Maths:

To kick off our Aspire for Higher curriculum, we read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds—a story that encourages self-belief, creativity, and taking that all-important first step. After reading, we reflected on the story’s message and thought about something we can’t do yet, but would like to achieve by the end of Year 1 and Year 2. 

Year 1:

Year 1 went on an exciting circle hunt around the classroom and the school grounds. The children explored their environment carefully, spotting and identifying objects with circular shapes. They discovered circles in everyday items such as clocks, wheels, plates, and signs.

Year 2:

As part of our activity, we explored how even a simple dot can grow into something amazing. We each created our own artwork, starting with a painted dot on one side of a folded paper. When we folded the paper, it created a symmetrical print on the other side—transforming a single dot into a unique piece of art! 

English:

Year 1:

Year 1 enjoyed listening to the story The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. After hearing the beginning of the story, the children each drew their own dot and then used their imagination to predict what might happen next. This activity encouraged creativity, storytelling, and thinking about how characters might change and grow.

Year 2:

Year 2 read the story The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. After sharing the book together, the children worked in groups to sequence the events using picture cards. This helped them to recall key parts of the story, discuss what happened in order, and build their understanding of how stories are structured.

To celebrate and summarise our learning, we took part in our very own Aspire for Higher activity. The children thoroughly enjoyed challenging themselves on an inflatable assault course set up on the school field. This was a fantastic opportunity to build teamwork, resilience, and confidence, while having lots of fun together.

We look forward to what we are going to achieve this academic year!