Welcome Back, Year 1!

We have had a very busy and fantastic first week back after the half-term holiday. The children have settled back into school brilliantly, diving straight into their learning and showing great enthusiasm across all subjects.

The children were very excited to see how much their sunflowers had grown over the holiday. They have continued caring for them this week and have enjoyed making observations about their growth and the changes they have noticed. It has been wonderful to see their curiosity and responsibility as they nurture their plants.

In Maths, the children completed their unit on place value to 100. They worked hard finding 1 more and 1 less and comparing numbers using the vocabulary greater than, less than and equal to. We also continued practising counting in 10s, which supported the children when using and counting with Base 10 equipment.

Our English lessons have been equally engaging as the children began a new unit based on the book Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey. They have enjoyed describing the characters using a range of adjectives and have shown great creativity when planning their own versions of the story featuring different pets. The children came up with some imaginative character names and have made a fantastic start to writing the opening part of their stories.

In Geography, we began our new topic, What is it like in Shanghai? We started by exploring the human and physical features of our local area, laying the foundations for comparing and learning about Shanghai in the coming weeks.

Next Week's Learning

English – The children will continue writing their Pig the Pug-inspired stories. They will also be learning about expanded noun phrases and how they can be used to add detail to their writing.

Maths – We will begin an exciting new topic on money. The children will learn to recognise and identify different coins and notes and start to explore their values.

Geography – The children will be developing their map skills by creating maps of the local area and identifying key human and physical features.

Science – We will be exploring the season of Summer. The children will go into the playground to observe and sketch the tree that we have previously drawn in Autumn, Winter and Spring. They will also add to the Summer section of our seasonal tree display in the classroom.

Design and Technology – Our new topic is Stable Structures. The children will begin by exploring the features of a toy garage and investigating how structures are designed and built.

Spellings for Friday's Test

Group 1

when, which, wheel, white, have, give, live, leave, solve

Tricky words: call, your

Group 2

when, which, wheel, white

Tricky word: the

Reminders

Phonics Screening Test- this will take place throughout the week 

Knebworth House

We are very excited about our school trip to Knebworth House on Monday 6th July. 

If you are available to help on the day, we would be very grateful for your support. Please email me if you are able to volunteer and assist with the trip.

Thank you so much for your continued support. We look forward to a wonderful day.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

The Year 1 team

 Hello everyone,

We can’t believe it’s the end of another half term! The children have worked extremely hard this term, and we are so proud of all their efforts and achievements. Well done, everyone!

We wish you all a relaxing and well-deserved half term break and look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday 2nd June.

The Year 1 Team

 Hello everyone,

This week in Year 1, the children planned and wrote their own Lost and Found-style stories, based on a husky adventure. They worked incredibly hard to include adjectives, conjunctions and similes to describe the sounds and waves in their writing. We were so impressed with all of their efforts and creativity. As a lovely treat to end the week, the children also enjoyed watching a short animation of the story this afternoon.

In Maths, the children have been exploring position and direction. They used Beebots to practise quarter, half, three-quarter and whole turns. They also explored positional language such as left and right, above and below, and forwards and backwards.

In Science, the children have been learning about the different parts of a plant and their functions. They also learnt what plants need in order to grow well. It was lovely to get outside with the children to plant sunflowers and build mini greenhouses to help look after our plants. Over the coming weeks, we will care for and observe the plants as they grow.

Next Week

Maths – The children will begin a new topic based on place value to 100.

English – The children will start a new unit of work based on the book Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey. They will be writing questions, using the conjunction and in sentences, and exploring the prefix un-.

History – The children will compare and contrast three famous queens.

Art – The children will plan and create a paper spider sculpture.

RE – The children will think about ways they can look after the world.

Spellings for next Friday’s test:

Group 1: flow, grow, show, snow, find, kind, wild, child

Tricky words: school, our

Group 2: flow, grow, show, snow

Tricky word: to

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

The Year 1 Team

 Hello everyone,

In English this week, the children continued working on the story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. They created amazing similes to describe the huge wave the characters encountered on their journey to Antarctica. The children also explored the conjunctions ‘but’ and ‘and’, using them to extend and improve their sentences. Today, they discovered a lost husky in the classroom and created ‘Lost’ posters, using adjectives to describe its appearance and explain how it might be feeling.

In Maths, the children completed their unit on fractions. They used practical resources to find halves and quarters of quantities, making sure that the groups were equal. We then began a new topic on position and direction. The children explored quarter, half, three-quarter and whole turns in a practical way. They also thought carefully about how the appearance of different shapes changes when particular turns are made.

In Art, the children really enjoyed using the techniques of rolling, folding and scrunching paper to create a 3D “Tree of Life”. We were so impressed with their imaginative ideas, as well as their focus and attention to detail.

Today was also our final swimming session. The children have thoroughly enjoyed their weekly lessons and have made fantastic progress over the past four weeks. Well done, Year 1, for showing such enthusiasm and determination throughout!

Next Week

Maths – The children will be using language such as left, right, forwards, backwards, above, and below, and will explore ordinal numbers.

English – The children will plan and write their own ‘lost and found’ style story.

History – The children will compare and contrast three major time periods.

Science – The children will learn about what plants need to grow well.

Art – The children will plan and create a paper spider sculpture.

RE – The children will learn about the story of the Good Samaritan.

Spellings for next Friday’s test

Group 1: bird, shirt, skirt, first, out, about, cloud, found

Tricky words: one, two

Group 2: boy, joy, toy, enjoy

Tricky word: the

Wishing you all fantastic weekend.

The Year 1 Team

 Hello everyone,

We’ve had a lovely week of learning in Year 1!

The children have been busy planning and writing their Antarctica animals fact files. They included all the key features of a fact file and wrote about what the animals look like, what they eat, fun facts, and information about their babies. Their work has been very interesting, and they showed great enthusiasm for the topic.

In Maths, the children have been learning about halves and quarters. They have been recognising and finding half and a quarter of shapes and quantities, using practical resources such as counters and objects to support their understanding. We have also been encouraging them to explain their thinking using mathematical language.

In History, the children really enjoyed learning about Queen Victoria’s reign. They explored what life was like during Victorian times and were particularly fascinated to learn about the lives of Victorian children, including their schooling, work, and daily routines.

Well done to everyone for a fantastic week of learning!

Next Week

Maths – The children will finish their topic on fractions and begin a new topic on position and direction. They will learn to describe movement and turns, using language such as left, right, forwards and backwards.

English – The children will be learning about similes and how to use them to describe size and shape. They will also practise using the conjunctions and, so, but and because to write compound sentences, and use adjectives to describe characters in more detail.

Art – The children will apply their paper shaping skills to create imaginative tree sculptures.

History – The children will learn about the life of Queen Elizabeth I and begin to understand why she is a significant historical figure.

Science – The children will describe and name the different parts of a plant and explore what each part does.

PSHE – The children will be creating ‘Incredible Me’ posters to celebrate their individuality and strengths.

Spellings for next Friday’s test:

Group 1: saw, paw, claw, yawn, blue, clue, glue, true

 Tricky words: any, many

Group 2: saw, paw, jaw, draw

Tricky word: me

Wishing you all a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend.

The Year 1 Team

 Hello everyone,

The children had a wonderful time celebrating Spanish Day yesterday! They thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish-style lunch and especially loved their Flamenco dance lesson in the afternoon. We hope you enjoy looking through the photos below.

In English, we have continued our work based on Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. The children have been working hard on writing thoughtful letters of advice to the boy in the story, suggesting kind ways he could help the lost penguin. They also created clear and helpful instructions on how to support someone who is lost. It has been lovely to see their creativity and effort in their writing.

In Phonics, we are revising Phase 5 sounds and tricky words in preparation for the Phonics Screening Check in June. The children are building confidence with alternative spellings and recognising tricky words that don’t always follow usual phonetic patterns. To support this, spellings for this half term will focus on Phase 5 sounds and tricky words.

In Maths, the children have been exploring equal groups and learning about arrays and doubles. They have enjoyed applying their understanding through practical activities and hands-on resources.

In History, the children enjoyed learning about the life of Queen Victoria. They explored her life, family, and many responsibilities, and were particularly interested in finding out about Buckingham Palace and its many rooms.

Next Week

Maths – The children will begin a new topic on fractions. They will recognise and find a half of an object or shape, and a half of a quantity.

English – The children will create a fact file about Antarctic creatures.

Art – As part of their new topic, ‘Sculpture and 3D: Paper Play’, the children will shape paper to create 3D drawings.

History – The children will learn about the life of Queen Elizabeth I.

Science – The children will plant a variety of seeds, vegetables, and fruits.

PSHE – They will explore friendships and what makes a good friend.

RE – The children will discuss and write about books that are special to them.

Spellings for next Friday’s test:

Group 1: like, time, prize, slide, home, woke, note, stone,

Tricky words: were, here

Group 2: sea, seat, read, heap

Tricky word: was

Reminder

Phonics Home Learning

A letter was emailed this week in regards to the Phonics Screening Test that takes place in June. To get the children used to the format, I will be sending home a weekly practice sheet for them to complete at home. This involves simply asking your child to add the sound buttons on each word (real and nonsense) and allowing them to read the words. I do not need you to send the sheets back to school; please keep them at home and use them to look back over. Thank you for your continued support.

Phonics Booster

For those children who have received a Phonic Booster letter, these 20-minute sessions will begin on Tuesday 28th April, running from 8:20–8:45am.

Mrs Blatch or I will meet the children at the front office. Please ensure that the reply slip is returned next week.

Quiz Night Saturday 9th May

Get your thinking caps ready for our PTA Quiz Night on Saturday 9th May 2026! It promises to be a fantastic evening of fun, laughter and a little bit of healthy rivalry. It would be brilliant to see as many of you there as possible—whether you're in it to win it or just in it for the laughs!

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable weekend.

The Year 1 Team

 Hello everyone,

It was wonderful to welcome the children back after the Easter break and to hear all about their adventures. They were especially excited to see the return of the swimming pool in the Key Stage 2 playground! All of the children had the opportunity to swim this week and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

In English, we began a new unit based on the lovely story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. The children were intrigued by a ‘lost’ penguin that appeared in Year 1 and came up with some fantastic questions about it. They also created excellent lists of adjectives to describe how the penguin might be feeling.

In Phonics, the children have been revising Phase 5 sounds and tricky words, continuing to build their confidence and fluency.

In Maths, we started a new topic on multiplication and division. The children practised counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, and explored how to recognise and make equal groups. They particularly enjoyed using counters to help them understand these concepts.

In History, we introduced our new topic on famous queens. This week, the children learned about the life of Queen Elizabeth II and showed great interest in her story.

It has been a fantastic first week back, and the children have worked incredibly hard. Well done, Year 1!

Next Week

Maths – The children will be learning to add equal groups, create arrays, make doubles, and form equal groups through grouping and sharing.

English – The children will explore the use of past tense verbs to retell a story. They will also write a letter of advice to the boy in the story and create a set of instructions on how to help someone who is lost.

Art – As part of their new topic, ‘Sculpture and 3D: Paper Play’, the children will explore making tube towers.

History – The children will learn about the life of Queen Victoria.

Science – The children will identify and name common plants during a nature walk around the school.

PSHE – The children will draw and label a picture of their family.

RE – The children will learn about sacred books and why they are special.

Spellings for next Friday’s test:

Group 1: day, play, tray, stay, sea, bead, read, heap

Tricky words: one, two

Group 2: day, play, tray, stay

Tricky word: you

Reminder

Quiz Night Saturday 9th May

Get your thinking caps ready for our PTA Quiz Night on Saturday 9th May 2026! It promises to be a fantastic evening of fun, laughter and a little bit of healthy rivalry. It would be brilliant to see as many of you there as possible—whether you're in it to win it or just in it for the laughs!

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable weekend.

The Year 1 Team