Our topic for Autumn term is:
'Fire Fire!'
In our English lessons we will be using Guy Fawkes and the history of Bonfire Night to enhance our descriptive writing techniques. We will be using our senses to think of adjectives to describe fireworks and will even begin to look at what onomatopoeia is all about in order to create our own firework poems. We will begin to touch upon the use of similies to help create pictures in a readers mind. We will also be exploring 'The Great Fire of London' through our talk for writing process. This will be a step up from Autumn Term 1 as the children will be imitating the beginning of a magic key story but innovating the ending. This will be linked closely to our history knowledge and learning to ensure the children are using key facts. To finish our fire topic we will explore Samuel Peyps and his diary of events in order to create our very own!
In Maths we will progress onto the skill of subtracting. Just like with addition, we will explore subtraction through a series of lessons. This will involve working out simple subtractions using concrete resources, exploring how pictures can help us to take away before exploring the use of number lines and mental maths. At the end of Autumn Term 2 we will complete an assessment which covers all of the areas we have learnt so far. This will include number and place value, addition and subtraction and will hopefully highlight any gaps in learning which can be discussed at the parents evening on the 11th December.
Our Topic focus this term is heavily influenced by the History curriculum and we will be using a range of sources to explore Guy Fawkes and the Great Fire of London. We will be comparing London in the past (homes, transport, emergency services) to London today. Elements of Geography will be included within our topic to ensure the children have place knowledge of where London is and the landmarks which surround this city.
In Art we will be mastering the skill of colour mixing in order to create paintings in the style of Wassilly Kadinsky. We will be extending our colour mixing knowledge to recognise how each colour can have different tones/tints which we will then use to make our fiery background to represent the Great Fire of London.
This term our music will be heavily influenced by the Christmas Nativity. In KS1 the children in year 1 do not have speaking parts and instead perform all of the songs and sometimes dances. As we need to know the songs of by heart, our music sessions this term will focus on learning the songs for 'Everyone Loves a Baby!' Keep your eyes peeled for information on the Christmas Nativity!
Friday 20th December 2019:
And finally after the longest term we have made it!
Thank you to all who attended the KS1 nativity and for those who shared kind words about the performance. It definitely was a long and slow process to get it to where it was this week but it is testament to your children for their hard work and talent.
We have all had such a lovely, Christmassy final week. In English we created our own Christmas themed stories which were very interesting to read. In Maths we recapped learning through some Christmas themed activities and we have been busy designing and making Christmas cards for you all in Art. We finished the week with a fun party and a lovely visit from Santa.
Thank you for your continued support this year and a huge thank you to those who sent in kind words, cards and gifts. We hope you have the most magical Christmas and we cannot wait to hear about the adventures in January.
Friday 13th December 2019:
Thank you to all of you who attended parents evening on Wednesday. At Dovedale we think this is vital for discussing your child's progress and well-being in school. It was lovely to catch up with so many of you and to hear such positive stories about how well your child has settled in to Year 1. Thank you for being on board with how you can best support your child at home and we hope you found the packs and resources provided useful.
A busy week perfecting our Christmas concert for you all. It is finally all coming together and the children are ready and excited to share their talents with you. Just a reminder that you will need to bring your ticket to the door as we have only provided enough chairs for the right amount of adults.
The children thoroughly enjoyed the pantomime this morning. Lots of laughs were had by all and this has just been an extra step to secure the Christmas spirit!
Friday 6th December 2019:
Another week closer to Christmas so the children are bursting with excitement but have still managed to follow school rules and expectations at all time which is a real credit to them.
This week has been assessment week across the school and Spain class have blown me away with how much knowledge they have retained. We have completed a reading, writing, spelling and maths assessment and I will be using this information to form part of their parents evening appointment. If you haven't made an appointment yet, or are struggling to fit this in on the Wednesdays due to timings left then please contact me and I will arrange an alternative date and time. Parents evenings are vital for your child's education to give you an up to date picture of how well your child is doing in school and to discuss ways in which we can support you or you can support your child's learning.
We have also had lots of fun in-between assessments with our 'Everyone loves a baby' rehearsals. All of Year 1 and 2 attended St Mary's church today to celebrate the real meaning behind Christmas. The children listened to a story, acted out specific parts, sang a song about shepherds and finally created their own Christmas craft. They were even lucky to receive a Christmas chocolate from the volunteers at the church. The children thoroughly enjoyed this visit and they never stopped smiling! Again their behaviour was admirable showing both parents and the people at the church just how the children at Dovedale behave. Well done Spain class.
This afternoon we finished a tiring week with our attendance party. We had party food, party games and a mini disco in the classroom. The children were so excited and loved every second.
Enjoy your weekend - I hear lots of you are putting up your Christmas trees so enjoy the festivities!
Friday 29th November 2019:
It is fast approaching that time of year where lots of parents feel obliged to write a whole class set of Christmas cards. I received a lovely message/idea from a parent of a child in Spain class the other day suggesting we could take part in a food bank collection instead of writing out Christmas cards. This is a great opportunity to show our children how fortunate they are at this time of year and how different other peoples lives can be. Obviously this isn't compulsory and I am more than happy for children to bring in Christmas cards (or do neither) so I will leave the decision with you.
If you would like to take part then please send your food item(s) in with your child next week and I will keep them in my classroom ready for them to be distributed to a local food bank. If you are wishing to contribute then please can I ask that donations are handed in to school by Wednesday 18th December 2019.
Friday 13th November 2019:
A lovely week in Spain class celebrating anti-bullying week. We looked at what the term 'bullying' means and how this was the exact opposite of the children in Spain class. We tried to look at the bigger picture by exploring the emotions of both a bully and their victims and how/why they might be feeling this way. We then made a pledge to never do this as we didn't want to be the unkind, hurtful person nor did we want to feel low after someone had been mean. We all wrote a pledge on a purple heart to remind us of what we would do.
- We pledge to smile at someone new.
- We pledge to look after a friend who is sad.
- We pledge to never leave anyone out of games.
- We pledge to ask if someone wants to play if they are on their own.
- We pledge to be kind and respectful.
- We pledge to be caring to our friends and families.
- We pledge to make everyone feel happy.
Friday 9th November 2019:
Great first week back. The children have settled back into the school rules and routines well and have tried hard with all aspects of their work this week.
In English we started looking at poetry and how poets use descriptive techniques to build an image in a readers imagination/mind. We used adjectives and even explored what it onomatopoeia means. In Maths we used concrete resources to subtract and then progressed onto using pictorial representations.
We have had a slightly different week in terms of afternoon lessons to celebrate Remembrance. Our class learned the song 'We'll meet again' by Vera Lynn and even added some sign language. We even joined with Miss Hardakers class to rehearse singing the song with them. This afternoon we were very lucky to perform our song to lots of grandparents, mums/dad in the armed forces and even Bart from the British Legion in Long Eaton. A wonderful ceremony of celebrations for all who took fought and died in the war.
Have a lovely weekend!
Monday 4th November 2019
Welcome back! I hope you all had a lovely break. The children have settled in well this morning and have took all of the new challenges in their stride.
We are aware we didn't send PE kits home over half term because they had so much to carry with their book bags and spooky disco costumes. A few parents have requested for these to come home this week so we will ensure all children bring them home over the weekend so they can be cleaned for the rest of this term.
The new spelling words are up on spelling shed for your child to practise. Lets keep up winning streak against Miss Hardaker's class by beating her them in every weekly challenge again! We are also aiming for the top of the school league table like our success in Autumn Term 1!
As we have been reading with the children today we have noticed that some of you are writing lots of words in the key words box that they have struggled with. If you would like to do so, please can you write these in the daily comments section for your reference as it is becoming quite difficult for adults in school to monitor and check them against schools list of tricky/high frequency words.
I am aware that I didn't inform you that we won the attendance prize in Autumn Term 1 for the infant class who had the best overall attendance - wahoo!! Keep your eyes peeled as the children will be voting for the prize they would like to celebrate. Previously the winners have chose from parties to chip shop/pizza lunches. I am excited to find out what Spain class would like!