Author: Mr McGriffiths

This week we are looking at democracy and making democratic decisions. We discussed the importance of democratic decisions and everybody having a say. We understood that some people might be disappointed in the result of the vote but it is the fairest way to decide. We talked about how important a secret ballot is so that everyone has the freedom to decide themselves.

We learnt a little about how adults use their vote to decide who runs the country. Our JLT in school is also decided by a vote and we discussed why this was fair system for everyone.

Finally, we held our own secret vote to decide which book we should read at home time. The three choices are below and the result was:

Specs for Rex – 6 votes

Are you the Pirate Captain? – 13 votes

Rosie is my best friend – 9 votes

A clear winner! We all enjoyed the story no matter how we voted!

Everyone in Year One would like to wish all your families and children a very happy holiday! The children have worked really hard this term and have made some brilliant progress and produced some outstanding work! Well done Year 1!

In your children’s bag there is some sheets of paper to help with learning at home. There is their Numbots log in, in case you have misplaced it, so that the children practise their number facts. This really does help with their fluency in calculations.

There is also the tricky words we have been learning this term in phonics. Initially, the target is to read these fluently but if your child can do this the next target is to be able to spell them.

I have also included some of the new graphemes we have learnt this year with some example words. It is really important that children can read these automatically in order to become fluent readers. I have also encouraged the children to read their ebooks, their sharing books and any other books they can get their hands on over the holidays!

Finally, there is a table of all the number facts from 0+0 to 10+10. We learnt these in a specific order so that children build on their knowledge progressively and this order is shown at the side of the table.

Thank you for all your support and have a restful and relaxing break!

The Year 1 team.

This week in Living and Learning we learnt about first aid. First of all we thought of some of the illnesses or injuries that might need first aid. Then we discussed what first aid those injuries might need, from a cold compress to calling 999. Finally, we shared our ideas as to what you should say to comfort someone who is hurt or unwell. The children did a great job!

During our Computing topic this half term we have been learning all about algorithms. These are sets of instructions and we can use them to program computers. We have practised writing our own algorithms as well as debugging (fixing) them.

So far, we have only written algorithms for games on pieces of paper so we can learn the process securely. This week we got out the Beebots and had a go at writing algorithms for it to follow. We tried to make the Beebot escape a maze, draw a square and move to our partner. We made sure to write down our algorithm first and then debug it if it went wrong. It was great fun!

Next week, we will create our own game and use the Beebot to play it! We can’t wait!

 

 

Over the last two weeks we have been learning all about microbes in our science lessons! We have learnt that there are three main types of microbe: virus, bacteria and fungi. Last week, we made our own microbe out of playdough and gave it a name. We had some wonderful models! Well done everyone!

This week, we conducted an experiment to show us how important it is to wash out hands with soap! We first dipped a cocktail stick in water and then in water with black pepper in it. The pepper stuck to the cocktail stick just like microbes stick to our skin. Finally we dipped the cocktail stick in the soapy water and all the pepper washed away! It was great fun.

Year 1 had an incredible time at Abbey House Museum yesterday! The children behaved excellently and were very enthusiastic about all the artefacts they saw. We explored rooms of old toys and compared them to now. They were even some toys from when Mr McGriffiths was a child!

We also explored the Victorian street and went inside some of the shops. I wonder which shop was your favourite. We talked about how these shops were similar or different to shops today. We also had a workshop where we were able to handle and explore different objects from the past. It was so exciting but the soap smelt horrible!

We have had an amazing week learning all about staying safe. We had so many visitors teaching us to stay safe in lots of different situations! Thank you to Mrs Taylor for organising a brilliant week!

Monday

We learnt how to stay safe on the roads. Remember to ‘Think, Stop, Look, Listen.’

We also had a visitor from the dog’s trust who told us the 5 rules for staying safe around dogs. I wonder if your child can remember all 5.

Tuesday

Tuesday was Safer Internet Day and we learnt lots about how to stay safe on the internet. We watched a video called ‘Jessie and Friends’ who helped us to learn what we should do if we see something on the internet that upsets us or if someone tries to message us on the internet. You can see the videos here.

We also have a visitor from ‘Go Wise Online’ who also explained how to use the internet safely.

Wednesday

We were very excited to have a visit from both the Police and the Fire Service today! We really enjoyed asking them questions and finding out about how they keep us safe.

Friday

The final visit of the week was from the Canals and Rivers trust who explained how we should stay safe near water. Remember:

Stay Away From the Edge.

The children listened and engaged brilliantly all week! Well done everyone!