Hello everyone,

It’s been a lovely week in Year 1. The children really enjoyed taking part in Children’s Mental Health Week and exploring this year’s theme, ‘This Is My Place.’ We talked about what mental health is and shared ideas about simple things we can do to look after our wellbeing, such as talking to someone we trust, spending time with friends and doing activities we enjoy.

For Safer Internet Day, the children listened to the story Clicking Chicken and had thoughtful discussions about how to stay safe when using the internet, including the importance of telling a trusted adult if something doesn’t feel right.

On Thursday, we were very lucky to have a ‘Little Vets’ assembly, where three vets came in to talk about their jobs and how they help to care for animals. The children were fascinated and asked some fantastic questions! In the afternoon, we enjoyed planting some daffodil bulbs — we’re looking forward to seeing them bloom in the spring.

It was also so lovely to see so many of the children at the school disco last night. They had a wonderful time dancing and spending time with their friends.

Next Term

Maths

• Place value to 50

• Measuring length, height, mass and volume

English

The children will finish their unit of work based on Leo and the Octopus.

They will then begin new texts:

• Stanley’s Stick by John Hegley and Neal Layton

• Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish by Michael Foreman

Science

• Animals including humans

Geography

• What is the weather like in the UK?

D&T

• Moving minibeasts

RE

• Learning about Islam, including the celebrations of Eid and Ramadan

• Learning about Christianity and the Easter story

PSHE

Healthy Me

Computing

• Digital painting

• Moving a robot

Notes

Collins Hub

The new login details for Collins Hub have been placed inside the front cover of your child’s reading log.

All of the books your child has read so far this year have now been uploaded to their online library. In addition, a new book (which has not been read in class) has been added should you wish to complete some extra reading over the half-term break.

Hertfordshire Zoo Trip

Thank you very much to all the parents and carers who kindly offered to accompany us to Hertfordshire Zoo. We are very grateful for your support.

We now have enough adult helpers for the trip.

We hope you all have a wonderful and restful half term break. We look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday 23rd February!

The Year 1 team

 Hello everyone,

In English, the children continued working from the book Leo and the Octopus. They used adjectives to describe Maya the octopus and came up with an amazing list of questions they would like to find out about octopuses. They then used the conjunctions and and but to write longer sentences and thought carefully about when each conjunction should be used.

In Maths, the children doubled numbers using objects to help them. They also practised subtracting by counting backwards and using a number line. Today was the NSPCC’s ‘Number Day’ and the children enjoyed a range of activities including measuring, problem solving and helping ‘Octoblock’ from Numberblocks create different positions using a grid.

In Computing, the children used the Chromebooks to develop their keyboard skills. They typed their name and a simple sentence. They learnt how to use capital letters, put spaces between words and delete any mistakes.

In Art, the children enjoyed recreating Jasper Johns’ Colour by Numbers painting. Their creations turned out amazing and will make a wonderful corridor display.

In Science, we have been tracking the weather all week. The children were interested to see how it changes from day to day, and we also compared the temperatures with the results we collected in the autumn term.

Next Week

Maths – The children will continue subtracting by finding the difference. They will look at related number facts and solve word problems.

English – The children will write in the past tense to create a log book of the tasks and activities Leo and Maya completed. The children will learn about exclamation marks and use them in speech bubbles. They will also plan and write the introduction to their non-fiction report about octopuses.

Art – The children will use paint to print with Lego.

RE – The children will continue learning about Baptism.

PSHE – Next week is Children’s Mental Health Week and the children will take part in a range of activities around this important topic.

Computing – The children will continue developing their keyboard skills and will also take part in activities for Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 10th February.

Spellings for next Friday’s test are:

Group 1: when, whisk wheel, whisper, face, lace, pace, space

Tricky words: no, go

Group 2: fear, hear, near, tear

Tricky words: so

Next Week

Monday 9th February – Sharing Assembly (for those who have received a letter)

Wednesday 11th February – Open Afternoon

Reminder

Reading books

A gentle reminder to please ensure that all reading books and reading logs are returned to school by Wednesday each week. Unfortunately, new books cannot be handed out if the previous week’s books have not been returned.

Thank you for your continued support and we hope you have a wonderful weekend.

The Year 1 Team