Goldfinch - Our Learning Journey 2018-19

2018 - 2019

Welcome to Goldfinch Class!

'Once Upon a Time' 

Summer 1

Goldfinch Class are immersing themselves in all things relating to fairy and traditional tales.  If you dare go down to the woods tonight and are up for the challenge of climbing a beanstalk in the morning, come and join us!

Summer 1: Week 6

We have had so much fun this week.  First we had a visit from an Olympic athlete, who put us through our paces!  Then we got to grips with fractions, playing with food and play dough before working on fractions of an amount.  We learned about life as an author during Emma Caroll's visit and were inspired to produce our own storybooks! Next we enjoyed 'Bee Day'!  We studied the life cycle of bees, planted some flowers to help the bees make their honey, did a honey taste test and learned how beekeepers work with colonies of bees to produce honey.  What a busy week.  Class 1 are ready for their holiday!  

Summer 1: Week 5

We had the best day ever at Hampton Court Castle.  It has been hard to decide which part we enjoyed most, the tour round the castle, getting lost in the maze or zooming down the zip-wire!

Summer 1: Week 4

Class 1 know all about knightly chivalry, heraldic symbols and their meanings.  We created our own heraldic family crest and had fun using metallic paints to help us create our very own shield.

Summer 1: Week 3

As part of our R.E, curriculum, Class 1 learned all about Baptism this week.  They enjoyed acting out the various parts of the service and developing their understanding of this important religious rite.

Summer 1: Week 3

Multiplication has been the name of the game this week.  Class 1 have enjoyed counting in 'groups of' and also representing multiplication as repeated addition.  Well done Class 1!

Summer 1: Week 2

Our PE specialist has been helping us to develop our hockey skills.  We are now able to control our sticks and the ball!  Good work Goldfinch Class!

Summer 1: Week 1

We were so proud as two members of Goldfinch Class won the KS1 Easter Design Competition.  Enjoy your rabbit!

'We've got the whole world

in our hands' 

Spring 2

Goldfinch Class are learning about the difficulties facing endangered animals round the world and what man can do to help increase their numbers.  We are also considering how we can help our local environment, focusing on where, when, what and how we can 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'.

Spring 2: Week 5

We have had the most wonderful day at Weston's Farm Park, really appreciating the joys of spring! It has been a great opportunity to learn about the process of turning fruit into juice on a large scale.  We also talked about stages of life in relation to cows, calves, sheep and lambs.  The children loved getting up close and personal with the animals.  It really was a magical day.

Spring 1: Week 4

The children have been carrying out practical measuring activities this week.  They have particularly enjoyed learning about capacity and have developed a very steady hand whilst using rice!

Spring 1: Week 3

This week we have been learning about how a Hundred Square is organised.  We have been learning about how we can use a hundred square to add in 2's, 5's and 10's.

Spring 2: Week 1

Goldfinch Class are studying materials in science.  This week we considered whether man's search for materials has an impact on any endangered animals.  We decided that our use of wood has a very big impact on animals that live in forests.  Also, we have been researching on the internet and have learned that plastic is causing many sea creatures to die.  We understand the importance of recycling materials and reusing objects whenever possible.

'Frozen Planet' 

Spring 1

Goldfinch Class are journeying to the far reaches of the planet this half term so grab your thermals if you dare to find out more!  We shall be learning about life in the Arctic and Antarctic, in addition to researching the lives of famous Polar explorers past and present.

Spring 1: Week 6

Goldfinch Class have searched every nook and cranny of our local church this week!   We especially enjoyed climbing up the windy staircase to the bell tower and ringing the bells, playing the organ, wearing the liturgical colours and finding out about different parts of the church.  I think we may have some future campanologists among our class!  Thanks to Reverend Melanie and her team for organising such an exciting and memorable visit.  Well done also to the children, for showing such resilience on the walk back to school, where I was worried that some of our smallest pupils might be blown away!  As ever, the children displayed their fantastic manners and values. 

Spring 1: Week 5

We have been learning all about Lent and thinking what could we give up or what new activity we could take up over the period of Lent.  Do you like the Lenten Tree we made?

As part of our Frozen Planet topic we have been learning about famous explorers.  First we looked at pictures of a living explorer, Ranulph Fiennes.  Next we looked at a picture of an explorer from long ago, Ernest Shackleton.  We looked at pictures of them and tried to guess who they were and what they did.  Now we know that they are both amazing explorers.  

Spring 1: Week 4

In maths, we are doing lots of counting in 10’s and thinking about place value (focusing on numbers 1 to 40). The children have enjoyed using various maths equipment to represent groups of tens and units, which has really enhanced their understanding.  In English the children have written their own Lost and Found stories, which make a fantastic read.  Well done Goldfinch Class!  Our topic work has focused on life in the Arctic.  We have been studying Inuit artist, Ted Harrison, and used his work as inspiration for our own Arctic landscape paintings.  The children really enjoyed finding out about the ancient Arctic tradition of ‘Throat Singing’.   It is usually carried out as a competitive game between 2 people.  We had our own throat singing competition which was lots of fun!

Spring 1: Week 3

Goldfinch Class have been using their imaginative powers, sharing innovative ideas to help them plan their own version of the Lost and Found story.  They have produced some wonderful setting pictures and ‘character and prop’ plans.  I can’t wait to read their finished stories next week!  The children have also been getting to grips with tricky word problems for addition and subtraction in maths and are starting to develop a more organised approach to answering this type of question.

Spring 1: Week 2

We have been focusing on addition and subtraction methods this week and the children have really impressed me by how much they have remembered over the Christmas break.  Well done Goldfinch Class!  Everyone has worked really hard writing a re-telling of Oliver Jeffers' story, Lost and Found.  In addition, we have been enjoying learning bible stories through art and drama.  Here are pictures of the children acting out the story of ‘The Good Samaritan’.

Spring 1: Week 1

The children have had lots of fun settling into our wonderful new classroom and have produced lots of topic artwork for our classroom display boards.  They have also really enjoyed experimenting with (and playing with) ice this week!  The children have been working on their drama skills, developing fantastic actions to enhance the retelling of our Spring 1 class story, Lost and Found, by Oliver Jeffers.

Wheels, Wings and Out of this World! 

Autumn 2

Fasten your seat belt and get ready for the ride of your life!  This half term Class 1 are finding out about things that go.  In particular we are going to investigate how transport has changed over time and develop our research skills, finding out about famous inventors and their inventions.

Autumn 2: Week 2

We are back on dry land this week, thinking about life on the open road.  Do you know who invented the first car?  We do! We've also had an amazing trip to the Morgan Car factory in Malvern.  We've found out how the car has changed over the years, how it is made and what makes it move.  It was fascinating to see how the factory is organised and how it is really important to build each car in the same way, following the factory instructions carefully.  We all agree that we love Morgan cars! We have used this experience to help us learn how to write fantastic recounts.  It was great to have something so exciting to recount!

Autumn 2: Week 1

We've started our learning journey on the sea.  We've thought about all the different designs for boats and how they were powered.  In particular, we have studied the design for a Viking longboat and enjoyed creating our own versions.  We think they look great!

"Ahoy me hearties!"

Autumn 1

It's life on the ocean waves for Goldfinch Class this half term, as we find out all about pirates.  Are you brave enough to join us on our learning adventure?  Read on to find out what we have been up to this half term.

Autumn 1: Week 6

On the most glorious Autumn day, Goldfinch Class walked across the fields and down winding lanes to the Colwall Allotments to meet members of the Colwall Orchard Group.  We had a fabulous day learning about local apples, using the scratting machine to pulp the apples and then the pressing machine to squeeze out the juice.  Best of all we really enjoyed testing our juice.  We also made some apple rings which were dried in the sun.  They were very tasty! Finally, we tried our hands at 'extreme flower pressing' where we developed our creative and hammering skills.  A truly memorable day was shared by all.  Huge thanks to the Colwall Orchard Group for welcoming us and organising such a special day.

Autumn 1: Week 6

In maths this week, we have been thinking about lots of different ways to add, using the bar and part whole models as well as addition number sentences.  We have loved investigating how many different ways we can make a number.

Autumn 1: Week 5

"Ahoy me hearties".  Welcome to Class 1 Pirate day.  We had such a busy day, designing and painting out pirate flag tiles, making a pirate spoon puppet, writing and making a message in a bottle and perhaps best of all going on our very own treasure hunt around the grounds.  We rounded off the day with a tasty pirate party, eating our pirate map pizzas.  Some very tired but happy pirates sailed home at the end of the day!

Autumn 1: Week 4

We have been learning about more and less this week using lots of objects from around the classroom.  Then we thought about how we could show the idea of one more and less using blocks.  As well as answering questions we are spending a lot of time explaining why we think our answers are correct.  This is really helping us to understand our maths.

Land Ahoy!

Goldfinch Class have been learning about oceans and continents on a world map. We studied where Blackbeard sailed his ship in search of treasure.  Did you know that Blackbeard was born not so far from Colwall?  Edward Teach, as Blackbeard was originally named, was born in Bristol.   

We're Spinning Around!

The Autumn sunshine has made outdoors PE spectacular.  We had great fun working as a team to direct our 'pirate ship' ball around out parachute sea!

If you go down to the woods today ...

You might find Class 1!  The children have been having a fantastic time, climbing and den building in Forest School.  It is a great opportunity to work as a team, take chances and most of all have lots of fun.

Autumn 1: Week 3

We have enjoyed reading and following instructions on how to make pirate hats. What do you think of our hats?  We think they are great!  

Autumn 1: Week 2

We have been thinking about 'Gods Amazing World'and drawing all the wonderful things in nature that we are thankful for.  

Autumn 1: Week 1

This week we have been measuring anything and everything.  We have thought about different ways to measure objects and enjoyed comparing different lengths.

2016 - 2017

Welcome to Year One!

Beside the Seaside

Captivated by print! (week 3)

We had a fascinating time, continuing our Raoul Dufy artist study, working on reproducing our version of his famous paintings, 'Regatta at Cowes' and 'Bateauxs Pavoises' (decked boats).  Local artist, Jackie Taylor, came and taught us about the history and technique of printing.  The children really enjoyed creating their own sail and tug boats on print polystyrene, making sure that their outlines were deeply carved into the material.  The best part was, of course, the messy part - rolling on the ink and transferring it to our seascape background.  Jackie commented what a lovely, enthusiastic group of children they are.  Well done Goldfinches and huge thanks to Jackie for sparing her time and sharing her expertise.

A life on the stage! (week 3)

We have been learning 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch' story by Ronda Armitage. Having drawn a class story map the children came up with their own actions to help us all remember the story.  We studied a 'Little Red Riding Hood' play script, to understand how plays are written and presented on the page.  We had a go at writing the beginning of a play script for our story, 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch', which we then practised as a puppet show and performed for Wren Class, who were an excellent and appreciative audience!

Unlocking the past!  (week 3)

Goldfinch Class are using paintings from the past to try and help them piece together the identity of our mystery significant person from the past.  We had a fantastic class discussion where the children shared their thoughts and ideas, having really observed two paintings closely.  We are expecting more clues next week which may uncover the identity of our famous person and a story of amazing personal courage.

Goldfinch Class study Raoul Dufy

We are studying the French artist Raoul Dufy (1877 - 1953), who is famous for his sketches, painting, textiles and ceramics.  We have begun by studying his harbour paintings, trying to work out how he makes his pictures appear 3D.  We worked out that he makes some things much larger (as though nearby) and other things tiny (as though far away). Before starting our paintings we used whiteboards and scrap paper to allow us to practise our skills.  Have a look at our early sketches and then our final artwork.

Our first draft attempts! (Week 1, 5/6/17)

Dragons and Dungeons

A mysterious parcel arrived in Class 1 at the start of term.  Whatever had been inside the box was certainly not there any more.  Class 1 have become the 'Dragon Busters' and are on the trail of a missing dragon.  So far we've found lots of clues but where will they all lead?  We're not sure ... but we're having fun finding out! We've reported our findings to the Mythological Creatures Council and are preparing a newsflash and newspaper report to let everybody know all about this surprising situation!

Revolting Children?

Class 1 proved that they are definitely NOT revolting children when they danced their socks off at the John Masefield High School (JMHS) Dance Festival.  Students from JMHS taught various classes from local Primary Schools a dance themed around the song 'Revolting Children' from the Matilda musical.  Having had a 45 minute workshop, the children were invited on stage to perform to an audience of over 100 people.  Class 1 made us all so proud as they strutted there stuff and really owned the stage during there 'Revolting Children' performance.  Well done Class 1! 

Take a walk on the wild side!

On a beautiful summer's day, Goldfinch Class strolled out into the wonder of Colwall. We searched in field and hedgerow for flowers, shrubs, grasses and trees which grow naturally around Colwall.  We compared flowers and leaves with our plant detective guide sheets and were amazed at just how many plants we found.  Have a look at our pictures below and test your knowledge of all things green!  Can you name the plants we found?

In a Colwall country garden!

Following our walk on the wild side, we visited a beautiful Colwall country garden to compare and contrast the flowers, shrubs and herbs with all that we had observed in the hedgerows and fields.  We particularly loved the clematis and the herb garden.  Which plant is your favourite?

It's in the balance!

Goldfinch class have been busy getting to grips with capacity and mass this half term, comparing, describing and solving practical problems.  We have also worked hard on numbers to and beyond one 100, 2x, 5x and 10x tables and studied ordinal numbers.

Homework highs!

Congratulations to everyone who carried out the weighing homework activity, making the piped dragon biscuits.  Those that were sent in to school were very tasty!  Also, well done to everyone who made a castle with a moving part.  They are all extremely impressive.  Have a look at the homework gallery below and decide which castle you would have liked to live in.

Mystical Mountains!

We have been learning about life in the Himalayas.  The children particularly enjoyed learning how to plan an expedition and finding out what challenges mountain explorers come across, from blood-sucking leeches to landslides.  Our fascination with the subject led to the children producing amazing Expedition Diaries up to seven pages long!  We hope that you enjoy reading some of the excerpts from our work.

Perfect Pancakes!

Tuesday 28th February saw Class 1 in a pancake frenzy.  Flour clouds were dusting our desks as we all enjoyed perfecting our measuring and weighing skills.  Having made the batter and tossed a few pancakes we continued with our measuring, using stop watches to time our pancake races. To finish off we prepared a tally chart to identify our favourite toppings.  Class 1 all agreed that we love pancake day!

3D Shape Investigation

When asked whether all 3D shapes have the same number of points as edges, Class 1 chose a practical approach to help them solve the question.  The children enjoyed making 3D shape 'skeletons' using straws and modelling dough.  Can you spot the square based pyramid and triangular prism?

Super Scientists

Science Day saw the whole school performing fun experiments.  Class 1 was no exception.  The children worked brilliantly in groups to investigate the quickest way to melt ice, thus enabling them to retrieve a trapped creature.  The children suggested their own ideas, including blowing the ice, using a hairdryer, rubbing with their hands and smashing with a hammer.  We proved that brute force easily won over hot air!  Spot the winning team below.

Taj Mahal

Goldfinch class has been fascinated by the story of the building of the Taj Mahal.  As well as writing about the Taj Mahal, the children were inspired to produce fantastic artwork, including watercolour paintings, sculptures and models.

Spice and Saris Day

We have had a fantastic Indian experience today, learning Bollywood to Bhangra dance, Indian legends and all about Indian culture through the music and drama.  Can you spot Ganesh, Rama and Sita in the following pictures?

Uni-hoc

Goldfinch Class have really enjoyed working on their hockey skills this half term.  In particular, dribbling, passing, marking, blocking, shooting and working as a team.  They have really developed these skills well over the last 7 weeks.

Time to party!

Class 1 have really enjoyed the Christmas season.  We have studied the story of the birth of Jesus and brought it to life with our Christmas play.  Well done to everyone for playing their parts so well.  We ended the term with a well deserved Christmas celebration party.  Have a Happy Christmas holiday and Merry New Year Class 1!

Pirates on Parade – Goldfinch Class Topic Day!

Each half term we organise our learning around a topic which the children can really get excited about.  It took a brave person to enter Goldfinch Class (Class 1) as we celebrated our topic work with ‘Pirate Day’.  The children came into school dressed in amazing costumes and ready for fun!

After hoisting the sails and walking the plank we settled down to the serious task of designing our own Jolly Roger flags and then painting the design onto a tile.  The children really worked hard to ensure they used the space on their tile effectively and the colourful results were fantastic.  Next, the children transformed a simple egg box into a magical treasure chest, ready to be filled with booty!  Later, they enjoyed following instructions, weighing out ingredients, making dough and baking some pirate hard tack biscuits!  The day was rounded off with an amazing pirate party.  We sang sea shanties and ate some amazing ‘pirate grub’, lovingly prepared by our wonderful Year 1 parents.  We voted on whether we liked our pirate hard tack biscuits and decided they are a bit like marmite, we either loved them or hated them! 

Ship Ahoy!

Goldfinch Class really enjoyed designing junk model pirate ships.  The children thought about all the different parts of a boat and discussed what materials would be best to use.  Class 1 certainly managed to use a lot of glue and masking tape!  Afterwards, we thought about what we liked about our boats and what we could do to make sturdier models next time.

How many ways can you add?

In Goldfinch Class we have been thinking of lots of ways to add two numbers together.  We can use our fingers, count objects, draw and count objects, use a number line or even draw an 'empty number line' and count on to work out the answer.

Fun with counting!

The children enjoyed taking part in a treasure hunt whilst completing their counting to ten activity!

2015 - 2016

Mask and Prop Day 2016

We had a great day to round off our Traditional Tales topic.  We wore masks and brought props from our focus books - The Three Little Pigs, Chicken Licken, The Little Red Hen, The Owl and the Pussycat and Aesop's fables.

Thank you to parents and carers for making the children look so wonderful - you are very creative!

Table Top Games Club

Children in Year 1 meet once a week  at lunchtime to play games and make puzzles. We call it 'Table Top Games Club' but we do use the floor quite a lot!

Here are a few pictures from our club this week.

Hello and Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas break.

The children have come back to school this week and have worked very hard. We have started our Traditional Stories topic with The Three Little Pigs and the children have been using the puppet show role play area to tell the story.

Spelling sheets and Homework books have gone home this week - please help your child with these. Do come and see me if you have any questions about them.

Please hear your child read their reading book for about 10 minutes each day and indicate that you have done this in the yellow reading record - thanks.

Just a reminder that library day is Tuesday - please return the book your child has borrowed and they can choose a new one. Also please send in P.E. kit if you haven't already.

We are looking forward to a great term!  

Here are a few photos to give a flavour of some of the activities we enjoyed in the Autumn Term.