Hello everyone!

The children have had such a lovely first half term and have settled into Year 1 extremely well! It has been wonderful to see them grow in confidence, build new friendships and embrace all the exciting learning opportunities that have come their way. I hope you have all had a positive experience so far and are enjoying seeing your children develop and flourish.

We have had a very busy and exciting half term, filled with lots of learning, creativity, new experiences and fun! Here is a little look at some of the wonderful things we have been getting up to in Year 1.

This half term, the children have worked incredibly hard to consolidate their learning from Reception, particularly their understanding of place value within 10. They have been developing their ability to recognise, represent and compare numbers, as well as building their confidence in understanding what each number means.

We have also moved on to exploring addition and subtraction within 10. The children have been using a range of practical resources, including ten frames, part-whole models and cubes, to help them understand how numbers can be made, broken apart and combined in different ways. These hands-on activities have supported the children in developing their mathematical reasoning and explaining their thinking.

We are so proud of the children's enthusiasm, perseverance and progress in Maths. They have shown great determination when tackling new challenges and are continuing to build the strong foundations they need for their future mathematical learning.

The children have made fantastic progress in their writing this half term, and it has been wonderful to see their confidence, creativity and imagination continue to grow as they settle into Year 1!

We have continued with Drawing Club from Reception, providing the children with exciting opportunities to bring stories to life through their drawings, ideas and writing. Their imagination has been brilliant to see! We have explored the story Beegu, where the children thought carefully about how we could help Beegu feel less lonely by creating some new friends for her. They also became fantastic engineers, using LEGO to design and build a spaceship to help Beegu find her way back home!

We have also enjoyed exploring Little Red Reading Hood. The children produced some wonderful descriptive writing, thinking carefully about Little Red and how she might be feeling as she ventures into the woods. They have been developing their vocabulary and learning to use their ideas to describe characters, settings and emotions in greater detail.

We are incredibly proud of how much the children have achieved and the enthusiasm they continue to show during our writing sessions. Next half term, we are excited to introduce Curious Quests, which builds on the creativity and storytelling of Drawing Club. The children will meet new characters, embark on exciting adventures and discover even more opportunities to let their imaginations run wild through writing. We cannot wait to see where their ideas take them next!

We have had some brilliant sporting opportunities this half term, and it has been wonderful to see the children getting involved, challenging themselves and showing such enthusiasm!

The children had the pleasure of taking part in a skipping session, where they developed their coordination, balance, rhythm and timing. They practised new skills, worked on their perseverance and were encouraged to keep trying, even when something felt tricky. It was fantastic to see their confidence grow as they challenged themselves and celebrated their achievements.

We also took part in our KS1 Cross Country event, competing against children from other schools. The children did incredibly well and showed fantastic determination, resilience and sportsmanship. We were so proud to see them supporting one another, cheering each other on and giving their best right to the finish line!

Another highlight was our Inter-House Handball Tournament. The children competed against others in their houses, putting their skills into practice and showing great teamwork and enthusiasm. It was lovely to see them encouraging their teammates, working together and demonstrating such a positive attitude throughout the competition.

During our PE lessons this half term, we have focused on handball and football. In handball, the children have been developing their throwing, catching, passing and teamwork skills. In football, they have been practising how to control and move the ball, develop their dribbling skills and work together as a team. Both sports have provided fantastic opportunities for the children to improve their coordination, communication and understanding of how to play fairly.

This half term, we have been getting to know our KS1 outdoor learning area, and the children have had a brilliant time exploring and learning in the great outdoors! It has been wonderful to see their excitement as they discover new ways to learn beyond the classroom.

We have been taking our Maths and Phonics learning outdoors, using the space to practise key skills in fun, practical and engaging ways. The children have enjoyed exploring numbers, solving problems and developing their phonics knowledge through hands-on activities that bring their learning to life.

Outdoor learning has also provided fantastic opportunities for the children to develop their teamwork, communication, independence and curiosity. We have loved seeing them work together, share ideas and build confidence in a different learning environment.