Spinosaurus and Dilophosaurus Class Blog - Autumn Term 1

Date: 25th Oct 2024 @ 9:42am

Welcome to the first blog of the year! This first half term has gone incredibly fast as we have all been busy settling into a new year. The year 1 children have transitioned extremely well into KS1, they have made new friends and settled into new routines. KS1 comes with more responsibility for the children who are now the role models of the school! There are lots of weekly jobs the children can volunteer for such as ‘Playground Friends’, bell ringers, door openers, chair monitors and more. Year 2 children who have school dinners are given the opportunity to be ‘servers’ and help at lunch time, and we have found that the children have risen to these roles brilliantly. Well done everyone.

The topic for this half term has been ‘Dinosaurs’. It is such an interesting and engaging topic and will run through until the end of the next half term too. Our highlight was having the dinosaurs visit!

Year 1 children have been consolidating their phonics knowledge from reception and have been introduced to lots of new digraphs and sound families. They have been working hard on letter formation and writing simple sentences based on the phonics they have been taught.

In English, year 2 have consolidated key phonics skills that were taught in year 1 and looked at the story ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’. The children used adjectives to enhance their own versions of the stories and adapted them to, ‘The Dinosaur Who Came to Tea’. We have been impressed with their originality and unique ideas. They have been working hard on the presentation of writing, correct letter formation and spelling key words correctly.

In maths, year 1 and year 2 children have impressed us with their understanding of key concepts. This half term we have looked at place value, counting in 1, 2, 5,10s, naming familiar 2d shapes, doubling, halving, addition and subtraction. We continue to use practical games and methods to work out the answers. We have a bank of favourite maths songs on YouTube, ask your child to show you these!

In Topic (science, history, geography, art, DT, PSHE), we have looked at continents and were amazed that dinosaur fossils have been found on all 7 continents! We have classified living things (living, dead and never been alive) and identified and named dinosaurs that were carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. In art, the children have been looking at the work of famous artists (Michelle Reader, Barbra Hepworth and Eva Rothschild) and have made their own abstract sculptures inspired by these artists. Did they tell you about their marshmallow dinosaurs? It was been lovely watching them work individually, in pairs and in small groups.

In PE, we have been looking at body management and how to control our movements. The children have also spent several weeks developing their ‘send and return’ ball skills. Rolling, pushing, bouncing, catching and working out which is their dominant and non-dominant side. We stress the importance of being physically active in school and encourage the children to develop these key skills at home. If you don’t have a ball to hand, you could play catch with a pair of socks!

The children in Year 1 and year 2 take part in whole class reading sessions. These sessions help to develop confidence, pace, fluency and reading with expression. Please continue to read at home with your child at least three times a week. Please return reading books promptly and we will exchange the book and send a new one out.

Thank you so much for your support this half term. It has been a great start to a busy and fun year. If you have any questions then please speak to a member of staff and we will be happy to help.

Many thanks,

Mrs Sharp & Miss Dales