Cygnet Class

Teacher: Mrs Gabrielle Manzi

TAs : Mrs Michelle Rose, Miss Heather Brannan and Miss Evie Byrne

Welcome to Cygnet Class

Question: where can you…..?
  • discover, explore, imagine
  • build a pirate ship and sail across the Arctic ocean
  • hunt for fossils, buried treasure or both
  • escape the hot lava of an active volcano
  • dig, plant, grow and cook
  • travel to the moon in a homemade space ship
  • paint everyday, if you want to
  • dance freely, sing loudly
  • become a scientist or superhero, mathematician or engineer
…and, of course, learn to read and write your first words…….
Answer: in Cygnet class! – where children explore what it is like to be grown-up, and where grown-ups remember what it was like to be a child.

Cygnet Class is where the youngest children begin their time with us. The children in this class are Reception and  Year 1.  In Cygnet Class there is a mixture of play based learning and more formal teacher led learning. A particular favourite of the week is the Welly Walk, where the children go off site around the village and local area learning about their surroundings. Children in Cygnet class have daily phonics lessons and lots and lots of stories. They have many opportunities to explore their learning through hands-on experiences.

Cygnet Curriculum Overview Year A 2023

Autumn Term 2024

What will we be learning about this term?

We will all be learning how to read and write through our daily phonics and reading lessons. Reception will be learning their first letters and sounds in phase 2 plus some common exception words. As soon as they have learnt the first few letters they will bring home reading books.  Year 1 will be revising phase 4 before beginning new phase 5 in the Spring Term. Every child will have guided reading lessons and lots and lots of stories.

In our history topic this term we are finding out about what a historian does and how we can find out about the past. We will focus on the history of our school, our homes and our farms.

In Science we will learn all about out senses and then using this information to explore materials and their properties. We will also learn about what happens in Autumn.

In English we will be using Talk for Writing to explore the story of ‘Stuck in the Mud’.  We will be learning how to use adjectives to describe settings and how to write a super sentence using full-stops and capital letters. Reception will learn how to remember and tell a whole story using a story map and actions.

In Maths year 1 will be consolidating their subitising skills and knowledge of counting to 10 before learning all about part, part, wholes and how to partition different numbers under 10.

Reception will be learning all about subitising numbers 0-5. They will also be exploring spatial reasoning through building with construction equipment and 2d and 3d shapes.

REC Maths KO

In Art we will be learning about drawing and colour. We will look at the work of the artist Winifred Nicholson and the illustrator Benji Davies.

In Design Technology year 1 will be learning how to make a fruit smoothie. Reception will learn how to work safely in woodworking lessons.

In RE we will learn all about what makes me special, special places and special times.

Don’t forget to send your child in with a named PE kit and wellington boots for wet welly walks. Children will also need a complete set of named spare clothes too, just in case of accidents! 

KS1 Curriculum Overview

Useful Documents and information:

Please find the powerpoint from Mrs Manzi’s presentation to parents about the Early Years Foundation Stage attached for you to look at at your leisure.

Foundation workshop 2022

Here is the link to the Foundation Stage phonics presentation:

Phonics workshop REC Sept 2022

Here is the link to the handwriting website which has lots of ideas to help you support the development of gross and fine motor skills in preparation for handwriting. https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/parents.html

If you are having to self -isolate here are a few things you can do to support your child’s learning at home:

Maths
  • Watch Number blocks together and talk about the maths you see

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/joinin/numberblocks-help-your-child-with-maths

  • Play board games using a dice- this helps your child to practise subitising (seeing a number of objects without having to count them) and turn taking.
  • Practise reading and writing numerals
  • Count together – up to 100 and beyond
  • Sing number songs like Five little Ducks (BBC School radio has lots of number rhymes)
  • Make different patterns using everyday objects
  • Talk about the shapes you see in the environment
  • Cook together – follow a recipe and weigh the ingredients
  • Teach them to tell the time – o’clock and half-past the hour
  • Say the days of the week and months of the year together
English
  • Sing lots of nursery rhymes (BBC School radio will help) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06kbsbz
  • Read lots and lots of stories together
  • Collect a few objects and make up stories together using the objects
  • Practise writing the letters of the alphabet
  • Support your child to practise writing their name
  • Make shopping lists together – either writing or drawing the things you need

Also – please call into school if you can, and collect a handful of reading books for your child to read whilst they are off school.