Medium Term Planning Overview- Summer 2019

PE: Athletics, outdoor games.

Week Commencing 15th July 2019

We have been taking part in art week in Ash class along with the rest of the school. Our focus was on Stone Age art and therefore we have been exploring cave art. While Miss Bleakley and Mrs Hartness were on home visits on Monday and Tuesday Ash class worked with Mrs Parkin to gather natural resources they might want to use to create some art work. They gathered sticks, leaves and feathers to create paint brushes and produced from fantastic artwork! On Wednesday and Thursday we continued the theme by learning about how cave people created art work using their hands. The children used sponges and their hand as a stencil to create some great cave art. We then worked together to make some large-scale cave art by spraying the children's hands over brown paper to create hand stencils! The results are great! 

We enjoyed forest school on Friday in which we recreated some natural artwork created by Andy Goldsworthy. We used natural objects, mostly leaves, to create a colourful spiral and a sunburst. It was great to see Ash class working together as a team! 

Week Commencing 1st July 2019

This week in Ash Class we have been very busy! We have continued learning about coding and have been using the computers to code to make simple games. We have also been practising our sketching skills by using different types of pencils. The children have been completing self portraits from a photo of half of their face. The results are great! Year 2 have created clay cups and saucers this week and the whole class has been painting their clay creations. We have also been learning about fishing by listening to traditional songs about fishing from around the world. We thought about the kinds of jobs that fishermen and fisherwomen would do and acted them out. We also created verbal stories about fishing based on our research from the last couple of weeks. The children created story maps for their stories today and shared them with a partner. We welcomed our new children in for another taster session on Thursday afternoon and all the children took part beautifully in PE. I am so very proud of what a great start they have made and they have all settled really well. On Friday year 2 worked with Irene to create sea puppets ready for the upcoming year 2 music festival. They used needles and thread to hand sew squid puppets! I think they found it very therapeutic and the results are amazing! This afternoon we went to forest school with Mrs Tickle who, as always, had an exciting activity planned. The children found a selection of sticks and used elastic bands and string to create picture frames in a range of shapes and sizes. It was a wonderful afternoon full of giggles! Thank you Mrs Tickle!

Please be reminded that homework projects are due into school on Tuesday 16th July. We are looking forward to seeing what the children have been up to over the last 6 weeks. If you are struggling please come and chat. The project can be completed in any format that you think is appropriate, this may include a poster, booklet, information leaflet, video, powerpoint, writing in homework books, photos, models etc. 

Happy weekend!

10th-24th June 2019 Ash Update

It's been a whirl wind of a half term so far! The weeks are flying by! We enjoyed the Father's Day lunch on the 14th June and had a lovely lunch prepared by Miss Breed. We have been welcoming our new reception children in for their transition sessions and have had two very successful afternoons so far! We were treated to a visit by PCSO Braddick on the most recent transition session. He came to talk to us about road safety and the importance of stopping, looking and listening before crossing a road with a grown up. We also got to try on some police uniform, looked in his police car and tried out the siren! It was a fab afternoon! We had a busy forest school session last week where we considered what the view of a mini-beast would be and used the ipads to take photos from a mini-beast's point of view. We have also been busy exploring and creating art inspired by Andy Goldsworthy. Ash Class did a fantastic job and were really focused. This week Ash Class had some visitors to school who treated them to a Shakespeare workshop. They took part in an acting session inspired by A Midsummer Summer Night's Dream. They thoroughly enjoyed it, with smiles and giggles throughout! Reception and year 1 have been making clay thumb pots this week and carefully decorating them with patterns. They worked carefully to make their pot the correct shape. The children have been using the laptops and learning how to code this week too. They learnt how to turn on the laptop, login and access the correct website. All the children managed to complete 2 coding tasks to create a simple game. It been a busy couple of weeks! I hope you all enjoy the weekend.

Miss Bleakley

Week Commencing 3rd June 2019

The week has flown by in Ash Class! In maths we have been practising dividing an amount of objects into equal groups. Year 1 have been using objects to solve simple division problems and year 2 have been applying their knowledge of multiplication and division to solve longer word problems. Reception have been enjoying practising their addition skills in the continuous provision and are particularly keen to record their work on whiteboards. In English reception and year 1 have been thinking about the past tense and changing words into the past tense by adding -ed. Year 2 have been writing poems about friendship. 

We had a fab afternoon on Wednesday when Rowan led a multi-skills festival for Ash class with the support of Mr Finlayson from HuntsSSP. The children really enjoyed it and Rowan class were great sports leaders! In RE this week we have been learning about Ramadan and Eid. The children remembered lots of key facts and recorded them in their RE books. Reception and year 1 went to find out more about mini-beast habitats in the wild garden in preparation of doing some mini-beast artwork next week. We are looking forward to seeing what the children produce! On Friday afternoon we enjoyed forest school with Mrs Tickle. We helped prepare the playground garden for some exciting changes next week! Watch this space!

Week Commencing 20th May 2019

As always we have had a very busy week in Ash Class! In English this week we have been learning about traditional tales. The children have been exploring the story of Cinderella, looking at the features of a traditional tale and then re-writing Cinderella with a different ending! In maths we have been recapping some key addition and subtraction skills with reception and some multiplication skills with year 1 and year 2. In PE this week we applied lots of the skills we have been developing over the year in an equipment based gymnastics session. 

We have also been learning about Punch and Judy at the seaside and designed and made our own puppets. We carefully considered what would make a successful puppet, put our ideas onto a planning sheet and then used our plan to build our puppets. They looked great and we had fun using them in our puppet theatre!

There was a slight mix up with spellings in year 1 this week so just to confirm, year 1 spellings for over half term are as follows: cow, now, down, our, out, house, you, your. No written homework was set. Please keep up a little Mathletics and reading. 

Have a good half term!

Week Commencing 6th May

This week in Ash Class we have been really busy learning to tell the time. We have continued to practise learning to read the time to o'clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to. This would also be a great skill to practise at home!

In English this week we have been writing letters to the author of The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch and have been thinking about questions we would like to ask them. We had a fab art session on Wednesday afternoon after we had so much rain. We went outside the explore what happens with the primary colours when we mix them. We used the puddles to mix in!

In science we went to the wild garden to explore mini-beast habitats. The children all enjoyed looking for habitats and were thinking about why the mini-beasts might like the live there. On Friday we enjoyed an extra PE session with Mr Franco who is the DLPT PE lead. He came to meet the children and taught them about balance and coordination- it was a great session! The children listened really carefully and tried out some new games.

Week Commencing the 22nd and 29th April 2019

We've had a really busy start to the term! Our new topic is 'Sun, Sea and Sand'. We've been thinking about what we would like to find out about the seaside and recorded some questions. We have also started learning about what a visit to the seaside was like in Victorians times compared to now. We learnt all about the bathing huts that are wheeled into the sea and the different types of entertainment at the seaside.

Over the last two weeks we have also been exploring The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch by Ronda and David Armitage. Some children have been writing letters, some have been writing their own stories based on the text and some have enjoyed discussing the text and it's sequels.

In maths this week year 1 have been learning how to tell the time to the hour and half past while year 2 have been recapping fractions. 

We enjoyed our final fencing session with Aidan on Monday and practised some key skills such as the correct footwork technique and how to use a foil. We had great fun!

In science this half term we are learning all about plants. We started the term by learning to identify different parts of the plant and their function. Year 2 went into more detail and learnt the parts of a flower. We then went on a hunt around the school grounds and walked to the graveyard to see what wild flowers and plants we could find. We found loads and enjoyed sketching and labelling them. 

Reception have been working really hard and have been learning to add numbers by playing a game of skittles. They have been adding up their scores as they go- great fun! They have also been joining in with lots of science over the last two weeks and really impressed us with their knowledge of plants! We have also been observing the weather over the last week and have been recording it in our weather observation booklets. 

We enjoyed a lovely mystery reader last Friday- thank you to Landon's Grandma for joining us! Still lots of space if any parents/carers would like to sign up to a slot!

Medium Term Planning Overview - Ash Class YR/ Y1/ Y2 Spring 2019

PE: Fundamental Movement: balance, agility and coordination.

Week Commencing 25th March 2019

This week we enjoyed our second archery session! We had a competition in small teams to see who could score the most points. We had improved greatly with our aim and firing at the target!

In maths this week we started learning about division. We learnt to share objects into groups or to group them into set amounts. In English we started learning the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We have been learning to retell the story using actions and a story map. We have enjoyed watching our real caterpillars grow and grow this week and have been keeping a diary to record the changes. We enjoyed Mother's Day lunch on Friday and had good fun making our Mother's Day cards! Another busy week in Ash Class.

Week Commencing 18th March 2019

We started the week off with a fab archery PE lesson on Monday morning. The children learnt how to hold the bow and how to load the arrow. We had some great shots that hit the target! We are looking forward to another archery session next Monday. On Friday we also enjoyed another PE session with Miss Burnett. We practised our throwing and catching skills. In English we have been learning about the prefix -un and the suffix -ed. We have been adding them to change the meaning of root words. In maths we have continued our multiplication unit and enjoyed solving multiplication problems in the hall on Friday morning!  On Thursday we had a visit from Gener8 and learnt about the meaning of Easter. We love singing along!

We have enjoyed the lovely weather this week and Reception enjoyed lots of learning outside. We have been exploring full and empty in the water tray, recognising sounds in the ball pit and constructing using the small and large construction materials. Reception are becoming more confident writing independently and created a restaurant in the mud kitchen complete with a shopping list and menus! Reception and year 1 also enjoyed some junk modelling. We had a special delivery this Friday- some caterpillars! We are looking forward to watching them grow and change as we start a new English unit based on the Hungry Caterpillar on Monday!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Week Commencing 11th March 2019

What a busy week! The days are flying by! This week in Ash Class we have been celebrating British Science week. We continued our topic on animals and have been learning about food chains. First we recapped different groups of animals such as reptiles, mammals, amphibians and birds. Then we created our own food chains. We learnt to use some great science words such as 'consumer' and 'producer'. As part of British Science week we experimented with potion making. The children predicted what would happen when mixing together vinegar, washing up liquid and baking powder. They then had the opportunity to experiment using different amounts of each of the ingredients and watched to see what would happen! The result was a fantastic messy foamy mixture!!

On Thursday we were very kindly visited my Mrs Garland who volunteered her time to share a skeleton and a body model with Ash Class. The children asked lots of questions and thoroughly enjoyed the session! A big thank you to Mrs Garland! 

In maths this week we recapped fractions and then moved on to a new multiplication unit. We recapped some key vocabulary for multiplication and learnt to use arrays to solve simple multiplication problems. Reception have been exploring numbers and finding one more and one less than a given number as well as exploring maths in the continuous provision. 

In PE this week used our ball skills to play some simple team games. We learnt about team work and how to work together. 

In phonics, Reception have now finished learning phase 3 sounds and have been consolidating their learning. They have been practising segmenting and blending and recognising tricky words and key words quickly by sight. Year 1 have been exploring alternative sounds and have been consolidating their phonics knowledge. Year 2 have been recapping some key spelling, punctuation and grammar skills, including some new spelling rules. Year 2 also wrote a super non-chronological report about animals. 

We enjoyed another Forest School session with Mrs Tickle on Friday afternoon in which the children planted potatoes after we had prepared the land last week. They enjoyed learning about where food comes from and how potatoes grow. We are looking forward to watching them grow and eating them soon!!

On Friday we celebrated Red Nose Day. The children looked fantastic in their own clothes, a big thank you for all the donations. 

Homework this week for year 1 and 2 follows on from our learning in Science about food chains. Any problems please just ask. Reception will have the opportunity to find one more and one less for their homework. Please ask on Monday if you need a dice. 

A big thank you to Mrs O'Toole for another fab mystery reader session on Friday afternoon. We have no-one else booked in for the rest of this term if anyone would like to share a story with Ash Class on Friday afternoon. 

Forest School- 8th March 2019

Ash Class had a fantastic forest school session with Mrs Tickle again this week. They were learning about land management and the importance of looking after the land and preparing it to grow food. They spent time weeding and raking the vegetable patches to prepare them for some vegetables very soon! The children also found lots of mini-beasts such as caterpillars, woodlice and worms. Another great outdoor learning session!

World Book Day 7th March 2019

KPA celebrated World Book Day on Thursday 7th March. The whole school dressed up as a book character and shared their favourite book with everyone. The children looked fantastic and had the opportunity to share their books across the school. Ash Class enjoyed making World Book Day bookmarks for their favourite book and talking about fiction and non-fiction books.

Week Commencing 25th February 2019

A busy start to the new half term this week in Ash Class. We started the week with a fab Great Fire of London day at Great Staughton Primary Academy on Tuesday. The children had the opportunity to bake scones, make clay coins, practise weaving, paint portraits and lots more! They were beautifully behaved and so enthusiastic! On Wednesday the children worked hard to write a recount of our Great Fire of London day. It's great to see them becoming more and more independent with their writing. We also enjoyed a visit from St John's Ambulance this week who taught us some basic CPR and what to do in an emergency situation. Ash Class also learnt how to put someone in the recovery position. In science we have started learning about what animals need to survive and the different types of food they eat. We learnt to classify animals into carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.

Week Commencing 4th February 2019

This week in Ash Class year 2 have been working hard developing key maths skills. They have been practising adding two digit numbers, identify the tens and ones in a number and have been practising remembering their number bonds to ten and 20.  Reception and year 1 have been recapping doubling numbers and that this means adding the same number again. This week all the children enjoyed another PE session with Mrs Marriott from HuntsSSP. They have been learning to throw to hit a target and used bean bags to play a series of games to practise their skills. We have continued learning about the Great Fire of London and the types of houses people lived in during 1666. After designing their own Tudor houses last week the children made them this week using junk modelling resources. They thought carefully about how they could make their model strong and how they could join everything together. Reception are now beginning to enjoy writing and are choosing to write more independently in the continuous provision. They have been labelling their pictures, writing letters and have been using their phonics sounds to record words. Another busy week in Ash Class!

Week Commencing 29th January 2019

This week in Ash class we have been busy learning to compare weight and mass. We have been using balance scales to find the weight of different items using non-standard measure. In English we have been learning about bossy verbs and using them to write instructions. We have been making instruction posters for the classroom and have also written up our instructions for making bread. In PE we have enjoyed developing our ball skills with Mrs Marriott and are making great progress each week! In science we have been learning about the 5 senses and have been using them to help us classify fruit and veg. The children also had the opportunity to try different fruit and vegetables including pineapple, plums, red onion and tomatoes. We have continued learning about the Great Fire of London and how the design of the houses caused the fire to spread so quickly! The children have designed their own tudor houses ready to make soon. This week we also enjoyed our second forest school session in the snow with Mrs Tickle! We had the opportunity to explore the wild area, make instruments, look for mini-beasts and sang songs around the fire! 

Week Commencing 21st January 2019

This week in Ash Class we have continued to learn about the Great Fire of London. We have been writing a diary from the point of view of Samuel Pepys- the children did a fantastic job by including lots of adjectives, conjunctions and careful punctuation! In maths this week we have been learning about measuring length and height using non-standard and standard measure. We have enjoyed working practically and using a range of resources to measure. In science we have been learning about the human life cycle and what we can do or can't do from a baby through to being elderly. We enjoyed a fantastic music workshop on Wednesday which involved us learning to play together, starting and stopping at the same time. We also learnt to play different rhythms using a range of instruments. It was great fun!

Year 2 have weekly french lessons with Mrs Traynor and very kindly shared their songs with the rest of Ash class on Friday afternoon. They remembered the words and explained to the rest of the class what they all meant. 

On Friday we enjoyed pretending to be Thomas Farriner and made bread from scratch with the help of mummy Bleakley! We learnt about a special ingredient called yeast and how to knead the dough. 

We also welcomed Miss Burnett this week, a student teacher, who will be joining us on a Friday this term. 

Week Commencing 14th January 2019

Another busy week in Ash class! We have been learning about the key events in the Great Fire of London and looking at extracts from Samuel Pepys' diary. We learnt about how the fire started and what happened. In English we have been learning about diary writing and using time connectives in our writing. In maths we have been practising key skills such as counting in 2, 5 and 10. Year 2 have been learning about finding fractions of a shape and fractions of a number. In science we have been learning about the human body and labelling the parts. Reception and year 1 have been learning about external body parts such as knees, arms and eyes while year 2 have also been learning about internal body parts such as the lungs, heart and stomach. 

We had our first forest school session with Mrs Tickle this Friday and thoroughly enjoyed making dens, building a spiders web and making pictures using natural resources. The children were well wrapped up- thanks to parents for sending additional warm clothes. 

Week Commencing 7th January 2019

Welcome back! What a fantastic start to the term we have had at Grafham Water Centre! At Grafham Water we spent two days learning about good teamwork, problem solving, orienteering and bush craft. We had a great time! Year 2 stayed overnight and enjoyed the yummy food, movie evening and sleeping in bunk beds! When we came back to school on Wednesday we got stuck straight into our new topic- The Great Fire of London. We recorded some key questions that we want to find the answer to and thought about how we could find out. What a busy week!

Medium Term Planning Overview -  Ash Class YR/ Y1/ Y2 Autumn 2018

PE: Dance, Fundamental Movement, Balanceability (year 1)

WC 3rd December 2018

We started our week learning to solve multiplication problems using equipment to make arrays in the school hall. We also practised counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. On Wednesday and Thursday Ash class gave 3 fantastic performances of 'The Sleepy Shepherd' and made us all feel very christmassy!

We took a team of year 1 and 2 children to a cricket multi-skills festival on Monday morning which was fantastic. The children developed some key skills such as throwing, catching and batting. 

We have also been working hard on our inference skills while reading. Year 2 have been answering literal and inferential questions based on photographs while year 1 have been challenged in guided reading sessions. Reception have been practising their blending skills and are becoming more and more confident. Please make sure they bring their reading book and reading diary to school everyday even if you haven't managed to read at home so we can monitor and change their books.

Puddleducks enjoyed a story with Ash Class at the end of the day on Wednesday and they sat beautifully. Their older siblings looked after them well!

Thank you to another fab mystery reader this week- let me know if you would like to book in for after the Christmas break.

We hope you all enjoyed our Christmas nativity performance as much as we enjoyed performing it!

No homework set this week as I know the children are very tired! However, please keep up reading and Mathletics. 

Week commencing 26th December 2018

Our Christmas play is coming together and we are looking forward to performing to an audience next week! There are still tickets available if aunties, uncles, grandparents etc would like to come! We have been busy rehearsing this week and trying on our costumes!

We have also enjoyed some outdoor learning and have found lots of mini-beasts which help plants to grow such as worms to look after the soil. The children have been busy investigating the plants which have grown in garden and have taken out any weeds they didn't want in there. 

This week reception have been recapping their phonics sounds and practising their letter formation. We have particularly been ensuring we form the letter 'a' correctly marking a 'c' shape to start with. This is something they can continue to practise at home too. 

Year 2 are enjoying their weekly french lessons with Mrs Traynor who always sings their praises when they return to Ash class! Year 1 enjoyed another Balanceability session on Thursday morning with a Hunts SSP coach, again she always complements how focused the children are and how much progress they have made since the start of the half term. 

We have been practising our songs for our play but also for the Christingle service on the 10th December. The children have been working so hard to remember the words to all the songs and their lines in the play! I'm very proud of them!

Weeks commencing 12th and 19th November 2018

The last couple of weeks have flown by and the children have been working so hard and having so much fun! Over the last two weeks we have taken part in a pyjama day for Children in Need, been learning our street dance routine with Miss Jones, Year 1 have been having Balanceability sessions, year 2 visited the remembrance display in the Flower Shop and reception have learnt all of their phase 2 sounds! The children have been practising their nativity play ready for next week when we perform to an audience. There are still tickets available! 

WC 5th November 2018

Wow! What a busy week in Ash Class! We kicked off the week by learning about colour mixing and making some fantastic firework pictures. The children learnt about primary colours and how to mix secondary colours. In English we have been learning about different word classes and have been identifying nouns and adjectives. We have also started learning about non-fiction texts and their features. We worked in small groups to label all the different features. 

In Maths we have been practising our addition skills and have also learnt to subtract. Year 1 and 2 had good fun playing a subtraction board game. We enjoyed learning about Diwali this week and celebrated by decorating the playground with rangoli patterns. The children have also been busy learning new phonics sounds. Reception and year 1 have their new sounds in their phonics packs for them to practise at home. Keep up the hard work!

We were treated to a visit from Pudsey Bear on Thursday when he came to surprise the children. They have been learning a Pudsey Bear song which they performed for him. This week we have been talking about remembrance and have decorated the gate with poppies. The children stood beautifully for 2 minutes silence on Friday morning as we listened to the canon sound at the castle. 

Ash class have also started some short rehearsals for the Christmas production this week. They have enjoyed learning some of the songs and have been told their character in the play. We are looking forward to performing to parents in a few weeks time!

WC 29th October 2018

We kicked off our half term with a brilliant team building session led by Mrs Marriott from HuntsSSP. She helped us to develop our team work and communication skills! The children tried different activities in small groups such as trying to lower a hoop to the floor in a small group with only one finger each on the hoop. We also worked in teams to making different amounts out of our hands and feet. It was a brilliant session!

This week we have also enjoyed some Halloween activities. The children have been scooping out the seeds and flesh from some pumpkins. They have then been making faces using the hammer-tap shapes. 

In maths this week year 1 and 2 have been learning to add single and two digit numbers using either a number line, objects or counting on in their heads. Reception have taken part in some lesson starters and have focused on recording numbers. 

In English we have focused on some key SPAG skills such as writing and using capital letters and identify word and sentence types. Reception are beginning to use their phonics knowledge to write words such as 'tap' and 'mat'. They are becoming more confident each day applying their phonics sounds and it has been fantastic to see them start to write independently during busy learning time. 

Year 1 enjoyed a session of Balanceability with another HuntsSSP coach. They will be taking part in Balanceability every Thursday morning this half term. They will develop skills to build their confidence riding a bike. They are so lucky to have this opportunity. 

In phonics so far reception have learnt the following sounds: s, a, t, p, i, n, m, and b. They have been given phonics packs in their book bags so that they can practise the sounds and tricky words at home. 

Year 1 have been learning ay, ou and i-e this week. They also have updated phonics packs with the sounds from this week and the tricky words they should know. 

Any support you can give at home will have a huge impact. The 'Teach Your Monster' to Read is a nice app to practise sound recognition and blending. 

If you need any help or support in how to help your child at home please just ask. 

Week Commencing 1st October 2018

We hope you all enjoyed the Harvest Festival this week!? Ash class had great fun using the vegetables we had grown to make soup and apple tarts. Thank you to all those that made a donation and tried our produce. We made £27 in total and will keep you updated on what we decided to buy. 

We have been finishing our literacy unit based on A Day in the Life of Bob by writing our own sequels called 'Aliens on the Moon!' The children's stories are super and they are becoming more and more confidently with key writing skills. 

In maths we have been continue to develop our understanding or number and place value by ordering numbers to 100. Year 1 have also been working on some problem solving activities. 

In topic/ science this week we have been designing dens using different materials and explaining why they will be fit for the job. The children have learnt some new words such as transparent, opaque and waterproof. 

Our new phonics scheme was also delivered this week and we are looking forward to getting stuck into some new and exciting books! As always homework has been set and I am hoping to see lots of children with Mathletics certificates in assembly this week. Please ask if you need any help with anything. 

Happy weekend!

Week Commencing 24th September 2018

As always, we have had a fun and busy week in Ash Class. This week we have been creating posters to remind space tourists to put their rubbish in the bin. We have enjoyed pretending to be space tourists and visiting the moon! 

In maths we have been learning to find one more, one less, ten more and ten less. We have been using lots of practical activities to gain a better understanding of number and place value. In science we have continued learning about materials and this week we have been carrying out investigations to determine if certain materials are waterproof, bendy, translucent or opaque. In topic this week we have been learning about famous space explorers, in particular Neil Armstrong. We have been learning about his life and the first trip to the moon. We enjoyed dance on Tuesday with Miss Jones and are developing more rhythm and control. On Friday we had an outdoor learning session in the wild garden. We saw lots of signs of Autumn and even tried some eating apples that were growing in there!

We are looking forward to the Harvest Festival on Monday afternoon next week and hope to see lots of family members there too!

Week Commencing the 17th September 2018

Another whirlwind week in Ash Class! This week we have continued exploring the story of Man on the Moon. We went on an imaginary journey to the moon and explored what it would be like to be a space tourist. The children shared some descriptive language and then wrote some super postcards on Friday. We have been working on being consistent with finger spaces, full stops and capital letters as well as those who were up for a challenge aiming to include conjunctions and lots of lovely adjectives. Reception have enjoyed taking part in lots of book talks, drama and discussions about characters, plot and setting.

In maths this week we have continued our unit on number and place value. Reception have been developing their confidence with numbers to 20, as well as practising finding one more and one less within the context of their play. 

Year 1 and year 2 have continued exploring numbers to 100, talking about their tens and ones and comparing numbers. They have been using a range of resources to represent the numbers and compare them, as well as partitioning them into tens and ones. Year 2 in particular have been partitioning numbers and exploring the different number sentences they can make. 

In science this week we have continued learning about materials and their properties. We went on a walk around school to explore the different types of materials we could find. We then described their properties. We talked about the suitability of different materials for different jobs. 

In phonics year 1 have been learning some new phase 5 sounds- ay as in day, ou as in cloud, ie as in pie and ea as in pea. I haven't updated phonics packs yet as we have a new exciting phonics scheme coming soon! Watch this space! We have also practised the following tricky words: oh, people and their. any reinforcement you do at home would be wonderful. 

The children enjoyed another PE session with Mrs Marriott. They continued adding to their gymnastics routines using rocking movements. They listened well and Mrs Marriott was very proud of them this week! Unfortunately we didn't have Miss Jones in for dance but we had a dance lesson with Miss Bleakley instead! We listened carefully to the music and bounced like bouncy balls! We then used the parachute to make the 'popcorn' pop! We had great fun and reception in particular practised their listening and attention skills. 

We enjoyed some outdoor learning on Friday afternoon looking for signs of Autumn. We collected a whole bucket full of conkers and are looking forward to using them in the continuous provision next week!  

Mathletics has now been set for year 1 and year 2 along with their spelling and writing homework. As always, if you have any problems just let me know and I'll see what I can do to help. 

Happy weekend!

Miss Bleakley

Week Commencing 10th September 2018

The weeks are flying by already! Our lovely reception children have completed their first full week in Ash class and what a fantastic start they have had! There were lots of tired faces on Friday after a week of outdoor learning, gymnastics, dance, number work, busy learning and exploring the classroom! Reception should be very proud of themselves for such a fab start!

Year 1 and year 2 have also been busy this week. In English we have started reading Man on the Moon (A day in the life of Bob). The story is about the man who works on the moon to keep it tidy and he sells souvenirs to the space tourists. We have been writing questions to ask Bob and have also been writing descriptions of aliens. 

In maths this week we have been recapping some key number skills, with year 1 practising recognising and building numbers to 20 and 30 and with year 2 exploring number and place value to 100. The children had to use the classroom maths resources to build the numbers in different ways, then explored ways of representing the numbers using drawings and also practised writing the numbers as words. 

On Tuesday morning we enjoyed gymnastics as a whole class alongside Mrs Marriott, a Hunts SSP coach. We practised rolling and rocking in different ways. In the afternoon we had a dance class with Miss Jones who will be teaching us dance this term. A very sporty Tuesday!!

We also enjoyed a visit from the Life Bus on Wednesday where we learnt about our bodies, body language and being kind. We had fun on the bus with Harold the giraffe and enjoyed looking at the twinkling stars on the ceiling!

Thursday was Roald Dahl day. We read The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. This book was all about great teamwork so we explored what it was like to be part of a team with some team games. Then in small groups we each chose an animal and created our own business using the skills the animals might have. For example in the story the giraffe, the pelican and the monkey make a window cleaning business! The children presented their ideas at the end of the session- we had gardeners, shop keepers, tree surgeons and even a chocolate factory!

Year 2 have started french lessons with Mrs Traynor who has given very positive feedback about their enthusiasm! 

Homework went home for year 1 and year 2 this week and is due back in on Tuesday. If you have any questions please just ask- don't leave it to the last minute. I have not set Mathletics activities this week but have left it open for the children to explore- particularly year 1 who have not used it before. Again if you have any problems please ask. The app is very good and can be used offline- I know some children have been using it on car journeys.

I hope you have a restful weekend and will be ready for another busy week on Monday!

Week commencing 3rd September 2018

Welcome back!  What a great start to the term we have had! We have welcomed our new reception children into Ash Class and they have made a super start to their reception year. I am very proud of how confidently have have entered the classroom and risen to all the new challenges they have faced. We look forward to having them in full time next week! 

It has been creative week this week and we have been starting to get stuck into our new topic- Exciting Explorers. We have been thinking about what we already know about explorers and what we would like to find out this term. We have also been looking some art by Van Gogh and year 2 have been using pastels to recreate their own version of his Starry Night painting. 

This week we have also been to visit the wild garden to see what changes have happened over the six week break. We enjoyed looking for insects and different types of flowers. 

Year 1 and year 2 have been writing about themselves and recapping basic writing skills ready for new challenges ahead! They have worked very hard and have been very enthusiastic! 

We are looking forward to celebrating Roald Dahl day next week on Thursday as well as having a visit from the Life Bus on Wednesday. 

What a fab start to the term!

Medium Term Overview- Summer Term 2018

PE: Dance, outdoor games.

Week Commencing 2nd July 2018

This week in Ash Class we have started preparing for our transition into our new year groups. Year 2 went to visit Oak class on Wednesday morning and worked on some exciting new activities. Reception and year 1 pretended they had already moved up a year and we made faces for a new display and wrote speech bubbles about what we are looking forward to next year. 

This week we also enjoyed lots of outdoor learning. We have been replanting our tomato plants and planted some runner beans in the hope they will be ready to harvest in September! Fingers crossed! Year 2 have also busy weeding our vegetable patches. 

We have been lucky enough to spend two afternoons in the wild garden this week. The children have been exploring the plants and animals that live there as well as helping to clear some space for us to sit. Some children decided to build teepee style dens using large branches and string. Our next task is to create an adventure bag to take with us on our visits to the wild garden. 

We have been working hard this week on sharing, taking turns and compromising. The children have been enjoying the lovely weather in our outside area and have been exploring floating and sinking, construction and our role play doctor's surgery. 

A fun filled week with lots of tired children! I hope you all have a restful weekend!

Week Commencing 18th June 2018

This week in Ash class we welcomed artist Jack Cornell. He worked with small groups of children throughout the week to create two pieces of fabulous artwork. Our topic this term is Heroes and the artwork focused on eco heroes and the importance of saving the planet. All the materials used were recycled and the art looks amazing in our corridor! 

This week we have also been learning about and practising measuring time. The whole class focused on measuring amounts of time, timing activities such as building a tower and solving time word problems. You could continue to practise telling the time at home!

In English the children continued exploring the story of Traction Man. They planned another adventure for him and wrote up their stories in neat. We are working on using a range of sentence starters to making our writing more interesting and being more consistent with capital letters and full stops. Reception have been creating a story board and have been writing sentences relating to the pictures they have drawn. They have been focusing on using their phonics to listen to the sounds in words and write them down and also writing some tricky words and common exception words correctly. 

We have also put our remembrance wreath together this week. Thank you for supporting your child to make a poppy at home. The winner was picked by Jack Cornell and will be announced in celebration assembly on Tuesday. 

We also said goodbye and good luck to Miss Connor this week. She is now a fully qualified teacher and is ready for her own class. We are very grateful for all that she has done for the children this year and wish her the best of luck! We all enjoyed celebrating with a picnic on Thursday afternoon. 

This week we welcomed some new reception children into Ash class in the first of our taster sessions. They had a lovely time exploring our outside area and resources and making new friends! The older children have been incredibly kind and caring. 

Year 1 and year 2 finished designing their own superheroes on paint this week. Some children used laptops and some used the interactive whiteboard. They all worked very hard and used the paint software effectively. 

We have had another fabulous week in Ash class!

Week Commencing 11th June 2018

Another fun-filled week in Ash Class! We started off the week with a big phonics recap. We played a variety of phonics games, including hopscotch and ladder games on the playground outside. The children have been recapping their phonics sounds and tricky words. Year 1 plus some of year 2 had the phonics screening check this week and they ALL did amazingly well- I am so proud of the progress they have made this year and all the hard work they put in! It shows in their reading and writing everyday. Thank you to parents for supporting phonics at home- your support really does pay off!

We have had a big focus on writing this week with year 1 and year 2 writing stories based on their own super hero characters. They have been writing them up in neat ready to share with the rest of the class. Reception have also been doing lots of writing within the continuous provision. They have enjoyed writing lots of signs and rules for our outside area ready for the next reception children when they visit us next week. 

All three year groups have been making information booklets about Ash Class too. They have been writing about the teachers, routines, trips, clubs and lunchtimes. Reception are working hard to use their phonics and tricky words in their writing. They are beginning to remember capital letters and full stops in their sentences too. 

Year 1 are now writing more substantial pieces and including a great range of vocabulary and punctuation. They are working hard to spell more and more words correctly. Year 2 are now writing using a range of sentence types, varied punctuation a for a purpose and a range of interesting vocabulary. They are become more confident using a dictionary to check spelling and meaning and a thesaurus for finding interesting words. 

In science the children have been learning about what humans need to survival. They produced some fantastic posters with Miss Connor. 

This week we have also been preparing our poppy wreath ready to stick all the poppies on that the children are making for their homework. We have been asked by the Royal British Legion to make a wreath. There is a small competition for the best poppy in Ash class!

All the children also have spellings to practise this week. Reception should already be familiar with their words and we will have a quick quiz on Tuesday. 

Year 1 and 2 please don't forget Mathletics too. A little bit of practise often makes a big difference.

Wishing you all a lovely Fathers' Day weekend. 

Week commencing 4th June 2018

Welcome back to the final half term of this academic year. We have had a great week back! The children have been introduced to a new book called Traction Man and have been thinking about what kind of powers they would have if they were a superhero. In maths we have been consolidating our knowledge of days of the week and months of the year. Reception have been consolidating their knowledge of doubling, halving and grouping numbers and amounts of objects in real life contexts. 

Year 2 have been completing some independent topic work this week based on Florence Nightingale. They spent time with a partner using the laptops and ipads to research some facts and presented their findings in a poster or a booklet. They enjoyed sharing them with Oak class on Friday afternoon. 

Another busy week!

We are looking forward to seeing you all at the school fete tomorrow!

Week Commencing 14th May 2018

In celebration of the Royal Wedding this weekend Ash Class held their own wedding. They spent time planning and preparing, writing speeches and making decorations. The children changed into their wedding attire and we walked to the local church. We had a lovely ceremony in which Jake and Hannah 'married'. Year 2 all read their speeches beautifully and with great enthusiasm. We invited parents to the church to welcome the bride and groom out of the church with confetti and enjoyed watching the bridge throw her bouquet! The wedding was followed by photograph and cake on the school field! A lovely afternoon had by all!!

Week Commencing 7th May 2018

This week in Ash class we have been enjoying the lovely weather with lots of outdoor learning. Reception and year 1 have been learning about number bonds to 10 and 20. They have been using them to solve number problems and find missing numbers in number sentences. They went on a hunt around the playground to find the questions. Reception have also been adding single digit numbers by playing a game with bean bags and a target. 

In English we have continued our unit on The Day the Crayons Quit. The children have been designing their own characters using the stationary in school and have been writing diary entries and letters. 

Year 2 have been working hard to consolidate their key skills in preparation for SATs. They have been applying what they know in a range of practical situations as well as completing lots of maths challenges and problem solving activities. 

We have started learning about weddings in different cultures this week and have started planning our own wedding in celebration of the Royal Wedding next weekend. 

We have been making hats, writing speeches and planning the order of the day. We will be carrying our a role play wedding next week. 

I can see that lots of children have already completed their 30 minutes on Mathletics this week! Well done! There is still time to build up your time and points over the weekend!

Week Commencing 30th April 2018

In science this week we have been learning about the human body and it's organs. The children learnt about the organs and then labelled them by drawing around each other on the floor in the hall. Year 2 had to also match up the function of each organ. In English we have been exploring a story called The Day The Crayons Quit.  The children have been learning about the characters through some role play and hot-seating activities. They have also planned and written a dairy entry from the point of view of one of the crayons. 

In maths this week reception and year 1 have been practising adding and subtracting single and two digit numbers as well as finding missing numbers in addition and subtraction calculations. Some children have been using number lines and some have been using multi-link cubes. Year 2 have been demonstrating their understanding of partitioning numbers into tens and ones, adding two digit numbers and showing their working out and finding missing numbers by finding the difference. They have all been working hard this week! 

We enjoyed a visit from a fire engine and it's crew on Thursday as part of out Heroes topic. We have been learning about superheros as well as real- life heroes such as doctors, nurses, police and fire fighters. The children came to the conclusion that anyone can be a hero if you help others!