We are all guilty of doing this….particularly at this time of year in school when we are busy thinking about about what comes next. This week I have been busy talking to Mr Whetnall about the children moving into Year 2 and to Miss Heim-Sarac about the children coming up from Reception, that I wanted to take the time to stop and celebrate all that the children have achieved this year and how far we have come. I hope in the next two weeks, our last of the school year, we will all take the time to reflect on what has gone by, as well as what is to come.
English - this week has been all about Phonic Screening! The children have all worked very hard, they have all done their best and I am very proud of each and every one of them. Back to normal next week!!
Maths - this week has been all about counting in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. We have done lots of practical grouping, counting and colouring of the patterns and we have spoken a lot about what we notice. The children have been very good at stopping the patterns within the numbers. We have moved on this week to think about repeated addition, as the first steps to multiplication - we have used number lines to support this jumping work, but for some children this has proved a little tricky. Please practice counting in 2, 5, and 10’s.
RE - this week has been all about the signs and symbols of the Jewish faith. We have looked at the kippah, tallit, the synagogue and the Torah.
We were joined by Fr Frank on Wednesday for a lovely liturgy focused on Our Lady and the statue that we welcomed last week. See pictures at the end of the blog.
Science - this week we have continued to talk about signs and symbols of summer - this week the children have written some great facts about how they know it is summer. We’ve even had some sunshine this week!!
History - we continued our work on Explorers by thinking about what that word means and we focused on one of our four core explores and learnt lots about them! This week’s focus was Christopher Colombus Ask your child about this controversial figure - hero or villain?
Art - the children enjoyed a painting lesson with Mrs Gilheaney,
Many congratulations to this week’s winners….
Golden Award - Alfie for showing great respect in class this week and super behaviour for learning.
Writing Award - Sophia for super writing in RWI this week for Mrs Gilheaney - excellent spelling work too Sophia!
Maths Award - Mia for great counting in 2, 5 and 10’s this week using a number line to support her working.
General pieces of information
PE will be on Monday and Friday so please send the children into class in the PE kits on those days. No earrings can be worn for PE so please ensure that they are taken out at home.
Trainers - if your children is wearing trainers with laces for PE they must be able to tie them by themselves. This is a health and safety issue - please ensure your child can tie their laces before sending them in lace-up trainers.
Water bottles - all the children were given a new school bottle this week. This will come home each night to be cleaned and re-filled. Please only use the school bottles and ensure your child brings theirs each day. Lost water bottles can be replaced at the school office, but I am afraid you will have to pay for those. Year 1 have orange tops.
I will not be in class on a Thursday afternoon, as it is my release time. This will be covered by Miss Evans and Mrs Connolly and is also when the children will have Music with Mrs Watson.
Party Invitations - I am afraid that Miss Evans and I will not be able to give out party invitations in class. Please do not send your child into class with them for them to give out - it creates upset and fuss about something that takes place outside of school.Thank-you for your understanding with this matter.
Key Rings - please do not put key rings onto your child’s school bag, it create fuss in class and then upset if they are lost.
School bag - please continue to use the red book bag that your child was given in Reception, we don not have the room to store large bags. Many thanks for your help with this matter.
Homework Expectations - please see the Homework page for what I expect the children to do at home…..don’t worry, it’s mainly just reading!! HOMEWORK EXPECTATIONS - YEAR 1 — Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary
YEAR 1 SCHOOL TRIP TO THE BEACH - TUESDAY 15th JULY 2025!
Your child will have brought home a letter tonight about our little trip to the beach on Tuesday 15th July - please read letter and fill in slip to return to school by TUESDAY 8TH JULY. Money should be paid through your parent pay account. Many thanks….fingers crossed for sunshine!!! Thanks SO much to the PFTA for their VERY kind and generous donation to help with the cost of the coach.
(Please note that school trips cannot go ahead if we do not meet the costs.)
At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters
Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.
This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…
What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Apple ipads This guide examines Apple’s iPad – a popular device for children – and explores key concerns such as screen overuse, privacy risks and inappropriate content.
We hope you find these guides informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all. Thank you.
We are delighted to be able to share with you the Good News Gospel readings for families. Please follow the link to share the Gospel at home with your family. These are really child-friendly resources to share at home. https://www.paperturn-view.com/wednesday-word/good-news?pid=MTA101634&v=163.4
Extreme Reading Challenge
Continuing with our focus on reading across school, we have a challenge for the children! Reading is one of the most valuable skills we teach children, and it can be a magical adventure when we bring creativity and fun into the mix. One exciting way to encourage pupils to read is through extreme reading challenges – taking books to unusual places or reading in imaginative ways. Where is the most interesting place you have ever read a book? Whether it is up a tree or on top of a mountain, we want your photos! Your challenge is to take a photo of yourself reading somewhere extreme (but safe!) and send it to school. Please send your photos to admin@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk so we can display these in school and on our website. We can't wait to see your pictures! Thank you for your support!
We have only had one Year 1 entry so far - please send in a photo if you can!
As a school, we are always looking for ways to improve children’s engagement with reading and this last half term, more children in Year 5 have been reading regularly as part of our Lent challenge, so during the Summer term, the whole school will be taking part in a reading challenge.
Children will receive a golden ticket each time they read and get their reading diary signed three times in a week. At the end of each half term, during our celebration assembly, we will draw a golden ticket from each class’s box, and one winner from each class will receive a reward.
Please encourage your child to read regularly and bring in their signed reading diary so they can start collecting their golden tickets. Thank you for your support.
Miss Evans will start giving out golden tickets from MONDAY 28th APRIL - your child’s reading record will continue to be checked on their reading day, so their week will run from each reading day ie Tuesday to Tuesday, they they read and change their books on a Tuesday.
And finally…have a lovely weekend…..….Mrs Hollinghurst, Miss Evans and all the Year 1 team
Many thanks to Mrs Gilheaney this week who has supported us all during Miss Evan’s absence - what would I have done without you?!! Thanks-you so much xxx
A few pictures of our week……
