Year 1 Weekly blog 6.2.26 - "Happy are the young because they have time before them to do good." - St Philip Neri

February 6, 2026 Clare Bassett

This week we have discovered the moment when Jesus calls His disciples. Together we retold the story through drama, we had Jesus, Simon, James, John, fishermen, and a large crowd. Jesus was teaching the crowd and asked Simon to take his boat out to catch fish. Simon wasn’t sure it was a good idea because he had been out all night and hadn’t caught a single fish, however he had faith in Jesus and did as he was asked. They caught lots of fish!

Jesus asked Simon, James and John to follow him - and that is just what they did!

Going deeper in our learning!

Next week we will be collecting information about Learie Constantine… Can you find out some facts about him that we could share in class next week.

Magic moments

We have had so much fun rehearsing for our assembly which is on Tuesday next week! We have been on the stage, have our costumes ready and everybody knows their parts! We cannot wait for you to watch us!

Let’s Celebrate

A huge well done to Rupert who has been awarded our focused learning certificate this week. You really are such a focused learner! We are always so proud of how carefully you concentrate during each and every lesson. You always want to do your very best and we see this in everything that you do! It is a real pleasure to be teaching you this year and seeing you achieve many, many goals!

A huge well done to Lily who has been awarded our star this week. Lily you always show such kindness and love towards others. You really care about how people around you are feeling and always want them to be happy. In your words you are always truthful and full of grace towards those around you.

Well done Rupert and Lily!

Reminders

Our class assembly: On Tuesday 10th February it is our class assembly starting at 9:10 / 9:35.

Parents meetings: Thank you to everyone who has already made an appointment. For those who have not yet, please email with some preferred times. Parents day is on Friday 13th February.

Cold weather: Remember to bring all those warm layers: coats, hats, gloves and scarfs!

Snacks: A gentle reminder that as a school we are trying to reduce waste. At the start of the year we set out on a mission to bring any snacks into school in reusable containers. Please continue to help us with this, sending all snacks in reusable plastic containers. Thank you!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 1 Weekly Blog 30.1.26 - "A happy heart is a sign of God's spirit within us."

January 30, 2026 Clare Bassett

This week we used drama to retell the story of Zacchaeus. We focused particularly on how being with Jesus changed him! The children all pretended that they were a Jewish person, while Zacchaeus went around taking money from them, more than he should have been taking! We had lots of very serious, angry faces forwards the unfair tax collector.. we have many budding actors! We have chosen to base our assembly around this bible story as we have continued to think about our Catholic Social teaching, “Option for the poor”. During our snack times we have been enjoying talking about our CST, “Option for the Poor” and the children have decided on two ways we could help. The first is our own Food bank, and so we have now created a dedicated space in our class for any food donations. Each half term we will send these items to a local food bank to help our community. Thank you to Hope, who has already kicked this off bringing in spare tins from home, all off her own back! The second idea is a penny pot. This is for any loose change we may have. Once this pot is full we will look to see which charity we as a class would like to donate our pennies to.

Going deeper in conversation

Last week we thought about the character strengths we hold. This week I want you to think about which character strength you want to develop…

Magic moments

Although it may have been cold this week during our PE outside, it was wonderful to see their teamwork skills! The children worked so well together, encouraging their team and celebrating others. Each one of them has really developed their throwing, catching and kicking skills this half term and their confidence is shining!

Let’s Celebrate

A huge well done to Leo who has been an enthusiastic Bobby Bee! Leo, your enthusiasm for learning has been so wonderful to see and we have enjoyed watching you join in with our class discussions; sharing your thoughts and observations with more confidence. Learning new things is exciting, thank you for sharing your enthusiasm with us all! Well done Leo!

A huge well done to Eddie who has received the Star Virtue award this week. Eddie, you demonstrate your eloquence and truthfulness on a daily basis. From taking the time to greet others, ask about their day and wish them a lovely evening; to recognising why it is important to speak truthfully, even when that might be hard. These qualities help to create a calm, happy and safe classroom environment and set such a wonderful example to others. Thank you for shining so brightly just by being you. Well done Eddie!

Reminders

Our class assembly: On Tuesday 10th February it is our class assembly starting at 9:10/9:35. Today the children have come home with a line to learn. Please practise these at home with big clear story telling voices so we are ready to practise on Monday! We’ve had fun practising these in class today and expression is very much encouraged!

Parents meetings: Thank you to everyone who has already made an appointment. For those who have not yet, please email with some preferred times. Parents day is on Friday 13th February.

Cold weather: Remember to bring all those warm layers: coats, hats, gloves and scarfs!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 1 Weekly Blog 23.1.26 - "Community is the place where love is proven, where we learn to forgive, to begin again, and to serve one another." - St Teresa of Calcutta

January 23, 2026 Clare Bassett

Another super week in Year 1! The children really do just love to learn! In Prayer and liturgy we have focused once again on Jesus, reflecting on how we can follow in His footsteps and asking Him to help us and those in need around the world. In RE we have learned more about Jesus as a young boy. We listened to a piece of scripture about when Jesus, Mary and Joseph and how they went to visit the temple. When leaving Mary and Joseph realised that Jesus was not with them. After spending a long time searching they returned to the temple, where they found Jesus teaching the elders of the church. Jesus was surprised to hear Marys confusion, saying, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus spent His younger years growing closer to God so that He would be ready to share the Good News. The children split into groups and created great pieces of drama to retell this piece of scripture. Following this lesson we went onto hear how Jesus gathered the first Christians, and how Simon, Andrew, James and John, all left there things and followed Him. We created beautiful cards to share the Good News with others…

Going deeper in conversation

Each week we have a My Happy Mind lesson. We are currently learning to celebrate our brains and their strengths. Can your child explain these different character strengths. Maybe you could identify each others strengths as a family.

Magic moments

During computing this week the children continued to develop their drag and drop skills by creating their own themed games. This brought great delight. One of the very wonderful moments within these lessons is the teamwork and problem solving skills that we get to see. The children really love to help one another and seeing their happiness knowing they have done something that has helped is just lovely! We also looked at ‘whole’ and ‘not ‘whole’ in maths - hunting down all the items we could find that were a whole. and cutting a pizza into parts.

Let’s Celebrate

A huge well done to Maggie who has been a focused Cooper Crab. Maggie, you’ve taken some really big steps this half term and we can see how your focus is helping you to engage in our class discussions and share your ideas. In our science lessons you have been sharing your observations and thoughts, helping others to consider things they hadn’t thought of. We are really proud of you Maggie, keep up the focus. Well done!

A huge well done to Sadie who has received our Star Virtue award for being Eloquent. Sadie you treat others with kindness; you make others around you smile and bring so much joy and positivity into our classroom and to our school. Thank you for shining so brightly. Well done Sadie!

Reminders

Our class assembly: On Tuesday 10th February it is our class assembly starting at 9:30.

Parents meetings: On Friday 13th February we will have our mid year parents meetings. Please complete the survey below to indicate whether you would prefer a face to face or virtual appointment. I have also displayed an image of the times I am available on the day. Yellow indicates virtual and the white face to face. Please email with your preferred time and I’ll email back on a first come system.

Parents meeting survey

Cold weather: Remember to bring all those warm layers: coats, hats, gloves and scarfs!

Uniform: Please check your child’s uniform, we have a few pieces missing! We are also missing some black football leggings, they are labelled “procombat” around the waist. There has also been a mix up with football trainers and a school T-Shirt. Please check you have all the correct items over the weekend and we can do a big swap and return belongings to the right homes next week. Thank you for your help!

Finally, each child came home with a letter today regarding some important information. Our wonderful Mrs Hartley has made a very difficult decision, and will be leaving us at the end of this half term. She has not made this decision lightly but knows what is right for her and her family. It has been a privilege to work alongside her and I am sure she will continue to pop into school because she will really miss seeing all of the children! We now have a couple of weeks to make her feel as special as she really is.

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 1 Weekly Blog 16.1.26 - "For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them" - Matthew 18:20

January 16, 2026 Clare Bassett

Our week has been fantastic and jam packed with super learning and discussions! We have spent time thinking about how Jesus is the light of the world. The children have all reflected on how they will share His light each day. We have created a display in our classroom to share all of the ways we will be Jesus’ light. Our prayer and liturgy led by the children this week focused on Jesus. The children all held crosses and spent time with God. We sang one of our favourite class hymns, Sing Hosanna - we are really great at the actions too! This is a part of the week we all look forward to, the children just love to have a role during prayer time.

During our learning in RE we have learnt about Candlemas, when Jesus was presented in the temple as the light of the world. We explored how this celebration is celebrated around the world. The children found it so interesting to discover how other cultures celebrate this day.

Going deeper in conversation

During RE we discussed the symbolism of candles in our faith and how special they are. Candles help to us celebrate, to pray, and they bring Jesus closer to us, symbolising the Holy Spirits presence.

When in church this week, can you see candles around the church? Where are they? Why are they there?

Magic moments

This week we continued our learning of Beatrix Potter and have become absolutely brilliant at sharing facts about her! We loved to retrieve our fact knowledge by some more MASTERMIND time - this has been a real hit! The children are great at getting into character and answer questions with knowledge and confidence!

Let’s Celebrate

A huge well done to Diya who has been awarded this weeks learning certificate for being a focused Cooper Crab. Diya, you ALWAYS try do achieve your absolute best! You concentrate so well in every single lesson and we are so impressed with how hard you work! Each piece of work you do, you always make sure you have concentrated carefully, asked super questions and put 100% effort in. This really shows in your immaculate work! Well done Diya.

A huge well done to Willow who has received the Star award for demonstrating our Eloquent and Truthful virtues. Willow, you are always looking out for your friends demonstrating your eloquence through your words, actions and daily interactions with others - sharing Gods message that everyone is precious and we should look after one another. Thank you for being such a special part of our our class!

Reminders

Cold weather: Remember to bring all those warm layers: coats, hats, gloves and scarfs!

Uniform: Please check your child’s uniform, we have a few pieces missing! We are also missing some black football leggings, they are labelled “procombat” around the waist. Thank you!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 1 weekly blog - 9.1.26 "Every day we must begin anew. Have patience with all things - but first of all with yourself" - St Francis de Sales

January 9, 2026 Clare Bassett

A very warm welcome back and wishing everybody a wonderful year in 2026! It has been such a joy to see the children this week, so full of excitement to share with each other what their Christmas holidays were like. They have all made many wonderful memories and have spoken so fondly about the time together as a family. On Monday we began with a special prayer and liturgy to celebrate the Epiphany, it is always such an important part of our week to gather together as a whole school. We have also introduced our virtues this half term, ELOQUENT and TRUTHFUL we have learnt what these two words mean, knowing that as we look to see Jesus in all things, we are learning to be able to share His teachings clearly with others, to be truthful to God in our words and actions.

In our child led liturgy we thought about the Kings and the gifts they gave. We have reflected on what our gifts to Jesus will be as we begin this new year, helping us to continue to grow closer to God. As always as we sit and hear the children’s reflections we are always so astounded by how carefully and deeply they think and reflect at such a young age!

Going deeper in conversation

During RE we put of our Superstrength glasses and we looked carefully at pictures to see what we could see. We then heard about two special people in the bible, Simeon and Anna, who had superstrength glasses too! Can you remember what they did and said when they saw Jesus?

Magic moments

Coming back together as a class family and hearing all of the wonderful memories of Christmas was definitely a magic moment in itself. Another stand out moment was choosing jobs in our classroom for this half term. I know how much the children love to have responsibility and they really do LOVE their jobs and they mean so much to them. When sharing who had which job, the children spontaneously celebrated everyone, clapping and smiling, no one wanted someone else’s role, everybody was just so happy for each other. It made for such a magic moment seeing how much our children love and care for one another.

Let’s Celebrate

Finally, an apology for the delay in providing individual photographs. I had tried and failed many times at the end of term, I am still unsure as to why they would not load. I was greatly relieved on Wednesday when they loaded successfully! Please enjoy having a look at these snaps taken after our first performance for our school friends.

Reminders

Cold weather: Remember to bring a coat, hat, scarf and gloves - this week has been especially chilly!

Uniform: Please can you check your child’s uniform as we are missing a few pieces! Please be on the look out for some black leggings and a school cardigan (size 28), both are labelled and have Maggie’s name on. We are also missing a school hoody, again labelled with Rosalie’s name. Thank you!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 1 Weekly Blog 19.12.25 - "When they saw the star they rejoiced with great joy." Matthew 2:10

December 19, 2025 Clare Bassett

In this weeks Gospel we heard how Joseph was visited by an angel in a dream. The angel told Joseph to take care of Mary, that she was going to have God’s Son who would save the people of their sins. Joseph showed great faith in God and did as the angel had asked. We thought about Mary and how she too showed great faith and joy in God’s will. Our reflection this week was to think how we could be thoughtful, kind and bring joy to others during this final week of Advent. This week we also met with our Year 5 partners and together we went on a pilgrimage around the school, stopping and reflecting at each prayer station. It was such a special time watching our older children take such a caring role of their partners as they guided our children around the school and read so beautifully each piece of scripture.

Going deeper in conversation

During RE we have had a great time creating our own artwork to show the night of Jesus’s birth. We have decided that it is so important that our artwork should include Jesus, Mary, Joseph and really show what the night of Jesus’ birth looked like. We also thought carefully about how we as Christians prepare for the birth of Christ. We looked at our parish news letter and saw the events that our community are holding to help us to prepare. We saw that today at 7:30pm there is Christmas tree decorating at church and on Monday at the parish centre we can join in with carol singing. The children created wonderful posters to let people know about these events, so that everybody can feel prepared for Jesus’ coming!

We have had such a special week in school! We had great fun on Monday with Mrs Harrison for Enrichment, she taught the children a wonderful Christmas dance! I wonder if they can remember it? On Tuesday we watched the junior children in their carol concert which was the most beautiful afternoon! Not only that but we also had the very exciting Christmas raffle (what a lucky bunch we have!! So many winners!), a delicious Christmas dinner, our Christmas party and DVD afternoon and finally the teachers Panto! We are definitely all in the Christmas spirit!

Magic moments

Coming together as a EYFS and Key Stage 1 team was a real magical moment for us this week. The children had a wonderful party with lots of Christmas songs, dance moves and fun to be had. We even had a special visit from Father Christmas who came to visit us in our classroom to give each gift a child. It was wonderful way to come together to celebrate the end of our Autumn term and to continue the Christmas festivities!

Let’s Celebrate

This week our awards were selected by the children who each voted for someone in the class who they felt had demonstrated our Learning Characters and virtues. The children thought carefully about who their vote was for and could give specific examples as to why. They all had such wonderful things to say about one another.

A huge well done to Adele. Adele, your classmates had the most wonderful things to say about you. They spoke of your focus and hard work, how you try your best in every lesson. As well as these wonderful qualities, they spoke highly of your consideration towards others; how you help them to focus, to make good choices and to try their best too. What a wonderful role model you are and how lucky we are to have you in our school!
Well done Adele!

A huge well done to Isabella. Isabella, your classmates had wonderful things to say about you and spoke of your bravery towards new activities and challenges in school. You are a wonderful friend Isabella and you treat others with kindness and compassion and that is why your classmates spoke so highly of you. They have noticed how brave you are and how you are stepping forward to try new things. Your friends said how proud they were of you and how much they enjoy being in the class with you. Thank you for reminding us all to be brave, to have a go and why it is so important to be a good friend! Well done Isabella!

Reminders

Please can you check your child’s uniform as we are missing a few pieces! Please be on the look out for some black leggings and a school cardigan (size 28), both are labelled and have Maggie’s name on. We are also missing a school hoody, again labelled with Rosalie’s name. Thank you!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Finally we wish you all the most special and Holy Christmas! Thank you for being such a wonderful and supportive bunch! We are such lucky teachers who get to be a part of your child’s learning and their journey through school. It truly is such a privilege! We will be thinking of you all on Christmas day, we hope you enjoy all of the celebration and fun together, making memories and enjoying that precious quality time together.

We look forward to welcoming you back on Monday the 5th and hearing all about your special two weeks together.

God bless.

Miss Bassett, Mrs Hartley and Miss Hennessy.

Year 1 Weekly Blog 12.12.25 - "For those who love, nothing is too difficult, especially when it is done for the love of Jesus Christ." St Ignatius of Loyola

December 12, 2025 Clare Bassett

In this weeks Gospel we heard how John the Baptist had heard about Jesus Christ’s miracles and all the other wonderful things that Jesus was doing. Jesus came to teach us to forgive and heal anyone who put their trust in him. In Year 1 we have reflected on how we can share Jesus throughout todays world. The children have offered many wonderfully kind ideas such as sharing, including everybody, looking after God’s animals and making sure we don’t litter.

Going deeper in conversation

During RE we have continued our focus on the Nativity and have discussed how there are no photographs of the special night Jesus was born, however there is so much artwork that people have created. The children closed their eyes and listened to a description of Jesus’ birth, we then shared what our minds pictured. We then went on to look at artwork from around the world and the children put these in order of their favourite to their least favourite, explaining there reasons.

Question to ask:

This week’s Wednesday Word was ‘Christ’ What can your child tell you about this word?

Magic moments

We have enjoyed the most magical of moments this week. The pure joy and pleasure of watching Year 1 take to the stage - alongside our brilliant Year 2’s - to deliver the most wonderful story and message of all. We are sure you will all agree that they did a tremendous job. They sang with love for baby Jesus and made us all feel incredibly proud. Thank you for joining us in school to share this special moment. Please don’t forget that it was recorded so you have the opportunity to watch it all again together at home with all the family!

A special message for Year 1…

Year 1, we are unbelievably proud of you. You have shown such bravery taking to the stage to share this very special story and have done so with such love and joy in your hearts. What a wonderful team you make! You should all be very proud of yourselves; well done!

Let’s Celebrate

A huge congratulations to Henry who has been awarded the learning certificate this week for being a Focused Cooper Crab. Henry, your focus has certainly not gone unnoticed this last few weeks! At the start of each lesson you are listening and ready to grow your brain. With this brilliant focus you have engaged in discussions, challenged thinking and dug even deeper into our learning. We have lost count of how many times your name has been used as an example of a brilliant role model! Well done Henry!

A huge congratulations to Florence who has received the Star Virtue award for demonstrating our Faith Filled and Hopeful virtues. Florence, you always take the moment to reflect deeply during our prayer and liturgy and during our discussions in RE. We can see how you think carefully about these teachings and how they can help you make positive choices in school. This care and respect was demonstrated during our Nativity performance and our discussions within which you spoke beautifully about the very special moment when baby Jesus was born. Thank you for helping us all to be reflective, faith filled and hopeful. Well done Florence.

Reminders

Hot snack menu - The order form is on Mrs Gregan’s blog, if you would like to order any hot snacks for your child this coming week. Please complete your orders ASAP (before Monday).

Christmas Lunch - Wednesday 17th December.

KS1 Christmas Party: This is the morning of Thursday 18th December. We ask for children to come to school in party clothes and bring a drink (not fizzy) along with a treat snack such as a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar. We also please ask for sensible shoes as the children will be outside during breaktimes and lunch time break.

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely Christmas!

Year 1 Weekly Blog 5.12.25 - "Prepare a path for God so that he can enter your heart." - St John Baptist De La Salle

December 5, 2025 Clare Bassett

In this weeks Gospel we listened to a piece of scripture from Matthew. We heard John the Baptist calling to the people to come back to God and to prepare themselves for Christ’s arrival. Christmas can be such a busy time organising the day itself that we can forget of prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus. In Year 1 we have been busy preparing ourselves to give our gift of our Nativity… which we cannot wait for you to see next week. The children have been loving rehearsals and have been SO well behaved when in the hall practising.

Going deeper in conversation

During RE we have been discussing what angels are… we know they give messages sent by God.

Question to ask: What is an angel?

Magic moments

With the Christmas excitement felt all around the school there are just so many wonderful moments that stand out! On Friday we had our Travelling Nativity, every year group gathered outside, sang hymns and watched as Mary and Joseph and of course a real donkey, paraded through the school grounds. The children absolutely loved it!

Reminders

Hot snack menu - The order form is on Mrs Gregan’s blog, if you would like to order any hot snacks for your child this coming week. Please complete your orders ASAP (before Monday).

Nativity: Our Nativity is next week, 10th and 11th December at 9:30. We cannot wait for you to see the children on the stage retelling the Christmas story.

Our Lady’s Great Christmas Bake Off: This was a great success last year and will be held again this year on Friday 12th December.

Forest school: Our children are going to experience a story by the fire on Tuesday next week. No additional clothing will be needed, just please make sure your child comes to school with their winters warmers!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 1 Weekly Blog 28.11.25 - "Advent is like a springtime, when everything is renewed and is so fresh and healthy." - Mother Teresa

November 28, 2025 Clare Bassett

This week in RE our focus has been on angels, we have discovered that they are messengers sent by God. We have studied art work and the children led a wonderful discussion about what they thought angels look like. We listened to a piece of scripture about the shepherds who were visited by an angel who gave them a message about the birth of Jesus. God wanted all people to know about the birth of His Son, not just the rich. Our prayer and liturgy has been very special because we have been thinking all about Advent. The children are so excited and we have reflected on how we can prepare ourselves and grow closer to Jesus during Advent. The children have all made their Advent promises which will go on display in the entrance of school.

Today we have sadly said goodbye to our wonderful student teacher, Miss Edwards who has been with us for the past 6 weeks. Miss Edwards has developed lovely relationships with all of the children and has been a delight to work alongside! We will all miss her lots, and we hope that our paths will cross again! We wish you all the very best on your next placement and throughout the rest of your PGCE year!

Going deeper in conversation

Question to ask: Why have we made Advent promises? Why is it important for us to prepare during Advent?

Magic moments

All the children have been SO excited to get on the stage and rehearse for the Nativity. All the children have now had a session practising in the hall for their special dance within the Nativity. It has been such a joy to see the absolute joy and excitement on their faces! They are all super confident and are singing each song so clearly!

Let’s celebrate

A huge well done to Harry, who has been a curious and inquisitive learner this week. Harry, your curious attitude towards our learning has helped you to take big steps this half term. You have looked at ‘problems’ with an inquisitive mindset, which has allowed you to spot patterns and solve the problems whilst confidently articulating your reasons. This is a tremendous way to grow your brain! Well done Harry!

A huge well done to Summer who has been awarded the Star virtue this week. Summer throughout our Math’s lessons you have shown yourself to be a learning partner that others can have faith in. Faith that you will show them patience, kindness and respect. Creating an environment and partnership such as this, gives others the confidence to be brave and have a go. Thank you for bringing such an important virtue and quality into our learning environment. Well done Summer!

Reminders

Hot snack menu - The order form is on Mrs Gregan’s blog, if you would like to order any hot snacks for your child this coming week. Please complete your orders ASAP (before Monday).

Own clothes day: Thursday 4th December we have own clothes day again, this time we are asking for bottle donations to go in our Christmas hampers.

Nativity: Our Nativity is on 10th and 11th December at 9:30. We cannot wait for you to see the children on the stage retelling the Christmas story.

Our Lady’s Great Christmas Bake Off: This was a great success last year and will be held again this year on Friday 12th December.

Forest school: Sadly our take over day had to be postponed due to high winds, once a new date has been arranged we will share this with you!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 1 Weekly Blog 21.11.25 - "Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love and the future to His providence." St Augustine of Hippo"

November 21, 2025 Clare Bassett

This week in RE we have discovered a new word, ‘Visitation’. We listened to the Gospel from Luke and heard all about Mary visiting Elizabeth. We made finger puppets of both Elizabeth and Mary and the children worked with their learning partner to retell this piece of scripture. Our prayer and liturgy has been focused around the words, ‘King’ and ‘mercy’ we listened to a piece of scripture about Jesus on the cross next to two criminals, Jesus showed mercy to the criminal who asked Jesus to remember him when he enters the Kingdom of heaven. We then thought carefully about how we can be merciful this week…

Going deeper in conversation

Question to ask: We have been focusing on our understanding of important vocabulary in RE. Please ask the question, “What can you tell me about the Visitation?”

Magic moments

Sometimes it is easy to forget that the children have only been in Year 1 for 12 weeks; but this week we have taken a moment to really celebrate just how much the children have achieved. This was particularly evident during our English lessons this week when we saw just how independent the children are becoming with their writing. The confidence that they have in their own abilities has grown tremendously and they are recognising what they can achieve thanks to their focus and determination. During a sentence writing task many said “I’m going to write even more!”. We know there are many more of these magic moments to come this year!

Let’s celebrate

A huge well done to Noah who has been a focused Cooper Crab this week. Noah, your focus this half term has helped you to go from strength to strength. You have written some brilliant sentences in English, showing how much you are growing in confidence and how you are remembering to be brave and have a go. During Phonics, we have spoken about focusing on becoming speedy readers and my goodness have you risen to the challenge! We are so proud of you Noah and we love seeing you shine! Well done Noah!

A huge well done to Mollie who has received the Star award for demonstrating our Faith filled and Hopeful virtues this week. Mollie, you have a wonderfully positive outlook on all aspects of school life. Towards your peers, the staff and towards all of our learning. You take on any challenge with the faith that you will do your best and that any experience is an exciting opportunity for learning. Thank you for bringing this ray of sunshine and positivity into our class and into our school! Well done Mollie!

Reminders

Hot snack menu - The order form is on Mrs Gregan’s blog, if you would like to order any hot snacks for your child this coming week. Please complete your orders ASAP (before Monday).

Own clothes day - Once again we will be creating Christmas hampers / prizes for the school Christmas raffle. On Thursday 27th November we will be having an own clothes day along with chocolate donations.

Year 1 Forest school takeover day - On Friday 28th November we have our takeover day in our forest school. This day is for ALL our year 1 children so please come dressed for a day outside: coat, waterproofs if you have them, clothes you don’t mind getting mucky, old trainers and wellies in a bag please. Please also remember winter hats, gloves and a scarf.

Nativity: Our Nativity is on 10th and 11th December at 9:30. We cannot wait for you to see the children on the stage retelling the Christmas story.

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 1 Weekly Blog 14.11.25 - "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." St Teresa of Calcutta

November 14, 2025 Clare Bassett

This week in RE we have been discovering all about the Annunciation, and we have had some really thoughtful discussions about Mary and how brave she is. We know that Mary said “yes” to God and we have been reflecting on how we can say yes to God in our lives.

We were led beautifully in prayer and liturgy by Ralph, Diya and Adele who shared Luke’s Gospel of the Annunciation. We prayed the Hail Mary and said thank you to Mary for always listening to our prayers. We also thought about our mummy’s and how wonderfully they help us too.

On Tuesday at 11:00 everybody in school stopped, and there was silence across the school. Our children were so still and full of prayer, you would have been so very proud with the respect they showed during these 2 minutes of silence, all the children know how important it is to remember all those who have lost their lives to protect others.

Going deeper in conversation

Question to ask: How can you say “yes” to God this week?

Magic moments

This week it has been such a joy to hear the classroom full of joy as we prepare for our Nativity by learning the brilliant songs! The children are singing with such excitement and confidence, they are really going to put on a show for you all I can just tell! My personal favourite is the New King, the children sign this song with such love for baby Jesus - bring your tissues when you come to watch!

Let’s celebrate

A huge well done to Adele who has been a focused Cooper Crab and has been awarded our Learning certificate this week. Adele, in every lesson, every activity you are focused and ready for whatever challenge or task we will be doing. This focus has allowed you to get the most out of every learning opportunity. You have noticed things in more detail and have made connections between our learning and solved problems. Wow, how you have grown your brain already this year! We are very proud of you.

Congratulations to Tommy who has been awarded our Star virtue this week. Tommy you had the most heartwarming reflection on moments that have ‘filled your bucket’ this week. You spoke about kindness that others have shown towards you, how that has made you feel and how you will pass that kindness forward by doing things that fill other peoples buckets. Tommy, it’s such a special thing to have faith in your friends and in others, thank you for reminding us of that!

Reminders

Hot snack menu - The order form is on Mrs Gregan’s blog, if you would like to order any hot snacks for your child this coming week. Please complete your orders ASAP (before Monday).

PJ Day for Brian House - This Monday (17th November) we will be raising money for Brian House. Please come to school with your favourite teddy, wearing your PJs and £1 donation. Remember sensible shoes for outdoor playtimes (we also have outdoor PE on this day).

Year 1 Forest school takeover day - On Friday 28th November we have our takeover day in our forest school. This day is for ALL our year 1 children so please come dressed for a day outside: waterproofs, clothes you don’t mind getting mucky, old trainers and wellies in a bag please.

Nativity: Year 1 and 2s Nativity is on 10th and 11th December. Please don’t forget to order your Nativity tickets. The letters came home last week. If you have any problems let us know!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 1 Weekly blog 7.11.25 - "Remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, look forward to the future with confidence." Pope Saint John Paul ||

November 7, 2025 Clare Bassett

And so we begin a new half term together and this one is up there with my favourites, as we get ourselves ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus and all of the wonderful celebrations and traditions along the way! Our prayer and liturgies as always have been such special moments of the week. Our child led was focused on Remembrance the children passed round poppies and drew someone special they wanted to think about and pray for, all the children thought so carefully about how they wanted to pray for, it was really touching.

In RE we have looked closely at the Bible. The children have learnt that the bible has two parts and that we can find the Gospels at the start of the New Testament. We played a game of four corners, helping us to remember the names of the four Saints: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Going deeper in conversation

Question to ask: What special facts can you remember about the Bible?

Magic moments

There have been so many moments this week. Let’s start with the children’s excitement to return to school and to see their friends on Monday! Their sheer happiness to organise new classroom jobs to look after ourselves and our school. To the enthusiasm to really challenge themselves during this weeks writing. We have begun our new story book and during our first English lesson back, we went on a nature walk. When we returned to the classroom we gathered our vocabulary and wrote describing sentences using ‘and’. The children set to work and once completed Noah asked if he could do more.. this rippled around the room and all of the children successfully wrote multiple sentences with all of the sentence structure we are currently focusing on: letter formation, capital letter, a full stop and finally including the word ‘and’. Seeing their pride once they had completed their writing was one of my biggest joys this week.

Maths workshop: A huge thank you for the so very many of you who were able to attend on Wednesday morning. It really was such a magic part of the week and one which the children adored! To those of you who couldn’t make it please do not worry, you will have received all of the materials that we used during the workshop and will be needed to complete this weeks homework. Should any pieces get lost, I have attached all of the resources on our HOMEWORK page.

Let’s celebrate

A huge well done to Isabella who had been a determined Sadie Spider this week. Isabella, your determination during our English lessons has made us so proud. You have started every piece of writing with such a positive attitude and you have produced some brilliant pieces of work. You have shown yourself just how much you are capable of and we have enjoyed seeing you beam with pride and confidence! Keep it up Isabella, we are so proud of you!

Another huge well done to Arla who has been awarded our star virtue this week for being Faithfiled and Hopeful. Arla we could see how much you enjoyed leading one of our prayer and liturgies in class this week and you did so with so much respect and a calm faithfiled manner. Thank you for helping to lead us in our reflection.

Reminders

New hot snack menu - The order form is on Mrs Gregan’s blog, if you would like to order any hot snacks for your child this coming week. Please complete your orders ASAP (before Monday).

PJ Day for Brian House - On Monday 17th November we will be raising money for Brian House. Please come to school wearing your PJs on this day. Remember sensible shoes for outdoor playtimes (we also have outdoor PE on this day).

Year 1 Forest school takeover day - On Friday 28th November we have our takeover day in our forest school. This day is for ALL our year 1 children so please come dressed for a day outside: waterproofs, clothes you don’t mind getting mucky, old trainers and wellies in a bag please.

Nativity - Today children have brought home letters regarding tickets for our Nativity. We have already begun learning some songs and actions this week; we’re sure you may be hearing these at home already. The build up to Christmas has officially begun and we can’t wait to share this special time of year with you!

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 1 Weekly Blog - "When we live humbly, God takes our small efforts and creates great things." - Pope Francis

October 24, 2025 Clare Bassett

Happy Half Term!

What a fantastic start to the new school! The transition from Reception and play based learning, to the Year 1 curriculum is huge, but our children were so ready for this transition. We could not be more proud of them and how they thirst to learn and absolutely love each step! As we write this we think back to so many special moments: The Evil Pea’s Appearance, learning their own prayer and liturgies, seeing each child’s enthusiasm and excitement to write their spellings each week, creating artwork with nature from God’s beautiful world, filling someone's bucket with another droplet. They are such sponges with a real thirst for learning and care for each other, what lucky teachers we are!

We have been led once again, so beautifully during our child led prayer and liturgy, the children shared a special message about harvest and thanksgiving. Our children chose to sing “If I were a butterfly” which we loved singing along to! In this weeks Gospel we focused how to be humble and what the word meant. We listened to a piece of scripture about a humble tax collector and a proud Pharisee. God teaches us that we should live humbly like the tax collector. We discussed what the word humble meant, and we came to realise that it means to be humble we do not that we are better or more important than others, instead we are honest and say sorry to God if we do wrong.

Going deeper in my learning

As a family, name one of each other’s special God-given gifts, something that you admire in the other person. Then each of you name a gift that you are especially grateful for - it could be a quality, skill or attitude. Decide on a way that you will use that gift to help someone in this coming week.

On Thursday Morning we spent time together as a school community to celebrate our harvest mass. A huge thank you for all the very kind donations, what a difference it will make to those in our local area who need it!

The children have also been busy writing their own stories of Supertato and you will be so proud to see their writing, they have done such an amazing job.

A huge thank you to you all for meeting with us today to celebrate your child’s start in Year 1, there has been so much to celebrate!

We hope you all have a wonderful half term, time to recharge our batteries ready for the next half term as we journey towards Christmas (eeeek!)

Warmest wishes,

Miss Bassett and Mrs Hartley

Year 1 Weekly Blog Friday 17th October - "Prayer brings us not only nearer to God, but also nearer to one another" Pope Benedict XVI

October 17, 2025 Clare Bassett

Our children’s prayer and liturgy focused on Harvest, we gave thanks to God and prayed for a fairer world. The children were so thoughtful, it is such a blessing to see the children with such desire to lead in these worships, and doing so with great care and respect. We have also been listening to this weeks Gospel where Jesus told His disciples a story about a woman and an unjust judge. He taught His disciples and us that God is never like the judge, no matter how much we pray to God, he is always there for us.

In RE we have been learning about Laudato Si and how we can care for God’s world. The children were shocked to see some of the global issues our world faces and really want to know how they can help look after God’s world. After looking at the amount of trees that get cut down, we decided to help our wildlife and created bird feeders which we put in our forest school.

Going deeper in conversation

In our Gospel we have been thinking about prayer.

Question to ask: What does the word ‘prayer’ mean to you? What is your favourite prayer? Who could you pray for this week?

Magic moments

In search of the missing Evil Pea our wanted posters can be spotted all around our school! Hopefully we will soon track him down! We have been busy making predications what he might do next and have even began to create a story map to help us retell the Evil Pea story.

Book Look: I know the children loved spending time with you to share their learning so far. They have all had a fantastic start in Year 1 and it was a lovely time to celebrate their work ready for our parents meetings on Friday.

Let’s celebrate

A huge well done to Summer who was awarded our Star virtue this week. Summer you have had a brilliant start to Year 1 and all of the staff in Year 1 have noticed your learned and wise choices and your excitement for learning. You never give up and we are so proud of you!

Congratulations to Rosalie who is our enthusiastic Bobby Bee this week. Rosalie, your enthusiasm for learning has been so wonderful; to see you beam with pride at your accomplishments is a joy! You have been to enthusiastic and motivated with our story writing in English and we can’t wait to see you flourish throughout Year 1!

Reminders

Parents meetings - Thank you for making your appointments, please email with your preferred time if you have not made yours yet. You will shortly receive an email with an invitation for the teams meeting ready for Friday next week.

Coats - Please make sure you come to school with a coat everyday to put on should the weather take a turn during the school day.

Water bottles - Please ensure your child comes to school with a water bottle. These are taken straight out of bags in the morning and children are able to access them throughout the day to keep hydrated. We are often talking about how important it is to drink plenty of water and water bottles make it easier for them to do this independently. Polite reminder that the water bottles should contain water and not juice. Thank you for your support.

Harvest - This year we are collecting tins of soup for the foodbank. All donations welcome!

EVENT
Maths Workshop for Parents WEDNESDAY NOV 5th

Last year we successfully hosted - parents and child maths workshops. These were led by the KS1 teachers in the hall. Parents sat with their child and enjoyed playing maths games together. As your child moves through KS1 we would like you to help them become proficient at recalling number facts and loving numbers. We would like to invite you once again to school on Wednesday November 5th to take pasrt in the next phrases of their maths journey-

Year 1 workshop after drop off 9:00 - 9:15 am

Year 2 worskshop before pick up 2:10 -3:10pm

Following the workshop and for the next 5 weeks- you will receive maths games to play each week. These are sent home and linked to the class homework blog.

Please sign below - it is lovely for the child to have you at the session or if you are unable to attend a grandparent.

Thank you - Mrs Hotchkiss Miss Bassett and Mrs Hartley

Maths Workshop Year 1 and 2

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 1 Homework to be handed in Monday 20th October

October 14, 2025 Clare Bassett

Thank you once again for the wonderful homework this week. We are so grateful to be working alongside such supportive parents! Don’t forget to send in any proud achievements via email, photos or medals etc. We love celebrating the children and putting these photos onto the schools ‘Proud Cloud’ display in the hall.

Optional extra homework

As we are praying the Rosary this month we would love some pieces of artwork of Our Mother Mary. You could take inspiration from a famous piece of artwork or a statue.

Maths: We had fun playing a counting forwards / counting backwards game earlier today. Could you replay this game at home. Pass a teddy around saying the next number as you go. On a signal (clap / timer / buzz) switch directions passing the teddy back saying the number before. Keep going until it feels time to stop. You could start easy, counting up to 5 or 10 and back. Then move onto larger numbers (we are currently working with numbers 0-20).

Year 1 Weekly Blog 10.10.25 - "Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”" Luke 17:19

October 10, 2025 Clare Bassett

This week we were led by three of our children who shared the most beautiful prayer and liturgy all about our mother Mary. The children passed around the Rosary beads as we prayed an Our Father, three Hail Mary’s and the Glory Be. In this weeks Gospel we heard about the time Jesus healed the Ten lepers, yet only one came back to praise and thank Jesus. This left us thinking… what are we thankful for and how can we show our thanks?

Last week we have a naughty visitor who trapped our fruits and vegetables and turned the classroom upside down… this week we have had conformation that it was, in fact, THE EVIL PEA! We have set to work writing sentences to describe the Evil Pea and these have been put up around the school. We are hopeful that someone will soon have some more information for us!

Going deeper in conversation

In our Gospel and in RE lessons we have been thinking deeply about giving thanks to God for all of our blessings and for the beautiful world He created for us.

Question to ask: What are you thankful for? How do you show that you are thankful? think about being a steward for God.

Magic moments

In RE we have been celebrating the beauty of creation. We went into the school garden and each picked a stick along with petals, grass, flowers and leaves. We brought these back into the classroom and made our own nature brush. We then used these brushes to paint beautiful pieces of art to celebrate the beauty of creation. Our following lesson then was to create a piece of poetry about creation. The children’s written work was incredible and they had the biggest, beaming smiles as they performed their poetry to each other using our instruments. It turns out we have a rather musical bunch!

Let’s celebrate

A huge well done to Archie who has been an inquisitive and curious Clara Clownfish this week. Archie, it has been wonderful to see just how much you are enjoying our topics in Year 1. You listen intently to discussions and ask the most inquisitive and thoughtful questions, demonstrating your curiosity and wonder towards the world around you. Thank you for sharing this gift with us and for encouraging us all to think and challenge ourselves!

A special congratulations to Hugo who has been awarded with the Star this week for embodying our Learned and Wise virtue. Hugo, you have wonderful thoughts, ideas and reflections on our discussions and we have really enjoyed hearing you share these with your peers during our whole class learning. You have thought about what wise choices can be made and how these can benefit us in all of our learning opportunities.

Reminders

Parents meetings - Thank you to those who have already made their appointments. Please see the remaining available slots (red slots have been taken). If you could please email me with your preferred time slot and we will try and and as close to your preference as possible. Parents meetings will be taking place on Friday 24th October.

Book Look - It is Year 1’s book look next week on Thursday 16th October. This is in school at 9:00-9:45 and is a chance to see all the wonderful learning the children have already completed this year.

Coats - Please make sure you come to school with a coat to put on should the weather take a turn during the school day.

Harvest - This year we are collecting tins of soup for the foodbank. All donations welcome!

Uniform check - Maggie is missing her cardigan, it has her name on. Please could you check if it’s accidently gone to the wrong home. Thank you!

EVENT
Maths Workshop for Parents WEDNESDAY NOV 5th

Year 1 workshop after drop off 9:00 - 9:15 am

Year 2 worskshop before pick up 2:10 -3:10pm

Following the workshop and for the next 5 weeks- you will recieve maths games to play each week. These are sent home and linked to the class homework blog.

Please sign below - it is lovely for the child to have you at the session or if you are unable to attend a grandparent.

Thank you - Mrs Hotchkiss Miss Bassett and Mrs Hartley

Maths Workshop Year 1 and 2

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 1 Parents meetings Friday 24 October

October 9, 2025 Clare Bassett

Dear parents,

Thank you for responding to to the request for face to face meetings or virtual. I have 10 responses for virtual meetings and 15 for face to face. As you can see from the form below I have blocked off the times- so face to face is in the morning then virtual all afternoon and then back to face to face in the evening.

Please decide which time is best for you and email me with that time and your child’name. I will book these on a first come first served basis. The form will also be available after school at pick up.

email: c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

or press the CLASS CONTACT button on the Year 1 web page this comes directly to me.

Year 1 Homework to be handed in Tuesday 14th October

October 8, 2025 Clare Bassett

Thank you again for the super home learning. If your child has their own Rosary beads please bring these into school as we will be praying the Rosary throughout each week during the month of October.

Additional:

RE: We have been discussing the beauty in God’s creation. You could make your own paint brush out of a stick and leaves or petals for the brush and use this to create a piece of artwork celebrating one of God’s creations.

Maths: We have moved onto counting forwards and backwards to 20. Please practise this at home. Some ideas to focus on: Recognising each numeral; writing each numeral; saying what number comes next; ordering the numbers; counting amounts up to 20 accurately.

Thank you!

Year 1 Weekly Blog 3.10.25 - "A family full of faith is a family full of joy."

October 3, 2025 Clare Bassett

This week we listened to a piece of scripture all about faith… and how even in little faith, God can do great things… Year 1 have reflected on the word faith, understanding that it means believing in God. Our mission was to spread God’s love to everybody!

On Monday evening we turned our classroom around slightly… and the children’s reactions were just brilliant! As they stepped into the classroom on Tuesday morning they were so excited to see the changes, “I feel like Year 6!” all with huge beaming smiles. Every child has been given a table place and new carpet space as we now lean more towards whole class learning with provision challenges along the sides of the classroom. After observing our children we knew they were very much ready for this next step in their learning! We are so proud of each one of them and their thirst for learning. Year 1 you are just wonderful!

Going deeper in conversation

This week we had our final Kidsafe session and all children have been awarded a certificate for participating. We spent time evaluating our Kidsafe learning and the children all felt that it was very important! Some comments from the children were: “Every child should do Kidsafe because they feel it helps them know what to do.” “I know how to use my strong voice because sometimes when I’m worried a just have a quiet voice.” “I loved celebrating KS’s birthday it was lots of fun.” “We know what to do if we get yukky feelings.”

Question to ask: Who are your trusted adults?

Magic moments

In English we have been exploring the story of Supertato and there has been a lot of laughter this week as we stepped into the role of the characters Miss Carrot, Mr Broccoli and Mrs Cucumber. It was wonderful to see the children have so much fun acting out the various emotions and dilemmas that the characters have faced and to hear them using such descriptive language such as alarmed, startled, stunned and bamboozled!

Let’s celebrate

A huge well done to Ralph who has received our Star virtue award this week for all of his learned and wise actions. Ralph you have joined in with our discussions beautifully, sharing your wondering questions and wise reflections on our topics and focus words. Thank you for sharing these ideas so we can all grow together!

This week we also celebrate Lillie who has been an enthusiastic Bobby Bee this week. Lillie, you have shown a genuine excitement towards your learning and we have loved seeing how this passion has reflected in your work and the example you have set for others. Thank you for bringing a love of learning to our classroom!

Parents Meetings

Parents meetings will be taking place on Friday 24th October. This year, you have the opportunity to come into school for face to face parents meeting or alternatively you can book an appointment online. Please complete the form below indicating which option you would prefer. If you would prefer an online meeting please include your email address.

Parent Meeting Form

Reminders

Sunday Mass - This Sunday we celebrate and welcome our new Reception class. If you are able to make it, mass starts at 9:30, thank you!

Hello Yellow Day - On Friday next week (10th October) All children are invited to wear yellow on Friday in support of Youth mental health.

Homework and reading books - A huge thank you for the great success on Monday with the amount of homework books that were brought back with homework completed. We really appreciate your hard work, at home, as it really does have such a great impact. I look forward to spending time looking at all completed home learning next week (Monday) before sending them back home on Tuesday.

Forest school children - remember your change of clothes on Thursday. Spare trainers for climbing please! Not all children are attending forest school this half term. However every child will take part in a forest school take over day, this is where they will spend the entire day in forest school, how exciting! I will provide the date for this soon!

Coats - Please make sure you come to school with a coat to put on should the weather take a turn during the school day.

Emails:

c.bassett@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

s.hartley@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 1 Homework to be handed in Monday 6th October

September 30, 2025 Clare Bassett

Thank you again for all of the super homework completed this week! We are so proud of the children and their enthusiasm to learn! A big thank you for being so encouraging and supportive.

Extra challenge: Who was your favourite character in the book and why? You could draw your character in your homework book and write a sentence about them.

Extra challenge: Can you find any other words that have ‘ll’ in them? Share these with your class by writing them in your homework book.

Extra challenge: Could you write these letters correctly on the lined page in your homework book?