What an amazing week in Year 1 here is what we have been up to...

Maths

This week in Maths we have been looking at doubles. The children began by practising doubling single-digit numbers using a variety of practical resources to help them understand how numbers work.

At the beginning of the week, we used ten frames and counters to show what doubling means. The children chose a number and then represented it on the ten frame before adding the same amount again to find the double. This helped them clearly see that doubling means adding the same number twice.

Later in the week, we moved on to doubling two-digit numbers. The children used Base 10 and place value counters to help them visualise the tens and ones. They practised doubling the ones and the tens and then combining them to find the final answer. These resources helped the children understand how numbers are made up and how doubling works with larger numbers.

Next week we will look at division, ensuring we share equally!

Each week, we share a key maths fact.

 Our fact of the week has been:

• 0 + 3 = 3

• 3 – 0 = 3

• 

Read, Write Inc. (RWI)

This week the children have shown fantastic enthusiasm as we revisited previously taught sounds and continued to strengthen our phonics reading skills. It has been lovely to see their confidence growing and their excitement for learning.

We have been focusing on recognising “special friends”  groups of letters that work together to make one sound. The children are becoming more confident at spotting these in words and using Fred Talk, blending, and segmenting to help them read. They have also been practising reading green words and learning a range of red (tricky) words.

Alongside this, the children have been making great progress with their handwriting. They are taking more care with their letter formation, remembering to use capital letters and full stops when writing sentences. It is wonderful to see their handwriting becoming clearer and more controlled each week.

To support your child at home, you could practise spotting “special friends” in everyday words, blending sounds together to read full words, and encouraging regular reading practice. At the moment, we are finding the split digraphs (sometimes called chatty friends) a-e, e-e, i-e, o-e and u-e particularly tricky, so any extra practice spotting and reading these would be very helpful.

Reading at Home

• Children will bring home two books each week:

  1. RWI Home Book – should be read three times a week for fluency. Changed every Monday by an adult.

  2. Book with coloured sticker – children can change independently, ideally in the morning.

• Please ensure reading folders are placed in the trays at school.

• Encourage your child to read at home and record it in their reading record.

• Certificates are awarded weekly to celebrate reading achievements, and every 20 reads earns a special certificate!

If you have any questions, please speak to your child’s class teacher

Thematic

This week in our thematic lessons, we have continued exploring science. We began the week by looking at animal X-rays and discussing whether we could spot any differences between different animal groups. Through this activity, we learned about vertebrate and invertebrate animals and how their bodies are structured.

We then explored whether animals use the same senses as humans. We recapped our learning about the five senses and labelled different animals to identify which senses they use.

We also learned about David Attenborough and some fascinating facts about animals. Did you know that snakes hear by detecting ground and air vibrations through their jawbones rather than using external ears?

Towards the end of the week, we began thinking about how we learn about the past. We discussed different ways we can find information, such as using books, videos, online research and pictures. Using these sources, we learned about James Cook and why he is famous. As part of this learning, we also thought carefully about what it might have been like for native people when explorers first arrived in their lands.

Home Learning

This week we would love for you to practice your red words, this can be shown any way you wish 😊

Young Artists’ Competition 2026

DEADLINE – Wednesday 1st April 2026

The Rotary Club of Margate have launched their Thanet schools’ art competition. Selected entries will be displayed at Sainsbury’s Westwood Cross in their annual art exhibition.

To enter, please create a piece of A4 artwork with a wildlife theme- artwork will need to be flat so it can fit into a frame. On the reverse, please write the following information:

Child’s Name

Year Group

Medium Used

Brief description of the artwork

Permission and Consent - By submitting your child’s artwork to the competition, you give permission for the artwork to be displayed in a public exhibition. You also consent to your child’s name, age, school name, and title of the artwork being shown alongside the piece. You understand that the exhibition may be visited by members of the public and that images of the display may be used by the organisers for promotional or reporting purposes, both in print and online. No other personal details will be shared.

If you have any questions – please feel free to contact Mrs Barlow.

Thank you, we look forward to receiving your competition entries!

Mrs Barlow and Mrs Howard

Quex Park Forest School Trip

We are very excited for our trip to Manor House Forest School in Quex Park next week. Team Sky will be visiting on Thursday 19^th and Team Ocean on Friday 20th.

Please arrive at school at normal time with your children dressed ready for their day in the forest. Please see the email that was sent to you about suitable clothing for the trip.

Your child will need a full water bottle for the day. School lunches will be provided unless you chose to provide a home packed lunch for your child.

We cannot wait to share with you all of the activities we have planned and the pictures from our exciting day out.

​Additional Information

Forest school is now on a Thursday afternoon, please can children bring in wellington boots for this and if they wish to play on the field they would also need wellingtons. Their wellingtons are kept in their locker and can get muddy so please provide a suitable bag for these to be put into their locker.

PE is on a Tuesday afternoon please can children wear a plain white t-shirt, or our new Chilton PE t-shirts, black or navy bottoms and a plain black or blue sweatshirt.

Read at 3! This is where we would love to invite you into our classrooms and read with your child for the full 15 minutes. This will happen every Friday there after this term.

Please can we ask your child has their name in1 their coats, cardigans, jumpers etc.

Key dates

Thursday 19th March – Team Sky to Quex Park Forest School

Friday 20th March – Team Ocean to Quex Park Forest School

Friday 20th March – Red Nose Day (Wear something funny for money)

Monday 23rd March – Rock your socks for Downs Syndrome Awareness (Wear bright or mismatching socks to school)

Monday 23rd March – Year 3 Roman Dress up day

Tuesday 24th March – Team Periwinkle to Quex Park

Thursday 26th March – Team Teal to Quex Park

Friday 27th March – Viking Speaker Final at Royal Harbour

Friday 27th March – Parents come into school to look at children’s books prior to Parent Teacher Consultations

Week Beginning 30th March – Parent Teacher consultation week

Wednesday 1st April at 9.05am– Easter Bonnet Parade for Team Periwinkle, Team Ocean and Team Cornflower

Wednesday 1st April at 2.45pm – Easter Bonnet Parade for Team Teal, Team Sky and Team Sapphire

Thursday 2nd April – Chilton Fundraisers Sponsored Eggscellent Event - Non-Uniform to be worn with further details to follow next term.

Thursday 2nd April - Last day of term. School to finish at 3.15pm

If you would like to contact us, please feel free to email, alternatively we are available to catch at the end of the day or the start of the day by the door.

Team Ocean - Eloise.hall@chiltonprimary.co.uk

Team Sky - Poppy.winchcombe@chiltonprimary.co.uk and Elaine.howard@chiltonprimary.co.uk ( On a Wednesday)

Have a restful weekend and we will see you all on Monday!

Miss Hall, Mrs Winchcombe and Mrs Howard