Year 1

Welcome to Year 1!

Thank you for visiting our Year 1 page. We will be sharing lots of the activities, visits and events that we have been involved in on this page. We hope you enjoy sharing our learning with us. 

Fun on the Farm

On Friday 10th May, Year 1 went on a fabulous trip to Barleylands Farm. The whole year group were very excited as we made our journey there on the double decker bus. The children then enjoyed a whole range of activities, including feeding the farm animals, looking at wheat growing in a huge tractor tyre, spotting worms in a wormery and grinding wheat into flour. We also made healthy pizzas and took a very bumpy tractor ride! The children were able to see young plants growing in the poly tunnel which would then go on to produce the same food that we added to our pizzas, such as tomatoes, peppers, sweetcorn and onions. With the weather staying fine, we all had a tremendous day!

Many thanks to the parents who came with us to Barleylands and made the trip possible. 

1S Forest School sessions

Class 1S have really been enjoying their Forest School sessions with Mr Fenn. Many thanks to him for making them so enjoyable. Thank you also to the parents who have helped out with our weekly session.

1B Forest School sessions

Class 1B have really been enjoying their Forest School sessions with Mr Fenn. Many thanks to him for making them so enjoyable. Thank you also to the parents who have helped out with our weekly sessions.

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside...

Year 1 had a wonderful visit today from Jane from the Essex Records Office. She brought along a huge variety of seaside souvenirs and artefacts to show us. We talked about those that might have been seen on a seaside holiday in the past and compared them to things that we use when we are lucky enough to have a holiday at the seaside now. We saw old swimming costumes, which we thought looked very itchy, metal buckets and wooden spades and a huge old replica camera. Jane told us all about the penny lick, which was a very popular way to buy ice cream in the past with an old penny and we also looked at some old photographs of Madge's holiday in Clacton in 1894, that were taken by her father - Theodore Druitt, who was a keen amateur photographer.

Huge thanks to Jane for coming in to see us and sharing her knowledge on this subject. Thanks also to FOT and all who support them. This visit was funded entirely by their fundraising as we have used some more of our 'Hooks and Highlights' money for this year to cover the cost.

Estate Agents, Architects and Builders in the making... 

In December, Year One carried out a Design and Technology project based on our 'There's no place like home' theme. The children were lucky enough to have a visit from Emma, a local Estate Agent who very kindly gave up her time to explain to the children all about her job and the process of selling houses. We then explained to the children that their task was to make and market a house for a Fairy Tale character. 

The children obviously listened very carefully to Emma, as they then went on to write super brochures to sell their houses, with lots of important details included. As you can see from the photos, their house designs and final creations were also amazing! Emma returned for another visit and was extremely impressed by the writing and the houses that the children made.

Many thanks to Emma for coming in to visit us, and also to the parents and various family members who helped on our house building day.

A Day in a Fairy Tale Castle with History Off the Page 

On Monday 8th October, all of the Year One children were transported back in time to Sleeping Beauty's castle - arriving just in time to see her waking up from her long sleep.

The children experienced life in the castle by carrying out tasks and trying crafts that would have been popular at the time, including sewing leather purses, making gargoyles from clay, creating wax candles and planting beans. The storyteller created a delicious stone soup with the children and many of them helped to guard the castle and kept the inhabitants safe from giant spiders!

In the afternoon, the children took on different roles at a great banquet, becoming jesters, jousting knights, servants, dancers and singers in order to entertain some distinguished guests. Everyone enjoyed the entertainment and the delightful food on offer and we were then all captivated by the jousting tournament!

Huge thanks to the parents who helped at this event, and also thank you to everyone who sent their child in a fairy tale costume in order that they could fully join in with the spirit of the day. 

Thank you also to FOT who part funded this experience - the photos below show clearly what a fantastic time everyone had, definitely a highlight to remember for Year One!

Year 1 Local Walk

On Thursday 27th September, the Year One children went for a walk around the local area to look at lots of different house types. We saw bungalows, semi-detached houses, detached houses, old houses, new houses, mansions, cottages, maisonettes and finally flats! It was a beautiful afternoon and the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience. They have remembered lots of the information that they found out as we have spoken about our sunny expedition in both English and Geography.

Many thanks to the parents who came with us and helped the children have a safe and memorable 'trip'.

Meet the Teacher

Many thanks to all the Parents and Carers who came to our Meet the Teacher session on Monday 17th September. For those of you that were unable to make it - please find the PowerPoint below.

Hand outs from the meeting were sent home in each child's Book Bag - including a handy leaflet containing information about all of the sounds that we will be covering in Letters and Sounds in Year One.