Year 1 Updates
What We’ve Been Learning & What’s Coming Up Next Week!
We have been so pleased with how well Buttercups and Daisies have settled back into school this term! They have come back ready to learn, and we are already well underway with rehearsals for our Christmas play, the children had their first 'table read' of the script this week, and they will be coming home with their parts, lines, and any costume details early next week.
Before we look ahead to next week, here is a quick catch-up on everything we have been working on since returning from the holidays:
Looking Back at Our Learning So Far
English: We have been reading Beegu by Alexis Deacon, the story of a little alien who crash-lands on Earth. The children have been using adjectives to describe characters and settings, and learning the difference between statements (which need a full stop) and questions (which need a question mark and require an answer). At the end of this week, we started using personal pronouns (I, me, we, you, my, our) to write welcoming messages to Beegu to show him what a kind human race we are!
Maths: We started the term consolidating how to add a single-digit number to a two-digit number using concrete resources and drawn Dienes. This week, we moved on to subtraction—learning that subtract, minus, and take away all mean the same thing and always leave us with a smaller number. We’ve been writing subtraction number sentences and using counting bears, Numicon, Dienes, Rekenreks, and twenty frames to find out what is left over.
History: We’ve been exploring Hockley through the ages and discovering some of its oldest local buildings. This week, we also focused on Remembrance and the importance of honouring those who fought for our country in the past to keep us safe.
Science: We have kicked off our new module on what scientists do! The children have been learning how to plan a 'fair test' and why we only change one variable at a time. We’ve been asking big scientific questions and making predictions for our balloon-on-a-string experiment, deciding whether changing the amount of air in the balloon will make it travel further.
Art: We started our new art project by researching the French artist Henri Matisse, who famously began 'painting with scissors' after becoming ill. The children have loved exploring how he used bold colours and shapes to create his pictures.
What We’re Moving On To Next Week
English: We will carry on writing our letters to Beegu, putting all of our new skills together while focusing closely on consistent capital letters, finger spaces, and punctuation.
Maths: We are moving on to number bonds to 10 (all the different ways to make numbers up to 10, like 4 + 2 = 6 or 3 + 3 = 6). We will be using part-part-whole models to split numbers up and discover 'fact families'—seeing how addition and subtraction link together (for example, knowing that if 5 + 5 = 10, then 10 - 5 = 5).
History: We will be comparing modern-day life in Hockley with life up to 100 years ago, spotting what has changed and what has stayed the same.
RE: We are starting a new multi-faith topic exploring how different faiths celebrate! Next week, we will be concentrating on Christianity, looking at how Christians celebrate different holidays and the traditions that surround them.
Fantastic 4 Day!
We have such a fun day planned Wednesday! The children will be split into their house colours in mixed-age groups (from Reception all the way up to Year 6) to work alongside their house leaders on lots of exciting projects including:
Bridge Building: Working as a team using junk modelling to build a bridge capable of crossing a 40cm gap. Please send in any spare junk modelling materials (cardboard boxes, kitchen roll tubes, tape, etc.) ready for our big Wednesday challenge!
Tile Painting: Every child will paint a special tile relating to their School House animal, some of which, will be permanently displayed on the school building!
Important: Because we are using acrylic pens that won't wash out of uniforms, please send your child in with an old adult-sized shirt to wear over their clothes.
A Few Important Reminders
To help keep home time running safely and smoothly, please hold off on waving to your child until they reach the very front of the line. This allows us to clearly see who is collecting them, especially if it is a grandparent or a different adult, before we let them go. If someone different to usual is picking up, please let the office know in advance by emailing contactus@liftwesterns.org.
As the weather turns colder, please send your child in with a thick winter coat, along with a hat, scarf, and gloves if needed, just make sure every item is clearly named so nothing goes missing! Please also keep umbrellas at home, as the children aren't able to use them during the school day.
A quick reminder that PE remains on Mondays, so children should come to school wearing their PE kit with all earrings removed beforehand.
Finally, thank you so much for your continued support with our Rainbow Reader challenge; reading at least four times a week makes such a massive difference to their early reading skills, boosting their confidence across everything from English to maths!
Thank you so much for all your continued support as we head into a really exciting build-up to Christmas. We hope you and your families have a wonderful weekend!
Warmly,
The Year 1 Team