Blog
Summer 1 Week 2
In English, this week the children have been using adjectives to describe the characters appearance and personality from the story Hansel and Gretel.
In Maths, we have recapped the importance on place value and used this to compare numbers using these symbols < > = as well as the key vocabulary such as greater than, less then and equal to.
We have recording weather in Science this week. We learnt about the wind, made wind socks and then used these to test how strong the wind is and which direction it was blowing.
In project we have been learning about geographical facts about England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We then created posters to share this learning.
Summer 1 Week 1
Welcome back! The children have settled back in after the Easter holidays.
As it is a new term, we are starting a new unit in each subject.
In English, we are looking at fairy-tale. We have read and acted the story ‘Hansel and Gretel.’
We have been continuing to count in 2s, 5s and 10s. This is a concept that the children find tricky as they are so used to counting in 1s. We are very impressed with how well they have worked with it this week.
Our new Science unit is called Weather Art. The children enjoyed learning about the seasons this week.
This half term’s project is called ‘Bright lights, Big City’ which is a Geography based project. The children are absolutely loving it so far. As a hook we toured London online and then looked at the countries that makes up the UK.
Spring 2, Week 4 Parent Blog
In English, the children have thought about a new sandwich for Paddington Bear. They wrote a shopping list for Paddington to tell him what he will need and as a class wrote a set of instructions thinking about the key features. The children followed these instructions to make their own sandwich to see if they work
In Maths, the children explored money. They sorted coins and notes, thinking about how they can group them by colour, size, shape and value. They compared the value of the coins by using dine (tens and ones) and put them in order from most to least valuable. At the end of the week they used what they had learnt to purchase items in the classroom.
In project the children created the environment for their dinosaur. They had to think about the different textures they could create through using clay, tissue paper, felt, paper, and even sticks/stones.
In Science, the children observed puddles changing outside. They learnt about the word ‘evaporation’ and thought about why puddles get smaller once the rain has stopped.
The children loved the school trip to Knebworth House. We were so lucky with the weather and had lots of fun looking at dinosaurs and playing games.
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
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Spring 2, Week 2 Parent Blog
In English the children wrote their own instructions on how to catch a dinosaur, using time adverbials, capital letters, full stops and imperative verbs.
In Maths we have explored time. The children have played ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf’ but by using clocks to show o’clock and half past the hour. We will be looking at applying this knowledge more next week, drawing the hands of the clock to show a time and reading different times.
We started our Project ‘Dinosaur Planet’. The children started by researching the different dinosaurs, they then designed their own dinosaur that they will make, thinking about the features and materials it will have.
In Science, the children had to run an experiment to find out which material would be best to fix a torn umbrella. The children predicted which material would be best, using their knowledge of the different properties, and then worked in groups to see if the material absorbed the water or not.
Next week we have checkpoints, the children will spend the morning doing a either a checkpoint paper or an activity linked to their Maths or English learning. They will continue engaging in non-core subjects in the afternoon.
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
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Spring 2, Week 1 Parent Blog
What a busy first week back. At the beginning of the week the children were shocked to find out some dinosaurs had escaped into our classroom over half-term! The children came up with lots of ideas on how we could catch the dinosaurs. We will be using these ideas to write some instructions to help Mrs Hobson catch the dinosaurs, and have looked at some examples already to help us.
In Maths the children have been learning about positional and directional language. They have used a hand trick to identify their left and right, and have looked at the clocks in the classrooms to help them spot which way is clockwise and which is anti-clockwise. They have used this knowledge to play Simon says and tell their partner to move across a grid. They had to use half turns and full turns, and then one quarter, two quarter and three quarter turns.
It has been multi-media week this week. The children have enjoyed making animations and using the Bee-Bots. They made music through creating drawings on the computers and learnt some important facts about online safety.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Spring 1, Week 6 Parent Blog
In English, the children re-told the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. They were able to use speech in their writing and used punctuation like question marks and exclamation marks.
In Maths, the children have been dividing. They have drawn sharing circles to help them share an amount equally, using cubes, counters and even raisins to do this. We also looked at some word problems together.
This week saw the end of our Memory Box project, next term we move onto Dinosaur Land which we are sure the children will love and links nicely to our school trip!
Have a lovely half term!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Spring 1, Week 5 Parent Blog
In English this week we continued looking at our new story ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’. We explored speech and the children had a go at writing speech bubbles for the characters, some showing a conversation between the characters. We then looked at setting and the children wrote on post it notes the adjectives they could use to describe the nouns in the setting. They used this experience to write sentences and expanded noun phrases about the setting.
In Maths, the children have been looking at the times table and have counted up in 2s, 5s and 10s. They did a great job at building these times tables using cubes, dines and their hands! The children then had a go at repeated addition and used this to then help them complete multiplication questions. They learnt that the 'x' sign also means 'groups of'.
In Science the children had a challenge to build a stable home for the three little pigs, using only one type of material like straws, lego, cardboard, lolly pop sticks, and air dough. They discussed the properties of these materials and predicted which one they thought would make the strongest home for the pigs. We made it a ‘fair test’ by trying to blow all the house down in 5 puffs. Can they tell you what they found out?
In project we have looked at the history of the school and why it was built. The children were lucky to have a member of the school share photos of it being built and explain what happened when it first opened. The children were fascinated and I’m sure they will be able to tell you all about it.
Our second class assembly by Seals took place. The children did so well and put a smile on everyone’s faces with their message about the importance of kindness.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
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Spring 1, Week 4 Parent Blog
In English this week we received a letter from a grumpy troll named Tom, he told us that he was from a story called ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ and that the goats were lying about him trying to eat them. So the children read the story, acted out the story and asked the characters some questions. They then created their own wanted poster, using adjectives to describe the horrible troll.
In Maths the children have been looking at measuring time. We started off with the days of the week and months of the year. We then started to look at sequencing, thinking about how we would sequence our morning routine. The children then thought about events that happened yesterday, today and tomorrow, as well as in the morning, afternoon and evening.
In Science we have looked at properties of materials, such as ‘bendy’, ‘flexible’, ‘rigid’. The children then sorted objects according to their properties. Can they tell you the properties of objects around the house?
Our first class assembly by Foxes took place, the children did really well acting out and re-telling the story of the Little Red Hen. We are excited for our next two class assemblies that will take place in the next two weeks.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
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Spring 1, Week 2 Parent Blog
In English this week we have continued with our story the Little Red Hen. The children have used adjectives to describe the characters, thinking about their appearance and their personality. They have also used adjectives to describe the setting, using these adjectives to create an expanded noun phrase. Maybe you can have a go at expanding a noun at home, e.g. ‘The fluffy clouds are moving in the sky.’
In Maths the children have been solving missing number calculations. They have had to write the invert of the calculation and solve it in order to find the missing number. They have worked really hard to make sure they are following all the steps.
The children compared old and new images of Hatfield in their topic ‘Memory Box’. They identified what was the same and what was different, and as a class we discussed how things have changed. They also looked at old and new transport, which raised lots of interesting discussions and observations in class.
In Science we have continued with our new project ‘Let’s Build’. The children used materials to make boats to help the gingerbread man cross the river safely. They had to think about each materials properties and predict which material would be the best. We then conducted an experiment to see if their prediction was correct. We made sure it was a ‘fair test’ by putting each boat in the water for the same number of minutes. The children noticed that some materials absorbed the water and others floated at the top.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Spring 1, Week 1 Parent Blog
In English this week we have started looking at the story ‘The Little Red Hen’. The children have enjoyed acting out the story and ‘hot seating’, thinking about questions they could ask the characters and their replies. This has helped them to write character descriptions that have included the characters personality, and not just their appearance.
In Maths the children have been adding and subtracting two-digit and one-digit numbers. They have used cubes, beads, and number lines to support them, with some solving calculations beyond 20!
The children have started their new project ‘Memory Box’. They have discussed what a memory is, and have been able to talk about their own special memory captured in a picture their brought in. They have thought about the past and the present, and sequenced memories in their life on a timeline, such as starting school and the harvest festival.
In Science we have started our new topic ‘Let’s Build’. The children identified objects in the classroom and around the school that are made out of wood, metal, plastic, and fabric. They recorded their findings and discussed the features of that material. For example, we know that water bottles need to be made out of something that is waterproof, like plastic or metal.
Have a restful weekend.
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Autumn 2, Week 7 Parent Blog
This week we have been really busy performing our Christmas play! The children did so well remembering their lines and singing the songs - we are so proud of them for all their hard work!
In English this week we have been doing some Christmas based activities. The children written sentences to Santa, sorted some Christmas rhyming words, and have been practising making their sentences more exciting by adding adjectives.
In Maths the children have used their knowledge of fractions to find ½ and ¼ of Christmas puddings and crackers. They have also put elves in order from smallest to tallest, using cubes to then measure the height.
The children have also been completing some Christmas activities, which linked nicely to the Project this term that was ‘Let’s Celebrate’. They created Christmas cards that will be sent to a nursing home and did some finger painting to create winter pictures.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Autumn 2, Week 6 Parent Blog
English
We have thought about lunchtime in school at HCFS this week. We created a story map together and then the children created their own one. The children then wrote sentences to tell the story of lunch, making sure they are following their story map so that their sentences are in the correct order. We are continuing to think about our full stops, capital letters and finger spaces.
Maths
We have been looking at finding one quarter in maths this week. We know that because the bottom number tells us the total amount of groups, we need four equal groups. We have been working hard to share sweets and objects equally between four groups. Crossing each object out when we move it has helped us make sure we have shared out the correct amount. =
Project
The children reflected on Project this term, thinking about what they enjoyed, what they learnt and what they found challenging. It was clear the children have really enjoyed using air dough to make sculptures and 3d pictures. Some of us had time to paint our poppies and colour in our 3d pictures/masks. We had to look back at our designs to make sure we chose the right colours.
Science
This week some of the children got to make their imaginary pets using different materials and resources. They then had to write a guide to look after their pet. Maybe they can tell you all about their pets features and what it needs to survive. They might even be able to tell you if it is a mammal, reptile, bird, amphibian, or invertebrate!
We hope you have a lovely weekend and look forward to welcoming you to the Christmas play next week!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Autumn 2, Week 5 Parent Blog
English
We have started a new story called ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’. We have familiarised ourselves by reading and acting out the story. We talked about the setting in the story and used adjectives to write a setting description.
Maths
We have been looking at finding half this week in maths. We learnt that half is represented by the symbol ½, and we can find half in shapes by folding them in half or drawing a line down the middle. We can check if it is half by seeing if both sides are equal (the same). We have also halved amounts of objects, practising using sharing circles and using the ‘one for me and one for you’ method. We must share the objects equally so that each person has the same amount and that it is fair.
Project
The children made 3d masks this week, based on their designs. They thought about patterns, colours and the techniques they should use to manipulate the air dough.
Science
This week we thought about what we need to be happy and what a puppy might need to be happy. We have also learnt about different types of animals, and have sorted them into categories based on their features. For example, we know that reptiles are animals that have scales and need lots of sun, like lizards. Using what they have learnt about animals and pets, the children designed their own imaginary pets. We will be making these next week and writing about how to take care of them.
Have a lovely long weekend!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
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Autumn 2, Week 4 Parent Blog
English
We have continued to focus on the story Five Minutes Peace, using the story to inspire our own breakfast story. The children thought about who they have breakfast with, created a story map about their morning and then wrote some sentences to tell the story. We are still working hard to make sure we remember our capital letters, full stops and fingers spaces, whilst writing on the line. Some of us have also started to use the conjunction ‘and’ in our writing.
Maths
We have been looking at representing and comparing numbers in maths. We thought about different ways we can show a number, using dienes (chips and peas), numicon, words, and cubes, and looked at which numbers had the ‘most’ and which had the least. We then used the signs < > and = to compare numbers, and state if a number is less than or greater than. We can remember which way to use these signs by thinking about them as crocodiles – the crocodile always eats the BIGGER number!
Project
The children started project this week by evaluating their poppy sculptures, thinking about what they liked and what they would do different next time. They then created an animal collage using different pieces of fabric and paper. Finally, they designed a 3D mask, inspired by the Day of the Dead. They will be making and decorating these next lesson using air dough.
Science
This week an animal left a mess in our classroom! The children had to investigate which household item/material would best clean up the mess. We predicted which would be the most effective and then tested this prediction by dipping each material in the 'mess' (water). We found the materials that broke apart were the least effective e.g. the paper towel.
Have a lovely long weekend!
Miss Wasnock, Mrs Canty and Miss Kalyan
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Autumn 2, Week 3 Parent Blog
English
We have started a new unit in English where the children are looking familiar stories. This week we have read Five Minutes Peace, the children made up actions to remember the story, sequenced pictures from the story and then finally writing sentences to go with the pictures from the story.
Maths
We have been looking at weight this week in maths. We started by comparing the weight of objects in the classroom, using words like ‘heavier and’ ‘lighter’. We can measure the weight of objects using cubes and found the lightest and heaviest object.
Project
The children designed and created their own poppy sculpture using air dough. The children had to use different techniques such as pinching, scoring and rolling to manipulate the dough. We will be painting these once dry and then the children can take them home.
Science
We have been looking at mini-beasts this week, continuing our new topic of ‘Our Pets’. The children created a habitat for woodlice thinking about what a habitat needs to provide the mini beast. They predicted and observe what the woodlice would do and recorded the observations in their book.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Autumn 2, Week 2 Parent Blog
English
This week the children have been looking at a poem about the colour purple. We started by reciting the poem using actions and then thought about how we could describe the colour purple. We thought hard about using more interesting adjectives like ‘juicy’ and ‘shimmering’ to describe purple objects. We then created our own poems about a different colour. It was lovely to see how creative some of the children are!
Maths
We have been looking at length and height this week in maths. We started by comparing the length and height of objects in the classroom, using words like ‘longer’, ‘shorter’, and ‘taller’. We know that if we are measuring height we are looking at how tall something is, and if it is length we are looking at how long an object is or the distance between two points. We’ve really enjoyed measuring these with cubes.
Project
The children have continued with their new project ‘Let’s Celebrate!’ We compared the artwork of two famous artists, Mondrian and Kadinsky, and looked at their similarities and differences. We also used both man-made and natural resources to make Rangoli and Mehndi patterns, thinking about shape and form.
Science
We have been looking at mini-beasts this week, continuing our new topic of ‘Our Pets’. We started by predicting the types of ‘special places’ (habitats) we might find mini-beasts in and then took our clipboards out to explore and record what we found. The children discovered that most of these creatures live in dark and damp places under logs and leaves. I wonder if they can remember the special name that scientists give mini-beasts?
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Autumn 2, Week 1 Parent Blog
English
This week the children have been looking at a poem about a monster. We recited the poem using actions and then identified the punctuation in the poem, such as commas, question marks and exclamation marks. We know that some words in poems rhyme and were able to find some rhyming words like 'head' and 'fed'. The children then created their own monsters and had a go at writing their own lines for a poem.
Maths
The children have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes. We know that 2D shapes are flat whereas 3D shapes have three dimensions – height, width and length. We have played games such as ‘guess the shape’ where one person hides a shape and the others have to guess what it is through the ‘clues’ (properties) given about the shape. The children have even been able to spot different shapes outside in the playground.
Project
Children have started their new project this term ‘Let’s Celebrate’. They began by exploring different materials and resources, such as paint and cotton buds, using these to create their own artwork. We have then used this experience to think about how we can create a painting of a firework. We used string, straws, and pipe cleaners to create different prints and designs.
Science
We have been very lucky to have had some pets visit our classrooms this week – thank you to the parents who kindly came in! The children asked questions about how to keep the different pets healthy and how to look after them. They know that looking after a dog is very different to looking after a budgie, but could also identify that some animals do need the same things such as water and time to play!
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Autumn 1, Week 7 Parent Blog
English
This week the children have been recapping on list, labels, and captions.
They have been busy writing lists about what they need for a Firework party.
They also wrote their own sentences independently using adjectives.
Maths
The children have been working hard with addition and subtraction they have used number blocks to help them; they have wrote the number sentences in their books and worked out the calculations.
Project
Children have had fun learning all about past and present outdoor games, and toys this term. For Autumn Two they will be learning a new topic all about Artwork and exploring different materials.
Science
This term, children have had lots of fun learning about healthy eating and the five senses. For Autumn two the new topic will be on Biology Pets what pets need to stay healthy and happy.
Have a wonderful break
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Autumn 1, Week 6 Parent Blog
English
This week the children have been learning to write sentences using adjectives.
They had fun watching a short clip how to carve a pumpkin, they then wrote a list, and captions and then following with writing super sentences using adjectives.
children wrote adjective and sentence from the story book Room on the Broom.
Maths
The children have been working hard with subtraction they have used number of resources to help them; 100 square mat, number line, counting block and their fingers. They have wrote the number sentences in their books and worked out the calculations.
Project
Children have been very interested learning all about past and present outdoor games. They played some outdoor games that were played in the Victorian times they then wrote what they enjoyed the best.
Science
We have had fun learning about healthy eating. Children had been learning about which foods are protein, carbs fruit and vegetables.
They made up their own healthy packed lunch cut out foods and stuck them into their books.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan and Miss Wasnock
Autumn 1, Week 5 Blog
English
This week the children walked around the school, they spotted things around the school what they could see, then they used what they saw and put them into their own sentence using adjectives.
Maths
This week the children have been working out their calculations using a number line and a 100 square mat. They have had working out addition and subtractions, they have also had to know to work out jumping back in number for subtraction and jumping forward in addition. They have also been busy using dienes also known as (chips and peas) they have worked out ten and ones which was fun for the children.
Project
Children have been very interested learning all about past and present toys.
This week they have looked at toys from the modern and past time and what materials they are made from, they learned that old toys were often made of old fabric and clay.
And todays toys are mostly plastic. They draw they own designs of their favourite toy and labelled what is was made of.
Science
Children have had fun learning about our their five senses. This week children had fun experiencing one of our five senses, touch children sat in a circle they all had a turn to feel in a feely bag to feel what the object could be, as well as describing the object. Children all wrote down the five senses they experience on their journey to school.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan, Miss Wasnock.
Autumn 1, Week 4
English
This week the children have been learning to read labels in pictures, they have been learning to write a list if they were going to the shop for clothes to keep warm. They also took a walk around the school to spot things that they could label once back in to the classroom. Students have all been busy adding in adjectives to their labels and captions.
Maths
The children have been working hard learning their number bonds to 10 and 20. They have been busy learning addition and subtraction and counting using numeri-cons and cubes to help them with their number bonds.
Project
Children have been very interested learning all about past and present toys
They have been busy looking at how toys have been made from the past and from today.
Science
Children had fun learning about their five senses, taste, and sight, hear, feel and smell. We looked at different pictures of fruit and vegetables. They compared the textures of the skin to see if it is smooth or rough.
Children then cut out pictures of fruit and veg what they think is bitter, sweet or salty they then cut these out and put them in the correct column of the senses.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan Miss Wasnock
Autumn 1, Week 3
English
This week the children have been learning about labels and captions.
They have been drawing their school uniform and writing sentences using adjectives with the correct punctuation. They have also been learning about writing lists using bullet points.
Maths
The children have been working hard writing and learning, counting numbers forwards and backwards. They used counting blocks and their number line to help them with their task. They have also been writing out number sentences correctly and adding the correct answers, remembering counting the forward and backwards method.
Project
Children have been very busy learning about materials of modern day toys and toys from the Victorian time. They have been sorting and matching pictures to the correct materials from what the toys are made from. The children have had fun learning about toys that were played with during the Roman times looking at what they were made from.
Science
This week the children have had fun learning about the five senses.
They went outside on the playground in groups, and then wrote about what they have seen using their five senses.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Canty Miss Kalyan Miss Wasnock
Autumn 1, Week 2
Please read the following all about what Year 1 have done this week.
English
This week the children have been learning about, nouns, adjectives and verbs, they have also been writing sentences using these and putting in the correct punctuation capital letters and full stops.
Maths
The children have been working hard with their numbers they have writing their number and in numeral form. They have been using counting blocks to understanding ten and ones. Children have had fun spotting all the teens in the number and matching number flash cards with numerals.
Project
Children have been very interested learning all about past and present toys
They have looked at old toys which were used in the Victorian times, and looked and toys from today. Children compared the toys and wrote short sentences about the similarities of the toys.
Science
We have had fun learning about how many body parts we have, legs, arms, hands, feet, head. Children draw around their feet and hand and used counting blocks to measure the size of their hands and feet.
Have a Lovely weekend
Mrs Canty Miss Kalyan Miss Wasnock
Autumn 1, Week 1 Blog
English
This week the children have been learning to read and tell a story using actions. They have had fun in role play, and sorting pictures to the story and creating a story map, they have also been writing sentences using verbs.
Maths
The children have been working hard writing number on a number line
Writing their numbers 1 to 20
They have also been learning to write numbers in numerals 1 to 10 and 1 to20
They have also been matching number using flash cards.
Project
Children have been very interested learning all about past and present toys
They have looked at toys that grandparents have played with in the old day and toys from today’s time. They have been sorting and matching various toys from the past.
Science
We have had fun learning about how children have changed from birth to now
Children looked at comparing themselves from now and then.
They have also been busy drawing around hands and feet for comparing size.
Children have also did role play in stage of growth birth to elderly.
Have a lovely weekend,
Mrs Canty, Miss Kalyan Miss Wasnock