1/2D are now into their 3rd week back at school. This term we welcomed 2 new children and the class has been helping them get to know the routines and welcoming them to Rushmere.

The class have been working super hard this year already. We have looked at different stories in literacy, including: Billy's Bucket and Handa's Surprise. The children have used their imaginations to decide what they would put in their imaginary buckets. Some even used adjectives to describe each thing. Also, we have looked at creating story maps to help us retell the story of Handa's surprise.

In numeracy, we have been looking at finding the difference between two numbers using number lines and we have been looking at shapes. The class recognised that shapes are all around us.

Our topic for this term is the Animal Kingdom. So far, we have been thinking about what we already know about animals and the different categories. The homework tasks for this term have been sent home but they can also be found in the Year 1 homework section of the website.

This week is assessment week where we assess the children's phonic abilities, spelling, reading, comprehension and maths. We are all so pleased with the outcomes already! The children should feel very proud of themselves.

This half term we also have our class sharing assembly. Our turn will be Friday 14th February and you are invited to come in and hear all about what we have been learning!

1/2D have been very busy over the last couple of weeks.

In literacy, we have been looking at transport and reading about big machines. We have even begun to create our very own book of transport using our own pictures and captions.

In numeracy, we have looked at adding numbers together using different resources, such as tens frames and number lines. As a challenege we have even looked at trying to reverse our number sentences so that the total would be first. For example, 10=6+4.

In addition, last week we were very busy writing our letters to Father Christmas and Friday we were very lucky and walked to the local Post Office to post them. We each had to ask for a First Class stamp and then post the letters in the special sack. It was very exciting!

The year 2 children have also been very busy rehearsing for the Year 2 Christmas production. The performances are Wednesday 10-11am (please arrive by 9.45am) and Thursday 2.15-3.15 (arrive by 2pm). The children performed their dress rehearsal to members of the school this morning and were fantastic!

If you are coming to either performance, please remember that we discourage the taking of photos during the performance. We have filmed the production and you have the opportunity to purchase the DVD and standstill photos.

Next week is our last week at school. On the Thursday (19th) we will  be having our class Christmas Parties. Messages regarding this will be sent out soon.

Last week we went on our first school trip of the year to the Ipswich Transport Museum. We had great fun with our guides who showed us old buses, trams, fire engines and bikes to just name a few! More photos to follow...

In school, we have also been learning how to play various board games, including giant snakes and ladders. Please feel free to continue this at home. During our numeracy, we have been learning to add two numbers together using a part-part-whole model and the numicon. Furthermore, in Literacy, we have been looking at more nursery rhymes and thinking how we could change some of the words.

Learning to play board games and reciting nursery rhymes are a part of our Year 1 tool-kit for life which aims to aim on the children's knowledge and life skills. Please follow the link to see what other life skills the children are learning and what ones you'd like to do at home: https://www.rushmerehallprimaryschool.com/rushmere-toolkit-for-life.html 

In maths over the last couple of weeks 1/2D have been looking at more and less as well as ordinal numbers. They rose to the challenges we gave them!

In literacy last week, the children looked at the story of The Little Red Hen. This week, they have been looking at the nursery rhyme Insey, Winsey Spider. The children started the week by learning the nursery rhyme by heart and then wrote their own version of the nursery rhyme.

In addition, 1/2D have been thinking about how we are all different and unique, including our twins!

From next week, we will be doing PE on Friday mornings instead of Mondays. Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit in school.

Before we say goodbye for the weekend, we would like to remind you that we are on our school trip on Thursday morning to Ipswich Transport Museum. Please ensure that you have provided consent for your child to attend. A voluntary donation is asked for to aid the payment of the trip.

Have a good weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone on Monday.

The children may be feeling tired but they have been working very hard this week.

We started the week off by looking in Literacy at the book "It's not a stick!" The children had great fun reading the story and then using their own imaginations to decide what their stick could be. We have a range of ideas from fishing rods to cars to bridges.

In numeracy, the children have been looking at consolidating their understanding of number and thinking about what 1 less than a number is.

Yesterday we had a very relaxed afternoon of art. We looked at the artist Wassily Kandinsky and responded to his art work using oil pastels and then felt tipped pens. Our first task was to create lots of circles and colour them in different colours. Next, we listened to music and moved our pencils across the page fast or slow depending on the tempo of the music. Finally, we coloured in all of the different shapes we had created.

It has been a very busy half term! The children all deserve a break and we look forward to seeing them all back on Tuesday 29th October (Monday is a PD day) refreshed and ready for the next half term.

Over the last 2 weeks, 1/2D have been looking at the book Chicken Licken. We started off by predicting what might happen in the story. We then read the book and imagined and described what yummy food we would have at our own feasts. Finally, we used our imaginations to create alternative endings for the story. Some endings included the animals trying to eat Foxy Loxy while others expressed that the animals and Foxy Loxy had a party!

We had also been practising hard for our Harvest Festival. The performance was on Wednesday afternoon and it was a success.

In our numeracy, we have been counting backwards and also learning about 1 more.

Yesterday, was Mental Health Awareness day and as part of our discussions about our feelings we looked at all of the ways we could communicate to others about how we feel. From using our words and Makaton signs through to drawing pictures. Wendy the Worry Buddy was introduced to the children as a way of them being able to express any worries that they may have.

Next week, we will be looking at the book "Not a Stick" and also learning about 1 less in our numeracy.

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind you all that next Wednesday (16/10/19) is Parents Evening. If you have not done so already, please book a slot. We are looking forward to seeing you and discussing all of the amazing work the children have completed so far this year.

This week the children have been very busy.

In Numeracy, the children have been exploring dice dot patterns. They learnt how to play Snakes and Ladders as well as organising different objects into the dice dot patterns.

Our literacy focus this week was around the book Dogger. We looked at adjectives and on Thursday we brought in our own toys we were fond of. We wrote about why we were fond of our toys and drew a picture of them.

Thursday was also our European Languages Day and we dressed in the colours of the Finnish flag (blue & white). We learnt where Finland was on the map and watched The Moomins!

​Finally, we have been thinking about sharing and how to be kind to each other.

In 1/2D this week we have been looking at how to sort lots of different things. We even used our interactive whiteboard to set our own rules and sort the shapes!

We have also been looking at the story of Knuffle Bunny and thinking about something we may have lost.

In Art and Science we have been looking at the trees around the school and noticing the different colours as well as thinking about the different parts of a tree. 

Another thing we have been doing is thinking about the different ways we belong. Please continue the discussions at home to reinforce the notion of belonging to things in and outside of school. Before we leave, a gentle reminder that next Thursday 26th please can the children bring in a soft toy that they are fond of. The 26th is also our Language Day and we will be looking at Finnish! The children can come to school in their countries colours (blue and white).

Finally, we have been practising our harvest songs for the Harvest Assembly. Please check the website / newsletter for the date.