Croeso i Flwyddyn Un

Teacher: Mrs Cotton

P.E. days - Wednesday and Thursday

Forest School - Friday afternoon, alternate weeks (beginning 21.09.23)

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Class update

Summer 2024

22.4.24-3.5.24 

We have had a wonderful 2 weeks in Year 1. The Expressive Arts has blossomed as we have focussed on ‘reflection’. We have been learning how to play the glockenspiel and exploring the classical genre of music. Listening and ‘reflecting’ on the music has generated creative drawing and writing. Our focus on reflection has been widened in to our art activity, inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s painting ‘Starry Lights over the river Rhrone’. The children chose from a variety of mediums to capture reflections in the water. We were amazed by the independent choice of colours to represent the scene. We are looking forward to continuing our work on reflection. Have a lovely weekend everyone! 

8.4.24-19.4.24 

After a wonderful Easter break, Year 1 have returned with a ‘spring’ in their step! Easter celebrated new growth and following on from our height measuring activities we have extended this to weighing objects on scales after predicting and comparing. We thoroughly enjoyed getting our hands muddy and planting flower seeds, in the process we used lots of “bossy” verbs to help our instructional literacy lesson. The children created some beautiful, detailed and innovative designs for our bug hotels. We can’t wait to see the completed hotels – all 22 of them! This week we have consolidated our knowledge about the days of the week and months of the year by repeating familiar rhymes and songs to remind us of the order of them. We created ‘superhero’ vegetable designs, identifying potential superpowers and have been taking advantage of any improving weather conditions by playing tennis outside. A lovely couple of weeks. Diolch yn fawr, Year One! 

Spring 2024

11.3.24-22.3.24  

We have had a busy but lovely couple of weeks in Year 1. With Easter approaching we have focussed on exploring the Easter story. As a class the children created actions to retell the story, independently produced story maps which they used to create their own version of the Easter story. In expressive arts Easter continued as children made stained glass windows and Easter cards using tissue paper linking the joy of Easter and symbolic representation. In literacy this week pupil voice was expressed as we explored ‘Rabbits’ and the children produced individual fact files about rabbits, selecting headings and subheadings. We were so impressed! In maths, new growth inspired us to learn about height, using non-standard units of measurement and a variety of resources practically, we culminated our own height chart. The children loved measuring their friends and comparing their heights. In Welsh we focussed on the weather and likes and dislikes. We extend our thanks to County and the Community for their final, exciting session with the children, the children really enjoyed the sessions and learnt many skills. Happy Easter from the Year 1 team! 

26.2.24-8.3.24 

Last week in Y1 we celebrated the Eisteddfod in style! The children worked really hard on their handwriting and writing activities. We made beautiful, unique clay Welsh love spoons inspired by symbols representing important messages and following individual designs. We made Welsh cakes—DELICIOUS! We also made leek and potato soup, learning how to use instructional language and following recipes—culminating in tasting our delicious soup. The children wanted more than one bowl. St David's Day was a huge success where we joined the rest of the school in a morning assembly to celebrate together in our houses. The folk dance ‘Patta-a-cake’ Polka was performed by Y1 & Y3… it was so impressive. Da iawn pawb. This week we enjoyed forest school, learning about time (specifically hour and half hour) The children learned about capacity, measuring and sorting. They have also been making something special for Mothering Sunday. World Book Day has been inspirational. The children have dressed up as book characters or in their pyjamas and had a day of enjoyable activities, beginning with designing book covers. 

5.2.24-23.2.24

Dosbarth 1 have continued with our new topic, Roots, Shoots and Muddy Boots.  On Monday,County in the Community, taught us different listening games which we had a lot of fun playing.   In I’m a Clever Writer we thought of different words to describe Srping and then wrote an acrostic poem – Mrs Cotton was very impressed with our poems  In maths we have been using different coins to buy items from the shop and starting to give change to amounts up to 20p, we are getting very good at recognising the different coins and using them to buy items. We are also learning how to make the same amount using different coins, for example to buy something which costs 10p we can use a 10p coin, two 5p coins or five 2p coins. In PE we are continuing to learn a traditional Welsh dance ready for our Eisteddfod later this term, we are learning our dance with Year 3 and we are very excited about this, we can’t wait to find out which house will perform their dance at the Eisteddfod.  In our Expressive Art we are continuing to learn about the artist Andy Goldsworthy and how he uses the outside and natural materials to create his art. We are enjoying using the materials in class to recreate his patterns and design some of our own. We also had our second session of Commando Joe’s where we had to build a new machine to help Farmer Duck – great teamwork skills on show again Year 1.  We have also started our Reading Buddies with Year 3 on a Tuesday afternoon – Diolch Dosbarth 3 for reading lovely stories to us.  We are also busy working on our entries for Eisteddfod on Friday 1st March, you still have time to send your entry into school if you haven’t already done so, I’ve been very impressed with the entries sent in so far.  Please remember County in the Community will continue each Monday until Easter, please ensure your child has appropriate PE kit in school to wear during this session along with hats and gloves, thank you.

   

22.1.24-2.2.24

Another busy two weeks have gone by in Dosbarth 1.  We have continued with our new topic, Roots, Shoots and Muddy Boots where we are having fun learning about farming food and growing.  County in the Community, continue to work with us every Monday developing our listening skills, teamwork and resilience.   In I’m a Clever Writer we are continuing to look at using time openers to retell the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which we have really enjoyed, and we are starting to use more adventurous openers for our stories.  In maths we have been using different coins to buy items from the shop and starting to give change to amounts up to 20p, we are getting very good at recognising the different coins and using them to buy items. We are also learning how to make the same amount using different coins, for example to buy something which costs 10p we can use a 10p coin, two 5p coins or five 2p coins. In Welsh we have been learning the names of different farm animals who live on a farm.   We celebrated Saint Dwynwen’s Day too, we listened to the story, made shortbread hearts, and at Forest School we made heart sculptures using natural materials. In PE we are continuing to learn a traditional Welsh dance ready for our Eisteddfod later this term, we are very excited about this.  In our Expressive Art we are continuing to learn about the artist Andy Goldsworthy and how he uses the outside and natural materials to create his art. We are enjoying using the materials in class to recreate his patterns and design some of our own. Cori and Alex from County in the Community will continue each Monday until Easter, please ensure your child has appropriate PE kit in school to wear during this session along with hats and gloves, thank you. 

8.1.24-19.1.24

Blwddyn Newydd Da.  I hope you all had a restful Christmas and New Year.  The spring term has started with our new topic, Roots, Shoots and Muddy Boots and it’s hard to believe that we are already two weeks into the new term. We have had a busy start with County in the Community, which we will take part in every week and Forest School, which continues every two weeks.  In I’m a Clever Writer we are continuing to look at using time openers to retell the story of Farmer Duck, which we have really enjoyed, and we are starting to use more adventurous openers for our stories.  In maths we have been looking at what a half is, and ensuring we understand it is two equal parts when cutting shapes using playdough. We have also started looking at creating our own repeating patterns using natural materials including pinecones, wooden slices and stones.  For our topic we have begun to look at the history of farming and how farm machinery has changed over time by creating our own timeline.  We have also started to think about our food and where it comes from, alongside what food is healthy and good for us to eat.  In PE we have started learning some country dancing ready for our Eisteddfod later this term.  In our Expressive Art we are beginning to look at the artist Andy Goldsworthy and how he uses the outside and natural materials to create his art.  For this term, Cory and Alex from County in the Community are coming in every Monday to develop ball skills with Year 1, which we have really enjoyed so far.  With the weather being increasingly cold can I please ask you to ensure your child has appropriate PE kit in school to wear during this session along with hats and gloves, thank you.  

27.11.23-8.12.23

Another busy couple of weeks in Year 1.  We have been busy with our Nativity rehearsals, learning our lines and singing our songs.  Last week we had a visit to the church and met Reverend Dack.  She very kindly told us all about the history of the church and we learnt that it was very old and that the village of Trellech used to be a very important place in Wales.  We also found out about the font; where babies are christened, the pews; where the congregation sit, sing hymns and say their prayers.  Reverend Dack also told us about the pulpit and the alter altar, which was very interesting.  This week in Clever Writer we have been learning how to write informal letters, and comparing to the postcards we wrote last week.  We have been writing a Thank you letter to Reverend Dack for allowing us to visit the church.  In maths we have started looking at Place Value of tens and ones using numicon to support our learning.  We have also continued with our counting in 2s and learning the 2 times table.  We have also started to create our Christmas items for our enterprise stall at the Christmas Craft Fayre, something we are very excited about.  We are becoming more festive in our Toots sessions with Mrs North where we have been learning to play Jingle Bells – we have had to learn lots more notes so we can play the tune.  Last week, Year 1 enjoyed taking part in the whole school tree planting – thank you Mrs Cornish and Mrs Marsh, we all really enjoy our gardening activities each week.  

24.11.23

Another busy couple of weeks in Year 1 again.  We have enjoyed celebrating Diwali, where we listened to the story of Rama and Sita and watch a clip showing how Hindus celebrate the festival of Lights.  We created our own rangoli patterns using tissue paper and made a diva using salt dough and sparkly silver or gold paint.  In maths this week we have been learning to count in 2s and being to learn our 2 times tables.  We have also been doubling numbers to 10, which we are finding tricky.  In Literacy we are continuing to learn our sounds and read words containing our new sounds.  In I’m a Clever Writer, we have been learning about the features of a postcard, listening to the story or Meerkat Mail and then writing our own postcards to our friends and family.  In gardening we have planted more wildflower seed, blubs and tidied up the garden for the winter. We all looked amazing in our spots and PJs for Children in Need and managed to complete 77 laps of the daily mile track with only 20 children – da iawn.  This week we have been singing our songs and learning our words as we begin to get ready for our nativity, thank you for your help at home.  We celebrated Children’s Rights Day by wearing blue and completing blue activities in class.  We also had another trip to forest school where we made hanging bug hotels for the bugs in the winter and created our own forest animals using clay.  Wow! What a busy fortnight we have had! 

10.11.23

Welcome back to you all.  I hope you had a lovely half term.  The week before half term, Year 1 enjoyed a visit to Billy Bob’s Pumpkin Farm where we enjoyed being ‘lost’ in the maze where we tried to follow different paths to find our way out.  The best part was picking our pumpkins from the field and pushing them back to the farm in the wheelbarrow – great teamwork and perseverance on show.  Back at school we were using different coins in maths to buy vegetables from the farm shop to make our soup, after reading Pumpkin Soup.  The whole class decided the soup tasted delicious! 

This week we have been busy learning about what makes a good friend and the sign for friend – ask your child if they can show you.  We discussed the qualities of being a good friend, here are some of our ideas – being kind, being helpful, making someone laugh, looking after them and including them in our games.  We have also been learning about Remembrance Sunday and the reasons why we wear poppies.  

This week we have started our Christmas Nativity – letters about costumes and words will be coming home very soon. 

20.10.23

Another busy two weeks in Year 1.  We are continuing to learn our sounds in our daily Read Write Inc sessions.  In I’m a Clever Writer we have been retelling the story of Stickman, we sequenced the story using pictures to start and then used the time openers First, Then, Next, After and Finally to write sentences to retell the story in our own words.  In Maths we have been reinforcing number bonds to 10 with some of us beginning to work with number bonds to 20.  We have also been looking at different coins and their values.  We learnt that the biggest coins don’t always mean they are worth the most money.  We have also been counting backwards from 20 to ensure we are saying ‘teen’ and not ‘ty’ - we are getting much better at this.  In Welsh we have been learning to answer the question Ble wyt ti’n bwy?  Dwi'n bwy yn …...  (Where do you live?  I live …) We pretended we were one of the Three Little Pigs and answered in Welsh for which type of house we live in.  We were very lucky to take part in the Drama Queens workshop where we created a dance with streamers for, I can sing a rainbow – we have some very talented dancers in the class.  We spent our time at Forest School this week creating friendship bracelets, selecting items to show what makes a good friend.  I was also very proud of Year 1 during their visit to the church to celebrate harvest – what great singers we have in the class.   

Just a quick reminder that we are going on our trip on Tuesday – if you haven’t requested a packed lunch from school then please can you provide your child with one for that day.  Thank you. 

6.10.23

Another busy two weeks in Year 1.  We are continuing with our Topic, My World My School and finding out the different ways we travel to and from school each day, lots of us come by bus, car and some of us walk.  In maths we have continued to work with numbers to 20, counting forward and backwards starting at different numbers and reinforcing the ‘teen’ numbers saying thirteen, fourteen.  We have been recognising the + and the = signs and using them to write our own number sentences using dice and dominoes to create our sums.  We have also been learning outside collecting different leaves, acorns and conkers to create sums and add the quantities togethers by counting on.  In RWInc we have been learning our new sounds and using Fred talk to learn to read our new green words.  We have been using our Fred fingers to spell new words using our sounds and then write the words independently.  In I’m a Clever Writer we have been retelling the story of The Three Little Pigs using story maps, sequencing, and writing sentences independently using the time openers First, Then, Next and Finally.  We are really enjoying our gardening with Mrs Cornish and have been very proud to harvest our vegetables which are available for you to take at the end of a Thursday, we are hoping our pumpkins will be ready soon too.  Our chickens are also back in school enjoying their new run where they have room to roam and dig for worms, they have also started to lay eggs although they are very small at the moment.  We were very excited to see the chickens back in school and the eggs.  Thank you to the Cookman family who have been looking after the chickens until their new pen was ready.   We have had our second visit to Forest School where we enjoyed learning about animals who hibernate in the winter and built homes for our woodland friends in the forest.   

                                    

22.9.23

Dosbarth 1 have had an amazing start to the Autumn term.  We have been very busy starting our new topic My School, My World, learning all about our school, who teaches in our school and the other classes – we're starting to paint pictures of the different people who help us during our school day.  We have been revisiting learning to read and write our numbers to 20 and match the correct number of objects to the number and some of us have now begun to work on higher numbers.  During RWInc we have been in our new groups learning to read and spell words with different sounds and we have also started our I’m a Clever Writer retelling the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears using the time openers First, Next, Then, Finally.  In Welsh we have been learning to ask and respond to simple questions including our name, how we are feeling, and where we live.  Mrs Cornish and Mrs Marsh have started gardening and we have been very proud to be able to share some of our harvest with you on a Thursday, we will continue sharing our produce when we can and will use any donations to help buy resources for our gardening area.  On Thursday we had our first Year 1 visit to Forest School where we were joined by Reception and had fun exploring the forest and helping the Reception children.