Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 16th December 2022

Happy Friday, everybody! What an exciting week it has been for everyone in Key Stage 1 - we have performed our Christmas Production of "It's A Christmas Emergency!" to the whole school on Monday and all the parents on Tuesday and Wednesday. We are all so very proud of everybody - it has been tricky with a lot of illness floating around but all the children stepped up and did a fantastic job - WELL DONE!

There is a page on our website with photos, see the link below. Below the photos is a folder with the photo files in if you wish to see a particular photo in more detail.

Christmas Photos

Half Term Homework

We will not be sending home the homework books this week or during the holidays - have a break and enjoy any new presents you get! It would be useful, however, if you keep up the reading, little and often, to ensure your child's continuing progress in this very important area. 

Also, if after all your festive celebrations, you find that you have any small, interestingly shaped boxes/packaging, we would very much welcome these to use with our Design & Technology work in the Spring Term.

Although we are all here next Monday & Tuesday next week, we would like to use this opportunity to wish you all an amazing Christmas and a peaceful New Year. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Thursday 5th January!

Much love

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 9th December 2022

 Happy Friday everybody! There is an expectant hush over Key Stage 1 today as we have now finished all our rehearsals of our Christmas Production "It's A Christmas Emergency!" The children have worked hard and done so well in learning their lines, the songs, the musical instruments and how to put a performance together. They are all very much looking forward to sharing this with you next week!

As previously mentioned, in line with our safeguarding duty of care we are unable to allow photography during the performance but we will be putting photos of the children up on our website next week after the shows for you to share with others.

Christmas Jumper Day

All the children looked amazing in their Christmas Jumpers today and we have raised money that will continue to sponsor Thoko and her local community in Malawi. We thought you might like to hear what Thoko wrote in her most recent letter to us. She writes:

Dear Down Hall

I am learning in Standard 4. I go to school everyday. I always work hard in classes and my end of term results are always good. When I finish school I want to be a nurse. Very soon we will start harvesting crops. Greetings to you!

Thoko

A local representative who oversees Action Aid's money also adds:

Dear Supporter

One of the problems in Primary Schools is the shortage of desks. As a way of addressing the issue, we bought desks and shared them with two Primary Schools in the Kalowe Zone. This initiative has helped increase the number of children who have access to sit at a desk. Thank you for your support which has really promoted education in the area.

Its amazing to think that from such a small act on our behalf, we can make such a big difference for the young people who live such a long way away but share our right to an education. Thank you all so much!

Santa Dash

Two message from Miss Sharman:

Next week, children across the school will be taking part in the Santa Dash challenge set by Deanes. During the week they will be walking, jogging or running to accumulate as many miles as they can to add to a whole school total. We will then send our results to Deanes who will add our score to those from other schools to see if, as a school sports partnership, we can make it all the way to the North Pole! Children may bring in Santa hats to wear during the dash if they wish!

Good luck everyone!

And a reminder if you have not already done so - our school has been selected by Sport England to complete an Active Lives survey. Parents are invited to fill out their own survey by following the link below:

Parent Survey

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on addition. As with all the different operations in maths, as much practice as possible is key in learning the approaches to solving these calculations. Try number lines, try concrete objects - toys, pencils, spaghetti - anything!

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

For Year 2's this focuses on how addition and subtraction are the inverse of each other and we can use this to check our calculations. So if we work out that 14 + 12 = 26 we also know (without needing to work out) that:

12 + 14 = 26

26 - 14 = 12

26 - 12 = 14

In class we look at this as a triangle to show the relationship between these 3 numbers:

The game below is good for reinforcing 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 - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. Keep using the range of questions we have discussed previously as well!

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Yours in anticipation,

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Class Blog - Friday 2nd December 2022

 Happy Friday everybody and oh my goodness, it's December already! Things are getting close to our Christmas Production so we wanted to share some of the arrangements that relate to this.

Christmas Production Programmes

Our Christmas Production will be on Tuesday 13th December at 2:30pm and Wednesday 14th December at 9:30am. Entry to these performances will be with the show's programmes which you can get at the office on Monday 5th December from 2:45pm and Tuesday 6th December from 8:45am. Programmes are limited to 2 per family and you can get 2 for either day or, if you prefer, 1 programme for each day. Please bring these programmes on the day of the performance to help keep entry quick and simple. We are all very excited to see you there!

Christmas Jumper Day

Our Christmas Jumper Day is Friday 9th December. On this day, the children can wear their fabulous festive jumpers and donate £1 which goes to our continued sponsorship of Thoko. The charity Action Aid use this money to ensure that Thoko and the other children in her community enjoy their right to an education just like all of us at Down Hall.

The children will also need their Christmas jumper for our performances (Monday to the rest of the school and Tuesday and Wednesday to parents) so consequently will not bring their jumper home on Friday but keep them in school until Wednesday.

Please be mindful, therefore, on Friday when you send your child to school about what they are wearing underneath their jumper to ensure that they won't be too cold when they come home. If the children could bring in a plastic bag with their name on it then this would be extremely helpful in keeping everything organised too!

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on the signs we use in addition and subtraction calculations. Knowing the names for these signs is very important as is the fact that there are different words for each sign e.g. -, take away, subtract, minus. There are lots of fun games at the site below to further support your child's confidence with these operations.

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

For Year 2's this focuses on subtraction of 2 two-digit numbers. We use the same approach as outlined last week for using lines and dots to represent the tens and ones but this time we make the first amount and cross out the second amount:

If we do not have enough ones to take away, then we exchange a ten for ten ones first:

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. Keep using the range of questions we discussed last week too!

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 25th November 2022

 Happy Friday everybody - we hope you have had a really good week. Things have begun to get a bit more Christmassy here as we have started going into the hall to practice our Christmas Production - only 2 weeks until showtime! We have kept busy back in the classroom, however, looking at instructions in English and multiplication and counting on in different steps in Maths.

Upcoming Events

A few notes for your diary for things coming up soon - more details will be on the newsletter as we get nearer to the time so keep a look out!

• 29th November - Flu Immunisations 
• 2nd December - KS1 Movie Night
• 9th December - Christmas Jumper Day*

*The PTA will be holding a Christmas Jumper Sale TODAY if you need a new festive jumper!

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on number bonds to 20. This continues to build on last week's number bonds to 10. We can apply the knowledge that 6 + 4 = 10 to help us know that 16 + 4 = 20. It is good to reinforce how we can spot patterns to help find all the number bonds to 20. Below is an app to explore these bonds by selecting a 10 frame or a 20 frame and then putting the blue and orange aliens in them. You can then use the key pad function at the side to enter your calculations.

https://www.coolmath4kids.com/manipulatives/ten-frame

For Year 2's this focuses on addition of 2 two-digit numbers. When we do this we do partition the number into tens and ones but then represent these by lines for the tens and dots for the ones. This is a progression from actually using the tens and ones apparatus from Year 1. See below for how we set this out to help support the solving of the calculations:

Reading Skills

Every week we encourage you to keep up all your reading at home as this makes such a huge difference. We wanted to spend a little time this week speaking more about reading skills because as the children move through Key Stage 1, particularly in Year 2, it becomes less about "Can you read this?" and more about "Do you understand this?"

Understanding what they have read (or comprehension) is vital for the children as they progress through Year 2 and we support this through our VIPERS reading skills. This stands for:

Vocabulary    Infer    Predict    Explain    Retrieve    Sequence

You can explore these ideas with your child after reading using some of the following question prompts:

Vocabulary - have a good range of vocabulary in order to understand the text

• What does the word _____ mean in this sentence?
• Find a word that means _____ on this page.

Infer - understanding reached through reasoning about what you have read

• Why was _____ feeling _____?
• Why did _____ happen?

Predict - what you think will happen based on what you have read

• What do you think will happen next?
• How will this character's action affect what will happen next?

Explain - what your thoughts and opinions are about the book

• Who is your favourite character? Why?
• Would you like to live in this setting? Why?

Retrieve - discuss the characters, events and setting of the story

• Who did _____?
• Where did _____?

Sequence - order the key events in the story

• Here are 5 events from the story - number these 1-5
• What happened after _____?

We hope this helps you discuss the books your child reads at home as the more they practice these skills the more fluent in comprehension they will become.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a superb weekend!

Much love

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 18th November 2022

 Happy Friday everybody - it has been a very exciting day today with all the children (and some duty bearers!) coming to school in their pyjamas! All the children enjoyed showing everybody their groovy loungewear and raising some very important money for Children In Need at the same time. Well done everybody for helping children to enjoy their rights both globally and locally!

Upcoming Events

A few notes for your diary for things coming up soon - more details will be on the newsletter as we get nearer to the time so keep a look out!

• 29th November - Flu Immunisations 
• 2nd December - KS1 Movie Night
• 9th December - Christmas Jumper Day*

*The PTA will be holding a Christmas Jumper Sale on 25th November if you need a new festive jumper!

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on number bonds to 10. I don't think we can overstate how important this skill is. Being able to recognise pairs of numbers that make 10 underpins almost all mental maths calculations and will benefit the children in every area of their maths development. Once you've worked through the page treat yourself to the "Ten Thing Bowling" episode of the Number Crew - an oldie but a goodie!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5R0QZfACbo

For Year 2's this focuses on number bonds to 20. This builds on the above Year 1 concept but simply extends this to 20. But really, all you are doing is focusing on the ones of the 2-digit numbers and applying your number bond knowledge to 10 again. We have also been exploring this week how addition and subtraction are the inverse of each other. So if we know that 14 + 5 = 19 then we know that these 3 numbers make up a number family and can also derive 5 + 14 = 19; 19 - 14 = 5 and 19 - 5 = 14. The link below is a good game to further explore 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 - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 11th November 2022

 Happy Friday everybody - we hope you have enjoyed a fantastic week! We have been very busy in KS1 - we have continued to look at a range of traditional tales in English and the different characters and settings of these stories. We have been working on different addition strategies in Maths and how we can use these to solve simple problems.

Upcoming Events

A few notes for your diary during November - more details will be on the newsletter as we get nearer to the time:

• 17th November - Individual and sibling photographs
• 18th November - Children in Need Pyjama Day (come to school in your pyjamas!)
• 27th November - Flu Immunisations 

KS1 Christmas Production

We have begun to think about our Christmas Production this week and have discussed the general story and songs that will make up our show this year. This has been very exciting and although we are at a very early stage we thought you might like to make a note of our performance dates & times. They will be:

• Tuesday 13th December at 2:30pm
• Wednesday 14th December at 9:30am

Look for a letter at the beginning of December with all the details about how to reserve tickets.

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on ordinal numbers and patterns. Using the language first, second, third etc and then relating this to 1st, 2nd, 3rd is the main skill you will be looking to consolidate here. This language comes to the fore when describing and extending patterns. Have a go at creating your own patterns, practically and on paper. You can also try this game out as well: 

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

For Year 2's this focuses on solving number problems. The ability to apply all our understanding in addition and subtraction is the whole reason for us learning to become proficient in maths. We teach the children to spot the important pieces of information in a worded problem and notice the words that indicate if we need to add our numbers or take them away. Look carefully at the information on page 18. Maybe your child could also come up with their own worded problems for you to solve?

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 4th November 2022

 Happy Friday everybody and welcome back to the second half of the Autumn Term! This week in Key Stage 1 we have been looking at the counting system and how we compare and order numbers in Maths and we have started looking at a range of traditional stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears in English.

Upcoming Events

A few notes for your diary during November - more details will be on the newsletter as we get nearer to the time:

• 17th November - Individual and sibling photographs
• 18th November - Children in Need Pyjama Day (come to school in your pyjamas!)
• 27th November - Flu Immunisations 

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on the number line. The number line is an important tool for identifying how numbers relate to each other, what is more or what is less. The games below focus on developing these skills, in particular being able to identify numbers that are 1 more or less than a given number:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/chopper-squad

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/robot-more-or-less

For Year 2's this focuses on ordering and comparing numbers. Using the signs < (less than), > (greater than) and = (equal to) to compare numbers is an important part of the Year 2 curriculum. As well as comparing numbers we can use it to compare calculations e.g. 4+3 > 2+2.

The link below has a range of short games that we have used in class to support this idea:

https://www.mathbrix.com/skills/comparison

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Thursday 20th October 2022

 Happy Thursday, everybody! Wow! We have finished our first half term in Year 1/2! All the children have settled in so well and worked extremely hard in our first 7 weeks and we now want them to have a fantastic rest!

Cauliflower Christmas Cards

All the children will have come home today with their Christmas card design attached to the order form. If you wish, these designs can be turned into not just Christmas cards but mugs, books and wrapping paper too! If you do want to have the design realised into any of these items you need to place the order online first. All the details about how to do this are clearly set out on the form that came home. Once you have placed the order online, you must tick the box indicated and return the artwork and form back to school by Wednesday 2nd November so we can send it away to be printed. If you do not wish for your child's design to be made into items then you do not need to return the artwork.

School Council Elections

Congratulations to Coby and Aubrey who have been elected as School Councillors for Amethyst Class and Emerald Class respectively. All the children clearly believe that you will do a great job in representing them - well done!

Massive thank you and well done to all children who also put themselves up for election - don't be too disappointed; there's always next year.

The Council will hold their first meeting shortly after half term.

Book Fair Competition

The Book Fair comes to Down Hall between Tuesday 8th November and Friday 11th November. The book fair will be open after school for you to purchase books with your child - please note that it will be cash only.

During the book fair, any child purchasing a book will be given a raffle ticket where the winner will receive a £5 voucher which can be used at the book fair on the Friday.

Also, your child will have come home today with a competition to re-imagine the book cover of their favourite book. Entries need to be completed and returned to school by 7th November to be judged on the 8th. The winner will receive a £5 book token! Good luck!

Half Term Homework

As stated at the beginning of the blog, we are very proud of all the children's efforts this half term and would like them to have a good rest. To that end we do not send homework books home during the holidays. It would be useful, however, if you keep up the reading, little and often, to ensure your child's continuing progress in this very important area. 

We hope you have a fantastic half term holiday, whatever you are doing and look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 31st October!

Much love

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 14th October 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody! How time flies - it seems amazing that we are about to move into our last week before half term! 

Parent/Teacher Consultations

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the meetings on Monday 17th October & Tuesday 18th October. If you have signed up for a Monday meeting but you would wish this to be a face to face meeting, please come and let us know. We are gauging how popular Zoom meetings are still and don't want you to feel that you have to have a Zoom meeting if slots on Tuesday had run out. Meetings will take place in the hall and you need to enter the school via the main entrance, however all gates will be open. We look forward to seeing you all!

School Council Elections

On Wednesday 19th October both Amethyst and Emerald class will be electing their representative for the School Council! Any child who was not a councillor last year is eligible to stand so we have asked the children to have a good think as to whether they can be a wonderful and inspiring representative for their class.

Over the weekend, if your child is thinking about standing for election, maybe they would like to make a poster or create a short speech that might help them convey their suitability to be a Class Councillor. Be creative - what might make people vote for you?

The new School Councillors will be announced in assembly on Thursday 20th October. Good luck!

Sport England Active Lives

Our school has been selected by Sport England to complete an Active Lives survey. Selected children will complete this survey in school next week but parents are invited to fill out their own survey by following the link below:

Parent Survey

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on counting in 2's, 5's and 10's. Counting on in 2's is very important for helping children to identify even numbers and as mentioned before in previous blogs, counting on in 10's really helps develop the children's understanding of place value. This will all serve as a precursor to when the children start looking at times tables more formally later in the year and as they move into Year 2. The games below focus on developing these skills:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/chinese-dragon-ordering

https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/saucerSorter/

For Year 2's this focuses on partitioning numbers. Children are most used to partitioning numbers into their tens and ones (e.g. 38 = 30 + 8). However, we can partition numbers in many different ways - so if 30 + 8 = 38; 20 + 18 = 38 and 10 + 28 = 38 too. We encourage the children to look for patterns to help them find different solutions to the same answer. The link below has an app that lets the children create numbers using tens and ones equipment and then rearrange these to create different combinations of numbers that make the same amount.

https://apps.mathlearningcenter.org/number-pieces/

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 7th October 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody! As we move into October it is certainly becoming more autumnal so please ensure that your child does have a coat with them every day. We have had a very busy week in class as we continue to look at features of non-fiction books and exploring the names and properties of 2D shapes in maths.

Parent/Teacher Consultations

On Monday 17th October & Tuesday 18th October between 3:30-6:00pm we will be holding our Parent/Teacher Consultations. This will be an opportunity to meet and discuss how your child has settled into their new Year group. This meeting can be either via Zoom or an in person meeting. 

Please note, in the first instance if you wish this to be a Zoom meeting please book for the Monday and if you wish it to be in person please book for the Tuesday.

Bookings can be made from Monday 10th October from 9:00am and is via Scopay. If you are unsure of your Scopay login, please go and see the office as they will be able to issue you with your details. It is important to have these details as they will be used to book trips, dinner money and meetings throughout your child's time at Down Hall.

Harvest Collection

Just a reminder that this year we will continue to support Rochford Extended Services with our Harvest collection. Donations will be boxed up and distributed by them to the children and families that need them most within our own local community.

As a Gold Level Rights Respecting School, we do our best to advocate for Children's Rights and for sustainability. Articles 24 and 27 state that:

"Every child has the right to the best possible health and a good standard of living."

Massive thank you for those who have already made a donations but there is still plenty of time if you have not yet. If you can send in any non-perishable items before Wednesday 19th October that would be fabulous and you can find a full list of suggested items  here. In school we will celebrate Harvest during the week of 17th October with some learning in class and by singing our favourite Harvest song in assembly. Please enjoy having a go at the Harvest Samba here and thanks for any contributions you feel able to make.

Sumdog Update

In Emerald Class we are currently introducing the children to Sumdog and how to use it. In school, children must complete some assessment questions so that the programme sets the right level for your child to be able to enjoy the games. As soon as your child has completed this, your login details will come home. With this in mind it is most important (however tempting it may be) that you do not try to speed up your child by helping them with the answers. Please allow them to play the games and tackle the questions at their own pace so that their Sumdog remains at an accessible level of challenge and fun for them.

In Amethyst Class the children are a little more familiar with Sumdog. We have completed assessment activities in class and sent the logins home already but again, please allow the children to work at their own pace and resist the urge to tell them the answers!

Bright Smiles, Bright Futures

Today your child will be bringing home with them a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste and an information sheet which have been given to us by Colgate as part of their Bright Smiles, Bright Futures educational programme. If you want to find out more, follow the links within the leaflet - otherwise enjoy the toothbrush!

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on counting skills and comparing amounts. Developing accurate and reliable counting and then being able to say which of two or more amounts is more or less is an important aspect of the Year 1 curriculum. It is also important that the children understand that equal means the same as. There are also some games in the link below to help reinforce these ideas.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting

For Year 2's this focuses on the number line and making estimates as to where numbers lie on the number line. When doing this, it is important to firstly look at the numbers that we can see already on the number line - are they going up in 2's, 5's, 10's? From here, look at which 2 numbers the arrow is in between to work out a number that is more/less than the given numbers. The game below will help reinforce the ideas presented in the homework book:

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/37/placing_numbers_on_a_number_line

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a super weekend!

All the best

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Class Blog - Friday 30th September 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody! It has been a very exciting week with the arrival of the circus on Monday and seeing the Big Top rise up into place! On Wednesday afternoon, all the children in KS1 were able to visit the ring and watch the aerialists rehearse some of their moves - ever so exciting!

On a more prosaic note, there have been a number of jumpers with no names accumulating in KS1, so please ensure that all your child's clothing is clearly named - thank you!

NSPCC's Speak Out Stay Safe Programme

RRS Article 19: Children have the right to be safe

As a Rights Respecting School we are committed to keeping children safe and we are happy to be taking part in the NSPCC's safeguarding programme in school. This programme helps children to recognise abuse in  child friendly way and encourages them to speak out to a trusted Duty Bearer.

In school, children watch an assembly delivered by Ant and Dec and then take part in follow up discussions in class. Please read the full details on the NSPCC letter here where you will find further links and resources that you can use at home to educate and support your child. We urge you to take a look at these.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to pop in and see us.

Harvest Collection

This year we will continue to support Rochford Extended Services with our Harvest collection. Donations will be boxed up and distributed by them to the children and families that need them most within our own local community.

As a Gold Level Rights Respecting School, we do our best to advocate for Children's Rights and for sustainability. Articles 24 and 27 state that:

"Every child has the right to the best possible health and a good standard of living."

If you can send in any non-perishable items before Wednesday 19th October that would be fabulous and you can find a full list of suggested items  here. In school we will celebrate Harvest during the week of 17th October with some learning in class and by singing our favourite Harvest song in assembly. Please enjoy having a go at the Harvest Samba here and thanks for any contributions you feel able to make.

Whole School Essex Sumdog Competition

Calling all you amazing mathematicians!

You have been entered into the Essex Sumdog Competition. Taking place on 30th September until 7th October. We will be monitoring how well each class is doing. The winning class will be announced in the school newsletter.

Let's show our Down Hall community what great mathematicians we are!

Good luck!

Mrs Hurley

**If any Year 2 parents need a reminder of their child's Sumdog login, please come and see us and we will get this to you. Year 1's will be introduced to Sumdog during this half term and will be coming home with their logins this week.**

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on counting to 100. This will continue to build upon the work on tens and ones from last week. Remember - having a clear understanding of what digits represent in numbers is such an important aspect of our maths learning. Reinforce how 24 is represented by the digits 2 & 4 but 24 is actually a 20 and a 4. Explore the hundred square on page 10 and look for the patterns you can see there. There are also some games in the link below to help reinforce these ideas.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting

For Year 2's this focuses counting on in different steps. It is worth pointing out that this is what we have been doing in class this week, so this is why it is important that you stick to one page per week. We have looked at the patterns that are present in counting on in steps of different amounts and looked at how even numbers always have even multiples but odd numbers alternate between odd and even multiples. The hundred square app below is really good for creating these steps and spotting patterns:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/paint-the-squares

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a superb weekend!

Best Wishes

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 23rd September 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody! We hope you have had a great week. We have been busy in KS1 looking at the features of non-fiction texts in English as well as working on the mathematical operations of addition and subtraction in maths. 

PTA Happy Circus - Wednesday 28th September

Message from our PTA:

The circus is coming to Down Hall NEXT WEEK! This was a huge hit when it visited last year and we cannot wait to welcome it back. Happy's Circus is a professional, all human touring circus and they bring their amazing Big Top and fill it with magic, acrobatics, aerialists and so much more! Plus, there will be hot food and refreshments on the night too, with both alcoholic and soft beverages available. So why not get there early and make a whole evening of it? (It will save you cooking dinner!)

By attending the circus, not only will you be getting an evening of entertainment for the whole family, you will also be helping to raise funds for your child's school. Tickets available on the door or in advance from the PTA.

Baby Photos - LAST CALL!!

Thank you to those who have sent in a baby photo for our learning on living things and their life cycles. If you haven't sent one in yet, there is still time! Please send in a photograph (not too big!) of your child as a baby with their name on the back and we will copy it and send the original back to you. Alternatively, if you would prefer to send it digitally then please do so using our KS1 email address below

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Maths Homework

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

For Year 1's this focuses on tens and ones. Understanding how 2-digit numbers are made up of tens and ones is fundamental to all the maths we do in Key Stage 1. Having a clear understanding of what digits represent in numbers is such an important aspect of our maths learning. Although we represent the number 12 with the digits 1 & 2, 12 is actually a 10 and a 2. Again, look at page 8 to understand the idea and then work through page 9. If you wish to extend your child's work in this, count objects and group these into tens so you can see how these larger numbers can be represented by tens and ones. There are also some games in the link below to help reinforce these ideas.

For Year 2's this focuses numbers to 100. Again, keep looking at these numbers in terms of their tens and ones - how is the number 24 different to 42? Look also at how each number can also be represented by words. When it comes to writing the words, encourage the children to be as accurate as possible in their spelling.

Place Value Games

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a great weekend!

Much love

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 16th September 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody! We have had another busy week in Key Stage 1 and we have been exploring our project of "999! What's Your Emergency?" in more detail. We have been creating posters to show the qualities a good firefighter would have and presenting these as a persuasive text.

Overview Meeting

Thank you to all those who were able to attend on Monday. Please don't worry if you were unable to make the meeting as you should have got all the information now that we shared. If you have any questions about the notes from the meeting, please just pop and ask us.

There was unfortunately an error on one of the slides regarding the dates of our Christmas Production to parents. The dates should have read:

• Tuesday 13th December at 2:30pm
• Wednesday 14th December at 9:30am

Baby Photos

Thank you to those who have sent in a baby photo for our learning on living things and their life cycles. If you haven't sent one in yet, don't panic - it is not too late! Please send in a photograph (not too big!) of your child as a baby with their name on the back and we will copy it and send the original back to you. Alternatively, if you would prefer to send it digitally then please do so using our KS1 email address below

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Maths Homework

Today your child will be coming home with a maths homework book. This week, we would like you to look at pages 6 & 7.

For Year 1's this focuses on numbers 1-20. Look through page 6 together with your child and practice counting the apples in the picture. Look at how the numbers can be represented by digits and words - both are important! Then let your child work through page 7, supporting them as needed. There is also a quiz on pages 2-5 which your child can do if they are super eager! There are further counting games on the website below to further extend these ideas:

Counting Games

For Year 2's this focuses on place value. Understanding how numbers can be broken down into tens and ones underpins all our work on addition and subtraction during Year 2. It is important that the children understand that 45 is not 4 & 5 but 40 & 5 as the 4 represents 4 tens. Let your child work through page 7, supporting them as needed. There is also a quiz on pages 2-5 which your child can do if they are super eager! There are further place value games on the website below to further extend these ideas:

Place Value Games

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you on Tuesday!

Best wishes

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst & Emerald Blog - Friday 9th September 2022

 Happy Friday everybody - we have all had such a wonderful first week in Key Stage 1! All the children have settled in really well and have worked very hard! Our project this term is "999! What's Your Emergency?" and as a way into this we made a shocking discovery of a trophy theft from the hall!

We all went to the hall to investigate the crime scene...

Being great detectives, we quickly gathered clues...

This led us to some possible suspects...

We prepared some questions and interrogated the suspects before accusing them!

You will be glad to know, the trophies were all recovered thanks to the children deductive skills! It was lots of fun and a massive THANK YOU to Mrs O'Donoghue, Mr Cole and Mrs Branch for being such willing suspects!

Overview Meeting - Monday 12th September

Hopefully you will have received a text this week to give you a heads up for our Overview Meeting which will be at 2:30pm on Monday. If you arrive a bit before this time at the school office, we will let you into Amethyst Class to share with you some important information about life in Key Stage 1. The meeting will need to end at 3:00pm prompt so as to let the children back into class from PE ready to go home.

Please don't worry too much if you cannot attend this meeting as we will send home a copy of all the information shared in the week. We look forward to seeing you on Monday!

Baby Photos

In science we are learning about living things and their life cycles. We will be looking at growth and how we have changed since birth. If you could send in a photograph (not too big!) of your child as a baby for use in our lesson, it would be greatly appreciated.

Please name the photo on the back and we will copy it and send the original back to you. Alternatively, if you would prefer to send it digitally then please do so using our KS1 email address below

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Homework Books

We will be issuing your child with a maths homework book next Friday. We will explain the expectations of homework both at our Overview Meeting and in next week's blog.

In the meantime, don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude & Mrs Yuille

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 15th July 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody, and welcome to the last blog for this academic year! It seems incredible that we are already at the end of the year - it has flown by! We have all absolutely loved working with all your children this year and it has been a privilege to watch them grow, learn and flourish as the year has progressed. We are all sure that they will continue to be just as fabulous as they move on to being Year 2's and 3's!

Hot Weather Next Week

As I am sure you are all aware, the forecast for next week is for very high temperatures. Children will come into school on Monday as usual in their PE kit but if you wish, you may send your child into school in their PE kit on Tuesday and Wednesday as well as it might help them feel more comfortable during the day.

We will also be making some capacity for children to spend some time inside at lunch times if they wish to avoid becoming too overheated. Please ensure that children come to school each day with a sun hat, a bottle of cool water and sun cream already applied.

To help us all cool down, the fabulous PTA will be selling ice creams after school on Wednesday!

Book Collection

All children have had their reading diaries and reading books collected in this week. We will pass these on to their next class teacher so they are ready to be re-issued in September.

The children's school work books are all handed up also - current book and most recent completed book. These completed books are sent home after the October half term.

UNICEF Shoeshare Appeal

Just a reminder that on the last day of term we are collecting shoes in partnership with Unicef and Clarks, who will cleverly turn our old shoes into money that will help fulfill the rights of children around the world. You can send your child with a spare pair of shoes on the final day of this term so they can place their unwanted school shoes into our collection box. If you have any other unwanted pairs, you can send these in too. 

Our last collection total was 145 pairs of shoes - let's see if together we can smash this total!

Article 28 & 29: Every child has the right to an education.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER HOLIDAY!!!

We will be available on our Key Stage 1 email up until Wednesday 20th July and then again from Thursday 1st September.

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Remember: children return to school on Monday 5th September.

All that remains is for everyone here in Key Stage 1 to wish you an amazing summer holiday. We would also like to give our heartfelt thanks for all your support and kind words over the year - it means so much to all of us!

Much love

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

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 8th July 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody, we hope you all had a lovely time at Sports Day today. It was so lovely seeing all the mums, dads, grandparents and other family members out together on the field for a picnic lunch and watching the children compete after such a long time! 

It is amazing to think that we are about to head into the last full week of school together!

Diary Dates

Saturday 9th July            -     PTA Summer Festival

Thursday 14th July         -    Open Evening 4-6pm

Wednesday 20th July      -    Last day of term         

UNICEF Shoeshare Appeal

Once again on the last day of term we are collecting shoes in partnership with Unicef and Clarks, who will cleverly turn our old shoes into money that will help fulfill the rights of children around the world. You can send your child with a spare pair of shoes on the final day of this term so they can place their unwanted school shoes into our collection box. If you have any other unwanted pairs, you can send these in too. If you want to get started early with a big shoe clear out, we will have a box ready to take them from Monday 11th July. Shoes must be in a wearable condition with no holes or broken soles and paired together with an elastic band. You can find out more about Shoeshare here:

UNICEF & CLARKS SHOESHARE APPEAL

Our last collection total was 145 pairs of shoes - let's see if together we can smash this total!

Article 28 & 29: Every child has the right to an education.

Open Evening

On Thursday 14th July from 4-6pm, parents and the wider community are invited to visit Down Hall for our Open Evening. This is an opportunity for you all to come in and see some of the work the children have done in school this year and look around their classroom. You can also visit other classes as well to see where your child will be working next year. We look forward to seeing you all!

Maths Homework

All the teachers in Key Stage 1 want to say a huge thank you to you all for your help and support with homework over the course of this year. It makes a huge impact in reinforcing all the concepts that we cover in class. We know that many of you are approaching the end of your homework books now so this week we are sending the homework books home but you do not need to hand them back in next week.

Instead, keep the books at home and use them as you see fit over the course of the holidays, whether that is to finish any last pages or review previous work ready for starting back in September.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. However, we would encourage you to come and see us at the end of the day if there are any issues or questions that you have. Just come down the steps to see us!

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a beautiful weekend!

Lots of love

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

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Class Blog - Friday 1st July 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody, we hope you are all keeping well. It has been an exciting time in Key Stage 1 with everyone meeting their new class teacher yesterday. There will be two more visits to new classes over the next two weeks to help everyone settle into their new environments happily.

Diary Dates

Friday 8th July                -    Sports Day

Saturday 9th July            -     PTA Summer Festival

Thursday 14th July         -    Open Evening 4-6pm

Wednesday 20th July      -    Last day of term         

PSHE - Changing Me

This half term in Personal, Social and Health Education we are learning about how to cope with change. This includes learning about change in ourselves as we grow from a baby to how we are now. It also includes a lesson next week in which we will be noting the differences between male and female bodies, using the correct terminology. This lesson is very much laying the foundations for future Relationships and Sex Education, which is now a statutory requirement to be taught in schools. We see this as a crucial part of Safeguarding our children and keeping them safe. We are planning to deliver this lesson on Tuesday 5th July.

Sports Day

On Friday 8th July we will be holding our Sports Day. Please see the letter on the website explaining the structure of the day.

Some key points to note:

• Sports Day begins for KS1 at 1:30pm.
• Children come to school on Friday in their PE kit but we would like your child to wear a colour t-shirt that matches their team colour: Brooklyn - Blue; Deepdene - Green; Hambro - Yellow; Teignmouth - Red.
• Parents can join their child for a picnic lunch which will be 12:00-1:15pm. Please ensure that you complete the slip on the Sport's Day letter (or put your intentions in writing) and collect your child from their classroom at 12:00pm as you would usually at the end of the day. The children will be collected from the field by their teacher at 1:15pm.

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 66-67.

For both Year 1's and Year 2's this looks at describing position. Explore together all the language associated with position and direction such as behind, in front, left, right, between etc. Try explaining routes around the house or through the garden using all the different terms you can think of.

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home as well as either your phonics or comprehension homework books - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. However, we would encourage you to come and see us at the end of the day if there are any issues or questions that you have. Just come down the steps to see us!

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

The Key Stage 1 Team

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 24th June 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody, what an exciting end to our week we have had with everyone fully entering into the spirit of being a Times Tables Rock Star for the day! See below for more information!

Diary Dates

Friday 1st July                -    PTA Disco

Friday 8th July                -    Sports Day

Saturday 9th July            -     PTA Summer Festival

Thursday 14th July         -    Open Evening 4-6pm

Wednesday 20th July      -    Last day of term         

Rights Respecting Schools Award

A huge thank you to all the children, parents, staff, governors and PTA members who took part in our recent reaccreditation for the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award. We are happy to share with you our recent report confirming our success in maintaining the Gold Award! 

Take a look at the report here and read more about what RRS means to us as a school here.

We thank you all for your continued support in learning about Children's Rights which is key to fulfilling our curriculum statement; learning to care for ourselves, each other, our school and our world.

Go team Down Hall...WE ARE GOLD!

Times Tables Rock Stars Day

We have all had a rocking day today with lots of fun activities during our day. As well as getting to dress up as Rock Stars (everyone looked awesome!) we took part in a times tables treasure hunt as well as lots of practice on our times tables in class!

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 64-65.

For Year 1's this looks at 3D shapes. As well as knowing the names of the common 3D shapes, the children need to be able to describe their mathematical properties, for example, how many faces and vertices that it has. 

For Year 2's, this looks at patterns and symmetry in shapes. This could be in creating their own increasingly complex patterns using shape and colour and also recognising shapes that are symmetrical and those which are not.

Below are some games for exploring shape and symmetry:

Shape Games

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home as well as either your phonics or comprehension homework books - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. However, we would encourage you to come and see us at the end of the day if there are any issues or questions that you have. Just come down the steps to see us!

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a rocking weekend!

Stay awesome!

The Key Stage 1 Band

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 17th June 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody, we hope you have a fantastic week!

Diary Dates

Friday 24th June            -    Times Tables Rock Stars Day

Friday 1st July                -    PTA Disco

Friday 8th July                -    Sports Day

Saturday 9th July            -     PTA Summer Festival

Thursday 14th July         -    Open Evening 4-6pm

Wednesday 20th July      -    Last day of term         

Times Tables Rock Stars

This week your child should have come home with their Times Tables Rock Stars login and we just wanted to give a quick overview of how we have been using this in class.

When you first login to the app, you will need to click on "School" and "Student" and then type in and select the name of our school. From here you can enter your child's user name and then click on the padlock to enter the password, both bits of information are shown on the login card.

From here there will be tabs at the top of the screen that you can choose to play some games. We have been using the "Jamming" tab.

This mode allows you to choose which times table to practice and whether you want to have just multiplication calculations, just division or both. It also allows you to choose how many questions will be asked.

Just press to highlight which ones you want to practice - don't forget you can highlight more than one times table to mix things up. Enjoy earning and spending your coins (and getting fab at times tables in the process!)

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 62-63.

For Year 1's this looks at 2D shapes. As well as knowing the names of the common 2D shapes, the children need to be able to describe their mathematical properties, for example, how many sides does it have and how many vertices (corners) it has.

For Year 2's, this looks at sorting shapes. Using the shapes mathematical properties, it is good for children to explain what different shapes have in common and differences that they spot. 

Below are some games for exploring shapes:

Shape Games

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home as well as either your phonics or comprehension homework books - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. However, we would encourage you to come and see us at the end of the day if there are any issues or questions that you have. Just come down the steps to see us!

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Kind regards

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

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 10th June 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody and welcome back to our final half term this year! There are lots of things going on in our last 6 weeks or so together so we have condensed these down into a handy diary list for you all. We will go into details about each event as we get closer to it in the blog so be sure to check in every Friday to get important information for the week ahead!

Diary Dates

Thursday 16th June        -    Whole Class Photos being taken

Friday 17th June            -    PTA Father's Day Sale

Friday 24th June            -    Times Tables Rock Stars Day

Friday 1st July                -    PTA Disco

Friday 8th July                -    Sports Day

Wednesday 20th July      -    Last day of term         

PTA Father's Day Sale

On Friday 17th June the PTA will be running a Father's Day sale in school. During the day your child will have the chance to attend the sale if you wish them to. The items are priced between £1-£2.50. We ask that the children bring money in a named purse, wallet or envelope, along with a carrier bag with their name on to hold the purchased items.

Times Tables Rock Stars Day

In computing this week, the children in Year 2 have been exploring the Times Tables Rock Stars app that we use in school. This is designed to help the children develop rapid recall of times tables facts (and their related division facts) in particular for the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.

On Friday 24th June, we would like all staff and pupils to take the opportunity to dress up as rock stars for the day. During this day they will take part in a range of maths activities. Prizes for the best dressed rock star will be handed out. We are not asking for a donation to dress up. 

The children will be bringing home their logins for TTRS next week.

Maths Homework

This week we would like you to look at pages 60-61.

For Year 1's this looks at measuring lengths of time. Understanding how seconds, minutes and hours relate to each other is an important consideration here as is comparing times in terms of earlier and later.

Again, here is a link for games relating to time:

Time Games 

For Year 2's, this is looking at 3D shapes. As well as being able to name common 3D shapes, children need to be able to describe their mathematical properties e.g. how many faces, vertices and edges that they have. Being able to explain how 2 shapes are similar and different is also something we ask the children to do.

Below are some games for exploring shapes:

Shape Games

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home as well as either your phonics or comprehension homework books - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development.

As always, we are available on our Key Stage 1 email. However, we would encourage you to come and see us at the end of the day if there are any issues or questions that you have. Just come down the steps to see us!

ks1@downhallprimary.com

Have a lovely weekend!

Kind regards

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

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 27th May 2022

 Happy Friday, everybody! Unbelievably we have made it half term again! We have all had such fun in Key Stage 1 learning about our "At The Seaside" project and the children have loved sharing all the information and facts they have gathered in a range of different ways. We have also been looking at pollution and learning about how to care for the world around us as it says in Article 24; every child has the right to a clean environment. 

Platinum Jubilee Celebrations

The children looked fabulous in their red, white and blue today and we all enjoyed a Jubilee picnic on the field today!

Have a Great Half Term

At half term we feel strongly that children should have a rest so we do not send homework books home. All we ask is that the children read a little over the week to keep up their amazing progress in this area. We hope that you enjoy your own Jubilee celebrations (feel free to send us any photos!) and look forward to seeing all the children back at school on Tuesday 7th June!

Happy Celebrations!

Your Key Stage 1 Team