Special visit
Print calendars
As you know, our topic work this half term has been focussed on the work of William Morris and Orla Kiely. We have also created our own print stamps and designs based on their repeated pattern and symmetrical work.
As a result, we have been inspired to create our very own prints for our 2025 calendars. Take a look at our fabulous work!
Mary’s Knitting – KS1 Nativity
Our Year One children have amazed us with their beautiful performance of Mary’s Knitting! After weeks of practice, they overcame their nerves to stand confidently in front of their families and share the true spirit of Christmas.
From learning their lines to singing with joy, every child worked so hard to
make the performance a success. All their preparation truly paid off, as the show ran smoothly and was a delight to watch.
We are so proud of each and every one of them for their courage, teamwork, and dedication. Well done, Year One and the whole of KS1!
Trip to Wetherby High School
Today, we were invited to watch a talent show at Wetherby High School. Our class walked across beautiful and represented St James really well. We watched some superb performances and a few of our children knew the high school children performing. Here’s what we had to say…
There was a huge mix of talents, and everyone felt included. James
I really enjoyed seeing the children singing and playing the piano. I feel inspired to do something similar. Aubree
I loved seeing the performances and it made me feel like I want to do something similar in the future. Chloe
It was very entertaining. Seeing the children not get embarrassed displayed courage. Honey
The performances demonstrated good oracy skills. Tommy
The Christmas Story
Christingle
The children enjoyed making Christingles last week, we talked about the different parts to the Christingle and what they all mean.
Help at home: ask your child if they can tell you about the Christingle?
This week our focus book is The Christmas Story.
Our word of the week is Nativity.
We’re so excited to be sharing our nativity story with our grown ups this week, we’ve polished off our star costumes and are definitely ready to shine in our performances on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Phonics
This week in our phonics we will be focusing on our tricky words, please look out for a set in your child’s book bags to learn over the Christmas break.
Send your photos to: stjameseyfs@spherefederation.org
Have a happy and healthy week and thank you as always for your support.
Mrs. Kendrew, Mrs. Rippon, Miss. Feldman and Mr. Smith.
Food Technology – egg pots
Today we have been busy making our egg pots. We learned lots of new skills including how to use a bridge cut to cut the tomatoes and how to open a tin of beans safely.
Back in class, we evaluated our product with some children reflecting that they would refine the recipe by including carrots or cooking and serving the ingredients separately.
Thank you for the donations made towards the ingredients, we are already looking forward to our next project in the new year.
Help at home: Try one of these recipes and let us know if any are particularly popular with your family.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/health/family-health/top-10-healthy-meals-for-kids
Topic – Pointillism
In topic this half term, we’re artists/artist historians.
We’ve been exploring the work of Georges Seurat, a French painter known for pointillism – painting lots of tiny dots and dashes to make up a larger image. When you look closely, it looks like a group of coloured dots, but as you move further away, the bigger picture becomes clearer.
One of Georges Seurat’s most famous works is A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. It’s 3 metres wide and took him 2 years to finish! We’ve really enjoyed discussing the painting, thinking about the visual and tactile elements of art. We’ve thought carefully about:
colour
space – distances or areas in a piece of art; usually used to describe areas or parts of an artwork where there are large blocks of colour or ‘gaps’
composition – the way that something has been deliberately ‘put together’
After some extensive discussion, we doffed our art-historian hats and settled in as artists…
The children used earbuds and paint to create their own pointillism art. I was impressed by the patience and perseverance on display.
Help at home by exploring the Art Bites YouTube channel with your child. Make sure to stay safe online.
Why not try some pointillism at home? All you’ll need is some paint and a few earbuds… and patience!
Exploring 3D Shapes!
This week, Year One has been learning about 3D shapes. A 3D shape is solid and has depth, width, and height.
We’ve identified spheres, cubes, cuboids, cones, cylinders, and pyramids, then explored our classroom to find them in real life!
Help at home
At home, you can support your child by spotting 3D shapes in everyday objects like cans, boxes, or balls. Ask: “What shape is this?” and explore together.
School history trip
What a fantastic day we had today visiting Leeds Discovery Centre and The Royal Armouries.
We began the day with an Ancient Egyptian workshop, consolidating our prior learning and showcasing all the amazing things we have learnt during the Autumn 1 half term. We were then lucky enough to visit the historical store at Leeds Discovery Centre. Inside, we saw many ancient artefacts from animals to meteorites.
In the afternoon, we had a self -led tour of The Royal Armouries. Here we enjoyed viewing many historical artefacts. The children were extremely enthusiastic about some of the artefacts and could tell me so much without even reading the notes around each display.
Here are some of the things children had to share about the day:
- I enjoyed seeing the different types of animals at the Leeds Discovery Centre. They were so interesting to look at. Valerie.
- Holding the Egyptian artefacts was fun, particularly the lucky charm. It was like holding hands with the past. Willow.
- It was amazing and a dream to see the animals up close. The Armouries was great because I saw things that I had never seen before. It wowed me. Evie.
- It was fun because the Armouries has weapons which interested me. The bow and arrow target activity was great. Freddie.
- I liked it because I have never seen real-life guns from the war before. It was amazing and cool to see them up close. Umar.
- I was cool to see the armour they used on horses and even elephants and the armour they used to protect themselves. Christian.
- At the Royal Armouries there were loads of facts about the past. I also enjoyed the Egyptian workshops. Lily W.
Nativity
The children have been thoroughly enjoying rehearsing their nativity play and are excited to share it with you next week. As part of the performance, we’ll be singing Away in a Manger. The lyrics have been sent home today, so we kindly ask you to practice them with your child. We’ll also be singing this carol at the Church service on Thursday afternoon this week.
Here are the lyrics:
Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head
The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay.
Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And fit us to heaven
To live with Thee there
Thank you so much to those who have already sent in costumes! If you haven’t yet, please ensure all costumes are brought in by Friday, 13th December.
Thank you for your support!