MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I would just like to say how extremely proud I am of everyone in Year 2. They have all worked so hard to learn 13 new songs and learn their lines by heart. They were so brilliant in all of the Christmas Performances (as were Reception and Year 1) so WELL DONE!!!

We had our Christmas Party this afternoon, the children enjoyed all of the yummy food, party games and disco. The children all took home their special Christmas bags today. In their is their Victorian Christmas card and decoration, their 2014 calendar for you and a little gift from all of us in Year 2. I hope you like them. A big thank you goes out to Mrs Webb who worked with the children on all of these items.

Tomorrow is the last day of term. We have a Carol concert at 2.45pm in the school hall which I look forward to seeing some of you there.

I hope that you all have a fun filled MERRY CHRISTMAS, I look forward to hearing about all the exciting activities that the children will get up to in the holidays. Don't forget the the library has a reading competition running until early January.

Christmas party tomorrow

Well the end of the week is nearly upon us. It is our last performance tomorrow at 10.10am, if you haven't seen it yet then we look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

It is also our Christmas lunch tomorrow, please can your child bring in something to contribute for our lunch. None of the children need to bring lunch as if we all contribute then there will be enough food. We will then be having a party afternoon to celebrate the end of our performance!

Thank you

Year 2 team

Good luck!

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR PERFORMANCE, FROM YEAR 4 - YOU'LL BE GREAT!

Christmas Play and Reading competition.

This week we will be the narrators in the school Christmas Play. There will be three shows; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Just a little reminder for the girls, please can they all wear trousers to school all week as we need them to go with our outfits.

On Thursday afternoon from 12.30 we will be having our Christmas Party. Thank you for everyone for  writing your names down for food. If you haven't done this then we are short on sandwiches so it would be great if we could have some of them.

I thought I would also mention about the Christmas Reading competition that the Library is holding. It is much like the summer reading challenge. I was so impressed with the amount of children in Year 2 that took part in this and I hope that you will take part in this challenge. For more information visit the libraries website or pop in! It really is a great place for children to explore a variety of books.

Well done Year 2!

Firstly I would like to praise everyone who was in the music concert today you were all amazing! All of Year 2 were VERY proud watching and listening to you play your instruments. We have so many gifted musicians in our class.

We had Genevieve on the drums and recorder, Charlotte playing the piano and violin, Eva playing the piano and recorder, Amelie on the piano and recorder, Fraser, Rosa and Martha on the ukulele and Eva, Sam, Megan, Martha on the recorders (so sorry if I missed anyone out). I am positive that we will also have some more musicians up on the stage next year as there are many children in Year 2 that have just started a new instrument.

Wow what a busy week we have ahead Year 2!


We are off to the priest house in Wimborne tomorrow to experience a traditional Victorian Christmas. Please make sure that your child comes to school in warm Victorian clothing.

On Wednesday the children will be having their Christmas dinner all together in the preschool hall.

On Friday this week it is Christmas Technology Day. The children get to choose three activities that they want to do throughout the day on Friday. I look forward to seeing some of your headwear that you have been designing, we will be having a special assembly to show off your hats!

Every morning this week I will have a list of party food on the board. If you wouldn't mind putting your child's name next to some of the foods that would be great. That is for next Thursday when we will be having a Christmas party with yummy food, party games, music and lots of FUN!

Lost and Found NON SCHOOL UNIFORM TOMORROW

This week we have been looking at a lovely story called 'Lost and Found'. On Monday we found a mysterious suitcase in our cloakroom, we didn't know who it belonged to! The next day we watched the story 'Lost and Found' and realised that the suitcase belonged to the little boy in the story. Throughout the week the children have been sequenceing the story and decideing what they would take in their suitcase to the south pole. The story has no direct speech, so today the children wrote their own speech.

In maths this week we have been writing multiplication number sentences. We have some great christmas maths for next week!

The children are sounding brilliant this week, we all love the songs in Year 2 and practice everyday. Please keep on practicing the lines for our play.

Non school uniform tomorrow. Look forward to seeing you all at the christmas fair. You can pick your child up from 3pm tomorrow afternoon.

Mrs Thorpe

Fantastic winter poems

First of all a big apology for the lack of blogging this week. I have had technical problems with the site all week.

We have had a busy week in our class this week. In Literacy we have been writing poems using our winter scene (on the board in our classroom). The children had to pretend that they were walking through a forest.

'I open my eyes and I see...'

I am so impressed with the poems that they have wrote. They are really fantastic, maybe you could ask your child if you could see there poem?

Everyone in Year 2 were Junior Chefs this week. A massive thank you to all of the parents that came with us and the generosity of Pizza express for allowing every child in our class to have a whole pizza. The children loved this trip. 

All of the children were sent home with their lines for the Christmas play. I would like all of the children to know their lines as we do not want to be holding sheets of paper. We are learning lots of new songs, they are really fantastic and the children sound great. 

Off to the new library tomorrow to inspire the children to have a 'Love of Reading' and hopefully get some ideas of anything new that they would like for our reading corner.

Just a quick reminder about our trip to the priest house on the 10th December, the children will need to be in Victorian outfits that are warm.

Wildlife Club visit to Radipole

We all had a great time at Radipole on Monday. I think the highlights were feeding the ducks, collecting bullrushes and dismantling the seeds and eating our lunch up a tree! I look forward to seeing the children's writing which we will send off to Rob, one of the RSPB's wardens who showed us round and introduced us all to the smells of otter poo! (like jasmine apparently!)

Tablets and the sharing of apps to help home learning.

As you all know in Year 2 we are lucky enough to have the use of 7 Ipads. We use them a lot in school during lessons.

I was hoping that maybe we could share some APPS that you use at home to boost learning. If I post the apps on this blog page that we are currently using then these could be used at home?

I understand that lots of children do not have Ipads, but if you do then I thought this conversation on the blog could help. It is not just apple apps that we could share. Many apple apps can also be found on android or play store.

Please feel free to add the name of the app that your child enjoys or uses to help with their learning at home by writing in the comments box.

I will add the apps tomorrow when I have an Ipad to hand.


Mrs Thorpe

What's the time Mr Wolf

Yesterday half of the Year 2 class went with Mr Farrington to Radipole to look at murals that they painted. The children had a brilliant time and came back to school with lots of stories to tell.

This week in Literacy we are starting to write winter poems. This week we are writing acrostic poems. During the beginning of our Literacy lesson today the children made the following poem:

In the winter it is freezing.
Cars are frosty.
Everyone has to wrap up warm.

In Maths we are looking at telling the time. We have used stop watches today to estimate how long a challenge would take and then time our partners. The children's competitive sides defiantly came out!

We will be looking at analogue clocks and digital clocks. It would be great if the children had the chance at home to look at as many different clocks as possible.

We are slowly stopping our work on India now. In Humanities today the children worked in groups where they each had a role. The adults were not allowed to get involved, the children had to plan and present everything that they have learnt about India. We had some great posters and learnt how we could improve our team work for the future.

Children in Need, cakes, Wessex FM!

Thank you all for your kind donations for Children in Need. The children loved wearing their PJ's to school today. We even took off our shoes this afternoon to get really comfy! 

There were lots of scrumptious cakes at break time, all of the children were able to choose one of there own. We also had Wessex FM in school today so we ended up having our picture taken. Find us on the Wessex FM website under the Children in Need Photos.

The children have bought home new spellings for next week.

Have a lovely weekend

Year 2 Team 

Children in Need- FRIDAY!

This Friday is Children in Need day. The school council have chosen for the children to come in to school in their pyjamas.

We are also going to be having a cake sale. The children need to bring in 20p for a cake that they will be able to choose when we go in to the cake sale.

I am looking forward to being in my comfy PJ'S all day! Please make sure the children have normal shoes and coat as play time will be as normal.

Happy Diwali!

WOW! What a fun filled day we have had in Year 2. All of the children looked fantastic in their brightly coloured clothing.

Throughout the day the children have been taking part in four activities.
1. Cooking: making sweets called Chokito.

The children will be writing their own recipe cards which they will be bringing home at the end of the week.

2. Mendhi patterns. The children drew their own designs on a hand template and also had mendhi patterns painted on their hands or feet.

3. Making Diva Lamps out of clay.

4. Badminton: Indian sport.

Thank you so much for the ladies that came in and helped with the cooking and Mendhi patterns today.

I was delighted to see so many parents turn up for our tasting, we could just about squeeze in our room! I hope that you enjoyed tasting the curry, Bombay potatoes and samosa that the children have been cooking this week.

Diwali day was a great success!! All the photos will be on the whiteboard in the morning.

Well done!

Dear Year 2,

Year 4 would just like to say how much we enjoyed your super assembly! So much colour and fun> We particularly enjoyed your story map actions, acting and singing as well as amazing masks!

Year 4 :-)

Well done for a fantastic assembly.

I would just like to say a massive WELL DONE to all the children in Year 2. All of the children were fantastic in our assembly this morning. And a big thank you to all the parents that supplied t shirts and to Mrs Webb for the fantastic masks that she made. 

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend

Mrs Thorpe 

School open days- An opportunity to see your child in lessons.

Next week the school is having open days. Year 2 will be open for visitors all day on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. If you would like to see your child learning within school then feel free to come in and observe or sit with them in their group work. 

Most mornings (before lunch) we have Phonics, Literacy, Numeracy and Group Reading. If you would like to see your child in lessons such as Art, D/T, RE, PE, Science or Humanities then please see our timetable on the blue board just inside the Year 2 door. 

If you have any questions then please feel free to ask anyone in the Year 2 team.

Clarinets, flutes and drums!!

Year 2 had a special treat today. The whole school had a visit from the Dorset Music Company. They played many instrument and the children enjoyed listening to them play some well known songs. We then got to stay in the hall and the children got to play some instruements. These included: 

-Clarinet

-Flute

-Steal pans

-Drums

I have taken some great pictures which will hopefully be on the IWB in the classroom. I hope that the children have now experienced playing an instrument that they might consider playing in the future. 

In maths this week the children have been measuring. They have looked at length using a meter rule and cm rulers. Weight using balance scales and volume using a measuring jug. 

Just a quick reminder about jumpers. A lot of jumpers have been going 'missing' recently. Please can you make sure that your child has their name in their jumper. It is quite common that the children leave their jumpers in their PE kits, and although we try to remind them to put their jumpers in their trays they can still be in their PE kits. 

POWSA AGM

POWSA will be holding their AGM on Thursday 7th November at 19.45 in the school staff room.
Anyone is more than welcome to attend.

Safety around fireworks

A few parents have asked about our Diwali celebration day. The children need to wear Indian clothes, if you ask the children what they wore when we had our Indian dance work shop a couple of weeks a go they all dressed up. Girls usually wear Saris or scarves. Boys a kaftan type top or scarves around their waste. The day will be full of activities. We are inviting you in to our class on Tuesday at 3pm for a taster of some of the scrumptious food that the children will be making.

In the children's book bags they should have been given a slip about our assembly and the clothes that they need to bring in, If your child is a monkey or a bear then please can they bring in a plain brown t-shirt. Cats need to wear a plain orange top and birds a plain blue top.

 The Dorset Fire and Rescue came in to school today. John Sweet explained how to stay safe around fireworks. The most important things to remember being to wear gloves if holding sparklers and when they are finished with to put in a bucket or water. That you must never go to an unexploded firework and that you must stand a great distance away from the fireworks to stay safe. John then came in to our classroom and the children listened to a fire safety talk.

I hope that you all enjoy the fireworks and stay safe over the next few days.

Welcome back....

I hope that you have all had a fun filled half term. This week we will be practising for our assembly. It is on Friday at 9.20am, we look forward to seeing you all there!

In Literacy this week we will be starting to look at Instructions. The children will be following and writing instructions of their own.

In Numeracy we will be collecting data about lots of different things, the children will then be showing their results in block graphs.

It would be a good idea to go with your child to change their library books either before school or after.

School assembly and activities for wet and windy days.....

I hope that you are all enjoying the half term.

 Just a reminder that in the children's book bags I have put a slip about our school assembly and Diwali Celebration day.

If you are stuck for things to do when it is rainy outside then all the children have got log ins for Reading Eggs.

They can log on to this and complete a range of fun and exciting activities. If your child really wants a challenge then I suggest they log on to the Reading express  (icon on the right). Reading Eggs now also have an Ipad APP which is FREE!]

Have a great half term!

We hope that you have an enjoyable half term. There are no spellings over the half term so no spelling test in the first week back.

Enjoy the break and we will see you in a week!

Year 2 team

Indian dancing and balloons

Year 2 had a fantastic morning with Wise Moves, partaking in some Indian Dancing. We all got to dress up with scarves, the girls wore a bindi and the boys red face paint on their forehead.

The lady from Wise Moves then taught us a dance involving moving like certain animals. We danced like:

We then showed our dance to the rest of the school. Drop in to Year 2 in the morning to see all of our photos. 

This afternoon we have been experimenting with static electricity. The children all had a balloon, they had to experiment trying to pick up pieces of tissue paper with the balloon or a comb. Then they experimented with their hair standing up and how to stick a balloon to the wall. 

Little Red Riding Hood begins

The children have made a brilliant start to this week. We are looking at the traditional tale 'Little Red Riding Hood'.

We are also carrying on with looking at 3D shapes and symmetry

I would like to say a big well done to all of the children that have bought me in pieces of work from home. It is so brilliant to see how much the children enjoy writing and reading at home. Please keep it coming!

Sorry about the lack of blogging activity this week!

First of all I would like to say a massive SORRY for not blogging at all this week.

We have had a fantastic week this week. The children took part in 'Bling a bike' on Tuesday, we decided to bling a bike so that the whole of our class could get involved. This was brilliant as the children chose to decorate it in a Christmas theme! There were over 80 bikes/scooters that were blinged which was fantastic. I will try and put some pictures up of these tomorrow. Well done to Victoria in Year 2 who won a prize for her bike. I think Mr McBean like Victoria's reflective jacket and helmet.

As you are probably all aware now in Literacy we have been using a story map to retell the story of Rama and Sita but with a twist! The children chose their own characters from other traditional tales and swapped them with Rama and Sita. It has been great to see the children's progression in story writing.

Also this week we have been looking at 2D and 3D shapes and their properties. There are some new pupil links which could be useful at home.

Thank you all for coming to talk with me at our Parent evenings. If you haven't had a chance to make an appointment then please come and talk to me and I will be happy to arrange another time with you.

The Book fair is still in school. You can take your children to look at the great selection of books after school.

I hope you all enjoy Autumnfest!

Comparing a farm in India to Maiden Castle farm, Dorchester.

Everyone in Year 2 went to Maiden Castle Farm yesterday. We had a great morning asking Hazel questions about her farm. We went to the farm with a list of things that we needed to find out. These were:
-Where do they get their water from?
-What crops do they grow and what do they do with them.
-How do they harvest their crops?
-How do they plough their fields?
-What animals do they have on their farm.

We wanted to find out this information as we are comparing a farm in Silvepura, India with the farm in Dorchester. It was very interesting finding out all of these facts.

 





Water:

Crops: Maize, Wheat, Barley:

Plough:

Combine + Baler: 

Animals: (Used for meat)

Bling a bike day!

“Bling a Bike Day”

Yes that is “Bling”, although we would like you to “Bring” your bikes too!

On Tuesday 15^th October we will be holding an event to promote “Being Safe by Being Seen” when out on your bikes and scooters. We will have a competition to see who can make their bike or scooter extra colourful and bright,- so that it really stands out!

The children may score extra marks for having bright, colourful clothing that they can put on when parading their “blinged”-bike.

Children who would like to take part in the competition should bring their bikes or scooters to school on the morning of Tuesday 15^th October. We will be asking Jonathon Dixon, our local Sustrans Bike Officer, to judge the competition. Winners will be decided during our school assembly at 10.10 am.

It is important that any materials added to your bike or scooter should not be in the way of moving parts, and that your bike or scooter can still be wheeled along in the parade without any difficulty.

Duncan MacBean Prince of Wales Bike Champion

The farm trip on Friday

Year 2 are off to the farm on Friday. We are after a few adults to help us, if you are free and happy to help us please come and see me in the morning. We will be back before lunch.

Please bring your child into school on Friday wearing a school jumper but home trousers that you don't mind getting muddy.

Can they also bring wellies in a plastic bag and we will change into them before we leave. The children need to wear normal shoes to school as we will change back in to them for the afternoon.

Rama and Sita- An Indian Traditional Tale

This week in Literacy the children will be looking at the story of Rama and Sita. We will be learning about story mountains, characters descriptions and story sequencing.

In Numeracy we will be carrying on with problem solving with money. Has your child used any of the numeracy pupil links at home? I would really like to see some Numeracy home learning from the children this week. If they do any work on the computer or write it on paper then please print/bring it in to show me.

Our Harvest celebration

Thank you for all the harvest produce brought in, also the wonderful cakes and breads which were for sale in the Harvest café during the afternoon. The children created some wonderful food in class too! We hope some of you got to savour their delights? If not, ask your child what they cooked and what they enjoyed trying?

The School council decided that they would like all proceeds to be sent to help children in other countries whose parents cannot afford to send them to school. We will endeavour to find the right avenue to send this money and will keep you posted.

"Harvest time is here again"

I just wanted to say a massive well done to all of the children in Year 2! You all performed brilliantly and everyone was very impressed. Well done to the dancers as well, your Indian Harvest Dance was great (Thank you Mrs Hibberd for the time that you have spent over the last couple of weeks, teaching the eight children the moves).

Another massive THANK YOU is to go to Mrs Webb who has spent a lot of time over the last couple of weeks with the children with their art work and cooking and who also made some brilliant flower arrangements and organised the Harvest Cafe. All of our products looked amazing and tasted it too!

The children all enjoyed going to the cafe and choosing a cake and bread product. We then had a picnic back in the classroom.

All of the children have received new spellings today. I have also put up the parents evening sheet, just inside the Year 2 door on the Parent board. If you would like to book a time to come and talk about your child's learning so far this term then please write your name in one of the slots.

Have a great weekend

Mrs Thorpe