Autumn Term 2024

WC 16th December 2024.

There has been lots of excitement around the classroom this week in anticipation of the Christmas holidays and Father Christmas visiting!

We had a busy start to the week finishing our Chocolate cake writing. We finished our instruction writing with the best part - Time to savour and enjoy the cake! We described the cake as sweet, scrumptious and chocolatey! We then designed our own individual 'dream cup cake' and described this. Lots of children loved the idea of icing and sprinkles!

In Maths, we did some pattern work with our 2D and 3D shapes and then moved onto counting activities. We have started to count up to 20. We made different numbers between 11 and 20 using different maths resources and started to read the numerals as words.Have a watch of number blocks 11-20. https://youtu.be/MhD_NQjqKCg

We have enjoyed finding the beat in Music - counting 2, then 3 then 4 beats. In PSHE, we made and shared friendship tokens and thought about how we can make new friends. We finished the week thinking about the Winter weather - writing about snowmen , sharing some of our dance skills with our friends, making cards and of course enjoying the whole School Celebratory Assembly, Pantomime and Carols around the tree. A busy last week! Let’s see if we get snow this holiday…

Merry Christmas everyone. Stay safe and enjoy the festivities.

WC 9th December 2024.

In English, we have had a busy, productive week! We read a poem all about chocolate cake by Micheal Rosen and decided to make one of our own. We wrote our ingredients list and had a walk to our local Supermarket to buy them. We then made our cakes and ate them! We have busily written our instructions so we know exactly how to make it again!

In Maths, we have spent the week continuing to learn all about Geometry - 3D and 2D shapes. We have explored shapes in real life and using maths resources. We have matched the correct shape names, discussed the properties and sorted them into groups! What a busy week!

For RE, we had a wonderful visit, with all of KS1, to the local church - St Denys. Thankyou to Father Phillip for showing us around. In Design and Technology we completed and evaluated our Christmas Wreaths. In Science, we continued to learn about the features of Winter and what we do during this season. We also enjoyed the whole school Christmas jumper day and Christmas lunch!

WC 2nd December 2024.

Everyone was very excited for the start of Advent. As a class we have really enjoyed opening each door on our interactive calendar that is set on the beautiful streets of Paris. Thank you Mrs James for generously providing it.

In English, we are thoroughly enjoying finding out facts about Penguins. The role of the female and the male Penguin and finally the chick. We have written super factual sentences using great terminology. Lovely non-fiction writing Year 1!

In Maths, we have continued to add and subtract. We have worked well to understand the addition and subtraction signs and the best methods to help us get accurate answers. We finished the week by starting Geometry learning and exploring 3D shapes - can you spot any around the home?

It has been Design and Technology week across the School and we have taken on the challenge of designing a Christmas Wreath. We have drawn and edited our own design and got busy making it.

Don’t forget to send warmer PE clothing for our Wednesday Games lessons outside with Mr Godson. Friday is Dance - inside the School Hall.

WC 25th November 2024.

In English, we have started learning about non fiction texts - ready to write our own facts. We have been learning about where Penguins live and how they move. Everyone has been fascinated by these fabulous birds that are superb swimmers!

In Maths, we have been busy working on fact families using addition and subtraction skills. We have enjoyed using striking to help answer subtraction questions and see what number is left!

In RE, we have been learning about the Christian Community and the outside and inside of a church. We recognised the images of the familiar local Church of St Denys and hope we will become experts ready for a visit there in December. In Science, we have enjoyed exploring freezing ice and experimented making our own. We have identified all the changes that are occurring around us as we move into Winter.

We have become very good at rehearsing our spellings and are placing them into dictated sentences and sentences of our own. We are continuing to work hard in phonics and reading each day. Keep this up Year 1 and don’t forget to pop those home reads onto BOOM Reader!

Thank you very much to our parents who came in for parents evening. The children were excited to show you their learning 😊.

WC 18th November.

This week has been assessment week across the School.Year 1 have risen to the challenge and worked hard to complete Reading, Maths and Science Assessments.We are very proud of you. Listening carefully to instructions, trying your best and working hard to complete them.

We still had time to appreciate the snow fall at the start of the week!Everyone got wrapped up in coats, hats, gloves to enjoy the soft snow and then observe how some of it had melted and some had turned to ice!We have also enjoyed continuing our Art, PE, PSHE, History and Science learning! We finished our collage sculptures, compared historical and religious celebrations, and did some super marching in unison in PE.Great fun Year 1!In PSHE, we thought sensibly about what the term ‘bullying’ means and what we should do if it ever occurred and finally we had some lovely discussion about seasons in Science - we shared our experiences and knowledge of Autumn leaves falling, migration and weather.We then finished the week making an Autumn wreath and attending our whole school celebration assembly!Super job Year 1.Well done

WC 11th November.

Well done with your Remembrance Poppy Poem recital Year 1. You spoke clearly and remembered the words and actions well. 

In English, you have continued to write some super sentences. Some of you are now stretching yourselves to write a series of linked sentences - amazing! We loved your descriptions of the darker skies and then your more positive descriptions when the poppies started to grow - The poppies were as red as rubies! Fabulous! We shall continue to keep working on the different capital letter formation too - now we are using lots of different sentence starters! :)

In Maths, we have been finding the part in different number sentences. We have used resources to help, used counting on with a number line and subtracting. Great work. We shall be doing some assessments next week and then more learning on subtraction.

In Science, we have completed our learning on the features we see in Autumn and have noticed the weather is getting chillier. We are ready to think about the season of Winter next. Don’t forget to bring a coat each day Year 1 for our outdoor play and any outdoor learning! In RE, we thought again about what the word Parable means - this time discussing The Parable of The Lost Sheep. In Art, we did a lovely job collaging with our different materials.We have also completed lots of quizzes to recap our knowledge in Geography, History and RE. Super job!

Thank you for all your support for Children in Need on Friday.How comfortable to come to School in Pyjamas!

WC 4th November.

A great start back for Autumn term 2 in Year 1 😊.

In English, we got straight into our new story which is based on the CBeebies animation 'Poppies'. We love our new Rabbit character and have already written super sentences about how he happily hops, bounces and bounds around the meadow with his best friend Butterfly. However, the sky turned overcast and dark and we realised how Rabbit had become scared and fearful. We finished the week with some lovely discussion about prepositions and played a fun game of hide and seek to help us think about where Rabbit could hide.

In Maths, we re visited our number bonds within and to ten and how we can find them systematically. Keep trying this Year 1 - try and prove you have found them all. We have continued with addition - adding two numbers together and finding out how we can add more to any number.

In Oracy, we read a short poem together all about Remembrance Sunday. We added actions and rehearsed how to perform this clearly. Look out for this in your home reading folder (Poppy poem) - see if you can read it with your grown up and perform it to them. We continued this learning in History, thinking about why we remember and then made our own Poppy. We tested our tricky word spellings, we did a super job and we are putting them into some super sentences. In PSHE, we are celebrating differences this term and started by thinking about how we are similar to our friends and how we are different. In RE, we have thought about Christian Parables - we learnt about the Bible story Noah and the Ark.

Don’t forget PE is Wednesdays and Fridays for this half term. It will be games on Wednesday and Dance (marching) on Fridays.

WC 14th October.

Our first term together has flown and we are very proud of how well all the children have adapted to Year 1 and settled in so sensibly. We have loved getting to know you all in our class.

In English, we have finished our story about the Rainbow Fish. We have written lots of sentences about how caring and thoughtful it was for him to share his scales. We have also considered how it feels when we choose to be kind. We wrote some super ideas - including how, just like the Rainbow Fish, we would be bursting with happiness and feel joyful to make our friends happy. What a lovely way to finish the book and the first term 🙂.

In Maths, we have been really focused on our addition learning - we have worked on fact families and number bonds within 10. What a fantastic job! We used our skills to write number bonds systematically and proved we had found them all! Keep working on your number bonds over the holiday - watch number blocks to help you.https://youtu.be/7Hr-a5w_phY Test yourself on number bonds within 10 - what two numbers can you add together to make a number within 10? Use objects to help you check you are correct.

In Geography, we discussed our town and where we live - thinking about the position of our house. Most children thought Sleaford was a busy town, with traffic and lots of buildings. Others said it was also quiet because of the River Slea and the parks. See if you can spot any of the features we have discussed when you are out and about this holiday. In Computing, we had a go with the Bee-Bots to try programming simple instructions. In Art, we completed our own creations using shapes and finished the term making a Halloween Witch using our shape skills - what a super half term of art we've had. In History, we have learnt about Bonfire night and the historical figure - Guy Fawkes and his plot to blow up Parliament! 

We had a 'spook-tacular' last day! Everyone looked amazing in fancy dress. We hope you enjoyed the disco and pumpkins! Have a well deserved rest over the holiday. Stay safe and we look forward to seeing everyone for the next half of our Autumn term.

WC 7th October.

In English, we have been busy writing sentences to describe the beautiful Rainbow Fish and his gleaming scales. We have also thought about how the other fish must have felt when the Rainbow Fish wouldn’t share his scales with them. We used some super role play and wrote some interesting verbs to describe how the little fish sadly turned away, rotating and spinning to swim away!

In Maths, we have used our part whole models and counters to work out addition problems. Thinking carefully about the parts and the whole and then starting to write number sentences.

In RE, we are thinking about different beliefs and values - starting with Christianity. We discussed special books and learnt about The Christian Bible and its different parts. In PSHE, we reflected on what we know about our School rules and what we feel makes a happy, safe learning classroom. Science; this week was all about the sense of ‘taste’ including trying bitter, sweet and sour foods! Which do you prefer? We have finished the week thinking about the steps to make a jam sandwich! The children really loved this computing coding lesson - making sure the instructions are clear and in the correct order!

Welldone to all the children who were part of the School Dance Academy Awards this week - we are very proud of you - you are all super stars!

WC 30th September.

In English, we have come to the end of our little story about the Penguin we had named ‘Pip’. We enjoyed a happy ending and wrote some lovely sentences about the characters feelings and their friendship. We have started a new story book all about being humble and sharing - The Rainbow Fish - to start our learning we loved making a sparkly, iridescent fish of our own.

In Maths, we have continued with our counting within 10 - we have been busy ordering 3 numbers from smallest to greatest and proving how we are correct. We have also been exploring number lines and answering questions about the position of different numbers - terrific understanding Year 1. We have started to think about addition and subtraction! Starting with a part whole model! We have made a great start. 

In PE, we have started to sequence our movements including balancing positions, jumps and rolls. In Geography, we looked at the photos from our local walk and looked at how we use a local, simple map. We then got busy making our own hand drawn map - adding local landmarks we had seen. In Oracy, we have started to think about how we communicate. We have started by working in pairs to discuss an idea - taking turns to speak and listen - talking in full sentences😊. In Science, we have explored the question ‘how do we smell?’ We have finished the week learning the essential skills of first aid. How sensible you have been Year 1.

Don’t forget to rehearse your five tricky word spellings. We were impressed with your reading and writing of them in class.

WC 23rd September 2024.

In English, we have enjoyed reading our story ‘Lost and Found’ - we have written sentences to describe how lonely and friendless the Penguin character must be feeling away from the South Pole. We have considered his journey home. We have written some super sentences about the sound of the huge ship and the towering, giant waves of the ocean as he sets sail on his way home.

In Maths, we have been busy comparing numbers this week. We have used inequality signs to create number sentences - fantastic job. Blockzilla from number blocks helped us with our understanding.Have another watch: https://youtu.be/_GQtIUEEeRE?t=17

In Geography, we had a lovely, little walk into Sleaford. We observed all the different landmarks and enjoyed seeing the buses, cars and shops aswell as the Church and the peaceful River Slea. In Science, we used our sense of touch to consider the feeling of different materials. In History, we enjoyed learning about Saint George and the Dragon and had fun role playing the legend.

We have started reading and writing spellings - we have started with words we use frequently but can be tricky to spell. Look out for these in your child’s spelling book in their home reading folder - read and write them.

WC 16th September 2024.

In English, we completed our story about digging a hole. As part of our ending of the story we wrote about spinning, tumbling and toppling into the hole! We were surprised to find we had reached back home. But, we agreed it was a happy ending! We considered what the alternative could have been including finding treasure, fossils or even diamonds! How exciting!
We have also started a new story all about a little lost penguin… I wonder what will happen next!

In Maths, we have counted backwards and found one less. We enjoyed using songs and story to help us to think about this. We are starting to carefully think about the position of numbers, which are greater and which are less than. Why don't you choose any number and think about what number comes after and what number comes before it?

In Art, we explored making different lines - zig zag, diagonal, vertical and curved. We started by exploring this using chalk outside - this was lots of fun and messy! In Science, we went on a listening walk around our school grounds and recorded our findings using pictures and words.

In Music, we continued to think about ‘pitch’ - learning and singing a song about a high flying Egret bird and a scuttling crab on the sand! In Geography, we recapped our knowledge on human features in Sleaford using google earth aerial images then discussed the differences to physical features in our town. We sorted lots of local images into the two types of feature.

We had a special visitor on Wednesday across our school - to do some special, engaging writing lessons. Everyone loved all the exciting writing vocabulary used and tried their best: well done!

We finished the week preparing our own Christmas card design! Look out for this in your child’s book bag - please return to make an order.

Happy weekend.

WC 9th September 2024.

This week we have really got into our class routines.

In English, we have continued reading our story about Sam, Dave and their dog Milo. We realised Sam and Dave may need to change their plan and dig in different directions if they want to find any gems or treasure! We discussed our maze and problem solving solutions and then had a go - we tried diagonally up and down and left and right and used some super command instructions to advise the characters where to dig - rather like escaping a maze! We then thought about how we may feel after all this digging and decided we should catch our breath as all these challenges were exhausting! We watched a video clip, role played and used lots of different descriptive words to help us explain these feelings. 

In Maths, we have continued with our counting. We have been busy rehearsing our digit formation and reading our number words.  Try watching number blocks to help with this. https://youtu.be/IZQ_raDrsGo. We have also been counting on from any number using number tracks to help.

In PE, we have now also started gymnastics - jumping in different ways and landing softly. In Geography, we talked about what this subject is all about - we have started with places - Sleaford! We shared a variety of images of local human features. What super local knowledge we have! In Art, we continued to predict and then mix colours. In Music, we have started our learning this term with 'pitch' - considering different animals and the pitch they make - especially the nocturnal ones. In Science, we have learnt about our eyes and how we see. We completed our week with the whole School Roald Dahl dressing up day - we shared stories and looked fabulous!

Thank you to all parents who were able to make our welcome meeting. Information for the term has been placed in your childs home folder - please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions. 

Welcome to Year 1!

We are looking forward to getting to know you, having fun and learning lots together throughout the year. Any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

WC 2nd September 2024.

What a great start! We have had a fantastic first week, settling in, getting to know our new routines and classroom and catching up with all our friends. 

In English, we have been wiggling, squiggling and dancing to recap our letter formation. We have already started our new story book - Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett. We shared our own experiences of digging holes and then got busy digging our own very deep pretend hole. So deep we could climb in! We used some great vocabulary to write about our actions - including scrape, poke and even excavate! Phew! We had a well deserved rest with a drink and a biscuit! We then wrote about how we bit, scoffed, munched or gobbled our scrumptious biscuit after all that hard digging work! Super job!

In Maths, we have got off to a flying start with our counting within ten. We have impressed all the teachers with our careful, accurate counting and use of our number bonds to help us! We have sorted objects, counted using counters and tens frames. We have also counted objects and used striking on pictures to count from a larger group - wow!

In PSHE, we have started to learn about our School rules and think about how, when and where we feel safe. We have enjoyed mixing primary paint colours in Art and had fun doing PE games on our big field. In Science, we will be learning about the body and senses this term and we started by labelling body parts. In History, we have been learning about how the King's official Birthday is celebrated through the Trooping of the Colour. We enjoyed marching and thinking about when our own Birthday is so we can celebrate it in this way too!

We have been joining in with whole School assemblies and finished the week celebrating our successes in our School houses. What a busy first week! Rest well and we will see you on Monday!

Parent information meeting: Wednesday 11th September, 3.30pm in the Year 1 Classroom.