Holtsmere End Infant and Nursery School

 Hazel Class - Miss Turner

 Oak Class - Miss Ashfaq

Hazel Class

Oak Class

WC: 15.05.23

We have had a great week of learning this week. On Thursday we went to the Royal Mews and viewed all of the royal carriages. We even saw the Gold State carriage. We walked to Buckingham Palace and saw that the King was home! As we walked to St James's park we saw Big Ben and the London Eye. The children had an excellent day and were great representatives for the school.

Hazel Class

WC: 01.05.23

 In PE, we continued to look at gymnastics. We looked at how our body could make different shapes and practiced travelling. In Music, we continued to practice our drumming with Mr Banks. We learnt the song 'Oh when the Saints'. We had to drum, march and sing! It was great fun!

On Thursday, we had a special coronation picnic to mark the coronation of King Charles III. The whole school sat on the field for lunch and then in the afternoon we were all outside completing lots of activities. We loved dancing to the music!

WC: 27.03.23

 In Art this week we focused on the artist Jennifer Collier. We looked at collages and used her techniques  to create our own collages of London. The children did a fantastic job! In Science, we planted cress seeds and the children learnt about what plants need to grow. In PSHE, we focused on road safety and role played what we should do when crossing a road.

WC: 20.03.23

 This week we celebrated Around the World Day as a whole school. Each class focused on a different country in the morning. Hazel Class learnt about Mexico and Oak Class learnt about Pakistan. In the afternoon, we travelled round the other countries. We tried new foods and learnt lots of new facts!

WC:06.03.23

 In Art this week we focused on drawing with different grades of pencils. We looked at famous London landmarks and observed them closely. In RE, we looked at Palm Sunday and why it is important in the lead up to Easter. The children reenacted Palm Sunday and learnt how Jesus was welcomed and why he was welcomed this way. 

WC: 15.05.23

We have had a great week of learning this week. On Thursday we went to the Royal Mews and viewed all of the royal carriages. We even saw the Gold State carriage. We walked to Buckingham Palace and saw that the King was home! As we walked to St James's park we saw Big Ben and the London Eye. The children had an excellent day and were great representatives for the school.

Oak Class

WC: 24.04.23

 In Art, we continued to look at the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. We used the techniques of cutting and tearing paper to create our own portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. The children did such a fantastic job! In History, we had to research a famous person from the past - Queen Elizabeth II. We had photographs and facts to look at. We found out that Queen Elizabeth II was the only person who could drive a car without a driving licence and she had 2 birthdays each year!

Oak Class

WC: 27.02.23

 This week we celebrated World Book Day. As a school we focused on the book 'The Greatest Show Penguin'. We were also very lucky to welcome Lucas Jet who is a circus performer. He did a fantastic assembly full of circus skills and then we were lucky enough to have a workshop where we learnt new skills. Throughout the day we made penguin masks and made penguin biscuits. In the afternoon, we visited teachers in different classes to listen to their favourite stories. It was a fantastic day!

WC: 08.05.23

 In History this week, we looked at a significant event from the past, Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. We reenacted the coronation as a class and found out it was the first coronation to be televised. In Maths, we looked at capacity and used key vocabulary such as full, empty, half full, most, least to describe different volumes of water. In Computing, we continued with coding and used purple mash to create a code to make the aeroplane take off. The children had to also try and fix the broken code.

WC: 17.04.23

 The children have had a great week of learning after the Easter holidays. We had a special visitor from First Aid Friends who taught us about CPR, the number to call if we have an emergency and what to say on the phone when we ask for help. In History, we had a letter from Time Travelling Ted. He had given us lots of photographs about a famous person from the past and we had questions to answer to guess who it was. We discovered it was Queen Elizabeth II!  In Art, we leant about the artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo and created our own fruit and vegetable collages of Queen Elizabeth II.

In English, we began our new text Paddington. We had clues left to us by the character and had to guess who the character was. We have started reading it and already can't wait to read the next part of the text!

Hazel Class

WC: 13.03.23

 This week in Geography we looked at the weather and practiced being weather reporters. We watched example weather reports and discussed what the weather would be like in different parts of the UK before children worked in groups to create their own reports. The children did a fantastic job! We were very proud how confidently they presented in front of their classes.

On Friday, the whole school went into the hall in the afternoon to take part in a virtual Irish dancing workshop with Dame Darcey Bussell to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. They had lots of fun!

WC: 06.02.23

 This week we celebrated Place2Be's Children's Mental Health Week. The theme was 'Let's Connect'. We played lots of team work games and looked at who we are connected inside and outside of school. We read the book 'The Invisible String' and looked at our family connections. On Tuesday it was E-Safety day. We looked at and discussed how we can stay safe online. 

WC: 16.01.23

 We had another great week of learning in Year 1. We had dragon dancing to celebrate Chinese New Year. The children had a great time! In English, we continued to look at the story 'Beegu'. We made friends for Beegu so she wasn't lonely and used adjectives to describe the new friends we made. In Maths, we looked at 3D shapes. We practiced naming and describing the properties of the shapes and then explored printing with their faces to see what 2D shape it made. In Science, we looked at different garden plants and even planted our own. We planted tulips and sunflowers in small groups and we will keep them in our classroom to watch their growth!

 

WC: 28.11.22

 In English this week we became news reporters. We had to interview the Lonely Beast and ask him why he came to the city and why he is looking for a friend. In Science, we investigated 'How far can a curly wurly stretch?'. We had to pull our curly wurly very carefully and measure using metre sticks. The furthest a curly wurly stretched was 146cm! In Maths we started to use base 10 and look at how many 10s and 1s were in numbers 11-20. The children had special visitors who came and delivered the Footgolf session missed last week. The children behaved brilliantly and had lots of fun working on their teamwork skills. Time Travelling Ted asked us to investigate the question 'What came before our school?'. We became History detectives and looked at photos for clues. We found out that before our school was built, our grounds used to be a Fireworks Factory. It was called Brock's Fireworks and at one point used to be the largest fireworks factory in the world!

 

WC: 07.11.22

This week we learnt about The Gunpowder Plot. Children sequenced the event and then had the opportunity to act out the plot using stick puppets. In Science, we began to look at properties of materials and children had to describe what they looked and felt like.

We also went to the theatre this week to see 'The Smartest Giant in Town'. We had a fantastic time and loved singing along to the songs.

WC:30.01.23

 We have had another great week of learning in Year 1. In Art, we focused on the artist Peter Thorpe. We looked at his famous space artwork to create our own Peter Thorpe inspired work. We printed using different shapes and then used chalk pastels to blend. In Science, we started to look at seasonal change and what happens to the trees throughout the seasons. In PSHE, we looked at how a new challenge can sometimes be tricky. We worked together to create 'stretchy flowers'. The children learnt about the importance of resilience during this activity.

WC: 09.01.23

It was so lovely to see all of the children back after Christmas. We had a very busy first week back in Year 1. We saw a very strange alien landing on Monday which linked to our new book for this half term 'Beegu'. We also had a visit from the Space Dome to start off our topic 'Sails, Rails, Wheels and Wings'. The children really enjoyed looking at all of the planets close up and learning new facts about Space. In History, we practiced using photographs to answer questions about a famous historical figure - Neil Armstrong. We found out he was the first person to walk on the Moon and he was an American astronaut. Next week we will learn about the very first Moon landings. In Science, we started our new topic 'plants'. We dissected tulips and identified the different parts of a flowering plant.

WC: 12.12.22

In Art we focused on the artist Jackson Pollock. He was an American abstract artist. We looked at his art work and then created our own Jackson Pollock paintings using the same techniques.

WC: 21.11.22

 In Science this week we investigated the question 'Do all Materials Float?'. Children had to put each material into the water and observe very closely. In History we looked at 'old' and 'new' in our local area. We found out that lots more houses and buildings have been added to our local area over the years. Next week we will find out what came 'before' our school.  In English we continued to look at 'The Lonely Beast'. We used oil pastels to draw the jellyfish the Lonely Beast saw on his journey to the city. We then described the jellyfish using adjectives.

WC: 31.10.22

It was lovely to see the children back this week and fully engaged with their learning after half term. In History, the children met 'Time Travelling Ted' who sent them lots of sources to see if they could work out what significant event was happening. The children became historical detectives and worked out that we celebrate Bonfire Night because of Guy Fawkes. In RE, we looked at the story of Rama and Sita, children worked in groups to act out the story. In Science, we began our new topic 'Materials'. The children had to identify and name lots of different common materials. We ended our week with 'Sparkly Friday'. The children wrote their name and created patterns in the air using the sparklers and had a lot of fun!

WC:20.02.23

 It was lovely to see all the children back after half term. We began our new topic 'Where in the World?' this week. We are looking at the UK with a focus on London as a capital city. The children used maps and atlases to locate the countries that make up the UK and where London is. We also began learning ukuleles in our music lesson with Mr Banks. 

WC: 23.01.23

 We have had a very exciting week in Year 1. In English we explored poetry and worked in groups of 3 to create our own poems based on the book Beegu. In Science, we went outside to look at the key features of a tree. We used our magnifying glasses to observe closely. In Maths, we explored the language heavier and lighter and compared items of mass. We used the pan balance scales to help us. We were also very lucky to attend a bounce workshop. The children had a great time bouncing and exploring different moves on the trampoline. Thank you to Mrs Carini for organising such a fun activity!

WC 05.12.22

We have had a fantastic week of learning this week. In English, we used playdough to make friends for The Lonely Beast. We had to think about why they would be a good friend and what they like to do. Next week we will be writing stories about our own beasts that we made. In Science we investigated what the best 'waterproof' material would be for the Beast's umbrella because he likes standing in the rain. We found out from the materials that we tested that metal was the best waterproof material.

On Thursday we welcomed parents/carers and other family members to our Y1 Learning Celebration, thank you to all of those who attended. The children thoroughly enjoyed sharing their learning with you and we hope you enjoyed it too!

WC: 14.11.22

In English this week we began looking at the text 'The Lonely Beast' by Chris Judge. We practiced freeze framing the part of the story where the beast reached the city. The children did a fantastic job! We will continue to look at this text next week. In computing, we used the programme 2Count on purple mash to create our own pictogram. In Science, the children identified properties of materials and grouped them according to their property. Next week we will be investigating the question 'Do all materials float?'.

WC: 24.10.22

The children have had a fantastic week of learning. This week we used our different joins we learnt in DT and created a house for our local area. All of the children did a fantastic job! In PE we have been learning a dance based on the theme 'Lost Toys'. Children had to work in partners to come up with their own choreography.

WC: 17.10.22

This week we made maps of our local area based on our learning in Geography. We learnt about the Jewish festival 'Sukkot' and made Sukkah shelters. We also looked at different joins in DT: flange, slot and l-brace.

WC: 26.09.22

We have been so impressed with the children's learning. We started off the week with our Local Area Walk. The children enjoyed spotting key features in our local area. In English, we finished our writing unit of the Jolly Postman. The children explored writing question sentences and asked questions to find out more about the job of a postman. In Maths, we looked at more and less. The children used tens frames and part whole models to practice one more and one less. This week in RE we looked at Rosh Hashanah. We tried apples with honey which symbolised a sweet New Year. In Science we explored our sense of taste as part of a Science experiment. We tried different food items blindfolded and described what it tasted like.

WC: 10.10.22

This week we enjoyed a visit from James Brunt a land artist. We used natural items that we found in our amazing grounds to create a piece of art. Each class added to it to create something very special and memorable.

WC: 19.09.22

We have had a great week of learning this week. In English we have continued to look at the Jolly Postman. We made birthday cards for Goldilocks and even celebrated her birthday. We played pin the tail on the donkey, musical statues and had cupcakes! In Maths we have been looking at subitising and counting different variations of number. We used lots of different counting objects. We even tasted Challah bread when looking at 'Shabbat' in RE. The bread tasted delicious!

WC: 03.10.22

This week we had a visit from the postman. He dropped off a letter for us. We were so happy to get a response to our questions. We began to write our local area walk recount in English. We looked at time adverbials and began to use them in a sentence. In Maths, we began to look at regrouping whole numbers to 10. We used tens frames and part whole models. In Science, we continued to explore our senses and looked at our sense of smell. We had to try and use our smell to guess what the item was. We also began our Music lessons with Mr Banks this week. The children loved singing familiar songs such as Old McDonald and A Sailor Went to Sea.

WC: 05.09.22 and 12.09.22

We have had a lot of fun in our first two weeks of Year 1! It has been lovely being back together again and exploring our new classrooms. We began our topic 'My World' which explores our local area Woodhall Farm. Geography Georgie has been setting us lots of challenges! We have been learning our addresses and have been practicing our map reading. In Science we have been labelling our body parts and looking at our different senses. 

Reception                          Nursery                         Year  2