Portway Infant School
Sports Day 2021!
It was wet, it was windy but most importantly it was lots and lots of fun! Despite the best attempts of the weather to put a dampener on our much anticipated Year 1 Sports Day, the children did a brilliant job of smiling through the rain and making all of their grown ups proud! They raced their hearts out, didn't let any obstacle stand in their way and even added a little bit of extra water to the occasion themselves in the form of a very exciting water relay race! Here are your wonderful children showing off their shiny new trophies (Blue team = Determination and perseverance, Red team = Outstanding performance, Yellow team = Excellent sportsmanship) , a fitting reward for a fantastic effort!
RE - Raksha Banden
We have been learning about the Hindu festival of Raksha Banden. This celebrates siblings and how they look after each other. We made Rakhi bracelets just like the ones sisters give to brothers and thought about who protects us in our family.
Longdown Farm Trip
What a fantastic day we had today on our class trip to Longdown Activity Farm!
We learnt about lots of different animals including pigs, cows and even a shire horse. There was a chance to hold some very cute baby chicks and guinea pigs, feed the goats and to carefully collect some freshly laid chicken eggs. It was all great fun and some of us even enjoyed our first ride on a coach! Have a look at our pictures below to see all the fun things we got up to!
Yummy Summer Time Fruit Kebabs!
This week we have been thinking about what sorts of food farmers grow on their farms. We talked about the types of fruit you can grow here in the UK and then chose 3 of our favourite to make a tasty fruit kebab. Once we had chosen our favourite 3 fruits we set about designing our kebab to look as appealing and as yummy as we possibly could. Today was the big day when we finally got to make them. Have a peek at the pictures to see how our tasty treats turned out!
Science Fun
As part of our learning in Science we took part in a fun morning where we were able to explore our senses by visiting a range of stations around the classroom, each designed to encourage us to think about a different sense. Have a look at the pictures and see what we got up to.
Mindful Minis
Today Year 1 had a visit from Mindful Minis. We had a great time learning how to be more aware of our bodies and breath and took part in a number of fun breathing exercises and yoga poses. Have a look at the pictures to see just how much fun we had!
Guinea Pigs - The Boys Have Got A New Pad!
The guinea pigs are really growing up fast. So fast in fact that they needed a new and much bigger home with plenty of space for them to run around. Thank you Mr Walter for all your hard work, the boys are loving their new digs!
Have a look at the pictures to see how your favourite furry little friends are enjoying their new home.
The guinea pigs are now really well trained and ready to do home visits. If you would be interested in looking after the guinea pigs for a weekend then please speak to your class teacher.
Tri golf
This term we have been learning about golf. We have had great fun playing games like 'Rory Says' in which the children have to move to a particular area of a golf course when Rory gives the instruction. We have also learnt how to hold a club properly and practiced our putting. Today we learnt about the Iron club and talked about its purpose being to lift the ball off of the ground. Have a look at the photos to see some of the fun we had this week.
Beebot Tours the UK
We have been learning all about the United Kingdom this term and part of that learning has been to recognise key features of each country and some of their important landmarks. We enjoyed combining this learning with our ICT and were able to use simple algorithms to send Beebot to given location on the map. Have a look at the pictures to see our learning.
Easter Egg Decorating!
Tomorrow is the egg-citing moment where those of you who entered our egg decorating competition find out if your wonderful creation was chosen as one of our winners! Have a look at below and see if you can spot yours!
Red Nose Day 2021
This year to celebrate red nose day 2021, Year 1 used the theme 'The great out doors' to inspire our learning for the day. We enjoyed finding out about different types of plants and trees and looked for them around our school grounds. Then after play we went on an exciting scavenger hunt, collecting items from the forest to create our very own nature mobiles. The fun didn't stop there though, and in keeping with the spirit of Comic Relief, there was even time for a hilarious joke competition! The three winning jokes can be found below:
His dad turned to him and said "Son I'm very disappointed. You've let me down, you've let your mum down, but worst of all, you've let yourself down!
Knead for Speed!
Oh crumbs!
Forest School Morning
After some wet and windy weather last week, today the sun was shining and Year 1 took full advantage with a lovely forest school morning full of fun and exciting activities.
We made our own wooden medals using a palm drill, made dens from sticks and tarpaulin and enjoyed exploring the forest on a nature treasure hunt.
Thank you Miss Birmingham for helping to make our day super special!
Virtual Reality Space Workshop
On Monday Year 1 had an incredibly exciting experience travelling through our solar system exploring and learning about all of the amazing planets. We got to hold virtual reality headsets that allowed us to navigate 360 degrees through space and then answered questions about what we had seen.
On Wednesday we were beside ourselves with excitement in Year 1 as we welcomed three special visitors to our school! In the morning we were lucky enough to meet 2 beautiful donkeys named Teddy and Barney. They were even dressed like Father Christmas which made us giggle a lot! Thank you to Rob from the St Mary Bourne Donkey Sanctuary for allowing us to meet them.
Then you won’t believe who stopped by in the afternoon…! Father Christmas! He told us all about what he and the elves have been busy doing since last year and even stayed to answer a few excited questions! Then it was off with a ho, ho, ho to carry on making his very important final preparations for the big day! Thank you Father Christmas for stopping by and putting a big smile on the faces of the children and grown-ups alike! What a great day!
As a result of excellent choices and fantastic learning over the past term, Year 1 enjoyed a cosy time around the campfire with a warm cup of hot chocolate and a sprinkling of some yummy marshmallows! We sang songs and learnt how to stay safe around the fire. Each and every child left forest school with a big smile and chocolate moustache to match! Thanks Miss Birmingham, Mr Walter and Mr Stafford for such a lovely afternoon!
We have been thoroughly enjoying our new Christmas topic in Year 1! Santa’s elves heard all about it and over the weekend they worked their stockings off to create a magical treat for us all to enjoy! The school looked just like Santa’s grotto when we arrived on Monday, but the Year 1 teachers were treated to an even more magical scene after the sun had set and wanted to share the magic with you. Can you spot your classroom?
This term the children have been working really hard during their maths lessons. We have been practising our number bonds for 10, odd and even numbers and learning all about the value of different coins.
The learning doesn’t stop there though! The Year 1 teachers have been running a night school for some very special members of our year group. Take a look at the pictures to see their achievements. Have they missed any number bonds and can you add any more odd or even numbers to their set rings to help them?
On Monday the children in Year 1 were treated to some expert dancing tuition. As part of our RE work on Diwali, the festival of light, Zoe from The Education Company presented a dancing workshop based on the story of Rama and Sita. Have a look at our photos and see the wonderful fun we had and some of the great dance moves Zoe taught us.
We enjoyed dressing as super heroes today to raise awareness for World Diabetes Day. Thank you for your generous donations.
We have been learning about how vehicles move. First we learnt about the forces push and pull and explored what we could push and pull in the classroom. We then looked at two different types of axles: a fixed axle and a free axle and used our new learning to have a go at building our very own superhero vehicle.
In our Science lessons this week we have had a great time exploring the forces of push and pull. We talked about the differences between them and then went on a hunt around our classroom looking for different examples of each. We even spotted some signs on our school gates that told us which force we would need to use to open or close them.
If you find any examples of pushes and pulls around your home you may like to share your pictures on our Facebook page.
On Friday Year 1 celebrated the end of the half term with a Pirate day where we all came to school dressed up. We had already braved the rain each day this week and completed a treasure hunt which resulted in us completing a ‘key’ puzzle. We received the final clue today which led us to the wooden pirate ship where we discovered chests full of pirate treasure! We were so lucky and got to take home our very own bags full of gems, coins and a whole lot more.
We decorated pirate biscuits, enjoyed using Bee-Bot and even got to build our very own pirate ships.
A fun day was had by all!
Hello everybody,
We thought you might like a quick guinea pig update.
Pip, Squeak and Nibbles are settling in well to their new forever home and are becoming much more confident. Some of you were asking how Pip has been recovering after seeing the vet about his poorly eye. Well, we are glad to say that he is recovering well and hasn’t let it stop him from having lots of fun with his brothers.
We have attached a short video of Pip, Squeak and Nibbles to this page if you would like to see the fun they get up to after you have all gone home.
We hope you enjoy watching our fluffy pals and don’t forget to check back soon for another update!
This week as part of our pirate topic, we have been thinking about the view from a porthole window. We discussed what a pirate might see, for example, an island, palm trees, a treasure chest etc. We began by drawing using a pencil then added colour using oil pastels.
We have had a wonderful time practising our cycling skills over the past few weeks. We have learnt how to perform an ‘M’ Check to make sure our bikes are safe to ride and we have helped our partners to put on their helmet safely. We rode around our school playground and have manoeuvred some tricky obstacles.
This half term we have been practising the different skills we need to play cricket with the support of an expert cricketer James from Chance to Shine. We have learnt to bowl, bat and field and have even started playing mini games that have given us a great chance to apply what we have learnt.
Hello everybody, It’s time for your next guinea pig update!
This week the children have helped to prepare a hutch for Nibbles, Pip and Squeak and were extremely excited to meet them for the first time. It wasn’t just the children who had an exciting time, our little furry friends were over joyed to stretch their tiny little legs in their new purpose built out door run! Thank you very much Mr Walter!
Hello everyone,
You may have already heard the exciting news that Year 1 are finally the proud owners of 3 beautiful male pet guinea pigs, Nibbles, Pip and Squeak!
Last week the children received surprise deliveries containing different objects needed to take care of a pet. They used their own knowledge and understanding to work out which pet will be coming to their Year 1 classroom. Naturally it took the children no time at all to figure out the clues and excitement began to build for the arrival of our 3 furry friends.
On Tuesday this week, the children were finally able to see a very cute photo of their class guinea pig and were extremely excited to name him. We have explained to the children that as Nibbles, Pip and Squeak are new to school we are allowing them some time to settle in before meeting them all for the first time.
As our new little friends become more acclimatised and comfortable in their new surroundings we will share some of their adventures with you via our school blog so watch this space further guinea pig adventures.
