Year 1's weekly newsletter-23.06.23

Can you believe that it is the weekend already? This year is flying by and you are growing up so much!

In our English lessons this week, we embarked on an exciting new topic centered around the theme of a return journey. Our inspiration came from the captivating story 'Secrets of Black Rock.' To fully immerse ourselves in the narrative, we transformed our classroom by incorporating various props related to the story, including a rock, rope, lighthouse, and shells.

To deepen our understanding of the story's setting, we examined a picture featuring the main character, Erin. Through careful observation and analysis, we described the elements present in the picture, painting a vivid picture of the story's world. Along the way, we expanded our vocabulary repertoire, encountering words like "translucent," "glimpse," and "echo." These newfound words enriched our language and allowed us to craft more expressive and engaging sentences

In your phonics this week, you have continued to concentrate on developing your speed and fluency. You continue to impress all of your phonic's teachers with your hard work and dedication. You have also learnt some new sounds that are more challenging.

In our Maths lessons this week, we embarked on a journey exploring the concepts of position, direction, and time. We began the week by honing our understanding of positional language, learning how to effectively describe the location of objects using terms like "above," "below," "left," and "right." We also discovered useful tricks to help us differentiate between our left and right. As the week progressed, we transitioned into our new topic of time. We delved into the fascinating world of clocks and timekeeping. One of the first things we explored was the distinction between analogue and digital clocks, understanding how each displays time differently. We then focused on telling time when it is at o'clock, mastering the skill of placing the clock hands at the correct positions and solving word problems related to o'clock times. You were absolutely spectacular at reading the time and it was great to hear how many of you have practiced this at home too.

During our Geography lessons this week, we turned our attention to the intriguing question of "What is it like to live by the seaside?"

We began by understanding that physical features are natural aspects of the environment, such as beaches, cliffs, and the sea itself. On the other hand, human features are created or influenced by people, such as promenades, piers, and beachfront buildings. You then listed lots of different seaside features and labelled them physical or human features of geography.

In our RE lessons, we focused on the story of Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams. We specifically explored the dreams of the baker and the cupbearer while Joseph was in prison. Through Joseph's interpretations, we discussed the significance of the dreams and their impact on future events. This study prompted reflections on the role of dreams and divine messages. We will continue to delve into Joseph's story and the lessons it offers.

You have had many PE opportunities this week to celebrate sport's week. Your favourite was when Issy's mum came to teach you hockey. It was so lovely to join in with this session and I was amazed how much control you had over the ball and how quickly you picked up the skills. A huge thank you to Issy's mum for providing us all with a learning experience and skill.

Our favourite day of this week must be our seaside theme day on Friday! You came into school dressed up in your different outfits and you completely immersed yourself in our topic. Firstly, you went out on the field with your picnic blankets and favourite seaside games that you had brought in from home. You enjoyed sharing your toys with everyone, having a seaside picnic and playing in the sandpits that we are lucky to have on our school field. You then created your own sea creature out of clay thinking carefully about how you are going to roll your clay out and model it to the animal that you wanted. You then finished the day with a seaside quiz and a game of cricket. What a fun day we had!

What a busy week we have had! You have been as amazing as always and created some fantastic pieces of work this week. Have a lovely weekend and let's hope the sun will shine.

See you on Monday team superstars,

Miss Haynes