Last week, Form 1 enjoyed a very exciting Friday as we were visited by best-selling author Sue Hendra! The children enjoyed a fantastic presentation in the Russell Hall, where Sue read one of her wonderful books Supertato Night of the Living Veg. 

The children found out how Sue created the character Supertato and what she enjoys most about being a children's author. 

Later in the day, the children enjoyed a workshop in the Form 1 classroom with Sue where they invented their very own veggie characters using real vegetables! It really was a lovely day and the children certainly felt inspired to create their own stories after the visit.

This week in Form 1 has been equally exciting, as we enjoyed a trip to the British Wildlife Centre on Wednesday. The children were very excited to be venturing out of Russell House and the added bit of fun of bringing their own packed lunch for the day cannot go unmentioned! 

Form 1 and Transition class all boarded the coach together and arrived in good time to be met by our guide for the day, Jess. Jess gave us a fascinating tour of the centre and the children saw an array of British wildlife that you very rarely get a glimpse of in the wild.

The children enjoyed watching the cheeky otters who excitedly swam across the pond and ran along the bank to greet us, getting very close to us. We were lucky enough to see one of the badgers who would usually be fast asleep, but came out especially to say hello to the children. We also saw a Scottish wildcat, deer, polecats, dormice, owls and foxes. The children really enjoyed the small mammal section where they saw rats and mice scampering through tunnels that ran above their heads.

We ended the day meeting a hedgehog whom Jess carried in her arms, so we could all get a really close-up look at this usually rather shy animal. The weather could not have been better and the children enjoyed their lunches in the spring sunshine. The children wowed us all with their fantastic vocabulary, confidently using the words nocturnal, carnivore, omnivore and habitat to answer questions asked by Jess. Their behaviour was excellent and we were very proud of them all.

Back in the classroom, Form 1 have been learning about spring and the changes in nature that indicate we are moving from one season into another. We enjoyed a spring walk and took our checklists out and about to see if we could spot all the signs of spring. Once back in the classroom the children wrote about the things they had seen in their literacy books and added drawings to accompany their work. 

In maths this week, we have been learning about patterns and continued to practise our 2D and 3D shape vocabulary. The children were fantastic at continuing a repeating pattern and explaining how they knew which shape to use to carry this on correctly. The children then made their own repeating patterns in their maths books, choosing how to do this independently.

The children also enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt in the sunshine, collecting lots of eggs in their baskets and then receiving a chocolate egg as a prize. The children were amazingly speedy and loved the challenge of hunting for them all over the Pirate Ship. A big thank you to the RHPA for all their hard work organising and putting on the event for the children - they loved it!

We have also been making some very special presents for Mother's Day. The children have drawn their own designs using special porcelain marker pens onto heart-shaped coasters. Each one is unique and will hopefully be treasured for years to come. These will be sealed, wrapped and ready for Mother's Day!