Happy New Year!

Happy New Year. It has been lovely to welcome back the boys to School and to hear all about their exciting holidays. Over recent weeks I have enjoyed receiving some incredible photographs of Lego models, painstakingly built, of the infamous sea vessel, RMS Titanic. There is without doubt enormous ingenuity, creativity, and initiative amongst Year 1. It has been a busy couple of days, and the highlight for the boys was coming together as a School community and enjoying our first whole school assembly of 2024.

Next week we will begin our learning, on the journey of RMS Titanic. We will be stepping back in time to the conception of this ship, and follow its maiden voyage, right to the moment tragedy struck in the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The boys will be introduced to the terms ‘timeline’ and ‘chronology’ and will be sequencing pictorial representations of key milestones in the boat’s very short history.

In English the book ‘Hello Lighthouse’ by Sophie Blackall will be our stimulus.

This is a very engaging book, with incredibly powerful illustrations, which young eyes are always drawn to. The boys will be identifying verbs and synonyms. They will also be writing short descriptive pieces, employing adjectives and a range of sentence starters to enhance fluency and cohesion.  We will of course be revisiting our learning on capital letters and full stops.  Now we are in the Spring term, boys are expected to be using the joined handwriting script curriculum-wide, so we will be certainly encouraging its application.

Subtraction will be our focus in mathematics. We will of course be revisiting the associated vocabulary (take, take away, less, subtract, minus) and various strategies to tackle the equations including counting back and subtracting ones.  Here are some examples.

 

I hope the boys enjoy the weekend ahead, before we embark on the first full week of school for 2024. Please do remember activities begin on Monday afternoon.

 

 

 

Christmas is Here!

This week, the boys in 1W truly got into the festive spirit and great fun was had by all. The boys took pride in wearing their wonderful party hats to our Christmas dinner and thoroughly enjoyed making lots of seasonal crafts!

   

The week commenced with a visit from a theatre company, the boys were delighted to see a pantomime, Peter Pan. They were engaged throughout and eager to have a go at performing their own productions!

 

Class 1W were also very fortunate to have a visit from a magician. They were enthralled by his performance, which included the magical appearance of a bunny.

A highlight of the week was meeting Santa. The boys listened attentively to a seasonal story from Santa and relished the opportunity to ask Santa questions about his preparation for the festive period.

Congratulation to the boys for all of their hard work this term, they have achieved a great deal and should be proud of themselves! Over the holidays, please continue to read regularly and to prepare for next term, please have a go at building your own version of RMS Titanic out of Lego. Please do share any photographs as we look forward to our next humanities topic, the Titanic.

Wishing you all a safe and merry Christmas!

Jingle All The Way!

Advent is upon us and with that comes our Christmas play, 1W certainly did not disappoint! The boys delighted their audience with their contributions to the production of ‘Everyone Loves a Baby’. They threw themselves into the Christmas play with great enthusiasm and energy, delivering a wonderful performance. The boys took the opportunity to display their musicality and did so with real gusto! Very well done boys, we were incredibly proud of you all!

 

It has been an extremely busy but enjoyable week. Maths saw the boys work on their number bonds to twenty and apply their knowledge of number patterns to solve problems. Our English lessons focused on letter writing. We discussed the features and layout of a letter and then wrote thank-you letters to key workers.

During our Art lessons, the boys had great fun designing festive headbands to wear to our Christmas lunch next week!

We were also very fortunate to have a visit from Mr Schizas, Xander’s father. He talked to the boys about what his role as a surgeon entails. As you can see from the photographs below, the boys loved the session and were captivated throughout! Perhaps there are a few budding surgeons in our midst!

Keeping working hard boys, it’s nearly Christmas!

Paddington Goes to Hospital!

Another great week was had by all!

During English lessons, the boys enjoyed reading ‘Paddington Goes to Hospital’ by Michael Bond. The boys constructed a list of items that Paddington may have taken to hospital. They were able to generate lots of thoughtful ideas and order these alphabetically. To conclude our English work for the week, the boys wrote speech bubbles based on events in the story.

The focus during our Science lessons was on investigating whether different objects would float or sink. The boys learnt about how density and surface area can impact an object’s ability to float. Prior to conducting the experiment, they made predictions about what may happen and then drew conclusions from their findings.

For our Humanities work, this week, the boys compared and contrasted medicines used in the Victorian era with those today. They learnt about the herbal remedies used during Mary Seacole’s time and relished the opportunity to find out more about what the remedies were used for. We were also extremely fortunate to have a visit from Dr Gadelrab, Gabriel and Sebastian’s mother. Dr Gadelrab explained what a doctor does and showed the boys the key equipment that is used on a daily basis. The boys loved the session and were extremely grateful for the opportunity to further their understanding of the role of a doctor. Many thanks again to Dr Gadelrab for an enjoyable and informative afternoon.

A visit from Florence Nightingale!

To begin the week, the boys had a very special visit from Florence Nightingale. The session focused on Florence Nightingale’s life and work. The boys gained an understanding of why Florence Nightingale went to the Crimean War and what it was like working at Scutari Hospital. They also learnt about how Florence Nightingale improved conditions for the nurses and soldiers in the Crimean War and why her legacy is so important. As always, the boys impressed with their fantastic knowledge of Florence Nightingale’s life and her commendable work during the Crimean War.

Having been inspired by The Lady with the Lamp, the boys decided to create their own lamps during our Art lesson! Please enjoy their fantastic work below.

During our English lessons, the boys were introduced to the term synonym. They then used synonyms for adjectives given to describe Florence Nightingale’s appearance and qualities. We also revisited time words and used this understanding to write about the jobs that the nurses did to ensure the Scutari hospital was clean.

For our Maths this week, the focus was on being able use the appropriate positional language and to name the positions in a queue with reference to a specific starting point. Science saw the boys learn about moving air and water as a force. We also talked about different sources of energy and began to identify renewable energy sources.

Have a lovely weekend boys!

Budding Artists!

The boys thoroughly enjoyed their well-being breakfast on Monday morning, they took great pleasure in having their breakfast in the classroom and chatting with their friends.

Throughout the week, the boys have furthered their understanding of subtraction number sentences and subtraction fact families. Next week, they will begin their work on positional and directional language.

Humanities saw the boys continue their work on Florence Nightingale. They learnt about the problems that Florence Nightingale identified upon arrival at the hospital in Scutari and then the solutions she facilitated. The boys then learnt how to sequence chronologically. They looked at the key events in her life from 1854 up to her death in 1896 and produced a timeline.

During Art lessons, the boys used their understanding of significant people to inspire their artwork. They drew portraits of Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale. The boys took great care with their portraits, focusing on key details and shading to create the illusion of depth.

1W enjoyed exploring what friction is during Science lessons. They investigated how different surfaces would impact the speed of a toy car. The focus was on ensuring that the boys conducted a fair test. They also looked at how they could slow a car down by changing the gradient of the ramp.

Wishing you and your families an enjoyable weekend!

Understanding Forces

During English this week, the boys immersed themselves in the world of Franklin the Turtle, which provided them with an excellent platform to explore informal writing. After having read ‘Franklin Goes to the Hospital’ by Paulette Bourgeois, the boys were then set the task of writing a Get Well Soon card. They all did a splendid job!

Maths saw the boys consolidate their understanding of subtraction. They were able to formulate subtraction stories and represent them in subtraction sentences. Next week, the boys will work on being able to solve problems in the context of addition and subtraction, and to find the corresponding number families.

As the week progressed, we continued our Science topic on ‘Forces’. 1W identified sources of movement. They completed a carousel of practical activities to investigate the effect of air, water and magnetism on objects. The boys investigative and observational skills are developing well.

 

For our PSHE, the boys explored the qualities and behaviours that make a good friend and gained an understanding of the many benefits of friendship. The boys contributed considerate and thoughtful answers during circle time.

After all of your enthusiasm and hard work this week boys, have a restful and thoroughly enjoyable weekend!

A Spooktacular Week!

1W enjoyed exploring what forces are during Science lessons. The focus was on understanding what push and pull forces are and the differences between them. The boys thoroughly enjoyed conducting an investigation to determine whether they had applied a push, pull, or both forces when exerting force onto an object.

Maths saw the boys applying their knowledge of number bonds to solve problems. At the beginning of the week, the boys completed a ‘Mind Challenge’ where they had to show multiple ways to solve an equation. They then completed their end of chapter review to conclude our unit on addition. Next week, we will begin our work on subtraction. The boys will learn that subtraction equations can be completed in three ways: by crossing out, by using number bonds and by counting back.

English lessons, this week, were based on the book ‘Madeline’ by Ludwig Bemelmans. We started by identifying a number of the rhyming couplets from the text. The boys were then given a number of words and asked to find possible rhyming partners. Towards the latter part of the week, we introduced the term “opposite” and the boys had to identify words from the text with the opposite meanings.

The highlight of the week, however, was dressing up for Halloween. The boys all embraced the challenge and looked fantastic and very scary indeed! Please enjoy the photographs below.

African Arts Day

This week, in Year 1, the boys have continued to work hard in all aspects of their learning!

During our English lessons, the boys enjoyed reading the book ‘Laughing Giraffe’ by Mwenye Hadithi and Adrienne Kennaway. They discussed the importance of speech in writing and applied this understanding by writing their own speech bubbles. Later in the week, the boys wrote acrostic poems about the story. Challenge your son to explain what an acrostic poem is and to write one using their own name! The acrostic poems that the boys produced were fantastic and full of effective adjectives!

The focus during Maths was on being able to solve addition problems presented in pictorial form. The boys revisited key mathematical terms such as ‘add’, ‘plus’, ‘altogether’, ‘in total’ and so on. It was evident that the boys have secured their understanding of number bonds and could apply this to more challenging questions.

Science saw the boys developing their understanding of how we change as we grow. They were able to sequence the human life cycle and identify the changes that occur.

A highlight of the week was our African Arts Day, the boys took great pleasure in using their recycled materials to create wonderful artwork. The sessions were extremely enjoyable and informative. As you can see, the boys had a fantastic time!

 

Wishing you all an enjoyable and restful half term.

A busy week in Year 1!

1W enjoyed exploring their sense of smell during Science lessons. They investigated different scents and guessed what they could smell. The boys eliminated their sense of sight by closing their eyes to focus on just their sense of smell. A wonderful time was had by all!

Maths focused on being able to add two different numbers within ten and familiarising themselves with the different vocabulary associated with addition. English lessons saw the boys using time words and adjectives in their writing. Towards the latter part of the week, 1W also identified the key features of a fiction text. They impressed with their knowledge, explaining the role of an author and illustrator and describing when and how to use a blurb in their writing.

Ask your son to identify these features when reading with you at home.

During Art lessons, the boys looked at examples of African cloth and patterns. They took great pleasure in creating their own designs and were able to talk about the use of colour, repetition and symmetry.