2 Grove

Today in computing we looked at online safety. We read the story ‘Monkeycow’, which is all about what can happen if you share your password with other people. In our computing lesson we always talk about how we can stay safe when going on devices. We know that we always need to be near our adults when we are using our devices at home. We know that we need to speak to a trusted adult if we are unsure, upset, scared or worried about anything online.

Today we bundled up in our warmest coats, scarves, and boots and went outside to have some fun in the snow! In our Science topic we are learning about the seasons throughout the year, and this is something we have been exploring regularly. Today we got to experience winter, the season of snow, and we enjoyed discovering all the snowy wonders around us!

Welcome back year 1 I hope you had a lovely time off with your families! This term we are going to be learning about lots of exciting topics. 

In Computing we are working on Digital Citizenship — understanding how to keep safe when online. We know we must keep safe online by not telling people we don’t know our name, address or school, only clicking things we know are safe, and telling a grown-up if something makes us feel worried. Here are some questions we want to find out about:

In Science we are looking at organising the animals we see at the zoo ready for a very special trip! We are going to look at different animals and how we could sort them into groups, just like scientists do. We had a discussion and came up with some interesting questions we would like to find out about.

In PSHRE we are learning how to stay healthy by eating nutritious foods and keeping active through exercise. On our school website, the PE Curriculum button links to Get Set 4 PE Active Families, where you’ll find lots of fun activities you can try at home with an adult.

In History we are learning all about the Royal Family! We have discussed some of the Royal family members and cam up with some exciting questions we would like to find out about. 

Today we had our Christmas party in 1 Oxford, and what a wonderful time we had! We played lots of fun games, danced to music, enjoyed some Christmas colouring, and even took part in a festive Christmas quiz.

We loved coming to school in our own clothes and celebrating with our friends. To make the day even more special, we were lucky enough to receive a visit from Santa himself!

What a fantastic Autumn term we’ve had in Year 1. Enjoy your half term with family and friends, and I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year, Year 1!

Today our digital leader talked to us about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how important it is to stay safe when using it. We learned that AI can be a super tool, but we need to use it responsibly and understand what it is.

We looked at different pieces of artwork that AI has created and compared them to artwork made by human artists. It was really interesting to see the differences! Some AI art was very detailed and creative, but it didn’t always have the same emotion or meaning that a human artist has put into their work.

We also talked about how AI works — it doesn’t think like a person, it learns patterns from lots of data.

Today we had our Smiley Reward, which was the pantomime! This term we have worked very hard to earn our smileys with our fantastic work in lessons and impeccable behaviour. I am very proud that everyone in our class was able to fill their smiley card and attend the reward!

We watched Jack and the Beanstalk, a story we know very well in Year 1 because we’ve been learning it in English this term. The pantomime was full of magic, music and laughter — and we had lots of fun singing and dancing along with the show. It was exciting to see all the colourful costumes and hear everyone join in!

Today we had our Key Stage 1 Christmas performance, and we were ALL so excited! We couldn’t wait to share our hard work with everyone. From the moment we stepped on stage, we gave it our biggest smiles, used our loudest, clearest voices, and showed off lots of enthusiasm!

The show was filled with joy, sparkle, and festive cheer — and we were so proud of how well we did.

A huge thank you to all the parents, carers, families, and friends who came to watch and support us. Your cheering and applause made it extra special.

Well done, Key Stage 1! You were absolutely amazing.

Today, 1 Oxford enjoyed the best Christmas dinner for lunch! We tucked into a delicious festive feast with all the trimmings, and the hall was filled with Christmas songs. It was a wonderful chance to sit with friends, laugh, and enjoy.

A huge thank you to our amazing dinner ladies for preparing such a fantastic Christmas meal!

Today in Maths we have been working practically with arrays!

The children explored arrays using everyday objects such as counters, cubes and buttons. They arranged items into rows and columns to help them see how repeated addition works.

They practised describing their arrays using phrases like “3 rows of 4” and enjoyed spotting patterns and discovering different ways to organise groups of objects.

Everyone showed fantastic teamwork and mathematical thinking. Well done, Year 1!

This month, we’ve been celebrating Bob Marley — a music legend whose songs brought people together from all around the world.

Did you know Bob loved football almost as much as music? He even supported the English club Tottenham Hotspur.

We’ve loved listening to his songs and remembering Bob as both a musical icon and a passionate football fan. Thank you to our Music Ambassador for helping us learn some facts!

Today, Year 1 at Oxford had a blast becoming scientists! We put on our lab coats and explored which materials are the most absorbent.

We worked in groups, dropping water onto different materials to see which ones soaked it up. Absorbent means “to soak up,” and we were curious to see which materials could hold the most water.

Some materials soaked up the water, while others didn’t at all! It was a fun way to learn about how different materials work. Can’t wait for more experiments this term!

Today Year 1 took part in an exciting History project all about toys from the past and present. We focused on the word decade, meaning ten years, which links perfectly with our Maths learning on counting in tens!

We watched a video about toys our grandparents, parents and teachers played with, then read information about different decades. In groups, the children created fantastic research posters about their chosen decade.

Well done, Year 1!

Today we held an Art Open Morning and invited our families into school. We proudly shared everything we’ve done this term — from our research on our class artist and designer to our final artwork.

We explained our key vocabulary, how we created repeated patterns, and how we drew portraits with the right proportions after lots of practice. Working with our adults, we wrote feedback on our final pieces — reflecting on what went well and where we can improve.

It was a really special morning, and we’re so proud of how hard we’ve worked. Thank you to everyone who came!

Today we learnt how Christians believe God made the world.

• God made everything – light, sky, land, plants, animals … and people.

• He did it in six days.

• On the seventh day, God rested.

• Everything God made was very good.

• Christians also believe we should take care of the world, because God made it and loves it.

In class, we drew a story map with each of the six days and the day of rest. We talked about what God made each day. What is your favourite day of God’s creation? Why?

Today, 1 Oxford visited Bolton Museum to explore Bolton’s past. We saw art that showed what Bolton was like hundreds of years ago, and even sang a nursery rhyme that’s over 100 years old!

We sorted objects into hoops, comparing things from today and things from 100 years ago. We discovered that some toys, like teddies and marbles, haven’t changed much at all. Then, in teams, we went on a scavenger hunt around the museum. We found old toys, vintage swimming costumes, and even bars of soap that people used to wash with.

To finish up, we got to handle and play with some real toys from the past. What was your favourite toy from the workshop?

Today we celebrated Be Internet Legends Day in Year 1!
We learned how to stay safe, kind, and brave when we use the internet.

First, we watched a fun assembly from Google’s Internet Legends. We met the colourful characters from Interland, who taught us five important rules:

• Be Sharp – Think before you share.

• Be Alert – Check if things are real.

• Be Secure – Keep your information safe.

• Be Kind – Treat others nicely online.

• Be Brave – Ask an adult for help if something feels wrong.

We talked about the games we like to play online and how we can stay safe while playing.
Everyone had great ideas!

Then we coloured our own Internet Legend shields, showing how we can be safe and kind online. Year 1 did a brilliant job!

We had a fantastic day and learned that being safe online helps us have fun and learn new things. Well done, Year 1

Today we learned about our digital footprint.
Our Digital Leader helped us understand that a digital footprint is the information we leave behind whenever we go online. We talked about keeping ourselves safe by not sharing personal information and always speaking to our adults at home about what we do online. We also remember to ask for permission before going online.

In Year 1 Grove, we are very excited to have started our brand new Art topic – The Gallery of Funny Faces! We have started by learning about our class artist and class designer.

Kehinde Wiley is a contemporary painting artist. We really enjoyed looking at his portraits, including the flowery backgrounds.

Aries Moross is a contemporary designer. We enjoyed looking at the designs, especially all the bright colours and words. We really liked the style of some of the letters in the designs.

Today we started our new History topic – ‘Are iPads more fun than my grandma’s old toys?’ We brought our own favourite toys in school to show everyone. We learned that modern toys are often made out of plastic. We know that electronic toys are very new.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to be exploring toys from different times in the past and comparing them to modern toys. We are very excited to find out more about old toys!

Today took part in a Google Be Internet Legends assembly! It reminded us all about to stay safe online. This is especially important when we using devices at home. 

We discussed the online safety messages in the assembly!

• Do not click on links without speaking to an adult
• Only play games that we are old enough to play.
• Stay near your adult when you are using your device.
• Ask your adult’s permission to go online.
• Check information that you read online because some of it is false.
• If you are unsure of anything always speak to a trusted adult.

This week, we have been talking about staying safe. Over the holidays, we might be doing lots of fun activities to do with fireworks or Halloween, but we must make sure that we keep ourselves safe.

Remember these important Halloween rules:

• Stay with your adult if you are trick or treating. 
• Do not speak to strangers.
• Hold your adult’s hand if you are crossing the road.

Remember these important firework rules:

• Always stand well back from fireworks.
• Only adults should be lighting fireworks.
• Stay close to your adult if you go to a display.

Have a lovely half term Year 1!

1 Oxford are really enjoying our Science topic all about Autumn!

We have enjoyed a lovely Autumn walk outside and have had lots of fun looking at the weather in Autumn. We know the weather is Autumn can be very rainy and it is gets colder!

We have been looking at different Autumn leaves. We know that leaves that fall off the trees in Autumn are called ‘deciduous’ and leaves that stay on the trees all year are called ‘evergreen’. We have been learning the different types of leaves and sorting them in groups today.

Today we have learned about Black History Month. This happens every year in October, when we celebrate the achievements of black people in History. We talked about Rosa Parks, who worked hard in her life to make sure life was fair and equal for everybody. We read her story in Little People, Big Dreams and talked about how courage and fairness can change the world.

Today, Year 1 enjoyed a PE-based Smiley Reward with FUNDA! We earned this by working hard, helping others, being kind, and showing impeccable behaviour.

For our reward, we tackled a giant inflatable obstacle course, putting our Fundamentals and Athletics skills into action. We raced each other—and even took on Miss Ridgway!

It was full of fun, laughter, and teamwork. Well done, Year 1!

Today we heard the story of Jonah and the Whale!

• God asked Jonah to go and tell people in Nineveh to stop doing wrong.
• Jonah didn’t listen — he ran away and got on a boat.
• God sent a storm, and Jonah was thrown overboard.
• A huge fish swallowed him. While inside, Jonah prayed, said sorry, and asked God to save him.
• The fish spit Jonah onto dry land. Then Jonah obeyed God and went to Nineveh.
• The people said sorry, and God forgave them.

What does this teach Christians?

• Listen to God.
• God is always with us, even when we make mistakes.
• We can pray and ask for forgiveness.
• God forgives and gives second chances.
• God’s love is for everyone.

Year 1 teamed up together to perform their first RRR assembly!
We talked about our learning in English, Maths, Science and Geography.
We sang some fantastic songs called ‘Stuck on the Motorway’ (all about counting in 2s and 10s) and ‘The United Kingdom’.

We worked so hard to learn our songs and our lines. Well done, everybody! 

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring how to write—and use—great instructions. We looked at examples, noting features like clear titles, material lists, step-by-step sequencing, and helpful tips.

Then, in pairs, we followed instructions to create our own hedgehog models. We read carefully, checked each step, and made our models together.

This morning, some of our Year 1 parents and guardians joined us in school to see what we’ve been learning in Geography.

The children proudly shared their key vocabulary with actions and performed a fun song about the different United Kingdom countries and their capital cities. It was a great way to bring our learning to life!

Thank you to everyone who came – we loved sharing our work with you!

We love to read in Year 1! We really enjoy being in our enjoying some of our wonderful books. We do lots of reading in our Guided Read lessons applying our phonics to segment and blend our words. Reading is a great way to relax and learn lots of exciting new information!

Today in RE we learnt about parables—these are special stories that Jesus told. There are many parables in the Bible that teaches Christians important life lesson like how to forgive and how to treat others.

We listened to The Lost Son:

• A man had two sons.
• The younger son asked for his share of the money, then left home.
• He spent all the money, and then had nothing.
• He felt sorry and came back home.
• His dad was very happy to see him and forgave him.
• The older brother was upset, but the father said it was right to be joyful because his son who was lost was found.

We learnt that the story teaches us about forgiving others, saying sorry, and how God loves us even when we make mistakes.

This week we have been focusing on number and place value. Working with our partners, we explored number lines and practised counting both forwards and backwards.

We discovered that:

• When we count forwards, the numbers get bigger.
• When we count backwards, the numbers get smaller.

We also had fun finding and recognising different numbers within 10 and beyond, and practised working out 1 more and 1 less than a given number.

Year 1 worked really hard with their partners and enjoyed challenging themselves with their number skills!

Today Year 1 watched a Google assembly.

It taught us about how to tell whether information is true or false. We know not to trust everything we read online and to check other sources or ask our trusted adults. We learnt that it is really important to keep our passwords private to keep ourselves safe online. We learnt to always be kind not only in school to our friends but also online and that if we are unsure of anything online always speak to a trusted adult.

This afternoon was our sports assembly. We showed off our speed and skills in a variety of races. We completed an egg and spoon race, relay race, balanced a cone and competed in a running race. We really enjoyed taking part in all out races!

Thank you to all our parents, adults and friends who joined us today and we hope we impressed you with our outstanding effort, sportsmanship and of course our superior skills.

Also a big thank you to our Year 6s who helped to set up the races, give out stickers and take photos.

WOW! What a fantastic start to our first week back in Year 1!

1 Oxford have been working hard to learn about different fruits and vegetables to make a fruit salad!

We know that fruits have their seeds on the inside, and that a vegetable is a part of a plant that you can eat.

We now know how to use knives safely to cut. We leant to use the bridge method to cut fruit into two pieces and the claw method to slice fruit into small pieces. We even got to take our delicious fruit salads home to enjoy eating them!

We really enjoyed our amazing learning and we have all worked so hard – Miss Ridgway is very proud!

Today, we went on our our local area walk! We walked along Shepherd Cross Street and looked at some of the human and physical features of our local area. We enjoyed talking about the places we have been before with our families, such as the shop and the playground. We also saw Oxford Grove across the huge field!

Over the next few weeks, we will be using what we have learned today to apply our Geography skills and create our own maps of the local area!

Today Year 1 have been busy creating some wonderful bracelets for our summer fair stall! We created some wonderful keyrings and bracelets to sell!

This week, we have started to find out more about what we will be learning in Year 1!

Our class author is called Julia Donaldson and she has written some lovely books, like The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Miss Ridgway’s favourite Stickman. 

Our class poet is called Giles Andreae and he has written some fantastic poetry books like Rumble in the jungle and Commotion in the Ocean. This week we had a go at performing some of our Rumble in the Jungle poem’s.  

WOW! I cannot believe its transition time already!

We have had a fantastic week in our new 1 Oxford classroom. We have been exploring our new areas and enjoying our Key stage 1 playground. We are very lucky that we already know our teacher Miss Ridgway from Reception but it has been great to get to know 1 Grove’s teacher Mrs Thompson. We have had a busy week RRR’ing our learning from Reception and learning all about our new curriculum. Well done for settling into Year 1 so well- Miss Ridgway is very proud!

Throughout our topic, ‘We’re going on a Bug Hunt’, Reception have been able to view and visit real life caterpillars. Over the weeks our caterpillars have grown, eaten lots of food, and turned into cocoons.

After the holidays we were excited to see that the caterpillars had grown and changed into butterflies! We released them into the wild so they could find a new habitat!

In our PSHRE this term, we have been thinking about relationships! The children have been exploring what makes a good friend, how to resolve friendships and what to do when we are feeling lonely. Including building their own new friend.

We also looked at what to do when we feel lonely and how we can calm down when we are feeling upset or angry by using mindful activities and breathing exercises. Great job reception!

In our computing, the children have been exploring how to research information online on child friendly websites. We have also been exploring what is personal information and who are our trusted adults at school and at home. We know that we must keep our personal information safe and only tell people that we trust. Well done reception!

Reception had a great time at Hedgehogs Adventure today! They hunted for their own bugs and minibeasts and made a wormery! They were very big and brave exploring and playing in the woodland! They even had time for a s’mores biscuit at the end of a great day, well done reception!

Reception had a great time with the fun food Chef today, making Fruit Skewers! We had to listen carefully and follow the instructions. We also practiced our cutting skills to chop up all the fruit we needed for our fruit skewers! Great job reception!

Reception have been learning all about their new story, ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’! We have been practising and rehearsing the story and exploring our tuff tray around our new text!

Reception had a great time at the farm today! They learnt lots of things about life on the farm and what things are made and produced on the farm!

First on the tractor ride to see and feed some donkeys!

Then, Reception fed some animals!

Next on to donkey rides!

A quick stop for lunch!

Then, on to the milking process that happens on farms!

Finally on to pets corner to hold and pet some baby animals!

What a fantastic day! Well done Reception!

Reception showed off their skills in PE today with the different rolls and movements they could do! Fantastic job Reception!

Reception were busy little bees! After reading our story, ‘The Little Red Hen’ the children got a chance to make their own bread! They very carefully read and followed the instructions step by step, mixing the ingredients together to make their own bread! Great job reception!

Of course, we had to try some!

The children have had a great time exploring the preparations and celebrations around Eid! We have looked at our story ‘The Most Exciting Eid’ and explored what happens for Muslims at Eid. Great job reception!

We also made some lanterns to celebrate! 

Today Reception had their last ever Reception assembly!

We had a fantastic time show casing our super singing to our friends and family that came to watch!

Thank you to everyone who came to watch us and well done Reception you were amazing!