Ash Class 2023 - 2024

Welcome to the Ash Class page. We are a busy class of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children. Here you will find regular updates about our adventures! Miss Gibson is our Class teacher and is supported by Mrs Hartness and Mrs Taylor.

Summer Term 2024

Week commencing 22.4.24

This week we have continued using our division skills to help us find half and quarters of amounts. In English we have been looking at the story, Handa's surprise. We have been using our inference skills to answer questions about the story, sequenced the main events and wrote speech for one of the characters. Today we got to try the fruits from the story and used our senses to write descriptive sentences.

In Music we learnt the song 'Your imagination' to explore how our voices can change pitch and in RE we learnt what a moral is and discussed what the moral of 'The boy who cried wolf' is. Reception continued to learn about dinosaurs and how to identify the features of a herbivore, carnivore or herbivore. They also started looking at repeating patterns in Maths.

Week Commencing 15.04.24

This week we have been recapping multiplication and division in Maths. In English we have been writing character and setting descriptions using adjectives, conjunctions and suffixes. We were introduced to our new Science topic of materials and started an independent Art project based on the artist 'Eduardo Paolozzi'. This half term we are doing Athletics, so we began by focusing on running and how the pace of walking, jogging, running and sprinting impacts our bodies.

Receptions topic this term is animals and we have started by focusing on dinosaurs. They have been making paper plate dinosaurs at the creative table, writing about a dinosaurs features at the writing table and making dinosaurs using 2D shapes at the maths table.

Spring Term 2024

Week commencing 25.03.24

What a fabulous last few days! On Tuesday we had our Easter service and on Wednesday, a lovely Rocksteady concert. Well done to Reception for their first ever performance! The children have been working really hard since last week to get their writing stickers and we all enjoyed a class game of hide and seek this morning (I must be crazy)!! We also did some Easter crafts, had an Easter egg hunt and watched a film with popcorn.

Ash have had a fabulous Spring term and they all deserve a restful break. See you all on the other side!!

Year 1/2 had a great time on their trip to the Computer Museum today. They explored a variety of technology from past to present times, which has helped inform their knowledge of our current topic 'Changes within living memory'.

They created codes on a computer and became traffic light engineers, explored how phones and gaming controls have changed over time, looked at where computers first began and got to try playing lots of old games and arcade machines.

Week Commencing 18.03.24

This week we have been looking at mass in Maths. We have compared weights using 'lighter' and 'heavier' and also used scales to measure in grams and kilograms. In English we have been looking at the features of a non-chronoligcal report before planning and writing our own about an animal of our choice. In DT we finished creating our vehicles, in RE we explored what it means to belong to a Muslim community and in Topic we looked at how teddy bears have changed over time.

Yr1/2 Computing trip tomorrow

Children need to be in school by 8.35am in the morning please and will be coming in through the school office instead of the classroom.

Week Commencing 11.03.24

This week we have completed many great Science activities for British Science week! We have tested which biscuit is the most 'dunkable' (very informative results for Miss Gibson's tea breaks), how to camouflage moths, how to identify evergreen and deciduous trees, and how sunlight creates shadows. Some of the children also presented their Science homework projects which were fabulous! Ash loved finding out lots of new information and asked lots of great questions.

In English we have created our own fantasy settings, thinking about how we can describe them using magical vocabulary and exciting adjectives. In Maths we have recapped division and partitioning numbers into tens and ones.

Week commencing 04.03.24

This week has been assessment week and I am so incredibly proud of my little team! They have done amazingly and their brains deserve a restful weekend.

This week we have also been looking at how to keep a balanced diet in PSHE, started creating our vehicles in DT and made a little surprise for a special celebration on Sunday. World Book Day focussed on the book 'The black book of colours'. We discussed how braille is used to read and then had a go at describing objects using touch rather than our sight. In the afternoon we also had a go at writing our names in braille using buttons.

Well done Ash class! 

Week Commencing 26.02.24

This week we have been busy recapping lots of Maths concepts which we have been introduced to so far this year, including money, comparing numbers to 50 and Year 2 have been working hard to master working out the missing number in a number sentence. In English we have been writing speech, creating a fantasy character profile and writing in past tense. In DT we have started designing our vehicles, but first we had to explore the different ways that we can connect the wheels, axel and chassis to the body of our chosen vehicle. In PE we are looking at ball skills (dribbling/throwing/catching) and in Exciting Writing we wrote a persuasive letter to Mrs Whiting, asking for a new playground apparatus to fill the hole from the moon buggy.

Reception are still learning about people who help us/superheroes and have been looking at the book 'Supertato' during busy learning. They have had great fun saving the peas from the evil peas trap, making their own vegetable superhero for the book, writing their own superpowers, designing their own masks and using playdough peas to subtract.

Week commencing 12.2.24

In Math's we have started learning about fractions. We began by finding half of a shape before moving onto learning about the fractions ½ and ¼ of a number. In English we planned and wrote our letters to tourists persuading them to visit the 'man on the moon'. These were full of expanded noun phrases, contractions and conjunctions! Some of us even included questions to get the reader thinking.

For our final dance session we looked at funky music from the 70's, in RE we look at the Jewish celebration 'Shabbat' and considered how this gives Jewish people a sense of belonging, in DT we looked at a variety of vehicles in preparation for our new topic after half term and in PSHE we tasted a variety of foods which we may not have tried before. Reception have also been learning about 'people who help us' and today we had a visit from a policewoman! We got to chat with her, look at some equipment and try on her uniform.

When we return, PE will go back to Thursday afternoons and spellings/library to Tuesdays. Have a lovely break!

Week commencing 5.2.24

One week to go! This week we have been looking at measuring in cm's and meters and using the words longer, taller and shorter. In English we have continued looking at our book 'Man on the moon' and writing a setting description of the moon using expanded noun phrases. In Exciting Writing, we wrote instructions on how to make our favourite sandwich and we had to be specific after Miss Gibson ended up spreading jam on her hand!

We have continued looking at our local community in RE and how our celebrations of Christian festivals create a sense of belonging, in Science we looked at the parts of a plant and their job and in PE we learnt to express ourselves to classical music. It was internet safety day on Tuesday and we investigated what makes online content trustworthy and reliable. We then held an agony aunt role play session where we gave advice to children with online safety concerns. We ended the week learning about Chinese New Year. We had a go at making lanterns, concertina dragons and drawing the symbol of the year that we were born.

WC 29/1/24

This week YR1/2 have been working really hard in Maths, learning how to divide numbers by 5 and 10 after learning how to multiply last week. In English we have moved on from traditional tales and will be exploring a new story. We started the week trying to find out information about a character from a single picture without knowing what the book was called or what it was about. We then wrote our own questions to this character to try and find out more about him. We ended the week finding out our new story is called 'Man on the moon' and described the setting using tempting adjectives. Reception have also been building their confidence with writing sentences using capital letters and full stops. In Maths we have been recapping our number bonds to 5 and subitising.

In PE we learnt a dance to techno music, in RE we looked at what a community is and what religious faiths we have in our local community. In Art we learnt how to use our observation skills when drawing to notice light, form and texture and in Music we learnt how to play a song on the xylophone using the correct pitch to match our voice. In Topic we got to explore many past toys from St Neots museum and compare them to present toys, including action men, tiddlywinks, jacks and spinning tops.

WC 15/1/24

This week we have started looking at traditional tales in English. Reception have joined year 1/2 to look at the features of a traditional tale, what makes a character a hero or villain, the story of little red riding hood and how to use exciting adjectives to describe characters. In Maths we have been looking at money. We learnt the value of coins, how to make amounts and how to make £1. The children then used this knowledge to buy an item from the £1 shop today.

In topic we looked at how schools have changed over time, in Science we sketched plants, in PSHE we explored which foods and activities keep us healthy and in forest school we took a short walk to church and back to explore how we can look after our local environment. In PE we learnt a new dance to country music, continuing to think about creating movements to a count of 8.

Additional announcements

KS1 spellings will be on Thursdays until February half term. After this they will return to the usual day. We also haven't received many photos for our next topic lesson (how fashion has changed over time). If you/grandparents/great grandparents have any photos we could borrow for the start of next week that would be greatly appreciated!

Ash topic photos

This term Ash are looking at 'Changes within living memory' in topic. Next week we will be looking at how fashion was different over the eras. If any Ash parents/Grandparents/Great-grandparents have any photos from the 1940's onwards and wouldn't mind letting us take a look at them for our topic lesson, that would be fabulous! Please could they come in a named envelope by this Friday. We will take good care of them and they will be back with you after our lesson next week.

Week Commencing 8.1.24

A great first week back! In Maths we have been using our place value knowledge from last term to partition numbers into tens and ones, solve addition/subtraction problems and find the difference. In English we have been responding to animal poems by identifying our likes and dislikes, answering questions in response to what we've read, explored animal acrostic poems and created our own.

Reception were introduced to their busy learning topic of Traditional tales. They have been doing some great writing, maths, role play and creative activities based on Goldilocks and the three bears. We even tasted some different porridge and the children used some great adjectives to describe the taste, such as sweet, delicious, warm and lumpy. In Maths we have been looking at the composition of numbers to 6 and doubling numbers to 5.

We introduced our new Science and History topics (plants and changes within living memory), by discussing what we already know and what we want to find out. In PE we are looking at different styles of music and dance. This week the children learnt a dance to Pop music. In computing we learnt how to program a robot and became human beebots. In PSHE we looked at healthy lifestyles and in music we looked at blues music.

As it's a new term, I have a completely free diary for mystery readers. If any Ash parents/grandparents/aunties/uncles/siblings etc would like to come and read a story to us on a Friday afternoon, then please come and speak to me or email the office:)

Also, if anyone has a spare empty jar or two they can donate to Ash Class for Science club that would be amazing!

Autumn Term 2023

Week Commencing 18.12.23

Term 1 complete and what a pleasure it's been! For the final three days we have wrapped up most of our topics by looking at advent and what a wreath symbolises for Christians in RE, recapping all of our knowledge from our topic 'Oceans and Seas' and consolidating our understanding of 2D and 3D shapes by looking at vertices, edges and faces. We have also been getting up to lots of lovely crafts, including making salt dough reindeer decorations and a snow globe.

For reward day we spent the morning watching Aladdin the panto. We then enjoyed some Christmas activities in class before watching a film in the afternoon. We also had a surprise visit from Santa! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and get lots of rest. Thank you for all of your generous gifts. Some chocolates have already been consumed🤭 See you in the new year!

Week Commencing 11/12/23

What a productive week! In RE we recapped what each part of a Christingle represents. In DT we finished our puppets by adding features on using a variety of resources. The children were super proud of their creations and couldn't wait to take them home! In Topic we explored the life of Charles Darwin and the Galapagos Islands and in PE we used more equipment to practise our balancing.

Yr1/2 also used all of their new skills in English to plan and write a letter to Santa about our nativity. Everybody managed to use all features of a formal letter and include adjectives, adverbs (yr2), sequencing adverbs and prepositions. We then put our letters in a stamped envelope and posted them to him. Amazingly he replied and he was amazed at their super writing! In Maths we have been ordering numbers to 20, writing numbers in words, identifying tens and ones and exploring 2D shapes in Yr1. In Yr2 we have used the <, > and = symbols to compare number sentences, used our tens and ones knowledge to find the missing number and identified the features of 2D shapes. In Reception we have been explored how to compose and decompose 3 and 4.

Have a lovely weekend!

Week Commencing 4/12/23

And that's a wrap!! I hope you all enjoyed 'The Wriggly Nativity' performances! I would just like to say a big thank you to the parents for all your support with learning lines and undoubtedly listening to nativity singing on repeat at home. But most of all, I want to say a huge well done to our superstars. I'm extremely proud of them all!

Although it feels like our week was consumed by the nativity, we also managed to squeeze some learning in too. Reception have been busy learning about Christmas. They have been writing Christmas themed CVC words, like sack, hat and bell. They've also been decorating Christmas trees to help their fine motor skills and putting the correct number of buttons on the snowmen.

Year One have been comparing number sentences using the greater than, less than and equals to symbols and solving missing number problems. Year 2 have been subtracting two-digit numbers from two-digit numbers by visiting the swap shop and using their knowledge to solve addition and subtraction problems. In English we have been preparing to write a letter to Santa, telling him all about our nativity. In preparation they have been writing descriptive sentences about their character, describing a scene from the nativity using prepositional phrases and sequencing events.

In Science we recapped everything we have learnt about humans and animals, in topic we learnt about the Titanic and the sea which it sailed across and in PSHE we were talking about places in our community and their purpose. The children also enjoyed a Christingle service at the church yesterday, and Music and Forest school with Mrs Tickle today. Have a lovely weekend!

Wriggly Nativity Wednesday evening performance-

Please can all Ash children be back at school by 5.30pm to allow time to change everyone into costumes.

Thank you!

Week commencing 27/11/23

A super busy week! In Maths, Year 1 have been subtracting using a variety of methods, such as on a number line, using their number bonds and finding the difference. Year 2 have been revisiting some of the questions from assessment week- addressing misconceptions and recapping knowledge. We have also been adding one- and two-digit numbers and subtracting from multiples of 10. In English, we have been looking at 'The day the crayons quit' and focusing on the features of letters. This has included making predictions about the text, writing from a character's point of view and recording dialogue. We even had our own class debate about whether orange or yellow crayon should be used to colour the sun. The children gave great reasoning for both sides of the argument but Orange came off on top!

Reception have continued learning about Space. We have been reading 'Whatever Next' this week and the children have been engaging in conversations about the story by predicting what is going to happen next. We wrote a postcard to Mummy Bear from the moon and illustrated a picture based on what we'd read. We ended the week by sequencing the story and writing about our favourite part. In Maths we have been looking at parts of an object which can make a whole.

In DT we sewed our puppets together, in Computing we practiced using our mouse skills, in RE we explored how Jewish people celebrate during Sukkot and in Exciting Writing we wrote letters to Santa. We also did a sneaky dress rehearsal performance this week to Miss Bleakley and I think her baby was very fascinated by the lovely singing. The mayhem of Christmas has officially begun with a surprise visit from the Elf in Ash today. Have a great weekend ready for lots of Wriggly Nativity next week!

Numbots and TT Rockstars

Ash have been given new logins for Numbots. This login is the same as times tables rockstars. The focus on Numbots is for children to practise their knowledge of number bonds before moving to times tables.

This is not official homework but a great way to get your children practising their number bonds in a fun way.

Login details can be found in your childs reading record. This is a joint account with Great Staughton- so when prompted to provide a school at log in, please use Great Staughton and not KPA:)

https://play.numbots.com/#/account/school-login-type

Week Commencing 20/11/23

Another week closer to our Nativity performance and Ash are so excited to perform! This week we introduced a new topic to Reception. Over the next few weeks they will be learning about space, and the children have loved having a go at writing whilst laying down like they're in a rocket, building 2D shape rockets and making larger scale rockets out of junk modelling.
We have all been busy practising our sewing skills, ready to start sewing our puppets together next week. We continued learning about different ways to balance using a variety of equipment in PE and in Forest School we made rainbow kebabs using leaves. We explored the field looking for different coloured leaves and put them on our stick, starting with green and ending with brown.
Have a lovely weekend!

Week commencing 13/11/23

We started the week on National Kindness Day and spent the morning talking about acts of kindness we could do in school and at home. We then played a couple of kindness games in circle time and the children had some lovely things to say about each other.

In English this week we have been writing the story 'Wolfy' with our own main character and storyline. These turned out great and the children really enjoyed writing them! We then started looking at different sentence types and wrote our own job adverts using statements, questions, commands and exclamations. In Maths, Year One have been consolidating their understanding of number bonds within 10 and using this to help them find the missing number in a number sentence. Year two have been looking at subtracting one- and two-digit numbers using a range of strategies. Reception have been looking a part whole models and looking at ways to build numbers up to 5.

In DT we began making our puppets which we designed last lesson. We started by cutting out the front and back of our puppet, ready to sew them together next lesson. In PE we continued focusing on different ways of balancing. Reception have also been busy learning about fireworks- matching numerals to representations, naming their own Guy Fawkes and drawing firework pictures.

We also had some very exciting news for Year Two this week! Their Acrostic poems, which were entered into a competition, have all been selected to be published into a book! Ash are very proud of their hard work.

Have a lovely weekend all. I think we're all ready to let our hair down after a crazy hair day!

Week commencing 6/11/23

What a fab Careers Week! The children have been so enthusiastic about all of our visitors, asking questions and thinking about whether this would interest them when they grow up. We have talked lots about what careers the children would be interested in and looked into some jobs we didn't even know existed!

We started the week off with a visit from a Farmer. We all got to look at what ingredients they collect on the farm and what this is made into. We even got to sit in the cab of the tractor! We then met a Civil Servant who explained to us about the Parliament and government. We then had our own KPA political vote at the polling station and Ash class won the best idea for spending some hypothetical money to better the village. We also had a visit from an Agronomist, a Firefighter and a University lecturer too. The highlight had to be seeing Mrs Whiting dress up as a firefighter!

But of course, our most exciting part of the week had to be Kidzania! The children had the best time exploring the different workplaces and earning their own wages. They visited the spy agency, police and fire department, plane and energy lab, to name a few. Then we got to spend our wages at our very own Kidzania shop in school. The children had to work out how much they could afford to buy based on what they had earnt. Overall, the children have had a very educational but exciting week and hopefully they enjoy some rest this weekend.

Week commencing 30/10/23

A short week to ease us back in but it's been filled with lots of Nativity singing practice, which I'm sure you've all loved hearing in the first week of November. The children now know their roles and some of them have brought home their lines if they have speaking parts. I'd really appreciate any help with learning them at home as we only have four weeks until our performances!

Our week started with an introduction to our new DT topic- puppets. The children have designed their own animal glove/finger puppets, which they will be creating over this half term. In Maths, Year 1 have been looking at adding single digit numbers using resources and first, then and now stories. Year 2 have been adding and subtracting from 2-digit numbers, adding by making 10 and adding three single-digit numbers. Reception have been learning about more than and less than by looking at amounts. In English we have been looking at writing in past, present and future tense, creating our own character for a story and planning our own narrative. Reception are doing amazingly well with Phonics and have now learnt all 26 phonemes in the alphabet. We will be spending some time recapping and consolidating these before moving onto digraphs.

In PE we are working on balance, we wrote Halloween acrostic poems in Exciting Writing, illustrated a Harvest prayer in RE and compared North and South America to Europe, by looking at physical and human features in Topic.

Week commencing 16/10/23

We made it! Our first half term in Ash is complete and what a lovely but busy one it’s been. This week we have been looking at fact families and number bonds within 10/20/100 in KS1 and showing quantities to 4 and using positional language to describe them in Reception. In English we have looked at the traditional story 'The boy who cried wolf'. We have continued to use adjectives and subordinating/coordinating conjunctions when writing about the story. Reception have finished learning all of the Phase 2 phonics sounds and tricky words. Please keep practising your flashcards over half term by playing some fun games (jumping on the sounds, make an alien word or real word).

We also looked at animal food chains in Science, breaking gender stereotypes in jobs in PSHE and playing instruments to the pulse in Music. Reception used their senses to explore a pumpkin before taking out the seeds in preparation for Halloween. In Forest school we listened to sounds in nature and drew what it made us think of. And finally, not forgetting our lovely Harvest Festival at the local church where Ash performed ‘Dingle Dangle Scarecrow’ and shared a reading.

Everyone has worked so hard and I hope you manage to have a restful break! The children definitely deserve it. 

Additional announcements- PE will be changing to a Thursday afternoon next half term. Mystery reader dates are filling up fast but I have a couple of Fridays left in December and an empty calendar going into the new year

Week Commencing 9/10/23

Another fabulous week! The children have been super busy in Maths looking at counting sounds in Reception, writing numbers in words and odds and evens in Yr1, and counting in 2s, 5s, 10s and 3s in Yr2. In English we have started looking at traditional stories by drawing a story map of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and responding to questions about a story. In Science we loved matching baby photos to children in Ash, and this created great discussions about how humans change over time. There were lots of giggles when talking about receding hairlines and wrinkles!

For World Mental Health Day on Tuesday, we all created emergency self-care posters for each of the children to share what would make them feel better when they are feeling certain big emotions such as anger/excitement/worry etc. In Art the children finished making their sea textured tile by printing with various objects, and we compared Asia and Australia to Europe in Topic.

Year 2 finished their ‘This is me’ acrostic poems ready to be submitted next week for the deadline of the competition. They were all extremely excited to share them with Mrs Whiting. Next week Yr1 have their final Balanceability session as well as our Harvest festival. Please keep practising our Harvest reading over the weekend. The children should all have a copy of their lines. Have a fabulous weekend!

Week commencing 2/10/23:

This week Ash have done some amazing learning and I’m extremely proud of them. KS1 have worked really hard to write their own version of ‘The Storm Whale’ using conjunctions and adjectives. In Maths we have focussed on comparing numbers using greater than, less than and equal to. Reception have been exploring the number 3 by building and writing it and have also learnt lots of new sounds and tricky words in Phonics. Year 2 also began writing their acrostic poems for the Young Writers competition which they will be entering in a couple of weeks time!

In Science we investigated whether two eyes are better than one by carrying out two experiments and we continued to experiment with printing and designing our own sea textured tile in Art. In Computing the children tried logging onto a laptop independently and learning how to use the touchpad. We continued working on throwing skills in PE and put the foundations of a pond into our wild garden in Forest School with Mrs Tickle.

If there are anymore baby photos to come in for Mondays Science lesson then that would be greatly appreciated. We also have some dates free for Mystery Reader after half term if anyone would like to sign up (Grandparents/Aunties/Uncles are welcome too!) Have a great weekend all!