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

Tennis taster and Harvest celebration.

In Year 2 this week we have been looking at money. The children have been 'buying' items and having to add up the prices and find the correct coins. We are focussing on counting in 10's, 5's and 2's. So if ever the opportunity arises that the children need to count large amounts or are interested in counting how much money they have in a piggy bank, please encourage them to count in groups. This develops their mathematical skills and allows them to add and subtract larger numbers.

It's great to see the home learning that is coming in to us in the morning. It is not just spellings that we like to see. Any accomplishment is celebrated in Year 2!

Today the children had a taster Tennis session with Fran from St Osmond's Sports Centre. They all had a brilliant time and learnt some new skills.

Just a quick reminder about the Harvest Assembly on Friday at 9.20am. The children will be performing and you will get a chance to see some of the art work that the children have been creating. Every child needs to bring in 20p so that they can buy something from the Harvest Café. I will take Year 2 to the hall to spend their 20p's after lunch on Friday.

We will then take the cake/bread back to our classroom where they can eat their goodies. At 2.30pm parents can come and collect their child and take them to the Harvest Café themselves. You can then enjoy your afternoon with cakes/bread and refreshments. If you are taking your child at 2.30pm please make sure you sign them out in our classroom and see an adult in Year 2.

Have a fantastic Harvest Celebration!

Year 2 Team

How to make your child a Maths star! New link...

In the Year 2 pupil links folder there is now a Parent Folder. Within this folder there is a link to the DASP website. This is a fantastic resource for you all at home. There are help sheets and suggestions on how to support your child with maths. 

A brilliant publication on this website which I can defiantly recommend a read is: 'How to make your child a Maths star'. If you have any problems trying to find the publications or where to find the pupil link then feel free to talk to me about it.