Headteacher: Anna Moss

18.11.23

Hello Red Class Families,

Another busy week in Red Class. From exploring hot and cold countries in Geography, dancing like fireworks in PE and learning about road safety. We focused on ‘j’, ‘v’, ‘w’ and ‘y’ in Phonics and tried hard to read ‘and’, ‘has’, ‘her’ automatically. In Maths, we used the power of 5 to make numbers to 10. For example, we made 6 by finding 5 red beads on the Fabacus (our fab abacus) and adding 1, rather than counting 6 individual beads.  

Thank you for sending in special books from home. We’ve created a display to share the children’s recommendations. Each day, we shared a new story and spent time talking about our favourite books in a small group. If we haven’t shared your child’s book yet, please leave it in their book bag.

This week, the children met mysterious little creatures called pebblings at Forest School. Red Class decided to make homes for their new friends and soon nests and dens were scattered across the forest. Who will they meet next week? Thank you, Mrs Hipkiss, for helping our little ones to flourish in the forest.

Finally, we’ve started our slipper routine! At Blackwell, all the children wear slippers to feel comfortable and relaxed. By wearing slippers, we can also keep the indoor classroom clean and tidy. Well, when we don’t lose our slippers! 😊

Best wishes,

Mrs Webb and Team Red Class

Red Class news

10.11.23

Hello Red Class Families,

Welcome back to the Friday Fanfare and our new topic, ‘Best Books’. This week, we shared our new class story, ‘The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon’. The book is based on the nursery rhyme, ‘Hey, Diddle, Diddle’. With this in mind, we spent some time role playing the rhyme and finding out why the dish ran away with the spoon.

We’ve also been talking about our Big Blackwell Book Festival. The children have decided that they would like to dress as their favourite book character during the event and they would like to invite their families into school to share their ‘Best Book’ (learning journey) and their favourite story. Talking of favourite stories, we would like the children to bring in one book from home on Monday, 13^th November. We’re planning to make a Best Books display using the children’s favourite stories, poems and non-fiction books from home.

In Phonics, we concentrated on ‘ll’, ‘ss’, ‘ff’ and ‘j’. We call two letters making one sound a digraph. Try spotting digraphs in your reading books e.g. hill, puff, miss. Every day we read a challenge phrase. First, we sound talk and blend the words and then we read the words automatically. Try to do this in your reading at home to help with your pace and fluency.

In Maths, we used a range of equipment to make numbers to 10. We also played the arrangement game. We call a style e.g. dice style and the children arrange their counters as quickly as possible to match the style. Playing games like this will help the children to quickly recognise numbers and develop number sense. We count every day too, counting on and back from different starting numbers.

Every Friday, we attend a celebration assembly where two children from each class receive a gold award certificate. During the week, we look for skills needed to be a good learner: resilience, problem solving, co-operation, communication and independence. Congratulations to our gold award winners so far. Who will it be next week?

In Geography (Understanding of the World), we met Blackwell Bear who will be exploring the world with Red Class. Blackwell Bear showed us the world map and we found our country and our continent. Blackwell Bear asked where the children wanted to visit and then we used Google Earth to fly around the world to France, Portugal, Cyprus, USA and Australia.

To find out about Remembrance Day, we watched a short film and we all fell silent to remember. We looked at poppies and thought about why we wear them at this time of year.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend with plenty of play, rest and time to remember.

Best wishes,

Mrs Webb and Team Red Class

20.10.23

Hello Red Class Families,

Thank you for attending parent consultations. It was lovely to celebrate the children’s progress. If we met via Zoom, you should find a mental maths progression sheet in your child’s book bag and their personalised target sheet. This is a long half term and the children have worked incredibly hard. Not long to go now before we can all enjoy a good rest.

This week, in Phonics, we revisited all phonemes/graphemes and practised our three tricky words: the, is, I. We used magnetic letters to spell CVC words (sit, sat, pat). During Write Dance lessons, we used circles and lazy eights to create a picture of an owl.

In Maths lessons, we explored length. At home, see if you can find two different socks and compare them. Is one sock shorter, longer or the same length as the other sock? Find 3 different types of pasta. Which piece is the longest piece?

In PE, we developed spatial awareness by practising movement skills within our ‘gateway’ (the space between 2 cones) and rolling a ball through the gateway to a partner.

As well as playing games to stay safe in the Forest, the children discovered different parts of a tree by collecting and sorting leaves, seeds and sticks.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend. If you’re visiting the scarecrow trail, remember to look out for Betty and Harry.

Mrs Webb and Team Red Class xxx

20.10.23

Hello Red Class Families,

Thank you for attending parent consultations. It was lovely to celebrate the children’s progress. If we met via Zoom, you should find a mental maths progression sheet in your child’s book bag and their personalised target sheet. This is a long half term and the children have worked incredibly hard. Not long to go now before we can all enjoy a good rest.

This week, in Phonics, we revisited all phonemes/graphemes and practised our three tricky words: the, is, I. We used magnetic letters to spell CVC words (sit, sat, pat). During Write Dance lessons, we used circles and lazy eights to create a picture of an owl.

In Maths lessons, we explored length. At home, see if you can find two different socks and compare them. Is one sock shorter, longer or the same length as the other sock? Find 3 different types of pasta. Which piece is the longest piece?

In PE, we developed spatial awareness by practising movement skills within our ‘gateway’ (the space between 2 cones) and rolling a ball through the gateway to a partner.

As well as playing games to stay safe in the Forest, the children discovered different parts of a tree by collecting and sorting leaves, seeds and sticks.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend. If you’re visiting the scarecrow trail, remember to look out for Betty and Harry.

Mrs Webb and Team Red Class xxx

13.10.23

Hello Red Class Families,

In preparation for the Scarecrow Trail, we’ve been busy making a scarecrow. We shared ‘The Scarecrow’s Wedding’ and then set to work making Betty O’Barley. Thank you, Mrs Allen, for helping us to make our scarecrow. The Nursery children have made Harry O’Hay. Look out for the scarecrows as part of the Blackwell Scarecrow Trail, Saturday, 21^st October.

In Phonics, we introduced ‘h’, ‘b’, ‘f’ and ‘l’ and the keyword ‘the’. Remember to open your mouth a little, put your teeth on your bottom lip and push the air out to make ‘f’. When saying ‘l’, pop your tongue to the top of your mouth behind your teeth and press saying ‘l’. Try to find objects beginning with ‘h’, ‘b’, ‘f’ and ‘l’. Practise oral blending by listening to letter sounds e.g. l-e-g or h-i-p and touch the correct body part. I’ve added new eBooks to your accounts.

In Maths, we explored 2D shapes (rectangle, square, circle and triangle). We created 2D shapes using elastic bands on pegboards and cotton buds. We counted sides and corners and identified shapes in different positions and sizes. See if you can find some 2D shapes at home. Can you find and count the sides of the shapes?

In Write Dance, we created circles and eights with our hands, arms and feet. We then traced circles and lazy eights (eights on their side) in shaving foam and on chalk boards. You can find a link to support learning at home here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFEZzcJRtVQ

In Geography, we looked at a familiar place (Forest School) and talked about the main features. We named, described and sorted places by looking carefully at photographs and we made a 3D map of Rosie’s farm to link to our class story.

Parent evening slips were added to the reading folders today. Hopefully, I’ve managed to give everyone their requested time slot. If you requested a Zoom meeting, I will send the link via Parent App closer to the time. If you need to change your day or time, please just call the office.

Finally, thank you for your chicken feed donations! Greta, Ellie and Rosa have been feasting on tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli and pears this week. They will definitely be ready for winter.

Best wishes,

Mrs Webb and Team Red Class xxx

07.10.23

Hello Red Class Families,

This week, we started our new topic, ‘Planet Earth’. To introduce the topic, we used dilemma-based learning where the children share ideas and opinions, listen to the ideas of others, make decisions, ask questions and problem solve. As I am the school’s chief chicken checker, our dilemma focused on the BFS chickens.

We watched a short video clip to learn some interesting facts about chickens. We discovered that chickens need to eat more in the winter, but we didn’t have enough money to buy extra pellets and corn. The children offered their pocket money to help! We then explored how we could help the planet by encouraging less waste. The children wanted to ask Mrs Barker, our school cook, if we could use any leftover food from her kitchen and we plan to visit Mrs Barker next week to ask. They also wanted to use the leftover fruit from each class fruit basket. We wondered whether our Red Class families might send in tomatoes, lettuce, pears and other delicious chicken treats. Our learning helped the children to think about how we can reduce our food waste and help others at the same time.

The theme of chickens continued as we received a parcel from Mrs Moss. It was a special book for our topic, ‘Rosie’s Walk’. We shared the book, created actions for key events and talked about vocabulary in the story. Later in the week, we created a story map to sequence key events and some of the children made their own maps in play and explore time.

In Science, we discovered that scientists use their senses to find out about the world. With this in mind, we explored the outdoor area and collected bark, soil, seeds and leaves to make a smell pot. We moved on to talking about trees and how some trees lose their leaves in the autumn. Next week, we will continue to explore other signs of autumn.

In Phonics, we concentrated on ‘ck’, ‘e’, ‘u’ and ‘r’. Our tricky words were ‘is’ and ‘I’. On Friday, we changed the home readers and group reading books. As an alternative, we can also offer eBooks so that parents have a choice of how they would like to read at home. Details about usernames and passwords for the eBooks will be sent home next week.

In Maths we started our work on subtraction and focused on finding 1 less. We used songs, stories and role play to help with this concept. We used people from school as the context for our stories. For example, Mrs Moss selling cakes at Tea and Toast and Mrs Wilson losing one leaf at a time in the wind!

In PE, we created shapes including tucked and stretched shapes and then found different ways to balance on bean bags. The children were very good at the traffic light ‘stop and go’ game during the warm-up. We also managed a full change! The biggest challenge, for most children, was taking off their blue polo shirt. Any extra help at home would be appreciated.

In PSHE, we talked about people who help us and how they are kind. We talked about the meaning of ‘kindness’ and how a simple smile is a little act of kindness. We talked about kind hands, words and eyes and why it is important to be kind.

Thank you for your parent evening slips. I will send home appointment days/times shortly. Look out for an appointment card in your child’s book bag.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend.

Mrs Webb and Team Red Class x

29.09.23

Hello Red Class Families,

This week we made our ‘mini me’ puppets. The children painted and decorated their cups and used a sliding mechanism to make a moving head. Our puppets will be displayed in the classroom for open evening (04.10.23). You will also see our ‘All About Me’ display featuring the children’s self-portraits. These special pictures are also used on the front cover of your child’s learning journey.

It was time for PE on Monday and the children changed beautifully. In fact, they did so well that we’re going for a full change next lesson. In the hall, the children enjoyed moving in different ways and making shapes with their body.

In Phonics, we read words with ‘g’, ‘o’, ‘c’ and ‘k’ and read our new tricky word ‘is’. When reading tricky words, we talk about the part of the word where we can use phonics knowledge and the tricky part. In ‘is’, we know ‘i’ but ‘s’ is tricky because it’s saying another sound. Later in the term, during our Reception Family Workshop, I’ll share some ideas for learning tricky words at home. For example, writing tricky words on post-its and sticking them to the fridge and writing the tricky part in a different colour.

During Maths, Pirate Redmond needed the children’s help to add two groups of jewels together. Every lesson, we start with a mental starter to prepare for Maths. This week, we counted back from 10 using the ‘Beans’ song (jumping bean, runner bean, baked bean). We also counted sounds. To play this game at home, find 10 small objects e.g. conkers. Drop them slowly into a pot. Ask your child to close their eyes and lift one finger each time they hear a sound. When you drop the last object say, ‘show me’. See if their fingers match the number of objects in the pot. This game is great for focusing listening and attention as well as counting.

Have the children told you about the krongelidong? The krongelidong is a mysterious creature who lives in the Write Dance forest. During our Write Dance sessions, we created krongelidongs using long, flowing, curved movements. You can find the link to our Write Dance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QR1bps_xn0

This week, the children started their group reading sessions. The children read their book three times a week concentrating on decoding (reading the text), fluency and expression and comprehension. During the first few weeks, we use picture books to embed routines and expectations for speaking and listening. Every Friday, we will send home a reading book and a copy of the children’s group reading book. So, hopefully, there should be 2 reading books in your bag. To make the system work and to ensure we have enough copies to send out, books must be returned on Fridays.

Next week, we start a new topic, ‘Planet Earth’. The children will also start their adventures at Forest School and they will attend their first whole school assembly.

Finally, we do enjoy a little bit of ‘Show and Tell’ in Red Class. We are always happy to celebrate achievements e.g. swimming certificates or dance medals. We also like to share creations from home. If the show and tell item is too big or fragile, please email a photo to the office address. Please keep toys safe at home.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Webb and Team Red Class x

P.S. The children’s special boxes will be sent home next week.

Click here.

21.07.23

Hello Red Class Families,

Although we have two more school days to go, we have reached the final fanfare! The children who walked down the path with their ‘All About Me’ boxes are now ready to fly into Year 1. I’ve worked with Mrs James for many years and I know they will continue to grow and shine in her care.

Thank you for supporting our family assembly on Thursday. Our little ones were fantastic! To sing, dance and retell their story to a room full of people is a huge achievement. Remembering all those words to the ‘Menu’ song was an achievement in itself. Two minutes before the assembly, during our final rehearsal, I managed to miss out a whole verse! It all worked out in the end!

This afternoon, we finished our topic with our ‘On the Farm Festival’. We waved our flags during the parade and performed a whole school country dance. We were also lucky enough to be joined by Midland Sinfonia (string quartet) who performed for the children. They were captivated by their performance.

Finally, if you have any reading or library books at home, please send them into school on Monday. I’ve added the children’s final eBook on the system, this afternoon. In September, the children will receive an eBook and a real book of the same title so families can choose which they would prefer to read. This will be in addition to their library and home reading book.

We have some very tired children at the minute as they near the end of a very long half term. Keep going Team Red!

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend.

Best wishes,

Mrs Webb and Team Red Class

P.S. We hope you enjoy sharing the children’s books and looking back on their year in Red Class.