26th January 2026

A Jolly January to you all!

Our Crazy Creatures topic is now in full flow and we are learning so many things. 

• In science we have been grouping, comparing and describing animals. This week we were so excited to meet some unusual creatures as we had a visit from the exotic Zoolab. There was a Madagascan Hissing cockroach called Gary, a giant African snail called Flash, a beautiful little Australian tree frog called Freddo, Samantha the giant millipede and Ekans the corn snake. We loved seeing them and some of us held, stroked and touched the animals. An amazing experience. 

• Our English lessons are focused on writing a report about an animal and we have invented our own creature using Switchzoo. We wrote one using the Ridgeback Dragon and now we will be writing our own!

• In Maths, we have been practising using a number-line to 20 and finding missing numbers - we have been trying to use maths language to explain our answers. 

• We love Art especially as we are mixing colours and making secondary colours from primary colours. 

• In Geography, we were introduced to a compass so please do ask us what the mnemonic is to recall the compass points. 

So, as you can see, we are very busy bees!  

12th January 2026

Happy New Year!
We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and enjoyed the holiday break. The children have settled back into school really well and have enjoyed telling us all about the fun things they got up to during the holidays.

We kicked off our new topic, “Crazy Creatures,” with a very exciting Mystery Visitor! A mysterious creature appeared in our school library, sparking lots of imagination and curiosity. The children shared brilliant ideas about what animal they thought had visited and enjoyed drawing their own versions in their books.

In English, we have started learning about reports and have introduced our focus text, The Ridgeback Dragon. This will be our report map, which we will be working on throughout the term.

In Maths, we are developing our understanding of the teen numbers and numbers to 20. We have been looking at tens and ones, exploring how many tens and ones make each number. The children are working hard to grasp this important concept.

In Science, we have begun our topic on Comparing Animals. We were learning about the five animal groups, sorting animals into these groups and discussing why each animal belongs there.

Art, we got the paint out! The children have been learning all about primary and secondary colours and experimenting with colour mixing.

We are really looking forward to diving deeper into our learning this term. We also have an exciting visit from ZooLab coming up in a couple of weeks, which will link perfectly with our “Crazy Creatures” topic!

8th December 2025

Holidays Are Coming!

Not long to go now, and WOW the children in Year 1 have done incredibly well this term.

We have packed so much learning into the weeks that our brains have been growing every day, even with the bug that went through Year 1 a few weeks ago. The children showed great resilience and worked very hard throughout the term.

In English, we have been learning about persuasive writing, linking this to our explorer Matthew Henson. The children wrote letters persuading Tilly to come to the North Pole and produced some fantastic work.

In Maths, we have been working hard on part–part–whole and are now beginning to solve word problems by following each step carefully and deciding whether we are adding or subtracting.

Special Events

Last week we took part in Christmas Decoration Day, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. They visited different classrooms within their houses and made lots of fun decorations.

The following day, the children also took part in a Sports Day, which included a range of fun physical activities.

A Small Request

Please could you start collecting toilet roll tubes for a project we will be working on next term. Thank you for your support.

A Big Well Done

The children have been working extremely hard rehearsing for their play, Prickly Hay. You should be very proud of them as they have shown great commitment and enthusiasm.

As we wrap up and say goodbye to 2025, the whole Year 1 team would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

We look forward to seeing you again in 2026.

24th November 2025

Through a brief flurry of snow, we slip and slide into the festive period. Despite our numbers being up and down due to some strange virus, we have been battling on with our learning in all sorts of ways. 

Mrs France and the children, assisted by the lovely Mrs Charlotte, have been making bird feeders in Forest school. Since the cold snap, we are sure the birds have appreciated the extra food. It is wonderful for us to see the birds come and feed too. 

Our maths skills have developed as we look at the different ways to make 10. Subitisation (being able to recognise a small number of objects without counting) is a great skill to have here. We have been looking for the five in a number too. So we know 6 is 5 and 1. 7 is 5 and 2 etc. 

In English, we completed our setting writing and have moved on to  writing a simple letter. This week we have received letters from explorers and are finding the features of letters. 

Our Phonic sessions have seen a consolidation of Chapter 4a sounds and we now move to becoming fluent in these sounds. Please do carry on daily reading as this helps with fluency. 

In History, we looked at Christopher Columbus and his travels. We ordered a timeline for his journey. 

In Science, we carry on exploring the seasons and the weather.

In DT, we are going to be designing our puppet. 

We carry on our endeavours with the Christmas performance and are quickly learning the songs. Mr Payne is a wonderful director and he makes rehearsals fun for all of us!

10th November 2025

WOW…. Autumn Term 2 is already here! Time really does fly when we're having fun in Year 1.

We’ve started the term with our exciting new topic: Incredible Inventors and Explorers. As you may have seen on Class Dojo, the children kicked things off by making their very own telescopes to begin their journey as explorers.

In English, we are diving into the story Tilly and the Telescope. The children have been exploring all the places Tilly travels, describing each setting in detail. They’ll soon be creating their own brand-new settings using the wonderful ideas they’ve gathered. We’ve also been learning about similes and how they make our writing more descriptive.

In Science, we began our new topic: Seasonal Changes. The children discussed the four seasons, the types of weather we might experience, and the months of the year. They then enjoyed creating their own seasonal mobiles.

We have continued our exploring in History, looking at different explorers from the past and present. See if your child can remember any of their names and explain why they are famous!

Of course, we can’t forget our first Forest School session, led by Mrs France. It sounded like the children absolutely loved it, and we can’t wait to see what adventures they have next.

A small reminder as the colder weather begins to arrive, please label all clothing and belongings. Including football kits on Fridays.

As always, it is a joy teaching Deer and Fox Class.

In the event of a school closure, remote learning will be available here.