Class 1

What a fabulous half term it has been! The children have worked incredibly hard and we have celebrated their achievements, both big and small.

We had great fun on evacuee day, practised our maths outside, made more playdough, created a toy dance and we have always been keen to show off our writing skills!

We learnt how to be better friends during anti-bullying week and enjoyed practising and performing our nativity.

We are very proud of all our children! Well done J

The children had a wonderful, fun-filled afternoon exploring lots of toys. First we listened to Carolyn, from Herefordshire Museum Service, tell us about some of the toys. We had to decide whether the toys were old or new – the oldest toy was about 110 years old!

Then we worked in groups looking at toys that were: old and new; replica toys, girls and boys toys from the past and how toys are different from how they used to be.

Lots of lovely vocabulary and discussion was heard when the children were talking about the toys. In one activity we had to read some words and deicide what toys they described. A great opportunity for the children to give reasons for their thoughts.

Finally we came back together as a class to talk about what we had learnt and listen to a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

We have been very impressed this week with the levels of concentration and enthusiasm of our young scientists in class 1 during Science week. They have had the opportunity to see how far their marble can travel and make telephones with cups and string – they were amazed at how they could feel the string vibrating. They also explored how materials are absorbent, watching how the colours ‘travel’ and mix with each other to create beautiful patterns. In the water tray, they investigated which objects floated and which did not; and practising how to record their findings. We were all fascinated when we explored how some liquids don’t mix together, such as oil and water – creating mini whirlwinds and rainbows in jars. The carrots and peas weren’t as successful as we had hoped for but the children still enjoyed harvesting them. The highlight to the week was when we finally were able to eat our potato salad with the crop we had grown. Yummy!

Class 1 enjoyed taking part in an Internet safety workshop on Tuesday 8th May.  By acting as characters from traditional tales such as The Three Little Pigs, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, they learned things such as how to use a password and how to keep personal information safe.  They were reminded to always ask an adult before playing online and if they see something they are unsure about they need to STOP, GET OUT and TELL. They were also reminded to always log off when they have finished playing games.  After the workshop children talked with their partners about how they should always be kind when using the internet as they had been warned about the effects of cyber-bullying.  

March 2018

The children have been as busy as ever in Class 1. They have loved exploring types of materials, especially investigating which hat would keep teddy dry!

They have developed their understanding of calculations and enjoyed playing shops to practise their counting skills.

As always, great acting in R.E. where they acted out the story of ‘Let the children come to me.’ Fabulous expressions to demonstrate their understanding of how the disciples, the children and Jesus were feeling.

Not forgetting to look for signs of spring after yet more snow!

During our Art lessons we have made some great Giacometti style sculptures and explored the work of Lichtenstein to create some vibrant ‘pop art’ style pictures.

Commonwealth Day - 12.3.18

Class 1 visited Ross-on-Wye town centre to celebrate Commonwealth day. The children listened to a speech given by the Deputy Mayor about the principles and values of the Commonwealth Charter. They were given flags to wave from the 53 countries that make up the Commonwealth. When the children returned to school they found out which country their flag belonged to.

After our exciting school parade of all our wonderful costumes, we talked about our favourite characters. We painted pictures of them and described what they were like, using as many 'wow' words as we could. We also listened to the story of the Rainbow Fish and thought about how we could be a good friend to others, as well as choosing from a range of art activities, creating collages and pictures. 

Number Day - 8.2.18

Class 1 took part in lots of numeracy based activities. We applied our mathematical skills by weighing and measuring ingredients to make cupcakes. We were helped by some enthusiastic members of Class 4 who aided our children and developed their problem solving skills. The cupcakes were sold at the end of the day, raising £23.75.

Safer Internet Day - 6.2.18

We heard the story of Smartie the Penguin who was taught to stay safe when using a tablet. We practised the song 'Before you click, click, click, you need to think, think, think, and TELL someone!'. We thought of 5 people who are important to us and wrote their names on our handprint outline. We sorted pictures into groups, all involving staying safe, e.g. staying safe by water, staying safe at home and staying safe online.

Story telling week - 29.1.18

History Week - 15.1.18

We have been learning about space exploration. We have heard the story of how the American astronaut, Neil Armstrong, was the first man to walk on the surface of the moon in 1969. We made rocket pictures with our names on and made a solar system with planets that rotated around the sun. We watched a short video clip of the first moon landing and then tried to walk as if we were walking on the moon.

Our new children have settled into St. Joseph’s family ever so well. They have formed positive relationships with children and adults across the school.

They have dived straight into learning, taking on board all that we have taught them. We have explored our senses in Science and thoroughly enjoyed the autumnal season, which lent itself to so many learning opportunities through Art, Maths, English and much more. Making cakes was a highlight when we investigated our sense of taste.

During British Values week we looked at how people with different needs are included in our community. We learnt about how dogs are trained to support those with visual impairments.

In Maths, we have been learning about the number system and developing our understanding to numbers to twenty. We have practised adding and subtracting numbers, through games, such and skittles, outside, and pretending to be the teacher and share our understanding with others.

Our computing skills have been developed by learning how to give instructions, program beebots and make short videos.

In English we have been utilising our beautiful outside area to read and write on our blackboards or sit in the shelter to write notes to our friends. The mud kitchen is producing some interesting creations, which we a learning to write down to share our ideas.

Commonwealth Day Celebration on Monday 13th March

On Monday, Class 1 visited Ross-on-Wye town centre to celebrate Commonwealth day. The children listened to a speech given by the Mayor about the principles and values of the Commonwealth charter. They were then given flags to wave from the 54 countries that make up the Commonwealth. As an extra special treat Class 1 were invited to the council offices to have squash and biscuits in the council chambers and saw where the council hold their meetings. When the children returned to the classroom they found out which country their flag was from and looked at the world map to locate the countries of the commonwealth.

Spring 2017

The New Year has brought us lots of storytelling. Through our topic of ‘Fairytales’ we have made porridge, retold the Cinderella story, discovered what characters are like and we are currently climbing a beanstalk….I wonder what is at the top?

In Science, we have been learning about our bodies and exploring how we use our senses. We enjoyed our Science week and learnt about how to keep ourselves healthy as well as how to look after the environment. As we moved into March the weather has shown more signs of spring so we have been busy tidying up our garden and begun planting. More vegetables will be planted soon so we can watch them develop.

Chinese New Year is always a popular topic, as we got to use chopsticks, make beautiful pictures, create exciting dances… but watch out for the dragon in the classroom (he seems quite friendly!)

We have been really impressed with the children’s ideas and writing in Big Writing. They have excelled themselves in discovering and learning new ‘wow’ words and still love performing the Kung Fu punctuation!

The children have been working exceptionally hard in Maths to understand the number system to count accurately and put numbers in order. The year ones are developing their understanding of tens and units and using the bar model method to visualise calculations.

Class 1 – Autumn 2016

What a busy term we are having!

We welcomed 13 new Reception children into our school family and they have all settled in really well. Our year 1’s have been fabulous role models and helped them familiarize themselves with the rules and routines of Class 1.

Learning outside is so much fun! We have been reading, mark making, writing, counting & measuring; testing our ideas, role-playing and much, much more.

Our British Values week taught us lots about the royal family and The Queen. We built models of Buckingham Palace and explored the family tree. Not forgetting to make a wave our union jack flags.

During November, we have be practising counting in 1, 2, 5 and 10, and linking this to counting money to ‘buy’ things in our toyshop.

The weather may have turned chillier but we still try to utilise our outside area – we just have to move more to keep warm!

The glitter and Christmas crafts have crept into December, gearing us up for a festive few weeks. We have been busily practising our singing and speaking skills while rehearsing for our infant nativity. We can’t wait to show you!