Beech class have been superb this week, there have been quite a few changes which they have adapted to brilliantly. On Monday and Tuesday mornings we had Year 2 join us while groups of them did their SATs, Wednesday and today there was a supply teacher in and Thursday was break the rules day. Well done Beech class! 
We had a great day on break the rules day, the children really enjoyed seeing each others outfits and having toys in class- thank you all for your donations. 
In Computing this week we have started making our rockets which we will complete and launch next week. The children persevered to make cones to go on top of their bottles. Here are some photos:

Hopefully next week will be a little more settled. We will be finishing off our Adventurers and Explorers topic, starting our fractions topic in Maths and finishing our Science topic of Plants. 
Hope you all have a lovely weekend. 

The children of Beech class have made me so proud this week, they have been fantastic ambassadors for Chagford School! 
In Science, we have been learning more in our Plants topic. We have been naming British trees, deciding if they are evergreen or deciduous, and searching for them on the school grounds. We have also been learning about British wildflowers and have managed to find many of them in the forest school and in the hedgerows around the school. Here are some photos of us searching! 

In Maths, we have been carrying on with our multiplication topic focusing on making arrays to help us solve multiplication problems. Today we developed our learning to include doubling numbers, we used spots and a ladybird to help us. We had to put equal number of spots on both sides of the ladybird. 

We had our last session with Devon Wildlife Trust this week and we were able to make a bug hotel. A HUGE thank you to Proper Job who kindly donated materials to make this possible. 

One of the main reasons I was so proud of the children this week was due to our trip to Chagford Memory Café. The children showed patience, thoughtfulness, and kindness amongst many other skills. They socialised beautifully with the guests, listen avidly to their stories of time gone by and shared their own stories. We drew our own pictures of Queen Elizabeth II which we shared with everyone there, everyone thought they were excellent artists! Here are our pictures of the Queen. For more photos and details of our visit, then please do read Mr Finch's weekly newsletter.  

It may have been a shorter week, but we have been just as busy! 
This week in Maths, we started our multiplication and division learning. We practised our counting in 2s, 5s and 10s using the video below, if you ask really nicely the children might be able to show you there amazing counting at home (please be aware of adverts before the video on YouTube, we have a filtering system at school, but you might not have the same on your home computer!). 
As the sun was shining, we made the most of it and went outside to chalk counting in 10s numberlines on the playground. We then practised hopping up and down them chanting! 

We had a lovely time with Paul creating perfect habitats for Winston the woodlouse, thinking about what he might need for food and safety. We even found a female woodlouse which was carrying eggs, look out for baby woodlice soon! 
Next week in our outdoor learning session, we will be creating our own bug hotel for school. We have been liaising with Nicky Scott and Proper Job to help us with resources, but if you have any of the below you could donate, we would be very grateful. 

In Science, we have started learning about plants and have planted French beans. We are hoping that by watering them regularly and giving them enough sunshine, that at half term we will be able to bring home a healthy bean plant that might produce beans for us to enjoy in the summer. Here are some photos of us planting them:

Next weeks, we will be learning...
- Who the explorer Bessie Coleman was and what she did
- We will be thinking about healthy eating and what makes a good packed lunch
- Working on making equal groups and showing multiplication questions using arrays
- Making our bug hotel 
and lots of other exciting things. 

I hope that this weather sticks around (and maybe rain at night!). Have a lovely weekend!

What a busy and exciting first week back we have had!
The children had an amazing time on Wednesday when Sarah McIntyre came to visit, she ran a workshop with us in the hall, she read Grumpycorn and then gave us a drawing class. We were all able to draw our own versions of Grumpycorn and name them after our favourite food!

Here are some of our versions:

We had Paul from the Wildlife Trust come in and teach us all about the different tress we could find in our forest school, the children did an amazing job of spotting the different shapes and textures of the leaves. We talked about how the trees change across the different seasons and what animals do to survive (hibernate, migrate or tough it out!). 
We have also started our new Humanities topic of 'Adventurers and Explorers', this week we have been thinking about what we might need for a trip to the jungle. The children have filled their rucksacks with what an explorer would need in the jungle. Bug spray was a popular choice!

Hi All,

Just a quick update on what we are learning about this half term.

English - RWI Phonics
Maths - Multiplication and Division then we will be starting our Fractions unit which we will then finish after half term. 
Science - Plants 
History - Explorers and Adventurers 
PSHE - Being my Best (Growth mindset, healthy eating, hygiene and health, and cooperation)
RE -  What is the ‘good news’ Christians believe Jesus Brings? How should we care for the world and for others, and why does it matter?
Computing - BeeBot programming and digital imagery.
PE - Saints PE on a Monday and REAL PE on a Tuesday 
Mr Dray will continue to teach Art and Music weekly. 

We are having a lovely day with Sarah McIntyre and will update you at the end of the week. 

Best wishes, 
Miss Coleman

I am so sorry for the delayed publishing of this post!
We had a wonderful last week of term before the holidays. We learnt all about the Christian story of Easter and created our own Easter gardens. We used our noticing skills to find and collect natural objects to include in our gardens (photos below). We also applied our maths learning all about measuring weight and created our Easter Egg Nest Cakes, we had to read the recipe and measure the ingredients accurately. 

The children might not have been completely aware in year 1, but this week was assessment week. The children have done some challenging work and I was really proud of how well they managed with the changes in our learning. They really showed how much they have improved in certain areas, especially Maths. Well done Beech Class! 

I am really sorry to say, due to the assessments and COVID striking it has been a week where I haven't taken enough pictures. I did manage to snap this one and it was too good not to share. During continuous provision, the children set up their own classroom, they took it in turns to be the teacher and share stories with the children (including some toys to make up the numbers!). 

Next week, we will be continuing our humanities topic of London, as well as testing materials in Science, our usual PE and other subjects too. If you would like to do some work with your children here are some ideas:
- Think about what materials you might use to build a house. Can you think of what properties these materials might need to have?
- Have you ever heard of the Great Fire of London? Can you find out more about where it started? How did they put it out? How long did it burn for?
- In Maths, we are going to be starting our new topic, volume and capacity. Can you notice what liquids are measured in? Have a look at the side of drinks bottles, milk bottles etc. 

Have a lovely weekend, 
Miss Coleman

What a wonderful welcome back it has been. Thank you so much to all the parents and children who have been so lovely and welcoming. Beech class have been AMAZING this week and have been showing me how much progress they have made in their learning. 
We had a lovely session with Paul on Tuesday, we were looking at food chains and how all the vegetation and animals link together. We played an excellent running game where we all had different roles. We had herbivores, carnivores and plant as well as a sun which released people who had been eaten!

We had time to share two more wonderful Mary Anning models which had been made by Rosa and Lottie. I am so impressed by the children's engagement with this topic and how much information they can recall. 

On Thursday, we started our new Maths topic of measuring weight and mass. The children did some excellent comparison work today, measuring objects from our classroom and deciding which was heavier and which was lighter. 

Things you can do to help your child next week:

• Talk about ‘mass’ in terms of ‘heavier than’ and ‘lighter than’
• Read and share their favourite story at home, it would be lovely if they could bring it in and talk about it in class too!
• Choose a favourite London landmark and research some facts about it
• Think about what food webs might be happening in and around where we live in time to tell Paul on Tuesday

Have a delightful weekend, it is Run4Rosie and the sun is supposed to be shining!
Best wishes, 
​Miss Coleman

It has been lovely to welcome Miss Coleman back into Beech Class this week, as she prepares for her return on Monday.  This will ensure a smooth transition, so the children can continue with their learning without disruption. 
A huge thank you for sending in photos of your children reading in unusual places!  I have loved receiving these images by email, and we have a vibrant display in our classroom in celebration of World Book Day.  As I write, it is Thursday evening (my day off), but I can’t wait to find out from Miss Barton how the day went.  I’m sure the children had fun and hopefully have ideas of new books and authors to explore.
Cross curricular links help to cement learning, and a fine example of this was in our outdoor learning session on Tuesday.  Paul from Devon Wildlife had organised for the children to do a wildlife habitat survey in the school grounds.  One task to be done was to measure a hedge using strides.  This linked perfectly with our Maths topic of Length and Height: the children have been exploring non-standard units of measurement.  They have been measuring items in the classroom using cubes, lollipop sticks, and their hands.  So, to have the very practical application of measuring a hedge using strides was a lightbulb moment: people do this in real life!
‘Artis Everywhere’ is a project funded by the Arts Council, that we’ll be using in order to provide weekly creative sessions to enhance our Science topic of ‘Building Materials’.  On Wednesday, Beech Class explored the material of glass through mime, music and movement.  Toward the end of the session, children practised mirroring each other and were pretty good at it!  This is a great example of kinaesthetic learning where children learn through doing and having a ‘hands on’ experience.
Things you can do to help your child next week:

• Talk about ‘mass’ in terms of ‘heavier than’ and ‘lighter than’
• Make some cakes and measure out ingredients together
• Research The Underground in London
• Notice the changes in the season in time to tell Paul on Tuesday

As always, thank you for your kindness, support and patience.
Very best wishes,
Audra Fitzgerald

The newly formed Beech Class are enjoying their more spacious learning environment and have settled in well. It’s great to be able to focus on the Year 1 curriculum and plan lessons that specifically meet their needs. I’ve already noticed a difference in engagement: the children have more opportunity to speak and be listened to for a start.
So, what’s in store for this half-term? Our Maths topics are Length and Height, followed by Weight and Volume, giving plenty of opportunity for practical Maths activities with a ‘real life’ application. Your child may want to help with measuring out ingredients or want to know how tall everyone is in the family.
Many of our English objectives will be covered through Read, Write Inc., although we are hoping to do some extra handwriting practice in class and develop writing through Science, Geography and RE.
Our Science topic is ‘Building Things’, which links with the work we did before Christmas on ‘Materials’. The children will learn to investigate, using scientific methods, the effects of water and wind on different (unconventional) building materials. They will design a structure and test its suitability using the skills of prediction and observation.
London is the focus for our Geography topic. Beech Class will consider what a city is like to live in and how people get around using public transport. They will identify London landmarks and find out what job the Mayor of London does. We will learn about The Great Fire of London and Guy Fawkes.
In RE the children will think about what it means to belong to a faith community. We will learn about welcoming traditions (for example, Baptism) and the promises adults make to each other at a wedding. We will look at symbolism relating to these events in different faiths.
Mrs Edwards will continue to teach PE skills on a Monday. I know she’s hoping to use the outdoor space, so please make sure your child has leggings or joggers in their PE bags. We’ll be exploring our new scheme, ‘Real PE’, on a Tuesday which to date, is proving to be very popular with Chagford children!
Outdoor learning with Paul from Devon Wildlife will take place on Tuesday afternoons. Paul will explore nature and habitats within the school grounds, by encouraging the children to wonder, imagine and notice; vital characteristics for pioneering scientists. Not only will this be great Science work, but will also contribute to positive well-being.
Things you can do to help your child next week:
• Take a photo of your child reading in an unusual place and send to me via email
• Practise skip counting in 2s and 5s (2,4,6,8 etc.)
• Use the language ‘shorter’ and ‘taller’ in everyday contexts
• Look at a map and identify roads, towns, cities etc. Perhaps explore ‘Google Maps’
Enjoy the sunshine this weekend.
Audra Fitzgerald

Our friends at the #MaryAnningRocks campaign were so impressed with this brilliant model of Mary Anning, the trailblazing fossil hunter and palaeontologist from Lyme Regis, that they have promised to send us stickers for all the children who learned all about her in Beech Class last term. Great model making and what great Chagford Champions..

Did you have a great Pancake Day? We did! Look at this lovely confident writing - well done Beech Class.