🌟 Year 1 Weekly News 🌟

We are already more than halfway through the first half term, and what a fantastic start Year 1 have had! The children are continuing to build their resilience every day, and we are so proud of how they are embracing new challenges.

In our Personal Development & Wellbeing lessons, we had some thoughtful discussions about emotions. We explored how everyone experiences a range of feelings and how different emotions can make our bodies feel. The children shared some wonderful ideas and showed great maturity when talking about their emotions. We have been especially impressed with how resilient they have been as they settle into Year 1 life, tackling lots of new learning, always trying their best, and remembering that making mistakes is a valuable part of learning and growing.

📚 English

This week, we completed our work on Puffin Peter. The children used a story sequencing shape to retell the events in the correct order before writing their own version of the story using full sentences. This helped them practise an important Year 1 writing objective: composing a sequence of sentences to create a short narrative.

To finish the week, the children put their imaginations to work by innovating the ending of the story and creating an extra chapter. We loved reading their ideas! From birds throwing seaside parties and discovering magical shells to Puffin Peter getting lost all over again, their creativity certainly kept us smiling.

🔢 Maths

In Maths, we have continued our work on place value within 10, building on the strong foundations developed in Reception. The children have been comparing groups by matching quantities using practical and pictorial representations before moving on to more abstract concepts such as more than, less than, and equal to.

To help us understand the symbols <, > and =, we have been using Blockzilla from Numberblocks. The children have enjoyed remembering that Blockzilla always wants to play with the bigger number, which has helped them choose the correct symbol when comparing amounts.

This is a tricky concept that requires lots of practice, so we will continue revisiting it next week before moving on to some addition and subtraction activities.

🔤 Phonics

In Phonics this week, Year 1 have been revisiting previously taught Phase 5 sounds and applying them in both reading and writing. The children have practised reading words containing multiple digraphs, improved their sentence fluency, and worked hard to recognise tricky words automatically.

They have also been challenged to tackle longer words independently, applying their phonics knowledge with increasing confidence.

Some of the words we have been reading include:

• chimpanzee
• starlight
• driftwood
• shrill
• shrubs

Our tricky words this week have been:

• was
• they
• some
• come
• there
• sure
• pure

🔬 Science

We carried out our first Year 1 science investigation this week and the children absolutely loved it!

Using a variety of materials, the children worked in teams to investigate which materials were the most absorbent. After deliberately making some spills, they tested different materials and carefully recorded their findings in a table.

We discovered that plastic bags and foil were not very effective at absorbing water, while toilet roll worked well but became rather messy! Cotton wool and napkins proved to be the most effective materials for cleaning up spills. The children worked brilliantly together and enjoyed discussing their results like real scientists.

🧵 DT

As part of our upcoming bunting project, the children will soon be learning how to sew using a running stitch. To introduce this skill, we explored weaving this week.

The children practised the "over, under, over, under" technique using strips of paper to create beautiful, colourful woven fish. We were incredibly impressed by their concentration, perseverance, and determination as they mastered a new skill. Their finished creations looked fantastic, and we cannot wait to begin sewing our bunting over the coming weeks.

📌 Important Information

🏃 PE Days: Monday and Wednesday

📚 Library Day: Tuesday

📖 Phonics Reading Book Exchange: Friday

Please ensure phonics books are returned on time, as late returns affect other children who are waiting to borrow them.

💛 Gentle Reminders

• Please return phonics books in the named plastic wallet provided. This helps us keep track of books and protects them from accidental spills or damage.

☀️ Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the sunshine! We look forward to seeing everyone back for another exciting week of learning. ☀️