Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog Friday 23rd January 2026

Happy Friday Everybody! 

We have been very busy learning about castle defence systems this week and have begun to create our own castles. Thank you all for the box and tube donations!

Next week we will be looking at the life of a knight and how to joust. We will also be trying out jousting for ourselves during our Forest School sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. This will be slightly adapted with us using imaginary horses and pool woggles as jousts! We apologise in advance if the children come home muddy on their Forest School day.

Homework

This week the children have Maths worksheets to complete that have been given to them to put in their bags. These link directly with the learning that has taken place in school this week.

The children's new spelling sheets are also in their bags, along with their new reading books.

If you have any queries or comments about these or any other issue, please do not hesitate to come and see us.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

The Key Stage 1 Team

Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog Friday 16th January 2026

Happy Friday Everybody! 

We are really enjoying our new project 'The Quest'. We have been writing the story 'Jack and the Beanstalk' in our own words and learning about different types of castles. Our trip to Colchester Castle was brilliant! The children were so well-behaved and we all enjoyed our private story tour, where we dressed as pages and trained to be knights. We even got to walk along the rooftop to see the ramparts. The view was amazing!

Next week we will be looking at the photographs that were taken on the day and writing all about our visit. We will also be starting to create out own 3D castles.

Homework

This week the children have Maths worksheets to complete that have been given to them to put in their bags. These link directly with the learning that has taken place in school this week.

The children's new spelling sheets are also in their bags, along with their new reading books.

If you have any queries or comments about these or any other issue, please do not hesitate to come and see us.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

The Key Stage 1 Team

Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog Friday 9th January 2026

Happy New Year!

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and have had a positive start to the new year. Our new project this term is 'The Quest'. We are ready for a fun-packed term where we will be learning about different types of castles, life inside a castle and the weapons used to defend them. Our visit to Colchester Castle next week will be fun and very valuable to support our learning. We will have access to parts of the castle that are not open to the public, so we are really looking forward to our visit.

Homework

Spellings: The children have their spelling sheets in their bags. Their colour band books have been changed and they also have been given their new Animaphonics books, so you can choose which to read each evening. The Animaphonics books do not have to be read from cover to cover each night. There is quite a lot of text in them now, so only read 3 or 4 pages at a time and remember to discuss what the children have read. This really helps to develop their comprehension skills.

Maths: The Year 1 children have a penguins and polar bears, number bonds to ten sheet to complete.

The Year 2 children have a missing numbers sheet to complete. They have to look at the number line and work out which numbers are missing. 

The homework reflects the learning that has taken place in school this week, so the children should know what they are doing and be able to complete it in a short time.

Forest School

Forest School will start again for Year 1 next week. The day has not changed, so Buttercup and Bluebell Class will have their session every fortnight on a Tuesday (when Mrs O'Connor is not teaching in class). The children in Daffodil Class will have their sessions every other Wednesday BUT due to our school trip, they will not have a session next Wednesday. Please continue to wrap the children up warm (layers are best). They are thoroughly enjoying their time outside and we don't want them feeling cold and uncomfortable. 

Please don't forget that if you have any questions, comments or concerns, you can message us via Dojo or pop down and see us at the end of the day. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Love, The Key Stage 1 Team x

Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog Friday 19th December 2025

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Wow that is a whole term gone already!

What a lovely week we have had. We hope you are feeling very festive after our Nativity performance. We are sooo proud of the children and we know you are too. They were amazing!

As promised, we have taken individual photographs of the children in their costumes and these have been sent home with them today. Below is a photograph of the children in their positions on the stage. 

We would all like to thank you for your support and for the generous gifts that we have received. It is never expected but is very much apprciated.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

With love from ,

The Key Stage 1 Team xx

Bluebell, Buttercup and Daffodil Blog 12th December 2025

 Happy Friday Everybody!

We have had a very exciting week this week and are now feeling very festive!

The Nativity performance is coming along nicely and we are really looking forward to seeing you on either:

• Wednesday 17th December at 2pm 
• Thursday 18th December at 9:30am

Today we had a very special visitor. Father Christmas came to visit with his reindeer. What a treat it was to meet him again and stroke his reindeer, although the teachers were not happy as they were ALL on the naughty list!

Dont forget - FOREST SCHOOL is taking place on Tuesday next week. Please send your child in in their forest school clothes with their wellies and waterproofs in a bag. We will be having a campfire, toasting marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate, so your children may come home smelling a little smokey!

There isn't any homework this week! The children have all changed their colour band books and will do this again next week but we are hanging on to their Animaphonics books until after Christmas. 

Thank you so much for all of your support with costumes and payments for the various activities at this time of the year. We very much appreciate it!

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Love

The Key Stage 1 Team xx

Bluebell, Buttercup and Daffodil 5th December 2025

Happy Friday Everybody!

We have had another busy but very festive week in Key Stage 1. We all enjoyed the pantomime on Tuesday and our visit to the church today (although our legs were very tired after walking up London Hill!

Upcoming Events

• Thursday 11th December - Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas lunch
• Friday 12th December - Father Christmas / PTA Christmas Shopping Day & Bazaar
• Wednesday 17th December 2pm - Key Stage 1 performance
• Thursday 18th December 9:30am - Key Stage 1 performance

Christmas Jumper Day - Thursday 11th December

On this day, the children can wear their fabulous festive jumpers and make a £1 donation which goes to our continued sponsorship of Khadiza. The charity Action Aid use this money to ensure that Khadiza and the other children in her community enjoy their right to an education, just like all of us at Down Hall! (Articles 28 & 29)

Homework: Maths and spelling sheets are in the children's bags. They both link to the learning that has taken place in school this week.

We hope you all have a lovely, relaxing weekend.

Love The Key Stage 1 Team x

Bluebell, Buttercup and Daffodil Blog 28th November 2025

 

Bluebell, Buttercup and Daffodil Blog 28th November 2025

Happy Friday Everybody!

The children have had a busy week with nativity rehearsals. A letter will be sent home on Monday in regards to costumes. If you are able to donate or lend any this would be greatly appreciated.

We have a busy week with the pantomime trip on Tuesday and church visit on Friday. Please remember children need to be at school at 8:30 on Tuesday with a Christmas jumper to put on over their uniform. We are aiming to leave the school at 9 and should be returning for lunch around 1pm. 

Remember next week the children will have their Forest School sessions. The children can come into school in their Forest School clothes but will need to bring a spare change of shoes for after.

Maths Home work 

Year 1 - This week we have been learning about length and would like the children to complete the double sided length sheet in their bag.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/measuring-in-cm

Year 2 - This week the children have been continuing to learn about time. We would like the children to complete the worksheet that is in their bags.

Spellings

New spelling sheets are in the children's bags along with this week's Animaphonics books. 

Thank you so much for all of your support at home. Your efforts really do help your child's confidence and fluency in Maths and Reading.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

The Key Stage 1 Team x