Autumn 1

Science

In Science, we have been learning about the human body and the five senses that help us to find out about the world around us. We tested our sense of smell to see if we could identify mystery scents, discussing which we liked and disliked. We also carried out an investigation to test our sense of hearing and recognised some sounds were tricky to identify. We also enjoyed exploring different textures using our sense of touch and how our skin can help us identify many things about our surroundings including the temperature. 

We are also lucky enough to be taking part in NUSTEM project and had a lovely afternoon with Mel from the team. She shared the story of “Who Sank the Boat?” by Pamela 
Allen and told us about the role of a naval architect and the skills they need for their job.
The children explored different materials to make a boat, identifying which shapes were successful. The children had lots of fun working alongside their adults, building a boat together and testing how much weight the boats could hold. It was a tricky activity but the children enjoyed the challenge and showed good patience and perseverance.  

PE

It has been wonderful to have our PE lessons delivered by Mr Elliott, who is from the Newcastle United Foundation. During these sessions we have been focusing on developing our ball skills. This has included over and underarm throwing, bouncing and rolling. The children have thoroughly enjoyed every lesson, showing excellent listening skills and team work. This half term the children also explored travelling actions, movement skills and balancing within Dance. The children enjoyed creating dance phrases by copying and joining actions to take on the role of a pirate and to represent different types of weather. They did a great job when working with a partner and gave clear feedback to their peers on their performances. 

DT

In DT, the children have been building stable structures. They had lots of fun making stable shapes with their body and enjoyed experimenting with practical resources to create the most stable structure with their partner, understanding that structures with a wider base are more stable than ones with a narrow base. The children evaluated existing pencil pots before designing a pencil pot for Year 1 pupils, ensuring their design met the design criteria.

The children showed good scissor control to cut out a shape neatly and accurately before working with a peer to assemble their structure. The children were so proud of their pencil pots and were able to explain what they liked and dislike about their final product.

Autumn 2

Art

Beech class loved using their sketchbooks to explore line and shape. Within this unit, they explored control and pressure to create different types of lines. They thoroughly enjoyed doing this in response to musical stimulus, making media, colour and line choices based on the type of music. It was lovely to hear the children discussing how each piece of music made them feel. Looking at the work of Paul Klee, the children explored how line and shape can be used to create portrait drawings, discussing what they noticed, along with their likes and dislikes. The children then created their own portrait in the style of Paul Klee, making considered colour choices. 

History

Beech class learned about the significance of poppy and why we mark Armistice Day, supporting their understanding of events within living memory and beyond living memory. The children took part in a two-minute silence and enjoyed creating some beautiful poppy art work to remember the fallen soldiers and say thank you. Some of our art work was taken to Winton Court for the residents to enjoy and reflect upon. 

PSHCE - Jigsaw

This half term, the children have been exploring the unit 'Celebrating Difference'. Over a series of lessons, the children learned alongside their talk partner to identify similarities and differences between them and their partner, recording what they discovered in picture form to create a gingerbread character. They children showed great communication skills, asking their partner questions and listening well to their responses. 

The children celebrated World Kindness Day by thinking about kind and unkind actions and the qualities of a kind friend and classmate. The children then decorated and made a bracelet for a friend as an act of kindness. 

RE

In RE, Beech class explored the question 'What gifts might Christians have given Jesus if he had been born here rather than in Bethlehem?' They thought about special gifts they have received, discussing why they are important to them. The children learned about the birth of Jesus and what we celebrate Christmas. The children were very excited to visit St. Paul's Church to learn more about story of Christmas and take part in a lovely craft activity.