Alban City School

Our Teachers are Mrs Jennings, Mrs O’Sullivan and Miss Reynolds. Our Teaching Assistants are Mrs Scott and Mrs Kohli

9th October 2026

Festivals and Celebration

This week in Phonics, we have reviewed all the sounds we have learned so far this half term. The children practised saying them, reading them in a word and writing them down.

In Maths, the children have enjoyed using a part whole model to explore finding the total of two numbers. They used cubes to help them add where needed and wrote number sentences to extend their learning.

In Drawing Club, we have looked at the book 'Are the Dinosaurs Dead Dad?’. The children wrote a simple sentence to describe a T-Rex, the main story character and on the second day, created a way to tempt the T-Rex and save the day. They continue to impress us with their ideas for writing.

As part of our R.E. topic lessons, the children explored some of the different religious festivals celebrated at this time of year. The children created artwork and models to represent Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. They drew plates of food and labelled them to show their understanding of the Jewish festival of Sukkot. They enjoyed making sukkah shelters in our outside area and models in our construction and small world areas in the classroom. We talked about the Christian Harvest Festival and the children had the opportunity to write about what they are thankful for. They have enjoyed discussing and comparing all the festivals and offering their ideas and understandings.

In PE the children were introduced to Yoga and fundamental skills such as jumping, throwing and catching.

25th September 2026

In Phonic lessons this week, we learnt the Phase 5 sounds starting with ay - day, ou - cloud, ie - pie, ea - eat. The children learnt the sounds and practised reading and writing words using robot arms and sound buttons.

In Maths, the children have been practising ordering numbers using Numicon and using the mathematical vocabulary of greater than and less than to explain the sequence. We used a counting stick to place numbers to 10 starting at 0 noting that the numbers are on the line like on a number line and ruler. During Continuous Provision the children had the opportunity to practise this skill.

In Drawing Club, we looked at an episode of the TV show 'Bananaman'. The children wrote a simple sentence to describe the main story character Bananaman using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops in their writing. On the second day, they continued to practise these skills writing about what Dr Gloom turned Bananaman into using his X-ray gun. They really enjoyed thinking of things to turn Bananaman into.

In our Topic lessons, we have started to explore the continent of Antarctica. We have read the story 'One day in March' which looks at different weathers experienced across the globe on a day in March. The children shared their knowledge of Antarctica and discussed what they would like to know more about. During Continuous Provision, the children created igloos, penguins and ice models in our Art and Workshop area. The children wrote lists of clothing and items to bring on an expedition. Outside the children build igloos and exploration stations.

On Friday we celebrated Language Day, the children practised saying 'hello' in different languages and talked about the other languages they or their families speak at home. The children listened to the story of The Hungry Caterpillar told in English and Spanish.

In PE the children continue to work on their fundamental skills and yoga practice.

NB. Please bring in junk modelling, preferably small plastic and cardboard items.

18th September 2026

Hi everyone,

The children continue to enjoy their time in Year 1 and are getting used to the new routines and expectations.

In Phonics, lessons this week we are reviewing Phase 2 and 3 sounds that were covered in Reception. We have been practising our phonics skills for reading and writing including using our robot arms and sound buttons ready to start with new sounds next week.

In Maths, the children have been practising their subitising number skills, identifying the number using the pattern representation rather than counting. They have used maths materials to make a given number on a tens frame and written a number sentence underneath. Once able to create a number using maths materials the children explored adding one more and writing a number sentence to show their understanding.

In Drawing Club, we have looked at the book 'Superworm'. The children wrote a simple sentence to describe the main story character Superworm using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops in their writing. On the second day, they continued to practise these skills, this time creating a trap to catch the monster in the story.

In our Topic lessons, we have started to look at the months within the four seasons and what the weather is like and key events that occur. The children enjoyed using the sense of touch to identify autumn objects hidden in a bag. The children wrote a simple sentence about what they felt. They have been using the different areas in Continuous Provision to explore the topic further and show their understanding. You can help your child at home become more familiar with the months of the year by talking about when family members birthdays.

In PE the children continue to work on their fundamental skills and yoga practice.

Key Points

Please keep PE kit in school all of the time.

Please remove jewellery on PE days
All reading records and books need to be in school every day. Please place these in the correct colour group drawers. We will change the reading books on a Monday and Thursday after it has been read 4 times.
On Thursday morning Mrs F and Mr Allen will cover both classes whilst the class teachers are at PPA
Please ensure all uniform is labelled.

Have a lovely weekend!

12th September 2026

What a fantastic start to the new school year! The children have settled fantastically and we are so proud of them.

In Phonics lessons this week we have spent time reviewing Phase 2 and 3 sounds that were covered in Reception. We have been practising our phonics skills for reading and writing including using our robot arms and sound buttons.

In Maths the children have enjoyed learning and demonstrating how to use positional language using objects. We then looked at ordinal numbers and again used practised saying these aloud and ordering the numbers and adding the appropriate ending e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd. When the children come into the classroom during soft start they will use the self-register to practise this. Please encourage your children to read and say aloud what position they are. We have told them this is not a race!

In Drawing Club we have looked at the book 'The Diddles that Dummed'. The children wrote a simple sentence to describe the main story character and on the second day created their own adventure. We were impressed with their ideas and writing, particularly when the Diddles had to hide!

During continuous provision the children have been learning about the new areas and using them to show their understanding of our new topic, seasons and weather.

Within our topic lessons we have started to look at the four seasons, when these happen and the changes that occur. We have also looked at the different types of weather and how we can use a weather forecast. Thank you to the children that have started to bring in Autumn objects and books to link to our topic.