Science Week
16.3.20
It is going to be a very exciting week in school this week as the whole school is focusing on Science. Every day the class will be taking part in a variety of science experiments.
In maths we will be exploring maths problems, choosing the correct skills to solve a maths problem.
In literacy we will be introducing 'ea', 'oi', 'aw' and 'ur'. We will also be developing our handwriting and revisiting all of the long ladder letters and curly caterpillar letters.
School is currently running as normal during the day for the children. Understandably, we are having to postpone parents' evenings this week. This is the correct precaution at this time, it is better to be a little proactive before an event than to be very reactive after an event - when it is too late. There are a number of parents I would like to talk to, I will be giving you a ring this week. If you do not hear from me then it is because your child is:
Making expected progress (or better) in both literacy and maths and I am very happy with where they are at.
They enjoy school and are very well behaved at all times.
They read regularly at home and this is evident in the progress they are making.
They enjoy and get involved in all areas of learning, including, Expressive Art and Design, PE and Understanding the World.
Please keep up the DAILY reading.
Remember that the handwriting is cursive.
Keep an eye on this page if the school has to close - for ideas and activities to do at home.
Animal homes continued...
9.3.20
The children have really enjoyed talking about animals and their homes, and so we will continue with the theme this week.
In literacy we will be revising the formation of all the letter families and developing our name writing - perfect every time!!
In maths we will be introducing the concept of counting in 2s and 5s.
Forest school will be on Wednesday (hopefully a little drier than last week) and on Friday we will be having an extra long dance session.
Animal Homes
2.3.20
This week we will be learning about where animals live. We will find out about where animals native to this country live as well as animals in other countries. We will begin to use the scientific term ‘habitat’ to describe these places.
In literacy we will be writing about some of the fantastic events from last week and finishing our handwriting on 'Zig Zag Monsters'. We will also be celebrating World Book Day. We will be reading an extra story or 2 each day, taking part in some special reading activities, dressing up on Thursday and writing about our favourite books. This is always a highlight of the year and this year will be no different!
In Maths we will continue with our number bonds to 10 work and Mrs Dodd will be covering some aspects of Shape, Space and Measure.
If the weather has improved, we will visit Forest School this week and as an extra activity we will be helping to plant a new meadow at the end of the field.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate class 1 on their behaviour last week. We had a variety of victors in school that spoke in Collective Worship for over 30 minutes, and EVERY child sat politely and respectfully and even had questions for them. They were super stars!
Please do not forget that this week is parents evenings, I look forward to chatting to you about your wonderful children.
Modern Britain Week
24.2.20
This week we will be enjoying a whole school project on Modern Britain. We will be exploring the diverse population of our wonderful country, by meeting a variety of people from a variety of beliefs and backgrounds, both in real life and on videos. Please keep up-to-date with all that is going on through the projects page.
We will be looking at what our British Values are, what they mean to us and how they can help us be the best that we can be.
In Literacy we will be talking and writing about our half term holiday, finding out about and writing about our visitors and introducing the next handwriting family, the 'Zig Zag Monsters' (v, w, x and z).
In Numeracy we will be exploring number bonds to 10. These are 2 numbers that when added together make the total 10 e.g. 5+5, 2+8 or 6+4. We will be using the tens frame and the part whole model to complete practical games (for info on this see below).
If you fancy a giggle at one of the videos that we will be watching then have a look at...
I am also very excited to tell you that we have booked a dance teacher from 'Dance in Motion' to take 6 sessions this half term. She will be teaching the class a variety of dance skills that will culminate in a mini performance for you to watch - watch this space!
Home from around the World continued and Safer Internet Day
10.2.20
The children have, once again, enjoyed learning about other cultures and places from around the world and so this week we will continue with this theme. The children will be able to create their own version of a house - both big and small. We will also be exploring the story behind Valentines day and writing/ creating our own cards.
Tuesday is ‘Safer Internet Day’ and we will spend some time learning about keeping safe on line. 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 your 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.
Our phonics this week will be revising all of the sounds taught so far, with a particular focus on 'ff', 'll' and 'ss'. Our handwriting will be finishing the One Armed Robot letters (b, m, p and K).
In maths we will be finishing off our work on combining 2 groups to find out how many we have altogether. We will be using the 'part-whole model' and 'tens frame' to help us (if you are unsure as to what they are - please click on the links).
Our Cricket sessions will be finishing on Wednesday. Em (the coach) has been wonderful and the children have really enjoyed this activity.
Next week is half term and I hope you all have a lovely break. If you do get a spare moment or two, please make sure you read with your child every day - it does make a difference. Do not forget a good bedtime story each night and most important of all... lots of huge cuddles.
Homes Around the World
3.2.20
Last week the children really enjoyed finding out about the Chinese New Year, and had many questions about their culture. Therefore, this week will continue to find out about other cultures from around the world and we will be looking at some of their traditional homes.
The children particularly enjoyed the CBeebies clips about the Chinese New Year. If you would like to re-watch them at home here they are... The Chinese New Year.
In maths we will be using quantities and objects, we will add and subtract 2 single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer.
In literacy the aim will be to understand the importance of 'spaces' when writing simple sentences. The handwriting focus will be the 'One Armed Robot' family (r, n, h, b, m, p & k), this week we will be developing r, n and h. Our phonics focus will centre around revising set 2 sounds and reading words with set 2 sounds in them (Set 2).
Last week was a very busy week and if you have not already seen the photo page update, then please take a look at the photos from the PE festival. The children were once again a pleasure to take out. They were very well behaved and engaged with every activity with 100% enthusiasm. Thank you class 1 and well done!
Hanley Swan Reading Challenge
I am very excited to announce that we will now be participating in the school READING CHALLENGE. We are at a point in the year when regular reading is a priority. All of the children are reading well and with regular reading at home it will make a huge difference to your child’s progress in all areas of learning. All you have to is listen to your child read every day and sign the Home-liaison book (as most of you already do). We will then monitor the amount at school and the children will receive their certificate in our special school celebration Collective Worship.
Bronze – read 10 books
Silver – read 25 books.
Gold – read 50 books (badge)
Platinum – read 100 books (trophy)
26.1.20
Happy Chinese New Year
This week will be a mixed bag of themes. We will start the week learning about the Chinese New Year, take part in a PE Festival mid week and finish the week looking at the story of Three Little Pigs!
When we get to the Three Little Pigs we will be investigating the materials and testing them as part of a science experiment. We will be building with a variety of materials and looking at why some materials are used for building and not others.
On Tuesday it is the PE festival at Hanley High School. The weather looks cold so please put a pair of tracksuit bottoms and an appropriate warm sports top into their PE bag and bring it to the Festival for them to change into after the event. For more information please refer to the letter.
In maths we will be comparing numbers to 10. We will be helping the children understand that when making comparisons a set can have more items, fewer items or the same number of items as another set.
In literacy we will be developing the writing of the Curly Caterpillar Letters (e, s & f) and also playing a variety of blending games. Our phonics this week will be a focus on 'ow', 'oo', 'ar' and 'or'.
20.1.20
Mi casa es su casa!
This week we are continuing with our houses and homes topic. We will be looking at how houses and homes differ around the world. We will be doing a mini Geography field trip on Tuesday into the village and also exploring a traditional Mexican house story.
In maths we will be looking at the numbers 9 and 10 in detail. We will represent these numbers in a variety of ways and using a variety of equipment. We will be counting forwards and backwards and finding out different ways of making these two numbers.
In literacy we will continue with our reading and writing. We will be focusing back in on our handwriting of curly caterpillar letters (c, a, d, g, q, o, e, s, & f). This week will be c, a, d, g & o. and daily phonics will be ‘ou’, ‘oy’ and revisiting ‘ay’ ‘ee’ and ‘igh’. Copies of the sounds will be in the book bags on Friday.
Bikeability was wonderful last week. Every child did really well and made great progress in ability and control and by the end of day 3 they could all balance and ride a balance bike. Please make sure that you remove the stabilizers off their bike, put the seat to the correct height and get them cycling!
14.1.19
Our House
This week 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'.
We will be exploring the story of Hansel and Gretel and paying particular attention to the Gingerbread House.
In literacy we will continue with our reading and writing. We will be focusing back in on our handwriting (the long ladder letters) and daily phonics will be ‘oo’, ‘ar’, or’ ‘air’ and ‘ir’. Last week we revisited ‘ay’, ‘ee’, ‘igh’ and ‘ow’. Copies of the sounds were in the book bags on Friday.
In numeracy we will be learning about number bonds for 5 and looking closely at numbers 6, 7 and 8.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we will be taking part in Balance Bikeability. This is going to be a fabulous opportunity for the children and will help them develop many skills. Thank you all for signing up.
This half term we will be having PE on a Wednesday afternoon and a Thursday morning. These will be 2 very special sessions. The Wednesday session is a Cricket focus with Em from Worcestershire Cricket Club and the Thursday session is led by Mr Matthews, our PE specialist from the Hanley and Upton Educational Trust.
Please remember to keep reading every day. It has a huge positive impact on their learning and academic progress. Do not forget to make a note of it in the Home Liaison books so as to keep us up to date at school. Many thanks.
6.1.20
HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome back!!
I hope 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 whole host of New Year activities. We will be finding out about their Christmas holiday and then getting the children to write, draw and paint their favourite bits.
We will be learning about New Year's resolutions and creating our own.
Read, Write, Inc will start again this week and some of the children will be in different groups.
In maths we will be counting toys to 20 and beyond.
