8.7.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a lovely last full week in Year 1. I can’t quite believe it is time to say that! 

This week we have spent a lot of time reflecting on the year and all the changes the children have made. We have discussed how they feel about moving up to Year 2 and the children agree that they are generally feeling confident and excited. They visited Miss Mansoor and Mrs Sassoon once more in the Year 2 classroom to help prepare them for the transition.

The class had a wonderful time watching the Year 6 play and have spent time practising their own performance for the whole-school end of year show next week. In art, the children designed their own (surprise!) props to include in their performance. Mr Fingerhut has also helped the children considerably with practising their performance during music lessons.

In English this week, the children learnt about poetry. They explored a range of poems, including shape poems and nonsense poems. We discussed poetic features, such as repetition, description and rhymes and they were then able to include these in their own poems. The children had opportunities to perform their poems aloud, adding in actions and thinking about the expression they used.

In maths, the children learnt about shape. They revised their knowledge of 2d and 3d shapes by naming them and identifying how many sides they each had. They also practised recognising and creating repeated patterns. 

Next week, we will begin collecting in the children’s library and reading books. Please check your homes to see if there is anything that needs to be returned to school before the end of term. 

Some parents have asked if there is work you could do with your children over the summer holidays to boost their skills or confidence. I would encourage your children to use Doodle maths in addition to the other Doodle websites that they have access to. Doodle provides fun, targeted games and activities that are perfect for a quick-burst activity that will support your children’s learning. Please let me know if you need help accessing your child’s log in details. 

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom. 

The Year 1 Team  

1.7.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

What a week it has been! 

It was so lovely to have so many of you with us on Sports Day cheering on the children. They all gave their best effort and showed their sportsmanship throughout the day. We were very proud of all they achieved!

The children also had an exciting morning on Wednesday as they participated in an Israeli Dancing Festival alongside several other Jewish schools. They enjoyed learning and performing some new dances. 

In English, the children have enjoyed writing their very own traditional tales, based on the ideas they had planned last week. It is wonderful to see how confident they are in their story writing!

In phonics, the children revised all of the tricky words we have learnt over the course of the year. 

In maths, the children learnt about volume and capacity as well as weight and mass. They learnt how to use a set of balancing scales in order to describe the mass of an object. The children solved a range of problems about volume and capacity, developing their problem solving and reasoning skills. 

In science, the children discussed sun safety and how important it is to take measures to be safe in the sun. They each created a poster to raise awareness about how to stay hydrated and healthy in very hot weather. 

Please note that next Thursday will be the last library session we attend before the end of the year. If you have any library books at home, we encourage you to send them back into school to ensure they are returned safely. This will mean that your children have a fresh slate on their library cards, ready to borrow more books once they return in September!

Wishing you all a Shabbat shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

Dear Parents and Friends, 

It has been a very busy and exciting week in Year 1!

The children wowed us with their Chagigat Hasiddur performance on Tuesday and were thrilled to be able to finally show you all of their hard work! It was a truly special morning and we thank everyone who was able to join us for coming along. The children have been extremely excited to use their new siddurim since they received them and have been doing so with real pride. 

On Thursday, we walked over to the Reception class to visit the baby chicks that they have been caring for. The children each had the chance to hold a chick and enjoyed finding out how to take care of them.

On Friday morning, the children met their new Year 2 teaching team. They had a lovely time getting to know Miss Mansoor and Mrs Sassoon whilst exploring their new classroom!

In English, the children began to plan their very own traditional tales. They started by working in groups to develop the three different character types they would need to include (a main character, baddie and a hero). They used their acting skills to bring these characters to life, before creating a paper doll model of them. Then, they described these characters using adjectives. Finally, they planned each of the five sections of a story, including a beginning, build up, dilemma, resolution and ending. 

In phonics, the children learnt the following alternative spellings:

In maths, the children went over multiplication, understanding it as how many ‘lots of’ a number are there? We went over the different strategies they could use to help them, and the children then chose their own strategies to use in order to solve multiplication problems. Later in the week, the children used their understanding of the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction to solve missing number problems, such as: 5 + ___ = 16

In geography, the children continued learning about the weather. They used their knowledge of the weather symbols to plan and perform their own weather forecast for the United Kingdom. It was wonderful to see the children apply their understanding of the different weather types and temperatures in front of the class. 

We rounded off the week with a special summer reward time, as a prize for filling up their gem jar. The children had an ice cream sundae bowl and decorated them with sprinkles and a biscuit. Well done Year 1!!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team 

17.6.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had an exciting time taking part in lots of STEM week activities!

On Monday, the children had a great time watching the science boffins show with the rest of the school. We walked over to the EYU on Thursday to take part in some lego design challenges. Throughout the week, the children had been designing a glider and on Friday they had a competition against Year 2 to see whose glider could travel the furthest. They used lots of problem solving skills as well as their resilience throughout these activities. We talked about being a good sport when taking part in a competition and the children really rose to the occasion, congratulating each other and being considerate to their competitors. 

In English, the children wrote up their own explanation texts about how a plant grows. They incorporated features such as a question title, introduction and clearly ordered steps. They also wrote creative writing stories inspired by the short animated film ‘adrift’.

In phonics, the children learnt the alternative spellings for the ‘u’ sound.

In maths, we went over division and multiplication. The children used the grouping and sharing methods to solve division number sentences. 

In science, the children learnt more about the seasonal weather in Summer. They made observations about the hot weather we were experiencing and used a thermometer to measure the temperature. They measured this carefully and learnt how to write the symbol for degrees celsius. 

In art, the children used their papier mache skills to create some props for the Chagigat Hasiddur! The children have been working extremely hard on the show and it was lovely to see them explore their ideas for how best to design the different props they need. 

The children have also been working hard to prepare for sports day in their PE lessons. Have a look at the pictures to see them in action!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team 

10.6.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a jam-packed week full of exciting learning experiences since returning from the half-term break!

On Thursday, the children enjoyed listening to the Year 6 debate about who to rename the school houses after. They had to think carefully about who to vote for after all of the convincing arguments! 

In English, the children started to learn about explanation texts. They looked at an example text called ‘How is Chocolate Made?’ and learnt about the features of an explanation text, including: using a question for the title; including facts; and writing the facts in a logical order.

In phonics, the children learnt the alternative spellings for the following sounds:

In maths the children learnt that quarters are when you share a whole shape or quantity into 4 equal parts. They drew on their knowledge of halving to help them understand and find quarters by first halving something, then halving it again to find a quarter. 

In science, the children began learning about the different seasons. They compared the weather, what happens to trees and the different clothes we wear in Winter and Spring. 

In Geography, the children have started to learn about Weather as a topic. There are many links between this and our science topic, Seasons! The children watched videos about different weather times, then recorded their observations carefully into a table. 

The children have been working extremely hard on their Chagigat HaSiddur in Jewish Studies and their excitement is growing as the date gets closer. We hope to see you all there!

I am sure that you have seen information about Kerem's BIG Fundraising campaign. If you are able to support the campaign, it would be greatly appreciated. Click here to make a donation.

Next week is STEAM week and we have a range of activities occurring across the school from Lego Workshops; a visit from the Science Boffins; a whole-school glider competition; Engineering workshops by Boeing and a tallest plant competition.  We will also be selecting 5 KS2 children to represent the school in the RAF Glider Challenge 2022 at the end of June.

Please ask your child if they need to replace any of their pencil case equipment. Many do and will need to bring in 50p to replace each missing item. Many thanks in advance for your support with this.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team 

27.5.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had an exciting last week of term in Year 1. 

In English, the children retold the story of Little Red Riding Hood. They spent the week carefully writing each part of their own stories, including a story beginning, build-up, dilemma, resolution and ending. They then edited their work and had the chance to read their stories to each other.

In phonics, the children learnt the alternative spellings for the following sounds:

They also revised the tricky words said, because, different and friends. 

In maths, the children went over measuring money and lengths. The children counted using different coins, and solved problems to find totals using the correct coins. They then practised using their rulers to measure in centimetres. 

In science, the children rounded off the plants topic by learning all about trees. They compared the parts of a tree with parts of the plants we have learnt about so far, noting the differences in the trunk and the branches. They then used a key to identify different trees. 

In history, we concluded our toys topic by considering how certain toys have changed over the years. The children made thoughtful observations about how products such as lego and crayola crayons have changed over time, writing about their similarities and differences. 

In art, the children learnt how to make a paper optical illusion toy by drawing two designs on each side of a piece of card. They then attached rubber bands to each side and used these to spin the toy around, making the two pictures appear to be the same picture!

We hope you all have a lovely half term week. Please could you make sure that your children have money to replace their school stationary when we return after half term, as many children still need to replace various items!

Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

20.5.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a wonderful week learning about and celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee!

The children took part in a range of exciting activities throughout the week, including a whole-school tea party, a Jubilee themed school fair organised by Year 6 and a Morris dancing session. In class, we learnt about the Queen’s life, focusing on the time period from 2002 to 2012. The children found out how people celebrated the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees and also learnt about Sandringham House, the Queen’s private home. Finally, the children had a lovely time visiting the Reception class to make bunting with them, which looked fantastic hung up around the hall. 

Year 1 were also fortunate enough to take part in a first aid training session on Tuesday. They learnt how to apply plasters and ice packs, how to put someone into the recovery position and what to say if they ever need to call 999. This reminded the children how important it is for them to learn their address, in case they ever needed to tell someone how to get there in the case of an emergency. 

On Friday, it was lovely to welcome the parents who were able to join us for the annual pre-Shavuot parent-pupil learning session.    

In English this week, we continued to learn about Traditional Tales. The children began to plan their own retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. They chose their own characters and used adjectives to describe them. Then they carefully planned the five different parts of the story: the beginning, the build-up, the dilemma, the resolution and the ending. 

In phonics, the children learnt the alternative spellings for the following sounds:

In maths, the children went over addition and subtraction within 20. They used their knowledge of number bonds to 10 to find number bonds to 20. They used number lines to count back accurately and solve subtraction problems. The children also explored the commutative relationship between addition and subtraction, using this to help them solve missing number problems. For example, if you know that 12 + 4 = 16, then you also know that 16 - 4 = 12. 

In science, the children learnt the difference between garden plants (plants that people deliberately grow) and wild plants (plants that grow because the seeds are spread naturally). The children went outside to see which wild plants they could find in the park, noting the different parts they had. They then chose two plants to compare and wrote sentences about the similarities and differences of these plants. 

In history, the children learnt about four important changes toys have gone through over the years: changes to attitudes, including boys and girls not being restricted to specific toys; changes to safety rules meaning toys are tested and are given age recommendations now; changes to technology, meaning lots of toys now require electricity and screens to work; and changes to materials, meaning materials like plastic can be used to ensure toys are more suitable for children. The children considered which of these changes they thought was the most important and wrote about why they had chosen their answers. 

A few important reminders:

**Please note that after school snacks must not include any kind of nuts, as we are a nut-free school and have a nut allergy within the class. This includes snacks such as bamba.**

Please continue to send your children in with 50p coins to enable them to replace equipment in their pencil cases. Several children need to top up some of their stationary!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

13.5.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

It’s been another busy week in Year 1!

On Wednesday, the children were excited to welcome Jack from Pollock’s Toy Museum to the classroom. He brought with him a selection of toys from the past for the children to explore. The children learnt about how each toy worked, which time periods they were from and what materials they were made out of. After the visit, each child chose their favourite toy and wrote a fact file about it. 

In English, the children have been learning more about the features of a traditional tale. They learnt that they often have themes of magic or love, a moral at the end of the story and are usually set in a forest or countryside. 

In phonics, the children learnt the alternative spellings for the following sounds:

They also revised how to read and spell the tricky words looked, asked, called and laughed. 

In maths, the children learnt about place value to 100. They used their previous knowledge of tens and ones to partition and represent different 2 digit numbers. They also explored how to navigate a hundreds square to be able to find one more, one less, ten more or ten less than a number. 

In science, the children learnt about the different parts of plants and their functions. They drew and labelled their own diagrams of a plant and wrote sentences to describe the function of each plant part. 

In art, the children created their own paper toys. They followed instructions and used their cutting and folding skills in order to perfect their creations. The children displayed a lot of creativity and persistence during this activity!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

Dear Parents and Friends,

We had a wonderful week of Jewish learning in Year 1. This week, we learnt about Lag B'Omer and the story of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. We consolidated our Hebrew reading skills further and practised for the upcoming Chagigat HaSiddur. This week's Parasha is Parashat Emor and the Middah it teaches us is to keep the Chagim exactly how they have always been kept by Bnei Yisrael.

Lastly, in honour of Shabbat UK we learnt about and made posters about the Shabbat Candles, which we light at the beginning of Shabbat.

Shabbat (UK) Shalom

Mr Salter

6.5.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We had an exciting week of learning and celebrating Yom Haatzmaut.  

On Thursday, the children had a wonderful time celebrating Yom Haatzmaut. They enjoyed learning some Israeli dances and later performing them with the whole school. The children used their art skills to a make lovely mosaic Segel picture, a hand-printed dove and a Yom Haatzmaut puzzle. They had a blast joining in with the singing and dancing during the show that was put on for the whole school to end the day. It was really special to see the children having such a wonderful time and feeling so proud to celebrate Israel.

In English, the children wrote their own stories about a magic mushroom house. They used their creativity to come up with their own story plots and drew on their proof-reading skills to check and edit their own work.   

In phonics, the children learnt the alternative spellings for the following sounds:

They also revised how to read and spell the tricky words would, could and should.

In maths this week, the children developed their problem solving skills by reading a range of problems and drawing on our resources to help them solve the problems. This enabled them to practice reading and understanding what the questions were asking them to do, consider the most effective methods and equipment they could use to solve the problem, and then to work out the answer using their methods. 

In PE, the children learnt how to throw a javelin and practised their ball catching skills in teams. 

In circle time this week, the children began learning about Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). In this first lesson, they learnt about having friends that are different to them. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies was short, but extremely fun and productive. We celebrated and learnt about Yom Ha'atzmaut and about the emblem of Medinat Yisrael. The children were challenged to create their own. We moved further along with our Hebrew Reading and with the Chagigat HaSiddur rehearsals. We also learnt about the Parasha of the Week, Parashat Kedoshim. The Middah learnt from this Parasha was to be kind to other people.

Mazal Tov to those who changed Aleph Champ levels this week.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mr Salter

29.4.22

Dear Parents and Friends,

We have been off to a busy start of the summer term this week! 

In English, we began to learn about traditional tales. The children developed their comprehension skills by reading Little Red Riding Hood and answering a range of questions. They then wrote their own questions for one of the characters in the story, before taking part in a ‘hot-seating’ drama activity. During the hot-seating, different children came up to act as one of the characters, whilst the rest of the class asked them their questions. Finally, they wrote a setting description for the forest. 

In phonics, the children went over the alternative spellings for the following sounds: 

We also revised the tricky words where, what, why, were and who. 

In maths, the children learnt how to read and tell the time to half past the hour on both analogue and digital clocks. They compared different units of time and measured how many times they could complete different activities in one minute, making estimates and recording their results in a table. 

In science, the children began learning about our new topic, Plants. They explored a range of images of different fruits and vegetables, considering where they were grown and how long it would take them to grow. They then made careful observations of zoomed in pictures of fruit, in order to recreate the images themselves. The children really impressed us with the detail they were able to notice in these images!

This half term, the children have started a new history topic, Toys. The children considered modern day toys that they are familiar with, thinking about what they are made out of and how they work. They wrote about their favourite toys and explained why they had chosen those toys. They are excited to compare these modern day toys with toys from the past throughout the term!

In art, the children began to learn about creating paper toys. Our first lesson focused on reinforcing their cutting skills. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

Dear Parents and Friends,

We had a brilliant week of learning in Jewish Studies. It was a delight to see everybody back, refreshed from their Pesach holidays and ready to start the summer term. We learnt about Sefirat HaOmer, including the prohibitions of not buying new clothes, listening to live music or getting a haircut. We also started to prepare for our Chagigat HaSiddur that is taking place very soon. Lastly, we learnt about the Parasha of the week (Parashat Acharei Mot) and the mitzvah of keeping Kashrut.

Mazal Tov to those who changed Aleph Champ levels this week.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mr Salter

7.4.22

Dear Parents and Friends,

We have had a lovely week rounding off the Spring term. 

On Tuesday, the children took part in a model Seder with Years 2 and 3. It was lovely to see their excitement and enthusiasm for the Seder as they took part in each step. 

In English, the children wrote their own poems using rhyming couplets. They then had the chance to practice and recite their poems to the class. Please enjoy watching some of the children’s performances below. 

In phonics, the children went over the alternative spellings for the sound ‘ow’: ou as in cloud, ow as in cow and ough as in drought. They also went over the alternative spellings for the sound ‘n’: n as in nose, nn as in dinner, kn as in knight and gn as in gnome.

In maths, the children learnt about describing position using the language left, right, middle, above and below. 

In art, the children rounded off the topic Paper Art by creating their own sculptures made out of paper. They explored different ways to bend, twist and fold paper to create their 3D sculptures.

The children had a fantastic time at their last robotics session, applying all of the skills they have learnt this term to create a model of their choice. 

Wishing you all a wonderful break and a Pesach Sameach,

The Year 1 Team!

1.4.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

It has been an exciting week of learning and preparing for Pesach in Year 1.

In English, the children have been learning about poetry. They explored the poems The Star by Jane Taylor and What is Pink? by Christina Rossetti. The children learnt about the poetic features of rhyming couplets and repetition. They learnt to recite the poem What is Pink and wrote their own verses following the patterns of the poem. 

In phonics, the children went over the alternative spellings for the sound ‘oa’: o as in no, ow as in grow and ough as in dough. They also went over the alternative spellings for the sound ‘oo’: oo as in moon, ue as in glue, ew as in screw, u as in uniform, o as in who and u_e as in cube. On Friday, the children revised the tricky words: one, once, because, any and many. 

In maths, the children learnt about 2D and 3D shapes. They used their knowledge of these shapes to describe how many sides and corners each shape had. The children also sorted 2D and 3D shapes into different groups based on their features. Finally, they explored repeated patterns and used different shapes to create their own repeating patterns. 

In science, the children learnt about the five senses. We read about how the senses work and then went down to the playground for a senses walk. The children jotted down everything they could see, hear, smell and touch during their walk. Then they wrote sentences describing what they experienced during their walk. 

In geography, the children learnt about the Kenyan culture. They learnt facts about Kenyan food, clothes, music, dances, villages and cities. They then used their knowledge to write about the differences and similarities between villages in Kenya and in the UK. 

In art, the children created their own papier mache sculptures as part of our Paper Art topic. They used scrap paper to create the model for their sculptures. Then they learnt how to apply the papier mache mixture to small strips of newspaper and stick them on top of their models to dry into a hard shell. Finally, they painted their sculptures to create their final pieces. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team  

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies we have continued on, with writing our Haggadot Shel Pesach and have learnt about these stages of the Seder: Maggid, Rachtza, Motzi Matzah, Maror and Korech! Kol HaKavod (well done) to everyone who has worked so hard on them. God Willing they will be sent home completed next week.

This week's Parasha (Torah Portion) is called Tazria. This week, the Torah teaches us that when Bnei Yisrael were in the Midbar, they learnt how to behave towards each other. They learnt if they tell tales about one another they will get Tzara'at and then everybody will know they have spoken Lashon Hara. The Middah we learn from this Parasha is do not tell tales.

Mazal Tov to those who changed Aleph Champ levels this week.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mr Salter

25.3.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had another busy week in Year 1. 

In English, the children began learning how to write a set of instructions. We looked at the different features we should include in instructions, such as time conjunctions (eg. First, Next, Finally) and imperative (bossy) verbs (eg. Stir, Mix, Put). The children came up with their own instructions for making a disgusting sandwich and thought of many creative and 

disgusting steps to include!

In phonics, the children went over the alternative spellings for the sound ‘igh’: igh as in night, ie as in pie, i_e as in bike, y as in sky, i as in mind and eye as in eye. They also went over the alternative spellings for ‘oa’: oa as in goat, oe as in toe and o_e as in bone. 

In maths this week, the children learnt about multiplication and division. They created arrays and explored how the rows and columns added up to a total. For example: 

This array has three rows and three columns of counters. There are 9 counters altogether. Therefore, we know that 3 lots of 3 equals 9, or 3 x 3 = 9.

The children also learnt to make equal groups to help them with multiplication. For example, if they made 4 groups with 2 in each group, they could add them together to find the answer, 8. Therefore, they know that 4 lots of 2 equals 8, or 4 x 2 = 8. Finally, they looked at how they could share an amount into equal groups to help them divide a number. If you shared 10 sweets between 2 children, each child would get 5 sweets. Therefore we know that 10 ÷ 2 = 5.

In science, the children learnt about the human body. They labelled a diagram with the human body parts and discussed the function of some of the main parts of the body, such as our arms, legs and feet.

In Geography, the children learnt about different landscapes in Kenya. They looked at pictures of landscapes such as a savannah, valley, volcanic mountain, city and village in Kenya. After exploring these images the children thought of many adjectives to describe what they could see and wrote sentences to describe the different landscapes. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies, we had a phenomenal week of learning! We started to learn about Pesach, including the story-line of Yetziat Mitzrayim and the Pesach Seder. We also learnt about the Haggadah and how it guides us through the Pesach Seder.

Mazel Tov to those who changed Aleph Champ Levels this week!

This week's Parasha (Torah Portion) is called Parashat Shemini. In this Parasha, the Torah teaches us about animals. birds and fish and the requirements needed to be deemed Kosher. Kashrut is a sign that shows we are keeping HaShem's mitzvot. The middah we learn from this is Jewish Identity.

Wishing you Shabbat Shalom

Mr Salter

 18.3.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a fun-packed week in Year 1 celebrating Purim!

It was lovely to see the children’s excitement as they came in wearing their costumes for Purim. They sat beautifully as they listened to the Megillah and had a superb time joining in with a zumba session, costume parade and Purim Fair. 

In English this week, the children wrote up a final draft of their reports about being in Year 1. They also learnt about the prefix ‘un’ and how adding it to a word affects its meaning. When ‘un’ is added to a verb, it turns it into the opposite action. For example, ‘tie’ becomes ‘untie’. When ‘un’ is added to an adjective, it means ‘not’. For example, ‘happy’ becomes ‘unhappy’. 

In Phonics, the children revised the tricky words where, when, what, why, who and were. They went over the alternative spellings for the ‘ch’ sound: ‘ch’ as in chicken, ‘tch’ as in watch, and ‘t’ as in creature. They also learnt the alternative spellings for ‘f’: ‘f’ as in flower, ‘ff’ as in muffin, ‘ph’ as in elephant and ‘gh’ as in enough. 

In Maths this week, the children continued to learn about halving in Fractions. They counted in halves and learnt to recognise half as a fraction: ½. They used the greater than (>), less than (<) and equals to (=) symbols to compare whole quantities with quantities including halves. For example: 6 halves = 3 and 4 and a half < 5. On Friday, the children had a fantastic time playing the ‘Target Total’ game with their parents and teachers following the Maths Parent Workshop. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to come in.  

In Geography, the children learnt how to navigate a map using the points on a compass. They learnt about North, South, East and West and how a map could be split into a grid. They then had to follow clues using their compass skills to find different animals and features on a map of a Safari.

In Art, the children continued to learn about the different uses for paper as a material. They made paper beads out of paper straws and colourful card. The children had to use their scissors carefully to choose the size of their beads and made some lovely patterns with the coloured card. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

11.3.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had an exciting time celebrating Book Week this week and gearing up for Purim! 

The children took part in some lovely activities linked to reading this week. On Monday, we had a fantastic visit from the author Gareth P. Jones, who read some of his picture books and performed some songs along with the children. They shared a favourite book with another child in Year 2, created a book character on a wooden spoon and had a special library session where they were read to by children in Year 6. They also had great fun taking part in a book quiz in teams of children from Years 2 and 3.  

In English, the children planned and wrote a report about life in Year 1. They thought of a catchy title and organised their facts into sections using subheadings. The children will write up their final reports and share them with children from Reception later this year, to help prepare them to move up to Year 1. 

In phonics, the children went over the alternative spellings for the ‘ee’ sound. These included ‘ee’ as in leek, ‘ea’ as in beads, ‘ie’ as in field, ‘y’ as in sunny, ‘ey’ as in monkey and ‘e_e’ as in theme park. 

In maths, the children learnt about halving shapes and quantities. They explored how they could draw lines through a shape to make each side equal. The children also shared counters into two equal groups to find half of a number. 

In Science, the children learnt about animal’s diets. They learnt that animals could be herbivores, carnivores or omnivores and used their knowledge of different animals to sort them into these groups. 

In Geography, the children learnt about Safari animals. They considered what each animal needs to survive and used this information to position animals onto a map of a savannah. 

Next Thursday we will be celebrating Purim in school with a range of exciting activities. There will be a Purim fair with stalls run by each class, organised by the Kehilla Council. Please send your children in with £5 to spend at this fair. They will receive 2 raffle tickets per £1 and each raffle ticket gives them a go at each stall. All of the money raised will be going to Tzedakah. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

4.3.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a lovely week in Year 1!

In English, we have been learning about non-chronological reports. The children learnt how a report is a non-fiction text and discussed the differences between nonfiction and fictional writing. They also learnt about some of the key features that we must include in a report, such as a catchy title and subheadings to organise information. Finally, the children learnt about when to use each of the suffixes ‘s’ and ‘es’ to turn a singular word plural. For example, cat would become cats but fox would become foxes. 

In Phonics this week, the children began learning the phonics phase 5C. This focuses on recapping all of the different ways we can spell a sound. The children learnt about all of the alternative spellings for ‘a’ and for ‘c’.

In Maths, the children learnt about the place value of numbers to 50. They furthered their understanding of tens and ones and used a range of equipment to represent two digit numbers up to 50. They compared and ordered different numbers. The children practised counting up and back from 50 in 1s, 5s and 10s. 

In Science, the children learnt more about the bird animal group. They explored the similarities and differences between a range of birds and used the information they found out to prove whether different statements about birds were true or false. 

In Geography, the children learnt about the climate of Kenya. They learnt that Kenya does not have seasons like we do in the United Kingdom, but how it has wet and dry seasons. They also explored how Kenya’s position in relation to the equator affects its temperature. 

In art, the children began the topic ‘Paper Art’. They created colourful collage backgrounds out of paper and tissue paper, then created a border out of black card. They explored the effect that the contrasting colours had on their collages. 

This week an email was sent regarding our upcoming parent maths workshops with Mrs Collins. We are hoping to see as many parents there as possible, so please do RSVP using the Google Form attached to the email. The deadline for this is today.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1NC1uTvl_XugDMVYVyO9u7eFvzASutEyRQDhHjA5py3c/edit

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!   

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies, we have been preparing for Purim. We have learnt about the story of Megillat Esther, with a particular focus on King Achasverosh, Vashti, Mordechai, Queen Esther and of course the wicked Haman. We further consolidated our Hebrew Reading and Mazal Tov to those who have changed Aleph Champ levels.

This week's Parasha (Torah Portion) is called Parashat Pekudei. In this Parasha, the Torah teaches us about two unique characters called Betzalel and Oholiav, who made the special clothes for the Kohen Gadol and for each of the Kohanim. The Kohen Gadol and the Kohanim wore these items of clothing for special occasions, when they served HaShem in the Mishkan. We too, wear special items of clothing on special occasions. The Middah we learn from this is showing respect.

Wishing you Shabbat Shalom,

Mr Salter

25.2.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a busy and exciting first week back after half term!

On Monday, we had a fantastic time visiting the London Transport Museum. The children took part in a workshop called Joe’s Busy Bus. They met Joe Clough, the first black bus driver for London Transport, who led them through the exhibitions. The children helped Joe solve some clues to work out who the people in his pictures were and what jobs they performed for London Transport. Later, the children were given time to explore each floor of the museum. They got to step into a range of old vehicles, such as an old tube carriage and a very steep trolley bus. It was wonderful to watch their excitement as they got to explore real models of some of the modes of transport that we learnt about in last half term’s History topic, Travel and Transport. We had some lovely comments from some other visitors and museum staff saying how well behaved they thought the children were. They should all be extremely proud of how well they represented Kerem! 

In English, we planned and wrote a recount about our trip to the London Transport Museum. The children remembered that we must use the past tense and the first person in a recount, to be able to write about something that has happened to them. They included time words, such as ‘first’ or ‘finally’ to organise their writing. The children had lots of ideas for adding detail to their writing, recounting what they did, what they saw and how they felt during our school trip. 

In phonics, the children were introduced to the following tricky and high frequency words:  laughed, because, different, friends, though and through. We discussed what was tricky about their spellings and shared tips for remembering how to read and write these words. We also revisited the tricky words , once, please, any, many, eyes.

Here is a list of all of the tricky words we have learnt in year 1 so far:

In maths, the children have been learning how to tell the time to the hour. We explored an analogue clock face and learnt to tell the hour and minute hands apart. The children learnt that the minute hand must always point to the number 12 at the start of a new hour, and the hour hand will point to the number of the hour it is. We then learnt to read and write the time on a digital clock and match these to the analogue time. The children were able to draw the minute and hands onto a clock themselves to tell the time accurately. Finally, we learnt the vocabulary clockwise and anti-clockwise, using this to find the time one hour before or one hour later. 

In Science, we began our new topic: Animals, including humans. The children explored the similarities and differences between a range of animals. They learnt about the different groups we can organise animals into: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. They looked at pictures of animals and used their defining features, such as a beak or scales, to sort the pictures into the animal groups.

In Geography, we began the topic ‘Let’s go on Safari’. We looked at a world map and a globe to learn the seven continents and five oceans of the world. The children then labelled their own maps and used them to identify Kenya. 

Please continue to send your children into school with spare 50p coins in their bags, in case they need to replace any of their stationary. Thank you in advance!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!  

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had an exciting last week of the half term!

In English, the children continued to develop their writing skills by exploring the book ‘The Lonely Beast’ by Chris Judge. They wrote diary entries from the Beast’s perspective using the past tense (eg. went, danced), first person (eg. I, me) and time words (eg. first, finally). This allowed them to deepen their understanding of how the Beast was feeling by the end of the story, after the other Beasts surprised him with a party. They also had the opportunity to write their very own story, based on the theme of being lost. The children chose their characters and planned what would happen at the beginning, middle and end of their story before writing them. Later on in the week, the children learnt about compound words (words that are made out of two words put together, such as ‘football’). 

In phonics, we learnt the alternate pronunciations for graphemes (letters or multiple letters) the children are already familiar with. These new pronunciations were ‘ou’ (as in soup),  ‘ou’ (as in could) and ‘ou’ (as in shoulder).The children already knew how to read ‘ou’ (as in cloud). The children were also introduced to the following tricky and high frequency words: water, work, again, where, who, mouse, once, please, any, many, eyes and laughed. We will revisit and continue to practise reading and spelling these tricky words throughout the year. 

In maths, the children continued with addition and subtraction. They explored different strategies for subtracting numbers that crossed the ten boundaries, such as counting back on a numberline and finding the difference between two numbers. They developed their understanding of the relationship between addition and subtraction by making links between related number sentences. For example, if you knew 6+14=20, you also know that 14+6=20, 20-6=14 and 20-14=6. 

In science, the children used their understanding of different materials and their properties to sort them into different groups. They worked in small groups to categorise a range of objects and materials as either rough or smooth, then either opaque and transparent. 

In history, the children took part in an exciting pre-visit activity sent to us by the London Transport Museum, in preparation for our upcoming visit. They listened to the background story of the character Joe Clough, who we will be learning more about during our workshop at the museum. 

In art, the children used the designs that they prepared last week to create their final pieces of batik artwork onto fabric. First, they redrew their under the sea themed designs onto the fabric using crayons. Then, they used paint brushes to apply different colours of the batik dye onto the fabric.

The children took part in activities for Children’s Mental Health Week, including decorating t-shirts with things that make them feel happy and calm. They wore these t-shirts on Friday and took them home at the end of the day. Please iron these t-shirts before washing them in order to prevent their decorations from washing off. During circle time, they shared the lovely activities and strategies that help them to feel calm with each other. Later in the week we took part in a meditation activity as well as some mindfulness colouring. The children always have the option to do mindfulness colouring during ‘choosing’ or free play times in the classroom.

The children had a special biscuit decorating reward time to celebrate filling up their gem jar for the final time this half term. It was lovely to see them enjoying the treats! Well done Year 1 for all of your hard work this half term. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a lovely half term, 

The Year 1 Team

4.2.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had another fun week of learning in Year 1!

In English, the children explored a new story called ‘The Lonely Beast’ by Chris Judge. It follows the story of a Beast who lives alone and one day decides to travel to search for other Beasts. He eventually reaches a city and is welcomed by the people there, however he longs to meet some other Beasts. He then goes on the news to spread the word about his quest, but seems to have no luck. He sneaks back home only to find that lots of other Beasts have travelled to visit him and throw him a party! The children took part in drama activities such as freeze framing in order to explore how the different characters in the story were feeling. They wrote some thoughtful poems about loneliness. Later in the week, they practised sequencing the story by creating their own ‘story maps’ with pictures and key words to help them remember the key events. Finally, they created posters to help the Beast spread the word about his search for other Beasts. 

In phonics, we learnt some new alternate pronunciations for graphemes (letters or multiple letters) the children are already familiar with. These new pronunciations were ‘a’ (as in path), ‘y’ (as in sunny), ‘y’ (as in sky), ‘y’ (as in gym), ‘ch’ (as in school) and ‘ch’ (as in chef). The children already knew how to read these graphemes as ‘a’ (as in apple), ‘y’ (as in yellow) and ‘ch’ (as in chicken). 

In maths this week, we have been working on addition and subtraction with numbers up to 20. The children used their knowledge of the number bonds to 10 to help them to remember their number bonds to 20. They also applied a range of strategies, such as counting on and ‘making 10’ first, to help them with their addition and subtraction this week. 

In science, the children conducted an investigation to find out which material would be the best one to make an umbrella out of. They considered the properties of an effective material, agreeing that it would need to be waterproof and non-absorbent. They then predicted the material they thought would be the most effective at repelling water from the four options: tin foil, plastic, a towel and a paper towel. The children tested the materials by placing them on top of a cup and pouring three drops of water on them. They then observed what happened to the material and checked to see if any water went inside. The children recorded their findings in a table and considered their results. They wrote a conclusion after deciding which material let the least amount of water into the cup.

In history, the children learnt about space travel and the first astronauts to land on the moon. They were very excited to learn about the Apollo 11 mission and the class shared many interesting facts they already knew about space travel. The children then answered questions including ‘What was the name of the pod that landed on the moon?’ (The Eagle), and ‘When did people first start travelling into space?’ (1961).

In art, the children learnt about the style of dying fabrics called batik. They looked at examples of batik fabrics from around the world and noted how wax had been placed in patterns on the fabric, stopping the dye from being absorbed in those areas. The children then drew their own designs for batik coasters. They had to use bold lines in their drawings, so that they can recreate their designs using wax crayons next week.

Please continue to send your child into school with extra 50p coins in their bags, as many of them need to replace things in their pencil cases. With only one week left of this half term, many of the children’s pens and glues have naturally run out and need replacing. Thank you in advance!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

28.1.22

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a lovely week in Year 1. 

In English this week, the children wrote their own versions of the story Beegu by Alexis Deacon. They created their own characters and chose a setting for them to become lost in. They then spent time writing the beginning, middle and end of their stories. Once they were written, the children practised using their editing skills to read over their work and check that they had included full stops and capital letters in their sentences. The children had the opportunity to read their work aloud in front of the class. It was wonderful to see them present their work to each other with such confidence and pride!

In phonics, we learnt three new alternate pronunciations for graphemes (letters or multiple letters) the children are already familiar with. These new pronunciations were ‘ie’ (as in field), ‘ea’ (as in bread) and ‘er’ (as in fern). The children already knew how to read these graphemes as ‘ie’ (as in pie), ‘ea’ (as in bead) and ‘er’ (as in rubber). We discussed how the two ‘er’ sounds were very similar, but it becomes a longer sound when the ‘er’ comes at the end of the word. 

In maths, the children continued to consolidate their understanding of place value in numbers to 20. They used the more than (>), less than (<) and equal to (=) symbols to compare objects and numbers. The children also practised ordering these numbers along a numberline. 

In science, the children conducted an investigation to find out if different objects were bendy or stiff. They recorded their findings in a table and considered which materials the objects had been made out of. After they had finished their testing, we had a class discussion about any patterns and observations they had noticed during the investigation.

In history, the children learnt about the invention of flying machines and how they led to the invention of modern day aeroplanes. They learnt how the Wright brothers added an engine to a glider to ensure it could stay up in the air. The children wrote about how the invention of the aeroplane impacted the world. 

In art, the children created woven paper handbags. They used their weaving skills within a new template to create and then decorate their heart shaped bags. The children were very resilient during this lesson and soon got the hang of the weaving technique.

Important information:

Please send in some 50ps in your child’s bag as they may be running low on stationery.  

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team

Friday 21st January 2022

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had another busy week in Year 1! On Monday it was Tu B’Shevat and the children had a delicious fruit party. They enjoyed arranging their pieces of fruit and vegetables to make a work of art before eating them.

In English, we continued to explore the picture book ‘Beegu’ by Alexis Deacon. The children used their drama skills to ‘hot-seat’ as characters from the story. In hot-seating, someone sits in a chair acting as a character and they answer questions in role. This allowed the children to develop their understanding of the events in the story and think from different character’s perspectives. Later in the week, the children imagined their own endings for the story before reading the real story ending. Luckily, Beegu’s mother finds her and takes her home! They then wrote postcards from Beegu’s perspective to her Earth friends, imagining what they could see in space. 

In phonics, we learnt three new alternate pronunciations for graphemes (letters) the children are already familiar with. These new pronunciations were ‘c’ (as in city), ‘u’ (as in unicorn) and ‘ow’ (as in grow). The children already knew how to read these graphemes as ‘c’ (as in carrot), ‘u’ (as in umbrella) and ‘ow’ (as in cow). They also learnt to read and spell the tricky words ‘little’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘do’, ‘one’ and ‘out’.

In maths, we revisited number and place value with numbers up to 20. The children explored different ways they could represent two digit numbers, using equipment such as bead strings, numicon and counters on ten frames. They developed their understanding of ‘tens’ and ‘ones’ and used this to help them identify numbers being described, in addition to finding one more and one less than a given number.

In Science, the children learnt about the properties of different materials. They learnt the definition of key vocabulary, such as ‘opaque’, ‘transparent’ and ‘absorbent’. Then, they used these words to write sentences describing the properties of a range of materials on their tables. 
 

This week we learnt about the inventions of cars in History. The children found out how the first motor cars did not have roofs and were not much faster than horses. They then learnt how Henry Ford changed the way cars were made by manufacturing them in factories, making them cheaper for people to buy. Finally, they compared images of a range of older and more modern cars to see the similarities and differences between them. 

The children had a fantastic time at their second robotics session, working together in partners to build a moving ferris wheel model. They were very excited to use the electrical components (such as a motor and switch) in order to make their models move. They really impressed us with how they collaborated with their partners and followed the instructions carefully! 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team! 

Friday 14th January 2022
 

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a busy and exciting first full week of the Spring Term!

In English, we began to explore a new contemporary fiction book called ‘Beegu’ by Alexis Deacon. This is a lovely picture book about an alien that crashes into Earth and struggles to find anyone to help her return to her mother on her home planet. The children started by exploring a cropped image of the alien Beegu lying on her side. They had to analyse the illustration and predict who her character could be, where she was and how she had ended up there. They then looked at the full image which revealed a crashed flying saucer and developed their predictions about what they thought would happen in the story. Later in the week, the children used the drama technique freeze-framing to replicate Beegu’s body language as she tried to ask characters for help. This allowed the children to better understand how Beegu was feeling and use this understanding to write thoughts from her perspective. On Wednesday, the children each imagined what they thought Beegu’s home planet would look like. They had very creative ideas and thought of lots of powerful adjectives to describe the settings they had created. Finally, the children created a ‘wanted’ poster on behalf of Beegu, to help her find a friend. They considered what type of friend Beegu needed to have and listed these qualities on their posters. Some examples of the qualities the children came up with included being kind, helpful and generous. 

In phonics, we have begun to learn the alternate pronunciations for graphemes (letters) they will already recognise. For example, the children are already familiar with the hard ‘g’ sound (as in goat) but this week learnt that this same letter can often be read as a soft ‘g’ (as in giant). They also learnt the long ‘i’ sound (as in mind) as an alternative to the short ‘i’ (as in pig), in addition to the long ‘o’ sound (as in hero) as an alternative to the short ‘o’ (as in orange). We discussed how trying out both alternative options in an unfamiliar word can help the children to find the option that makes the most sense and ensure they read the word correctly. 

In maths, the children continued to develop their understanding of money. Throughout the week, they learnt to recognise the 50p, £1, and £2 coins in addition to the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. The children made thoughtful observations about the similarities and differences between the coins and notes and used these to think of tips for being able to tell them apart. They learnt about the difference in value between pennies and pounds and were able to categorise coins accordingly. They practised adding up the pounds and pennies separately to find the totals from different assortments of coins. They were also introduced to the £ symbol and learnt to place this in front of the pound total (eg. £5), noting how this is different to placing p after the pence total (eg. 5p). 

In science, the children continued to learn about materials. This week, they learnt to differentiate between objects and the materials they are made from. For example, a window is an object that is made out of the materials wood, glass and metal. They listed various objects and wrote about the materials they were made out of.  

In history, the children learnt about the invention of trains and how they have developed over time. They followed the journey of the different types of train, from wagons that were pulled by animals on tracks to the steam trains  (first known as locomotives) that were invented during the Victorian times. The children explored images of these trains, noting the differences between the first, second and third class carriages. They wrote down everything they could see in these images and then considered whether they would rather travel in a modern train or a Victorian train. It was also lovely to see the excitement the children are feeling about our upcoming trip to the London Transport Museum! 
 

In art, the children learnt about weaving and its uses across different cultures and countries. They looked at woven art by the artist Gunta Stölzl and admired how she was able to create patterns and pictures through her weaving. They then had a go at making their own woven placemats using card and paper strips.

On Tuesday, we had our very first robotics session, which is replacing computing lessons for this term. The children had a fantastic time learning about the importance and uses of robotics. They then had the chance to build different models in partners, working together to follow each step of the instructions. It was incredibly impressive to see the children using their problem solving skills to find the correct pieces and construct their final models!

In PSHE, the children discussed the meaning of the word ‘responsibility’. They shared examples of different responsibilities they hold both at home and at school, such as laying the table or collecting siddurim. They then considered how they could ensure that they are organised and ready for school everyday. Some of their ideas included getting a good night’s sleep, or making sure they had a Kippah on (if they were a boy). The children agreed that these ideas were things that they could take more responsibility over.  

This term, we will be visiting the library as a class every Monday afternoon. The children will have the opportunity to borrow books and return them once they have finished reading them. They can then return them during our next class library session, or during a lunch break if they choose to visit the library then. To do this, they must place their borrowed book into the returns box in the library. Please do ask your child if they have brought a library book home that they might like you to read to them. It is important for them to listen to stories that are beyond the level they can read independently alongside their own reading practice books, to help them foster a genuine love of reading. These library books offer a lovely opportunity for the children to listen to and enjoy a new story with you, in addition to the stories you have at home.

Please note that our PE days are now on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Please continue to send your children in with 50p coins in case they need to replace any stationary from their pencil cases.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies, we caught up with the Parashiot of the Torah that we missed whilst on holiday (Shemot ~ Bo). They teach us about the hardships of the Bnei Yisrael, whilst living as slaves in Mitzrayim and how HaShem out of his love, rescued us with 10 plagues. We acted out scenes from these Parashiot. Please take a look below.

This week’s Parasha is Parashat Beshalach and it teaches us specifically about Kriyat Yam Suf. The middot we learnt, were Emunah and Bitchaon, the abilities to believe in and trust HaShem.
 

Mazel Tov to those who changed Aleph Champ levels this week.

Lastly, we spoke about Tu Bishvat and how HaShem has entrusted us to look after His planet. We spoke about how trees teach us to collaborate with each other and have good middot, as these come naturally to trees in their environments and linked these discussions to our Kerem Characteristics.

Shabbat Shalom,
 

Mr Salter

Friday 7th January 2022
 

Dear Parents and Friends,

I hope you all had a lovely and restful holiday. It has been wonderful to have Year 1 back in school this week! 

In our English lesson, the children wrote from their personal experiences by reflecting on 2021. They wrote about their favourite parts of the last year in addition to what they are looking forward to in 2022. We revised the phase 5 sounds and tricky words that we have learnt so far this year and it was fantastic to see the children feeling so confident with these! 

In Maths, we started learning about money. The children learnt to recognise the 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p and 20p coins by exploring the similarities and differences between the coins. 

This helped the children to think of some useful tips for telling them apart and they had a wonderful discussion about whether the size of a coin affects its value. They then looked at different combinations of coins and compared their values using the greater than (>), less than (<) and equals to (=) symbols. Finally, the children had to work out which coins they could combine to buy items with different prices. 

We began our new History topic ‘Travel and Transport’. The children discussed the different modes of transport that are commonly used today and learnt about the modes of transport that people used before these existed, such as a horse and carriage, canoes and even camels! They then organised different modes of transport into a table by deciding if they were used in the past or in modern times. The children also considered if any of these modes of transport could be placed in both sections, and why. 

Year 1 were excited to start their new Science topic ‘Materials’. We went on a scavenger hunt around the classroom and playground to identify materials such as plastic, metal and wood in our school environment. The children described what these materials looked, felt and sounded like and explained how they could tell these different materials apart from each other. 

Please note that our PE days are Tuesday and Wednesday for the Spring Term. Please send your child into school wearing the correct PE kit on these days. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!  

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a lovely week in Year 1. 

In English, the children have been exploring free verse poetry. We read and explored several examples, discussing how some poems have rhyming words and all poems have rhythm. The children enjoyed the fact that some poems can be ‘silly poems’ whilst others can be serious and descriptive. They then thought of ‘wow word’ adjectives to use in their own poems about winter. Each child had the chance to create actions for their poem and read it aloud to the class, resulting in some wonderful poetry performances. 

In phonics, we continued to revise the phase 5 sounds, making links between sounds that are spelled differently but sound the same (for example, i_e as in bike, ie as in tie and igh as in night). 

In maths, the children continued learning about lengths and heights. They learnt how to measure objects in centimetres with their rulers and record these measurements using the symbol ‘cm’ for centimetres. They then solved addition and subtraction problems involving lengths and heights. 

The children enjoyed their last Forest School session this week. Please note that next term, the children will not need to wear their PE kits on a Thursday as we will no longer have Forest School on Thursday afternoons. 

On Monday 13th December, we will be sending the children home with one piece each of their English, Maths and Ivrit work. The children were proud to choose the pieces of work they would like you to see and are very excited to show you them. You will also receive your child’s report via an email on Monday. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team! 

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies we have learnt all about the different food Brachot and how they teach us to be appreciative towards HaShem. We have also continued with our Hebrew reading lessons and Mazal Tov to all those who have changed Aleph Champ levels.

On Thursday and Friday, we learnt about this week’s Parasha which is Parashat Vayigash. The Middah that we learnt from this was keeping our promises that we make with others.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mr Salter

Dear Parents and Friends, 

Chanukah Sameach! We have had a fun-packed week of learning and celebrations in Year 1. 

The children took part in a ‘maths morning’ on Tuesday, designing decorations for a Chanukah party that will take place at the end of term. They explored the properties of some 2D shapes. Then, the children could choose either a magen david or dreidel outline. They had to cut and stick 2D shapes within these outlines to create a ‘tangram’ shape puzzle. The children had fun working out how they could fit their pieces together to create bright and colourful decorations for the party. They have also been learning about heights and lengths this week. The children have compared the lengths and heights of different objects and have used non-standard units to measure different objects in the classroom. (For example, using cubes to measure the height of their table, or lolly sticks to measure the length of their maths book). 

In English, the children have planned and written their own recounts of their first night of Chanukah. They used each of the features they had learnt about last week in these recounts, including the first person, the past tense and time words. It was exciting to write about all of the lovely Chanukah celebrations that the children took part in on the very first night! 

In phonics, the children learnt their final phase 5 sound, e_e (as in theme). We then began to revise the phase 5 sounds, drawing comparisons between the ones that sound the same but are spelled differently (for example, ee, ea, e_e and ey). We also revised the tricky words there, their, people, Mr, Mrs and were.

On Wednesday, the children listened to a talk about E-safety. They learnt about the 5 key bits of information they should never tell anyone else online, and that they should always ‘stop, think and ask’ about anything that seems strange or too good to be true online. Do ask your child to tell you the five things they must not tell anyone and see how many they can remember! (The answers are: their name, age, address, school or password). 

The children enjoyed their penultimate Forest School session, playing teamwork building games that required them to collaborate in groups. In Geography, they learnt all about London and its famous landmarks.  

Year 1 sang brilliantly in the Chanukah sing-along concert and had a fantastic time at the Chanukah Fair! Many thanks to everyone who was involved in running the fair. 

Wishing you a Chanukah Sameach and Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team! 

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in School, we have had a fun, jam packed week learning about Chanukah and taking part in Chanukah activities. Thank you to all those who were involved.

In class, the Chanukah excitement continued. We played Chanukah games including a Chanukah Bingo and with our Dreidels. We watched an exciting Chanukah adaptation from Rabbi Perez Goldstein and learnt what the letters on the Driedel represent. Please see pictures below.

Mazel Tov to all those who have changed Aleph Champ Levels this week.

Lastly, on Thursday and Friday we learnt about this week’s Parasha ~ Parashat Miketz and took part in a Parasha Treasure Hunt. Famously in this Parasha, Paro dreams and struggles to interpret them. Yosef interprets them and becomes a ruler in Mitzrayim. There is a famine and his brothers travel to Mitzrayim to buy food. In spite of what his brothers did to him, Yosef was now face to face with them and is kind towards them instead of showing resentment. The Middah we learn from Yosef is how to care for others.

Wishing you and your families Chanukah Sameach and Shabbat Shalom,

Mr Salter

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a busy week gearing up for Chanukah! 

In English, we have been learning about all of the features that we need to put into a recount. The children learnt how to write in the First Person, using words like ‘I’, ‘me’ or ‘we’. They then learned how to add the suffix ‘ed’ to verbs to write in the past tense. For example, adding ‘ed’ to turn play into played. Finally they learnt how to start a sentence using a time adverb in order to make sure they retold events in the right order. For example: First I went to the cinema with my sister. Then we went to a cafe. 

We learnt the new phonemes ‘a_e’ (as in cake), ‘u_e’ (as in flute), and ‘u_e’ (as in cube) in our phonics lessons this week. Finally, we learnt to read the tricky words ‘there’, ‘some’ and ‘come’.

In maths this week, we have counted in 10s, 5s and 2s. The children have explored the patterns created as we count in these sequences on a hundreds square and made some really interesting observations. We have also been learning about how to share equally into groups. The children investigated how many ways they could share the numbers 12, 14, 15 and 16 equally, using cubes. They then learnt how to add equal groups together to find a total. This is called repeated addition. An example would be: 2+2+2+2=8

In art, the children learnt how to add white to make colours lighter, and black to make colours darker. They had the chance to mix a range of shades in either red or blue paint, using only their chosen colour to create an abstract painting. In Geography, the children explored the differences and similarities between the four countries of the United Kingdom, including their landscapes and national foods. The children had fun playing a range of team sports in PE and learning about their animal tribes in Forest School.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a Chanukah Sameach, 

The Year 1 Team!  

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies we have continued learning about Chanukah. In particular, we have learnt the correct sequence of events in the Chanukah story and learnt why we eat oily foods during the Chag. We have also created a beautiful Chanukah craft, Latke Men and pictures will follow next week.

Mazel Tov to those who have changed Aleph Champ levels.

Finally, this week’s Parasha is Parashat Vayeishev. One middah we learn from this week’s Parasha is having sensitivity towards others.

Shabbat Shalom

Mr Salter

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had another exciting week in Year 1!

In English we learnt about labels, lists and captions. The children discussed where they would see these forms of writing in the real world, why they are useful and what features they should include in them. They then had a go at writing their own! The children also learnt about the suffix ‘ing’ and how they could add it to a verb to show how the action was taking place right now (in the present tense). For example: play + ing becomes playing. 

We learnt the new phonemes ‘ey’ (as in key), ‘o_e’ (as in bone), and ‘i_e’ (as in slide) in our phonics lessons this week. The children were particularly excited to learn about a new kind of digraph (often called a ‘split digraph’ or sounds with a ‘magic e’). We discussed their similarity to the phonemes ‘oe’ as in toe and ‘ie’ as in tie, and the children also noticed how the split digraphs normally go at the end of a word. Finally, we learnt to read the tricky words ‘so’, ‘were’ and ‘like’.

In maths our focus has been on addition and subtraction to numbers just beyond 10. The children learnt about the concept of ‘making ten’ as a first step for adding or subtracting when crossing the number ten. For example, if you were to work out 15 - 7 =, the first step would be to work out what to take away from 15 to get to 10 (5). Then they would need to partition 7 into 5 and whatever is left over (2) to work out what to take away from 10. Finally, they would solve 10 - 2 = 8 to find their final answer, 8. The children used number lines, part whole models and base ten equipment to support their calculations and we discussed how this method can be a faster method than trying to count back or up in ones. We also discussed how the ‘making ten’ method would be more helpful for mental calculations if the children didn’t have resources in front of them.

In art, we learnt about how we could mix the primary colours to create the secondary colours (purple, orange and green). The children then had a go at mixing these colours themselves, seeing if they could make different shades. They looked at these colours on a colour wheel and observed which pairs of colours were complimentary colours. 

In Geography, the children learnt what an aerial view is and looked at some pictures of the school taken from this angle. They discussed the similarities and differences that an aerial view of the school had to the views they are used to seeing in real life. The children enjoyed their PE sessions and continued to learn about the seasons and the concept of a tribe in Forest School.

As we progress through the term, some things in the children’s pencil cases are beginning to run out and things are frequently being misplaced. Please do encourage your child to replace these items by bringing in 50p to buy new items from the stationary shop. Many thanks in advance for your support with this. Please also continue to encourage your child to practice and learn the words to the songs they will be singing in our Chanukah concert! 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies, we have been learning all about Chanukah and its significance. We have been creating beautifully decorated Dreidels and have learnt how the Jewish People went into hiding and played with them each time they were spotted, to make it appear as if they were playing games rather than learning Torah. Please take a look at some of the pictures below.

We have continued moving forward with our Hebrew reading and Mazal Tov to those students, who have changed Aleph Champ levels this week

Wishing you and your families Shabbat Shalom

Mr Salter

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a busy week in Year 1!

In English we learnt about a final story with predictable phrasing, Peace at Last by Jill Murphy. After discussing their understanding of the story, the children planned and wrote their own versions. They had to choose different settings and come up with objects that made noise effects to keep their main character from sleeping. 

We learnt the new phonemes ‘ew’ (as in screw), ‘oe’ (as in toe), and ‘ph’ (as in elephant) in our phonics lessons this week. Here is a link to a phonics game that your child can play to support their recognition of these sounds: https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources/phase/2/buried-treasure 

You can select Phase 5, and then choose the sounds that we have learnt about this week. The children will need to read words with these sounds in and then decide if they are real or nonsense words. 

In maths, we continued to develop our understanding of the teen numbers. The children explored the concept of tens and ones in 2 digit numbers, using this as a way to describe numbers. For example, the number 12 has 1 ten and 2 ones. They also used their problem solving skills to compare objects and numbers using the language ‘more than’, ‘less than’ and ‘equal too’ in addition to ordering these numbers in a range of contexts. 

In art, we learnt about the primary colours and how we could use these to stand out in our artwork. The children analysed the art of Piet Mondrian and created their own abstract pieces in his style, using the primary colours. 

In Geography, the children learnt all about the United Kingdom. They learnt that the UK is found in Europe, which countries are part of the UK, and which flags belong to these countries. They then had the chance to read a map of the United Kingdom, identifying the capital cities and surrounding seas of the countries in the UK. They used what they found out to label their own maps. We also had the chance to finish our junk models this week. Please do ask your child to show you what they have made, and ask them to explain why their model belongs in either the countryside or a city. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had a lovely first week back after the half term!

In English, we planned and wrote up our very own ‘I Want My --- Back’ stories, in the style of Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back. The children came up with their own creative characters and an item that had gone missing. After writing their stories, the children had the chance to read and perform their stories aloud to the class, using puppets they had made to show which character was talking. 

We learnt the new phonemes ‘aw’ (as in saw), ‘au’ (as in haunted), and ‘wh’ (as in whistle) in our phonics lessons this week. We also learnt to read the tricky words ‘said’ and ‘have’. 

In our maths lessons this week, we have been deepening our understanding of the teen numbers. The children had the opportunity to explore a range of representations of these numbers and come up with their own representations. We began to explore the concept of tens and ones, as the children noticed that the numbers that were greater than ten all had a number added to ten in their representations. They also used their problem solving skills to solve clues and work out which teen number was being described. 

In art, we began the topic ‘Colour Creations’. The children explored where they could find colour in the classroom and how there could be different shades of the same colour. They then thought about their favourite colours and used these to create patterns in their books. 

We also began a new topic in Geography, ‘Our Country’. Our first lesson explored the differences between life in a city and life in the countryside. The children were excited to begin their junk modelling project, making a model of something they would find either in a city or in the countryside. Thank you very much to everyone who sent in recycled objects, we had plenty for everyone! 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!

Dear Parents and Friends, 

What a wonderful final week of the half term we have had!

In English, we began learning about a new story with predictable phrasing, ‘I Want My Hat Back’ by Jon Klassen. The children discussed their understanding of the story and created story maps to help remember the order of events in the story. They then inferred how the characters were feeling and wrote sentences for the character’s thoughts.

We learnt the new phonemes ‘ir’ (as in girl), ‘ue’ (as in glue), and ‘ue’ (as in queue) in our phonics lessons this week. We also learnt to read the tricky words ‘called’ and ‘asked’. 

In our maths lessons, we began learning about time. The children learnt how to organise events using the words ‘before’ and ‘after’, the days of the week and the months of the year. They worked hard to order the days and months correctly and used their knowledge to answer problems. 

In art, the children explored the artwork of Pablo Picasso. They compared his realistic and abstract portraits, and discussed which styles they preferred. They then created their own abstract collage portraits, in the style of Picasso’s cubism. We had a final lesson on Dina Asher Smith for Black History Month, writing up key facts about her and thinking of questions the children wanted to ask her. The class had a lovely time in PE and in Forest School, where they learnt about the Autumn season, took part in a mindfulness session and made some fantastic nature crafts. 

We rounded off the week with a special story reward time, with the children all bringing in a stuffed toy to share their reward with. It was really lovely to see the children feeling so proud of themselves, whilst relaxing and enjoying a story together. Thank you very much to everyone who has brought a book in to share this week. 

We were overwhelmed with wonderful stories that the children had brought in, and unfortunately did not have time to read them all this week. After half term, I will be introducing a ‘Story and Tell’ time on Friday afternoons. Each week, one child will be invited to bring in a book of their choice. They will get to explain why they have chosen this book, and I will read it out to the class. Please only send in a story on your child’s chosen Friday, to avoid any disappointment. 
 

We will also be starting an exciting new junk modelling project in our Geography lessons after half term, as part of our topic ‘Our Country’. Please could you send in no more than five small to medium-sized cardboard boxes or cleaned plastic containers with your child by Thursday 4th November. Thank you in advance!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a very happy half term, 

The Year 1 Team! 

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had another busy week in Year 1! 

In English, we finished writing up our own versions of a ‘Hunt Story’, based on the book “We’re going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen. We practised using a story map to perform the original story ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’. The children discussed what we would need to make our story exciting, and decided that we should include actions and use expression in our voices. We hope you enjoy watching our final performance!

The children then created story maps of their own Hunt Stories and used these to perform their stories in front of the class. 

We learnt the new phonemes ‘ie’ (as in tie), ‘ea’ (as in beads), and ‘oy’ (as in boy) in our phonics lessons this week. We also learnt to read the tricky words ‘Mr’, ‘Mrs’ and ‘looked’. 

In maths, we explored a range of different methods for subtraction. These included counting back on a numberline, finding the difference between two numbers and finding what is left over. 

The children continued to develop their portrait skills, adding a self-portrait to half of a picture of their own face. We created a fact file about Dina Asher Smith to organise all of the facts that we have learnt about her, and shared some stories of some other influential black people. The children have really enjoyed discussing how they can help to make the world more equal for everyone. 

We had a wonderful time in Forest School, working together to build dens and persevering to make beautiful nature crafts.  

For your information:

50p - As you may know, if the children’s supplies run out, they have to pay 50p for a new item. This will help instill a sense of responsibility for looking after their equipment.  We have already had some of the whiteboard pens run out and the children have done their best to remember to bring in 50p.  If I could please ask you to perhaps send in a couple of 50p in your child’s bag so that when they run out, they can use the money from their bag.  This will make it a little easier and quicker to replace the item.

School Council - We will be holding school council elections in our class. If your children choose to apply, they can write a short speech to explain why they should be chosen.

There are three different councils,

Tzedakah (Charity council), Kehillah (Community council), Tikkun Olam (Eco council)

The short speech will be delivered to the rest of the class and we will be holding these elections on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th October so that the councils can start straight after half term.  Meetings will be held at 8.15am on Thursdays. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!

Dear Parents and Friends, 

It has been wonderful to complete our first full week in Year 1! 

In English, we have been exploring the book ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen. We started by answering comprehension questions about the story and discussed the repetition of certain phrases. We then moved on to planning our own versions of the story. Each child chose the animal they would like to hunt for, and the settings they must go through to get there. Finally, we used our plans to begin writing up the first part of their own ‘hunt’ stories. 

We learnt the new phonemes ‘ay’ (as in crayon) and ‘ou’ (as in cloud) in our phonics lessons this week. We also learnt to read the tricky words ‘oh’, ‘their’ and ‘people’. 

In maths, we have been exploring a range of different methods for addition within the number 10. This has included counting on using a numberline, adding parts together to find a whole, and finding fact families for different number bonds. 

We explored different styles of portraits in art and then had a go at drawing our own self portraits. As October is Black History Month, we discussed the importance of learning about Black History and began learning about Dina Asher Smith, the athlete. The children had a fantastic discussion about treating all people equally and with respect, which was wonderful to take part in. The children enjoyed both PE sessions, in addition to their Forest School and very first music session of the term. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, 

The Year 1 Team!

Dear Parents and Friends,

It has been another busy short week for us in Year 1!

In English, we used our imaginations to plan a visit to the moon. The children created their own lists of things they would like to pack for their trip. We also learnt about different verbs and how to use these in sentences. 

In maths, we used part-whole models to understand that numbers can be partitioned into two or more amounts. We then used these models to write our own addition number sentences. Later on in the week, we used different resources to represent number sentences. This helped us to solve the addition calculations and check our answers! 

We had a fantastic time with Pepsi at Forest School, learning about seeds and building shelters for Forest Friends. 

I’m looking forward to welcoming you all to the classroom for our Meet the Teacher evening this Monday!

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom,

The Year 1 team!

Dear Parents and Friends, 

Happy Sukkot! We have had a lovely week learning about and celebrating Sukkot in school.

The children all had the opportunity to visit our school Sukkah in their Jewish Studies lessons. They had a fantastic time learning about the lulav and etrog, as well as the different parts of a Sukkah. Please see the pictures below to see the children enjoying their time in the Sukkah. 

In English, we have been learning all about adjectives and how they can describe things. We discussed how this can make our writing more interesting and the children wrote captions using adjectives for pictures taken from our class book, What We’ll Build. 

In Maths, the children practiced finding one more and one less of a number. They learnt about the greater than, less than and equal symbols and used these to compare different numbers. 

The children enjoyed their second PE and Forest School sessions, working together and using their resilience! 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom and a good Yom Tov,

 The Year 1 Team! 

Week 3.  17.9.21

Dear Parents and Friends, 

We have had another busy week with learning going on both at home and in school!

The children enjoyed having their first PE and computing lessons in Year 1. In English, we used drama skills to imagine how we would feel if we were the girl in the story. We then used these ideas to write sentences from her perspective, using the first person ‘I’. In maths, we explored different ways to represent numbers using a place value grid, and recapped how to count forwards from a given number. 

At home, the children did a wonderful job comparing numbers, finding which of two numbers was ‘more than’ the other. I also enjoyed reading about all the exciting products each child would sell in their shop. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom,

 Miss Nathan and Miss Fisch

Shalom Parents and Friends

Wow! What an incredible week of learning it has been in Jewish Studies and you should all be incredibly proud. The week started learning about Yom Kippur and we consolidated this, with some exciting Yom Kippur games. The week ended, preparing ourselves for Sukkot and with a spectacular Kabbalat Shabbat

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom

Mr Salter

Dear Parents and Friends, 

This week, it has been wonderful to see the learning going on both at home and in the classroom! 

The children did a fantastic job using a numberline to count back from 20 as well as writing sentences about the way they show love to their friends and family. I really enjoyed reading these sentences. 

Back in class, we learnt about the different times we must use a capital letter: for starting a sentence, the personal pronoun ‘I’ and for proper nouns (the names of people, places, days and months). The children then came up with their own sentences about the characters from our story, What We’ll Build, using capital letters. They also took part in a memory game where they had to pair up a capital letter with its lower case partner, and sorted some proper nouns into the three different categories. 

In maths, the class had fun sorting and organising different representations of numbers. They then got to have their own turn using a range of resources to make their own representations of these numbers. We continued to practise reading and writing words using the phase three sounds in our phonics lessons this week.

The whole class was very excited to return to Forest School on Thursday! It was so wonderful to see the children working so creatively and collaboratively during the session. They helped each other by making suggestions for improvements, offering to hold or fetch things for each other, and sharing beautifully. 

On Thursday, we sent each child home with their first reading book. We will be using a new reading scheme this year, called Dandelion Readers. The bands and units in this scheme may not align exactly with the bands the children were used to using in Year 1, however we have aimed to start each of your children at an appropriate level for them. Of course, we always welcome any feedback you may have about your children’s reading and the suitability of the books we are sending home. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom,   

Miss Nathan and Miss Fisch

Shalom Parents and Friends,

This week in Jewish Studies we learnt all about the halachot and minhagim - the laws and customs - of Yom Kippur, as well as learning about the story of Yonah and the Big Fish. We started making slippers for Yom Kippur, as we learnt that we are not allowed to wear leather shoes during this festival. Please see some of the photos below.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom

Mr Salter

Dear Parents and Friends,
 

We have had a fantastic start to Year 1 over the last two days!

On Thursday morning, the children were filled with excitement to see the changes to their new classroom. In no time, they learnt where they should put all of their things and where they could find the different resources in the classroom. They particularly enjoyed exploring all of the toys and games we have on offer during ‘choosing’ time, as shown in the pictures. We practised some handwriting skills and the class enjoyed listening to some stories from the reading corner. 

On Friday we had our first English, maths and phonics lessons. In English, we began to explore the story ‘What We’ll Build’ by Oliver Jeffers. The class had a lovely discussion about both the story and the illustrations in the book, and thought about how the little girl may have been feeling throughout the story. We practised counting up to 20 in our maths. During our phonics lesson, the children refreshed their memory of the sounds they had learnt in Reception. They really impressed me with their blending skills and used these to read out a range of different words. 

Here is some general information: 

We have begun to listen to each child read individually, and will be sending them home with a reading book from Thursday 9th September. Of course, this takes some time and we will continue to listen to the children reading their books in school each week throughout the year. Their reading books will be replaced twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. Please could you make sure that these reading books are returned to school on Monday morning, and again by Thursday morning. 

Our PE days are on Monday and Wednesday, so the children are required to come into school wearing their PE kits on those days. This term, the children's first day of PE will be on Monday 13th September 2021.  

The children will continue to have Forest School on a Thursday during the Autumn term. Please also send them into school wearing their PE kits each Thursday, with suitable footwear. They will also need to bring waterproofs and wellington boots with them if the weather looks likely to rain. Our first day of Forest School will be on Thursday 9th September 2021.

As you know on Monday we will be having a remote learning day. To access this, please go to https://classroom.google.com/ (while logged into your child’s account). If you have forgotten your login details please email me at anathan@keremschool.co.uk, and I will send them to you. Once logged in, please click join on the “Year 1 2021/2 Classroom” where you will find the work for the day. The children have also been sent home with the sheet they will need to complete, however it will also be there in our Google Classroom in case the sheet gets lost along the way. 

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom, Shana Tova and a well deserved rest! 

From Miss Nathan and Miss Fisch

Shalom Parents and Friends,

We had a fabulous few days in Jewish Studies, learning all about Rosh HaShanah. We made such beautiful Rosh Hashanah cards, for our families and friends.

Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tovah!

Mr Salter