What we have been learning this week!
Week beginning: 10th July 2023
Good afternoon,
We have had a lovely last full week in Doves class and we are looking forward to our three days of fun next week!
In maths this week we have finished all units of learning. Year 1 were recapping o'clock and then were learning half past the hour. They really enjoyed using the little clocks like year 2. In year 2, the children were describing turns and movement and they loved writing the directions down for certain characters to move to the red cross.
In English we designed our own potions, wrote instructions for how to make the potions and then we finished with letters to our new teacher or to me!
No homework this week, but thank you very much with the support of spellings and homework throughout the year, it is very much appreciated and really supports the children's learning.
Don't forget your spare clothes for Monday's water play and all other days are normal school uniform.
Congratulations to Gideon and Chloe for their awards this week
Have a brilliant weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 3rd July 2023
Good afternoon,
This week in maths the year 1 children have been learning about seconds, minutes and hours and telling the time to the hour. In year 2, the children have been learning about the language of position and describing movement.
In English, the children have loved writing their newspaper reports and I have to say they look incredible! The headlines are great, and I love the witnesses part of each of them in the main story! In phonics this week the children have been learning about the -un prefix and in SPaG the children have been learning the -dis prefix. These will appear in the children's spellings for next week.
In art, we did some wonderful drawings of George's Marvellous Medicine! They were so brilliant and the children surprised themselves with how well they did I think, which was lovely to see
We really enjoyed our transition morning on Wednesday and then open evening. Thank you to all that came to look through books and look at the classrooms.
Next week is our last full week of the year, and then we will have 3 days (17th-19th) of summer fun to enjoy at school- more details will follow next Friday.
Congratulations to Mia and Freddy for their awards this week Reports went out this afternoon and I hope you enjoy reading them and celebrating how amazing your children are!
Have the best weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 26th June 2023
Good evening,
This week in maths the year 1 children have moved onto time and they have been learning before and after and organising events and days of the week. We have been asking lots of questions such as what day is after Thursday? Or What day is 2 days before Wednesday? The year 2 children have been interpreting pictograms 1-1, drawing pictograms (2,5,10) and interpreting pictograms (2,5,10).
In English this week we have been looking at headlines in newspapers and the children were so good at looking at random pictures and adding fun, catchy captions to them! We also planned our own newspaper report based on George's Marvellous Medicine- I can't wait to see these next week! In phonics this week the children have learnt the 'ore' sound and in SPaG we have been learning about homophones.
In science we did some planting of sunflowers and looked at the life cycle of a sunflower. We also did some great RE work on Shabbat and what people can and can't do during this time each week.
Sports day was a great success on Tuesday morning! Every single child gave their all and everyone came away with lots of stickers! Lots of rules have been broken today! Thank you for the donations!
Homework this week is a reading comprehension on George's Marvellous Medicine, spellings and TT Rockstars.
Congratulations to Arabella and Buddy for their awards today!
Enjoy the weekend!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 19th June 2023
Good afternoon,
This week in maths the year 1 children have been working on the money unit of learning. They have been unitising, recognising coins, recognising notes and counting in coins. In year 2, the children have been doing statistics. They have been making tally charts, tables, block diagrams and drawing pictograms (1-1). The children have loved collecting data from their classmates, teachers and office staff.
In English we completed some wonderful Mary Seacole biographies, and I think they are our best top copies yet! We then moved on to our next learning sequence, which is going to be to write a newspaper report. The children looked at newspaper reports and highlighted the key features. They now understand that they will need a headline, a summary, pictures with captions, to write in short paragraphs and facts and opinions. I can't wait to see these next week! In phonics, children have been learning the ve, ze, ce and se endings in words. In SPaG, we have been adding ful, less and ly suffixes onto root words.
In our foundation subjects this week we did some great work in our books about hospitals now and then. The children loved looking at pictures of hospitals in the past, and were very inquisitive! In George's Marvellous Medicine, George had one rule when making the medicine and that was that absolutely anything and everything could go in it! I'm sure you would have heard the giggles from me reading this book as our end of the day story. Using inspiration from the story, we then turned into scientists! We did a lava lamp experiment using food colouring, vegetable, oil, salt and water. The oil and water did not mix, we call this immisible liquids as the oil is lighter than the water.
Next week we hopefully have sports day to look forward to! Homework this week is maths, TT Rockstars and spellings.
Congratulations to Tayden and Harry for their awards this week
Have the best weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 10th June 2023
Good afternoon! It has been a lovely, sunny week in Doves class In maths this week year 1 have been finding one more and one less a given number between 0 and 100, comparing numbers with the same amount of tens and comparing any two numbers. Year 2 children have been telling the time to the hour, telling the time to 5 minutes, looking at minutes in an hour and how many hours in a day. They should all be really proud of being able to tell the time which we said was a really important life skill! Please keep practising this at home to get the learning embedded and we will be practising in mini maths each day.
In English this week we have been learning about subordinate conjunctions and using them in sentences. We then wrote some sentences using subordinating conjunctions about something or someone we know lots about. After this, we proceeded to write a biography about Mary Seacole. In English and history this week we also learnt about Florence Nightingale and we read a biography about her.
In reading skills this week some of our questions were:
Predict what else Ada might start saying.
Do you think it was right to tell Ada that she will 'figure it all out'?
In phonics we have learnt the are/ear saying air sound like in care, share, bear and pear. In SPaG we have learnt the tion/sion/cian endings in words. The children doing phonics screening checks were incredible this week and should all be really proud of themselves!
In PE this week we practised our running races and our egg and spoon races ready for next Tuesday. We are really looking forward to sports day and our picnic lunch! After all of our hard work this week in a very hot classroom we enjoyed an ice lolly!
Homework this week is spellings, TT Rockstars and some sentences using subordinating conjunctions.
Congratulations to James and Mya for their awards this week
Happy Birthday to Rory for tomorrow!
I hope all our lovely dads' and step-dads' in Doves have a lovely day on Sunday
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 5th June 2023
Good afternoon and welcome back to the summer 2 term! Our topic this term is 'George's Marvellous Medicine' and the curriculum map is posted on dojo and on this website for you to look at what we will be learning.
In maths this week, year 1 children began their unit of place value to 100 and they have been counting from 50 to 100, counting in tens, partitioning tens and ones and working on a number line to 100. In year 2 the children have been recapping o'clock and half past. We then moved on to quarter past and quarter to and telling the time past the hour.
In English this week we have been recapping digraphs in phonics ready for the phonics screening check next week and then because of this we have had a recap week in SPaG. We started our new reading skills book 'Ada Twist, Scientist' and the children are loving it so far and answering all of the VIPERS questions confidently. In writing, our new sequence of learning is to write a biography and so we looked at the features of a biography and some different examples. We also completed a reading comprehension on Mary Seacole.
In our foundation subjects we have been learning lots of facts about Mary Seacole and why she was such a special nurse. In RE, we looked at Shabbat and how Jewish people celebrate this. In science this week we continued our work on everyday materials and the children loved finding objects around the room, noting down what material it was made from and then checking whether it was waterproof, not waterproof, transparent or opaque.
Year 2's had a great time at Mini Games and came 25th out of 44 schools! Thank you to the Chelmsford Sports Partnership for another fantastically organised event.
Homework this week is spellings, TT Rockstars and maths. Year 1 also have some phonics practise as they have their screening checks next week.
Congratulations to Eva and Dexter for their awards this week
Have a lovely sunny weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Happy half term!
Week beginning: 15th May 2023
Good afternoon!
This week in maths year 1 have been recognising a quarter of a quantity, finding a quarter of a quantity, describing turns such as half term, full turn and quarter turn and then describing position to the left and right. In year 2 we have been learning non-unit fractions, recognising the equivalent of a 1/2 and 2/4, recognising 3/4 and finding 3/4.
In English we have been writing and editing our stories of Grandad's Island. They are amazing and the children have enjoyed becoming authors, producing the top copies and making them into a real life book! In phonics we have been adding ing and er suffixes onto verbs and in SPaG we have been learning the wa (wo) and qua (quo) spelling rules. We have finished the story of Grandad's Island and some of our reading skill questions this week have been:
What does lurched mean?
What did Syd shout when he sees land?
How does Benji Davies make the ship appear very tall?
We have also been learning about transport through the ages this week and the children ordered the different types of travel on a timeline from the Sedan chair to the jet plane. Next week we have our picnic lunch with grandparents and parents to round off our memory box topic and the children are very excited to listen to memories, share their stories and speak about the past and present with their families whilst enjoying a yummy picnic! Year 2 have their question booklets on Monday-Thursday mornings next week, but they are all ready and will be fabulous at trying their best! We also have the inflatable afternoon next week which will be a great end to the summer 1 term!
Congratulations to Florence and Fern for their awards this week
Happy Birthday to Fern for tomorrow!
Have a brilliant weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 8th May 2023
Good afternoon!
In maths this week year 1 have been recognising half of a quantity, finding half of a quantity, recognising a quarter of an object or shape and making quarters using objects and shapes. Year 2 have been recognising a third, finding a third, finding a whole and learning about unit fractions. Next week we move onto position and direction (YR1) and time (YR2).
In English this week we have been continuing to write our stories using Grandad's Island and they are absolutely brilliant. I can really see the children using more interesting language and putting verbs, adverbs, speech, expanded noun phrases and similes or alliteration into their writing.
We have enjoyed our swimming lesson this week and we also learnt colours in French. The children are really enjoying learning the French language which I think is brilliant for their age! In science we have been describing wood, metal, plastic and other materials.
Homework this week is some SPaG questions, along with the booklets and TTRockstars.
On Thursday 25th May we will be having a grandparents/parents picnic on the field to round off our topic. More details about this will follow next week
Have a super weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 1st May 2023
Good afternoon! We have had a busy week compacting 5 days worth into 4! In maths this week both year groups have been learning....Fractions! Year 1 have been grouping with equal groups, sharing with equal groups, recognising a half of an object or shape and finding half of an object or shape. Year 2 children have been recognising a half, finding a half of a quantity, recognising a quarter and finding a quarter of a quantity.
In English this week we have started our narrative unit based on Grandad's Island. The children are writing their own emotive story using inspiration from this book! In phonics this week the children have been adding the suffix -est onto words and in SPaG we have been adding the suffixes 'ment' and 'ness' to words. We are still intrigued about what is going to happen in Grandad's Island and we haven't finished it just yet, but some of our VIPERS questions this week have been 'Why do you think Syd has never been in the attic before?' and 'Choose three adjectives to describe the attic'.
In our foundation subjects we were looking at toys through the ages in history and had lots of fun with these! We had a cup and ball game, a wooden boat, a rattle, a spinning top, Victorian party masks and swing toys.
Today, we had a fantastic coronation celebration! The children looked incredible in their crowns and outfits! We sang the national anthem (and Sweet Caroline!), paraded to the whole school, made Union Jack flags to wave, ate tasty Victoria sponge cake and danced our hearts out on the playground this afternoon- as we were dancing the sun shone! Congratulations to Arabella for winning the crown competition and Arthur for coming runner up.
Congratulations to Rory and Phoebe for their awards today
Have the best bank holiday weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 24th April 2023
Good afternoon! It has been a busy week in Doves class and the children are working so hard! In maths this week year 1 have been recognising equal groups, adding equal groups, making arrays and making doubles. Some really neat work in the year 1 books this week which is fab! In year 2 the children have been using four operations with volume and capacity and learning about temperature. We then moved onto our fractions unit and did some work on parts and whole and then equal and unequal parts. The year 2s were loving looking at the temperature at school each day, so maybe they might like to continue that at home!
In English this week we did some lovely spring poetry using alliteration, we then moved on to planning our own Magic Box poem using inspiration from Kit Wright. Once we had planned it we then wrote fantastic poems- the children's ideas were so creative and they managed to put adjectives, similes and alliteration into their own poems! In phonics this week we have been looking at the ed suffix in words and in SPaG we have been learning the war and wor spellings in words such as 'warm' and 'world'. In reading skills Syd has found Grandad in the attic, but there was something he wanted to show Syd- can you child remember what happened next?
In our foundation subjects learnt about Eid in RE and did some lovely work on this. In history, we were lucky enough to look at past objects such as a hot water bottle, a washboard, a telephone, a suffrogette's brooch and a gas attack rattle! In French we did some work on colours and counting and we did some positive affirmations work in PSHE which was great! Swimming also started this week again for the rest of the school year and the children were super excited! Thank you to our parent helpers for support with changing! I was really impressed with the children for getting organised, coming back to class and getting on with their work after
Homework this week is to make a crown to wear to our whole school parade on Friday 5th May. I can't wait to see your wonderful creations- if you need any help with this please let me know. Spellings and TT Rockstars is also set.
Congratulations to Dexter and Millar for their awards this week
Enjoy the bank holiday weekend- let's hope the sunshine stays!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 17th April 2023
Good afternoon and welcome back to the summer 1 term!
This week in maths, year 1 have been comparing capacity, counting in 2s, counting in 10s and counting in 5s! We have now started our multiplication unit of learning and will be doing lots of timetables in our mini maths sessions. In year 2, the children have been using four operations in mass, comparing volume and capacity, measuring in millilitres and in litres. In our mini maths this week, year 2 have been brilliant and going through some past paper SATS questions.
In English this week we wrote a recount about our Easter holidays and it was lovely to catch up with everyone and hear all about their two week break. We then moved on to the story of Pandora's Box and we completed a talk for writing activity which the children loved! We then put some words from this story into alphabetical order and we learnt about alliteration. Next week we continue our unit of work where we will be completing some spring poetry and writing our our magic box poems. We began our new reading skills book this week 'Grandad's Island' and the children are intrigued as to where Syd is going with Grandad. They are begging me to read on each day, so it is a popular book!
In phonics we have been adding s and es to words such as 'wishes' and 'cars'. In SPaG, we have been learning contraction apostrophes.
In our foundation subjects we have been drawing family portraits in art, looking at pictures and artefacts of the past and how they have changed such as a mangle, iron and carpet beater. In science we were identifying and naming materials and then we finished the week with some sprinting in PE as part of our athletics.
Homework this week is to find four objects, describe them and write about what material they are made of. Spellings, reading booklets and TT Rockstars is also set.
Congratulations to Gideon and Charlie for their awards this week
Thank you for a lovely first week back Doves class! It's been a brilliant week and enjoy your weekends!
Miss Forman
HAPPY EASTER!
We had to really work for our chocolate eggs today. Once we had cracked the secret code by moving around the work out stations, we then got to hunt for our eggs that had been hidden in the classroom!
The children have worked incredibly hard this term. It has been amazing to see how they are progressing in their learning and lovely for me to see their personalities shine!
Thank you so much to all of you parents for your constant support with everything that goes on from reading to events in the school calendar- it is certainly busy but very much appreciated! I hope you all have a wonderful two week break and wishing you all a very happy Easter!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 20th March 2023
Good afternoon,
This week in maths year 1 have been measuring length in centimetres and then we moved onto weight and volume and used the language heavier and lighter, measured mass and then compared mass. The children loved using the balance scales this week! In year 2, the children were measuring in metres, comparing lengths and heights, ordering lengths and heights and using the four operations with lengths and heights.
In English this week we have been writing up a leaflet about India using all of the facts, knowledge and research we have learnt in our foundation subjects. The leaflets look amazing and were so beautifully presented In phonics we have been learning the ea (saying e) sound, in words such as bread, ready and weather. In SPaG, we have learnt the ey digraph which is always at the end of a word, like in monkey, hockey and donkey.
In our foundation subjects we moved onto Rio and designed our own mask for a carnival, we learnt about the Holi festival in RE which is a colour fight in Hinduism and signifies the start of spring. We did some food tasting of poppadoms, mango chutney, vegemite and we made some brigadeiro, which is a Brazillian dessert. Also, we learnt so much about the Taj Mahal, I wonder if your child can answer these questions?
How long did it take to build the Taj Mahal?
Why was it built?
How many different gems/stones were used to make it look beautiful?
How many elephants were used to transport materials?
Homework this week is to write some sentences about India, spellings and TT Rockstars (jamming).
Congratulations to Sophie R and Freddy for their awards today
Next week we will have lots of Easter fun as well as finishing off our learning in this topic.
Have a wonderful weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 13th March 2023
Good afternoon,
This week has been assessment week! All children have taken reading and maths question booklets and also completed some lovely writing and spelling/phonics. A really busy week, but I have to say the children were amazing and have worked extremely hard- Well done Doves!
As well as question booklets, year 1 have been comparing length and heights and measuring length using objects in maths. Year 2 have been looking at the similarities between the 5 and 10 times table and have been measuring in centimetres. In English we have been using commas in a list and writing about a dream we imagined set in a rainforest.
In our foundation subjects we have been learning about Mandir temples and creating Mendhi designs in RE and art. In Geography, we compared the village of Chembakolli to East Hanningfield and in science we did some work on the human life cycle. This afternoon, we finished the week with some bollywood dancing which the children loved! I wonder if they can show you the routine?
Homework this week is maths, spellings and TT Rockstars. There is no phonics or SPaG booklet this week due to assessment week.
Congratulations to Chloe and Arabella for their awards today
I hope all of our AMAZING mums in Doves class have a wonderful day on Sunday
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 6th March 2023
Good afternoon! This week in maths the year 1 children have been estimating on a number line to 50, learning one more or one less than a given number up to 50 and have been comparing lengths and heights. We have now moved onto our length and height block of learning. The year 2 children have been learning the 10 and 5 times table and then dividing by 10 and 5. They have been brilliant at division and I was so impressed as it was the first time we have got to this
In English, the children have been enjoying the story 'The Elephant Dance'. There are lots of similes in this book and the children loved writing similes for each member of their family. We finished our top copies of our postcards and in our next sequence of learning we are going to make a travel brochure all about India. In phonics this week children have been learning the ph digraph in words such as photo and dolphin and in SPaG the children have been learning the o making the 'u' sound in words like wonder and month.
In our foundation subjects this week we have been learning about life cycles in science, creating beautiful mandalas in art and writing a letter to someone in India like a pen pal in geography.
Next week is assessment week and all children will undertake maths papers, a reading paper and a writing task. There is really nothing to worry about with these, but please let me know if you have any questions. There will be no phonics or SPaG next week as in this lesson time we will do phonics screening assessments and spelling just to see where the children are at, again, nothing at all to worry about!
Homework this week is writing about Australia, individual spellings and TT Rockstars (hopefully any issues with this is now resolved!)
Congratulations to Buddy and Mia for their awards this week
Happy Birthday to Dexter for Sunday!
Have a relaxing weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 27th February 2023
Good afternoon! What a week!
In maths the year 1 children have been counting in groups of ten, groupings tens and ones, partitioning numbers and using number lines to 50. In year 2 the children have been working on the 2 times table, dividing by 2, doubling and halving and learning odd and even numbers. The presentation in maths books this week was incredible so well done Doves!
In English this week the children have been using expanded noun phrases to describe Australian animals, they have planned their postcards and then they wrote their postcards to their chosen person, as if they had been to Australia! The language used was brilliant and I am looking forward to doing these as a top copy on Monday. In phonics this week the children were learning the g sounding like a c so in words like gem and magic. In SPaG the children were adding doubling the consonant and then an ed or ing to root words such as jogged and jogging. The doubling of the consonant only happens if the root word ends in a single consonant and there is a vowel before it- lots to remember!
In our foundation subjects we did some fabulous aboriginal art using paint and cotton buds. Also, we did some fantastic geography work about Australia. We know the capital city is called Canberra and that baby joey koalas eat their mums poop! Finally, we really enjoyed World Book Day today and all the activities leading up to it. The children have absolutely loved reading to their buddies each day after lunch and the books produced for homework were all absolutely brilliant. I have certificates for everyone on Monday
Congratulations to Chloe and James for winning the book voucher prizes.
Have a wonderful weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 20th February 2023
Good evening,
This week in maths we have been learning about related facts, missing number problems, counting from 20-50 and focusing on 20,30,40 and 50 in year 1. In year 2, the children have been completing multiplication sentences, using arrays and making equal groups by grouping and sharing. There was some fantastic division work in our books this week with outstanding presentation!
In English this week we wrote all about our half term and what we got up to! We then moved onto our first writing sequence of the term and in the next couple of weeks we are going to write a postcard. We looked at the features of a postcard and read some on our tables. We then really looked at punctuation this week, and completed a 'missing punctuation' activity, where the children had to correct my sentences. In phonics this week children have learnt the 'wh' digraph like in 'when', 'whale' and 'whisk'. In SPaG, the children have learnt the 'al' as 'or' spelling like in 'walk', 'talk' and 'chalk'. We have started our new reading skills book called 'The Great Kapok Tree' and the children have been begging me to read on each lesson as they are wanting to know what happens! We all agreed it has some fabulous illustrations too.
Through our foundation subjects this week we have finished our puppets, learnt lots about Australia already in Geography and in science we learnt about animals and their offspring. We did some work on Shrove Tuesday this week in RE and then had some fun flipping and eating a pancake! We finished the week with a super PE lesson about balancing and the children were great at following the sequence of point and patch balances!
Next week we have World Book Day to look forward to on Friday, but we will also be doing lots of lovely things throughout the week linked to books. Homework this week is to write a story and the winner of each class will be revealed in special assembly next Friday morning.
Congratulations to Ivy and William for their awards this week
Have a really lovely weekend everybody!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 6th February 2023
Happy half term!
This week we have been very busy in maths continuing with subtraction in year 1 and moving onto multiplication in year 2 which they have loved! In year 1 we have been learning near doubles, subtracting ones using number bonds, counting back and finding the difference. In year 2 we have been recognising equal groups, making equal groups, adding equal groups and the multiplication symbol has been introduced.
In English this week we have been writing animal riddles using description and a question mark and we then wrote amazing rhyming poems using inspiration from the 'Do not feed the animals' poem by Robert Hull. The ideas were fantastic, we had:
Do not feed the cats any big macs.
Do not feed the squirrels pickles.
Do not feed the deer a pint of beer.
Lots of fun in English this week!
In our foundation subjects we had some great writing about the 5 oceans of the World. We have learnt that the Pacific ocean is the biggest, the Atlantic ocean is named after the Greek god Atlas, the Indian ocean is the warmest, the Southern ocean is full of ice in Antartica and the Arctic ocean is the smallest. We also did some sewing this week of animal puppets and the children did so well with this! They were full of concentration and enjoyed this activity so much which was a lovely end to the half term!
Thank you for coming to our class lunch on Wednesday! It was so lovely to see the children enjoying themselves and they were so excited to welcome you. Also, on Wednesday we did a walk and talk as part of Children's Mental Health week and we had some fabulous undercover kindness through the week!
We have had great fun at the disco tonight and as always the children danced away and enjoyed themselves. A great end to a hardworking few weeks! Homework for half term is maths, individual spelling and TTR/ reading booklets.
Congratulations to Eva (1st), Buddy (2nd) and Sophie S (3rd) for the biggest increase in coins on TT Rockstars!
Congratulations to Jack and Lennie for their awards this week
Happy Birthday to Harry for Sunday!
Have a super week off Doves and I will see you on Monday 20th February 2023.
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 30th January 2023
Happy Weekend everyone!
This week in maths year 1 have been counting on within 20, they have been adding ones using number bonds, finding and making number bonds to 20 and doubling numbers. In year 2 the children have been making a pound, finding change, completing two step problems and we did an assessment on money. Next week year 1 continue with addition and subtraction and year 2 move on to multiplication and division. I have been so impressed with the work in mini maths as well as our normal maths lessons too!
In English, the children have been writing a story about an animal. All of the stories and the imagination were superb! In Rory's story there was a cheetah called Dave, Connie's story involved an abandoned puppy and Mya's main character was her dog Rocky! We have also read through the poem 'Do not feed' by Robert Hull and picked out the rhyming words. Our final piece of work this half term is going to be a rhyming poem with inspiration from this. In reading skills our VIPERS focus has been retrieve and some of our questions were:
Where does Sunny go on Monday?
What does Sunny like to eat?
What irritates Sunny at Scratch and Mitch's?
In phonics we have been learning the 'au' and 'aw' digraph. The children are working so hard to recognise all of the sounds we have learnt so far this year and there is huge progress with everyone which is fab! In SPaG this week we have been adding -est to words ending in e and adding y to words ending in e. Some of these are in our spellings for next week.
In our foundation subjects we have been learning about the ten commandments in RE, performing a simple test on our sight sense and continuing our learning on the continents and oceans of the World. The children loved answering my quiz questions on this and they love the songs we begin our geography lessons with, which I have posted on dojo! Next week we are doing some sewing which I am looking forward to!
On Wednesday we have our class lunch at 11:30am. Please arrive through the office door and the children will welcome you into the hall. We also have our valentines disco on Friday 10th February 3:30pm-4:30pm. Feel free for your child to bring their disco clothes into school and they can change in class rather than going home first if you wish!
Homework this week is to upskill my boring sentences using adjectives and adverbs, individual spellings and TT Rockstars. Please play jamming when on TT Rockstars as unfortunately the homework set does have division and TTR have told us that we can't just set multiplication.
Congratulations to Malachy and Connie for their awards this week!
Have a brilliant weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 23rd January 2023
Good afternoon
This week in maths year 1 have been using a number line to 20, estimating on a number line to 20, comparing numbers to 20 and ordering numbers to 20. In year 2 the children have been carrying on with our money unit. They have been choosing notes and coins, making the same amount, comparing money and calculating money. Next week year 1 move onto addition and subtraction and year 2 have one more week of money.
In English this week we have been writing non-chronological report top copies, sequencing the Meerkat Mail story and helping Sunny to pack by writing what he needs in his suitcase. We also completed our story mountain plans ready for Monday where we will write our stories about an animal.
In foundation subjects we have been labelling and identifying parts of the human body and labelling the 5 oceans of the World. We learnt that the Pacific Ocean was the biggest ocean and it is near the continent of Australia. The children also really like our continent song, so I will post this on dojo next week!
In phonics we have learnt 'y as ee' and have focused on words such as 'happy', 'silly' and 'furry'. In SPaG year 2s have learnt the 'ture' (cher) spelling and have focused on the words 'adventure', 'picture', 'sculpture' and 'fixture'.
Homework this week is maths, spellings, the phonics booklets and TT Rockstars.
Congratulations to Sophie S and Tayden for their awards this week
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 9th January 2023
Good evening! It has been a lovely first full week back in school and the children are back into the swing of things for the spring term!
In maths this week year 1 have started their place value unit to 20. We have been drawing numbers 11-20 using tens and ones. In year 2 we have now finished our shape unit. The children have been counting edges on 3D shapes, counting vertices on 3D shapes, sorting 3D shapes and making patterns with 2D shapes and 3D shapes. In English this week we have been answering questions about tigers in a reading comprehension, we have been writing descriptive sentences about animals and then we have researched meerkats to plan a non- chronological report.
In phonics we have learnt the 'ue' sound and the children have impressed me with how they are recognising all the digraphs we have learnt since September- amazing! In SPaG we have been adding 'ed' and 'er' suffixes to words. Again, the children have been great at this spelling rule and they are all noticing spelling patterns casually in our everyday school life. Phonics/SPaG booklets are in homework folders today, and although they are not compulsory, they are really beneficial for the children to complete!
In our foundation subjects we have been looking at the continents of the World and discussing which continent certain animals live. The children loved looking at the globe and finding different countries on different continents. In French, we learnt some animal names such as dog (un chien), cat (un chat) and tortoise (un tortue). In science we were comparing mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and birds. There were some really good discussions in this lesson yesterday!
Homework this week is maths, spellings and TT Rockstars. It is our class assembly next week and every child has a part. Lines are in homework folders and can be practised over the weekend and in the week leading up to Thursday if possible
Congratulations to Fern and James for their awards this week
Have a brilliant weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Merry Christmas everyone!
I hope everyone has the best break with their friends and family and I can't wait to see you on Thursday 5th January 2023!
Week beginning: 12th December 2022
Such a lovely, festive week!
In maths we finished off the term with some more shape work. Year 1 were making patterns with 2D and 3D shapes and then were answering some shape questions in a work booklet. Year 2 were looking at lines of symmetry on shapes, lines of symmetry to complete shapes and were sorting 2D shapes. In English this week we were writing instructions for how to make a cup of tea and for how to makes ship's biscuits using those imperative (bossy) verbs. Everyone loved making sea biscuits this week and we are going to try them with some soup on Monday. The instruction writing was fabulous and the children remember the features of instructions such as the numbers to show each step.
In phonics this week the children were learning the 'ir' digraph which can also look like 'ur' or 'er'. We looked at words such as 'twirl', 'girl' and 'bird'. In SPaG this week the children were learning the 'al' and 'il' sounding like 'l' spellings. They were great at writing lots of 'l' words with the different spelling patterns.
We had a great shopping morning on Monday, buying and wrapping gifts for a member of our family. We then performed our show 'Born in Barn' twice on Tuesday and on Wednesday we had a lovely Christmas dinner with our place mats and hats! I was so proud of the Doves for just being amazing this week, especially when we are feeling end of term tired! It has certainly been busy, but we have enjoyed having some festive fun together!
Next week we will be having a Christmas craft day on Monday. On Tuesday, we will have a class party in the morning and then a Christmas movie afternoon with popcorn. For our Christmas party, the children are welcome to bring in their own party food snack to enjoy when we have a break from the dancing and games! Please bring these in in a named bag
Homework for the holidays is to write different sentences about Christmas, spellings, TT Rockstars and there is an extra phonics booklet. This is all due in on Friday 13th January 2023 and new homework will go out then.
Congratulations to Harry and Rory for their awards this week
Have a brilliant weekend everyone and I will see you for 2 days of festive fun on Monday!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 5th December 2022
Week 6 complete and we are now in December! This week, in maths, year 1 have been recognising and naming 2D shapes and sorting 2D shapes. They are really impressing me with their shape knowledge! In year 2 we have been counting the sides on 2D shapes, counting the vertices on 2D shapes and drawing 2D shapes. We have learnt the names of 5, 6, 7 and 8 sided sided shapes (pentagon, hexagon, heptagon and octagon).
In English this week we have been looking at imperative (bossy) verbs ready to write our instructions. The children also wrote a recount of their experience day on Wednesday, using time connectives and they have been fabulous to read! Instead of phonics and SPaG this week we have been recapping everything we have learnt so far this term and completed a spelling assessment, just so I can see where everyone is at with tricky common exception words. Everyone is doing so, so well with their spellings each week and really working hard on these so well done Doves and thank you for the support at home! It really does make a difference, especially with the children's writing.
On Wednesday we had a super Great Fire of London day! We went back in time to 1666, we made soap, leather bookmarks, bread, medicine and ink to then write with a quill. We had to spread news of the fire, be a rat catcher, use fire hooks to pull houses down and we created a bucket line near the well to try and put the fire out. It was such a fun, imaginative and enjoyable day! A big thank you to Carl from 'Those History People', our parent helpers and to all of our parents/grandparents for organising such fabulous costumes!
Homework this week is maths, spellings and TT Rockstars. Next week, we will be performing our Christmas show 'Born in a Barn' to you all on Tuesday 13th December at 2:30pm. I will dojo message you on Monday where to ideally sit, so that you have the best place to see your child on stage! Please keep practising your lines and songs over the weekend
Congratulations to Charlie and Sophie R for their awards
Enjoy your weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 28th November 2022
This week has been test week! The children have loved completing their 'question booklets' in school and they have all done so well Year 1 have completed an arithmetic and reasoning paper and then they were recognising and naming 3D shapes and sorting 3D shapes. Year 2 have completed an arithmetic and reasoning paper and then completed missing number problems and were recognising 2D and 3D shapes.
In English we have been writing letters to Father Christmas which have been wonderful and I will post these out on dojo. We have also moved onto our next learning sequence of instructions. The children are looking forward to making their sea biscuits over the next couple of weeks.
In history we completed a great activity looking at London and we also completed a lovely RE activity all about advent. Our rehearsals of 'Born in a Barn' are well under way and the children are trying so hard to remember their lines and knowing when to come in. We also had a new member of Doves class on Thursday- let's hope he doesn't get up to too much mischief!
Homework this week is spellings, TT Rockstars and to practise lines for the Christmas Show. If your child does not have lines they will have a song with actions to practise, so it would be fantastic if you could have a go at home! I have posted the link to the songs on dojo, but feel free to message me if you have any trouble.
Congratulations to Millar and Jack this week for their awards
Have a lovely, festive weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 21st November 2022
Good afternoon
This week in maths year 1 have been consolidating their learning of place value and addition and subtraction. They have worked so hard to fly through the fluency challenges, problem solving and then work on the reasoning challenges to explain. Year 2 have been working on mixed addition and subtraction and comparing number sentences. We have been doing lots of column addition and subtraction in our mini maths sessions to consolidate this learning.
In English this week we have been planning and writing our diary entries. They are absolutely amazing and I can't wait to see the top copies early next week! Also, next week we will be writing a letter to Father Christmas and we will begin our final writing sequence of instructions.
In our foundation subjects this week we have been learning about the life cycle of a bean plant, looking at what London was like in 1666, London landmarks and their facts and the story of when the angel told Mary she was going to have God's son in RE.
In phonics this week the children have been learning long and short vowel sounds and in SPaG the children have been adding er and est to words ending in y. I am so impressed with this learning and am really seeing the benefits of our new scheme when listening to the children read aloud each week.
All children have now been casted in our Christmas performance of 'Born in a Barn'. This will be on Tuesday 13th December at 2:30pm in the school hall. I have sent a message on dojo to everyone about costumes and lines. Thank you for your support and I can't wait to start practising in the hall next week. I will post the link to the songs if you want to sing a long at home- they are very catchy and you will be singing them in your sleep!
Homework this week is to put your spellings for this week into a sentence, spellings and TT Rockstars.
Congratulations to William and Arthur for their awards today!
We had a great World Cup day at school today! The children loved playing football together, and each child now has a team in the class sweepstake!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 14th November 2022
Good afternoon!
In maths this week year 1 have been using practical equipment to take away, completed subtraction on a number line, adding one or two to numbers and they completed an addition and subtraction assessment as we finish the block of learning. In year 2 the children have been adding two 2 digit numbers (not crossing 10), adding two 2 digit numbers (crossing 10), subtracting two 2 digit numbers (not crossing 10) and then subtracting two 2 digit numbers (crossing 10) all using the column method. They have worked very hard on this and we will practise lots of this through the year in our daily mini maths sessions.
In English we have completed our character descriptions about Samuel Pepys and in our next learning sequence we are building up to write a diary entry from 1666. We completed a reading comprehension all about The Great Fire of London and we focused on using the past tense, changing sentences. The children had lots of imagination, so I am really looking forward to reading these, when the children produce them next week.
In Phonics this week year 1 have been learning the 'ou' digraph and year 2 have been learning the 'le' sound along with the short and long vowel sound spelling rule. I am so impressed with how the children get themselves sorted with their whiteboards and pens and really work hard during these lessons. They love getting the phonics/ SPaG or handwriting star of the day!
Thank you for wearing your odd socks on Monday to school! We have been discussing friendships and how to look out for each other during our Anti Bullying discussions this week. Thank you for all of the fabulous bakes on Thursday for Children in Need! It was such a great success and raised a great amount for such a good cause!
Homework this week is maths to complete, with TT Rockstars and spellings.
Congratulations to Mia and Malachy for their awards this week
Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for all of the lovely birthday wishes today Doves! I feel extremely lucky to teach such kind and thoughtful children!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 31st October 2022
Welcome back to Autumn 2! If you haven't had a read of our curriculum map it is now available on dojo and our class page
This week in maths year 1 have been doing fact families (the 8 facts) and some subtraction. We have been using sentence stems such as 'First there were ____. Then ___ were taken away. Now there are ___. In year 2 the children have been subtracting 1 digit numbers from 2 digit numbers (across a 10), 10 more, 10 less and adding and subtracting 10s. Next week we have maths week where we will be playing lots of maths games and activities. We would love to welcome you into class at 2:30pm on Thursday 10th November to do some maths activities with us!
In English this week we wrote a recount of our half term, and then we found a time capsule in our classroom! Inside was a black, curly, long wig, a bottle of wine, some cheese and a diary. We decided that this must have belonged to Samuel Pepys! The children then did some lovely writing about the objects. We also completed a reading comprehension about the Great Fire and labelled Samuel Pepys using adjectives.
In our foundation subjects this week we did some Halloween pumpkin art using oil pastels, we made a chronological timeline of the events of the Great Fire and made posters for each part and we also learnt about The Gunpowder Plot and made WANTED posters looking for Guy Fawkes! To tie into this we did some firework safety. Lots of history this week and already the children have remembered many facts and dates and we can now picture that The Gunpowder plot happened before the Great Fire of London. We finished the week with a tasty hot chocolate to get us ready for Bonfire Night!
Homework this week is maths, TT Rockstars and individual spellings
Have a super Bonfire Night weekend!
Miss Forman
Happy Half Term everyone!
We finished this week by presenting in our Black History Month assembly all about Stormzy! We learnt that his real name is Michael Omari and although he has won lots of awards for his music he has also contributed towards fees for students to attend university. I was so impressed with all of the Doves who stood up in front of the school, spoke on the microphone or held up some vocabulary and their meaning.
Mr Forster did the TT Rockstars assembly this week and congratulations to Buddy, Eva and Gideon who came 1st/2nd/3rd for the most increased amount of coins over the half term.
It was lovely to speak to you all at parents evening this week. Thank you for meeting with me!
Have the best week and see you on Monday 31st October.
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 10th October 2022
Good evening,
In maths this week year 1 have been learning the number bonds within 10, systematic number bonds within 10, number bonds to 10 and adding together. In year 2 the children have been learning number bonds to 100 (in tens), adding and subtracting 1s, add by making 10 and adding three 1 digit numbers. I am looking forward to you parents having the chance to look through books next week, so you can see all of the children's hard work this term in maths.
Through English this week we have been really inspired by the book 'The Magic Faraway Tree' by Enid Blyton. It is an absolutely brilliant children's book, but I love hearing the children transfixed on what is happening and laughing along! The children created their own character and wrote a character description about them. We have Mr Cloud, Tree man, fairies, elves and pixies! The children then designed their own adventure lands for their stories. We have chocolate land, blue land, the land of fun and the land of dogs! I look forward to planning and writing these next week. In phonics this week year 1 have learnt the 'ea' grapheme and year 2 have learnt the 'gn' spelling. I hope you are enjoying the mini books sent home in the homework packs each week!
In our foundation subjects we had a lovely art lesson looking at Andy Goldsworthy and his natural art, we used a compass in Geography and plotted directions and in science we wrote about seasonal changes.
Homework this week is maths, TT Rockstars and spellings. Thank you so much for your continued support with homework this term.
Next week we will be completing work based on Black History Month. Each class will focus on a black role model and will present in an assembly on Thursday. Our class are going to present all about the musician 'Stormzy'. Some children may come home with some words to practise reading and this can all go towards the reading awards too. I am also really looking forward to meeting with you all next week during parents evening.
Congratulations to Mya and Gideon for their awards this week
Have a fabulous weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 3rd October 2022
Good afternoon,
This week in maths year 1 have been introduced to parts and wholes and then part whole models. They then used these part whole models to write addition number sentences and then fact families. I was so impressed with the children during our fact families lesson, and it was great to see the penny dropping when they each grasped the pattern! The year 2 children have been counting in 3s, looking at number bonds to 10, addition and subtraction bonds within 20 using fact families and related facts. Again, the year 2s were whizzing with their maths work yesterday when they grasped the related facts patterns!
In English this week we have been finishing our top copies of our autumn poems and looking at different stories as we are going to be writing an Enchanted Woodland story next week! We then answered the reading comprehension questions to stories 'Wake up on Bumble Farm' and 'A monster's surprise'. In phonics year 1 have been learning the 'ie' sound (pie, fried, tried) and year 2 have been learning the spelling rule of y (ies). We have spoken about vowels and consonants and the spelling rule is that if the word ends with a y but the letter before is a consonant we knock the y off and add ies. If the letter before the y is a vowel we just add an s. They have all worked very hard! We have a phonics star and handwriting star each day now and the children have made it very hard for myself and the LSAs to choose this week!
In our foundation subjects this week we created our Christmas designs to be sent off to the printers, we looked at the story of Jonah and the Whale on Monday in RE, and continued with deciduous and evergreen trees in science.
Homework this week is using adjectives to describe some autumnal objects, spellings and TT Rockstars. I have changed TT Rockstars to 5 minutes on 'garage' as unfortunately 'jamming' isn't unlocked until the homework is completed.
Thank you to everyone who came to our harvest assembly yesterday. We hope you enjoyed the performance of the Little Red Hen and I have to say I was such a proud teacher watching everyone, as it is very daunting to stand up in front of lots of people but they were all amazing with facial expressions and loud voices for everyone to hear!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 26th September 2022
Week 4 is complete! In maths this week year 1 were using the language less than, greater than and equal to, they then compared numbers using the inequality symbols, they ordered objects and numbers and then finished their place value unit with the number line. Year 2 children have been comparing objects, comparing numbers, ordering objects and numbers and counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. TT Rockstars has launched in our class this week and everyone has a log in in the back of their yellow reading records. Homework is to create your own rock star as soon as you log in and then you can play! I have shown the children how to log in, but they will need the app loaded onto a device or the website up for them to access.
In English this week we have been continuing to use interesting adjectives to describe nouns. Children then added similes to their work. On Tuesday we each wrote a harvest prayer and I had some great work from children thanking God for juicy, red apples and busy, hardworking farmers, as hardworking as a teacher which was lovely to read! We then planned our poems, and then wrote our poems called 'In my autumn garden'. We will write these up neatly next week!
During art we went outside to find autumnal leaves and did some leaf rubbing and in Geography we looked at different keys on a map and then played a location and direction game. We had a lovely science lesson on Thursday afternoon learning about deciduous and evergreen trees. We learnt that the leaves on an evergreen tree stay green all through the seasons, but the leaves on a deciduous tree change colour through the seasons and usually fall off the trees in winter.
Homework this week is maths, spellings and some TT Rockstars! If you were in my class last year you are set up and ready, but if not you need to create your own rock star first which will appear as you log in. Children can play on 'jamming' which doesn't have a timer and I have set homework on 'Garage' which is to play 10 minutes over the week. Any questions about this please let me know!
Congratulations to Connie and Dexter for their awards this week!
Next week we look forward to our harvest assembly in the church at 9:10am
Have a really lovely weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 19th September 2022
Good evening
This week in maths the year 1 children have been been showing one less than a given number, comparing groups by matching and using the language of fewer, more and the same. The year 2 children have been using number lines in tens to 100, tens and ones to 100 and estimating numbers on a number line. Again, some really good maths work going on- I am looking forward to showing our parents the maths books at parents evening and during maths week! Next week is our last week on place value- TT Rockstars will also be making an appearance next week and we will get started on that!
In English this week we moved onto our new learning sequence where we will be writing an autumn poem. We had an autumn bag full of objects in it which was an exciting way to start our two week block and then we focused on using adjectives to describe the autumnal objects and completed a reading comprehension based on 'All about autumn'. Our non-chronological reports are completed and I will post a picture of some below- I can't wait to get these up on our display wall, English wall and star work wall!
In our foundation subjects we created our own map of our local school area using map symbols and a key. In D&T we continued our windmill constructions and the children were so engrossed in this it was great! They already can't wait until the next lesson! In PSHE we created friendship flowers and in science we compared different plants to see whether they were healthy or unhealthy, and how we knew that. We learnt that all plants need the right amount of temperature, sunlight and water.
Homework this week is English and spellings as well as some reading. The children have bought home a phonics book in their homework that is not compulsory, but would be beneficial to read as it includes our phonics sound or SPaG spelling rule of that week.
Congratulations to Freddy and Chloe for their awards this week
Have a brilliant weekend Doves!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 12th September 2022
Good afternoon!
In maths this week our year 1 children have been recognising numbers as words, counting on from any number, showing one more than a given number and counting backwards within 10. The children have been really explaining their answers and telling me that 6 is one more than 5 because we are counting on or counting forwards- amazing! In year 2 this week the children have been partitioning numbers to 100, writing numbers to 100 in words, flexibly partitioning numbers to 100 and writing numbers to 100 in expanded form. Year 2 have also been working in their maths books drawing their own part whole models and I have to say they have been so mature and every book looks fab!
In English this week we began by writing sentences about a scenic picture of a woodland area. There were lots of woodland animals in the picture and we were using some great adjectives and verbs to describe what the animals looked like and what they were doing. I particularly liked 'The cheeky, red squirrels were scurrying down the tree to find their delicious nuts'. We then planned our non-chronological reports of our chosen woodland animal and then we wrote our reports. The children will write up their top copies on Tuesday and I will post them out on dojo!
All of our learning in the foundation subjects this week has been; drawing our favourite woodland animals in art, looking at vocabulary in RE such as the words God, Allah and Brahamn, in Geography we were looking at map symbols, in science we were looking at garden plants and wildflowers and in PE we did hockey! On Wednesday afternoon we did a little history lesson about The Queen and the children ordered pictures of her life in chronological order and then wrote a prayer which I will take with me to London tomorrow. It was a lovely afternoon with lots of discussion and the children showed such compassion
Homework this week is maths and spellings. Thank you for your support with homework!
Congratulations to Lennie and Florence for this awards this week
Happy Birthday to Connie for Monday!
Have a lovely weekend all!
Miss Forman
Week beginning: 5th September 2022
Welcome back to the autumn 1 term! The children have really settled well back into school life and it is lovely to welcome 18 new brilliant children to Doves class and continue teaching the 9 lovely children I had last year!
This week in maths year 1 have been sorting objects, counting objects, counting objects from a larger group and representing objects. The year 2 children have been looking at their numbers to 20, counting objects to 100 by making 10s, recognising tens and ones and using a place value chart. Both year groups are getting used to their challenges and there have been some great answers to the reasoning questions this week.
In English we have been writing things we didn't do in the holidays! I had some very creative answers and it was a fun spin on being sensible and writing what we actually did in the holidays! We then started our Enchanted Woodland topic by talking about woodland animals and moving around the classroom writing down the things we knew about the pictures of the animals. The children worked so well together on this and it was lovely to see! We then completed a reading comprehension all about foxes and finally wrote sentences using conjunctions 'and, but, so, because, or'.
In our foundation subjects we had a great lesson colour mixing using paints, we drew pictures of what we think God looks like in RE, we recapped human and physical features of geography and labelled and described the basic structures of a common plant in science. We were so excited that swimming started back on Wednesday and everyone did so well getting themselves changed and organised!
We finished the week by remembering our Queen. We spoke in class about what had happened, that we now have a King and we all said a lovely prayer in assembly this morning. It was lovely that we got to celebrate the jubilee together back in June and all of us remembered the activities we did and facts about her extraordinary life!
Homework this week is English and spellings and it is explained in the homework tab of our class page each week
Congratulations to Arabella and Sophie S for their awards this week.
Well done for a fab week Doves! You have all worked really hard and I am looking forward to our year together! Have a lovely weekend!
Miss Forman