A Visit From Some British Owls!
Well done to all of the children in Hornbeam who have all tried incredibly hard over the last two weeks with their phonics 'game'. We are very proud of everyone!
On Friday, we had a particularly exciting day in Hornbeam. The children had been told that we were expecting some very special visitors... Then Albert spotted a picture of an owl on the wall in the classroom. Could it be a clue? It was! Lu from the British Owl Project came to visit us with two of her owls: a Barn Owl and a Tawny Owl. The children were very excited and asked some super questions. We all learnt a lot! Did you know there are five species of owl in Britain? The Barn Owl, the Tawny Owl, the Little Owl, the Short-eared Owl and the Long-eared Owl. We also learnt that Barn Owls have incredible hearing and are completely silent when they fly. All the children were given a Barn Owl pellet to dissect. We found all sorts of bones and skulls from a variety of small mammals including mice, voles and shrews. What an exciting way to spend a day!
Hornbeam Class wrote some collaborative poetry based on Beegu's emotions. We think the children did a great job of capturing Beegu's emotions!
Yellow
Very sad
Very sad and lonely
She is very cold
Very lost
Sad
Cold
No friends
Lost and sad
Extremely lost
Extremely sad
She is lost
She is sad and lonely
Beegu is so sad
No friends.
Lost
Lonely
Asleep
Cosy
Happy
Cuddly and happy
Box
Relieved and happy
Warm and cosy
Cuddly
Snuggly
Sad
She is lonely
She is sad and wants friends
She is lost
Looking for mummy
We have had a busy start to the term! In English we have been learning to retell the tale of 'Little Red Riding Hood'. We made our own story maps and enjoyed using actions to tell the story. We are now busy making our own story books to share with some of the other classes. In Design and Technology, we have been making moving pictures. We have explored different mechanisms including sliders, levers and wheels and we have designed and created our own moving pictures to show part of the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
In maths, we have been learning to recognise 2-D and 3-D shapes. We enjoyed using geo-boards to make 2-D shapes, and cocktail sticks and sweets to make 3-D shapes! Can you recognise the shapes we have made?
Christmas is coming!
There are only a few week's left of the Christmas term and the children are all busy with play rehearsals, decorating the classroom and of course working hard! In the coming week you will see the image of a traditional Christmas Carol displayed in our classroom window. See if you can guess which one it is.
Term Topic - Remembrance and Celebrations
This term the children have been learning about the importance of Remembrance day. They each made a moving paper poppy, using split pins, which we then made a whole class wreath. The Hornbeam poppy wreath was taken down to the village war memorial by our School Council representatives, Maud and Jacob, on September 11th. Other children watched the ceremony at the Cenotaph on the big screen in class and joined in with the two minute silence.
We are also celebrating fireworks night and learning the rhyme 'Remember, Remember the 5th of November' as well as learning about firework safety. The children have produced some fabulous firework chalk pictures.
For RE we have been learning about the Hindu Festival, Divali. They each made their own lantern and were able to take these home. They really enjoyed making these!
Christmas is of course a time for celebration and we are learning the Christmas story as well as taking part in the 'Born in the Barn' play with Year 2. Singing rehearsals are going well so far!
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Archive
Hornbeam 2019-2020
World Book Day
For World Book Day 2020, each class has been challenged to make their own book. Ours has been inspired by 'The Day the Crayons Quit' by Drew Daywalt. Read on to find out more...
Sometime during Monday lunchtime, our crayons disappeared! All that was left were some empty crayon pots... and a copy of 'The Day the Crayons Quit'. We were challenged to write our own letters to the crayons, asking them to come home. Come back soon to see some examples of our work as well as some pictures of our wonderful World Book Day costumes.
What are we learning in class at the moment?
This term, our English is based around the book 'Owl Babies'. We are making story maps and learning to retell the story. Can you tell it to someone at home?
In maths we are learning about measuring. Does your child help you in the kitchen? Involving children with cooking is not only fun for you and your child, but helps them learn important techniques they’ll need later in their life for cooking and baking, as well as supporting their measuring skills.
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Archive
World Book Day in Year 1
The children all looked fabulous dressed up as their favourite book characters. Some of whom you can see here...
MULTI-SKILLS
Year 1 have been learning 'Multi-skills' in P.E this term. This has included learning about balance, balls skills and team games. Most recently the children have been learning to play golf!
Science Week in Year 1
Hornbeam children were learning about the five Senses during Science week. We had a special guest speaker on Tuesday who told the children what it was like to live being blind from birth. Then on Friday parents were able to join us during our multi-sensory open afternoon. Great fun was had by all!
The only trouble with KS1's production of Angel Trouble was that they were all far too cute! Everyone enjoyed their fabulous singing, some stand-out acting performances and each and every child sparkled as bright as our Star of Bethlehem. Both performances were really great and were enjoyed by wonderful full audiences. Well done children!
The experience of participating in the show has been a real confidence boost for all the children, allowed them an opportunity to showcase their wonderful talents, to work together as a team, to develop their speaking and listening skills and to have great fun along the way. Drama is so supportive to many areas of our curriculum in school including reading, writing and comprehension.
A huge thank you also to our audiences for their generosity in our collections which raised a fabulous £170. This money will go towards future performance expenses including scripts, stage, sets and backdrops, costumes and performance licences.
As you will be aware the children have started rehearsals and preparation for the forthcoming Christmas play. They are very excited but for many this is accompanied with the nerves and responsibility of learning words and remembering cues and actions. We very much appreciate your support in helping your child to learn their words so that they can enjoy the experience and the pride of participating in what is bound to be a wonderful performance.
In addition we are beginning to collect costumes and props together. Although we have many costumes in school, please take note of the additional items required to complete your child's costume and ensure that these are sent into school by Monday 27th November. If you have any queries regarding casting, costumes or the play please do speak to the class teacher at the end of the day.
We are looking forward to seeing you at our performances on 5th and 6th December. Letters for ticket requests will be sent home in the week beginning 20th November.
Oxford Museum of Natural History
Hornbeam had a wonderful visit to the Museum of Natural History this week. The children really enjoyed handling some incredible fossils, including dinosaur eggs and dinosaur bones. Have a look at our 'Trips' link for more photos and information about our day.
A Visit to the Library
On Wednesday, Hornbeam Class visited the library. The children thoroughly enjoyed browsing through the books and should have brought home a book to read.
Hornbeam Class have had a fantastic trip to Harcourt Arboretum today, admiring all the autumn colours and learning about the differences between deciduous and evergreen trees. We saw some very interesting trees, including a monkey puzzle and a giant redwood (the tallest tree in the arboretum)! We also created some sculptures out of natural materials.
When you are out and about, have a look at the trees around you; can you tell if they are deciduous or evergreen?
