Spring Term 2024

Mi Casa es su Casa!

Welcome back and a happy New Year to you all.

A New Year means a new term and of course new topics. This term we will be looking at houses and homes. We will also be including some mini topics such as winter, animals, religious festivals and other themes that the children would like to learn more about.

Within the topic ‘houses and homes’ we will be talking about our homes, different types of homes, and famous homes e.g. The 3 Little Pigs and the unusual house in Hansel and Gretel. We will be looking at several religious celebrations including the Chinese New Year and Easter. There will also be a mini geography field trip in and around Hanley Swan and, hopefully, a trip to Worcester. Mixed in with this will be the mini topics and topics chosen by the children. Keep an eye on the 'What are we doing this week' page, to keep up-to-date with what is happening in class 1.

In Literacy, we will continue to use our sound knowledge to read and write words. We will be developing our cursive handwriting and attempting to write simple sentences. Alongside these, we will continue to learn the High Frequency Words. Please continue to read regularly with your child – it is already noticeable the difference between those who read very regularly and those who do not.

In Numeracy, we will be developing our number skills by looking at and counting numbers to 10 and beyond. We will also be writing numerals 0 – 10, working on addition and subtraction, exploring 3D shapes and re-creating patterns. 

The PSHE focus is ' dreams and goals'. We will be exploring aspirations, how to achieve goals and unpicking the emotions that go with this.

Forest School will continue this term. It would be helpful if your child could bring a set of warm old clothes (named) in a plastic bag. The clothes can stay in school for the half term, and it means they have something warm to wear on the colder days.

Things to bring to school

Set of warm old clothes (in a plastic bag) for Forest School - stays in school.

PE Kit – Stays in school and sent home to wash if dirty or at the end of each half term.

Wellington boots– Stay in school.

Water bottle - returned each day with water in.

Packed Lunch or Lunch ordered through Black Pepper

Coat, hat and gloves (all named)

In Bookbag – every day:
Reading Folder & Home school liaison book.

If you have any queries about school, please do not hesitate to pop in and ask.

11.3.24 / 18.3.24

I hope that you have had a fabulous Mother's Day and enjoyed looking at the wonderful writing in the Mother's Day card.

Over the next two weeks, we will be exploring a mix of science and Easter. Next week is British Science Week, and as part of the celebration will be joining other classes and completing some fun and interesting experiments based on time. The science theme will continue into the final week when we will be discussing habitats and animal homes.

Alongside science, we will be exploring the story behind Easter. We will be talking about its importance to Christians and looking at some of the symbols behind this special celebration.

I will send home 2 sets of books to read over the Easter break. Please feel free to read any other books of their choice. We will have a show-and-tell news session on their return, it would be great if they could keep a simple diary of some of the things that they do over the holiday. It only has to be a picture and a sentence, please remind them that they need a capital letter at the start, cursive writing, spaces and a full stop at the end.

The children have worked hard this term and I am really pleased with the progress that each of them has made. Well done class1!

I hope that you all have a wonderful Easter break and the children have a well-deserved rest.

4.3.24

The Three Little Pigs & How to Hide a Lion

This week, we will be finishing off the Three Little Pigs and enjoying the story of How to Hide a Lion. We will be baking buiscuits, taking part in a live story telling session on World Book Day and enjoying a live science session on Friday. A very busy week!

Do not forget to dress up on Thursday for World Book Day, and it is the Spring Disco on Friday. If that was not enough, it is also parents' evenings this week; I very much look forward to chatting with you.

26.2.24

The Three Little Pigs

This week, we will be exploring the story of The Three Little Pigs and enjoying a selection of 3 Little Pigs activities. This will include being 'real scientists' and looking more closely at the building materials -  can we really blow down a house of straw?

Thank you all for attending the open classrooms last week. It was a privilege to see the children so confident in the classroom. I am so proud of how far they have all come, I hope you are too.

19.2.24

Welcome back and I hope that you had a great half-term. 

This week we will be enjoying the book 'Home' by Carson Ellis. We will be exploring a variety of different houses and designing our own homes. 

Do not forget to pop in to see the class on Thursday and, if you are interested, we also have a book fair in the school hall.

We will also be starting a set of rugby sessions this week. These sessions are led by Jack from Petelo Rugby All Stars - Children's & School Rugby Coaching, Holiday Camps & Clubs (petelorugbyallstars.co.uk)

5.2.24

Happy Chinese New Year!

This week, we will explore the Chinese culture and learn about the Chinese New Year. We will be finding China on maps, investigating similarities and differences between China and the UK and looking at their New Year celebration. There will be lantern-making, dragon dancing, chopstick challenges and many more fun learning opportunities.

Tuesday is ‘Safer Internet Day’ and we will spend some time learning about keeping safe online. This is becoming increasingly important year on year. As parents we would not let our children go out on the roads without our guidance, so please do not let your children play online without guidance.

My biggest top tip - Keep technology out of the bedroom and in communal areas of the house. Using technology in the bedroom is when children are at their most vulnerable. Start good routines now and it will make it a lot easier in years to come.

30.1.24

Mi Casa Es Su Casa Continued...

We had so much fun creating our own houses last week, that we did not get on to houses from around the world. This week we will be looking at a variety of houses and homes from around the world, including a traditional Mexican story!

Mrs Lavelle and I have recently had training to teach 'Balance Bike' skills. Over the coming weeks, as the weather warms up, we will be taking the class (in small groups) onto the playground for some balance bike fun. We have 6 new balance bikes and 6 new helmets. This is a very exciting opportunity to develop cycling skills for their future bike riding. If you have any questions about this new addition to our learning opportunities, please come and ask.

22.1.24

Mi Casa Es Su Casa

This week, we are continuing with our houses and homes topic. We will be looking at a variety of traditional houses from around the world and comparing them to our homes. We will be reading a traditional Mexican book all about a house in Mexico and hopefully... learning a little Spanish!

15.1.24

Our house!

This week, we will be exploring what makes a house a house. The children will get to create pictures of their house, talk about their house and we will even try and find their house on 'Google Earth'. It will be very exciting!

PE this half term will be on a Wednesday and a Friday. On a Friday, we have Miss Gemma from Dance in Motion leading the lesson, and each week the session will be based on a different dance type. Last week we did musical theatre (The Lion King) and this week will be Stree Dance. I am recording the dances and you will be able to watch them later this term!

I have added photos from our visit to Hanley High School to the photos page. It was a lovely morning, please take a look.

9.1.24

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome back!!

I hope that you all had a great holiday and enjoyed any time you had with your children.

We will be jumping straight back into school life this week with a host of New Year activities. We will be finding out about their Christmas holiday, and using this as a stimulus for writing, drawing and painting.

We will be learning about New Year's resolutions and creating our own.