Weekly update 29th September 2014

Information

CAFOD Family Fast Day

Envelopes were distributed this week to children. Donations could include the money that each family would have spent on one meal. This is a worthwhile cause and we have received many thank you letters from CAFOD for our generous donations over a number of years.

http://www.cafod.org.uk/fastday

Homework

Homework was sent out last week on Thursday, and we hope that all the children will be able to complete it. Could we remind you that it should be completed in HB pencil and any lines are drawn with a ruler. Numeracy work should be completed online, using the My Maths website. Login details were sent home in your child’s homework bag. We would like parents to sign their child’s homework too every week, so we know you have seen the work your children is expected to complete. If you child experiences any difficulties with homework, please feel free to make a comment in their homework book or their diary.

Homework should be returned to school every Monday in the homework bag.

Maths

This week in Maths we will be starting the topic of counting on from a given number leading to addition.

Year 1 children will say the number that is 1 more than a given number and count on 1, 2, 3 or 4 from a given number.

Year 2 children will add by counting on in 1s from the larger number, crossing a multiple of 10; add three numbers by putting the largest number first.

Some websites to help:-

 

http://www.ictgames.com/bridging.html

 

http://www.counton.org/games/map-numbers/splash/

 

http://www.taw.org.uk/lic/itp/itps/counting_on_and_back_1_1.swf

 

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/mw/swfs/rockhopper_grade2.html

 

http://www.ictgames.com/flight_for_fuel.html

 

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/rocketmaths.swf

 

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/activities/PYRAMID3.swf 

English

This week we will be reading the story Whatever Next by J Murphy. The story will take the children on a magical journey to the moon. We will be planning and writing our own stories using a story frame and we will be encouraging the children to use their imaginations and use adjectives to describe where they go and what they see in their rockets. The lessons this week are cross curricular, tying in with our topic Journeys, where they will be making their own rockets.

The punctuation focus this week is question marks and exclamation marks. We will be writing sentences and choosing the correct punctuation. Can your child find any question marks or exclamation marks in their reading books?

The following website has lots of great punctuation games for you to try at home.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/

 

 

 

Topic

IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO PLEASE CAN YOU SEND YOUR CHILD INTO SCHOOL WITH AN EMPTY SHOE BOX THAT CAN BE USED THIS WEEK (MONDAY AND TUESDAY).

IF YOU HAVE ANY EMPTY TOILET ROLLS (for the rocket boosters!), UNWANTED WRAPPING PAPER, TIN FOIL ETC. THAT CAN BE USED PLEASE CAN YOU SEND THESE IN TOO.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and we have BLAST OFF!!!!!

To start the Topic lessons this week the children will be asked to compose a sentence about space that includes an adjective and a connective.  This links in with recent grammar lessons where we are learning what adjectives and connectives are and how we can use them to make our sentences more interesting.  For example:

The excited astronaut wanted to bounce on the moon after the pilot had landed the rocket safely.

 

In discussion we look at different nations’ spaceships and what they have in common.

Interesting fact – did you know that spaceships are white because they are exposed to high temperature extremes. White is a highly reflective colour and helps reflect some of that heat. White is also highly visible in the black of space and allows others to easily see the spacecraft.

In their pairs/small groups the children will create their own space rocket based on their design from last weeks lesson. They will have access to the schools resources and any other resources they bring from home such as empty toilet rolls, bubble wrap etc.

 

Come and See

 Families

We will be completing the Families topic this week. The children will be continuing to recognise the stories and psalms which reveal God’s love and care.

We will be looking at these pictures and asking the following questions.

·         Who is in the picture?

·         What time of day is it?  

·         What they are doing?

·         What is Mummy saying?

·         What is the little boy saying?

·         Think about the kind of prayers we might say at bedtime. What are your ideas?

 

The children will be making up their own night time prayer.

 

 

Thank you for your continued support- and have a great week!

The Key Stage 1 team.

Weekly Update 22nd September 2014

Information

We welcome Mrs Malone and Mrs Pinto-Edwards back this week after a fantastic week away with the Year 6 children at the Conway Centre. An  enjoyable time was had by all.

Photographer-the school photographer will be in on Wednesday 24^th September so please remind your children to stay extra clean and tidy until it is their turn in the Hall.

Harvest Festival- we will be having our annual Harvest Festival in the Hall on Friday so any donations of food (tinned preferably) will be gratefully received.

Maths

This week in Maths we will be starting the topic of place value. This is a very important topic in Maths as it is the basis of many areas including ordering, addition and subtraction of bigger numbers.

Year 1 children will recognise the value of each digit in a 'teens' number and say which is more or less of two numbers.

Year 2 children will partition 2-digit numbers into T and U; order numbers up to at least 100 and position them on a 100-square.

Some websites to help:-

http://www.funbrain.com/tens/index.html

 

http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/media/games/numbersense/

 

http://www.ictgames.com/dinoplacevalue.html

 

http://www.ictgames.com/arrowcards.html

 

http://www.ictgames.com/rabbit2.html

 

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/numorder.swf

 

http://www.channel4learning.net/sites/puzzlemaths/pinpoint_game.shtml

 

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/activities/ntrack.swf

 

English

This week we will be reading the fantastic ‘Mr Gumpy’s Outing’ by John Burningham. We will be reading about his journey and making puppets to retell the story. The children will be writing about an outing that they have had recently and encouraged to use connectives such as: and, but, so or because. Connectives will be our grammar and punctuation focus this week. Towards the end of the week the children will be writing an extension to the story ‘Mr Gumpy’s Outing’ Which will be marked before the final lesson to give the children a chance to improve their writing using their personalised targets.

Please ask your children what outings they remember going on. How did they get there? Did anything funny or exciting happen there?

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/joining_words/play/

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/literacy/index.htm

 

Topic

In our Topic lessons this week we continue looking at Journey’s.

Initially the children will be thinking of adjectives to describe space and we will ask them to give a reason for their description.  For example:

Space is mysterious because it is dark.

Some children may be able to extend this using a connective such as ‘and’.

The lessons will cover the Race to Space between the Americans and Russians and the children watch a rocket launch from the following link:

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/videos/space/shuttlelaunch.html

We will look at the design features of rockets (for example – the pointed nose and the fins) and what these features are used for.

In groups the children will design their own space rocket and decide what materials they would like to use to make it.

Next week the children will have lots of fun actually making their rocket!

PLEASE CAN YOU SEND YOUR CHILDREN INTO SCHOOL WITH AN EMPTY SHOE BOX THAT CAN BE USED IN NEXT WEEKS LESSON (IT IS UNLIKELY THE SHOE BOX WILL BE RETURNED!).

 

Come and See

 Families

We have started the Reveal part of the topic. The children will be continuing to recognise the stories and psalms which reveal God’s love and care.

The children will be looking at this psalm in detail:

I feel safe, so very safe, when I think of you my God.

Snuggled up in bed, even when it’s dark outside I feel safe.

Your love for me is strong.

You care for me like a mother bird cares for her baby chicks.

I know you are always there for me.

You always listen to me.

You comfort me when I am sad you help me to be strong when things are very hard.

Based on Psalm 63:6-9

(God’s Story 2)

We will be using drama to develop the psalm, taking it line by line.

The children will be making large brick shaped cards that can be put together to make a house shape. On each brick the children will be writing all the things that a family needs to show love and care.

 

Thank you for your continued support- and have a great week!

The Key Stage 1 team.

Weekly update 15th September

Information

 

 Many thanks to all of you who attended our Induction meeting on Wednesday evening. We hope you found it useful and we are looking forward to working with you in partnership throughout this year.

Mrs Malone and Mrs Pinto-Edwards

 

This week, Mrs Malone and Mrs Pinto-Edwards will be accompanying the Y6 children to Conway and we are sure they will have a great time. Mr Hughes, who works in Key Stage 2, will be working in Mrs Malone's class this week, alongside the rest of the team. Mrs Sheerin will in class as normal on Monday and Tuesday with a supply teacher covering the remainder of the week.

English

 

We continue our topic of Journeys with a story called ‘Mr Gumpy’s Outing’. One day Mr Gumpy decides to take a trip along the river in his boat. But the children, the rabbit, the cat, the pig and lots more friends decide to join him. Everyone's having a lovely time until the animals start kicking, bleating, hopping and flapping and the boat starts to rock. What will happen...?

 Maths

 

This week in Maths the children will be learning about 2D shape and symmetry.

Year 1 children will begin to use the names of common 2D shapes and describe their features.

Year2 children will do all of the above but also sort 2D shapes according to their properties. They will also begin to recognise line symmetry and make symmetrical patterns.

 

http://baileytraining.co.uk/resources/ma_num/swf/shapeGate001.html

 

http://www.priorywoods.middlesbrough.sch.uk/forkids/findout/shape/shapes.htm

 

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/maths/greg_morgan_symmetry/index.htm

Topic

 

In our Topic lessons this week we continue working on Journey’s.

After reading The Owl and The Astronaut poem (http://fizzytingle.deviantart.com/art/The-owl-and-the-astronaut-34368562) our focus will be on journeys into space and we will primarily be looking at what it is like to be an astronaut.  What is in space and what it may feel like to be in space.  The children will be asked to come up with a range of adjectives to describe what it may look like, feel like and smell like.

We will explore why we want to travel into space and where people have sent rockets and probes to in space.

Using the poem and whole class discussion the children will then be tasked to describe their thoughts as they travel through space – what do they think of…dream of…look forward to…. and worry about.

PLEASE NOTE: this lesson precedes an exciting challenge for the children.

Week commencing 22^nd September the children will work in small groups in designing and making their own spaceship.  PLEASE CAN YOU SEND YOUR CHILDREN INTO SCHOOL WITH AN EMPTY SHOE BOX THAT CAN BE USED (IT IS UNLIKELY THE SHOE BOX WILL BE RETURNED!).

Come and See

 Families

We will be starting the Reveal part of the topic. The children will be recognising the stories and psalms which reveal God’s love and care. Some children will be able to retell some of the psalms and something about Jesus’ childhood.

The learning focus will be: My family loves me and God loves all of us.

Key questions

·         How do members of your family show love and care to each other?

·         How do you show love and care?

·         Who loves and cares for everyone?

Activities you can do at home

·         Discuss situations that at home that shows family members loving and caring for each other o e.g. someone falling over, taking them swimming.

·         Draw/paint a picture of your family showing love and care.

Have a great week!!
The Keystage One team

Week beginning 8th September 2014

Information

This week we will be commencing our curriculum with a range of new topics – more information below.

The children will be starting PE this week and will need to have a PE kit in school.

 The Year 1/2 induction meeting is on Wednesday 10^th September at 3:15pm in Mrs Pinto-Edwards room. We look forward to meeting you then. A crèche will be available for the children.

A number of children have been complaining about insect bites to arms, legs and faces. If possible, could you spray your child with insect repellent before school each day. This will hopefully stop them being bitten and the irritating itching which follows. Thank you.

 

English

We begin our topic of Journeys with a lovey story called ‘My Granny went to Market.’ The children will fly away with Granny as she takes a magic carpet ride around the world, collecting a steadily increasing number of souvenirs from each exotic location! This rhyming story will take young readers on an adventurous journey to different countries while teaching them to count along the way.

Maths

This week, we will be assessing the children’s knowledge of number – can they match the correct number of objects to the digit? Do they know the number names? Are they able to form the number correctly? Can they count in 1’s, 2’s, 5’s and 10’s? Can they order numbers correctly, both forwards and backwards?

A good way of practising ordering numbers (and a good way for children to check for themselves if they have got it right!) is to completed traditional ‘dot-to-dot’ puzzles. Tesco or Asda have lots of books of these ready-made for you!

Perhaps when you are putting the shopping away this weekend, you could ask your child to group things together – If I have 6 tins, how many more will I need to make 8? 10? Also, why not get your child to pair up all the socks for the family? This is a really good way of encouraging them to count in twos.


Topic

The first topic of this year is ‘JOURNEYS’. We will begin by asking the children can they recognise what a journey is and to talk about any journeys that they have made including how they travel to school. This will result in making a block graph to show which mode of transport is the most popular.

Come and See

The first topic this year is about “Families”

The key questions we will be exploring this week are:

·                 Who might be in a family?

·                        How are all families different?

·                 What might each person do?

·                 How do they show love and care for each other?

·                 What things do they do together?

Activities you can do at home

·                 Make a family album.

·                 Play ‘happy families’ card game.

·                Make your own family finger puppets, use them for a puppet show.

·     

We have also asked the children to bring in a photograph of their family to be used as part of a classroom display. Please write your child’s name on the back so the photo can be returned safely.


Web links

http://www.wmnet.org.uk/wmnet/custom/files_uploaded/uploaded_resources/850/calcbalancev3.swf

Click on the number names in the middle of the scale to match the number name to the digit. This will be a really useful site to bookmark, as we will be using it regularly throughout the year.

http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/ngfl-flash/numbers_eng/numbers_e.html
This site is useful for practicing the formation of each of the numbers. The first slide is VERY fast, so click on the green arrow on the bottom right-hand side to practice the numbers individually.

http://www.numbernut.com/basic/activities/number_mem20_1-10words.shtml
 Play a memory game and match the number names to the digits at the same time!

http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/n2a/playground.htm
 Click on the ‘continue’ button to start the activity. This activity looks at the number names up to 100, so give it a go if you fancy a challenge!

http://www.primaryonline.co.uk/sitetour/pol/blastoff1.html
A lovely game in which you have to launch 5 spaceships! Remember that the number name won’t always match a spaceship, so you have to click on ‘next’ until you get a match. This game is most suitable for Year 1, as it covers numbers up to 20.

http://www.ictgames.com/postletter.html
Fancy a challenge? Listen to the number and post the letter in the correct letterbox.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/hfwords/index.shtml

A great site, where you have to match the shape of the HFW to its spelling

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/cvc/index.shtml
Choose any of these activities to help with CVC words (cat, hat, mat etc)

http://www.ictgames.com/dinosaurwordsrepeat.html
You need to turn the volume up for this one! Click on the dinosaur egg to hear the word and then click on the written word that matches it.

http://www.ictgames.com/lcwc.html
You can either choose from the lists of prepared words, or you can type in the words that your child is working on. You need to click on start to begin ‘look, say, cover, write, check’.

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=stickyl
Drag and drop the letters on the green letter rack at the top of the page and then click on the ‘Send’ button to send it to the word bank.

http://www.ictgames.com/wordreader.html
Listen to the word and then click on the matching flower

http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/airport_xray.html
 This may bring back memories of your holidays (doesn’t it seem a long time ago?!) Scan the suitcase to find the high frequency words


We hope you all have a great week!
The Key Stage 1 team.

Wednesday 3rd September.

Welcome!

The children start back on Wednesday 3rd September at 8.45am. They need to line up on the infant playground, and will be met by a member of staff.  We ask that you allow your child to come into school on their own as the he infant area does get very congested and children become more independent much quicker when they are responsible for organising their belongings.

The children should be collected from the infant playground/patio area at 3pm. We are very good at putting names to faces by the end of week, but please do make yourself known to us!  If there is anything that you need to let us know about, then please do let any member of the team know.

What does my child need to bring?

• their book bag
• packed lunch if they are having one
• water bottle - preferably filled with water rather than fruit juice
• snack - again this needs to be labelled
• PE kit- before Monday 8th
• the children may buy toast and juice at playtime so please could any money be in an envelope/purse rather than loose change as it is easier for the children to look after.
• they also need to bring their diary and reading book EVERY day - this will come home with them on the first day

The first two weeks back to school in September are called the Induction Period. This is an invaluable time for both children and staff, as we become familiar with routines and children’s different learning styles. Both this blog and your child’s home-school link book will be valuable sources of communication throughout the year. Please do comment in the diaries when you have listened to your child read, or if you have any information to pass onto us. There are useful prompts at the top of each page to help you with the type of things to discuss.

THERE IS AN INDUCTION MEETING  FOR PARENTS NEXT WEDNESDAY 10th SEPTEMBER at 3.15pm in Mrs Pinto-Edwards's room. Creche facilities will be available for the children. We look forward to seeing you and telling you about life in Key stage One!! It's a great opportunity for our Year 1 parents especially, to meet the staff.

 

Our first Come and See topic of the year is FAMILIES. Please could your child bring a photo of their family into school to form part of a class display. Please could you write your child's name on the back so that the photos can be safely returned. Thank you.

Many thanks and if you have any questions, do please call in to see any member of the team.
Year 1/2 team x