Friday 17 December 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 17th December 2021

 Happy Friday, everybody! What a week it has been! It was always our goal that, if we got to half term and all was well, we would make it our aim to welcome you all in to watch our Christmas Production. There were a few twists and turns in the road towards this but to finally have managed to do this is something all the children and staff are very proud of.


We were able to share our performance with all the other children in the school too, showing it over the course of three days to Early Years, Year 3/4 and Year 5/6. It was a lovely end to our year and felt like a true step in the direction of being back to normal.

We are very sorry to the children who missed the performances due to illness but you all contributed hugely in the preparation and practising of the show so a big thank you to ALL the children - you are stars.

Finally, thank you to YOU for coming and supporting us, laughing at the jokes and all your warm applause. Hopefully this has set you up for a wonderful Christmas together.

Christmas Holidays

We wish you all a restful and happy Christmas break. We are very mindful that the children are very tired and we have been extremely impressed with how hard they have worked this term. To this end, we are not setting any homework over the Christmas break - take the time to recharge your batteries!

We would encourage you to do a little reading over the 2 weeks so the children maintain their fluency and make a smooth return to school on Tuesday 4th January. Please note that the Year 1/2 emails will not be monitored over the holiday period.

We wish you all an amazing Christmas, a wonderful New Year and look forward to seeing you all next term!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 10 December 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Class Blog - Friday 10th December 2021

 Happy Friday everybody! We have been very busy in Key Stage 1 putting the finishing touches to our Christmas Production and are so very excited to welcome an audience into the hall to watch next week!

Christmas Production

Don't forget, our shows are on the following dates:

  • Wednesday 15th December at 9:30am
  • Thursday 16th December at 9:30am
On Monday, your child will come home with programmes which will act as your ticket. Please check you have the day you were expecting! The performance will take place in the hall via the side doors which will be accessed from the school car park in Brooklyn Drive. If you are unsure where this is please ask us at the end of the day. The performance should last around 20-30 minutes. We cannot emphasize just how glad we are to able to share this with you after such a strange year!

Christmas Jumper Day - Friday 10th December

All the children looked fab today in their Christmas jumpers. In class today, we read our latest letter from Thoko, the girl from Malawi which the money raised today will sponsor for another year's education. It is lovely to hear about the things that she can do and the hopes that she has for the future now that she is in full time education.

We will be keeping the Christmas jumpers in school for next week so we can wear them whenever we now practice and perform our show.

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 28-29.

For Year 1's this is looking at subtraction. Again, take the time to do lots of practical taking away using different everyday objects and verbalise the process clearly. There are lots of practical games on Top Marks if you wish to consolidate these skills further:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/addition-and-subtraction

For Year 2's this is looking at multiplication. There is an expectation that by the end of Year 2, children are fluent in the multiplication facts for the 2, 5 and 10 times tables. Just like reading, practising these times tables little and often helps embed understanding. There are lots of games on Top Marks to further explore these ideas:

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home. We cannot emphasize how important to your child's general progress in all aspects of their learning regular reading is. It remains one of the simplest and most impactful things you can do to support your child's education at home. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for all our children as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. However, we are also available if you have any quick questions at the end of the day on the playground. Just give us a wave and we will pop over! 

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a great "not long to go now!" weekend!

Much love

Your Key Stage 1 Team






Friday 3 December 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 3rd December 2021

 Happy Friday everybody! So let us cut straight to the chase - we are very excited to tell you that we are planning to share our Christmas Production with you all in 2 weeks time!

Christmas Production

You should have been emailed a letter on Wednesday explaining our arrangements for sharing our Christmas Production with you. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DzjOwt8GIfwdOt9SMEeqhLhzzNWMSVh4/view?usp=sharing

We have spent the last week practicing in the hope we would be able to go ahead with this and it is with fingers firmly crossed that we have set the following dates:

  • Wednesday 15th December at 9:30am
  • Thursday 16th December at 9:30am
There will be 2 tickets allocated per family. Please email us on our usual address (also at the end of this post) which day you would like your tickets to be allocated to. You can, if you wish, choose to have 1 ticket for Wednesday and 1 for Thursday or both on the same day. We will allocate and confirm dates at the end of each school day on a first come first served basis. Programmes, which will act as your ticket, will be sent home at the beginning of the last week of school in time for the performances.

It will be so lovely to welcome you all back into the school for such a special occasion!

Christmas Jumper Day - Friday 10th December

Article 28 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that "All children have a right to an education." We take this right very seriously at Down Hall and just over 3 years ago, the School Council chose to raise money to sponsor a child to go to school who currently did not have this right.

We are now in our 4th year of sponsoring Thoko, a girl from Malawi, to go to school. It is through wearing our Christmas jumpers and making a donation on this day that pays for Thoko's education for the whole year! So feel very festive in your Christmas jumper on Friday but also feel very proud when you make your suggested £1 donation that you are making a massive impact on the life of another child.

You can read an update on our School Council activities here.

Remember, your child is wearing normal school uniform except for a Christmas jumper on this day. In Key Stage 1, we also use our Christmas jumpers in our Christmas production so if the children could bring in a named plastic bag as well on Friday, at the end of the day we will ask them to put their jumper into this bag so we can keep it in school for a production in the following week.

Please bear this in mind when getting dressed for school on Friday and ensure that your child has something underneath their Christmas jumper to come home in. 

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 26-27.

For Year 1's this is looking at addition. Take the time to do lots of practical adding using different everyday objects and verbalise the process clearly. There are lots of practical games on Top Marks if you wish to consolidate these skills further:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/addition-and-subtraction

For Year 2's this is looking at inverse operations. Addition and subtraction are the opposite or inverse of each other. So if we know that 25 + 12 = 37 then it follows that 37 - 12 = 25. It is good to go through the process of solving these calculations to prove this relationship and consolidate learning. Again there are lots of games on Top Marks to further explore these ideas:

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home. We cannot emphasize how important to your child's general progress in all aspects of their learning regular reading is. It remains one of the simplest and most impactful things you can do to support your child's education at home. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for all our children as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a "beginning to look a lot like Christmas" weekend!

Much love

Your Key Stage 1 Team


Friday 26 November 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 26th November 2021

 Happy Friday, everybody! It has been another busy week in KS1. We have been working on our multiplication and problem solving skills in Maths and looking at how streets and towns have changed over the last 10 000 years in English. We have also been enjoying looking at Victorian toys which we have on loan from Chelmsford Museum, and thinking about how they are similar and different to the toys we have today.

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 24-25.

For Year 1's this is looking at add, subtract and equals. It is important to discuss the different words we use that are represented by these symbols. For example:

  • +   add, plus, total, more
  • -    take away, subtract, minus, less
  • =   equals, the same as
As well as page  25, try recording some practical adding and subtraction using these signs. Below are some links to a way of visually showing this approach too:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/addition/addition-to-10

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/subtraction/subtraction-to-10

For Year 2's this is looking at subtraction. We can use a similar approach to solving subtraction calculations as addition. The most important thing to remember is that we only draw the first amount and take away the second amount from this:

If we have an instance where there are not enough ones to take away, we cross out a ten to turn into 10 ones:


Practice this approach when working on the calculations on page 25. You can also try the subtraction version of the game from last week to continue to develop your child's mental maths skills.

https://www.arcademics.com/games/mission

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home. We cannot emphasize how important to your child's general progress in all aspects of their learning regular reading is. It remains one of the simplest and most impactful things you can do to support your child's education at home. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for all our children as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.

Unite The Uniforms

On Friday 3rd December we will be taking part in the Unite The Uniforms campaign in honour of the millions of people who have served in the NHS and emergency services. Children are invited to come to school wearing the colours of the emergency services; red, blue, green or orange.  In class we will be thinking about how these people help us and why it is important to honour them.  We will make links to Children’s Rights and use our pupil voice to write letters of thanks, which we will send to our local services.  Suggested donation is £1, but please give as little or as much as you wish so that we can all join in the dressing up fun!  Donations will go towards building the UK’s first ‘Emergency Services Cenotaph’.



Home Learning

If for any reason your child is unable to attend school and you are looking for work to complete, then please visit the Children's Hub page on our school website. Follow the link below and then scroll down to see links to some websites that will help you support your child's learning. There are links here to our Big Cat e-library, White Rose maths and Oak Academy. 

https://sites.google.com/downhallprimary.com/learninghub/

There are also suggestions for work you can do from Oak Academy and White Rose in a document named Home Learning - December 2021 in our Home Learning folder, which you can access here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/149knm9VCVEVTwzWMwMeYzOGkF3RP-sOg


As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have an awesome weekend!

Much love

Your Key Stage 1 Team



Friday 19 November 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 19th November 2021

 Happy Friday, everybody - we truly hope you are all keeping healthy! Pyjama Day has been met with great excitement today with everyone looking amazing in their bedtime clothes and we have raised some money for a very important cause. We have all enjoyed our special Children in Need workout with Joe Wicks and learnt about the work that Children in Need do, relating this to our rights.





Home Learning

If for any reason your child is unable to attend school and you are looking for work to complete, then please visit the Children's Hub page on our school website. Follow the link below and then scroll down to see links to some websites that will help you support your child's learning. There are links here to our Big Cat e-library, White Rose maths and Oak Academy. 

For White Rose, click on the Home Learning tab and then select the appropriate Year group and week from the list that will appear. There are videos that you can work through together. 

Again, for Oak Academy click Lessons; Subjects; Key Stage 1 and then there will a huge range of lessons for you to choose from.

We hope you can find things here that will engage and support your child whilst they are away from school or, even, if they wish to do extra work at home!

https://sites.google.com/downhallprimary.com/learninghub/

There are also suggestions for work you can do from Oak Academy and White Rose in a document named Home Learning - November 2021 in our Home Learning folder, which you can access here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/149knm9VCVEVTwzWMwMeYzOGkF3RP-sOg

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 22-23.

For Year 1's this is looking at number bonds to 20. Look for the ways this relates to last week's work on number bonds to 10. The web site below is a way to visualise this. Drag out 20 red counters and then explore flipping some to yellow. Look at the combination of numbers you can get. Can you spot the patterns?

https://www.didax.com/apps/two-color-counters/


For Year 2's this is looking at addition. We have talked before about how we can split numbers into tens and ones and represent these with annotations. This can help us when working out addition calculations:


Practice this approach when working on the calculations on page 23. Being able to add smaller numbers mentally is also an important skill to practice. Try the game below to help improve your child's mental addition skills.

https://www.arcademics.com/games/alien

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for all our children as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a healthy weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley





Friday 12 November 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 12th November 2021

 Happy Friday everybody! We hope you are feeling well and have had a lovely week. This week in Key Stage 1 we have been looking at the story "Rosie's Walk" and making changes to it to create our own zig zag books. We have also been practicing our addition skills in maths.

Odd Socks Day - Monday 15th November

On Monday, we are participating in "Odd Socks Day" to mark Anti-Bullying Week. Taking part could not be simpler - all your child needs to do (and you if you feel inclined!) is wear odd socks to school on Monday! In class, we will be exploring the theme of "One Kind Word" and linking this message to our Right to having the best possible health, including mental health (Article 24).

Children In Need - Friday 19th November

This year to celebrate Children in Need, we will be having a pyjama day at school on Friday 19th November. Children can wear their favourite PJs to school, however please remember that all children still need to wear sensible outdoor shoes so that they will be safe going outside, and to also bring a coat.

The children will be taking part in fun activities during the day, with prizes and rewards to be won. Suggested donation is £1 per child to raise money for such a great cause, but you can give more if you wish. There will be a bucket for donations at the gate during morning drop off. 

Children in Need has strong links to our work on SMSC and RRS.  We will be looking at the charities that Children in Need supports and making specific links to the Spiritual and Social threads of SMSC and to the following RRS Articles :

Article 1: All children under 18 have all the rights in the convention. 

Article 23: Any child with a disability must be provided with support so they can live as fully and independently as possible. 

Article 27: All children have the right to a good standard of living which meets their physical, social and mental needs. 

We thank you for taking part and can’t wait to see everyone in their favourite PJs!  If you want to find out more you can check out all of the information here.

Together we can change young lives - BBC Children in Need


Home Learning

If for any reason your child is unable to attend school and you are looking for work to complete, then please visit the Children's Hub page on our school website. Follow the link below and then scroll down to see links to some websites that will help you support your child's learning. There are links here to our Big Cat e-library, White Rose maths and Oak Academy. 

For White Rose, click on the Home Learning tab and then select the appropriate Year group and week from the list that will appear. There are videos that you can work through together. 

Again, for Oak Academy click Lessons; Subjects; Key Stage 1 and then there will a huge range of lessons for you to choose from.

We hope you can find things here that will engage and support your child whilst they are away from school or, even, if they wish to do extra work at home!

https://sites.google.com/downhallprimary.com/learninghub/

There are also suggestions for work you can do from Oak Academy and White Rose in our Home Learning folder, which you can access here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/149knm9VCVEVTwzWMwMeYzOGkF3RP-sOg

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 20-21.

For Year 1's this is looking at number bonds to 10. As well as going through the pages in the book, make collections of 10 objects. Hide some and see if your child can work out how many are hidden based upon how many they can see. Below are a couple of games which also explore the concept of number bonds.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=WaystoMake

https://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/busyday/ten/

For Year 2's this is looking at number bonds and how addition and subtraction are related. One of the most important aspects of maths is how operations such as addition and subtraction are the opposite or inverse of each other. We can use this to help us. So if we know 4+13=17, then we also know that 17-13=4. After working on the pages have a look at this game for further exploring this idea.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/number-facts/number-fact-families

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for all our children as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a healthy weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley


Friday 5 November 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 5th November 2021

 Happy Friday, everybody - we hope you are all doing well! It has been lovely to welcome all the children back after half term and hear about all the exciting things they have been up to during their time off!

Poppies

Next week, the children will have the opportunity to purchase poppies within class. As well as the poppies, there are some other Royal British Legion merchandise (such as key rings, wrist bands and stationery) which can be purchased. The suggested donation for these items are 50p for a poppy and £1 for other items. If you wish your child to get any of these, then please send them in with their money any day next week.

New Collection Arrangements

From today there will be a slight change to the collection arrangements at the end of the day. At 2:55pm, parents will be invited onto the playground by the Down Hall Park Way entrance. Please wait opposite your child's class line and the teachers will send your child to you as we see you.

School Council Elections

Article 12 of the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) states that every child has the right to have their voices heard in matters that affect them. With this in mind we cannot wait to get the School Council up and running so that our children can share ideas, take discussions back to classes and ALL children can be involved in decision making in a democratic way. A huge well done to everyone brave enough to put themselves forward. Classes have now voted and the results have been counted! Congratulations to our new School Councillors:

Amethyst: Ivy

Diamond: Eliza

Emerald: Peony

We know you will do a great job of representing your classmates in meetings and keeping us informed. The first meeting will take place very soon!

WHOLE SCHOOL ENGLAND SUMDOG CONTEST

Calling all of you amazing mathematicians! 

You have been entered into the Sumdog England Competition. It starts on Friday 5 November at 3.30pm, and finishes at 3.30pm on Thursday 11th November at 9am

Why not have a go and get your class on the school leaderboard?

I will be monitoring how well each class is doing. The winning class will get extra playtime!

Let's show our school what great mathematicians we are!

Good luck.

Mrs Hurley 👍

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 18-19.

For Year 1's this is looking at ordinal numbers and patterns. Look at how we represent first, second and third with 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Create your own simple patterns and then ask which shape is 6th in the pattern? Where are the triangles in the pattern? Below is a link to a game to explore patterns and a chance to use ordinal numbers to describe these patterns.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/shape-patterns

For Year 2's this is looking at solving worded number problems. This is an extremely important aspect of maths as it is where we use maths skills the majority of the time in our lives. Think about the operation that you need to solve the problem (addition or subtraction) and the language clues that help you know which one to use (altogether +; left -). If you want to explore some more examples of worded problems, have a look at the following websites:

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/math-word-problems/#addition

https://www.education.com/slideshow/easy-word-problems/simple-word-problems-2/

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for all our children as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a great weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Thursday 21 October 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Thursday 21st October 2021

 Happy Thursday everybody! Unbelievably we have completed our first half term! It has flown by and we have all been really pleased with how quickly everyone has become at home in their classes. All the children have worked really hard for the past 7 weeks and we all hope you enjoy a well deserved rest.

To this end, we are not sending the Maths homework books home during the holiday but we would ask that you keep reading little and often as we want to maintain the children's progress in their reading as we move into the second half of the Autumn Term.

Christmas Cards

Today, your child will be coming home with their Christmas card design which they can get professionally made into their very own cards. There is a covering letter which explains the process and how you can order your child's cards online should you wish to. If you have placed an order, tick the box on the sheet to show you have and then you must bring the design back into school on Monday 1st November as they are being collected to send to the print studio to be manufactured.

School Council Elections

In the first week back after half term, each class will be holding an election to choose one person to be part of our new school council. During half term, you might like to discuss with your child whether they would be interested in standing in this election. Discuss how a member of the school council needs to be a good listener but also able to express their own ideas and those of their class during meetings. Children choosing to stand might also like to create a poster or a short speech outlining why they think they would be a good candidate for the council. We look forward to sharing the results of the election at the end of our first week back. Happy campaigning!

Harvest Festival Collection

Thank you so much to all of you that have contributed to our Harvest Festival collection this year for South Essex Extended Services.  Every single donation does make a difference and is given to children and families in our own local community that need it the most. 
RRS A 27:  Every child has the right to a standard of living good enough to meet their physical, social and mental needs.



If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Emails will be monitored during Friday 22nd October before the holidays and again from Monday 1st November. Remember, that winter is rapidly approaching and we are still keeping our classrooms well ventilated, so please dress your children warmly next half term!

ks1@downhallprimary.com

We hope you have relaxing and enjoyable half term!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 15 October 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 15th October 2021

 Happy Friday everybody - we hope this weekend finds you well! Over the last week, as part of our project "Knock, Knock! Who's There?" all the classes in Key Stage 1 have taken part in some geographical fieldwork down Brooklyn Drive. We have been looking at the different features that the houses have and collecting the data for work back in class. All the children were very sensible and enjoyed some real life geography!




Parent/Teacher Consultations

Please remember, you are still able to book an appointment to meet with your child's class teacher on Friday 22nd October, 8:30am to 3:30pm. Just as you did in the Summer Term, please use the Scopay app/website to secure your slot. This meeting will be via Zoom and a meeting link will be sent to you early next week.

New Entry & Exit Arrangements

Hopefully, you have already seen the letter on our website regarding the review of our entry and exit arrangements in order to reduce the amount of time between the beginning and end of the school day. From Monday 18th October the following procedures will be in place:

Arrival At School

Amethyst, Diamond and Emerald class will enter the school via the middle gate in Torquay Close at 8:45am. This gate will ensure they are just a short walk across the playground to the steps into the classroom. If your child's siblings enter via the Downhall Park Way gate and it is easier for you to use this gate then it is fine to continue to use that entrance.

Leaving School

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald classes will exit the school via the Downhall Park Way gate as usual but at 2:55pm. Again, any older siblings will leave at this time as well. If any siblings are in EYFS, these children will leave at 2:50pm.

Harvest Festival

Our Harvest Festival collection continues with a collection box at the gate and any contributions are greatly appreciated.  Here is the link to our Harvest Blog and to our Harvest Festival Samba song to get you in the mood!

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 16-17.

For Year 1's this is looking at the number line. Hiding numbers on a number line/filling in missing numbers on a number line is a very good way of reinforcing basic number facts. It also promotes the language of number and comparison. It is very important to ask your child to explain why they arrived at their answer.

For Year 2's this is looking at ordering and comparing numbers. When ordering numbers, it is important to look at the tens value over the ones. 42 is more than 24 because of the amount of tens. We can also compare numbers using the signs < (less than), > (more than/greater than) and = (equal to/equals). Though we also remind the children that Mr Crocodile always tries to eat the bigger number!


Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - we are seeing a huge improvement with all the children who are doing their daily reading. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for your child as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.

As mentioned above, we are always available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a super weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 8 October 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 8th October 2021

 Happy Friday everybody - we hope you have had a fabulous week!

Parent/Teacher Consultations

You are now able to book an appointment to meet with your child's class teacher on Friday 22nd October, 8:30am to 3:30pm. Just as you did in the Summer Term, please use the Scopay app/website to secure your slot. This meeting will be via Zoom and a meeting link will be sent to you nearer the time.

Phase Group Emails

Please remember that we are always available to contact on our phase group email that we put at the bottom of our weekly blog. Your emails will be responded to as soon as possible but this may not be until the following working day if sent in the evening or on Monday if sent at the weekend.

If you wish to inform us of an absence, a medical appointment or a change in drop-off/collection arrangements, we ask that you contact the school office by text or email rather than our phase group emails as it is the office staff that will collect your child to take to the gate and, as you can imagine, we are unable to check our emails regularly during teaching hours.

Thank you for your support in this.

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 14-15.

For Year 1's this is looking at counting on in different steps. Take some time looking at counting on in 2's and noting the difference between odd and even numbers. Look for patterns in the numbers when counting on in 5's and 10's. Discussing these patterns can really help them to "stick" in the children's minds and leads to a deeper understanding of the maths.

For Year 2's this is looking at partitioning numbers. This just means splitting a number up into 2 smaller numbers which make up the whole number. The children are most aware of how 38 = 30 + 8. But 38 can be partitioned in other ways e.g. 20 + 18 or 32 + 6. Ways to show this can be with resources grouped in tens and ones or creating annotations e.g.

How many have been ringed in red?

We have 3 tens and 8 ones altogether (38). 2 tens and 4 ones have been ringed. 1 ten and 4 ones are not ringed. So 24 + 14 = 38.

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - we are seeing a huge improvement with all the children who are doing their daily reading. We are still updating the Big Cat online library for your child as they move up reading levels, so don't forget to use this resource if it is useful to you.

As mentioned above, we are always available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 1 October 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 1st October 2021

 Happy Friday everybody - we hope you are all doing well! It has been lovely this week to see all of the children in Key Stage 1 in the hall for lunchtime and playing so wonderfully with each other at playtimes. I think they have loved it too! It has felt decidedly autumnal as well as this week has progressed, so please ensure that the children are coming to school with a coat each day as well as their book bags.

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 12-13.

For Year 1's this is looking at accurate and reliable counting. Take some time looking at page 12 and discussing the terminology of more, less, fewer, most, least and equal. Extend this task for exploring things that can be counted around the home and label how many forks, pegs and socks (etc!) that you can find.

For Year 2's this is looking at number lines. Think about how number lines do not always go up in 1's but could be 2's, 5's or 10's. This means sometimes we have to estimate where number would go it it lies between the marked numbers. Once you have labelled the number lines on page 13, think about where different numbers would go on the different number lines. For example, where would the number 11 go on each of the 4 different number lines? How do you know?

Don't forget, we are always available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have an awesome weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 24 September 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 24th September 2021

 Happy Friday everybody - we hope you have all had a lovely week! This week we have been making progress towards our usual ways of working as the Year 2 children had morning and lunch playtimes together. Next week, the Year 1 children will be joining the Year 2's at these playtimes and all the Key Stage 1 children will be having lunch in the hall. "Hooray!" say the classroom carpets!

We also all wish Mrs Yuille well as she continues to get better from her recent time in hospital. Diamond class have been amazing this week and will be covered by Mrs Holmes and Mrs O'Connor next week.

Book Bags

Just another reminder that is really important that your child brings their blue book bags/clear plastic wallet with their reading book and reading diary into school everyday. The children do not have a set day which they read on but, whenever we get a chance, we try to fit in as many readers as we can. It is really important, therefore, that they always have their book with them.

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 10-11.

For Year 1's this is looking at numbers to 100. Take some time looking at the hundred square on page 10 and discuss any patterns you can see. Relate these to the tens and ones work you did last week. Use the hundred square to then solve the number sequences on page 11. If you have time can you create a hundred square jigsaw?

For Year 2's this is looking at counting on in different steps. If you wish to extend this learning look at creating and extending your own number patterns. Look to start on different numbers, count in different steps both forward and backward.

Don't forget, we are always available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a relaxing weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 17 September 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 17th September 2021

 Happy Friday everybody - it has been another very busy week in Key Stage 1!

Reading Books

It has been lovely to send the children home with their reading books this week. Please remember to bring these in every day, even if the children have not finished the book as we may be asking them to read or change a book. Don't forget to spend time talking about the story afterwards - what was your favourite part, why do you think this happened, how would you describe a character etc. Understanding of a story/text is just as important as the actual reading of the text.

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 8-9.

For Year 1's this is looking at how numbers are made up of tens and ones. In school we use equipment to help show this - tens can be represented by a long ten rod and ones as individual cubes. As the children move towards Year 2, we also represent these with annotated lines and dots:


When you are counting a large amount of objects, try grouping these into tens and ones to make it easier. Try doing this if you wish to extend the task.

For Year 2's this is looking at number to 100 in words and numbers. If you want to extend this task, try some word calculations e.g. fifteen add twelve equals twenty seven. Also, practice representing these numbers using the tens and ones annotations as explained above.

Don't forget, we are always available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 10 September 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 10th September 2021

 Happy Friday, everybody! We hope you have had a good week. It has been very busy here and all the children continue to settle extremely well. We have been getting used to our new routines and classroom set ups as we gradually get back to normal.

Reading Books

Today your child will be coming home with their reading diary and reading book - Hooray! Please spend regular short amounts of time reading with your child, talking about the book and enjoying the reading experience. Let us know how you have done by writing in the reading diary each time you read with your child. Please bring this reading book and reading diary into school each day for reading/changing books in class.

Maths Homework Book

Your child will also be bringing home a Maths Homework book today. Homework will come home each Friday and children are asked to do 1 page per week. We ask that the homework book is returned to school by the following Wednesday so it can be marked.

The first page we would ask you to complete is page 6 and 7. Share the explanation page first and then ask your child to work through the second work page. We expect the children to attempt this independently but obviously if they need support feel free to help them in this. There is also a short test on pages 2-5 which you may do at home if you wish.

House Photographs

Just a reminder that to help us in our project learning this week, we would ask if you could send in a photograph of the front of your house. Massive thank you if you have already done this! If not, remember you can send a physical copy or email us a digital copy and if it could be here by Monday 13th September that would be fab!

Don't forget, we are always available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley


Friday 3 September 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 3rd September 2021

 Welcome back everybody - we hope you have all had a restful summer and welcome you and your child back to a brand new school year! As you are already aware, the decision was made to carry on as we were before we broke up for the summer (Letter to parents). Therefore, the children will still only need to bring in from home a reading book, water bottle and lunchbox.

We will be reviewing current arrangements next week, so please keep an eye on the school website as this is where we will let you know when changes will be implemented.

Our New Project - "Knock, Knock! Who's There?"

This is the title of our new project this term and we will be focusing on houses and homes both today and in the past. We will be looking at different types of houses and their features. To help us in this project, we would ask if you can send us a photograph of the front of your child's house by Monday 13th September. You could send us a physical copy (let us know if you need it returned) or email the photo to our phase group email. You can find out more about this project on our website here:

Project Overview

PE - Monday

Please note that PE starts again on Monday, so the children need to come to school in their PE kit.

Homework tasks/books will resume next Friday but in the meantime please keep using our Big Cat online Library. We hope very much to start sending physical books home very soon but this online resource will continue to be available for you to use at home. Please let us know if there is any aspect of your child's Big Cat book shelf that needs amending or if you need login details again.

Don't forget, we are always available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about the return to school or indeed about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 16 July 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 16th July 2021

 Happy Friday everybody! Well, we made it to the end of another crazy year! We cannot begin to thank you all enough for all your help and support through this challenging year. You have all been absolute stars in supporting your children's learning and it has been a joy and a privilege to have taught your children this year. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Before we sign off for the summer a couple of important announcements:

Zoom Parent/Teacher Consultations

Thank you to those who have signed up for this meeting on Monday 19th July. You should have already received an email confirmation and a link to join the meeting at your allotted time. If you have any technology issues and cannot join the meeting, please ring the school office and we will call you back for a phone consultation. We will do the same on our end too. If there is a problem once the meeting has started, please stay in the meeting room and we will try to reconnect to you. Fingers crossed for no gremlins!

Emails

Please note that our key stage emails will not be monitored from Wednesday 21st July until Wednesday 1st September 2021. Also, remember if your child is moving into Year 3 you will need to use the email address below:

year3_4@downhallprimary.com

Feel free to have a look at the Year 3/4 pages on the school website to find out information on end of year expectations and the projects that are covered in this phase group.

Return To School

Children will return to school on Thursday 2nd September. In the short term, all arrival and leaving procedures will remain the same as they are currently. Please refer to the letter in the link below to check the times for your new class.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AqvnhZaWaeNok1zgc6w7PeT7X_8Khl7W/view

Please have a wonderful summer - stay safe, be happy and we will see you all in September!

Lots of love

Your Key Stage 1 Team - Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley

Friday 9 July 2021

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 9th July 2021

 Happy Friday, everybody! It has been very exciting in Key Stage 1 this week as we had our Sport's Afternoon and all of us had our first foray on to the spectacular Wild Flower Adventure Playground!





Parent/Teacher Consultations - Monday 19th July

A reminder that Parent/Teacher Consultations will take place via Zoom on Monday 19th July between 8:30am and 3:30pm. This will be to discuss any questions you may have about your child's report. You can book your appointment using the usual Scopay system and please email us if you have any issues with this process. We will be emailing parents who have booked an appointment a Zoom invitation to the meeting during the week beginning 12th July.

Homework Tasks

Must Do

  • Reading - please keep reading! Remember: 5-10 minutes everyday and then discuss the text afterwards, asking for opinions, favourite part or questioning what happened so as to ensure that your child is understanding the text as well as reading it. Please let us know if there is any aspect of your child's Big Cat book shelf that needs amending.
  • Maths Homework Book - this week we would like you to complete page 67.
For Year 1 and Year 2, the page is all about describing position. Follow up these pages by watching the video "Hiding The Bone."


Look below the video to see ideas for using the resource. See if you can invent your own routes across your garden or around the park. Enjoy!

  • Spelling and Reading Common Words - keep looking at these words often, doing a chunk at a time. The lists can be accessed from our Key Stage web page "Useful Information" tab - use the link below and scroll down to see the menu of word lists. Start with the Yr 1 High Frequency Word List 1 & 2 and then move on to the Yr 2 Next 200 Common Words A & B. If your child can read these words, begin practising how to spell them by looking at 5-10 words at a time.
  • Phonics - if your child still needs support in phonics please visit some of the websites listed below. These have some games to blend and decode unfamiliar words even without a subscription. 

  • Reading Extension Tasks - in the back of the Big Cat ebooks is a detailed break down of other tasks that can be completed using the book just read. These include vocabulary activities, comprehension questions and creative writing responses. If your child has particularly enjoyed a book, these tasks can be a good vehicle for further developing key skills. 
  • Comprehension Tasks -three more comprehension tasks for you in our Home Learning Folder. These will be labelled as A, B and C. Use the colour level books your child is reading as a guide to which one to attempt:
  • PINK, RED, YELLOW books - try Task A;
  • BLUE, GREEN, ORANGE books - try Task B;
  • TURQUOISE, PURPLE, GOLD or higher - try Task C.
Here is a link to our Home Learning Folder:

  • Project Task - following on from our work from fables we have been reading and considering the messages in stories and, most importantly, what lessons we take from stories. Most stories convey a moral or lesson we can learn from them. Choose a story that is special to your child and spend some time discussing what they can learn from this. You could create a picture with a message or a small piece of writing that explains what they have taken from this story.
Don't forget, we are always available on our Key Stage 1 email. If you have any questions or concerns about homework or indeed about anything, please just ask and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs O'Connor & Miss Langley