Stanford Junior and Infant School
Living together - Learning together
On this page you can see updates over the term of our activities and learning.
Mrs Smith, Mr Middleton and Miss Purshouse would like to welcome you to Stanford’s EYFS and Year 1 Unit. Here you will find a friendly video showing you around the 3 classrooms. We hope you enjoy it – can’t wait for you to join us.
Today Mrs Smith and Miss Elwis welcomed the new Year 1 children into their new learning space to enjoy some fresh challenges. Children loved a range of challenges including Phonics, drawing, playdough, maths, games, jigsaw, writing and painting. We all had a great day. We told Stan the Stanford bear what we loved best:
Child 1: I liked the magnet challenge
Child 2: I loved the phonics teaching challenge
Child 3: Making numbers with playdough was fun
Child 4: I loved playtime best.
We look forward to another fun day tomorrow.
Zowie, our Link worker from Compass GO. NEL Mental Health Support Team, came and delivered a virtual assembly, via Teams to all our pupils on their last day before moving to their new classes. The assembly was all about transitioning to a new class and how we may be feeling, giving us strategies to help if we are feeling a little worried or scared. Barley and Blossom class helped Zowie with giving their own tips for the other pupils! Thank you Zowie!
A big thank you to year groups 5 and 6 for putting on such a great event. We had lots of fun! We played games, won lots of sweets, and even got to eat ice cream and popcorn!
"I had lots of sprinkles on my ice cream"
"I had salted popcorn"
"I won the jackpot on hook-a-duck!"
"I had so much fun!"
In year 1 Maths we have started a new module this week; Place Value (within 100.) Today as our starter activity we used 10s to count to 100. We did this by throwing beanbags into a target of 10. We then had to calculate our score up to 100.
"Me and my partner got all our bean bags in the target, so we got 100 altogether."
"We missed a few so we got 60."
Today we had a fabulous morning of sports. Everyone tried their very best and it was great to have the support of parents and carers who attended. The behaviour of the children was amazing and they all showed a great sporting spirit. I'm sure you will join us in feeling proud of our school and all the children for such an amazing event. A big thank you to both Mrs Smiths and all the teachers involved for making this such a positive day.
In Year 1 we have been taking extra care of all our plants we have. The plants link to our Science topic, so we have been making sure we know how to look after plants. We have found that watering plants can be very relaxing so we incorporated this into our well-being Wednesday this week.
"The plants need water to survive"
"They need even more water when it's hot!"
Year 1s today have been using new vocabulary today to direct mini people around their maps.
Forwards, Backwards, Left and Right
We really enjoyed moving the people from place to place and using our new directional vocabulary.
Child A: This is the best way to do maths!
Child B: I can send him to the beach and then to the swimming pool.
Child C: I know my left and my right now.
Today in Year 1 we went outside to create some outdoor Art. We used things we could find on the ground like leaves and twigs. We didn't pull anything up to use as this would have been harmful to the enviroment. We also used chalk to enhance our pictures.
"I have made a reindeer!"
"It's a cat!"
"I've written my name in sticks"
Recently in the classroom, we have been experiencing the miracle of metamorphosis, as we have had some special mini-beast visitors stay with us. We welcomed the caterpillars into our class before the half-term break and watched them grow, then they entered their pupal stage over the break. A few days after returning, the butterflies began to emerge. After spending a few days with us, we had to set them free. We hope that they will still come back to visit!
This morning we decorated biscuits and made our own sandwiches either jam, cucumber, cheese or butter. Then this afternoon we went onto the field and played different games with the parachute; we had lots of fun!
We sat in the shade and ate our picnic. Once we had come into to cool down Miss Purshouse and Mrs Smith surprised us with ice lollies! A big WELL DONE to all the children, we are so proud of you!
"This is the best day of my life!"
"I've been eating all day"
"My ice lolly was yummy"
"This day ROCKED!"
This week it has been healthy eating week and we have focused on healthy lifestyles and learning about which foods we should have more/less of. Children have learned some new vocabulary such as 'carbohydrate' and 'protein'. We have also learned about Clean Air Day.
We have also been learning about sharing into equal groups in maths. We shared out bananas for monkeys at the zoo and shared out dinner for the 3 bears.
Today in Year 1 for our Well-being Wednesday activity we tidied up the Key Stage 1 Peace Garden. We used rakes to rake up all the leaves and debris. We used the brushes to sweep up any rubbish around the area. We then go rid of any rubbish. A big thank you to the Stanford trust for all their support with our Peace Gardens.
Today in Year 1 we have been reenacting the Great Fire of London. We have been reading a book to support our learning and moved onto chapter 2. We had sound effects of a real fire in the background as we were acting out different scenes. This gave us inspiration to write a speech bubble for one of the characters from the book.
Today in Year 1 P.E we have been learning all about throwing. We used beanbags to practice our underarm and overarm throwing skills. We had to make sure that our partner was ready to receive the beanbag and ready to catch. Next week we are going progress the skills we have learnt today by using balls.
Foundation stage really enjoyed learning about their first Founder's Day at Stanford School. We looked at lots of photographs - some that Mrs Brumfield and Mrs Brady had found, as well as some old class photos from Mrs Groves. We found it really interesting to see how much the school and the people had changed. We learned most of the words to the school song and made some birthday cards for the school as well. One of the most fun activities though was making a huge birthday cake, which you can see in our photos!
For Founders Day Year 1 have created their own birthday cards for our school. We drew the school badge on the front and wrote a message inside. We showed our work in a special Founders Day assembly.
This morning Year 1 invited parents and carers into school for a reading breakfast. We took lots of bean bags outside for the children and adults to relax and share a book together. We hope you enjoyed your morning with us.
Absolutely lovely time! Juice and brioche were perfect.
Really enjoyed my morning with the children.
I love attending these mornings. It is nice to be able to take some extra time to read.
A lovely way to show us how the children are getting on in school and the children love us coming in, really good!
Lovely set up and the staff were really friendly, enjoyed by all.
For Wellbeing Wednesday the Year 1 and Year 2 children teamed up to share books and listen to each other read. It was great to see them enjoying reading books and hear them talking enthusiastically about their favourite stories, as well as the non-fiction books that they like. Well done everyone!
As part of our learning in RE about different religious buildings, we looked inside a Mosque. We found many things inside and we recorded what they were. Both of the Mosques had: a Prayer Hall – where Muslims kneel on the carpet to pray; a Washroom – where Muslims clean themselves before they enter the Prayer Hall; a Minbar – where the Imam stands to talk to all the people; and a Mihrab – showing Muslims which way to face as they pray.
We then looked at our real Prayer Mats and designed some of our own. We really enjoyed designing and colouring them.
CW – I’m really proud of mine, I made it look amazing
SW – I’ve made mine really colourful with a rainbow of colours
SP – I liked watching the video of a Mosque to see inside
JR – The Mosque usually has a dome and a tall tower
Today Year 1s have been looking at a character’s feelings throughout a story. In the book, ‘The Secret Sky Garden’ Funni (the main character) has different feelings. She starts the story feeling sad and makes a plan to create an amazing garden, which she is so happy with and feels proud of herself. Later Funni is lonely and feels miserable. Until a new character turns up and she is surprised to find he likes the same things she does. Funni is delighted at the end as she has a new friend. They are so very friendly with each other.
Year 1 children came up with all the feeling words and were able to work with coaching buddies to write about why Funni felt this way. We are so proud of their writing today. Great coaching work Year 1s!
This week, foundation stage were invited to bring in their favourite cuddly toy for a special event - a reading picnic! Children in foundation stage carefully made a healthy sandwich for their parents/carers, in the morning. In the afternoon, we invited in our grown-ups and shared some of our favourite books. We really enjoyed seeing so many faces and sharing a love of reading.
Year 1 really enjoyed their trip on Wednesday. We got to explore the grounds of Normanby Hall. We experienced nest building, the walled gardens, and worm charming. Mrs Smith's group charmed the most worms, but Miss Purshouse's group charmed the longest worm. We even had a picnic together!
As part of our celebrations, we enjoyed a high tea with scones, in the sunshine, with the whole school! We finished the day singing our national anthem and each pupil received a commemorative bookmark to mark this special event in history! A great day was had by all!
Foundation Stage have started their learning this term about planting, growing and mini-beasts. We had a fun mini-beast themed hook day this week where we: used new vocabulary in small world trays, learned some makaton songs, made some mini-beast crafts, created some spider biscuits, and explored books and images about insects and other mini-beasts. We look forward to continuing to doing lots of planting this term, as well as going on a mini-beast hunt outside when we next have a sunny day! We looked fabulous in our costumes as well.
For Year 1's hook day we had a milkshake day! In English we read Oliver's milkshake by Vivian French and did a book review giving our opinions on the book. In Maths we counted all our ingredients we would need to make a milkshake, in 2s. Then in the afternoon we made our own milkshakes! We made banana and strawberry milkshakes and tasted them. Then reviewed what we had made.
"I liked banana the best!"
"I didn't like the strawberry one because I could taste the seeds"
"Miss Purshouse could work at McDonalds her milkshakes were great"
"I couldn't pick which was my favourite, I liked both"
"I tried banana and I didn't like bananas before"
Congratulations to everyone who made an Easter bonnet, it was really tough for us to pick winners as everyone's were equally as amazing!
In year 1 we have been learning all about the Easter story, today we focused on the 'Last Supper' or 'The Meal.' We had our own last supper, eating bread, and drinking Cranberry juice for the wine. After this as part of well-being Wednesday we created our own last supper pictures.
"I would have Spaghetti Bolognese"
"I've drawn pizza!"
"My last supper would be chicken nuggets, chips and beans"
"I'd have McDonald's"
Today our Year 1 scientists worked together to go on a senses scavenger hunt. We took our learning outdoors to see what we could smell, see, touch, hear and taste. Although the taste sense was tricky we decided to think back to what we tasted at dinner time. One of the main things we all could hear was a neighbour cutting their grass.
For science week this week we have looked at zoo's (linking to our topic of animals.) We looked at who invented the first non-caged zoo in the U.K and then watched an old advert from when it first opened. We then went on to creating our own posters to promote the new zoo!
Children in foundation stage have really enjoyed being scientists during British Science Week. We learned that science involves: exploring how things work, using enquiry skills, making predictions and learning about the world around us. We focused on the pioneering astronaut Mae Jemison and learned the names of the planets. We had fun making rockets, crafting alien spaceships and writing about things we would take into space. We also did plenty of investigations, including mixing colours in the water tray and testing magnetic materials. We did a class investigation into making ramps and the children made some great predictions:
Child 1 - I think the pencil will roll down the ramp.
Child 2 - The brick will slide down instead of roll.
Child 3 - The jar will roll further than the tube because it's heavier.
Today in Year 1 Computing we have been maze explorers. We used the direction keys to successfully complete the maze.
Children in foundation enjoyed exploring the snowfall this morning. We went outside and carefully walked around in the snow. We will shortly be looking for signs of Spring in our outdoor area, but experienced some very wintery weather today. We had fun drawing in the snow, making patterns with our shoes and the construction materials.
Today we used our trip to The Deep to inspire us to do some printing of animals we saw. We used pears, forks, string, and feathers to create our prints.
In Year 1 we have been science explorers today, looking for different groups of animals.
We have been classifying fish, reptiles, mammals and amphibians at The Deep.
We spotted all kinds of fascinating creatures.
Child 1: my favourites were the blue poisonous frogs
Child 2: I loved going under the water to see the sharks!
Child 3: The penguins were great fun to watch
We also had a story about river turtles getting trapped in rubbish and learnt to put our rubbish in the bins so they don’t get harmed. To finish the day we made our own river turtles.
We hope you like our pictures!
Foundation Stage and Year 1 had a fantastic World Book Day, where we celebrated the wonderful stories of Julia Donaldson. We have read so many of her stories and the children find it difficult to pick their favourite. We took part in lots of reading response activities, including: craft, outdoor learning, writing books, sharing books, making books, and more... We were also blown away by the creativity of the spoon designs and the marvellous costumes. Well done everyone!
On Shrove Tuesday we learned about why people might choose to celebrate Pancake Day. We learned some interesting information about Lent in a special assembly. We also had lots of fun by making, decorating and eating some delicious pancakes. It was fun to try some different ingredients and toppings. We even learned about the fun tradition of pancake racing and had some races of our own outside!
This half term in P.E year 1 are focusing on Gymnastics. To start our topic off we explored travelling movements. We used different levels to show the height of different animals.
"I was tall because I was a Giraffe"
"I was small because I was a turtle"
Today in Year 1 we have been finding all about Pancake Day. We discovered Pancake Day is also called Shrove Tuesday and happens before Lent begins. The day before Lent begins people would use up ingredients by making pancakes. We had a go at making our own with jam or syrup on.
"It was yummy"
"I liked stirring the batter"
"Lent is before people give up things"
"Miss Purshouse flipped the pancake so high"
"I had jam it was delicious"
Foundation Stage learned the importance of being safe on the internet this week during Safer Internet Day. We learned the story of 'Chicken Clicking' that showed us that we should always be with one of our parents/carers when we go on the internet. Lots of us made pictures of us with our family playing on computer games or made model laptops that we played on with friends.
Foundation stage were amazing this week when they shared what they had been learning with parents and carers. We shared some of our learning about traditional tales and Chinese New Year. This included a song about Chinese New Year, telling the tale of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' using our Talk For Writing actions, acting out the story of 'The Great Race', as well as a very exciting dragon dance. Thank you so much for visiting us and joining in with the dragon dance. We are very appreciative of all of the lovely feedback as well!
Foundation Stage and Key Stage One children had great fun at their end of term disco.
E- It was good to meet new friends from the other classes.
R- I danced with lots of different people.
T- I enjoyed all the snacks and a drink!
L- The music was awesome.
We had a wonderful afternoon in Year 1, our grown ups came to look at how we learn Maths. We even had some juice and biscuits. Thank you to everyone who attended and left such lovely feedback.
"It was lovely to see all the creative ways that are used to teach Maths"
"It was really informative and fun ton see how children learn Maths"
"It was lovely to see how much they love being here"
"Staff friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable"
Foundation stage had an amazing time on their school trip to Play Avenue. It was such a fabulous experience of learning through play. The creativity and imagination from the pupils was outstanding, as was their behaviour and ability to work well with others. Role play is also a great resource for children to develop their language and communication skills. The teachers also had a lot of fun joining in!
"I liked dressing up. I was wearing so many pretty things."
"All of the rooms were so fun."
"I liked doing people's hair."
"Driving cars was fun. I could go fast and get past everyone on the track."
"I liked putting people in jail."
"I liked playing with my friends."
It was great to welcome parents in for our workshop. We had lots of lovely feedback which was lovely to read!
"Very informative"
"It was lovely to understand where the sayings my child says at home come from"
"Very knowledgeable delivery"
"Lovely morning, the refreshments were a lovely touch!"
"Clear to see the teachers are very passionate"
Thank you again to everyone who attended and left such lovely comments.
We have started our learning about Chinese New Year in foundation stage. We have read the story of 'The Great Race' and learned that there are 12 animals which different years are named after. This year is the year of the rabbit, but most of us will have been born in the year of the dog or the rooster. We have enjoyed exploring Chinese food in our takeaway role play area, as well as trying on some traditional Chinese clothing. We have also tried writing and painting some Chinese words and numbers. We have made some Chinese dragons using a concertina effect with card - next week we will be making a big dragon and taking part in a dragon dance. Happy Lunar New Year to all those who celebrate it!
Today in Maths we have been estimating using a number line to 20. We had to estimate where different numbers to 20 would be. At first, we found it tricky but by the end of the lesson we had the hang of it!
"I liked trying to find out where the number would be like a detective like Miss Purshouse said"
"I found it hard but I got better at it"
"I liked finding the numbers"
Foundation Stage had a lovely hook day where everyone dressed up as their favourite superhero character. We read the book 'Supertato' and created some craft linked to the story. We also looked at what it means to be a real hero and what heroes we can identify within our families, our community and the wider world. Children also enjoyed dancing to superhero songs, taking part in superhero yoga and building superhero cities with the construction blocks.
In Year 1 we have been making moving Christmas cards for our loved ones. These include a flap of a Christmas present and then a picture of ourselves under the flap. We had to be very careful about only gluing certain sections of the card so it opened correctly, cutting the flap out neatly to fit our pictures underneath, and sticking the picture under the present in the right position so it was a surprise!
We are very proud of our Foundation Stage who performed superbly in their 'Nursery Rhyme Nativity' performance. They sung beautifully and performed with lots of actions and enthusiasm. Behaviour was exemplary and they looked fantastic in their costumes. The children have really enjoyed learning the songs and love singing in the classroom most days. Merry Christmas everyone!
The foundation stage children enjoyed lots of sensory activities today to celebrate Children In Need. Thank you for all your donations!
Year 1 have done lots of Children In Need activities this afternoon. We loved seeing all their SPOTacular outfits and Pudsey ears!
Foundation stage have learned a lot about keeping safe around roads this week, through assemblies, stories, songs and fun activities in the classroom provision. We had the tricycle and bike out in the playground as well, to help with our coordination and gross motor skills, while we practised crossing a 'road' safely.
Children in foundation stage have been enjoying exploring the 'Investigation Station' within the classroom provision. Children use tools from this area to explore materials and deepen their understanding of the world around them. Exploring scientific questions helps children to build enquiry skills and develop their vocabulary. We always find lots of opportunities across our curriculum, including having lots of funs with pumpkins during Harvest and Halloween.
KS1 and Foundation children enjoyed a very informative assembly all about road safety led by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service.
L- We need to stop, look and listen.
P- Grown ups should not walk and text or look at their phones.
J- If you have ear phones you won't hear the cars.
E- Listen to your adult and hold their hand.
H- I think it's safer to use a crossing when you cross the road.
N- Pedestrian’s need to wear something bright at night.
A- I always wear a helmet when I am on my bike.
S- The lady dropped an egg with a helmet on and it didn’t crack. The helmet protected it.
O- You should always wear a seatbelt in a car, like the smart family. Seatbelts keep you safe.
Year ones welcomed lots of family members to come into class and share some books. Whilst children read with their guests they also enjoyed a great breakfast. Everyone had such a good morning. Here are some of us enjoying the reading.
PICS
We asked visitors and children what they thought of the event, these are some of the comments:
Parent A, “Really nice to come and share the time with my daughter in the place where she is every day.”
Parent B, “It was nice to see their classroom and listen to them read.”
Parent C, “Really enjoyed it.”
Parent D, “Nice to see the lovely school environment and see the teachers and parents. Thank you for the food too.”
Parent E, “A lovely event which was very well organised and well thought out.”
Child 1, “I have enjoyed this morning.”
Child 2, “I really enjoyed reading books with my Grandma and I enjoyed the fruit.”
Child 3, “I really liked the reading breakfast can we do it again?”
Today Year 1 have been scientists! We added warm water, oil and food colouring to make fireworks in a cup. We learnt that water and oil don't mix. We asked scientific questions to extend our learning.
W-"It was SO cool!"
C-"It looks like real fireworks"
S-"I learnt oil is a fat"
C-"The colours were pretty"
The foundation children learned a lot in our fire safety assembly this week, including some useful tips for keeping safe if we attend bonfire celebrations. We watched some videos in class and learned a little bit more about firefighters. Then we had a go at putting out our own paint fire in the outdoor provision. Have a fun bonfire night everyone, and keep safe!
We walked around school to see if we could identify human and physical features. We learnt that human features have been put there by someone and physical features have always been there. We had clipboards so we could draw what we had identified.
Thank you very much for such great support with our reading breakfast in Foundation Stage. Sharing a love of reading with the children is very powerful and it was a pleasure to have so many of you be able to join us this week.
Year 1 and Foundation have spent time collaborating with our focus being in English with our grammar. The year 1 children in Mrs Smith's group showed Miss Purshouse's group their author study work. We looked at what grammar we need when we are writing a sentence. Then Miss Purshouse's group showed the Foundation children their work. The Year 1 children showed the Foundation children how we use a full stop and why.
O-"I liked seeing my year 1 friends."
J-" I liked showing my work."
B- "I felt proud."
A- "It was fun!"
Cornflower, Daisy and Marigold classes had lots of fun at their Halloween Disco! We had lots of lovely sweet treats and enjoyed some games and dancing. I'm sure you'll agree that our costumes were positively terrifying! Thank you for your support with this fundraising event.
The Foundation Stage children had a wonderful day at the Pink Pig Farm. The children showed exceptional behaviour and listening skills as we explored the different areas of the farm. We started by looking at the machinery and learned how a combine harvester worked. Then we looked at the grain storage and felt the different seeds that are used to make cereal and flour. We then had a chance to feed the animals. The teachers fed the alpacas and donkeys and the children fed the hungry goats. After lunch break, we had the opportunity to make some potions with Wendel the Witch. Then we finished the day by picking our own pumpkins and created designs on them. We had a wonderful time developing our understanding of the world.
Today in Miss Purshouse's Maths group we have been Mathematicians. We investigated the playground and found numerals to 2 hidden around, there were even numbers that were bigger than 2 hidden to trick us! We put the numbers in order, and had a go at writing our own number lines from 10 to 2.
WH "It was so FUN!"
CS "I found a bigger number than 2"
EH "I knew where my number should go"
Foundation children went on a nature walk to look for signs of Autumn. We have been learning about the effect of changing seasons on the natural world around us. We explored using our senses and collected lots of materials that we will use in expressive arts and design work.
Year 1 have been to the library this week. We are lucky to have Laceby Library next door to school and Year 1s are making the most of this! Children were able to meet Mrs Wink, learn about the library and choose a book to take home and share with their family. We plan to visit every week to exchange our books and extend our passion for reading.
The children all had a great time and chose some fabulous books.
Year 1 went on a field trip around Laceby linking to our Geography and History topics. We used our investigative skills to find homes that linked to our key words such as; detached, semi-detached, bungalow and terraced. We marked out our route on a map so we knew where to go and where key homes to look out for would be based.
The reception children have been enjoying exploring the learning environment in their first full week at school. Our first topic is 'Marvellous Me' and we have started by learning about ourselves, our friends and families, as well as our homes. We have enjoyed many books this week, to help us learn how to listen attentively and respond to stories. We have been doing lots of maths work, counting, exploring and identifying numbers. We have also started taking part in 'Doh Disco' to help improve our fine motor skills and prepare our fingers for writing. We finished the week with a hook day, where we wore our favourite outfits and shared our favourite books, so that we could work on our personal development by celebrating how fantastic we all are. Everyone has settled in wonderfully!
We welcomed our Cornflower new starters into Stanford School recently, as the new reception children experienced their first day in school. The weather was perfect to spend plenty of time inside and outside. Children enjoyed playing in the bakery outdoors and creating craft indoors. All of our new starters had a tour of the nature area, where we could look for seasonal changes and explore the "Bug Hotel". Another day of excellent manners, good listening and happy, friendly children.
Today Year 1 have been Scientists! We have been sorting different objects by their materials. We listened to see if different materials made different noises.
Today we have been learning how Geographers use aerial photos and maps to locate places. We became Geographers and located our school, some roads, houses, fields, trees and the church on maps and photos of Laceby. We learnt some new vocabulary as well:
locate which means to find
Aerial which means from up above
We had great fun using new skills. Look at our photos. Next week we plan to do some fieldwork and find different houses in Laceby.
Year 1 children have settled into life in a new Key Stage very well. We have been working in groups to remember all that we learnt about numbers to 10 and to learn how to count forwards and backwards.
Last week we welcomed all our new starters into Foundation Stage. They have all settled in really well and enjoyed their first two days in school. Parents/Carers were given a welcome bag to help them leave their children. This contained a relaxing lavender bag, a tissue for any tears and a teabag and biscuit to enjoy when they got home to a quiet house. Many said how nice it was to receive these gifts.
Comments included:
“That’s so thoughtful and special.”
“What a lovely thought, thank you.”
“It’s brought tears to my eyes, you’ve thought of everything.”
We hope they continue to do this well in the weeks to come.