Merton Bank Primary School

Welcome to Year One

Caring Respect Empathy Courage Resilience

Attendance is key to academic success and social development.

Please aim for your child to be in school EVERY day!

Our Year One Team

Teacher – Mrs Clay

Teaching Assistants –Mrs Mannion (level 3 teaching assistant), Miss Whittaker and Miss Murphy

The Year One classroom is a friendly, nurturing environment where every child is important and enabled to shine. Respect and caring attitudes flourish and supportive relationships underpin all that we do. Throughout Year One, children build on the knowledge they have gained during the Early Years and continue to develop their independence. Lessons are exciting, filled with practical experiences to engage and motivate the children to always want to learn more. In Year One, we are readers! Children are encouraged to pick up a book and explore the wonders of the world through exciting stories, pictures and facts. With the support of family at home, we endeavour for children to develop confidence, fluency and a love of reading. Mental health and well-being are a high priority in Year One. We work hard to foster resilience and positive self-esteem and support children in preparing for their transition to Year Two.

Our school day:

Doors open 8:45am and registration closes at 8.55am. Your child must be in school by 8.55am.

The school day ends at 3:15pm. Your child will enter and leave school via the shared Reception and Y1 gate.

Safeguarding is high priority at Merton Bank so please understand we may need to check if someone else is picking your child up. Please always inform the office if someone new is collecting. Thank you for your understanding with this.

Important things to remember for a successful year ahead:

You may wish to provide a healthy snack for your child to eat at 10:00am playtime. Lunch will be at 12:00pm.

This term we have PE every Tuesday and Wednesday – please ensure that your child attends school on these days in their PE kit. On these days children must wear the following PE uniform: white t-shirt and black shorts. Black jogging bottoms and jumper for the colder months.

Reading in Key Stage One:

At Merton Bank, we aim for all our children to become fluent, confident readers who are passionate about reading. Children who read regularly or are read to regularly have the opportunity to open the doors to so many different worlds!

In Key Stage One, we use Read Write Inc. Phonics to give your child the best possible start with their reading journey. Your child will bring a book bag book home on a Monday. This will be changed every Monday. Your child will bring their group storybook home on a Thursday. This will be changed every Thursday.

Key Resources:

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Autumn 2 overview.pdf	Download
Spring 1 Overview.pdf	Download
Spring 2 Overview.pdf	Download

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Summer Term 1 Learning:

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Take a look at this booklet to find ways to help early reading at home.

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Take a look at some of the exciting learning in Year 1 during Spring Term 2025

Talk for Writing - A Mouse Called Maisie

Art - Weather repeated pattern painting inspired by Rene Magritte

Take a look at some of the exciting learning in Year 1 during Autumn Term 2024

Talk for Writing - The Three Little Pigs

We have been learning to retell the story of The Three Little Pigs, using lots of actions and expression. We have created text maps, labels and descriptive sentences inspired by our text and even made a video recording of us all performing the story so that we could watch ourselves on our big screen.

DT Project - Clay Model Characters of The Troll

We developed our clay work skills and then created our own character models of The Troll from our Guided Reading text The Troll by Julia Donaldson. We designed a bridge backdrop to display our models in an art exhibition!

Forest Friday Autumn Adventures

We have loved experiencing the changing seasons in our weekly Forest Friday Forest School adventures and activities.

PE Ball Skills and Rugby Masterclass

This term we have been practicing our throwing, kicking and catching skills and enjoyed some Rugby masterclasses from the Saints Rugby coaches.

Mega Maths Mastery

Take a look at some of the exciting learning in Year 1 last year 2023/2024

Writing - Instructions

This term, we linked our class text 'After the Fall' by Dan Santat, to instruction writing. The children explored a model instruction text and followed the steps carefully to make their own paper planes, just like Humpty Dumpty in the story! As Humpty Dumpty is an avid bird watcher, we learned how to make bird feeders and wrote our own instructions to explain the process.

DT - Bridge Project

In D&T, we designed a bridge for the Naughty Bus and other toys to use to cross the garden. This meant they would no longer get stuck in the mud! The children spent time researching existing real and cardboard bridges and planned their designs carefully before bringing them to life. We had lots of fun choosing different toys to test the finished products!

PE - Saints Community Development Foundation

This term, Year 1 have been lucky enough to enjoy PE lessons delivered by the Saints community team. The children have learned basic skills within rugby, whilst having lots of fun in a variety of games!

Take a look at some of the exciting learning in Year 1 during Spring Term 2024

PE - Gymnastics

In PE, Year 1 have been exploring basic gymnastic actions on the floor and using low apparatus. The children have worked hard to master basic skills of jumping, rolling, balancing and travelling, both individually and in combination to create movement sequences. We enjoyed selecting our own actions to build short routines and develop our confidence when performing.

Computing - Rocket to the Moon

In computing, we used a range of tools on graphics editing software to plan and design model rockets. The children learned how to make their rockets by carefully sequencing an algorithm, before building and launching their models. We used a tape measure to collect data about the distance travelled and inputted this into a spreadsheet. The furthest rocket landed 7.5 metres from the throwing line!

Art - Weather Repeating Patterns

In art this term, we have been developing our painting skills by intentionally mixing colour and experimenting with different sized painting tools. The children took inspiration from Belgian artist René Magritte, the weather and the seasons to produce their beautiful repeated pattern paintings.

Take a look at some of the exciting learning in Year 1 during Summer Term 2024

Science - Plants

We have been learning how to identify a variety of common wild and garden plants, including deciduous and evergreen trees, and how to describe the basic structure of common flowering plants, including trees. This learning was supported by a trip to Kenyon Hall Farm, further exploring plants, their life cycle and how to care for them. The children enjoyed picking their own delicious strawberries and had lots of fun touring the farm on a tractor and trailer!

PE - Everton in the Community Football for Education

This term, Year 1 have been taking part in a football development programme, designed to provide children with an approach to football that encompasses physical health, mental well-being, and personal development. These sessions not only improve children's physical health, but instill healthy habits to last a lifetime.

Art - Character Models

We appraised sculpture work by Sophie Ryder and Henry Moore, before designing our very own character models. The children used play-doh to practise making 3D shapes and smoothing out cracks in the material. Finally, we used clay to turn 3D shapes into a recognisable character - the penguin from our class text, 'Lost and found'!

Read, Write, Inc. Videos:

Merton Bank Primary School

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