April News 

It’s hard to believe we are already in Summer Term. Thankfully the sun has started shining and we are managing to get outside a lot more.

The children have been working incredibly hard and have produced some fantastic writing based on our English text Bubbles. Their ideas and creativity have really shone through.

In Maths, we have continued developing our calculation skills. We have been adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Please keep using TTRS at home to support multiplication and division—these can be tricky concepts, but regular practice makes a big difference.

We have also been learning to add on number lines up to 20 and drawing abstract number lines to help us.

In Science, we have been exploring plants. We have planted a variety of seeds and we will be continuing to look after these so that we grow some of our own fruits and vegetables. We have labelled the different parts of a plant and we are also learning about the jobs of these plant parts.

In DT, we have been learning the difference between fruits and vegetables, where they grow, and how we can tell them apart. We have begun tasting and testing different fruits and fruit drinks as we build up to designing and making our own smoothies next week. Delicious!

Thank you for your continued support with homework and reading. The phonics screening check will take place in June, so please keep reading regularly at home.

May News 

What a crazy and busy half term we have had — it has absolutely flown by! The children have worked incredibly hard this half term and have produced some phenomenal work. They should all be extremely proud of themselves.

Last week, we finished our writing unit on Little Blue Riding Hood. The children created their own comic strips using speech bubbles, caption boxes and scream bubbles. They thoroughly enjoyed this unit of work and completely blew me away with their fantastic writing and creativity.

In Geography, we have been learning about physical and human features. We explored different examples within our local area and enjoyed a walk around Ellington to identify them. We then moved on to studying China as our non-European country, where we explored what life is like in Shanghai and compared it to our own local area.

We also had a FANTASTIC day with the Year 6 children for our ‘Bling Your Bike Day’. The children loved cleaning their bikes and scooters, riding alongside the Year 6 children, and even making their own handlebar tassels. At the end of the morning, we checked tyres and handlebars to make sure the bikes and scooters were safe, pumping up tyres and adjusting handlebars where needed. Thank you to all Year 1 parents for enabling ALL children to bring in a bike or scooter and helping to make the day such a success.

After half term, we will begin our final term in Year 1 and the children will be taking part in their National Phonics Screening Check. Please continue to read with your child as often as possible at home. Some games you could play whilst reading include:

· How many red words can you read in one minute?

· How quickly can you read the speedy green words?

· Who can use the best storytelling voice when reading the story? 

June News 

We have had another busy couple of weeks in Year 1. Last Friday, we had an amazing day taking part in our whole-school Sports Day. This was the first year that the children participated as part of the whole school, and they did exceptionally well. Every child should be very proud of themselves, as they took part in every event with fantastic perseverance and determination. 

In English, we have been studying The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch and have created some excellent acrostic poems. I was incredibly proud of all the children as they stood up and confidently performed their poems in front of the class. 

In Maths, we have been making groups of objects to help us understand multiplication and division. I am so impressed that many of the Year 1 children already know their 2, 5 and 10 times tables and are currently working towards achieving their Bronze Award. 

We have also continued our work on telling the time. We have been exploring both analogue and digital clocks and learning to recognise o'clock and half past. 
This is a tricky skill, so please continue to practise telling the time at home whenever you have the opportunity. 
During May, the children also completed their Phonics Screening Check, and they all did wonderfully. Their reading has progressed so much this year, and they are 
all becoming increasingly confident and fluent readers.

As we head towards the end of Year 1, we have lots of exciting events to look forward to. There is still so much happening over the coming weeks, including the 
school fair, Moving Up Day, non-uniform days and many other exciting activities.

We are looking forward to making the most of our final few weeks together and creating lots more wonderful memories.