Yeadon Westfield Infant SchoolKeystage 1: Blog items
Velociraptor Blog - Spring Term 1
Date: 14th Feb 2025 @ 9:56am
The time is flying by and we have now reached the half way point of Year 1! It’s hard to believe, but we have already begun to talk about getting the children ready for Year 2!
All our hard work is paying off. The handwriting is smaller and neater, the use of phonics is more confident in reading and writing, and the children’s abilities in number have increased hugely. They are working hard!
We have continued our daily phonics and reading lessons following our FFT scheme and are now seeing the impact as we gradually introduce more independent working, for example on writing sentences by themselves. The whole idea is that we give them the skills to write correctly first so they do not develop bad habits that are difficult to change. Please continue to support them with correct letter formation at home so they can eventually be taught how to join up their letters.
In maths, we have been learning number facts involving adding 2, learning how to create “fact families” for each number fact by writing the two additions and two subtractions related to that fact. Many children can now put this fact family into multiples of 10, represent the fact with different visual models and answer questions involving the fact. Brilliant progress Year 1! In addition to all that work, they have been adding and subtracting using a numberline, learning about finding half and one third of amounts and shapes, and learning about telling the time to the hour including drawing the hands on clock faces to show the time.
In history, the children have been studying the history of our own school using various sources such as photographs, the old “accident book”, and interviewing people who came to our school in the past. Did you know that our own Miss Davis was one of the very first children in our school?
In geography, we have started to study the United Kingdom and where it is in our world. This work will continue over the two years of Key Stage 1 so that by the end children should know the four countries of the UK and their capital cities alongside understanding its key characteristics and features. The children have loved learning through songs, Google Earth and interactive games as well as studying world and UK maps.
Science has been exciting too as we have been learning about materials and their properties. I think the children’s favourite part was our last lesson, which was an investigation into the properties of slime. As you can imagine, this was messy and hands-on (especially for the poor adults who had to clear up!)
Mrs Gilligan has not only been continuing with her lovely RE lessons, but has had all the children on the new laptops learning about using different progams for data collection. It’s hard getting 15 laptops ready for each lesson, so thank you Mrs G.!
Whew! Thanks to everyone at school and at home - let’s have a rest…
Mrs Nolan and the Velociraptor Team
Spinosaurus and Dilophosaurus Class Blog - Spring Term 1
Date: 14th Feb 2025 @ 9:53am
Where has time gone? The children settled back into the rhythm of school brilliantly after the Christmas break, despite the snowy start!
The topic for this term was Underground. The children have been thoroughly engaged so far in this topic and it will continue into next half term. Our areas of provision allow the children to explore what animals they might find underground and above ground and we have shared some beautiful fiction and non-fiction books based around this.
We had an art focus this half term and the children have worked incredibly hard to create an underground shoebox diorama. They were inspired by Zachary Bennett- Brook when they painted and the sculpture artist Lisa Larson was the inspiration behind their clay mice. Thank you to all who made it to our mini art exhibition in the hall, the children were bursting with pride to show off their work.
In history we have looked at how schools have changed over the last 100 years and we all agreed that we are lucky to come to school in the present day rather than the past. We did not like the look of the dunce hat! The children enjoyed looking at different sources to learn about the past and found the school’s accident book from the 1990’s to be interesting, particularly finding all the times Mr Roberts appeared in the book!
In science, the children learnt about materials and their properties (wood, metal, plastic, glass etc.) and carried out an investigation to see which materials could bend, twist, stretch and squash. However, the highlight of the half term was an experiment to make our own slime and find out how much glue makes the best slime. We had so much fun, made some good predictions and filled in a table of our findings.
In PE, we have been learning how to attack, defend and shoot using beanbags and balls of different sizes. These skills will help feed into different sports such as football and tennis. The children practised throwing underarm and overarm to hit a target. Keep practising these skills! Indoor PE has been filled with learning an underground themed dance, taught to us by the amazing Nicola! We have loved every second and the routine was challenging, fun and had lots of movements to remember.
PSHE has taught us about roles and responsibilities, acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, being king and knowing that we are all special. We love reflecting on what amazing individuals we have in our school and continue to feel proud of the children every day.
In Year 1
All our hard work is paying off. The handwriting is smaller and neater, the use of phonics is more confident in reading and writing, and the children’s abilities in number have increased hugely. They are working hard!
We have continued our daily phonics and reading lessons following our FFT scheme and are now seeing the impact as we gradually introduce more independent working, for example on writing sentences by themselves. The whole idea is that we give them the skills to write correctly first so they do not develop bad habits that are difficult to change. Please continue to support them with correct letter formation at home so they can eventually be taught how to join up their letters.
In maths, we have been learning number facts involving adding 2, learning how to create “fact families” for each number fact by writing the two additions and two subtractions related to that fact. Many children can now put this fact family into multiples of 10, represent the fact with different visual models and answer questions involving the fact. Brilliant progress Year 1! In addition to all that work, they have been adding and subtracting using a numberline, learning about finding half and one third of amounts and shapes, and learning about telling the time to the hour including drawing the hands on clock faces to show the time.
Year 1 children please return your reading book on Wednesday. New books will be sent out on Friday.
Homework will be sent home on a Friday.
In Year 2
In literacy, we have looked at the stories: ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and ‘The Tunnel’. The children have written their own versions of the stories, using adjectives and conjunctions (e.g. and/ but/ or/ so) to extend their sentences. Miss Worton, Mrs Whitehead and Mrs Sharp have been blown away by their unique and lively stories. We are continuing to work on punctuation, neat handwriting and spelling, particularly ‘common exception words’. Weekly spelling homework will now be sent out every Monday.
In maths, we have been extremely busy. We have covered place value, addition, subtraction, fractions ( ½ and ¼ ), measuring and time! Children have worked practically when covering these skills and we will be consolidating these skills again next half term. Please help at home by looking at time: O’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to.
The children in Year 2 take part in whole class reading sessions. These sessions help to develop confidence, pace, fluency, comprehension and reading with expression. Please continue to read at home with your child at least three times a week. Please return reading books on a Monday morning and we will exchange the book and send a new one out on Monday afternoon.
Our library day is Tuesday, please return your library book once you have finished with it and a new one can be chosen on Tuesday afternoon. If you would like to keep your book for an extra week then please do.
Thank you again for your support this half term. It has been a busy but great one. If you have any questions then please speak to a member of staff in and we will be happy to help.
Many thanks,
Mrs Sharp, Mrs Whitehead & Miss Worton
Spinosaurus and Dilophosaurus Class Blog - Autumn Term 2
Date: 20th Dec 2024 @ 10:24am
Christmas already?!
What an amazing half term we’ve had! The children have settled into their new classes now and we are having a great time.
In literacy, year 2 have looked at fiction and non-fiction texts. The children have continued to use adjectives to enhance their own versions stories and have worked hard on writing skills. We are continuing to work hard on the presentation of writing and accuracy in spelling. You could help your child at home by practising to spell the Common Exception Words (the sheet was given out at parent’s consultation meetings). Year 1 children have been looking at sound families in phonics and working hard to use new sounds in simple sentences.
This half term in maths, year 2 have looked at multiplication, division, 3D Shape, time, money and fractions. We continue to use practical games and methods to work out the answers. The children in year 1 have worked hard on measuring length, 3D shape, multiplication, early division skills, finding half of numbers and more!
In Topic (science, history, geography and DT), we have had focused weeks on Guy Fawkes and Remembrance Day and have become quite the historians! In geography, our key question has been: ‘Where is our school?’. We have been doing lots of fieldwork outside, looking at maps of our school grounds, using a compass to find north and making our own maps. It has been really interesting and lots of fun. In DT this half term we have made pictures with moving parts (sliders, levers and wheels). The children have loved building up their picture over 6 weeks and have followed the design criteria in order to make a successful product. As the seasons changed we enjoyed looking at evergreen and deciduous trees that are on our school grounds in science. We have also looked at the structure of animals and compared a rhino to a triceratops. The children also carried out an investigation and compared the teeth of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. We are so proud of the children but more importantly, they are proud of themselves.
In PE, we have been looking at gymnastic movements and particularly rolls. Mrs Jones and Mrs Sharp are now confident in teddy rolls after much practise! We have also been working on team work skills and games in our outdoor P.E lessons. It has been a little chilly but the children love going outside and so we have wrapped up and got stuck in!
We have had lots of other busy and exciting events this half term including our Beauty and the Beast pantomime, the Santa dash, Christmas fair and, of course, our nativity. What a show! Thank you to all the parents who showed their support and came to watch the performance. The nativity will also be uploaded on to the school website. We are so very proud of the children and they thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for your support this half term. If you have any questions, then please speak to a member of staff and we will be happy to help. Mrs Jones will be moving to a new school in January. She has been a wonderful part of our team as she covered Miss Worton’s maternity leave. She will be truly missed and we wish her every success in her new school, they are lucky to have her. We are also looking forward to welcoming Miss Worton and Mrs Whitehead back to our team in January.
Many thanks for your continued and happy holidays.
Mrs Jones & Mrs Sharp
PS, please bring in shoeboxes after Christmas for our art project. They are needed the first day back.
Velociraptor Class Blog - Autumn Term 2
Date: 20th Dec 2024 @ 10:19am
The year is nearly at its end and, can you believe it, the children are one third of the way through their time in Year 1! Once more they have worked incredibly hard and are certainly in need of a good rest over the next few weeks.
They have continued to make great progress in phonics, reading and writing, learning lots of new ways to make different sounds and becoming more and more fluent in their reading. It is great to hear them reading along with me in their everyday work in all our subjects!
In maths, we have been learning the different ways of making ten, which is one of the most important things children ever learn as it is a crucial building block for future calculations. In our main lessons we have covered measuring length, 3D shape, multiplication and division skills, using coins to pay for shopping, comparing mass, finding half of objects, 2D shapes and amounts and, finally, odd and even numbers.
The children loved learning about Guy Fawkes in history and then thought carefully about Remembrance Day and why we wear poppies. We have been doing lots of fieldwork around our school in geography, starting with thinking about the physical and human features surrounding our school, then using compasses to find north, learning to use a real plan map of school then adding detail to the map, and finally having a go at drawing our own maps of a small area of the playground.
Continuing under our umbrella topic of “dinosaurs”, in our science we have been investigating why animals (including humans) have different teeth, whether there is any correlation between body height/length/size and foot length, and comparing the structure of various animals to think about their similarities and differences.
Mrs Gilligan has continued to teach the children about different religions, their customs and their stories, as well as introducing them to a range of music skills. The children love these lessons, so thank you Mrs Gilligan!
In PE, the children have been building up their stamina for running around the playground as well as skills in body management, problem solving, team games and jumping.
The last few weeks have been particularly hectic, what with our “special visitors” and the preparations for the nativity performances. The children really rose to both occasions, impressing the visitors with their confidence and attitudes, and impressing the staff with how they quickly became performers in their roles as busy villagers and lambs in our nativity. They can’t wait to be Year 2s so that they can dress up in the various costumes and take on the major roles!
So I think we all deserve a well-earned rest! We will see you in the new year, ready for the next stage in our Year 1 journey! Have a great Christmas everybody!
Mrs Nolan and the Velociraptor Team
Year 1 Learning Division Skills
Date: 27th Nov 2024 @ 3:16pm
Today Year 1 have been using cubes to practise division skills.
Date: 13th Nov 2024 @ 2:49pm
Year 1 children have been creating anti-bullying themed graffiti in the playground.
Date: 13th Nov 2024 @ 2:00pm
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
Velociraptor Class Blog - Autumn Term 1
Date: 25th Oct 2024 @ 8:03am
This might have been a long term but it has flown by and the children have blossomed into proper Year 1s! We have been incredibly busy and have had some great fun.
So first of all let’s congratulate all our children on learning the songs for the Harvest Celebrations this week. They have worked very hard on this in our weekly singing practices, a time together as a key stage that they seem to greatly enjoy.
Over the past eight weeks we have not only worked on our daily phonics (don’t forget to check out the FFT Phonics Parents’ Portal by the way), reading and writing lessons and maths lessons, but have covered a full range of other subjects.
Under the umbrella topic of Dinosaurs, the children have learned about the amazing lady fossil hunter Mary Anning in history lessons. This week they have reflected on what they learned about her and I was so pleased with what they could recall and what good historians they are becoming! To tie in with this, we learned in geography about the countries of the UK and where in the country Mary Anning found her fossils, as well as learning that dinosaur fossils have been found in every one of the current seven continents of the world. If you want to know what the world looked like in the time of the dinosaurs, just search for Pangea Time Lapse on YouTube!
In science, the children have learned about the different groups of animals and their characteristics, about grouping them into carnivores, herbivores and omnivores and whether they lay eggs or give birth to live young. Currently we are thinking about seasons, so please help us with this by supporting the children in their Autumn Scavenger Hunt (sent home this Friday). They should bring this back completed after the half term holiday so it can be stuck in their science books and they will then receive a certificate.
With Mrs Gilligan, we have learned about different religions and stories in RE and the children have done some fantastic work in computing using all our laptops to explore digital imagery. Favourite lessons with many have been PE times in which the children have practised a variety of jumping and ball skills, including using rackets to hit a tennis ball that has been sent towards them. Why not work on some ball skills over the holiday? You don’t even have to have a proper ball – they seem to be quite happy to use a screwed up piece of paper! Try using your hand as a racket too!
Thank you for all your support over the half term. We do hope you all have a well-earned rest and come back refreshed at the beginning of November ready to learn why we celebrate Bonfire Night on the 5th.
Mrs Nolan and the Velociraptor Team
Date: 10th Oct 2024 @ 8:11am
The children sorted dinosaurs into carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.
Date: 10th Oct 2024 @ 8:08am
Subtraction partner game - the children had great fun doing this!
Dinosaur Building in Velociraptor Class
Date: 10th Oct 2024 @ 7:50am
The children have been making model dinosaurs with cardboard boxes.
