Week 7, 12.4.24

The last week of term has flown by!

The children took part in some very special activities this week in the lead-up to Pesach. They had a wonderful time during their Seed Rosh Chodesh morning with parents, creating their Afikoman bags. They also took part in the model Seder Night and got to put all of their Pesach learning into practice. 

Year 1 also worked hard to complete English and maths assessments this week. This was their first time completing this kind of assessment and the children really impressed me by being adaptable, persistent and hard working throughout the week.

in Science, the children returned to the topic seasons, ‘Spring and Summer’. They learnt about how winter turns into spring and went outside to hunt for signs of spring in nature. The children found many signs of spring including insects, new buds on trees and blossom.

The children have all been given additional reading books to read over the break, including e-books set on Oxford Owl. 

The children have also each taken home a checklist of the equipment they need to replace in their pencil cases. Please ensure your child returns to school with spare money in their bags so that they can replace these items and start the summer term fully equipped. 

Some information for next term, Summer 1:

• Year 1 will have Forest School on Thursdays again next half term (please note, Summer 1 is only three weeks long). They will need to wear waterproof clothing suitable for the warmer weather every Thursday, including wellies and waterproof trousers/overalls. Please send the children into school already wearing this clothing.

Wishing you all a wonderful break and a very happy Pesach, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 6,   5.4.24

Year 1 has had another busy week of learning!

In English, the children began learning about traditional tales. They explored the features of Traditional Tales, including story starters such as ‘once upon a time’, settings such as forests and castles, and common themes such as magic, talking animals and good versus evil. The children learnt that there can be different versions of these stories as they have been passed down over generations, although the main plot points stay the same. The children explored two different versions of the story Little Red Riding Hood. One version was simple and the children used the drama technique ‘thought tracking’ to infer the thoughts of the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood. The next version we read had lots more description in it and the children used this version to learn how to write a setting description for the woods. The children planned adjectives in order to write their own description of the woods in Little Red Riding Hood.

In Phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

Please remember to write a brief note or sign your name in your child’s reading journal to indicate that your child has read their book to you. 

In maths, the children learnt about describing turns using the vocabulary quarter turn, half turn, three quarter turn, full turn, clockwise and anti-clockwise. They also learnt about describing position using the vocabulary left, right, above, below, on top, at the bottom, between, forwards and backwards. 

In history, the children were introduced to their new history topic ‘Travel and Transport’ by going to the airport (otherwise known as the Year 1 classroom). They had their boarding passes checked and took their seats on the aeroplane, ready to travel to the past. The children shared facts that they already knew about different modes of transport and wrote questions about the information they would like to find out during this topic. 

In DT, the children began their new topic, Wheels. The children learnt about wheels and axles, and how these can allow vehicles to move. The children were given wheels and pipe cleaners and had to work out how to create an effective axle that would allow the wheels to roll. They discovered that they had to use washers to hold the wheels in place and find other ways to ensure their wheels were balanced enough to roll without falling over. 

Library:

Year 1 will be visiting the library every Friday afternoon for time to relax and enjoy reading a book. They will also be able to borrow one book a week. Library books can be returned and the children can choose a new book the following Friday. If your child brings in their library book before our next session on a Friday, they will be asked to keep it in their tray until Friday. Your child does not need to bring their library book the next Friday if they are not finished with it yet, however, if they have not returned it after three weeks, I will send an email home asking for it to be returned. 

The children chose their first books today and were very excited to bring them home! These books should not be thought of in the same way as their reading folder books; the children were encouraged to choose books that they wish to read for pleasure and therefore, some have chosen books that they are not able to read independently and would prefer to have someone else read to them.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 5,    28.3.24

Our week began with a wonderful day full of special activities to celebrate Purim. The children had a brilliant time making Hamantashen, decorating venetian masks and watching a magician perform. They looked fantastic in their costumes and had the chance to show them to the whole school during a Purim Parade!

In English, the children continued learning about poetry. They read the nonsense poem ‘On The Ning Nang Nong’ by Spike Milligan. They then identified the poetic features in the poem, including rhyming couplets, repetition and changes to punctuation rules. The children searched for patterns in the poem and found that many lines talked about an object making a sound. There were also many made up words as this poem is a nonsense poem. The children practised reciting the poem aloud, thinking of actions to help them remember each line. The children then wrote their own verses using the style and patterns they had identified.

In maths, the children learnt to read the time to the half hour on an analogue clock. They learnt that not only must the minute hand be pointing towards the bottom of the analogue clock face (on the large number 6), but the hour hand must also be halfway between the hour it has gone past, and the hour it will be on next. The children then drew the hands onto clock faces themselves.

In Phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

Please continue to go through your child’s flashcards with them regularly. 

In DT, the children learnt about the matza making progress. They learnt that it must only take 18 minutes from start to finish and had a go at making their own matza in that time frame. They followed a simple recipe, first mixing water and flour together to make the dough. This took some experimentation and the children adapted the quantities of the ingredients in order to get their dough firm enough to knead. Then, they kneaded their dough flat and poked small holes in it. Their matzas were placed in the oven to bake for the remainder of the time. 

Please note:

• Homework has been set on Google Classroom, due in on Wednesday 3rd April. 
• Several children need a pencil case top up. Please all send your children in with money in order for them to replace their equipment when they run out or get misplaced. Each item costs 50p from the school shop. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a fantastic bank holiday weekend, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 4, 22.3.24

The Year 1 children have had another exciting week of learning. There has been a feeling of growing excitement in the classroom as we prepare to celebrate Purim over the weekend and on Monday at school. 

In English, the children have been learning about poetry. This term, the children have focused on incorporating rhymes into poems using ‘rhyming couplets’ (two consecutive lines in a poem that end in words that rhyme with each other). An example of a rhyming couplet is:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

How I wonder what you are

The children came up with lists of rhyming words and used these to think of rhyming couplets. 

In maths, the children have been learning about shapes. They learnt to name and sort both 2D and 3D shapes. Then, the children learnt to identify and create repeated patterns using shapes. 

In Phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

Please continue to go through your child’s flashcards with them regularly. 

In science, the children sorted materials according to their properties. They used objects in the classroom and thought of different ways to group and sort the objects. For example, objects that were waterproof or not waterproof.

In geography, the children learnt about rural and urban areas. They had to sort features of human and physical geography into a venn diagram, judging whether that feature would belong in a rural area, urban area, or in both.

In DT, the children learnt about the Beitzah - burned egg. They learnt that we place a burnt egg on the seder plate in order to remember the loss of the Beit Hamikdash. The children learnt how to boil an egg and then roast it in the oven. They explored what happens to an egg when you leave it to boil for 6 minutes, 8 minutes and 10 minutes. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 3,  15.3.24

It has been another busy week in Year 1!

In English, the children learnt how to structure a Non-Chronological Report by including a title, short introduction, and information organised into sections with subheadings. The children planned their own reports about Purim and chose the sections they wished to include. They then wrote up their reports, which were packed full of facts that they had learnt during their Ivrit and Jewish studies lessons. The children also had a creative writing lesson and wrote fantastic stories about discovering a mysterious glowing Mishloach Manot on their doorstep. 

In maths, the children learnt how to recognise and find half. First, they started by identifying and finding half of a shape. Then, they learnt how to find half of a quantity by ensuring they had split it into two equal groups. The children used resources such as cubes to represent the whole number, then shared the pieces equally into two groups in order to find half.

In Phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

Please continue to go through your child’s flashcards with them regularly. 

In science, the children investigated objects in the classroom. They had to choose different objects and find out if the object was bendy or not. The children had to identify the material of the object and make a prediction before testing each object. They recorded the information in a table into their books. 

In DT, the children learnt how to make Charoset. They learnt how to use peelers and graters to grate apples and how to add cinnamon and grape juice in order to make the Charoset taste sweet. 

In geography, the children learnt more about each country in the United Kingdom. They explored pictures of famous landmarks, landscapes, national flags and national symbols of each country. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 2,  8.3.24

We have had a wonderful time celebrating book week in Year 1. The children loved taking part in the ‘masked reader’ competition, guessing which teachers were reading a snippet of a story each day! On World Book Day, they were visited by the author Stephanie Mason and had the chance to ask her questions about the process of writing a book. The children looked fantastic in their non-fiction world book day costumes!!

In English, the children learnt the difference between fiction and non-fiction. They identified whether the books they had brought in for reward time were fiction or non-fiction books. They then learnt about Non-Chronological Reports and read some examples of this kind of non-fiction text. They learnt how to write factual sentences (avoiding using words in the first person) and then wrote facts about Purim.

In maths, the children learnt all about British money. They learnt to recognise each of the coins and notes. They children learnt the difference between pounds and pence and learnt how to read and write the symbols for them. The children compared different amounts and combinations of coins, using their counting in 2s, 5s and 10s skills to help them. 

In Phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

Please continue to go through your child’s flashcards with them regularly. Each child has been given an individual pack containing the sounds that they are not yet secure with.

In science, the children learnt about the properties of materials. They learnt lots of new vocabulary that can be used to describe the properties of a material, including: absorbent, opaque and transparent. The children wrote sentences using this vocabulary to describe the properties of different objects in the classroom. 

In geography, the children learnt about the capital cities of countries in the United Kingdom. They also learnt about the flags and national symbols for each country. The children labelled the capital cities, countries and their surrounding seas onto their own maps of the United Kingdom.

In DT, the children continued learning about knife safety and cutting vegetables that could be used on the Seder Plate. This week, the children learnt how to prepare lettuce that could be used as Maror. They first learnt how to wash and check their lettuce for bugs. Then they learnt a new way to grip the lettuce whilst they chopped with their other hand. This method is called the tiger’s claw, and ensures that children tuck their finger tips underneath their knuckles, keeping them out of the knife’s way. 

Here is a special message about snacks written by Isabella and Mia, the Year 1 Tikkun Olum committee members:    

Please don’t use plastic bags because it is bad for the environment. Please make sure to put your name on your snack box because if you don’t then it is even worse for the environment as that plastic will go in the bin if it gets lost.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 1,  1.3.24

It has been lovely to be back with the children in the classroom! They have dived into their new topics with enthusiasm. 

In English, the children learnt how to turn singular nouns into plural nouns by adding the suffixes ‘s’ or ‘es’. For example, sweet becomes ‘sweets’, however fox becomes ‘foxes’. They revised when to use capital letters and full stops and edited a piece of writing to ensure it was punctuated correctly. Finally, the children wrote their own story about being lost.

In maths, the children have been learning about the foundations of multiplication and division. They learnt how to recognise and make equal groups. Then, they learnt to add equal groups, counting in 2s, 5s and 10s to help them. The children learnt about arrays and how they can be used to represent a number. 

Here is an array for number 9:

x x x

x x x

x x x

There are 3 rows of 3. There are 9 altogether. 

In phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

The children have been given an updated pile of flashcards with sounds that they still need to revise, based on recent assessments. Please take the time to go through these flashcards regularly, before you read with your child. 

The children had their World Religion lesson for this half term on important Buddhist leaders. The children learnt all about the role of the Dalai Lama, how the next Dalai Lama is chosen, and the Dalai Lama’s five main beliefs. Please ask your child to tell you what they found out! 

In science, the children began learning about materials. They learnt about different materials such as plastic, wood, metal, fabric, glass, water and rock. They then explored which materials they could find in the classroom. They drew a table in their books with a column for metal, wood, fabric and plastic. They then wrote down a list of the objects they found made out of each of those materials. 

In geography, the children have begun the topic ‘Our Country’. They learnt that England is in the United Kingdom along with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They identified where the United Kingdom is located on a world map. The children learnt the names of the 7 continents and we sang a song that they had learnt previously in Reception to help them remember them! They identified that the United Kingdom is in Europe. 

This term, in DT the children will be learning about the foods that go on the Seder Plate. The children learnt about the food group vegetables and how certain vegetables can be used as Maror and Karpas. The children then learnt about knife safety and how to cut cucumber slices that could be used for Karpas on the Seder Plate. 

Please note:

• Many children need to replace at least one item in their pencil case. Please send your child in with spare coins to use when they next need to replace items. Each item costs 50p to replace from the school shop.
• On Monday, the children are having a reward time for finishing their gem jar. They can bring in one favourite stuffed toy and one of their favourite books. The stuffed toy must be small enough to fit inside their normal school bag. 
• Next Wednesday, the children can dress up as a character from a book to celebrate World Book Day. Our theme this year is Non-Fiction books, so it would be great to see some children dressed up as people or even objects from a non-fiction book! 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 7,  16.2.24

It has been quite the week for Year 1! On Tuesday, the children proudly took part in their Chagigat HaSiddur, joined by their parents and relatives. It was a joy to watch them perform their lines, songs and tefillot with confidence and to see the excitement on their faces as they were presented with their beautifully decorated siddurim. The children have really enjoyed using their siddurim for their daily tefillah since receiving them.

The children also had a wonderful time on their trip to Windsor Castle! Although I sadly wasn’t able to go on the trip myself, I know that the children had a great time looking around the state rooms of a working palace and watching the changing of the guard ceremony. They also took part in a workshop called ‘A Royal Home’ and got to experience how both royalty and their servants lived during the Victorian times. They handled real artefacts (including some that belonged to Queen Victoria herself) and learnt more about royal occasions. 

In English this week, the children learnt to use time conjunctions (such as first, then, finally) in their command sentences. They then got the chance to write their own set of instructions for ‘How To Make A Disgusting Sandwich’. 

In maths this week, the children learnt to count in 2s, 5s and 10s. They used this counting knowledge to help them fill in sequences with missing gaps and to help solve word problems. Some children used their counting skills to learn about the 2, 5 and 10 times tables. 

In phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

In art, the children had their final lesson on printing. They explored how simple 2D shapes could be used to create repeated patterns, either by changing the shape, direction or colour as you print. They enjoyed creating their own paintings using shapes to print with.

The children had their World Religion lesson for this term, learning about Buddhist symbols and important objects. They learnt about the dharma wheel, the lotus flower, the Buddha, puja bowls and tibetan bells. The children then created their own lotus flower craft. 

Wishing you all a wonderful half term break!

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 6,  9.2.24

We have had a very special week in Year 1! The children have worked extremely hard to put the finishing touches on their Chagigat HaSiddur show and are very excited for the special day.

The children had a royally fantastic time learning about the customs of a medieval banquet on Friday. They came dressed in their finest clothes and were served by some helpful servants and jesters. The children got to experience being served three courses of treats and learnt how sweet and savoury food were served in each course of a medieval banquet. They learnt how jesters would entertain royalty and servants would taste test the monarch’s food to ensure it wasn’t poisoned. They also learnt how people ate with their hands as cutlery hadn’t been invented yet!

In English this week, the children wrote up their own version of the story ‘Beegu’ using the ideas they had planned. They began learning about instructions, and sequenced a set of instructions for how to make a jam sandwich. They learnt what an imperative verb is and how it can be used to write a command sentence (for example: Chop the carrots into thin slices). Finally, the children wrote special messages in an invitation for their Chagigat HaSiddur, which they then gave to their loved ones.

In maths, the children revisited addition and subtraction. They found one more and one less than numbers to 50. They used number lines to solve addition and subtraction problems, including missing number problems (for example: 21 + ? = 27). They learnt that they could use their number bond facts to solve problems including two digit numbers. For example, if I know that 4 + 2 = 6, then I know that 34 + 2 = 36.  The children also revisited their number bonds to 20. Some children challenged themselves to find number bonds to 30, 40 and 50 too!

In phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

In science, the children learnt about the five senses and then conducted an investigation to find out which of their senses they used the most during a lesson. The children made predictions and then made a list of the ways they used each sense during a 6 minute time period. The children compared their results and considered whether they would use some of their other senses more in different scenarios. 

In art, the children created artwork by printing with natural materials. The children gathered leaves, flowers and grass from the park and used sponges and rollers to print using these materials.

Please note that there are some changes to the children’s normal routines and required uniform next week:

• On Tuesday, the children should come in wearing their Shabbat clothes for the Chagigat HaSiddur. They should bring a PE kit with them in a bag, in order to get changed for PE after their show. 
• On Thursday, the children must come in wearing their normal school uniform for our trip. Boys must also be wearing a Kerem cap. Please refer to the trip letter or contact me for any other information.

• Please ensure that boys come into school wearing a kippah every single day. The kippah should be secured with 2-3 clips.
• Please kindly continue to ask your child if they need to replace any of their pencil case equipment. Many of the children need to replenish items, particularly pens and glues (as they naturally run out) at this point in the term. Please keep spare coins in your child’s bag so that they can replace things promptly when they need to.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 5, 2.2.24

The Year 1 children have had another lovely week of learning. A real highlight of the week was getting to watch the Israeli Theatre company perform a show. It was a wonderful way for the children to immerse themselves in the Hebrew language!

In English this week, the children finished reading the story ‘Beegu’ by Alexis Deacon. They created a story map to help them remember each sentence of the story. They then chose actions for each story map prompt, in order to help them orally retell the whole story. This allowed the children to retell the story by writing it down. Finally, the children began to plan their own ‘innovated’ (adapted) version of Beegu into their books. They structured their story into a beginning, middle and end and chose characters for their own version of the story. 

In maths, the children continued learning about place value to 50. The children learnt how to partition 2-digit numbers into tens and ones. For example, if you took the number 35 and partitioned it, 30 would be a part and 5 would be a part. It was important for the children to understand that 3 would not be a part - the 3 in 35 represents 30 and when partitioned, we should write the whole 2-digit number ‘30’ (30 is not in disguise anymore!). Finally, the children found numbers that were one more or one less than numbers to 50. 

In phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

In science, the children learnt about the human body. They labelled body parts and considered which body parts they would need to use in order to complete different activities. Finally, the children compared humans to other mammals, discussing similarities and differences between our bodies. 

In history, the children were visited by Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. They told the children key facts about their lives, including how old they were when they became monarch, how long they reigned for and key changes that occurred in Britain during their reigns. The children wrote a fact file for each queen with the information that they had found out. 

In art, the children turned the classroom into an art gallery. They had the chance to reflect and comment on their own printing artwork, and show their work to their friends. The children gave feedback to their peers by commenting on their choices of colour, shape and patterns in their printing. The children then considered the materials they had used to print with and reflected on what they could do to improve their printing in the future.

Please Note: 

• Arrival at school

Our school day is really busy, trying to fit lots into the day to give the children the most from their time in school. Soft start begins at 8.30am and ends at 8.40am.  It is during this time that they get out their water bottles, snacks, reading books, and catch up with their teacher and friends before heading into the first session of the day. If they arrive at the tail end of this time or even after it, then they miss out on this important part of the day. 

To help your child get ready for the morning in a calm rather than rushed manner, it would be great if they could arrive at school closer to 8.30am than 8.40am.

Your support with this would be greatly appreciated.

• As per my email, the children are invited to come into school wearing their most regal clothing on Friday 9th February. This could be an appropriate costume or smart Shabbat clothing. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 4,  26.1.24

Year 1 had a wonderful time preparing for and celebrating Tu B’Shevat this week. Their creativity and excitement was palpable!

In English, the children used the adjectives they had planned to write up a setting description for Beegu’s planet. Then, they read and discussed more of the story in order to understand how Beegu was feeling. The children wrote questions they wanted to ask Beegu. Volunteers then came to sit in the ‘hot-seat’ to act as Beegu and answer the questions. This helped the children to imagine Beegu’s perspective. Finally, the children read some more of the story and then wrote a letter from Beegu’s perspective to her mother. 

In maths, the children have been learning about the place value of numbers to 50. They have honed their counting skills by counting up and down from 50, paying particular attention to bridging a tens number, especially when counting down (for example, 31, 30, 29, 28…). I recommend practising this regularly at home whenever there is an opportunity for counting, such as walking somewhere, waiting for something or climbing up the stairs. The children learnt to recognise the tens and ones in numbers and understand which way round the digits are written in a two-digit number (eg. If you have 2 tens and 3 ones, you have made the number 23). Keep an eye out on Google Classroom for a lovely game that reinforces this understanding, called ‘place value basketball’.

In phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

In science, the children learnt about animal diets. They learnt that animals could be grouped into three categories, carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. They had to be ‘diet detectives’ and study different animals’ diets in order to sort them into the correct category. 

In history, the children learnt about family trees and how they can be used to trace a family’s history. They looked at an example of Queen Victoria’s family tree and learnt how lines could be drawn to show a person’s child, spouse and siblings. They then drew their own family tree for King Charles and his immediate family members. 

In art, the children learnt more about printing by using different fruits and vegetables such as corn, onions and tangerines to print with. They used printing rollers to transfer acrylic paint to the foods and explored how their different textures affected the prints. Some children chose to create patterns and some chose to create a design. 

Please note:

• From next week, I will begin making check-in phone calls to parents. Please do not be alarmed if you receive an unexpected phone call either from the school telephone number or from an unknown number. The purpose of this call is to touch base about your child and their well-being at this stage of the year.
• Please do ask your child if they need to replace anything in their pencil case - once again, there are a few children who need to buy items from the school shop. Many thanks as always for your support with this!  

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

26.1.24 Jewish Studies – Parashat Beshalach.

We have had a wonderful week learning and celebrating Tu Bishvat.

It was amazing seeing all the children’s wonderful fruit accessories and hair styles. They all brought incredible fruits and information which the children thoroughly enjoyed sharing and learning.

We participated in a Tu Bishvat fruit party, with 15 different fruits – including some of the Shivat Haminim.

Songs for Tu Bishvat

Let’s Plant a Tree for Tu B’Shvat –

Chorus:   Trees are blowing in the wind, they’re blowing

                Trees are blowing in the wind (whoooshhh!)

                Trees are blowing in the wind, they’re blowing

                Trees are blowing in the wind (whoosh!)

Let’s dig a hole, let’s dig a hole and plant a seed

Let’s water it, oh let’s water it ‘cause it is Tu B’Shvat (chorus)

Look at the leaves, look at the leaves, they’re growing now

Let’s water them, oh let’s water them ‘cause it is Tu B’Shvat (chorus)

Look at the tree, the tree is so much taller now

Let’s water it, oh let’s water it ‘cause it is Tu B’Shvat (chorus)

Just look at me, just look at me, I’m taller now

Don’t water me, please don’t water me, ‘cause it is Tu B’Shvat.

Fruit salad song - tune of supercalifragilistic.

When Tu Bishvat was near I thought my parents I'd surprise
And make a special fruit salad with 15 fruits inside
To save a little of my pocket money I would try
and then go to the green grocers to see what I could buy.

CHORUS Oh orange, grapefruit, kiwi, mango, lychee, tangerine,
pomegranate nuts and almonds wash them till they're clean
grapes and apples, pears and peaches, apricots and dates
and don't forget the cherry when you put it on the plate.

On erev Tu Bishvat I bought the fruit and cut it small
And sprinkled on some sugar, to enhance it all
I garnished it with chocolate flakes and just a dash of wine
and put it in the fridge to chill till we sat down to dine.

CHORUS

Oh supper was delicious we had sausages and veal
and then I brought the fruit salad to finish off the meal
they looked at it and stared at it and shouted with a squeal
we can't eat this, don't you see, you forgot to peel.

CHORUS

19.1.24 Jewish Studies – Parashat Bo.

We have had another wonderful week in our JS lessons.

Hebrew reading- This week we learnt the sh’va vowel (:) which makes the sound ‘e’ like in the word the.

Please support your child every day with their Hebrew reading to help them further succeed. Please note that homework is usually updated on a Monday. Please make sure your child’s folder is in their bag every day.

Parashah – Please encourage your child to share the Parashah questions with you at the Shabbat table.

Chagim – We are preparing for Tu Bishvat and have been learning all about the wonderful things trees give us.

The children have been learning some lovely songs and we are excited for all the exciting events on Tu Bishvat!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom & lovely weekend.

Ms Rose

Week 3,   19.1.24

It’s been another lovely week in Year 1. The children filled up their gem jar and had a special reward time with their Year 6 buddies. The buddies joined Year 1 for their break time and history lesson. The children loved getting to spend more time with their buddies and the Year 6 children were fantastic at supporting them with their history learning. 

In English, the children began exploring a new story called ‘Beegu’ by Alexis Deacon. The children were first introduced to the character Beegu (a small, yellow alien) through a picture. They used the image to infer what kind of character she was and made predictions about what the story might be about. The children then explored the first few pages of the story, in which Beegu tries to ask some rabbits, trees and leaves for help using her alien language to talk. The children used their drama skills to imagine they were Beegu and to explore her thoughts and feelings in the role. Then, the children imagined where she might have come from and each planned a setting description for Beegu’s home planet. They chose lots of wonderful adjectives to use in their setting descriptions. 

In phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

In maths, the children learnt to read and write time as words and in the digital format. Then, they learnt how to draw the hands onto an analogue clock to show different times to the hour. They learnt to find and write the time that is one hour before and one hour later than a set time. Finally, they learnt about seconds, minutes and hours and used stopwatches to measure and record lengths of time. 

In science, the children learnt about the main animal groups: amphibians, mammals, fish, birds and reptiles. The children started by considering how they would sort different animals into groups, before learning why animals are sorted into the five main groups. They used their knowledge to identify the ‘odd one out’ of a group of animals. 

In history, the children learnt more about the life of Richard III. They were very excited to be joined by their Year 6 buddies for this lesson. First, the children discussed how it is possible to find out about someone who lived over 500 years ago and learnt about different sources of information, including books, portraits and artefacts. They were given an information text about Richard III and worked with their buddies in order to find information and answer questions about his life. 

In art, the children used the stamps they had created last week to print with. They learnt to apply the paint with a sponge and press down on their stamps carefully, in order for their print to come out effectively. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 2,   12.1.24

We have had a busy first full week of the Spring term! 

In English, the children continued learning about Free Verse Poetry. They wrote their own additions to the poem ‘There’s Nothing Like a Dog’. Then, the children wrote their very own Free Verse Poems about a subject of their choice. Some titles included ‘We All Love Israel’, ‘All Feelings Are Normal’ and ‘There’s Nothing Like Hashem’. The children then had the chance to practise and perform their poems to the rest of the class. It was very special to listen to all of their wonderful poems! Finally, the children learnt how to spell the tricky word ‘because’ and use it in their writing to explain their reasoning. 

In maths, the children learnt how to measure using non-standard units of measurement, such as cubes. Then, they learnt how to use a ruler to measure in centimetres. They learnt the symbol ‘cm’ for centimetres and how to write a length or height including that symbol. They were given different objects to measure and were taught to be accurate by ensuring the object lined up with 0cm, not the end of the ruler. The children then began learning how to tell the time on an analogue clock. They learnt all about the clock face, including why it has the numbers 1-12 on it. They learnt about the minute and hour hands, and how they travel around the clock in the clockwise direction. They also learnt that at the start of a new hour, we use the word ‘o’clock’ to say the hour: eg. 4 o’clock.  The children then learnt how to read the time to the hour. They learnt that the minute hand is always pointing to 12 at the start of a new hour (a useful phrase for remembering this is ‘up at the top means o’clock!) and the hour hand will point to the hour it is. The children used clocks to move the hands into the correct positions for different times to the hour. 

 In phonics, the children learnt the following alternative graphemes (ways to write down and spell) for sounds that they were already familiar with:

They also learnt the tricky words because, who and whole. Please could I remind you that children must read the e-books assigned to them on Monday and mark them as completed on Oxford Owl before they can be given a physical book. The e-books are carefully selected in order to consolidate the children’s weekly Phonics learning. By not reading these e-books, they are missing out on valuable reading practise and the chance to applying and consolidate their most recent learning. 

In science, the children began their new topic, Animals Including Humans. Our first lesson focused on the question ‘Why do animals look different?’. The children analysed pictures of different animals and noted their different body parts. They agreed that animals had to look different in order for them to survive in their environments. The children then labelled body parts onto diagrams of different animals. 

In history, the children learnt about significant British monarchs including William the Conqueror, King John, Richard III, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. They learnt how to read the numbers representing years by thinking of them as two 2-digit numbers: for example, we must read 1066 as ‘ten’ ‘sixty six’. This enabled the children to order the monarchs onto timelines in their books. 

In art, the children began the topic ‘Printing’. They learnt how stamps can be used to print with in order to create repeated patterns. They learnt about how Andy Warhol used printing to create some of his most famous artwork. The children appraised his artwork and identified how he used bright colours in his ‘pop art’ style of painting. The children then learnt how to use different tools to carve a piece of styrofoam that they could then use to print with. They are very excited to use the stamps they created to print with next week!

Please note:

• This week, we had our first Forest School session in frosty conditions. The Forest School area is protected from the sun by all of the trees, and as a result, remains much colder than the rest of the park for the duration of the session - the ground was hard with frost. The children came well prepared, but I want to reiterate that should the weather be like this again, children should wear additional thermal layers and multiple pairs of socks, as well as hats, scarves and gloves. 
• You could also send your child in with hand or foot warmers. There are some thin, adhesive foot warmers available on amazon that can be stuck onto your child’s foot underneath their socks. The children should come into school already wearing these, unless they have an early morning club, in which case we can help them put them on just before we leave.    

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 1,  5.1.24

It was lovely to welcome the children back to a new term on Thursday. The children dove straight back into their familiar routines with enthusiasm! 

In English, the children learnt about Free Verse Poetry and its features, including how it does not rhyme but can include repetition. They practised reading and performing the Free Verse Poem ‘There’s Nothing Like a Dog’. The children worked hard to use expression in their voices. 

In maths, the children began learning about length and height. They used the language taller and shorter to compare height and longer and shorter to compare length. They explored the importance of lining up two objects in order to be able to compare their length or height accurately. 

In phonics this week, the children began learning alternative sounds.  

In history, the children began the topic Kings and Queens. They learnt about the role of the monarch and how it has changed over time, for example with the introduction of parliament. The children learnt about how the title of King or Queen is inherited and discussed which qualities someone should have in order to be a good monarch. As a class, the children wrote a letter to send to our current monarch, King Charles. They learnt that this required more formal language than letters they had written previously. The children were keen to thank King Charles for the work he does to protect the environment and for supporting the Jewish community over the years. I look forward to posting the letter and awaiting a reply from Buckingham Palace! 

On Friday, the children were visited by the MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Mike Freer. They enjoyed finding out about the role he plays in our government and thought of some wonderful questions to ask him.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 6,  8.12.23

This week flew past! The children were very busy with preparations for their performance in the Chanukah Show. This included rehearsals and some impromptu circle times to discuss feeling nervous and how we can overcome those feelings. The children were all remarkably resilient and took a risk to perform in front of the whole school and parent body. They were AMAZING and should all feel so proud of themselves!

In English this week, the children planned a recount of their weekends. Then, they wrote out each section of their recount, adding in language features such as time conjunctions and adjectives. They also expressed their feelings within their recount.

In maths, the children learnt about addition and subtraction to 20. They learnt to add by counting on from the greater number. For example, if they were solving 13 + 4 =, they could start at 13 and count 4 more. Then, the children learnt to use their existing number bond knowledge to solve problems involving two digit numbers. For example, if we know 2 + 3 = 5, then 12 + 3 = 15. The children then used their number bonds to 10 to make and find number bonds to 20. They used numicon to help them find the number bonds and drew on their knowledge of number bonds to 10 to help them. They were fantastic at spotting patterns, for example, if 1 + 9 = 10, then 1 + 19 = 20. 

 In Phonics this week, the children learnt the following graphemes:

They also learnt the tricky word ‘again’. The children were given flashcards of these sounds to practise at home. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a Chanukah Sameach!

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 5,  1.12.23

We have had a busy week full of learning and preparations for Chanukah. The children have begun to learn their lines for their performance in the Chanukah show. Please help them to memorise their lines by heart! The script can be found on Google Classroom.

In maths, the children continued to learn about place value to 20. They learnt to use and place numbers on a number line to 20, before using this knowledge to estimate on a number line. They compared numbers to 20 using the symbols for greater than >, less than < and equal to = . Finally, they ordered numbers to 20. 

In English, the children learnt about the features of a recount. They learnt how to write in the first person using personal pronouns such as I, me and my. They learnt how to add the suffix ‘ed’ on to verbs in order to show they are talking in the past tense. Finally, the children learnt to use time conjunctions such as ‘first’, ‘later’ and ‘finally’ in order to sequence and connect sentences. Next week, they will use these features to write a recount of their weekends. 

In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

They also learnt the tricky word ‘once’.

In design and technology, the children learnt about patterns and how they are used as a template in order to cut out the same outline as many times as required. They created their own pattern for a hand puppet by tracing around their hands. They then learnt to pin their pattern down onto fabric and cut out their pattern shape twice from the fabric. These pieces of fabric will be used to create their hand puppets. 

In geography, the children learnt how to draw their own maps of our local area. They looked carefully at the position of roads and key geographical features in an image taken from Google Earth and plotted these features into their own maps. The children created a key and used map symbols in order to help them identify what they had drawn on their maps. 

Please note: 

The majority of children are missing at least one or more item from their pencil case. It has now been a full term and it would be very helpful if every child could please bring in money in order to replace items from their pencil cases and make sure they are fully replenished and ready for the Spring term. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

1.12.23 Jewish Studies – Parashat Vayishlach.

Parashah - Yaakov prepares himself to meet Esav. Yaakov tried many different ways to prevent a quarrel. First he divides his family into two separate camps in case Esav starts a fight (because he is still angry about Yaakov taking away his berachah). Then he prays to Hashem to save him and all his family (his four wives, eleven sons and daughter) and then he sends Esav presents. Yaakov and Esav meet and make peace. Binyamin is born and Rachel dies and is buried in Bet Lechem. Hashem changes Yaakov’s name to Yisrael. The Jewish people are his children. We are called Bnei Yisrael.

Middah – making peace.

Hebrew Reading – the children are continuing to work hard with their reading, learning the next reading rules in class.

Please encourage your child to read as often as possible over the week.

Chagim – we have starting learning about the story of Chanukah. The children have learnt that a wicked King called Antiochus wanted all the Jewish people to become Greek. He banned the Jewish people from keeping Mitzvot and learning Torah.

We have been practising Ma’oz Tzur in preparation for Chanukah lighting.

Shabbat Shalom & have a super weekend!

Ms Rose

24.11.2023 Jewish Studies – Parashat Vayetzeh

Parashah - Yaakov leaves home and goes to Charan to find himself a wife. On the journey he has a dream in which Malachim are going up and down a ladder. In his dream Hashem promises him that he will give him Eretz Yisrael and he will have lots of children. 

Yaakov marries Leah & Rachel after working for Lavan for 14 years.

Middah of the week – Remembering to thank Hashem.

Hebrew Reading – This week our main focus was on our Hebrew reading. We finished reviewing the Aleph Bet letters and have been working hard on blending with our first vowel.

Please keep practising the letter flashcards each week with your child.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and a lovely weekend,

Ms Rose

Week 4,  24.11.23

It was another busy week for Year 1!

The children took part in a very special whole-school Challah bake in honour of the Israeli people. It was a chance to connect with the wider school community and pray for peace. 

Please note that next Tuesday 28th November, the children have been asked to bring in certain gifts as part of a Chanukah Gift project for children in Israel. We ask that each child brings in:

• A plastic water bottle
• An A5 plain paper drawing pad/notepad
• A pack of colours/a new pencil case with colours and pencils in
• A small cuddly toy
• A small gift such as a yoyo, bubbles, hair accessories, toy car, balls.

These items should be bought new. Thank you very much in advance for your support with this project. 

Next Wednesday 29th November, we will be holding elections for the three different Kerem Cares committees: Tikkun Olam (Eco Council), Kehilla (Community Council) and Tzedakah (Charity Council). These committees form Kerem's school council. Your child should choose one council to run for. They should prepare a short presentation about why they want to be on Kerem Cares and what they feel they can offer the role. 

In maths, the children learnt about the place value in numbers to 20. The children learnt about the concept of ‘tens’ and ‘ones’. This helped them to understand the value of each digit in numbers from 11-20. The children used their knowledge to find one more or one less than a number. 

In English, the children wrote their own versions of the story ‘I Want My Hat Back’ by Jon Klassen. They worked hard to incorporate the patterns and repeated phrases from the story. The children wrote the beginning, middle and end of the story and then had the opportunity to read their stories to the class. 

 In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

They also learnt the tricky word ‘please’.

In science, the children learnt about their five senses. They used these senses to describe the seasonal weather they observed in Winter scenes. 

In design and technology, the children designed their own hand puppet. They considered the purpose of their product, who their target consumer was, and what materials would be the most suitable when they make their hand puppets. 

In geography, the children learnt about compass directions. They used these to navigate and identify features on a map. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

17.11.2023 Jewish Studies – Parashat Toldot.

We have had a wonderful week in our JS lessons each day this week.

Hebrew reading – we reviewed all the letters previously learnt. We also learnt the vowel kamatz and have started blending it in open and closed words. We spent time looking at similar letters Pay and Fay.

Each child was given a kamatz card to add to their flashcard collection. Please encourage your child to start blending single letters and the vowel together.

A reminder to only focus on the sounds of the letters when reviewing at home, not the sound. Please sign the diary and put it in your child’s bag each day.

Well done to Judah and Jacob for receiving their certificate for completing learning all the Aleph bet letters this week!

Parasha – Yitzchak and Rivkah get married and have twin boys - Yaakov and Esav. Esav is born with a full head of thick red hair. The twins grow up to be quite different both in appearance, character and behaviour. Even though they were different in appearance, they both did the Mitzvah of respecting their parents in the best possible way.

Middah of the week – respecting our parents.

General knowledge – we finished our Shabbat timing crafts and have brought them home this week. Please encourage your child to write the timings of Shabbat using a whiteboard pen each week, prior to Shabbat. You can use this link to find the list of UK Shabbat times from the United Synagogue Shabbat, Festival and Fast Times (London) | United Synagogue (theus.org.uk)

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a lovely weekend ahead!
 

Ms Rose

Week 3, 17.11.23

This week was anti-bullying week and the children enjoyed taking part in a range of different activities, including a workshop from StreetWise and a special circle time about celebrating our differences. 

In maths, the children began learning about different elements of time. They used the language ‘before’ and ‘after’ to sequence events and learnt how to order objects using ordinal numbers, such as first, second and third. The children learnt how to read ordinal numbers as words and abbreviations (for example as ninth and 9th). The children learnt to read, spell and order the days of the week and months of the year. Finally, they learnt how to find the day and date on a calendar. 

In English, the children began learning about a new book called ‘I Want My Hat Back’ by Jon Klassen. They began by reading the story together in a guided reading session. The children identified repeated phrases in the story and learnt how to use a question mark to ask a question (such as ‘Have you seen my hat?’). The children worked hard to create their own story maps in order to help them remember the story by including pictures and key words as prompts. The children then imagined that they were Jon Klassen, and chose a new animal character to add into the story. They used the pattern and repeated phrases from the story in their own writing. 

 In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

They recapped the following tricky words: oh, Mr, Mrs, their, your, people.

The children were given flashcards of these sounds to practise at home. 

In science, the children learnt Winter weather, with a focus on icy weather. They discussed why this weather could be dangerous. The children then conducted an investigation to find out what material would melt ice cubes the most. They tested putting salt, sugar, and water on top of ice cubes, in addition to putting the ice cubes near heat and in the cold. The children agreed on measures to keep the investigation fair, including putting the same amount of a material onto each ice cube (2 spoonfuls each) and checking each ice cube after the same amount of time (5 minutes). We measured how much each ice cube had melted by using a syringe to count how many drops of water had melted off of each ice cube. The children then analysed the results and sorted the materials from ones that had melted the ice cubes the most to the least. 

In geography, the children learnt how to read a map using map symbols. They learnt about key map symbols and used Google Earth to locate the geographical features in our local area, Hampstead Garden Suburb. 

In design and technology, the children learnt about the permanent joining technique, sewing. They learnt how to do a running stitch. This included threading a needle, knotting their thread and stitching through two pieces of fabric. The children were persistent as they learnt this new skill. 

Please note:

Mitzvah Day ( held on 19th November), a global Jewish-led initiative champions the ethos of "Tikkun Olam" or "repairing the world." Annually celebrated, it calls people to unite through acts of kindness, emphasizing our shared responsibility to make the world a better place. This year at Kerem, our contribution was to create a joke/puzzle book for children that will be sent to one of the Great Ormond Street Hospital children's wards. Children from Years 1-6 have contributed jokes, riddles, and puzzles to entertain the children during what must be a very difficult time. We are also planning to translate the book into Ivrit, over the coming weeks and send it to a hospital or hospitals in Israel.Please do ask your child about what they contributed.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 2,  10.11.23

The children have been busy working hard this week. 

In maths, the children continued learning about subtraction. They learnt how to subtract by taking away and by counting back on a number line. They then used the strategies that they had learnt to help them solve one more, one less, two more or two less problems. One of our mental maths starters was to learn the even numbers between 0-10. You could ask your child if they remember the even numbers and if they know any even numbers that are greater than 10. 

In English, the children learnt about many different forms of writing, including labels, lists and captions. They learnt about the features and purposes of each of these kinds of writing. The children also learnt about the suffix ‘ing’ and how it can be added to verbs to show that they are writing in the present tense. 

 In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

The children were given flashcards of these sounds to practise at home. 

In science, the children learnt about the seasonal changes that occur as Autumn turns into Winter. They learnt about the change in temperature, weather and hours of daylight. The children then thought about what clothes they would need to wear in order to protect their bodies during the Winter.

In geography, the children learnt the difference between human and physical geographical features. They then used Google Earth to explore Hampstead Garden Suburb from a bird’s eye view and created a list of the human and physical geographical features that they identified. 

The children finished off the week with a very special reward time for filling up their gem jar once again. They decorated biscuits and enjoyed eating them together!

Please note:

• On Monday, the children can take part in ‘odd socks’ day for anti-bullying week. They can wear odd socks to school - the more colourful and creative, the better!
• Comic Relief has launched a fantastic November initiative called 'Unlock a Smile.' This exciting competition invites children to unleash their creativity by drawing their most imaginative and joy-filled ideas that bring a smile to their faces.  Have a look at the document below to see how to participate.
• Please continue to send in money in case your child needs to replace any stationary in their pencil case. Please show your child where they can find this money in their bag and remind them that it is separate from any Tzedakah money they are bringing in.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

10.11.2023 Jewish Studies – Parashat Chayei Sarah

Parashah - Avraham and Sarah have a son. They name him Yitzchak. Sarah dies at the age of 127. When he grows up Avraham sends Eliezer to find a wife for him. Eliezer prays to Hashem to help him to find the right wife for Yitzchak. He meets Rivkah at the well where she gives water not only to him but to all his camels. Eliezer sees that Rivka is kind to animals as well as to people. Eliezer is taken to Rivkah’s house where he asks for permission to take Rivkah to meet Yitzchak and marry him.

Middah of the week: Kindness to others.

Hebrew reading – we have been working very hard, revising our letters and are up to the letter ‘pay’. Please review the letter sounds using the flashcards in your child’s Hebrew reading folder and work on improving letter recognition and fluency whilst practising at home.

Please make sure to sign the diary each time you read, and put it in their bag to have homework updated at the beginning of the school week.

GK – We continued our work on Shabbat timings and are excited to bring home a lovely craft next week.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and a lovely weekend.

Ms Rose

3.11.23 Jewish Studies - Parashat Vayera

Parasha: Avraham has his Brit Milah at the age of 99 years old. After his Brit he awaits guests by the entrance of his tent on an extremely hot day. When he sees three people walking towards him, he runs towards them. He tells them to rest under a shaded tree, he washes their hands and feet and prepares a delicious meal for them.

Avraham serves the guests himself and gives them the best food to eat. The 3 guests are Malachim (angels). Each have a job; to visit and make Avraham better after his Brit Milah, to tell him that his wife Sarah would have a baby and that the city of S’dom, where his nephew Lot was living, would be destroyed.

Avraham looked after his guest and ensured they only had the best.

Middah of the week: Being kind to others.

Please encourage your child to share their knowledge at the Shabbat table, using the Parasha sheet sent home.

GK - We learnt that Shabbat begins before it gets dark on Friday and Shabbat ends after it gets dark on a Saturday and that the times change based on the time of year!

Hebrew reading: we continued reviewing our letters and have reviewed : אבּבגדהוזחטיכּכךלמםנןס

Please use the flashcards as often as possible to support your child with becoming fluent with the letter sounds. Please sign the diary and write any comments. Folders need to be handed in on a Monday, when homework for the week is written in.

Shabbat Shalom & have a wonderful weekend,

Ms Rose

Week 7,  20.10.23

I really can’t believe that we have completed our first half term in Year 1. It was lovely to finish some of our topics this week and reflect on everything the children have learnt this half term.

The children had their first ‘World Religion’ lesson of the year. We are learning about Buddhism this year, and will have a lesson once every half term. Our first lesson was an introduction to Buddhism and Buddhist beliefs. The children were very interested in learning about the story of the Buddha and how Buddhism began, how many Buddhist people there are in the world and where they live, and the five moral precepts that Buddhist people promise to keep. The children wrote down these five moral precepts and made some very insightful comparisons to the ten commandments and our Jewish beliefs. 

In maths, the children continued learning about addition within 10. They used double sided counters to find number bonds of numbers within ten, working systematically in order to find every possible number bond. The children then used numicon pieces to find all possible number bonds to ten. It is very important that the children learn to remember all of the number bonds to ten mentally. This is one of the Year 1 'Key Instant Recall Facts' - facts that they are expected to remember instantly by the end of Year 1. The children learnt to understand that addition can be thought of as adding two numbers together and adding more on to an existing number. They used a number line as a strategy to help them ‘add more’.

In English, the children finished writing their ‘hunt’ stories, inspired by Michael Rosen’s We’re Going On a Bear Hunt. They wrote the middle of their story, where they discover their creature. The children discussed how Michael Rosen used lots of descriptive language and features such as whole words written in capital letters and multiple exclamation marks in order to build suspense. They used these features in their own writing. The children then wrote about how they escaped from their creatures in order to end their stories. 

In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

The children were given flashcards of these sounds to practise at home. These flashcards, along with all flashcards sent home previously, should be practised regularly at home. After the half term, we will listen to each child go through their flashcards and remove the sounds that they know securely. 

In handwriting, the children learnt to write the letter ‘a’ in cursive:

This is another ‘2 o’clock, STOP!’ letter. The children learnt to start down on the line, lead up and curl over until they reach the 2 o’clock position (as it would appear on an analogue clock), then go back and form the letter a as they normally would. When writing, we say out loud ‘lead in, up and over, two o’clock STOP!, all the way back around, down and flick. The children then practised joining the letters c and a together. 

In science, the children learnt about what happens to trees in the Autumn. The children were keen to share what they already knew and enjoyed exploring this further. They studied a range of leaves and sorted them according to how recently they thought they had fallen off of a tree. The children learnt that leaves continue to change after they fall off of a tree, turning brown and dry, until eventually they start to break down and become compost that gives nutrients to the trees. They learnt that not all trees lose their leaves in the Autumn, deciduous trees lose their leaves and evergreen trees don’t. Deciduous trees lose their leaves because the leaves can’t get enough energy from the sunlight in the Autumn, making the leaves weak and turn from green to orange, yellow or red. The wind then blows these leaves onto the ground. The children decorated a tree to show how it would look in Autumn and wrote a sentence to explain what happens to trees in Autumn. The children were also excited to check our rain gauge all week in order to record how much rain it collected each day. 

In history, the children finished our Toys topic by choosing a toy and comparing the old and modern version of the toy. The children made excellent observations about the similarities and differences they could see and wrote them into their books. 

I hope you all have a wonderful and restful half term. I am looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

20.10.2023 Jewish Studies – Parashat Noach

We have had an amazing week this week and have been working particularly hard with our Hebrew reading. We focused on similar letters כּכ and בּב in order to make sure we are really confident with identifying these letters.

Your child will have weekly homework set in their diaries. Please spend a few minutes each night reviewing the letters written in their diaries and sign their diaries each time. You may wish to download the game Aleph Bet Bullseye on the Ipad, to have as another fun way for your child to review their letters. Homework will usually be added on a Monday each week.

Parashat Noach - Storyline: Noach is a good man. The people around him behave very badly but Noach does not follow their bad ways, so the Torah calls him a Tzaddik –a very good person. Hashem wants to punish the bad people by bringing a flood. He tells Noach to build a Tevah (ark) so that he, his family, and the animals will be saved. It takes Noach 120 years to build the Tevah, to give the wicked people the opportunity to repent their bad ways.

Hashem promises Noach that He will never destroy the world again through a flood and that a rainbow is the sign of this. We learnt that we say a special Bracha when we see a rainbow and created beautiful rainbow clouds with the Bracha.

Middah of the week: Doing what is right even though others around you are behaving badly.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and a lovely half term.

Ms Rose

Week 6,   13.10.23

Although it has been a challenging week for the Kerem and wider community, in the Year 1 classroom, it has been a week of learning, laughing and playing. I have been so impressed with the flexibility and resilience of the children. There were changes to some of our plans and routines, yet the children listened and adapted every step of the way. I am extremely proud of every Year 1 child. 

In maths, the children began learning about addition and subtraction within 10. They first learnt about the concept of parts and wholes; for example, if 3 is a part and 2 is a part, what is the whole number? They then learnt to use a part-whole model to represent this concept. This part-whole model shows that if 1 is a part and 4 is part, 5 is the whole number:

The children were then introduced to the plus symbol, +. They used this to write addition number sentences for a part-whole model. The children learnt that there are two possible addition number sentences they could write for each model. For the example above, you could write 1 + 4 = 5 and 4 + 1 = 5. Finally, the children learnt that you could also write number sentences by starting with the whole number. For example, by saying 5 = 1 + 4 and 5 = 4 + 1. 

In English, the children continued to write their own versions of We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen. They wrote down their adaptations of the main repeated pattern that they had orally planned last week. For example: ‘We’re going on a lion hunt. We’re going to catch a fluffy one. What a stormy day. We’re not shy’. Then, they chose a setting for their characters to go through in their ‘hunt’ stories. They used the patterns in the story to choose a setting, describe it using two adjectives, and create a sound that the setting would make. For example: ‘Uh oh! A mountain! A steep, tall mountain. Crumble, crash! Crumble, crash! Crumble, crash! The children learnt about exclamation marks and how they make us change our expression when we see it in a piece of writing or text.

In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

The children have been given flashcards of these graphemes to practise at home.

The children learnt their first cursive letter in handwriting this week:

They learnt to start down on the line, lead up and curl over until they reach the 2 o’clock position (as it would appear on an analogue clock), then go back and form the letter c as they normally would. When writing, we say out loud ‘lead in, up and over, two o’clock STOP!, all the way back around. The children were very excited to learn and practise their first cursive letter. 

In art, the children learnt about different shades of colours. They learnt how to use white paint to make lighter shades of a colour, and black paint to make darker shades of a colour. Then, they created a painting using the different shades of the same colour that they had mixed. 

I am wishing you all a safe, happy weekend.

Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 5,   6.10.23

What a special week it has been as we celebrated Sukkot. The children were extremely excited to have the opportunity to shake a Lulav and Etrog in tefillah each day. We were fortunate enough to visit eight Sukkahs on our Sukkah crawl! We began by visiting an indoor Sukkah at a local care home. The children each made and gifted a card to one of the residents there. We had wonderful feedback from the home, who said that the children had brightened the resident’s day with their cards and by asking them questions about Sukkot. The children then had the most wonderful time visiting the Sukkahs of children in the class. Thank you so much to all of the parents who hosted us and made learning about Sukkot truly come to life for the children. 

In maths, the children learnt to compare groups and numbers. They learnt the symbols for less than ( < ), greater than ( > ) and equal to ( = ) and used these symbols to complete number sentences. The children also learnt to order numbers in different ways, for example from greatest to smallest, or vice versa. 

In English, the children each chose a creature to include in their very own ‘hunt’ story, based on Michael Rosen’s We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. Once they had chosen and drawn their creatures, the children wrote a list of adjectives to describe them. They then used their ideas to adapt the repeated pattern in We’re Going On A Bear Hunt in order to include their own idea. For example: ‘We’re going on a lion hunt. We’re going to catch a fluffy one. What a stormy day. We’re not shy’. The children used ipads to film each other performing their adapted stories, using the puppets of the main characters they had created last week. 

In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

In science, the children were asked to investigate questions about the rain. These questions included: 

Why is rain important? 

What does the rain help?

Why might rain be bad?

What will happen to these materials in the rain?

The children then explored what would happen when they dropped water on a range of different materials. They had some insightful discussions about how rain could affect people, animals and the world around us in both good and harmful ways. The children verbally recorded their answers using the ipads.  

In history, the children learnt about Victorian toys. They learnt about how toys differed for wealthy and poor children during Victorian times and how these toys were made out of metal, wood and paper. The children then learnt about timelines, and how they could be used to sequence events from the past to present. They sequenced toys from Victorian times, recent history (50 years old) and present day into a timeline. 

Please note that on Monday, the children will need to be in school by 8:20am in order to be able to leave promptly for our trip. Please refer to the email from Karen for any further information. 

Wishing you all a Chag Sameach, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

Week 4,   29.9.23

It is hard to believe that this is week four of the term! The children worked hard this week across the subjects and have particularly enjoyed learning about Sukkot. We will be going on several Sukkah visits next week and the children are very excited. Thank you very much to the families who have offered to host us! Our first Sukkah visit will be to Hammerson House, a care home in the local community. The children will get the chance to chat to residents of Hammerson House and ask them questions about Sukkot. They have also written and decorated beautiful cards to give to them. It will be a very special visit all round.

In maths, the children continued to develop their understanding of place value within 10. They learnt to compare groups by matching. For example, if I have 7 cupcakes and 6 children, will each child get a cupcake? They used their counting skills and drew lines to help organise their work. The children also compared groups of objects using the language more, fewer and same.

In English, the children finished creating actions in order to orally retell the story ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt’. The children then began to think about creating their own ‘hunt’ story. They created a finger puppet main character and then wrote sentences to describe them. The children learnt that adjectives are describing words and chose creative adjectives to include in their sentences. 

In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

In art, the children learnt about the artist Piet Mondrian. They explored his artistic style and how he liked to use the primary colours, black and white in his artwork. They also looked at how he favoured square and rectangular shapes in his work. The children then created a collage out of card in the style of Mondrian. 

In history, the children learnt about how toys have changed over the last 50 years. First, the children discussed their favourite modern toys. They then looked at our collection of old toys and considered the ways that modern toys and toys from the past are different. The children learnt that toys in the past were often made from wood (such as the Monopoly house pieces) or metal (such as toy cars), while today many of these toys are now made out of plastic. We discussed how plastic production has become cheaper and more common than it was 50 years ago. They also learnt that toys from the past did not use electricity to move or make a noise, unlike modern toys.

Please note that there is no homework on Google Classroom this week as it is Sukkot over the weekend. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 3,   22.9.23

We have had a lovely week in Year 1. The children were very keen to take on more responsibility, such as looking after and wearing their house badges. They have worked hard and I am extremely proud of them all! This week, I have been making phone calls to parents in order to introduce myself and catch up about your child’s transition to year 1. It has been lovely speaking to everybody so far, and I’m looking forward to speaking to more of you next week. Please do keep an eye out for a call from the school number if I have not spoken to you yet!

In maths, the children are learning about place value within ten. This week, this included recognising numbers as words. We identified tricky spellings together (such as eight, two and one) and thought of tricks to help them recognise each word. We practised counting skills, such as counting on and counting back from any number. The children used this skill to help them find one more and one less than a number. 

In English, the children wrote captions for pictures from the story ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’. They thought of lovely sentences and worked hard to remember their finger spaces, capital letters and full stops. We created a class ‘story map’, helping us to remember the sequence of the story and identify patterns and repetition in the story. They then came up with actions to help them retell the story by performing it orally.

In Phonics this week, the children revised the following graphemes:

On Tuesday, they will go home with flashcards for these sounds. Please go through these flashcards with your child before they read. Your child will also be assigned an ebook on the Oxford Owl website for their next reading book. Their log in details are stuck into the inside cover of their yellow reading records. The website can be found here: https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/login?active-tab=students 

In science, the children are learning about the seasons, with a particular focus on Winter and Autumn. They began by learning about which months belong in each season, and the order of the seasons. We had a lovely discussion about what they already knew about the weather of each season. The children then used their knowledge to sort pictures of objects according to their season (Autumn or Winter). They sorted the objects onto a Venn diagram and learnt that they could put an object in a section for both seasons, if that object is found or used in both (such as a coat). 

The children had their first history lesson of the year, beginning with the topic ‘Toys’. The children walked into the classroom to see some strange boxes waiting for them on the carpet. I explained that they had been found in the school attic and we had been asked to find out what is in them. The children were very excited to investigate and soon realised that there were a range of old toys in the boxes. They had a wonderful discussion about how they could tell that the toys were old. They noted similarities and differences between those toys and modern toys. The children then came up with questions that they wished to find out the answers to over the course of our topic on toys. 

In art, the children learnt about the primary colours, red, yellow and blue. They learnt that these colours can be mixed to make all other colours. They labelled the colours and explored painting with them. Many of the children chose to investigate how the paints could mix to create other colours. 

Please note:

• Boys must wear a kippah every day, and it should be secured with 2-3 clips at all times. Please keep a spare kippah and clips in their bag.
• I am excited to invite your child to enter the BBC’s 500 word writing competition. It is open to children aged 5-11 and it would be fantastic to see any of the children in Year 1 enter! The competition closed on Friday 10th November, and further details can be found on the poster in the link below. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a healthy and meaningful fast, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team 

22.9.23 Jewish Studies

Chagim - This week we learnt about how we celebrate Yom Kippur. We learnt it is the day Hashem decides what our year ahead will be like. We learnt the things not allowed to be done on Yom Kippur – no washing, putting on creams and perfumes, anyone over Bar/Bat mitzvah fast & we can’t wear leather shoes.

We also learnt the story of Yonah and the big fish and why we read it on Yom Kippur.

Song of the week:

Let’s be friends, make amends,

Now is the time to say I’m sorry,

Let’s be friends make amends,

Please say you’ll forgive me.

Shake my hand and ill shake yours x3

And we’ll be friends forever.

Hebrew Reading - Your child should have come home with their Hebrew reading folder this week. Please encourage them to review the letters written in their homework diaries and teach you the ‘tricks’ we learnt for each of the letters.

Please sign each time you read with your child and be in touch via email if you have any questions drose@keremschool.co.uk.

Please note, the focus is on the sound of the letter, but they should know the names too.

Below are a list of some suggested games you can play with your child to help reinforce the letters.

1. One minute time trial- Set a timer for one minute.See how many letters your child can correctly identify before time runs out. If they miss one, put back in the “draw” pile. See if they can get through the whole alphabet in one minute (or an appropriate time based on the number of letters in the pile).

2. Matching - Copy the flashcards, turn selected letters over and take turns to match the letter.

3. Letter scavenger hunt- Hide flashcards around your house and encourage your child to find all the letters. Then try to put them in order.

4. Object hunt race-Rather than hunting the alphabet cards (like in the previous idea), hunt for objects that start with the letters of the aleph bet. (e.g find a ball for ‘bet’, or use the ivrit words if your child knows them to further challenge them)

5. Unscramble-Give your child a stack of mixed-up flash cards and encourage them to put them in order. To make it harder, set a timer and race the clock.

6. Playdo - shape the letters in playdo.

7. Drawing the letters on paper/whiteboards.

8. Bingo - Select how many letters you are using. Split the pile and place up to 6 letters in front of your child and an opponent. Call out letter by name or sound and child turns over the letters that have been called. See who gets them all turned over first!

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and well over the fast,

Ms Rose

15.9.23 Jewish Studies – Rosh Hashana

We had a fantastic week completing our Rosh Hashana learning all about the special foods we have on our Rosh Hashana table and the Shofar.

I hope you enjoy discussing your children’s beautiful craft with them over the Chag.

It was lovely seeing you all this week at the curriculum evening. I really look forward to working together this year to enhance your child’s love of Judaism and lay the foundations of their Hebrew reading skills.

Song of the week: (the tune of the wheels on the bus)

The shofar in the shul goes toot toot toot,

Toot toot toot, Toot toot toot

The shofar in the shul goes toot toot toot,

On Rosh Hashana morning.

Shana Tovah & have a wonderful Chag,

Ms Rose

Week 2,   15.9.23

It has been a busy and exciting week of learning in Year 1. The children have gained more confidence as they have become more familiar with our routines and it really does feel as if they have been in Year 1 much longer than they have been! The children have worked so hard that they managed to fill up their gem jar by Wednesday and we had a special class party with a game of pass the parcel as a reward. It was lovely to celebrate their first whole class prize of the year in this way!

In maths, the children began learning about place value within ten. They found different ways to sort objects, including sorting by size, colour or shape. They learnt how to use equipment such as cubes, counters and tens frames in order to help them count objects carefully and accurately. 

In English, the children began learning about the book ‘We’re Going On a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen. They listened to the story and identified patterns and repeated language used in the story. They learnt about settings and sequenced events in the story. 

In Science, the children will be learning about the Autumn and Winter seasons. The children had their first lesson about the weather. They learnt about the different symbols we use for each type of weather and they then used their observational skills to identify what types of weather we were experiencing that day. We discussed why it was important to know about the weather in order to keep our bodies safe and comfortable and the children drew clothes for a person in order to keep them safe and comfortable in the weather we were having. 

In computing, the children learnt about how to log in and use the Doodle Maths app. This is something that we will be using in school, and the children also have access to their accounts at home. Their log in details will be stuck into their yellow reading records to enable you to log them in at home if you have not been able to do so already. 

The children also took part in a wide range of activities to revise their phonics knowledge and build their fine motor and handwriting skills each afternoon. This included using play dough to form letters to spell tricky words, threading with string, and driving cars over numbers in order to form them and then write them correctly. 

Wishing you all a Shana Tova, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

Week 1,  8.9.23

In the blink of an eye, the first few days of Year 1 have been and gone. I have been SO impressed with how each and every child has walked into the main school each day with courage, enthusiasm and a willingness to take risks. There has been so much information for them to take in, but they have listened beautifully and have been very keen to follow their new classroom routines. 

Life in the main school really is a big change, and a large focus of our first few days has been allowing the children to familiarise themselves with their surroundings. This has included teaching them where they should sit and put their things, where rooms such as the lunch hall and toilets are, where certain equipment is kept and how to look after it. In the afternoons, the children have had the chance to choose from a range of activities including handwriting practise, phonics tasks, calming colouring, fine motor skills activities, maths tasks and construction play. They also had their first computing session with Mrs Vinokur, where they learnt how to handle and use the class Ipads. 

We had our first class circle time and discussed our classroom rules together. The children came up with wonderful suggestions such as always listening to adults, being helpful and kind to each other, respecting and looking after equipment, and always trying their best. 

The children had a wonderful time back at Forest School, where they listened to a story, looked for ‘forest friends’, took part in painting and clay modelling activities and explored the woodland. 

On Friday, the children were given their brand new pencil cases and learnt how to look after each piece of stationary inside. They used their maths books for the very first time, learning how to write neatly and clearly on the grid paper. 

I hope you all have a restful weekend and look forward to seeing the children again on Monday.

Useful Information

• The children’s homework has been uploaded onto Google Classroom and is due on Wednesday 13th September. Please join our ‘classroom’ using the link in the email I sent you on Tuesday, using your child’s school gmail login details. Please let me know if you need me to send you your child’s details. 
• Please note that as our homework is always set on a Friday and due in on Wednesday, there will not be any homework set over the weekends that the Chagim fall on. 
• Please ensure you secure your child’s Kippah with at least two clips every day, as this helps to ensure they don’t get lost and can be kept on when running around in the playground and during PE lessons. 
•  Please remember that nail polish and jewellery such as bracelets or bands that go around wrists are not permitted.  
• Please check the ‘Useful Information’ section at the top of our blog page for information such as our class timetable.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

Miss Nathan and the Year 1 Team

8.9.23 Jewish Studies – Parashat Nitzavim Vayelech.

Welcome to year 1!

It has been wonderful getting to know your children at school these last few days. They have all been settling in well and have excitedly shared about their summer breaks.

We have begun our JS learning looking at the special foods we have on Rosh Hashana – starting with apple and honey, which we have because we are asking Hashem to give us a sweet new year.

Song of the week: Dip the apple in the honey.

Dip the apple in the honey make a bracha loud and clear.

L’shana tovah u’metukah may we have a sweet new year,

Mummy, Daddy, sister, brother gather round the table now,

Dip the apple in the honey, watch me and I’ll show you how.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a lovely weekend ahead,

Ms Rose