Hi, my name is Miss Eccles, and I am the Year 1 Teacher for Hummingbirds.  I am thrilled to be joining St John's Primary School and to be part of the Year 1s journey of learning. I have a passion for fostering a love of learning in young minds, with a background in Early Childhood Education and a dedication to helping children reach their full potential. In Hummingbirds, I look forward to a year full of growth, fun and memorable learning experiences. I love teaching maths in year 1, and I have a huge passion for story telling. I enjoy nothing more than ending the day with a story and becoming lost in the world of books. Outside of teaching, I enjoy reading, cooking, hiking, spending time with family and friends. 

 

Other staff supporting Hummingbirds:

Miss Reilly is our teaching assistant. Mrs Nottage teaches all day on a Tuesday.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Term 1 saw some incredible learning taking place! From a Tiger Who Came to Tea Picnic, Autumn Walks at Forest School, Creating our own music on chime bars and learning about extreme weather! The children thoroughly enjoyed it all. Thank you for your continued support of your child's learning. 

Please have a look at some of our highlights from last term: 

 In English this term, we will be basing our writing around our topic 'Shopping in the past and present' and learning more about what shopping was like in our Grandparents' time. We will be reading some fiction texts such as 'The Shopping Basket,' I'm a cook and 'The Jolly Christmas Postman'. We will be using our phonic knowledge to read and write words and simple sentences. We will also be focusing on punctuating our writing and adding new, descriptive vocabulary to our sentences. 

Reading - Your child will be bringing home a reading book every day so please bring a book bag to keep the books safe. Please try to spend 10 minutes each day listening to your child read as it really does have a positive impact on their progress. Remember to sign your child’s reading record book when they have read to you, these needs to be brought into school each day to be checked. The children will be able to change their reading book every Monday and Thursday. This will give your child the chance to become more confident by re-reading the same book several times.

Your child's spelling shed login is stuck at the front of their reading record. Assignments are set once a week, so please keep practising as it really makes a difference to your child's progress! Thank you! 

Phonics - The children will continue to learn their sounds in set 1, 2 & 3 and use the sounds they know to help with their writing. 

 In Maths, we will be adding and subtracting numbers within 10. We will using manipulatives such as numicons, counters, tens frame, and cubes to help us to solve addition and subtraction questions with more confidence. We will also learn how to use a number line, and how to use our knowledge of addition and subtraction to answer word problems. 

Your children's Numbots login details are stuck at the front of their Guided Reading Record books.

 

In RE, we will be focusing on the question 'Why does Christmas matter to Christians?' We will explore this by reading the Christmas Story, engaging in role play and discussing together the different Christmas Symbols and their meaning. 

This term in Science, we will be continuing to learn about 'Animals including Humans'. We will be able to identify the different categories of animals including omnivores, carnivores and herbivores, and talk about their food chains. We will ask scientific questions and have the opportunity to take part in scientific investigations. In Topic, we will be looking at Shops' Old and New. We will be thinking about how have shops have changed over the years from our grandparents' times. Hummingbirds will be looking at shops in our local area.

Outdoor learning is every alternate Tuesday and you will receive a text beforehand so appropriate clothing can be brought in. PE is every Wednesday morning.

Please do not hesitate to talk to us if you have any concerns so that any problems can be sorted quickly.  

 

Be ready for learning! In Hummingbirds, your child will need to have these items in school: 

Key Stage One (Years 1 and 2) 

• Book bag (no rucksacks please) 

• PE kit (to be worn on PE day) 

• Water bottle (no squash or juice) 

• Lunchbox (if not having school meal) 

• Wellington boots (to leave in school) 

• Coat (weather appropriate) 

Please don’t bring other items into school, as we do not have space to store them, and it can cause upset if things are lost or damaged. 

 

Learning at home for Hummingbirds Class: 

Children are expected to read every night for at least 10 minutes.  Reading records should be signed by an adult and brought back into school each day to be checked by a member of staff. Your child will take home 2 books each day – a banded book, and a phonics book.  These will be changed on Mondays and Thursdays.

Spelling Shed and Numbots can be accessed from home using the logins provided on the inside of your child's reading record. 

 

School Uniform Checklist:

Please label ALL items of clothing and shoes clearly with your child’s name. This helps even our younger children to take responsibility for and look after their uniform. 

Reminders

In the morning, please drop your children off at the gates and leave any important messages with staff on the playground. We start our day's learning as soon as the children arrive, so teachers are not available to speak with parents and carers at the start of the day; after school is best.

 

 Hummingbirds learning highlights so far this term: 

In Science, we went on an invertebrate hunt to find insects without a backbone, and we found some super creepy crawlies. In History, we are looking at shops present and past, we had a go at designing our own shop. In Maths, we have been looking at subtraction, using our manipulatives to help our learning. 

We also took the time to celebrate Anti-Bullying week by wearing odd socks, remembering how we are all different and unique. We shared ways we could show respect to each other and acts of kindness.