KS1 - Years 1 & 2

Hazel, Beech and Elm

Welcome to Hazel, Beech and Elm classes

Mrs Amy Robillard, Mrs Sam Payne, Mr Chris Wightman and Mrs Eloise Marney are pleased to welcome you to Hazel, Beech and Elm. Teaching and learning in our classes is supported by Mrs Laura Bennett,  Mrs Katie Sawyer and Mrs Lizzie Gibson, where Year 1 and Year 2 work and learn together!

We are mixed Year 1 and Year 2 classes with an engaging indoor and outdoor environment enabling children to continue their learning journey from the Foundation Stage into Key Stage 1.

Learning in Hazel, Beech and Elm

Hazel, Beech and Elm Classes take our children through Key Stage 1. Our Year 1 children begin to learn from the National Curriculum, with the Year 2 children continuing to build upon the knowledge they have already learned, together with practising their growing skill set and being introduced to new skills.

Our aim is for the children to become ‘Ready, Willing and Able' in 'themselves, in their school and in their world', by fostering each child's resilience, curiosity and independent learning. We have a passionate team of staff ready to help each child achieve these goals, all of whom share the belief that our young learners need to access their education in an age appropriate way.

The three classes share the same friendly and accessible characters to help children talk about their learning. They are: Paddington 'the Explorer', 'Keep Trying' Kipper, and Percy ‘the Problem Solver’. See if you can catch your children learning like Paddington, Kipper or Percy at home! We encourage all parents to follow their child's learning journey by using our digital learning platform, Seesaw.

Summer 1 2024

Across the first half of the summer term the children will be exploring the animal kingdom in science learning about relationships and families in PSHE and learning about how to create and format digital writing. In literacy we will start the term by looking at some traditional tales before mixing them up to make new and exciting versions! In maths we will be focussing on measurements, time and statistics.

Spring 2 2024

During the Spring term we are studying seasons and changes through the year. In history we are learning about how life has changed in living memory specifically music, toys, food and clothes.

In design technology we are working with and learning about different fabrics and their uses. In science we have been investigating using our senses. we were inspired by the story 'Ada Twist, Scientist' and explored hidden smells! We are also learning about grouping data in our computing lessons.

This week the classes have been collecting, storing and interpreting data. We have been discussing everything from favourite superheroes to our least favourite vegetables!

What fun we have had, combining our DT skills of cutting, spirals in art and measuring length in maths to create our science spinners for science week.

KS1 have begun 2022 as scientists, exploring the materials around us and learning about their properties!

This week Year 1/2 have been exploring the history found at Clyst Heath! We went in search of the Iron Age settlements that are under our field and marked them out with our bodies.

Here are some great action shots from our French immersion day with Madame Baguette! We were learning new phrases, songs, dances and trying French foods!

This week has seen us take a disgusting turn… with the arrival of our new text The Disgusting Sandwich! The children have been exploring the new text and expressing what they like or dislike about it and exploring any patterns that they found. In our provision, the children have been learning more about the weather by recording themselves as weather presenters in preparation for a look at weather and climates this week.

We have begun a journey as geographers! We started by investigating the planet using a globe, atlases and Google Earth to find key continents, oceans and countries. We also spoke about the equator and what it means - ask us!

In literacy, we started a new text called The Woods and have been learning all about it.

Home Learning

Reading

Reading at home is known to have a positive effect on children’s reading progress. The expectation is that every child reads at home at least three times a week. This doesn’t need to be a long session, little and often is best. Please record all home reading in the yellow reading record provided. Return the reading records to school on a Friday to be checked Three or more reads a week will earn a reading stamp, which go toward increasing house point rewards across the year!

Key Skills

In addition to reading, there is an expectation that KS1 practise key spellings and basic math concepts each week. This is carried out in the classroom via Spelling Shed, NumBots and Times Tables Rockstars (Y2 only). We encourage all children to practise these from home to help improve recall and retention as well. Logins are provided in the yellow reading records for home use and each service can be accessed for free from the links below. The children can earn a range of rewards for consistent practice over the year.

Helpful Links: