Year 1

This term Year 1 finished learning all their Phase 5 sounds in phonics! We are now working hard to recap every sound learnt since reception; these include Phases 2, 3 and 5 sounds.  

Please continue to read regularly at home as this is the best way to support your children with their phonics. You may also want to explore the phonics play website as there are many free and fun games to play at home, including: 

• Dragons Den (phonicsplay.co.uk) 

• Picnic on Pluto (phonicsplay.co.uk) 

• Buried Treasure (phonicsplay.co.uk) 

In maths, Year 1 have been working with numbers to 50. They have been practising counting forwards and backwards and adding and subtracting using a number line to support them. 

Here are great apps already downloaded on their Ipad: 

• White Rose Maths 

• Sumdog 

• Numbots 

Year 1 have loved learning about our global goal ‘responsible consumption and production’ and looking specifically at ‘fast fashion’. We were lucky enough to have a visit from a sustainable stylist called Becky who showed us the damaging effects fast fashion can have on the environment. She also showed us examples of how easy it is to upcycle and reuse materials for other uses to stop them going to landfill. 

We were proud to show to our efforts in upcycling old tops into bags and planning for a whole school clothes swap on Friday 1st April!  

Thank you for everyone who attended the Bedminster Lantern Parade. We absolutely loved sharing the children’s hard work with our local community and spending a wonderful evening together! 

In science, the children have continued learning about space- why don’t you ask them to try and name all 8 of the planets in our Solar System?  

We have been subtracting numbers within 20 in maths and continued practising counting forwards and backwards to 20. Over half term you may want to practise adding or subtracting different objects you can find in your house. For example, first I had 18 Cheerios. Next, I took 5 Cheerios away. Now how many Cheerios do I have?   

Please continue to read with your child. It is the best way to consolidate the sounds they have been learning in school this year. 

We hope you all have a wonderful half term and look forward to seeing you again on Monday 28th February! 

This week Year 1 are continuing to practise numbers within 20. We have continued practise counting forwards and backwards and used a number line to find ‘one more’ and ‘one less’. To support your child with their learning, why not practise finding and writing teen numbers.

Maths and phonics are everywhere and the best way to further their learning is to make it fun!

In English, we have been writing a leaflet about visiting London, focusing specifically on the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben.

In the afternoons, we have also enjoyed constructing beam bridges in design and technology and creating a collage inspired by the French artist, Henri Matisse. See photos attached!

Please continue to read with your child every day and see if you can spot our new sounds ‘oe’ as in ‘toes’ and ‘o-e’ as in ‘phone’.

Year 1 have started learning about 3D shapes in maths this week. Why not turn this into a game and see if your child can spot any of these in and around your house? For example, a football is a ‘sphere’ shape, a cereal box is a ‘cuboid’ and a ice-cream base is a ‘cone’.

This term the children are learning about England’s capital city, London. They are writing about the local landmarks and learning about the customs and history of the Royal Family.

Year 1 are very excited to be taking part in Bedminster Lantern Parade on Saturday 12th February. The parade will depart from Brewery Court at 6pm so we are asking participants to arrive at 5:15-5:30pm where they will receive their lantern.

Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, only 1 adult per child is allowed to walk in the parade. Other family members and siblings are invited to join the spectators along the parade route. After the parade, children are welcome to take their lanterns home.

The route has been emailed out to you, please check for this and if you have not received it, contact the Academy office.

We can’t wait to show you all the children’s hard work, see you there!

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts

Year 1 had an amazing time learning all about space during their school trip to ‘We the Curious’ this week!

We loved exploring all of the different science activities and games with our friends. We also enjoyed a special workshop where we created rockets and learnt about how astronauts cope in space without normal toilets or beds on the ground!

Finally, we got to go to visit all the different planets in their space planetarium…please see photos attached.

Miss Betts and Miss Crawford would also like to say a special thank you for our wonderful volunteers!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

This week Year 1 have practised subtraction within 10 using a number line.  

The children have written brilliant sentences to describe the characters from our Power of Reading text, George, and the Dragon and have come up with incredibly inventive adjectives. 

In the afternoon, the children have been learning how to identity and name the four seas that surround the UK: the North Sea, the Irish Sea, the English Channel, and the Atlantic Sea. 

They have also been learning about the different Kings and Queens in England’s most recent history. 

Please continue to read with your children daily. It is the best way for your children to retain all of the different sounds they have learnt in school. 

Thank you, 

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts 

We were so excited to welcome Year 1 back into 2022 and are delighted with how quickly they have settled back into their school routine and learning! 

We are continuing to learn new phase 5 sounds, please make sure that children are regularly practising the sounds previously learnt through reading every day at home.  

We are loving our new Power of Reading text called George and the Dragon and have been busy writing blurbs to describe the story. In line with our new text, the children have loved playing with their new castles and small world areas inside the classroom. 

In maths we have introduced the subtraction symbol and are practising taking away numbers within 10. Why not practise this at home using things around the home. For example, ‘If I have 10 hula hoops and eat 4 of them, how many have I got left?’. 

Year 1 will also be going on a school trip to ‘We the Curious’ on Thursday 20th January. They will be provided with a free school packed lunch and can come dressed in their PE kits. 

For the trip to take place we will need some adult volunteers. The coach will be leaving around 9 in the morning and returning at 3. If you are available on this day, please email the office specifying your name, your child’s name, and what class they are in. 

Thank you,  

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts 

 

In January, Year 1 will be taking part in Bedminster Lantern parade on 8th January. We started the week with a special visit from a local artist who helped us design, and build a giant rocket made from willow and tissue paper- see pictures attached. In pairs, we also created our own starry night lanterns that children are going to be able to hold during the parade. More information about the parade will be released closer to the time.  

Our cheeky Elves; Elsie and Elfie have been up to lots of mischief this week, stealing chocolates from our advent calendar and tearing down all the Christmas baubles off our tree! 

Reminders for the last week: 

• Please make sure your children come into school in costume for our Christmas Performance on Wednesday 15th December. 

• We are going to be making headdresses for all our stars, donkeys and narrators so they can just come to school wearing black clothing. 

• Children can wear their own clothes on Thursday 16th December for our Christmas party. If you would like to contribute, you can send your child into school with sealed food. 

• To celebrate our last day, children can come into school with 1 toy and dressed in their own clothes on Friday 17th December. 

A huge thank you for all of your support this term! It’s been a busy one, but we have loved every minute of it!  

Miss Betts and Miss Crawford 

This week Year 1 have learnt the difference between a statement that is fact and a question that requires an answer. Next, they practised using and writing a question mark at the end of a question in their writing.

In maths they have continued to practise writing an addition sentence using the ‘addition symbol’ (+) and the ‘is equal to symbol’ (=).

In phonics the children absolutely loved meeting Caveman Dave in our forest area who taught us the split ‘a-e’ digraph! Please see photos attached.

They also enjoyed reading ‘Daisy Eat Your Peas!’ when learning the ‘ea’ sound. You can find all of the new phase 5 sounds and caption actions above in a video with Miss Crawford and Miss Betts.

The children have loved applying their learning to fun apps/games on their iPads!

Please ensure that your child’s iPad is brought to school fully charged every day and that they have enough storage to be able to access these games.

A lot of iPads have not worked recently due to too many photos taking up storage which is resulting in children missing out on their learning.

You can clear their storage by deleting their photos and making sure they are then deleted from their deleted folder to erase them completely!

Thank you,

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts

Year 1 have loved learning their new phase 5 sounds in phonics. They have already started spotting them in their reading. Alphablocks is a great way to re-cap these sounds at home. They are all available on BBC Iplayer. 

In the afternoons the children have been learning the 7 different elements of art- colour, texture, shape, line, space, form, and value. This week they have been focusing on colour and space and practising using the ‘scrape through technique’. Attached are some pictures of their gorgeous artwork.  

Just some info and dates for your diaries. 

Lantern Parade 

On the 6th and 7th December we extremely lucky to have a local artist come into the school to support children in building their own lanterns for the Bedminster Lantern Parade. The lantern parade will be taking place on January 8th outside of normal school hours. You will receive more information about the parade closer to the time. 

We would love some extra adults to help the children design and build their own lanterns in the afternoon from 12:30-3:00 on the 6th and 7th December. If you available for either of these dates, please email the office. 

Junk Modelling 

In geography, the children are learning about capital cities in the United Kingdom. We are hoping to build local landmarks of London and would love any spare recycling you have at home. Please sent children in with any junk modelling on the 10th December.   

Christmas 

Lots of you have asked about what your child will be wearing for the school Christmas performance that will take place on 15th December. 

If you have one of the parts listed below please try and find outfits for their role and let us know if you’re struggling! We can all work together. 

2 Shepherds 

• Reuben 

• Jaida  

• Niylah 

• Milo (DD) 

2 Wise Men 

• Kornel 

• Poppy 

• Vincent 

4 Sheep 

• Emmanuel 

• Rufus (CC) 

• Noah (CC) 

• Kornel 

Mary: Evie 

Noah: Orfeas 

Narrators, please learn your lines. We can hand more sheets out. 

• Lottie 

• Wiktoria 

• Mason 

• Efe 

• Faith 

• Reggie 

• Jimmy 

The rest of Curious Caterpillars will be making head pieces to dress up as a star. 

The rest of Daring Dragonflies will be making head pieces to dress up as a donkey. 

We hope that was clear, sorry for the long email. 

Thanks, 

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts 

This week Year 1 had a special visit from two police officers. The children loved learning about all of the different equipment, watching the flashing lights and especially enjoyed watching Miss Crawford and Miss Betts getting arrested!

In maths, we have been practising writing the ‘addition’ + and ‘is equal to’ = symbol in a full equation. We had lot’s of fun using our adding machine to help us add different amount within 10.

The children were so excited to start learning our new phase 5 sounds!

You may have noticed that we have not read with your child this week due to carrying out a practise phonics screening in the afternoons. It is really important that you continue to read every day at home with your child in order to practise applying the sounds they have learnt in school.

Thank you,

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts

In phonics, this is our final week on phase 3 sounds, and we are so excited to move onto learning our new phase 5 sounds. There is a video on our Year 1 page above this message showing Miss Betts and Miss Crawford going through the caption actions for each sound.

Please continue to read every day at home with your child so that they can practise applying the phase 3 sounds.

In maths, we have enjoyed trying new way to add two numbers together and write this an addition equation (EG: 5+4=9).

In English, we have learnt the ‘ed’ syffix that goes on the end of a verb to put in the past tense like ‘I jumped’ or ‘I walked’ and have loved applying this to our sentences about our book.

In the afternoons we have been practising using different sized paintbrushes in art. We had lot’s of fun experimenting with thin and thick paintbrushes and painting a rocket picture.

We had an interesting discussion about how to define a ‘hero’. From that we have learnt all about Nelson Mandela and how he fought to end apartheid in South Africa. We have also started practised for our Nativity Play for Christmas and will be sending out lines to the narrators to learn at home.

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts

Year 1 have had a great first week back to school and have launched straight into writing about their new book ‘Our Way Back Home’ by Oliver Jeffers in English.

In maths, we are continuing to work with numbers within 10. Why don’t you create a mind map with you child with all the number bonds to 10?

During the afternoon sessions, we have been learning about Black History Month. We have been discussing the importance of everyone being represented in literature, regardless of race, gender, background, or ability.

We have loved sharing how hard your children have worked since joining Year 1 in parents evening and are looking forward to a fantastic year together!

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts

 

Year 1 were introduced to poetry this week through the poem ‘By Myself’ by Eloise Greenfield. Both classes identified the different aspects of a poem and then performed it to each other with actions.

In maths the children practised comparing numbers within ten using the greater than, less than or ‘is equal to’ symbols. The greater than and less than symbols look like crocodiles ‘<’, ‘>’ so we say that the crocodile always eats the biggest number!

On the final day we had lots of fun doing different craft activities for Halloween and enjoyed playing party games together. They have worked so hard and thoroughly deserved a class treat to end a brilliant term!

Please don’t forget to read with your child over half term and make sure that all of their uniform is clearly labelled for when we return.

Have a wonderful break and see you all in November!

Miss Crawford and Miss Betts

This week Year 1 finished their big write re-telling the story of Stardust. We are so proud of how far they come in their writing in such a short amount of time!

The children recapped the short ‘oo’ and long ‘oo’’ as well as ‘ar’ and ‘or’. They especially enjoyed finding that tricky troll had ‘torn’ up every sound on our phonics wall except the ‘or, or, worn and torn’! See pictures attached.

We also enjoyed learning the different parts of the body and exploring our senses in Science as we focused on smell and taste.

We are going on a lovely walk to Victoria Park looking at deciduous and evergreen trees to end off a brilliant week and look forward to telling you all about it.

This week Year 1 have discussed how we are all unique and why it is important that we are not all the same. We explored the different people or animals that live in our own homes. We learnt that different families or households may believe in different things or different religions and that’s ok.

The children have enjoyed finding all of their number bonds to 10 and have practised writing these as an addition equation like ‘5+5=10’.

We have also practised re-telling and sequencing our familiar story, Stardust by Jeanne Willis.

In phonics we have focused on the sounds ‘ee’, ‘oa’, ‘oo’, ‘igh’, and the tricky words ‘he’ and she’.

The last few weeks we have focused on the presentation of our writing and will continue to work on this as the year goes on. We practise using ‘get reddies’ and ‘flicks’ as we prepare for joined up handwriting in Key Stage 2 and are making sure our letters sit neatly on our lines.

This week Year 1 have enjoyed finding all of their number bonds to 5 and have started practising their number bonds to 10! A number bond is two numbers that add to together to make another one like 4+6 make 10. Why not practise these at home with Jack Hartman?

In English, the children learnt that a noun is a person, place or thing and loved identifying and labelling the nouns found in our story called Stardust by Jeanne Willis.

In history, we have been discussing how photographs can be used to show us a moment in time when we are not ourselves present. We looked at our teacher’s timeline and then discussed and created our own timelines from a baby to Year 1.

We have continued revising phase 3 sounds and have focused this week on the ‘sh’, ‘th’, ‘ng’ and ‘ai’ sound found in words. Please continue to read daily with your child at home. Reading is the best gift to offer which in turn provides access to the rest of the curriculum.

Thank you,
Miss Crawford and Miss Betts