Ashton Under Hill First School

Shaping Bright Futures Together


2526 Hawthorn 19th September

We've had a super return to school in Hawthorn class and have really enjoyed welcoming the new children and introducing them to all our ways and routines. As well as having a go at lots of 'getting to know you' activities, we've also made a great start on this term's learning.

In English, we always begin with a 'ready to write' unit, and this year we're using the text, 'I love bugs' as our inspiration. Take a look at our photos which show them acting out various parts of the book to help them to learn the poem. We are particularly focusing on writing simple, accurate sentences, correctly punctuated with a capital letter and full stop. We've also introduced adjectives and the children have responded so well to a range of learning activities.  We can't wait to find out how they get on when the time comes to write their own poems next week.

We've begun our work in maths by exploring number and place value. The Year 1s are working on numbers to 10 and developing a range of skills. The Year 2s are developing a greater understanding of numbers to 100. They've also been having a go at a daily challenge called, 'Flashback 4', in which they revisit and consolidate prior learning. All the children are able to participate in lots of practical learning sessions and games, in addition to recording their work in their maths books. Most of our days also include a separate Mastering Number lesson, which is a short session used to consolidate number sense and mathematical skills.

This half term, our topic is all about 'Intrepid Explorers'. We've begun by identifying what an explorer is, then focused our attention on the life and travels of Christopher Columbus. Next, we will be doing some topic-related art, creating a picture of one of his ships using paint and a range of other materials. We're looking forward to seeing the results. And on the subject of art, we've also had a focus on Andy Goldsworthy led by Mrs Gibbons and had a go at making our own 'land art' using natural materials gathered from the field. Have a look at our photos and we hope you also spot the special banner we have made for Harvest Festival next week.

In RE, we're investigating the question, 'Who do Christians think made the world?'. We began by taking a little time outside to think about nature and all the wonderful things around us. After a period of reflection, the children told us how they thought the world might have been created - with some interesting ideas emerging. We'll be exploring the Christian and Jewish creation story - and thinking, talking and asking questions about living in an amazing world.

Our Computing lessons are about grouping data, with a strong link to what the children learn in maths about sorting and grouping objects in different ways. 

In Science we are learning about Animals including Humans and the children have made a display of different sorts of animals using a range of materials.  We then thought about the human body and drew around a member of our group and labelled many of the parts of the body that we knew.

Finally, we have been learning to work together and practise our listening skills using games and group work. It is a work in progress but we love the fidget games and the spot the difference games that shows us how to stay still or how to make sure we are looking at the person talking. Phew!  What a busy first few weeks!