Spring Term Week 3: A mouse diary and an important trial.

 Hello Class 2 Parents,

Firstly - new maths challenges. 
Thank you for your support with these. The children took part in their first timed maths challenges on Thursday. I've marked them and put them into their folders. If they got them all right (or all but one or two) in the time given, I've indicated that they can move on to the next maths facts (in the A5 booklets). If not, I've marked them and they just need to keep practising this week!

While we get into the routine of this, I won't set any other maths homework this week. 

In class this week:

Phonics saw the children learning that ow, o_e and oe all make the 'oa' sound. See if you can spot these graphemes in their books. 

In spellings the children learnt a new rule:  to double the consonant before adding a suffix, if a word ends in a short vowel and a single consonant. 

eg - pat, patting, patted, hum, hummed, hummer. 

There are no particular words this week - just the opportunity to practise the rule if you want. 

In Maths we have been continuing work on place value. The children have been working on 1 more and 1 less, and 10 more and 10 less (Year 2s). They have also been comparing numbers by looking first at how many 10s a number has and then at how many 1s. We had Mrs Fairbrother and some other visitors in to see the children doing maths, and they were very impressed with their maths and their general learning, so well done Class 2!

In our story the children took part in the trial of Thomas Farriner. They already knew that The Great Fire of London started in his bakery. During the trial, they heard from different witnesses (represented by some helpful Class 4 children)  about some of the other reasons the fire was so bad; such as the hot dry summer, the river being low, the houses being built too closely together (and being built of straw and wood) and the narrow streets. 

At the end of the trial, the jury voted. It was close, but they decided that Thomas Farriner was not ultimately to blame for how bad the fire became. Below you can see a few photos of the trial. 

Half way through the half term already!

Have a good weekend,

Mrs Simpson

Spring Term Week 2: London in 1666 (and other things)

 Hello Class 2 Parents,

We've had a very good week in Class 2. 

In our story the children heard the story of The Great Fire of London. They sequenced the key events and then they stepped into the story. They were Londoners, on a hill looking over London after the fire. They imagined what they would be able to see, and how they would be feeling. 

Then a lady stepped forward and suggested that everyone return to London and rebuild their trades - the children agreed to participate. We did a bit of learning about professions and trades in 1666 (such as candlemakers, apothecaries, blacksmiths and potters) and the children chose one to take on, creating a shop front and artefacts to go into their shop. They learnt that shop fronts tended to have symbols on rather than words, as not many people could read in the 1600s. The children created their own shop sign using this idea. Next week the children will finish setting up their street of trades and I'll take some photos of the finished shops.

In phonics the Year 1 children learnt three alternatives to 'igh' - ie (as in tried), y (as in cry) and i_e (as in smile).  See if you can spot these graphemes together in books you read. 

In spellings the Year 2 children learnt how to spell the word 'war' and that this spelling pattern is in words such as warm, ward and reward. As explained last week, the children won't be doing an individual spelling challenge (instead we will go over these words as a group on Monday) but any practice helps! The words are here. 

In maths the children have been partitioning numbers into 10s and 1s. Year 1 have focussed on straightfoward partitioning, for example partitioning 62 into 60 and 2. The Year 2 children have been learning how to partition numbers flexibly, for example 62 can be partitioned into 60 and 2, 50 and 12, 40 and 22, 30 and 32, and so on. 

Maths homework. 
In your child's folder is the maths booklet I promised you last week!

Last Friday all of the children had a go at various maths challenge sheets. As a result of these, I have decided where each child will start on their maths challenges. 

In your child's book I have indicated which page they should start on, by writing 'start here' and dating it 17.01.25. Any maths facts your child already knows have a large green tick on them. 

Each week your child will take part in a 10 minute maths challenge. If they are able to complete their whole sheet, correctly, in the time given they will move on to the next set of maths facts. 

Let me know if you have any questions about this!

I think that's all for now. We've had a really busy week but I haven't managed to take a single photograph - I'll aim to do better next week!

Have a good weekend!

Mrs Simpson

Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year!

UPDATED TO ADD:
I have to apologise - I've had a major printing problem with the maths fact booklets. They will be with you next week! 

I hope you all had a good festive season. 

It was lovely to see your children's happy faces on Monday. They have settled right back in to life at school and we've had a great week. 

Important!  A homework change. 

To help boost the children's knowledge and quick recall of maths facts, I am making a change this term. 

Year 2 children will no longer have weekly spelling challenges. Instead, all children will have a weekly maths challenge. These will be progressive, with the children moving on when they are able to complete a sheet of maths facts correctly in the time given. 

In your child's homework folder is a copy of this booklet.  I will indicate on it which maths facts I'd like your child to work on. 

Please help your child to practise their focus maths facts regularly - I have given you ideas of how to do this. Your child might move quickly through the booklet, or they might need a few weeks on each maths fact.

Come and find me if you have any questions about this!

This week.

In phonics the Year 1 have been recapping the 'ee' alternatives -  ee ea y e_e ey. They also learnt that 'ie' is an 'ee' alternative.  You can help your child by spotting these digraphs in their reading books or badger books. 

In spellings  the Year 2 children have learn the spelling pattern wor - after 'w', the 'ir' sound is often spelt 'or'.  Their words are here if you want to help them to practise them - but they will no longer be doing a weekly spelling challenge in the same way ( we will, of course, practise these words at school). 

In maths the children have been working on place value to 100.
Year 1 children have been counting in 10s, recognising 'how many 10s' and 'how many altogeher'.  
Year 2 children have been looking at the pattern when we add 10s to any number - for example, 3,13,23,33,43,53....  the ones stay the same!
Both year groups spent time looking at a 100-square and writing their numbers to 100. 

In other news to start of our new Mantle of the Expert story, the children learnt that London is the capital city of England. They looked at some of the geographical features of London and made representations of them - which you can see here.  

Next, the children looked at a video showing what London would have looked like in 1666. They compared London now with London then. They focussed on what Tudor houses looked like and had a go at drawing some ready to make a representation of Pudding Lane. 

You can find out more about this term's learning here - you will have received a copy of this via email as well. 

It's going to be a good term!

Have a good weekend,

Mrs Simpson

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 Happy Christmas!

I hope you all have a very good Christmas!

Firstly, thank you very much for the cards and gifts - you are very kind. 

This week the children have:

* performed their nativity - twice.
   (they did an exceptional job!)
* created some pieces of art work in the style of Nerys Levy (see photos below).
* continued with many Christmas crafts
* had Christmas dinner
* watched a Christmas film
* taken part in the Class 2 Christmas party
* been to church to sing more Christmas songs
* said goodbye to Mrs Pacitto (what will we do without her?)

... among other things. 

I have also tested your children on their common exception word spellings. I have updated the lists in their homework folders, however, not every child had their list in school with them. If that is the case, I have photocopied their school list and put that into their folder instead so you can see which words they still need to practise. 

There is no particular homework, but here are a few ideas if you'd like them for the two weeks. I'll put a copy in your children's homework folders as well. 

The children have worked very hard this term and have done a great job. 

I look forward to seeing you all in January!

Merry, merry christmas,

from

Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 13: A whole lot of Christmas.

 Hello Class 2 Parents,

Firstly, a couple of notices:

Apologies to Year 2 parents - your children did their spelling challenges last week but I completely forgot to put their yellow books back into their folders. They will return this week. 

Reading books have all been taken in for the holidays. Please check at home for any reading books - we have a set number, and our group reading doesn't work if we don't have enough books. Thank you!

Thank you for all of your support with nativity costumes - the children look fantastic, as you will see!

Spelling cards need to be in purple folders on Monday please - we are going to be checking your children's progress with their common exception word spellings, and will update their cards accordingly. 

Aside from that...
this week has been very much about the Nativity and preparing for Thursday's Christmas Open Afternoon. I am so excited for you to see your children's Nativity - they've been working so, so hard and have done so with simles on their faces!

We've also continued to decorate the classroom and carry out Rainbow Jobs. The children completed an independent piece of writing for their purple progress books - they all did a great job and I was particularly proud of the Year 1 children who have not done independent writing like this before. 

Next week will be all about final end of term assessments (phonics, spelling, reading) and feeling the joys of Christmas. 

I am not setting homework this week. Next week I will set a few suggested activities for the holidays!

Below are a few photos of our beautifully decorated classroom - all the children's handiwork. 

Have a good weekend

From Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 12: Snowflakes and Paper Chains

 Hello Class 2 Parents,

Water bottles. 
Water bottles should only have water in, for health and stickiness reasons (spilt squash is so much more troublesome than spilt water!). If your child has a medical reason for needing squash, please let me know.

Nativity costumes:
Please bring in the items on the list we circulated, on Monday. Thank you!

In Class 2 this week:
As you may have seen on our classroom windows, Christmas has hit with full force this week. The children have had a great time decorating the classroom and watching the Panto and it feels like Christmas is rolling around rapidly

Nativity rehearsals have taken up quite a bit of time. The children are doing a good job. Continual practice with loud voices is required though please!  Thank you for all your help with your children's lines. 

In between Christmas, we have managed to fit:

Maths: Finishing off work on fact families and starting work on place value to 100 (representing 2-digit numbers as 10s and 1s). 

Phonics: learning about vowels (short and long vowel sounds) and starting to collect all the different graphemes we have been learning. Also adding 'ey' to our 'ee' collection. 

Spellings:  words with 'u' spelt 'o' (mother, other, brother). Their words are here - please feel free to practise them, though with the dress rehearsal next week I'm not completely sure we will fit in the spelling challenge. We will do our best!

Ernest Shackleton: The children wrapped up their history learning with a quiz on Ernest Shackleton. They've learnt a lot!

Our story: After a break from our story, we got back to it. Following their own instructions, the children relocated the lost penguin to Antarctica. It went well, and the penguin waddled happily off with its colony. 

To the children's surprise, on the way back on the boat we saw a small iceburg floating in the water with a.... polar bear on it. This was surprising, because the children know that polar bears belong in the Arctic, no where near Antarctica! It looked very thin and weak so the children decided that it needed help. 

We did a bit of research about polar bears and their features - the children made some fantastic polar bear posters and we'll be thinking about how to help the polar bear next week. 

Christmas:
See below for a couple of photos of the children making paper chains and snow flakes - they had a lovely time. 

HOMEWORK:

* Year 2 spellings (see above)

* Everyone please practise your nativity lines, slowly and clearly. Narrators, practice holding your booklets in front of you but not covering your face!

* Everyone please practice your common exception word spellings (on the cards in your homework folders) as we will be doing our end-of-term check of these soon. 

Have a good weekend!

From Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 11: More nativity and more Ernest Shackleton

Hello Class 2 Parents,

This term is going by incredibly quickly. It's not all that long until the Christmas holidays and there is so much to fit in still!

This week:

 * We have continued to practise the Nativity. Thank you for all of the work you've been doing helping your children to learn their words. 

* The children have continued to learn about Ernest Shackleton. They learnt that he earned himself The Polar Medal and that he is famous because of what people said about his leadership. 

* We did a little bit of a science investigation (to be continued) about water in balloons on a frozen day. 

In Phonics the children have learnt the graphemes  ph, ea and y  (as in phonics, cream and funny).  We are onto Phase 5 now - new learning for Year 1 rather than revisiting/consolidating. 

In Spellings the Year 2 children have looked at the spelling pattern 'all' (all tall small fall) as well as al (altogether, always). Spellings are here - mostly very straightforward this week. If you/your child wants and extra challenge, see if you can find other words that fit these spelling patterns!

In Maths we have been looking at fact families (3 numbers in a family together, such as 10/8/2). 

Year 1 homework is here and will be in their folders. 

Year 2 homework is here and will be in their folders. 

Please continue to help your children to learn their nativity words - next week we'll be practising without scripts! (Narrators not included). 

Have a good weekend :)

From Mrs Simpson