Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 24th May 2024

 Happy Friday, everybody! Phew - another half term done and the children have all worked extremely hard at all the learning opportunities presented to them in the last 6 weeks. It has been lovely to see everyone taking a keen interest in the work we have done as part of our "At The Seaside" project - be it finding out about our common seaside birds and animals or finding out more about geographical features of coastal locations.

After half term we will be looking more closely at how seaside holiday have changed over the last 200 years.

Essex Bioblitz 2024

Need something to do to get you out and about over the half-term holiday?  Find details of Essex Bioblitz 2024 in this week's newsletter. Join in and you can help The Essex Wildlife Trust better understand the effects of climate change in our local environment, working towards Global Goal number 13; Climate Action.

RRS:  Every child has the right to clean water, nutritious food and a clean and safe environment.

We would like all the children to have a relaxing week off, so we are not sending homework books home this week but if you can keep up the reading little and often this will have a hugely positive effect on their progress.

Have a wonderfully relaxing break!

Much love

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 17th May 2024

 Happy Friday, everybody! We have been busy this week in Key Stage 1 where we are beginning to look more closely at the parts that make up a story in English and exploring the animals of the sea in science! It is becoming increasingly summery so please can you ensure that names are on school jumpers as we are getting large piles to sort through at the end of the day and without names this can be problematic!

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 54 & 55.

For both Year Groups, this is looking at the area of time.

For Year 1's this looks at days of the week and months of the year.. Being able to sequence the days of the week and the months of the year is an important area in time and underpin all the later work that we do going into Year 2. Think about the different things you do on certain days and the key events of the year and in which month they happen.

Months Game 1

Months Game 2

For Year 2's this looks at reading the time on analogue clocks. Read carefully through the page which explains this concept and be patient - time can be a very challenging area of the maths curriculum! There are lots of time games on the link below to help practice your clock reading skills:

Time Games

Reading Books

Please remember that we swap reading books every Friday so it is very important that your child has this book in school everyday but particularly Friday!

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day - we would love to see you!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 10th May 2024

 Happy Friday, everybody! It has been a short but very busy week this week and we have all been busy writing stories about being shipwrecked at sea! We have also been making progress in our seaside sculptures in art - look out in the next few weeks in the newsletter for photos of all our artistic endeavours! 

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 52 & 53.

For Year 1's this looks at money. The use of coins in shopping is becoming less and less common in our everyday lives but it is still part of the curriculum for the children to recognise the different coins we have and use different combinations of coins to make amounts. Dig out your change drawer and practise making amounts and counting money. There are lots of games in the link below that support the concepts of money in Key Stage 1.

For Year 2's this continue to look at money. Again, keep exploring this concept practically using real coins but also using the games featured in the link below:

Money 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 - we would love to see you!

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith

Amethyst, Diamond & Emerald Blog - Friday 3rd May 2024

  Happy Friday, everybody! Another week has flown by in Key Stage 1 and as Spring begins to finally decide to arrive we have been enjoying working on rockpool reports and learning all about the different animals that we can find in amongst the rocks at the seaside!

Message From Mrs Hurley

(Although this message relates to a course about maths in Key Stage 2, there may be parents who are interested for future reference).

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

KEY STAGE 2 10th, 17th & 24th May

Are you someone who feels they need some support with maths? Perhaps your own experience in school wasn’t a good one. Well fear not, we have the solution to this!

Multiply courses are free and fully funded by Essex County Council as part of their Multiply Maths programme.

Each course is 10 guided learning hours, 6 hours face-to-face in school, 4 hours of activities to try in between sessions and ongoing. The ideal group size is between 8-12 parents per session. There is a link below for you to register your interest.

Maths Course

A £10 Amazon voucher will be awarded to each parent who completes the course.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 50 & 51.

For Year 1's this continues to focus on volume. Continue to try some of the practical activities discussed last week - look at the volume of different bottles and cans around the house to compare and order them or use an egg cup to see how many cups it takes to fill different containers. Below is a game that builds upon this idea:

Bubble Bath Game

For Year 2's this focuses money. The use of coins in shopping is becoming less and less common in our everyday lives but it is still part of the curriculum for the children to recognise the different coins we have and use different combinations of coins to make amounts. Dig out your change drawer and practise making amounts and counting money or bribe incentivise your child to do jobs around the house for a set "wage." Below is a link to lots of games that support the concepts of money in Key Stage 1:

Money 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 - we would love to see you!

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille & Miss Smith