Y1 weekly newsletter 17.3.23

This week you have been scientists, recount writers and puppeteers.

In English this week, you wrote your recount of Chester zoo. You focused on using the plural -s, adjectives and capital letters. I am so proud of how hard you worked and the great ideas you had. You really enjoyed using our Chester zoo video to remember our day. Towards the end of the week, you planned and wrote your hot write. For your independent write, you used the book 'Class one farm yard fun' to create a recount of their trip to Fribbly farm. I am so proud of the dedication and hard work you put into your writing this week. You are all superstars!

In phonics, you worked really hard on reviewing your set 3 sounds. Mrs VR, Meg and I are so impressed with how many sounds you are retaining and reading in words. You are making so much progress!

In maths, you have been learning all about non standard units of measurement with Mrs Holdsworth. You have learnt how to measure lots of different items with a wide range of resources including counters, books and blocks. You have built upon your knowledge around the language of length and height and can use this very confidently.

This week saw us celebrating science week 2023. Our theme this year was all about connections. We completed two activities and even had a visit from a real life scientist. For your first experiment you investigated 'which temperature does yeast grow better in?' We knew the yeast had grown if the balloon had inflated. We realised that the yeast connected itself to the sugar to gather energy. In your second experiment you investigated 'Which soap cleans your hands better?' For this experiment you touched pieces of bread when you didn't wash your hand, cleaned it with bar soap and cleaned it with liquid soap. We are now going to see if mold develops on the bread over time and which piece of bread has more mold on it. Finally, we were very lucky to have Issy's dad come into school to teach us all about sport science. You were so engaged and listened beautifully. Issy's dad taught you all about the human body and what happens to our muscle when we do exercise. You even got to look at some muscle under a microscope which we found very cool! A huge thank you to Issy's dad for coming in and inspiring us all to become scientists.

In DT, you were introduced to your topic of puppets. You explored different puppets that you find all around the world and you looked at how the puppet can be moved. You then compared two different puppets and had a play with them. We even watched a Punch and Judy show. Did you know that these puppets have been around for 400 years?

In geography, you looked at the question of what is it like where giant pandas live. You explored the continent of Asia and some of the countries that are in Asia. You then found some information about a giant panda, red panda and an urban fox as all of these animals can be found in Asia. You also created some very cool masks.

How do Christians around the world celebrate Easter? This was your question this week in RE and you did a fantastic job at learning about different celebrations around the world. You learnt that in Germany they decorate Easter trees with little Easter eggs. You learnt that in Scotland they complete an egg rolling competition as this mimics the rolling of the stone to open the tomb. You then created your very own egg and rolled it down the hill at school.

In our happy mind session this week you continued to learn about 'relate' and how you relate to the people around you using your character strengths. You wrote about a happy memory with your friend in your journal and how this memory makes you feel.

In computing, you continued to use your fact files on your favourite animals to create an audio fact file on chatter kid. You have now learnt how to open the app, take a picture, cut a mouth out, record your voice, use text and even save it at the end. Wow Y1, I am so impressed and I know these will look great in your study work books.

This week we were lucky enough to have two mystery readers. A huge thank you to Bodhi's mum and Isla's mum for coming in and reading us two lovely stories.

You have all had a super busy week and learnt lots! Next week, we will have our class worship and we look forward to seeing our families there. Homework has been sent out through email yesterday.

Have a lovely weekend,

Miss Haynes