Welcome to Year 1.
Our Teachers are Mrs Jennings, Mrs O’Sullivan and Miss Young and our Teaching Assistants are Mrs Scott ,Mrs Kohli and Mrs Parikh.
Apr 042025
All about Easter
Hi everyone,
We are at the end of our spring term and the children are ready for break. They have all worked so hard and enjoyed the topics covered and books read.
In maths this week, the children have revisited the 2, 5 and 10 times tables. They have practised saying them aloud, learned some songs and used manipulatives to count with. The children started to count 2p, 5p and 10 p coins using their times tables and recognising that repeated addition can be transferred to multiplication.
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- counting in 5s
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- counting in 5s
In English, we read Cave Baby by Julia Donaldson and used the text to explore vocabulary, role play the story and create a story map. The children created their own cave paintings using watercolours and pastels.
In R.E. we explored the Easter story and discussed the events that occurred. The children talked about why Easter is important to Christians and what it means to them. The children created questions for Mrs Woods the R.E. lead and practising Christian, who provided an insight into the Christian faith and Easter. The children created Easter treats to take home.
In our Year 1 outside area the children have been busy planting seeds. They have enjoyed creating, reading and building in the lovely spring sunshine.
The Learning Power the children have explored is concentration represented by Kelly the Koala. They have looked at how concentrating can be used to problem solve.
Just a reminder, in the Year 1 cloakroom area is a borrow box of books, which has recently been updated. You can borrow a book at anytime just fill in the sheet and return the book once read.
Please continue to read with your children and practise their spellings over the break.
Have a wonderful holiday!
To all our families celebrating religious festivals over this period we wish you a joyful time.
The Year 1 team.
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Mar 282025
Cave Baby
Hi everyone,
In English this week, we read the Julia Donaldson book Cave Baby. The children used the text to identify adjectives. They wrote sentences using adjectives to describe the animals in the story. This led into writing descriptive noun phrases using comas, e.g. The loud, fierce tiger.
In maths, we revisited subtraction, The children worked on subtraction worded problems and used counters to represent the items mentioned. The maths equipment allowed them to show their understanding of subtraction and how they found the answer. The children transferred their answers into part whole models and started to write the fact families related to them.
E.g 9 – 4 = 5
9 – 5 = 4
5 + 4 = 9
4 + 5 = 9
In computing, the children have programmed Beebots to travel from one area to another, creating an algorithm, They trialled their programmes making adjustments where necessary for the Beebot to reach its target.
This week we looked at the Learning Power to self improve represented by two monkeys helping each other. We can self improve with the help of others, using small steps and trying to do better than we did last time.
Here are some photos of the children learning in our outside area.
Phase 1 disco on Thursday after school, please check the newsletter for more details.
Have a wonderful weekend.
The Year 1 team
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Mar 212025
Potions!
Hi everyone,
This week in English, the children created a non chronological report about the life and discoveries of the paleontologist Mary Anning. Learning about Mary Anning linked with our history focus of significant people and the influence their work has had on our lives today.
In maths, we have been exploring capacity and volume. Over the week the children have completed a carousel of activities to gain a better understanding of capacity and volume.
In science, the children have used a variety of materials to create a ramp for a hard boiled egg to travel along. The children had to see which ramp enabled the egg to travel the furthest. After their first attempt, the children were encouraged to make amendments to their ramps to see if they could improve the outcome. They discussed the properties of different materials before selecting appropriate items to build their ramps. The children recorded their results and discussed their findings.
In continuous provision, which takes place inside the classroom and in our Year 1 outside area, the children have had the opportunity to dig for items like Mary Anning, recreate a ramp on a larger scale, create their own potions and measure them accurately.
This week we have been looking at our Learning Powers programme, discussing how we can continuously grow our brains through learning as well as encourage others to be resilient when they might be finding something tricky.
Have a wonderful weekend!
The Year 1 team.
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Mar 142025
Mary Anning the fossil finder.
Hi everyone,
It was lovely to catch up with you all at Parents Evening this week and share your children’s amazing work and achievements with you.
Children enjoyed learning about Mary Anning the paleontologist and fossil collector, whose discoveries included the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton, when she was twelve years old. They discussed her life and how she became a significant person in history. Next week, they will write a non chronological report about her life and work. Today they drew and made their own fossils using plasticine.
In maths, the children have been learning their 2, 5 and 10 times tables, using maths equipment and songs to embed the learning. Please continue to practise this at home using the TTRockstars app.
Our art topic this week has been watercolour painting. The children have studied some watercolor art, experimented with applying watercolour paints and created their own wonderful piece of art.
In our Feelit Programme, we learned about the feelings associated with being NERVOUS. We discussed ways to calm those feelings so they don’t stop us from trying new things.
Some parents asked about games to help their children practise their phonics skills and we believe Phonics Play is a free app to use.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you for your continued support.
The Year 1 team.
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Feb 282025
Let’s be Friends!
Hi everyone,
We hope you had a good break.
This week in English, the children read about the life and work of Amelia Earhart who became the first woman to fly an aeroplane across the Atlantic. They created a story map detailing key points in her life and role played her story. The children discussed and wrote about the tools and items she may have packed on her adventures. The learning this week will help them write their own fact file next week.
In Maths, the children have been comparing values to 20 using a variety of maths equipment to explore which method is easier to use and give a clear answer. They have been working on finding the difference between two amounts using cubes and small objects. For example: 12 cubes – 4 counters = 8. The difference is 8. The children created their own pictograms and compared their totals finding the difference between two amounts.
In PSHE, we discussed friendships and what they mean. We talked about what makes a good friend, how friends can help us and that it is alright to have disagreements with our friends. We looked at different scenarios when friendships don’t work and ways to resolve them.
Our Feelit Programme focus this week was ‘bored’ how it makes us feel and why it is okay to feel bored at times. We read a story about why being bored can be good for us, allowing us time to relax our thoughts and create new ideas.
From next week, Sky Class will have P.E. on Wednesdays and Fridays and Aqua Class will have P.E. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please ensure your child has their P.E. kit in school and it is named.
Ramadan Mubarak to all our families celebrating this festival.
Thank you for your continued support.
The Year 1 team
Feb 142025
Please Pass me a Sandwich!
In English this week, the children have been learning all about instructions; where we find them, why we need them and how they are written. We have been reading instructions and begun to understand the importance of a bossy (imperative) verb! When we followed some instructions, we made a strawberry jam sandwich and everyone enjoyed eating the end product!
In Maths, we have been using the language of problem solving to answer worded problems. We have used our skills of addition and subtraction to make calculations and find the unknown whole. The maths stories were presented in picture form and supported the children’s calculations when finding all the possibilities.
Our Geography work around the continents and oceans has continued this week and looked deeper into where we would see human or physical aspects of geography. We have been putting our knowledge to the test in a creative way when we created dioramas depicting an area of a continent we have been studying. These have been constructed solely with junk modelling and we look forward to displaying them in the classrooms once they are complete.
Spellings will be sent home as usual this Friday along with your child’s reading book. Please continue to read with them during the week and practise their spellings with them. The spelling book should then be returned on the first Friday back for a test and new spellings.
PE kit will be sent home this Friday for washing. Please return on the Monday as Sky Class have a PE lesson that day. Many thanks!
Thank you also for all the donations so far towards our outside area. Please keep them coming in! We are most grateful.
We hope you have an enjoyable and restful half term week!
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Feb 072025
Dear diary
This week in English, we have been working on writing a diary linked to our class text, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch. The children used their knowledge of the days of the week to record the hilarious events of the journey of the sandwiches.
In Maths, we have been exploring different ways to total the same number focusing on numbers eleven to twenty. The children used balance scales and cubes to support their thinking and we continued to develop our recall of number bonds to twenty when we compared numbers using cuisenaire rods.
Our new topic in Geography is continents and oceans. We began by identifying where we live in the world and thought about the scale of places compared to others. For example, village, town, city and county. The children used maps to find the location of each of the seven continents and five oceans and we have enjoyed looking closely at the continent of Antarctica.
Spellings will go home on Friday. Please help your child practise their spellings – five minutes daily would be ideal and return spelling books to school every Friday.
As part of Children’s Mental Health week, we have been listening to stories and took part in an assembly exploring our feelings, ‘Know Yourself, Grow Yourself’. In class, the children completed some mindfulness activities. As part of the Feelit programme, where we explore different emotions, the children discussed what it means to be ‘Included’ and how it makes us feel when we are left out of a game or friendship group.
Have a wonderful weekend!
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Jan 312025
Lighthouses and Lunches!
This week in English, we have been exploring our new text, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch by Ronda Armitage which tells the story of a busy lighthouse keeper and his troubles with the scavenging seagulls who keep eating his lunch! The children have loved the humorous events which take place over the course of a week and links to our work on ordering and spelling the days of the week.
In Maths, we have been working on counting back from twenty and subtraction within of one digit numbers from two digit numbers below twenty. We have used number lines and tens frames with counters to support our calculations and help to solve subtraction problems.
In Science this week, we have been looking at materials including the different types of materials, where we might see or use them and whether they are a natural material or man-made. The children carried out an investigation to decide which material would be best for a picnic basket covering and used their knowledge of a material’s properties to help them decide.
As part of our Feel it programme we have looked at the feeling: Keen This has included what keen may feel like or look like in another person.
Please check your child’s book bag for this week’s spelling list. Please spend 5 minutes a day practising them with your child. They can write them out on a piece of paper, if they get any wrong help them identify which part of the word they are finding difficult to spell.
A very happy Lunar New Year to all our families celebrating this festival. Our phase assembly talked about the festival and how it is celebrated.
We are updating our Year 1 provision areas and we are looking for donations of the following items:
- Cushions
- People for our small world areas
- Cars / trucks (small ones)
- Binca sewing material
- Table covers (plastic)
- Caddies for stationery
- Chalk boards
- Guttering / plastic pipes
- logs (chopped into slices or small sized)
- Large cable reels
- Hand-held watering cans
- Compost
Thank you in advance.
Have a lovely weekend.
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Jan 232025
Visits and Visitors!
This week in Literacy, we have written our own stories. First, we designed our own alien characters and described them using adjectives. Then we began to think about our storytelling language and wrote our stories about an alien that gets lost and needs to find their way home (this was not easy for our little aliens!).
In Maths, we used ‘think 10’ to build our knowledge on number bonds to 10, leading to addition within 20. We used tens frames and counters to practice creating 10, then seeing how many were left on our other tens frame and adding those together.
We have had an exciting week for visits and visitors! On Tuesday we had Rabbi Adam visit our classes, speaking with us about Judaism and showing us religious items that are special to Jewish people. On Thursday we walked to St Peter’s Church, having a tour and talking about the church. Christianity and the role of a priest. We were so impressed with Aqua and Sky Class on both occasions, asking inquisitive questions and listening amazingly.
We hope you have a great weekend!
Year 1 Team
Jan 172025
What day is it?
This week in Maths we have been learning the days of the week. We have been sequencing the days as well as using our vocabulary to talk about the day before and the next day. During the week, this has developed into learning the months of the year and exploring the associated seasons.
In English, we have continued with our class text, Beegu. The children have written letters to Beegu and have been working on their skills of using conjunctions to extend their sentences. We had some fun creating funny poems using our phonics skills.
Thank you for all your donations of junk modelling resources. Our Design and Technology project is well underway and the children are all very enthusiastic about building a spaceship. We have been looking at ways of ensuring our structures remain strong and practised our skills of attaching materials using different methods and joins.
In Phonics, we have begun to learn how we use alternative graphemes for a particular sound. For example, when writing words: grey and sleigh or great. Please continue to read regularly with your child and bring in reading books daily. We will continue to change books on Mondays and Thursdays.
Our library days are Mondays for Aqua and Tuesdays for Sky. Please send in your child’s library book each week for changing. Many thanks.
Next week, Rabbi Adam will be visiting to talk to the children about belonging to a synagogue and on Thursday the children will be visiting St. Peter’s church, where the vicar will talk about belonging to a Christian church.
Have a lovely weekend!
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