Year 1 – Happy Half Term 23.5.25

Happy Half Term Team!

In our English lesson, we continued exploring the story and noticed that the setting had changed—we got to see Erin’s bedroom, where there was a “SAVE BLACK ROCK” poster on the wall. We read a little more of the book and discovered that the adults want to destroy Black Rock. We saw how Erin used tied-up blankets to escape from her room, showing her determination to help. We spent time looking closely at Black Rock, describing his appearance and discussing his personality. As a class, we all created our own “SAVE BLACK ROCK” posters, writing about all the good things Black Rock has done and explaining why the adults should not destroy him.

In our Math lessons, we finished our work on multiplication with an end-of-unit check to see how much we had learned. We then started a new topic on halves and quarters. We began by looking at shapes as a whole and learned how to find half by splitting them into two equal parts. We also talked about how if you double a half, you get back to the whole shape or number. After that, we moved on to finding quarters, which we discovered means making a half and then halving it again to make four equal parts. We practised shading in 1/4 of different shapes to help us understand the concept better.

We had a wonderful morning taking part in Sports Day! We loved being involved in all the races and had great fun cheering our friends on. One of our favourite events was the 4 in 1 race, especially jumping in the sacks—although we found skipping to be super tricky! Everyone gave their best effort and worked really hard throughout the morning. A big well done to the Blue Team for winning overall!

In our RE lesson, we continued learning about baptism. We spent some time thinking about how our own families welcome new babies and the special ways we celebrate their arrival. We talked about the significance of water during baptism and how it represents being washed clean and starting a new life. We also discussed the importance of Godparents and the special role they play in a child's spiritual journey. Finally, we talked about what happens during a baptism ceremony and why it is such an important event for Christian families.

In our Science lesson, we checked on our growing plants and recorded any changes in our plant diaries. We recapped all the parts of a plant and their different jobs, such as roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. We also looked closely at both garden plants and wild plants. We learned that wild plants grow wherever their seeds fall, while garden plants are usually bought and planted in specific places. We found out that wild plants are sometimes called weeds, but they can still be beautiful. We were surprised to learn that grass is actually a wild plant! We spent time drawing different plants and labelling them as either wild or garden plants.

In our Heartsmart lesson, we were learning all about how to take care of our teeth. We met Tilly the Tooth and read her story, then spent time helping her get healthy again. We learned that it's important to brush our teeth twice a day and that we shouldn't rinse our mouths after brushing so the toothpaste can keep protecting our teeth. We also watched a video from Dr Ranj, who showed us the best ways to look after our teeth. One of our favourite parts was learning about the Brush DJ app—it sounded like a fun way to make brushing more exciting! During our Wellbeing time, we thought about what we want to be in the future. We talked about different jobs we might like to do and the things we’d like to learn as we grow.

Year 1, worked so hard in Music this week! We practised playing the notes C, D, E, and F, and then challenged oursleves by playing them in reverse order. Each week, our timing and confidence are really improving—well done! We also had a special visit from Year 4, who showed us the amazing instruments they had made. They explained why they chose certain materials and how they put their instruments together. We even got to listen to them play, which was very exciting and inspiring!

In our PE lessons, we have been learning the techniques needed to become good sprinters. We practised using high knees and making sure our arms moved in time with our fast feet. We also talked about the best position to start a race and how to pick up speed quickly. To help with this, we practised sprint ladder relays, which helped us focus on using high knees and fast feet to build speed right from the start. To finish the unit, we were given equipment to create our own obstacle courses. These had to include different jumping and running techniques, and we had great fun designing and trying out each other’s courses!

In our Computing lesson, we started with a fun game of "Guess Who" using different buttons on the toolbar—it was great fun trying to guess each one! We learned about the undo and redo buttons and how they can help us fix mistakes or bring back work we've changed. We then wrote our missing posters and spent time using the toolbar to make our writing stand out. We especially enjoyed changing the colour and font to make our posters look "pretty" and eye-catching. It was a great way to practise using different tools to improve our digital work!

In our Art lesson, we looked closely at shells and their beautiful spirals. We used water-soluble pens and handwriting pens to create the shapes of the shells, then carefully added water to blend the colours and add texture. Everyone worked thoughtfully to add different textures to their artwork, and the results were some stunning, colourful shells that really captured the natural patterns we had studied.

In our History lesson, we recapped everything we remembered about Wybunbury and how much it has changed since the 1970s. We then started looking at what our school was like back in the 1970s and talked about how much bigger it is now. Back then, there were only three classrooms! We went on a walk around the school to spot all the new parts that have been added over the years. Mrs Chesters kindly came in to talk to us about the changes, telling us the years when different parts of the school were built. After that, we drew pictures of the school as it is now and labelled them with the years the new buildings were added.

I hope everyone has a lovely half term!

Miss Willis