Week ending 27th March 2015

We started this week with an R.E. day and the children were introduced to Judaism and the celebration of Shabbat. We looked at how Jewish people celebrate this weekly occasion and the children designed a cover for the Challah bread showing some of the symbols of Judaism they had learnt about. In English, the children have been completing independent writing to demonstrate how well they have developed their skills this year. They have been writing short pieces about Science Week and 'All About Me'. They have been working hard to meet their individual targets and we hope that you enjoyed seeing how much they have learnt at the open afternoon. On Thursday we took part in a Computer Science Day, which was funded by FOGG. The children were introduced to the idea of coding and took part in a key stage 1 performance as Team Robot defeating the Meanies who were trying to spread a virus. We have completed all of our end of term assessments and we also had our last gymnastics session of the year, where the children began to develop small routines to showcase all of the skills they have developed through the year. Have a good Easter break - school reopens on Monday 13th April.

Week ending 20th March 2015

This week is National Science Week so we have collapsed our usual timetable to set up, and take part in, some exciting science experiments. The focus has been on developing the observation skills of the children and they have been discussing the experiments, making predictions on what might happen, reviewing the outcomes once they have completed the experiment and seeing how close their predictions were. We have also looked at any misconceptions and shown the children how to correct these - an example of this is that sugar dissolves in water, it does not disappear and that this process could be reversed in the right conditions. Our Science Week experiments have been: Electricity and making circuits; observing objects that float and sink and how their properties can be altered to change the result; dissolving sugar into warm and cold water to see where each reached saturation point; air catchers to design an effective parachute; and ice blocks - exploring the properties of ice. We have also been completing end of term phonics and maths assessments and our gymnastics sessions have continued by revisiting and developing out moving and rolling skills. We are now into the swing with our guided reading and we endeavour to read with each child at least once a week as part of a small group as well as individually. Please speak to one of us if you would like more information about this.

Week ending 13th March

In English this week the children have been applying all of their ideas and skills by writing their own versions of Hansel and Gretel. We have continued to look at how capital letters are formed and have practised writing words containing these. In phonics we have been revisiting sounds and reading and writing words and sentences containing these. In maths we have been using the vocabulary more than, less than and equals to, to compare two numbers. We created our own Charlie the Crocodile who likes to eat the biggest number and the children used theirs to represent the symbols for more than and less than. The children have been using the signs: < (less than) and > (more than) to create number sentences before reading them out, for example 3>1 "three is more than one". They have also been comparing amounts of objects and identifying which has the most, using the same method. Friday is Red Nose Day for Comic Relief so all children will be taking part in themed activities to support this. They are also welcome to make their face "funny for money" any way they choose in exchange for a donation to Comic Relief.

Week ending 6th March 2015

This week in English we have been reading the story of Hansel and Gretel but with a twist. The children have decided how they want the story to end and have added this to their sequencing of the events in the story. We have also been continuing our focus on capital letters in our handwriting skills. In maths the children have been completing addition and subtraction calculations using a number line to show their workings. They then used these skills to help them to solve number problems and find the missing number in a number sentence. The children really enjoyed World Book Day and we were really impressed with the range of book characters that we saw at school that day. Throughout the day they were able to choose which stories they wanted to share and we stopped for 10 minutes reading time every time the bell was rung during the day. In our topic work this week we have been looking at homes from around the world and why the material used in each makes a good building. Just a reminder that parents evening is next Tuesday and there are information sessions about year one phonics next Wednesday and Thursday please come and speak to any member of staff if you would like to sign up for one of these.