Key Stage 1

Last week, we were joined by Emily Fellah, children’s illustrator and artist. She spent time in each year 1 and 4 class sharing her journey to becoming a published illustrator. She gave tips on how to reach success and reiterated the message ‘never give up’ a moto she lives by.

She shared some of her books and took us on an adventure meeting the characters she had created from superhero insects to gingerbread monsters!

Then onto the main event. The ‘how to’ part of the session where Emily took us through the simple steps in creating our very own characters, from bears to robots and superheroes! She gave tips and hints throughout. The children all created their own pieces of work and were super proud of the final pieces.

‘I haven’t drawn a bear before; I didn’t know where to begin! I do now, I am going to show all my family tonight!’ Harliegh 

‘I can draw a whole family, a bear family, It was easy!’ Maddie

‘I have made a superhero worm, like Superworm, but my one!’ Arthur

‘I’m excited for the artist, I hope she can teach me how to draw!’ Albie

‘The children were buzzing all day, excited to get stuck in and all proud of their creations and ready to show them off! Lovely to see everyone involved and enjoying themselves! A year group of budding artists’ Mrs Lester

Our entire school recently took part in Storytelling Week, from 27 January to 4 February! 📖 This incredible annual event is a vibrant celebration of the power that stories hold, reminding us of the joys of sharing them. ✨📚

 Stories have the remarkable ability to teach us about the world around us, letting us step into someone else’s shoes, encouraging empathy, and broadening our horizons. They also provide a means to relax and escape from the everyday, whilst nurturing essential literacy skills. 

To kickstart the week,  Mrs. Ryder and Mr. Gilbert, shared an enchanting tale during our assembly. They then set a thrilling challenge for the children: to learn and retell a traditional story over the course of the week! 📚📝

 The culmination of this exciting week was a magnificent assembly, where each year group showcased their incredible storytelling skills. The performances were absolutely captivating! 

 Throughout the week, our eager students eagerly shared stories amongst themselves, and were treated to some mesmerizing tales from adults around the school. In addition to this, all parents, grandparents, aunites and uncles were invited in to school to read with their children and share stories.

🌟 We are immensely proud of all our students for their enthusiasm and creativity during Storytelling Week. Their dedication to honing their storytelling skills was truly inspiring! 🌟

Let's keep the magic of storytelling alive throughout the year, nurturing a love for tales that will last a lifetime! 💫📚

Well, what a first half term we have had!

Welcome to Year 1. The team kick starting Key Stage One is Mrs Curl, Miss Hall, Miss Muir, Miss Grimes, Mrs Lynch and Miss Roberts. We are on the lower corridor just past Reception, before the year 3 stairs and are always around to say ’hi’ and would love for you to tell us something great about your day! Pop along on your way to lunch to see us!

This half term we have been busy settling into our new year group, exploring all the new subjects that KS1 have to offer and reading lots of new texts. We have been making artwork using only line, we have been writing stories, lists and sentences including adjectives! In addition to this, we researched our local area and popped to our local park as well as working like a scientist and setting up experiments, measuring rainfall and making shadows.

This week we have been learning about Guy Fawkes and made our own sparklers and firework pictures using chalk and glitter … our night skies lit up!

One of our highlights has been making our special things in PSHE and learning what is special to different people. We have been practising giving and receiving compliments and sharing the love in Year 1.

We have just begun to research windmills and will soon be making one of our very own! In PE we have been gymnasts … working on balance, rolls, stretch and jumps. We have grown so much already but are excited to see what Autumn 2 has in store. We have Christmas plans just around the corner.

We have some new toys in our quad area, thank you to everyone who has donated, please keep them coming! We love to explore in the Year 1 quad and look out for the new additions out there.

We are really enjoying our extra reading sessions in class and have been teacher swapping, as well as sharing book reviews and setting challenges to find books with animals, or that are set at night to name just a few! Next weeks challenge is to find a book that has bears in it. Can you name one? Come and tell us!

Here are some of the children’s highlights this half term:

‘I love the quad, the dinosaurs roar!’ Archie

‘I like gym the best, I can do cartwheels’ Amie

‘Science is the best, we measure the rainwater in a jug’ David

‘I like our maths, counting and subitising and making lots of part part whole models, we do it every day!’ Arthur

‘I love the new reading books in our reading groups, they are long and we are reading big words … chunk them!’ Buddy

Year 2 have had a super and busy start to this academic year! Since September, we have been learning a broad range of topics. Last half term, as artists, we explored a unit called 'Map it Out' where we learned a range of artistic skills themed around maps. A highlight for the children was exploring printing by creating their own polystyrene tiles showcasing a section of their map and then using ink to create prints. In Autumn 2 we have moved onto Design and Technology and have been learning about why different 3D shapes are best suited for chairs, themed around the story 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' and baby bear's chair. We have discovered that a cylinder is stronger than a cuboid and triangular prism as it has no vertices.

Last half term, as historians we explored a unit on 'The Great Fire of London'. Mr Ashby, Mrs Roach and Mrs Wingate were blown away by how engaged the children were with this unit and the recall of key historical facts was phenomenal. We are currently learning about 'Kings and Queens' and have focused on some key monarchs from different periods, including William the Conqueror, Bad King John and Henry VIII. This week, we visited Hampton Court Palace to learn more about Tudor life under the rule of Henry. The children particularly enjoyed some of the more gory facts about Tudor life, including how Henry beheaded two of his six wives!

Currently, in our Whole Class Reading sessions we are reading non-fiction texts. 2W and 2R are reading 'The Big Book of Blue' and 2A are reading 'Your Body'. The children have been fascinated by some of the facts we have been learning. Did you know that if a jellyfish is cut in two it will become two jellyfish?

In PE, we are currently learning gymnastics with our class teachers and have been practising our skills of travelling, balance and rolling. We have lots of skilled gymnasts in our year group who have now perfected their 'teddy bear rolls' and arabesque balances. The children are loving the additional PE sessions with the specialist coach on Thursdays and there is always a real buzz about these lessons! Last week, 2W and 2R were lucky enough to visit St. Martin's church to participate in 'A Christmas Journey' (unfortunately, due to adverse weather conditions 2A were unable to attend). During this visit the children participated in a workshop learning about the true meaning of Christmas. We are incredibly impressed with the children's behaviour and how they represented Aragon at this event.

Finally, we have started to learn our songs for our upcoming Christmas performance 'Hey Ewe', so you may hear your children humming or singing away at home- but no spoilers allowed, we are saving that for the big day on the 21st December.

Last half term, as historians we explored a unit on 'The Great Fire of London'. Mr Ashby, Mrs Roach and Mrs Wingate were blown away by how engaged the children were with this unit and the recall of key historical facts was phenomenal.  We are currently learning about 'Kings and Queens' and have focused on some key monarchs from different periods, including William the Conqueror, Bad King John and Henry VIII. This week, we have visited Hampton Court Palace to learn more about Tudor life under the rule of Henry. The children particularly enjoyed some of the more gory facts about Tudor life, including how Henry beheaded two of his six wives!

This year's focus is on the significant contributions of Black females in the UK who have been catalysts for change in various domains, including politics, the arts, technology, science, and literature.

Throughout the week, the children immersed themselves in the stories and achievements of extraordinary women. They explored the legacies of Black artists such as Alma Thomas and Betye Starr, finding inspiration to create their own artwork. Additionally, the children paid tribute to the Windrush Generation, learning about the brave individuals who crossed the Atlantic to help rebuild the U.K. in it's time of need. We looked at the lasting impact that incredible nurses had upon the formation of the NHS and considered the stories of children who came to England.

Year 5 and 6 students enjoyed a special online meeting with Kandace Chimburi, the author of 'Windrush Child.' Chimburi shared her insights and motivations behind writing Black history narratives for children, leaving a lasting impact on the young minds. Year 3 and 4 students had a fantastic time in a Malorie Blackman workshop, learning about the renowned author's life and her literary contributions. Years 1 and 2 were so excited to welcome a visit from Aragon parents, Mr. and Mrs. Maunganidze, who inspired the young learners to become their own heroes.