Due to unforeseen circumstances we have had to change our Class Assembly day, the assembly will now be held on Wednesday 25th March at 9:30, we are looking forward to seeing you then!
There is also two free mystery reader slots on Tuesday and Friday, please let me know if you would like to be our mystery reader on these days!
Have a great week!
Ms Evans
We began by thinking about how we usually read books. The children had some fantastic discussions about:
Traditional paper books
Books with sound buttons
Stories read on a computer or tablet
We learnt a new word — e-book — which is a book you can read on a computer or tablet. The class compared traditional books and electronic books, talking about what makes each special. Many pupils loved the feel of turning real pages, while others were excited by how animation and sound can bring stories to life on screen!
Inspired by The Pirate Cat example story the children began creating their very own e-books.
First, they:
🎨 Chose an animal character
🖌 Used different paint tools and coloured pens
✨ Experimented with textured brushes
🧽 Used the eraser tool to improve their drawings
↩ Practised undo and redo
💾 Learnt how to save their work carefully
The focus of this first lesson was drawing and designing the main character on the first page. We talked about adding detail to make characters interesting and unique.
We were so impressed with how confidently the children explored the tools. There was lots of problem-solving happening — especially when someone accidentally pressed undo!
This lesson introduced some important computing vocabulary:
Text – words typed into the computer
Sound – audio that can be added to a story
Paint tools – tools used to draw
Undo/Redo – fixing or restoring changes
Save – making sure work isn’t lost
E-book – a book read on a computer or tablet
The children are becoming increasingly confident using technical language — we love hearing Year One pupils talk about “saving their file”!
By the end of the lesson, pupils could:
✔ Explain the difference between a traditional book and an e-book
✔ Use drawing tools to create a character
✔ Begin adding text to a page
Next week, we’ll continue developing our stories and begin bringing them to life even further…
Watch this space — Year One authors are in the making! 📚✨
Hi Year One Families,
Firstly a quick apology, my beginning of term blog did not upload and I'm not sure why, so please find all the details you need for this term below.
We have had a lovely first week back, the children are full of good vibes! Their work has been brilliant and their good nature and humour is shining through, today we had a particularly lovely day in the sun!
In English this term we are focussing on a story called The Comet, we will be writing stories, focussing on adding adjectives or 'Lava words' as I like to call them to our writing. This week we have had a SPAG week, we have used Oi Frog as our focus to help us write questions, commands and statements.
This week we are finishing off our addition and subtraction within 20 and next week we will start numbers to 50.
We have a History focus this half term. We are learning about the Moon Landings and important historical Space figures Neil Armstrong and Katherine Johnson. The children really enjoyed learning about Apollo 11 today.
We have an art focus this half term (I'm sooooo excited) we will be studying colour, drawing and painting which will culminate in everyone creating a self portrait. There will be a whole school exhibition at the end of the project. Details to follow.
This term PE will be on Mondays please ensure all children have their PE kits in school. Our turn at Forest School has now finished.
Important dates:
World Book Day!
Mystery Readers: Next week as part of our world book day celebrations we would love to have a mystery reader (aka you or a family member) visit us at 3:00 every day next week to share a story with the class. The children absolutely love this, please email me if you would like to be a mystery reader. j.evans@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk.
World Book Day is 5th March:
This year’s theme is “Go All In”, which focuses on inspiring children to read by making meaningful connections between books and their hobbies, passions and interests.
Children will be invited to dress as:
their favourite book character, or
a character linked to their interests (e.g. a sports figure from a book, scientist, explorer, musician, etc.)
We will be running a book swap on World Book Day. Children will be asked to bring in one or two good-quality books they no longer read, which they can exchange for another book.
Science Week:
This year as part of Science week and combing our topics of DT and History we will be running a family Moon Buggy afternoon. We would love to invite you or a family member to join us at 2:00 on Wednesday 18th March. We will co-create moon buggies in a fantastic crafty afternoon.
Class assembly:
Our Class assembly will be on Thursday 26th March in the morning. We can't wait to show you what we have been learning.
As usual please ensure all jumpers, clothes and drinks bottles are labelled, we had almost 2 boxes full of unclaimed, unnamed lost property which has accumulated since September. We also have brown trousers and a brown top left over from the Christmas production- if this is yours please get in touch.
Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss anything.
Ms Evans and the Stella Year One Class Team.
Hi Year One families,
We had such an exciting week! The highlight was meeting Luna and Roger the dragons on Tuesday, we thoroughly enjoyed this experience and followed the visit up with our English focus on The Paper bag Princess (which just so happens to be one of Ms Evans' favourite stories!) We used the story to help us focus our learning on adjectives- writing descriptions, wanted posters, how to take care of a dragon and finished the week writing our own stories about what Elizabeth (the paper bag princess) did next. Ms Evans and all the year one staff were very impressed by our writing.
In Maths we continued our focus on adding number bonds to 20 and next week will be begin our focus on subtracting within number bonds to 20.
In science we went on a winter spotting walk focussing on evergreen and deciduous trees. Happily we spotted some signs of Spring to!
In Geography we continued our focus on maps and made maps of the area surrounding our homes showing symbols to denote local landmarks or community resources.
Turning our attention to the week ahead. In English we will be recapping the fundamental skills we have been learning in Year One such as nouns, verbs adjectives, contractions and conjunctions. We will be using Room on the Broom as our theme.
URGENTLY we need children to bring in a small cardboard box such as a cup of soup or cereal bar box. We have had very few brought into school and we may not have enough spares for every child to make one.- PLEASE CAN THESE BE BROUGHT INTO SCHOOL ASAP! We will not have time to complete the DT project without them.
Here is some photos from our brilliant experience with Luna and Roger!
Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have anything you wish to discuss.
Ms Evans and the Year One team.
In Year One Computing this week, pupils took their Maze Explorers learning a step further by becoming challenge designers themselves, using the 2Go programming tool on Purple Mash.
As children attempted each other’s challenges, there was lots of purposeful talk. Pupils explained their thinking, tested different routes and used debugging strategies when their first attempt didn’t work.
The atmosphere was supportive and positive, with children offering feedback about what they enjoyed, what made the challenge tricky and how it could be improved.
By the end of the session, pupils could confidently say:
It was fantastic to see Year One pupils showing independence, creativity and teamwork — not just following algorithms, but designing them for others to explore. True Maze Explorers in every sense!
Hi Year One Families,
This week in English, the children have completed their focus text Julian is a Mermaid. They have written fantastic two-stanza poems inspired by flamingos and leopards, focusing on using ‘-ing’ words and writing in a repeating pattern. The children worked hard to make their poems rhythmic and descriptive, and we were delighted with the creativity they showed.
In Maths, we are continuing our focus on numbers to 20 and have begun working on addition within 20. The children are developing their understanding through practical resources, games and discussion, helping them to build confidence with early addition.
In Science, we have been learning about animals that hibernate. The children explored what hibernation is and learned about animals such as hedgehogs, bats and bees, discussing why hibernation helps animals survive the colder months.
DT Request:
Please could families send in a small box (approximately the size of a cup-a-soup box) early this week. We will be using these to create our DT project — a wacky racer!
The week ahead:
In Maths we will be exploring doubles and subtraction within 20. In Geography we will be continuing our study of maps, and will be learning how to find out important information such as landmarks on an aerial map.
Expect the unexpected as we head into an inspired writing week, full of imagination, creativity and surprises!
Thank you, as always, for your continued support, I leave you with some pictures from Forest School on Wednesday.
Ms Evans and the Year One team.
In Year One Computing today, our pupils continued their learning in the Maze Explorers unit using Purple Mash’s 2Go programming tool. The focus of the lesson was on Challenges 5 and 6, where children built on their earlier learning to create longer and more complex algorithms
In Challenge 5, pupils worked to guide a bee to visit two poppies. This required careful planning and testing, as many children discovered they needed to extend their algorithm to include more steps. Children were encouraged to debug their instructions, checking what worked, spotting mistakes and making thoughtful changes.
The lesson then moved on to Challenge 6, where pupils had to move a rocket along a flight path to rescue a stranded spaceman. This challenge was more demanding and required children to use the longer algorithm tool, think ahead, and test their instructions repeatedly. Some children chose to work independently, while others worked collaboratively, mapping routes with their fingers before pressing play.
Throughout the lesson, pupils showed excellent perseverance, problem-solving and logical thinking. They demonstrated growing confidence in predicting what would happen when they changed an instruction and were proud of successfully completing increasingly tricky challenges.
By the end of the session, children could confidently say:
“I can use additional direction keys to create a new algorithm.”
“I can challenge myself by using a longer algorithm to complete a task.”
It was wonderful to see Year One developing both their computing skills and their resilience as learners – true Maze Explorers in action! 🚀🐝
