Year 1 Week Beginning 16.5.25

This week in English, the children have learning how how to change verbs into the past tense by adding ‘was’ before the word and ‘ing’ to the end. For example, cry becomes ……was crying, dance becomes ….was dancing. The class have also been learning how to use alliteration and adjectives to make their description more exciting and interesting!

In Maths, Year 1 have been learning how to count and sort into groups of 2s, 5s and 10s. They have also been learning how to recognise and add equal groups, as part of their current Maths focus on multiplication and division.

In RE, the class have been hearing about the Ascension and exploring how this special feast day has been represented in art and music. They have also been learning about how Catholics celebrate special days like the Ascension of Jesus, and that they are called holydays.

In Geography this week, the children displayed brilliant teamwork when they were set the challenge of classifying rockpool habitats together!

In Phonics today, Year 1 were practicing their split digraph knowledge when word reading; whenever they noticed the letter ‘e’ at the end of the word, they had to sound the ‘e’ alarm. This meant that they had to take extra special care to check to see if the word they were reading was a split digraph or not! These sounds can sometimes be a bit tricky to spot in a word, but the children found this way very helpful!

In PE today, the children had lots of fun as they continued to develop their hitting and receiving skills in tennis.

Spelling Shed this week- Words with the digraphs ‘ai’ and ‘oi’.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team

Year 1 Week Beginning 5.5.25

This week seems to have flown by, due to the bank holiday weekend, yet Year 1 have managed to pack lots of learning into it!

In RE, the children have been listening, reflecting and responding to the story of The Road to Emmaus.

During their lessons, they thought about and wrote responses to the questions:

  • I wonder how the disciples felt when they met Jesus on the road?​​
  • I wonder how the disciples felt when they realised it was Jesus? ​​
  • I wonder what will happen next?

Year 1 also made puppets and retold the story in their own words, demonstrating an understanding of the story.

On Wednesday, Year 1 went swimming for the very first time, and although they were very excited, they were also extremely well behaved and showed great independence and resilience getting themselves dressed and undressed!

Gentle reminder- please remember to take out any earrings and provide a swimming hat if your child has longer hair. (Boys and girls)

Yesterday, the children learnt about VE Day through singing, watching film clips and looking at photographs.

They also attended a special whole school assembly which was presented by the team at Mark 10 Mission live from the Vatican City. They were encouraged to pray for the cardinals who were responsible for making such an important decision in choosing our next Pope.

The sun shone this afternoon for the annual whole school May Procession to honour Our Lady. As usual, the children were reverent and well-behaved as they joined the rest of the school in this special event. Thank you for providing your child with such beautiful flowers.

Spelling ShedAdding the suffixes ‘-ing’ and ’-ed’

Additionally, your child also has another phonics revision mat to complete- please note, this is purely for revision and does not need to be returned.

Please remember, your child needs a water bottle and a hat- next week is set to be warmer again!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team

Year 1 had a lovely end to the week this afternoon, when they joined Year 2 on a walk to the pond on the farmland adjacent to the school. This was part of their current science learning on animals; today they were looking specifically for different birds and amphibians. The children were treated with a chorus of different birdsong, while sitting by the pond. Mrs Hilton had previously downloaded a special app that identifies which particular bird is singing, and so was able to tell the children which variety of bird they were listening to. In the pond itself, the children spotted many newts, frogspawn, pond skaters and snails, and even a frog! When the two classes got back to school, they cooled down with some fresh water and a sing-along with Mrs Heymoz and her guitar in the Peace Garden.

In RE this week, the children sequenced the events in Jesus’ life from his birth to his resurrection, through creating individual story maps.

In Maths, Year 1 finished their unit on measuring length and height, and began a new one on measuring mass and volume. In English, they learnt about converting singular nouns to plurals by adding -s/-es to  word, revised how to join two sentences using ‘and’ and they wrote their own dialogues to go with the film, ‘Whistleless’.

Next week, we begin swimming lessons on Wednesday afternoon. Please make sure that your child has been given parental consent and that they have their swimming kit with them. Please also ensure that your child has a sun hat and water bottle in school every day. Thank you.

Spelling Shed focus this week is: Words with the digraphs ‘ph’ and ‘wh’ and  Adding ‘-s’ or ‘-es’ to make plurals.

Have a wonderful extended bank holiday weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year One team

Year 1 Week Beginning 21.4.25

Welcome back!

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter and a good rest over the holiday. We were so blessed with the beautiful weather; the children have been telling us lots of exciting stories about what they did over the two week break!

The class have gradually settled back into the Year 1 routines and are ready for their final term in Year 1! Following Pope Francis’ death on Monday, the children reflected on his life and legacy upon their return to school on Tuesday. They were able to independently make links between what Pope Francis continually strived for: inclusivity for all, commitment to social justice, humility and his care and love for God’s creation, and the new whole school Catholic Social Teaching focus- Dignity. In RE, The class thought about how they too could follow in Pope Francis’ footsteps and ensure dignity and care for others, in their everyday lives.

Also on Tuesday, the children learnt that over the holidays, the class caterpillars had turned into butterflies. Thank you to Savannah and her family for looking after them so well and ensuring they survived! Year 1 took the butterflies to the Peace Garden, where there are lots of flowers, and released them! It was very exciting! At first the butterflies didn’t seem to keen to leave, but after a while, with lots of encouragement from the children, all five butterflies flew away to start their new lives! The class are looking forward to getting some more caterpillar eggs, so they will be able to watch every stage! Hopefully this time, they won’t leave it until the holidays to change!!!

In English, the class began their new unit based on the short Literacy Shed film ‘Whistleless’- which is about a bird that cannot sing.

In Maths, Year 1 have been learning about measuring length and height and have been comparing and measuring things around the classroom using  different objects.

In Geography, Year 1 began their new learning about the seaside, and in Science, they learnt about amphibians and the life cycle of a frog, as part of their focus on animals.

The weather is set to get warmer next week; please remember to provide a sunhat and water bottle, and apply sun cream before school, so that we can keep them all safe from the sun. Thank you!

Please encourage your child to complete the revision phonics mat sent home today and to continue read their reading book daily to an adult. Thank you.

Please note, from next week, PE days will be on Wednesday and Friday.

Spelling Shed this week: Words ending in ‘y’/ee/ and ‘ve’/v/

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team

Year 1 Week Beginning 31.3.25

Year 1 finished the Spring Term with a very busy week.

Well done to Olivia who played the piano in the KS1 music concert on Tuesday. This was her first ever time playing in front of an audience and she was brilliant!!

Thank you to all the children and their families who supported the soft toy swap on Wednesday. Thanks to your generosity, every child in Year 1 took home a new toy to love!

The week ended with a very exciting egg hunt and bunny hop around the school field. Thank you to the FOPPs, Mrs Lennox and Mrs Pandeli for organising this fun event.

Wishing you all a joyful Easter,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team

 

Year 1 Week Beginning 24.3.25

Due to the lovely weather, Year 1 have spent lots of time learning outdoors this week!

In Science, the children learnt about birds, as part of their topic about animals. Part of their lesson was  to take part in a bird watch. The class decided that the best spot would be close to the Peace Garden, as there were bird feeders and bird boxes in there. After not much action, the class came to a joint agreement to leave the garden and sit facing out towards the field, and this did not disappoint! From their new seating position, Year 1 spotted pigeons, red kites, sparrows, magpies, parakeets, black birds, crows and blue tits! They each kept a tally and drew conclusions about the most and least frequently seen bird, when they returned back to class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, Year 1 celebrated World Maths Day with some fun challenges and activities. Along with Year 2, the class competed in small groups to fill a matchbox with as many items as possible. The winner was the group who managed to squeeze the most items in! This was lots of fun and required lots of team work! The class also learnt about Tangrams. (A Tangram puzzle focuses on the objective to rearrange the seven separate pieces into a complete image of various shapes) The children then had a go at making their own pictures using shapes and chalk on the KS2 playground floor.

Today in RE, Year 1 heard the Good Friday story and also learnt that on Good Friday, Catholics all over the world remember the story of Jesus’ passion in many different ways. In some places like Antigua and El Salvador on Good Friday, many people decorate the streets of the city with ‘Alfombras’ which are carpets made from coloured sawdust, sand or salt in patterns or pictures. The pictures are often of Jesus and tell the story of His life, death and resurrection. People spend many hours creating these beautiful images .

Inspired by this, Year 1 made their own Alfombras using chalk on the KS1 playground.

The children have brought home another phonics practice home learning sheet to complete as well as a phonics mat. Once again, please keep these at home to refer to.

Spelling Shed has been set; the focus this week is ‘Words where the digraph ‘er’ is stressed’.

Wishing you all a wonderful Mother’s Day and a lovely weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team

Year 1 Week Beginning 17.3.25

This week started off with a very exciting science workshop led by Michael’s mum. The fun science activities centered around the British Science Week theme, ‘Change and Adapt’. The children had lots of opportunities to explore and manipulate different materials; creating and then testing a range of things such as flying birds, floating boats and camouflaged animals. Thank you to Michael’s mum and her team and also to Ezra and Luke’s mum, for sacrificing their morning, and giving our children such wonderful, hands-on learning opportunities!

The week ended with another class visit, this time from Luke and Ezra’s mum and dad.

Luke and Ezra’s dad is a vet, and over the years he has collected lots of different skulls from lots of different sized animals, which he shared with Year 1. The children thought that they were amazing! We thank them both for sharing these incredible pieces!

In English, the children began a new unit on the much loved book, ‘Owl Babies’. They had lots of fun reenacting the story through role-play. This will help the class to recall the main sequence of the story when they are planning and writing their own versions of the story next week.

In Phonics, the class have begun revising all taught sounds from Phases 3 and 5. Please look out for the email that was sent on Thursday morning regarding the Year 1 Phonics Screening Test, taking place this June. To get the children used to the format, we 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 to  you. We do not need you to send the sheets back to school; please keep them at home and use them to look back over as often as you can. Thank you.

In Maths, the children have started their new unit on Place Value to 50. During this unit, they will continue to use a range of pictorial and concrete resources to support them with: problem solving and reasoning, counting by making groups of tens and ones, partitioning into tens and ones, using a number line to 50 and estimating to 50. They will also be returning to the concept of more and less.

In Design and Technology, Year 1 learnt about wheels, axles and chassis, and enjoyed playing with a range of different objects and toys containing all three. Next week, the class will begin to plan and design their own wheeled toy.

Spelling Shed focus this week is: words where the digraph ‘ea’ makes an /e/ sound.

Please see the following attachment regarding whole school maths challenge.

World Maths Day Whole School home learning

Maths Scavenger hunt examples

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team

Year 1 Week Beginning 10.3.25

This week in class, the children celebrated British Science Week, focussing on the theme ‘Change and Adapt’. Year 1 applied their oracy, enquiry and debating skills while doing activities from the science website Explorify and participated in an exciting whole school experiment derived from the big question:

Mrs Heymoz likes to dunk biscuits in her tea. Which biscuit will make the best dunker?

The children worked scientifically- predicting, observing, analysing and comparing results, and drawing conclusions. They also understood the importance of a fair test. The general consensus was that the shortbread biscuit was the best biscuit for dunking in tea, as it didn’t dissolve and it kept it shape and texture!

In History this week, the children continued their learning about monarchs, focussing in particular on past British queens.  The children learnt lots of amazing facts about Queen Elizabeth I,  Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II

HRH Queen Elizabeth 1
HRH Queen Victoria
HRH queen Elizabeth II

 

 

 

Why not have a go at some fun science experiments at home this weekend? There are plenty of websites out there with lots of ideas using everyday things found at home. For example, https://www.fun-science.org.uk/simple-science-experiments-to-do-at-home/

Spelling focus on Spelling Shed this week are words where the digraph ‘ea’ makes an /e/ sound.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team

Year 1 Week Beginning 3.3.25

It has been such a joyful and busy week in Year 1!

On Tuesday, the children joined the rest of the school in celebrating Mardi Gras! They started off the day by participating in pancake tossing relay races- it was so much fun! The children then helped each other to make Mardi Gras bead bracelets. This was followed by eating delicious pancakes and creating their own Mardi Gras masks! Finally, the class went into the hall for a special assembly which ended with a Mardi Gras dance around the school playground!

On Wednesday, the children took part in the Ash Wednesday service in school, where they received their ashes; as usual, the children were prayerful and respectful and demonstrated wonderful behaviour.

On Thursday, Year 1 celebrated World Book Day! They day was filled with lots of opportunities for the children to read, hear stories and participate in lots of fun activities focussed on the books by Roald Dahl. The children even took part in a special World Book Day online workshop. Thank you for supporting your child and supplying them with their costumes/ pyjamas- it really did help to make the day really special!

      

Spelling set this week focus on words where the digraphs ‘oa’ and ‘oe’ make an /oa/ sound.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team

 

 

Year 1 Week Beginning 24.2.25

It’s been another busy week of learning in Year 1 this week!

In English, the class finished their unit on The Storm Whale, ending with a debate on whether they believed the story had a happy ending or not. The children used the sentence starter, ‘In my opinion, I believe…” to formalise their speech and give their conversation structure. By the end of the lesson, the children had built their sentences even further by including, “On the other hand…”. The children then recorded their opinions in their writing books, using the same sentences to structure their writing!

In RE, the class learnt about the next area of Catholic Social Teaching- Community and Participation. They heard the Parable of the Good Samaritan and linked this to their own lives, thinking about how they can help their neighbours, just like Jesus asks us to in the bible.

In Maths, the children finished the unit on place value and began the next unit on addition and subtraction. They have been learning how to perform addition by counting on, and they have used their knowledge of number bonds to add numbers within 20.

In Science, the class had lots of fun experimenting with floating and sinking as part of their materials topic, and in History, they began their new topic on Kings and Queens, where they learnt about the role of a monarch.

In PE, Year 1 enjoyed the sunshine as they learnt and  played some new invasion games!

Spelling games set on Spelling Shed focus on words where the digraph ‘ea’ makes an /ee/ sound.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Ms Pemberton and the Year 1 team