Cricket opportunities
Resources for learning at home
As we start the last half term of Year 1, here are a few reminders about supporting your child’s learning.
Reading books
Reading books will continue to be changed on PE days – Tuesday and Thursday. Please add a brief comment, or simply your name and a tick, in your child’s reading record book so we know your child has read at home and is ready to have a new book. Daily reading is important to develop your child’s reading fluency so children should be changing their book at least weekly if not both Tuesday and Thursday. Thank you.
Lexia
Please continue to work on Lexia until your child has achieved their Level 5 certificate and has completed the Year 1 learning.
Phonics Play
For those children who have reached Level 5 in Lexia, Phonics Play can be accessed for practising phonics at home. The login details are username Sphere and password is Spher3.
Handwriting
We are doing lots of handwriting in class. Here’s a link to a video showing the cursive letter formation that we use in school and also our handwriting guide.
Numbots
Numbots is a maths resource, based on building addition and subtraction skills, that can be accessed by children at home using their individual logins (please email if you need these resending). We now have a weekly leader board for Numbots so keep working hard to earn those coins!
Hit the button is another maths resource we use in class especially for number bonds practice and more recently for learning doubles.
Little and often is best for these resources. If you need any login information for your child, please contact us.
New playground and some mindfulness
Today, Year 1 were able to enjoy using our new front playground equipment.
After expelling all their energy, the class settled down to some calming mindfulness exercises. For children, mindfulness can offer relief from whatever difficulties they might be encountering in life. It also gives them the beauty of being in the present moment.
Below is a link for you to enjoy some mindfulness techniques with your child.
Mindfulness Meditation for Kids | BREATHING EXERCISE | Guided Meditation for Children – YouTube
Lost property
We have a few items of clothing, including cardigans, jumpers and PE black zip up tops with no names in the cloakroom.
Please ask if you think they might belong to your child.
Thank you.
Stamp Competition
This year, Royal Mail are hosting a stamp competition in order to honour the people who have done great things since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Eight designs will be picked by a special panel including none other than Her Majesty the Queen! These winners will be seen by millions of people and there are other cool prizes up for grabs for runners up.
Thank you to everyone who got involved and submitted their creative efforts in appreciation of our COVID heroes. You should be very proud.
Check out some of the many entries below.
Living and Learning: Medicines: Who helps us to stay healthy?
Today, Year 1 have been learning about different medicines and the people who help us to stay fit and well. This was our second lesson introducing age-appropriate drug and alcohol education.
Today’s session focused on medicines; what they look like, how they are used and why people use them. We explored how medicines
are used to treat illness in the short and long term as well as how some medicines can help protect people from becoming ill in the future. The children considered the role of other people in helping them to stay healthy and well, manage, or recover from, illness.
Feel better scenarios
In pairs, the children thought about a time when they felt poorly and what helped them to feel better. Next, the class were asked to think of five different people who help others to stay healthy and well. We discussed
their roles and the kinds of things they do.
A doctor can help to find out why you are feeling poorly,
The dentist keeps our teeth and gums healthy.
Cleaners are important people. They get rid of the germs.
A paramedic arrives in an ambulance. This can get help very quickly.
My daddy is a pharmacist. He gives medicines to people to help them to feel better.
Maths counting
Counting is a daily event in our maths lessons and also at other parts of the day when we have a spare minute or two.
Here are the related counting end of year 1 expectations.
Over the last two weeks, we have been focussing on counting forwards and backwards in 10s and 5s.
Seeing these numbers on a 100 square or a number line can help children to spot the pattern of these counting sequences.
Counting in 10s
The numbers all have a zero at the end.
They are all underneath each other.
There is a pattern – the numbers end in five or zero.
How can you help at home?
Regular counting with your child will help their fluency to recall these counting sequences.
Listen to the Super Movers general counting, counting in 10s and counting in 5s active songs.
Use Paint the squares to highlight the multiples of 10 and 5.
Play ping pong with your child. Choose a number to start from and take it in turns to say a number each in the sequence. The children are familiar with this game.
How will this help my child?
Counting in sequences of 10 and 5 will support your child as they move onto learning times tables from Year 2.
Bean update
Our beans are growing well. This week, the children have written sentences using some scientific vocabulary. They observed the plants carefully using a magnifying glass.
Wow! Look at how tall the stem is!
The plant looks very healthy and the leaves are green.
It is amazing to see the roots spreading out.
The beans are surviving with light and water.
The seeds have split open.
Computing
This half term, Year 1 are learning all about computing. Here are the age related expectations we are working on and the vocabulary and definitions that you will have been talking about for homework this week.
Firstly, we tried giving each other instructions (also known as an algorithms) to get from one place to another. We soon realised these algorithms needed to be clear and precise. For example, go forwards – but how far? Turn around – but which direction?
After trying some practical algorithms, we spent some time learning about the words to help us with position and direction including forwards, backwards, quarter turn left and quarter turn right. We started to write algorithms to help the BeeBot move from the start to the finish.
Here, the algorithm didn’t work so we had to debug it to see what had gone wrong. Once the algorithm had been corrected, we could get the BeeBot to the finish.
This rhyme has helped us to understand the meaning of algorithm and debug.
Most recently, the children were excited to use the BlueBot devices to put their algorithm and directional knowledge to the test.
We will be doing lots more practical learning with the BlueBots to test out our programming skills.
Another part of this topic is all about keeping safe online. This forms part of the new statutory Relationships and Health Education curriculum (part of our Living and Learning curriculum) and the relevant age related expectations are listed here.
We have been using stories to help with this learning. Have a listen to these stories again at home.
Please discuss this important e-safety message with your child.
After-school club availability
Our after-school clubs return from next week and we still have some places available. It is not too late if you would like to book your child on. Clubs are mainly based on your child’s class bubble at the moment.
Monday
Year 6 dodgeball (starting 24 May)
Year 2 multi-skills
Tuesday
Year 2 Wake up Shake up
Year 3 football
Wednesday
Year 4 Wake up Shake up
Thursday
Year 1 multi-skills
Friday
Year 4/5 multi-games
Please check on School Gateway or contact the office for more details.