Year 1 - Hedgehogs

We had a fantastic day on our trip to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu! I was very proud of the children as they asked their questions and showed particular interest in the land speed record cars which we'd looked at in school. Golden Arrow, Bluebird and Thrust have really captured their interest. At lunchtime, we were treated to a ride in Gumdrop, an Austin 12, by Lord Montagu's own chauffeur! Going round the roundabout was a real giggle and the children thoroughly enjoyed it. There was so much to squeeze into our day - the monorail, a ride on Wheels, the Top Gear exhibit, Gumdrop, lunch, a tour of the motor museum and a play on the transport-themed playground - that it passed in a flash and, before we knew it, we were back on the coaches for a snowy trip back to school. It was a lovely day and the children were a credit to the school - well done Hedgehogs!

Phonics screening check - information session for parents

Thank you to all the parents that attended our information session on Wednesday. If you were unable to attend, see below for a video link introducing the screening check and a copy of the presentation. Please speak to your class teacher if you have any questions or need support. We had several questions on the day, including:

• How is the test run - as a group or otherwise?

The check is carried out in a quiet room on a 1:1 basis with the child's own class teacher. The children are familiar with the format from practise checks and we try to make it as 'normal' as possible on the day. We find that generally the children are not anxious about it.

• Can we have copies of past screening checks?

We are happy to show you what the screening check looks like but would ask that you do not use past checks to practise at home with your child. We use the screening checks from past years in school to assess your child's progress and areas that require attention. If they have already seen and practised the check, this will give a false result and hamper us in giving your child the best possible support. You can choose real words and make up alien words using the sounds listed in your child's Home/School reading log for practise.

• When will the check take place?

The screening check will take place in the week beginning Monday 11th June 2018. Usually, each class is allocated a day within the week for testing. Your class teacher will not be able to let you know if your child has passed or not that week as the pass mark is not released until later in the month. We will communicate your child's result in their end of year report. ​​​​​​​​

There is plenty of time for to prepare the children for the phonics check and we have seen pupils make remarkable progress in the run up to the phonics check when supported both at home and in school. Please take a look at the 'pure sounds' video linked below to make sure you are pronouncing the sounds correctly as incorrect pronunciation can hinder a child's ability to blend accurately. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Many thanks,

The Year 1 Team

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Money Games

The children have been playing shops in school and looking a different coins. They've enjoyed some of the interactive online games that we've used and I promised them I would put them here to access at home:

Toy shop money game

Choose the right coins to pay for the toy in the shop. The game also includes an option to pay with just one type of coin, great for practising counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/money/toy-shop-money

Coins games

There are 3 buttons on the main menu of this game leading you to 3 different activities - sorting, ordering and counting.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/money/coins-game

Welcome back Hedgehogs!

It was lovely to see the children's smiley faces back after the school holidays. I hope you all had a good break and enjoyed the festive season. The children were full of news about their presents and wrote enthusiastically about their Christmas day in English - it sounds as though lots of parents had an early start!

We kicked off our new topic, Elephantastic!, this week with a mini-invasion of the classroom of brightly coloured elephants! It was delightful seeing the children realise what was going on, hunting for more elephants and excitedly telling their friends as they arrived in class. The children are already enjoying the Elmer stories and we'll be making 3D Elmer models soon so please send in a clean, 4 pint milk bottle for this activity.

We have more surprises in store and a lovely topic full of colour and creativity - we can't wait to share it with the children!

Totally Tremendous Turrets and Tiaras

We've had a super first half term with the lovely Hedgehogs and thoroughly enjoyed our first topic together! The children have settled in so well and I feel very proud of them all for making the step up from Year R to Year 1 brilliantly. I can't believe how much we've accomplished in our Turrets and Tiaras topic and it's great to see the progress that they are making in their books. When I talk to the children about this topic, their highlights include the dressing up Castles Day that was such fun, the dragon eggs that they cared for as part of our materials learning and the various pieces of art that we've created together. My own personal highlights include their looks of wonder when we discovered the golden dragon egg on the nature trail, the Lord Robert maths problem-solving activity full of "light bulb" moments  as the children suddenly realised that they understood what to do and the medieval obstacle course on Castles Day as the teams cheered on their teammates who were riding on hobby horses with a bean bag balanced on their heads - hilarious! 

I'm looking forward to our next topic, Masterchef, and the run up to Christmas. As we'll be cooking with the children, it would be great to have some parent helpers to support us. If you haven't filled in a volunteer form and would like to help with the cooking, please see Mrs Walker in the office for a copy of the form. Thank you to parents who did fill in forms, we'll be in touch with you shortly.

Have a lovely, restful half term and see you on Halloween!

Miss Simkins

Miss Simkins, Mrs Abrahams and Mrs Baker welcome you to Hedgehogs!

Our first topic is a history topic called Turrets and Tiaras! We've already been down on the nature trail hunting for clues for our new topic and printing castle pictures. It's a lovely topic which helps children connect with the past in a fun and meaningful way. We'll be holding a dressing up and medieval games day towards the end of the topic - date tbc!

We're looking forward to a super year in Hedgehogs and hope you are too!

PS - our PE day is Monday!