Good afternoon,
We hope this weekly blog finds everyone well. Here is a round up of our week in Chestnut Class for Reception and Year 1, as usual it has been as busy as ever!

Phonics- In phonics this week Reception have continued learning their new set 1 sounds. This weeks sounds are j, v, y, x, w and z. They have been practising saying and writing them. With the other sounds they know, the children are using magnetic letters to create cvc words and are blending the sounds together to read the word. The children have brought their next sound blending book home to read. Please support them by sharing this every night. This makes such a difference.

For most of the children in Year 1, they have moved onto learning Set 3 sounds. This week our focus has been ea (tea), oi (spoil) and a-e (called a split digraph like in make and name). Next week all children will be assessed on their phonic knowledge which may result in a change in the groupings and teacher taking the group. 

For all new sounds, we will send home practice sheets and videos to watch. Please take the time to read them and have a go together! Small steps lead to big progress. Thank you. 

Literacy Tree/Drawing Club- In Literacy Tree this week, the Year 1 children have focused on inventing their own stories based on Stanley's Stick. Their new story is 'Cassidy's Cup' and they have spent the week, really working hard on their independent writing skills to create a story that makes sense. In Drawing Club the Reception Children have been reading and learning about the Little Red Hen. We have seen tractors, houses and all sorts of new characters. 

Maths Reception- Reception have been focusing on comparison this week. Comparing numbers using the language of more than and fewer than. We have been comparing sets of objects, comparing fingers on hands and worked together to explain what we can see. 
Maths Year 1- Year 1 have started a new unit this week called 'addition and subtraction'. This unit runs for the rest of half term and the following few weeks. We have started by looking at part whole models and basic addition sentences. This weeks homework will be based around this, so please support your child to have a go at home. 

Wider Curriculum

History - October is Black history month where we learn and celebrate about the achievements of people of colour throughout history.  This week we learnt about Mary Seacole, a nurse of mixed race, who funded her own travel to the Crimea during the Crimean war when the English government refused to send her.  She built a 'hotel' for injured soldiers and used the skills taught to her by her Jamaican mother to treat them.  The year one children wrote about the story of Mary Seacole while the reception children used role play to apply bandages and treat each other with our role play toys.

In computing, the year one children are learning to log in to a Chromebook using a username and password finding the letters on the keyboard and how to type a capital letter.  They then practised using the mousepad/trackpad by using an app called Paintz to try and draw on a computer.

DT- this week the children designed the head of their monster for their moving toy. They had to design two heads, label them, draw the moving parts of the mechanism and then they voted on their favourite design before choosing which one to make next week.

PSHE- this week we continued with our focus on emotions. We shared a story about a little boy who breaks something at his Grandparents house. We shared all the emotions we could find in the story, and then we freeze framed how these emotions might look on our faces and our bodies. 

Science- we continue our focus on reflection and wrote a conclusion to our experiment. Due to the time of year and the darker nights we extended this to talk about road safety during dark times, in particular, things we can wear to help us be seen!
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P.E- This week in our sessions with SAINTS we played lots of games to get our hearts pumping! These included different types of chasing games and balancing activities. 


Dates for your diaries:
16th October: Reception parents/carers information evening (RWI/Tapestry/School Readiness)
24th October: Harvest Festival followed by open afternoon to come and share children's work.
25th October: Rockstar day- dress up as a rock star for a day full of maths fun. Parents will be welcome for a fun activity! Time for parents to be confirmed. 
Week beginning Monday 11th November- parent/carer consultations. More information to follow.

We have had another busy week in Chestnut Class.  We are very pleased that the children are feeling settled and safe in their new classroom and are getting used to the routines of our mixed age class.
English
As well as their daily phonics lessons, the children had the following text based lessons this week:
Year one have started planning and writing our own story based on Stanley's Stick this week.  In our lessons, we have been learning about nouns, adjectives and verbs and have been using them in our writing.
Reception children based their drawing club activities on the story of Farmer Duck. This fed into other areas of their learning such as making lego farms, playing with the farm set, making playdough animals with cutters and utensils and floating rubbers ducks down the guttering in the water trays!
Maths
Reception children have been exploring how numbers can be composed of 1s and began investigating the composition of 3 and 4. Composing and de-composing numbers involves children investigating part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 3 can be composed of 1 and 2. The children learnt from practical experience that a ‘whole’ is made up of smaller parts and is, therefore, bigger than its parts. 
Year one have come to the end of the unit on place value in which the children have learned to count on from any number, find one more and one less and to compare and order numbers. They also practised using number lines! Big ones in the playground and smaller ones in their books! Next week we will begin our second unit which is all about addition and subtraction. 
Wider Curriculum
We learnt about Mary Anning in history this week.  She was a scientist and palaeontologist who is famous for finding fossils in Lyme Regis where she lived including the first ever ichthyosaur skeleton. But perhaps her most important find, from a scientific point of view, was her discovery of the first plesiosaur. 
In music on Monday we began singing our harvest song The Dingle Dangle Scarecrow and on Tuesday we had our PE session with our Saints coach.  Year one also learnt about the parts of a computer and we are learning how to log in to an account on a Chromebook.
On Wednesday we continued with our D.T. project making a mechanism for our moving monster. All Year 1 children made a linkage system using levers and pivots and had the best time whilst making them. It was quite a fiddly task, but all persevered and really enjoyed the task! Afterwards, we continued our PSHE lessons talking about our emotions and recognising how we might behave when we feel certain emotions such as butterflies in our tummies when we are nervous or laughing when we are happy. 
On Thursday we had an afternoon of golden time and Karen came to say hello! The weather was glorious so we all made the most out of our outside area, playing in the sand, with the water, the dolls house, the farm shop and the construction materials. It was so nice to see them playing so beautifully together!
On Friday we continued with our SAINTs PE session and had a go at our science lesson, learning about reflection. We used a torch to shine onto objects to see which ones 'reflected' the light the best. The objects we used included a mirror, a spoon, a plastic bowl, a dark blanket and a teddy bear. 

Reception- please remember to have a go at the phonics links posted onto dojo today and to have a go at your flashcards and your sound blending books!
Year 1- well done on the fantastic efforts with your spellings and your homework! Remember to keep this up as it really makes a difference. 
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Year one started a new unit in Literacy on Monday.  This unit explores the story Stanley's Stick by John Hegley. Stanley's stick is not just a stick. With a stick in hand, Stanley's options are endless - he flies to the moon, writes in the sand, goes fishing, plays a whistle and rides a dinosaur - and his imagination takes over and the magic begins.  Inspired by Stanley, we went out to find a stick to use our imagination and make our stick be whatever we wanted it to be!
After reading the story as a class and writing their own alternative ending, children have worked in groups to sequence key events in the story and retell key scenes by creating picture captions.  Finally, children will  go on to plan and write their own version of Stanley’s Stick in past tense using their own object.

Reception had fun in Drawing Club with the old cartoon favourite Trapdoor.  They explored the vocabulary and created their own versions of the characters and settings before drawing their own monsters that might come out of the trapdoor!

Year one have continued learning about place value in maths this week focussing on more and fewer and greater than and less than, and comparing numbers. We have spent most of the week introducing and getting to know the greater, less than and equal symbols and we are pleased to say that by today they were really getting in the swing of it. A good way to remember what symbol means what, is the greedy crocodile eats the greater number...meaning the greater number goes at the bigger/open end of the symbol and the number that is less goes to the smallest point of the symbol. Lots of photos in books and a pic collage here!

Wider curriculum
On Monday afternoon we learnt about Marie Curie in history another great scientist from the past.  The children learnt how she discovered a treatment for serious illnesses which helped people all over the world.  We also learnt that her work led to the development of X-Rays and the children were keen to share if they or someone they know, had had an X-Ray.  Year one went on to draw and describe what they would like to discover to help the world.
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On Tuesday the children enjoyed their sessions with our Saints' coach.  Their outdoor sessions are focussed on multi-skills.

On Wednesday afternoon in D.T we learnt about mechanisms, levers, linkages and pivots. We found them in everyday objects such as door handles, scissors, toy cars and staplers and then we found them in pictures. After this we looks at a special moving monster the children are going to create with pivots and levers and had a go at designing one. We then spent time as a whole class discussing listening. What makes a good listener, how can we show we are listening, and what happens if we don't listen.

On Thursday afternoon in Science we all learnt about day and night and why this happens. We watched a video clip, looked at some pictures and then experimented with blow up globes and our own torches. We then drew our own diagrams and our own day and night pictures. We learnt it takes 24 hours for the Earth to spin in one rotation, making one whole day! After this we then continued to learn about the Muslim faith of Islam. We reminded ourselves about Allah and then watched a video about a young girl telling us about the five pillars of Islam. We discussed how pillars are strong and what happens if they weren't there and then added an action to each pillar to remind our selves.  

On Friday afternoon we had our next P.E session with our SAINTs coach. After P.E we had a bit of independent learning time for being so focused all week. 

Reception parents- phonics sheets in book bags and links to sounds learnt this week on Class Dojo.
Year 1 parents- maths homework, spelling and reading due in on Monday.

Thank you
Mrs Ware and Miss Ruby

 Literacy Tree (Year 1)
We explored the themes in the book Here We Are this week.  We agreed that the author (Oliver Jeffers) wants us to:
Be kind, Be happy, Be caring, Be an explorer and Be a hero 
We thought that you can be a hero with really small acts like picking up a piece of litter or turning the light off.
We have begun making leaflets inspired by this book which has a subtitle of Notes for living on Planet Earth.  We are focussing on 3 ideas which are: Looking after our planet; looking after ourselves and looking after each other.
Drawing Club (Reception)
Drawing club was taught through a traditional story this week - The 3 Billy Goats Gruff.  The children enjoyed joining in with the repeated refrains in the story and explored the story more through continuous provision for example seeing if the could make rafts to get the goats across the river instead of using the bridge!
Maths
In maths this week we continue our learning about place value in Year 1.  This week we have covered the following small steps:  Count on from any number; 1 more; Count backwards within 10; 1 less; Compare groups by matching.  We have covered these concepts through practical work, through images and through written work supported by these in their books.  They have done exceptionally well with their transition to this more abstract work.  Reception have also begun some short more focussed maths sessions based on research from the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics).  This week we the children have been encouraged to quantify sets of objects by subitising, rather than counting. When subitising, children can say how many there are in a small group of objects by ‘just seeing’ and knowing straightaway without needing to count.  Their learning is also developed through our continuous provision where they have begun practising number formation, counting and creating repeating patterns.

Wider Curriculum Year 1 and Reception.

In History, we continued to learn about important scientists and engineers by finding out about the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.  We investigated making bridges with paper and testing the strength with pennies.  We folded the paper and found that it was stronger.  Ellie suggested "the more layers the stronger the bridge" - great scientific thinking!   While Reception then explored making bridges with blocks, Year one learnt more about Brunel's amazing structures including the Albert Bridge which is the bridge that crosses the Tamar on the Devon/Cornwall border and Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.  He also built ships including the SS Great Britain.  Year one designed their own bridges inspired by these.
Year one were asked in their computing lesson on Tuesday - "What is technology". We learnt that technology is anything made by a human that helps us.  The children showed their understanding of this concept by doing a technology hunt in the classroom and returned with: a hole punch, glue sticks, pencils, scissors and an iPad!
 In Science this week we focused on the question 'How do we see objects?'. Within this lesson we found out how light travels in straight lines from a light source, bounces off an object and enters our eyes via our pupils. We investigated how light travels in straight lines by making slit boxes and placing a torch inside to watch how the light travels out the other side. The children did so well at remembering this and we excellent at drawing diagrams about it. Well done!
In D.T this week we began our focus 'Making a monster' by investigating and making sliders and levers. We linked this to the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff for Reception and to bridges for Year 1, by creating a character to cross a bridge using a slider. 
In R.E we continued asking questions about the Muslim faith and the religion Islam, by learning about the 99 names of Allah. We played games with our own names, names we give each other and I've tasked the children to find out the meaning of their own name! 
Our PE sessions were lead by our SAINTS coaches again and we did gymnastics in the hall today.
Our PSHE lessons continued with getting to know each other, our school rules and expectations. 

It's been another incredibly busy week again! Well done everyone!

Reception parents...please remember to support your children by sharing phonics flashcards, having a go at the phonics sheet and watching the phonics videos together posted on dojo.

Year 1 parents...please remember to read with your child every night and record it in the book, support them with their Year 1 maths homework linked to our maths learning this week and also spelling practise.

Thank you, Mrs Ware and Miss Ruby

​Welcome back to the new school year 2024/2025!

This is Chestnut's dedicated page where you can find out what we have been up to this week. Remember Mrs Ware teaches Monday and Tuesday and Miss Ruby teaches Wednesday to Friday. We are supported in class by Miss Luxton and also Mrs Grant, who works 1:1 with a child.

Thank you to all of you who attended the welcome meeting on Wednesday night. It was great to see so many of you there. We will touch base with you all soon regarding dates for phonics/maths workshops and also parent consultations. Please find the presentation on our class dojo page.

Reception.
This week the children have begun to learn their set 1 sounds, m, a, s, t and p. They have learnt the sound, the rhyme and the action to go with it (m...maisie mountain, mountain, s...down the slithery snake, t...down the tower, across the tower, a...around the apple). They will bring home flashcards in their books bags to use and also a handwriting sheet to practise the letter. Please go over this at home. You can also use these links to hear the rhymes in action. Please click in them to watch a short clip. 

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/YO57gJVk/9XrNPIHI

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/fC8B7jKZ/mu257sfl

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/YjsyRIny/otdnf52w

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/YOu62BAs/8ozAvM7A

https://schools.ruthmiskin.com/training/view/lmMIoxoJ/olC51BuT

Drawing Club
This week the children have been reading 'the Colour Monster', which is all about how colours can represent feelings. They have been drawing pictures that include the colour monster himself, a jar of emotions, a map and a new emotion.

Wider Curriculum
As we have introduced scientists and engineers to the Year 1 children, the Reception children have had the opportunity to play with the train sets and design their own trains. They have experimented with the torches as part of a science activity and have discussed things that are special to them as part of a RE activity. They have loved exploring their new classroom. The role play and dressing up area has been a huge hit, as well as the outside area!

Year One

Literacy Tree
This week we our key text has been 'Here we are'. As part of our learning we have created posters, written commands, noun phrases and made a kindness jar.

Maths
Our maths focus has been place value, where we have focused on counting objects, representing objects and matching numbers as words to amounts. The children have coped well with this new, longer style of maths lesson and they have made a great start to their learning. We look forwards to sharing more with you about our maths curriculum as we settle into the new school year. 

Wider Curriculum
Across other areas of our learning the children began their science unit. They began with what is a light source, where their experimented with torches and sorted light sources. In RE we discussed personal things that were important to us. This included objects and people. This led us to introduce Allah and God and their significance to their religions. In Art/DT we designed our FONTS Christmas cards (yikes!), in PE we practised ball skills with our SAINTS coaches, and in history we were introduced to George Stevenson, his invention and how it changed the world. As part of our PSHE lessons, we discussed class rules and expectations and throughout the week we have reflected on these and reinforced these! It seems that tidying up, maybe an expectation we need lots of practise at!

​Dear Year One Families,
 
Mrs Budiman is having some time off work for family reasons, we wish her all the very best during her absence.
I have thoroughly enjoyed time with the class this week. Miss Luxton has been a tremendous support to the teaching, and she, Mrs Sterrett and Mrs Bridgman have ensured there has been as little change to the established routines as possible. What a team!
 
It was a busy week with our phonics screening, reading and maths assessments. The class have been very well prepared and performed to the best of their abilities with positive attitudes. We have continued reading our book Lost and Found, we explored outside and found polar animals lost in our grounds! We are using our imaginations to plan our own Lost and Found stories based on the structure of the book.  In maths we have been learning more about position and direction. We have been fine tuning our PE skills in preparation for our Olympics, on Friday we were learning how best to jump hurdles. The class are really enjoying the linked themes of our science and geography topics: learning more about animals, and how they adapt to their environments. We were diving deep into oceans to find out what creatures live at different depths.  We have discovered the criteria for living things and started classifying vertebrates and invertebrates, crustaceans, mammals , amphibians, reptiles, fish and birds.
 
Here are some photos of us enjoying reading with Y3.

All the best, 
Miss Penny

​Star Learner Spotlight: Maia

Let's kick things off by celebrating our star learner, Maia! 🌟 Maia continually impresses us all with her outstanding manners and her unwavering commitment to hard work. Every day, she sets a fantastic example for her classmates, showing us what it means to be dedicated and respectful. Well done, Maia!

Maths Adventures

In Maths, we've been diving into multiplication. Recently, we've been exploring the fascinating world of numbers, learning to count in 2s, 5s, and 10s. But that's not all - we've also been delving into the concept of arrays, discovering how they can help us visualize multiplication and division.

Additionally, we've embarked on a brand-new literary adventure with the book Lost and Found. As we journey through the pages of this enchanting story, we're sharpening our reading skills and uncovering valuable lessons along the way.
In our grammar sessions, we've been busy adding a magical touch to our writing by learning how to use the "_ed" suffix to transform verbs into the past tense. From "jump" to "jumped," "walk" to "walked," we're mastering the art of storytelling one verb at a time.

Exploring the Wonders of Science

In the realm of science, we've been captivated by the beauty of nature as we've embarked on an exploration of wild flowers. Through hands-on activities and outdoor observations, we're developing a deeper appreciation for the intricate ecosystems that surround us.

As we continue our scientific journey, we're eager to uncover more secrets of the natural world and foster a sense of wonder and curiosity that will stay with us for years to come.

Have a wonderful bank holiday weekend!

Kind regards,

Mrs Budiman

​Dear Parents,
Our Star Learner: Elijah

Let's start off with a round of applause for Elijah, our star learner this week! Elijah has truly embodied the spirit of resilience in the face of challenges. Whether it's tackling tricky math problems or persevering through difficult tasks, Elijah has shown us all what it means to keep going even when things get tough. Well done, Elijah!

Literacy Adventures: Rewriting "Cave Baby"

In Literacy, our budding writers have been hard at work rewriting the beginning of the story "Cave Baby". Armed with their creative minds and sharpened pencils, the children delved into the world of prehistoric times, crafting their own versions of the story. Not only did they rewrite the beginning, but they also took on the role of editors, polishing their work to perfection. The result? Some truly amazing pieces of writing that would make even the most seasoned authors proud!

Mathematical Marvels: Counting and Multiplication

Over in Math, we've been diving into the world of multiplication and division. But before we could jump into those, we've been honing our counting skills, learning to count in 2s, 5s, and 10s. From chanting numbers to skip counting games, our young mathematicians have been sharpening their numerical abilities, laying the foundation for more complex concepts ahead. Get ready for some multiplication and division fun in the coming weeks!

Healthy Living in PSHE: Exploring Healthy Eating

In PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education), we've been focusing on the importance of healthy eating. The children have been learning all about nutritious foods, the benefits they provide, and how they contribute to our overall well-being. Armed with this knowledge, we'll be putting it into action later in the term as we embark on an exciting project: designing and making healthy smoothies! Get your blenders ready, because we're about to blend up some delicious and nutritious concoctions!

PE Adventures: Racing and Relay

On the field, our little athletes have been mastering the art of running in races and relay. From sprinting to pacing themselves, they've been building up their speed and endurance, all while having a blast with their friends. With each race and relay, they're not only improving their physical fitness but also learning the value of teamwork and sportsmanship. Watch out, world, our Year 1s are ready to race!

That's all for now from our Year 1 class. 

Kind regards,
Mrs Budiman

Hello Year 1 Families,
As we wrap up another exciting term, we wanted to take a moment to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the parents who kindly provided treats for our wonderful end-of-term party. Your generosity and support truly made it a special celebration for our young learners.
Maths Corner: Exploring Mass In maths this week, we dove into the world of mass! The children had a blast exploring the concept of weight and mass through various hands-on activities and games. From comparing the mass of different objects to sorting them based on weight, our little mathematicians showed great enthusiasm and understanding.
Literacy Adventures: Crafting Sentences with Noun Phrases In literacy, we embarked on a journey to enhance our sentence-building skills. The focus was on creating descriptive and engaging sentences using noun phrases. It was incredible to see the creativity and imagination our students displayed as they crafted their own sentences, painting vivid pictures with words!
Religious Education: Discovering Jewish Celebrations This week in RE, we delved into the rich tapestry of Jewish faith and culture. Our young learners learned about the celebrations and traditions of the Jewish faith, including Shabbat, Sukkot, and Chanukah. Through stories, discussions, and interactive activities, we gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for these significant cultural practices. We have made our own model versions of a sukkah for Sukkot and completed colourful Chanukah paintings depicting the menorah.
As we bid farewell to this term and look forward to the upcoming half term break, we want to wish all our students and their families a fantastic and rejuvenating holiday. 
Thank you once again for your continuous support and partnership in your child's education journey. We can't wait to see what exciting adventures await us in the next term!
Warm regards,
Mrs Budiman

The children had a busy week this week and came well dressed for Red Nose Day on Friday. Thank you for your donations to this cause both monetary and in the form of delicious cakes.
Literacy
In Literacy the children worked incredibly hard to produce some amazing stories based the the book the Sea Saw. Please see attached George's story. This is a great effort in Year 1 and I admire the children's resilience in completing their stories. They worked hard to independently use punctuation and interesting word choices.
Maths
We are coming to the end of our work on Place Value  and numbers to 50. The children have learnt about the value of numbers in two digit numerals. They have explored grouping in tens, partitioning and the number line to 50.
Geography
In Geography we have explored different hot and cold countries. We have discussed the proximity of countries to the equator and looked at how this affects their climate.
Assessment
The children have also been busy completing mock phonics screening checks this week in preparation for the real thing in May/June.
Have a great week ahead!
Mrs Budiman