Why is Easter important to Christians?
This term, Year One have been learning about the Easter story and why it is so important to Christians. They explored the events of Holy Week, discussing why Good Friday is called ‘good’ despite something sad happening.
The Last Supper
Easter Sunday
Cian – “I think that Christian’s call it Good Friday because Jesus forgave those who punished him.”
Isaac – “He showed courage because he died for us.”
Elsie – “Jesus showed compassion because he loved all of his friends.”
Through freeze frames, the children acted out key moments. Thinking about the emotions of those involved. They also linked Easter to our Christian values of perseverance, forgiveness and compassion, reflecting on how they show these in their own lives.
Maths in Year 1
Wow! In Year 1 we’ve been diving into some fantastic Maths! We’ve been using our number bond facts to master subtraction with confidence. Take a look at our amazing learning below!
Help at home: practise your number bonds within ten. Find all the ways of making numbers 1 to 10.
e.g. Here are all the ways we can make 7 by adding two parts:
1 + 6 = 7 6 + 1 = 7
2 + 5 = 7 5 + 2 = 7
3 + 4 = 7 4 + 3 = 7
World Book Day in Year 1!
Year One had a fantastic time celebrating World Book Day!
We started with a Love of Reading assembly, where we shared The Storm Whale by Benji Davies and performed our daily poem, There’s a Bear in There by Michael Rosen. The children were also so proud to present their own wonderful versions of The Storm Whale!
Next, we were lucky enough to listen to a seminar by Laura Baker, the author of The Full Stop that Got Away. The children loved hearing about how stories come to life and were inspired by her journey as a writer.
We then spent time in our very own reading café, exploring and sharing a variety of books with our friends. It was wonderful to see the children so engaged and excited about reading.
To finish the day, we designed front covers for the stories we wrote last half-term, using our imaginations to bring our ideas to life. What a fabulous day celebrating our love of books and stories!
Help at home:
- Read together every day and talk about the story.
- Ask your child to predict what might happen next in a book.
- Encourage them to create their own stories and illustrations.
- Visit the local library to discover new and exciting books!
PE: Rugby skills
This half-term in PE, we’re focusing on developing our rugby skills. We began by getting familiar with the rugby ball—practicing throwing, catching, and bouncing. Working in pairs, we passed the ball to each other, improving our coordination and teamwork. To build awareness of space, we also played a game of piggy in the middle, challenging us to think strategically and move effectively.
Living and Learning: MindMate
This half term our Living and Learning lessons are based around the MindMate learning themes of emotions and friendships.
Our first lesson was based around strong emotions and exploring and describing how it feels to be sad/unhappy.
We thought about how others might express feelings of unhappiness and if they did feel unhappy, to practise asking, and listening to, others about what makes them unhappy.
We reinforced that everyone feels sad or unhappy at times and that’s natural.
In our circle time, on the same theme, the children suggested some things to do if they were feeling sad.
Would it help if…
- you walked away from the situation making you sad
- you talked to a friend or a trusted adult
- you wrote down how you felt
- you read a book
- you went for a walk
- you did some exercise like dancing
As part of this lesson, we did a mindfulness exercises taken from this website – mindful hearing.
Help at home – ask your child what they might do if they were feeling unhappy or if a friend was feeling unhappy.
Learning from David and Goliath
This week in RE, Year One have been learning about David and Goliath. We explored how David’s faith in God gave him the strength and bravery to defeat Goliath. The children reflected on how this story links to our Christian values of perseverance and courage, reminding us that with faith and determination, we can overcome challenges—no matter how big they seem!
Jolyon – “David showed courage because he fought the giant!”
Isaac – “He persevered even though he only had five stones and a slingshot.”
Gracie – “David didn’t give up!”
Topic – Computing
This half term, our Topic is Computing. Yesterday, we discussed what a computer is and what sort of devices we might have at home that have a computer built-in.
Today, we’ve been looking at algorithms. We’ve been learning all about the program ‘Scratch Jr’ and how to create an algorithm. We know how to set a sequence so that our Sprites (characters) move, shrink, grow and turn.
We also learnt how to debug an algorithm that does not work and how to alter a sequence.
We’ve had a lot of fun using Scratch and learning about all of the buttons and how they work. We are really looking forward to using the program again next week and learning more!
We’ve also started to look at our Geography vocabulary, which you can see below.
Help at home: Read through the new vocabulary to support your child with their learning this half term.
Our Daily Poem on Internet Safety
Our Year One class has been enthusiastically practising a daily poem themed around Internet Safety Day. The children love reciting the poem each day, growing more confident and expressive as the week progresses. By the end of the week, they proudly recite it more independently!
Daily poem practice enhances reading fluency, builds vocabulary and boosts memory skills.
Help at Home Tips:
- Read the poem together at home.
- Discuss new words and their meanings.
- Practice with fun voices to boost expression!
Living and Learning – Internet Safety Day
This year’s theme is ‘Too Good to Be True? Protecting Yourself and Others from Online Scams.’
Last week, we had a fantastic visit from D-side Dave, who taught us three essential rules for staying safe online. We were so impressed by how confidently the children remembered them:
1️⃣ Always ask permission from a grown-up before going online.
2️⃣ Only talk to people you know and trust.
3️⃣ Stick to websites and apps that are right for you.
In our first session we read the story Chicken Clicking (This is a YouTube link. Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off autoplay – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip). As we read the story, we discussed what wasn’t true—like how the fox was pretending to be someone else. We also discussed how Chicken Clicking didn’t follow the three online safety rules. The children then came up with questions for Chicken Clicking and took part in a hot-seating activity, where they asked a friend pretending to be the character a question they had written.
In our next session, we explored why we should never share personal information online. Details like your name, home address, or school can tell others who you are and where to find you, so it’s important to keep them private.
Help at home:
🔹 Can you remember the three rules for staying safe online?
🔹 Take the quiz to test your knowledge on protecting personal information!
Comparing Numbers to 20 in Year one!
In Year One, the children have been mastering how to compare numbers up to 20 using greater than, less than, and equal to. They are now able to confidently organise their own number lines and describe numbers in different ways! This helps them understand number order and comparisons clearly.
Help at home:
- Try using everyday items like blocks, toys, or snacks. Ask questions such as, “Which is more: 6 cookies or 9 cookies?” or “Is 14 greater than 7?”
- Encourage your child to draw their own number lines to practice comparing numbers.
- Play a game where you describe a number: “I’m thinking of a number greater than 15 but less than 17. What number am I thinking of?”