inc phase 2 and phase 3 sounds
Reading
Children make the most progress when learning to read, if they read everyday.
It is important children become fluent readers as this helps them access all aspects of the curriculum. When you read with your child at home, listen to them say the sounds in the words (segmenting) and then blend them to read the word. Ask them questions about what they are reading. Listed below are some questions you can ask your child, to help their understanding.
- What do you think the book will be about?
- Is it a story or an information book (a non-fiction book)
- What is happening in the story?
- What do you think will happen next?
- How do you think they feel now?
- Why do you think that happened?
- Can you tell me one fact that you have learned from this information book?
- Would you like to read this again? Why?
- What did you like best about this book?
You can also help them by explaining what new words mean. If you are unsure of the meaning of some words, you can write them in your child's reading record and we will be happy to explain them to you. We will change your child's reading book as soon as you return it to school, if you sign their reading record, so we know they have read it with you. If you read other books to your children, (including books in your first language) this will help them develop a love of reading and expand their vocabulary.
Homework
Your child will bring home Maths homework on a Friday. This will be work that is similar to the work we've already done in class that week. They may need a little help so they know what to do, but they should be able to complete it independently.The children bring home their learning log books on a Friday. This will have a challenge in it for them to do, that they may need a little help with. It will support the learning we are doing in class. Please return the learning log book to school on a Wednesday.
Spellings
Below is a list of tricky words children need to be able to spell by the end of Year 1.
Maths
It is very important that we know our number bonds to 10 and 20 and our 2, 5 and 10 times tables by the end of Year 1. Here is a game that can help us learn this and we love playing it in class.
Other Notices:
Indoor Shoes
We ask all children to bring in a change of shoes to wear inside.
This helps to keep the classroom tidy. It is especially important now that the weather is changing! The children have a labelled shoe space just for them.
Our P.E. days:
Yellowstone Class:
Monday and Friday
Neuschwanstein Class:
Monday and Friday
Please ensure that your child brings their P.E. kit in their bag. This can be left in school on their peg.
Our P.E. kit is:
A T-shirt (red if possible), a pair of shorts and a pair of school pumps or trainers.
or 