Year 1 News - September 2025

We’ve had a wonderfully busy first 13 days settling into Year 1. The children have adapted brilliantly to their new class routines and whole-class teaching lessons. I’d like to take this opportunity to recognise what a big step the move from EYFS to Year 1 can be as it’s one of the biggest transitions your child will experience in their school journey. They are all doing so well and I am proud with how they have all taken it in their stride.

In Maths, we’ve been completing baseline activities to identify and address any gaps in learning. The children have also enjoyed our new Winning with Numbers sessions, practising counting forwards and backwards, finding one more and one less, and making groups.

 In English, we’re focusing on correct letter formation. This is a vital skill that underpins fluent writing. The formation taught in Year 1 will support your child’s ability to join their handwriting in the summer term and beyond. Please continue to reinforce correct letter formation at home to help make this skill second nature.

 We have also started in our new phonics groups. Your child will have received two reading books today to practise at home.

The smaller, coloured book is the book your child has been reading in school over the past week.

The larger “Book Bag” book reinforces the sounds and words your child has learned during the week but presents them in a new story.

Please prioritise the larger “Book Bag” book when reading at home, as it is designed to consolidate and extend their weekly learning.

 As well as all this we have also started our science topic: The Human Body, DT; Windmills, PSHE: Family and Relationships, Geography: What is it like in Ellington as well as having 4 sessions of PE.                                      

Mrs Horsley

Year 1 News - October 2025

We’ve had such a busy and exciting month in Year 1, and the children have been working so hard. Here’s a little look at what we’ve been getting up to in class lately!

In English, we’ve been having lots of fun with performance poetry. We looked at poems by Michael Rosen, and the children thought they were hilarious as the ones we looked at don’t really make sense! We also had a great time performing We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, adding actions and expression to make it extra special.

We have now started our unit on Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. We’ve been learning how to write setting descriptions, using adjectives to make our writing more exciting, and remembering our capital letters and full stops too.

In maths, we’ve been learning about grouping and sharing objects. The children have been using their teamwork skills to work things out together. We have found it trickier moving from using real objects to drawing our ideas, but everyone has tried really hard and we will continue to understand this concept throughout the year.

We have now moved on to halves and fractions, learning how to find half of shapes and amounts. The children have been doing a great job with this new challenge!

We’ve finished our topic, “What is it like here?” and the children have really enjoyed learning more about Ellington and our school. They have drawn simple maps, used symbols to show different features, and even designed their own playgrounds. Some of the designs were brilliant and showed their creative ideas!

Our science topic this month has been The Five Senses, and the children have loved exploring with hands-on activities. We’ve done a taste test, a smell walk, a hearing walk, and some touch and sight investigations. It’s been so much fun seeing them think like real scientists and make discoveries for themselves.

In PE, we’ve finished our zoo dance unit, and the children have been amazing! They moved like different zoo animals, worked with a partner, and learned to move to different types of music. Everyone showed great energy and imagination. All the children have managed to perform their routines in front of the class showing great confidence.

It’s been a brilliant month in Year 1! The children have worked so hard, and we’re really proud of everything they’ve achieved. Thank you for all your support at home with reading and homework.

Year 1 News - November 2025

What a brilliant start to the half term we have had in Year 1! It has been a very busy week, and we have begun lots of new units across our subjects.

We loved celebrating Children in Need Day last Friday, and the talent this year was amazing. Children from all year groups got up to perform—singing, telling jokes, dancing and much more. We also learned about why we celebrate these events and why donations are so important.

In English, we have been writing instructions, making sure to include capital letters, full stops, finger spaces and imperative verbs. We wrote our instructions for Reception and Mrs Milne so that they could make some autumnal leaf men.

In Maths, we have been looking at 2D and 3D shapes, exploring what they are and how they differ from each other. We have been trying to use mathematical language to describe the shapes. We then went out into the playground to spot 2D shapes, and afterwards took a walk around Ellington to find examples of 3D shapes.

In History, we are learning all about our past. We have discovered that we can place events on timelines and that these must be in chronological order. We have also looked at what a memory is and how important memories can be placed in order to help us understand our own history.

In Science, we have been carrying out lots of fun investigations about materials. This week, we explored melting and freezing and learned how to turn solids into liquids and liquids into solids. We especially loved trying to free the penguins from the ice in different ways!

We have also started to practise this year’s Nativity, Honky Tonky Donkey. On Monday, we will send home letters explaining what your child will need to bring in for their part in the performance. The children each chose what they wanted to be, and it surprised both myself and Miss Nicholson that no one wanted to be Mary or Joseph!

Thank you for your continued support as always, it really helps the children when they have the support from home and school.