Nice to be back!

I’ve had a lovely first week back after my maternity leave. The children have actually remembered me (!?) and I’ve enjoyed visiting all classes, getting to know children who have since joined the school.

 

Up to Christmas you will see me in school everyday (apart from Tuesday) and I will be working with all classes getting ready for The Prince of Wales School two Christmas performances!

 We are also holding Christmas Carols in the School Hall on Thursday 20^th December at 3pm, all are welcome. If you do play a musical instrument please bring along and join the parent/ staff group for the occasion!

 

My office is in the foyer so if you do wish to come and see me, please do!

 

Mrs Mewett (Deputy Head)

 

Plea to parents!

A plea to parents!

 

On Thursday 20^th December at 3pm in the school hall our children invite you to join them to celebrate Christmas and sing carols. Last year it was very successful, particularly as the music was performed by our talented parents!

A couple of parents have offered their musical skills so far for this year; we have a pianist and a recorder player but would LOVE to have more parents playing. PLEASE share your talents and let Mrs Mewett know if you can come and play.

 

Thank you!

Individual Reading Books

Mr. Farrington has set all the children in the school the challenge of choosing an individual reading book from the next level up. The children have done this before and we are confident that this will push the children to challenge themselves in reading. If you have any concerns over your child's reading please do not hesitate to talk to me. 

Thank you

Christmas Production

This week year two have begun learning the songs for their Christmas Production. They have all been trying really hard and I know that they will be fantastic on the big stage. 
The children in year two also take on the role of narrators for the Christmas Production and they will all have lines to learn! We will be giving the children their lines to take home tomorrow afternoon so they will have some time over the weekend to begin learning them. We will be encouraging the children to learn the lines wherever they are, be it in front of a mirror, in the supermarket or in the car! 

Really Looking

This week in literacy we have moved on from instructional writing and we are diving into the world of poetry. We will really be looking at everyday objects i.e. a chair, and thinking of ways we can describe them:

What does it look like?

If a chair could speak what would it say?

How does it feel to sit on? 

Is this the same for all chairs? 

If you can stop and really look at an everyday object, like a tree on the way to school, and think of different ways to describe it then I would love to hear what you think!  

Thank you!

We would all like to say a big thank you to everyone that came to the children's Indian food tasting event this afternoon! I hope you all enjoyed the food that the children had worked very hard to cook. I can report that there is nothing left!

I have added the recipes below for all of the Indian dishes that we made. All of the children wrote their own versions of the recipes, the ones below are the recipes we worked from:

Pumpkin Curry

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp oil

1 large onion, finely copped

1tsp ginger

1tsp fresh garlic, peeled and grated

1tsp chilli powder

1tbsp tomato puree

1tsp turmeric

1tsp sugar

1tsp salt

450g orange pumpkin, cubed

200ml water

200ml double cream

½ tsp garam masala

Method

Firstly, heat the oil in a frying pan. Grind the cumin seeds in a pestle and mortar and then fry for 30 seconds. Add the onions and cook.

Secondly, add the ginger, garlic, chilli powder, tomato puree, turmeric, sugar and salt to the pan and mix together. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

Next, add the the pumpkin and fry for 4-5 minutes on a medium heat.

Then add the water, cover and cook over a low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Finally, add the cream and garam masala and simmer until the pumpkin is soft. 

Mixed vegetable curry

Ingredients

3 tbsp oil

1 medium sized onion chopped

1tsp garlic

1tsp ginger

1 fresh tomato

100g tinned tomatoes

1tsp chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric

2 medium potatoes, diced

400g frozen mixed vegetables

300ml water

1tsp garam masala

Method

Firstly, heat the oil in a saucepan. Grind the mustard and cumin seeds in a pestle and mortar and then add to the pan.

Secondly, add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry gently until the onions are golden brown.

Then add the fresh and tinned tomatoes, chilli powder and turmeric and stir well. Cook for 3 minutes.

Next, add the potatoes and frozen vegetables and fry for 5 minutes.

Then add the water, cover and leave to simmer on a medium heat for 10-12 minutes. The vegetables should be tender.

After that, add the garam masala to the pan. Cover and leave to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.

Finally, turn off the heat once the vegetables are cooked and leave for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Kidney bean curry

Ingredients

2tbsp

1 small onion

1 ½ tsp dried ginger

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp turmeric

100g tinned tomatoes

500g tinned kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1tsp garam masala

Method

Firstly, heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onions and ginger for 10 minutes.

Secondly, add the cumin, turmeric and tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.

Then add the kidney beans and the liquid that they come in.

Finally, add the garam masala and cook for another minute. Turn off the heat and serve.

Bombay potatoes

Ingredients

500g potatoes

2tbsp oil

1tsp cumin

1tsp dried ginger

2 chillies

2tsp turmeric

100g tinned tomatoes

150ml water

1tsp garam masala

Method

Firstly, clean the potatoes and cut into cubes.

Secondly, heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the cumin on a medium heat for 5 seconds.

Then add the ginger, chillies, turmeric and tomatoes and fry for 1-2 minutes on a medium heat.

Next, place the potatoes in the pan and coat in the mixture. Add the water and cook the potatoes for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Finally, once the potatoes are cooked add the garam masala and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

Chapati bread

Ingredients

225g wholemeal flour

200ml water

75g flour, for rolling

Method

Firstly, place the flour in a mixing bowl. Make a hole in the centre of the flour and pour in the water, mixing with your hands to form a soft dough.

Then knead and leave aside for 10 minutes. After that, divide into 10-12 small balls.

Next, roll out the balls on a floured surface to form circles. Shake off any extra flour.

After that, place a frying pan on a high heat. Once the pan is hot, turn it down to a medium heat.

Then place each chapatti into the dry pan and cook on one side for 15-20 seconds, then turn it over. Press down on the chapati with a tea towel to cook it evenly for 1-2 minutes.

Finally, turn the chapati over again and finish cooking the other side for 1-2 minutes. 

POWSA Christmas Fair

It's that time of year already. Here at POWSA HQ we are busy planning and organising this years annual festive family fun evening. So get out your diaries and calenders and put a BIG RED CIRCLE around Friday 7th December, after school onwards. There will be many an opportunity to play games, have your face painted, win at a tombola and buy those last minute gifts, along with your chance to win some amazing raffle prizes (more details to follow). Bring your friends and family for a fantastically fun afternoon, the chance to get in the festive mood and help raise money for our fantastic school.

Indian Food Tasting!

Hello everyone,

Just a reminder that tomorrow afternoon at 3.00pm year 2 will be holding their Indian food tasting event where everyone will get to try some of the different dishes that the children have made and look at the recipes that go with them.

We look forward to seeing you!

Light

This week in science we have been looking at light and all the children that I spoke to had some really good ideas. I have one question for you all to think about though...

Can light go round corners? 

I look forward to hearing your ideas!

Mental Maths Problem!

Last week I set you a challenge that involved money, this week the problem needs you to think about multiplication! We'll be doing multiplication in class so see how you do with this one. 

Emma had some fireworks.
Some made 3 stars.
Some made 4 stars.

Altogether Emma's fireworks made 19 stars. 
How many of them made 3 stars?
Find two different answers.

Visit from the fire department!

Today, year two had a visit from a member of the local fire department! We all learnt some very interesting facts and even had the opportunity to dress up in a fire officers uniform! We have also received some certificates and fact books from the fire department so we will be giving the children these tomorrow afternoon! 

Children In Need

Just a reminder to all parents that this Friday (16th November) is Children in Need day and the Prince of Wales School Council has decided that to raise money we will all dress up in spotty non-school uniform! I look forward to seeing you all!

Year 2 trip!

On Thursday 13th December year 2 will be going on a school trip to Priest House Museum in Wimborne in order to help us with our next topic: The Victorians! There will be a letter going out to parents shortly but if anyone would like to volunteer to help out on the day then please could you catch me or Mrs. Webb before or after school. The more the merrier!  It should be an amazing day! 

Maths Investigation

Last week in maths we were looking at money. Have a go at this investigation and report back!

Jade bought a chocolate bar. It cost 8p.
She paid for it exactly. What coins did she use?

There are 7 different ways to do it. Have a go at finding as many as you can. 

Mini summary

Today in RE we were looking at why we wear poppies at this time of year and what they symbolise. The children all had a go at making their own poppy with tissue paper and they were all brilliant. 

We have also been looking at instructions this week (thank you to those children who brought in their own instructions). We had a very nice visitor in to show the us  how to make a great cuppa' tea so you should all be waking up to one beside you in the morning! 

Enjoy your weekend! 

Money, money, money!

In numeracy this week we are looking at money. In today's lesson we were thinking of different coins that could add up to make an amount like 20p. When Mr. Farrington came in he told us about some different old coins that used to be in circulation. I wonder if you could find out about some of the different coins, what were their names and how much were they worth?

Having fun with Clay

This half term in Art we are continuing with our India Topic. Today we made some diwali lamps out of clay , when they are dry we will paint them and finish by adding a tea light.  The children have been learning all about the 'festival of light' , Rangoli patterns and tried their hand at some batik. Look out for our new batik bunting hanging in the classroom .