Christmas jumpers on the last day

 

It has come to our attention that tomorrow is causing some confusion as to whether children can wear jumpers or not. We are aware that tomorrow is a National charity day which highlights the wear of jumpers in support. We have chosen due to our three big fund raisers this term not to ask you to support this charity. We are also aware of many parents and children who wish to wear a jumper tomorrow and have been asking the class teams.

So, the simple is yes, jumpers can be worn, but we will not be collecting for charity. If you do wish to donate, then please use the website link highlighted in the press.

We apologise for the lateness and confusion, this event seems to have grown since last year, we will therefore be clearer next year with plenty of time to plan accordingly.

Also -Games are also allowed on the last day of term, named please and nothing expensive in case bits are lost!

Merry Christmas!

Mrs Mewett (Deputy Head)

Christmas Party

Please remember it is our Christmas Party tomorrow (17th December).  Please bring in your party food to share with the rest of the class.  Let's Party!

Super Performances

Well done all in year 2 for two sensational performances of Shine Star Shine.  The singing especially has been amazing!  A big well done to all the children, especially those who bravely took on extra lines when people were poorly - you are all stars.  One more to go, lets make it another good one!

DT competition results

We had excellent DT entries brought into school on Friday for the DT Christmas competition. A particularly good amount of entries from the Reception class and Year 1 class, so well done to these two classes.

All entries were super, lots of thoughts had been placed into designs, clearly child participation in all entries and all were able to attach to the Christmas tree and look eye catching.

What was also pleasing to see was the good sportsmanship from all children, never mind if they ‘won’, it was super to see such kind hearts and congratulations being given to the winner with handshakes and pats on backs!

Each class had a winner:

Reception: Philippa Hoskin

Yr 1: Thomas Grant

Yr 2: Odette Mistry-Dyer

Yr 3: Millie Goldstone

Yr 4: Alex Mistry-Dyer

 

Well done to everyone and their family helpers for participating in the competition. These are now on display in the foyer area near the ‘big’ tree.

Friday 18th December

POW Carols – everyone welcome, come and join us in singing carols, to begin in hall from 2.45pm.

Musicians – please dust off those old instruments you may have once played (like myself) and come on in and join the parents/ community group, we gather around the piano and offer our sounds to compliment (?!) the pianist and the school singing. We have simple music to follow; sight reading is an easy level. The children love seeing the adults who turn up and show off an instrument! Any qus, please pop by the office and come and see me.

 

Mrs Mewett

Wonderful Victorians 9-12-15

What a super day year 2 had at the priest house museum on Tuesday!  The staff there thought that the children were really enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Victorian Christmas!  The children's costumes were amazing and they really looked the part.  All of the children took part in four activities:
Victorian Party Games - Flap the feather, Dusty Bluebells, Grandmother's Footsteps and Pass the Ball.
Victorian Cooking in the Victorian Kitchen - We made biscuits with chopped apricots and caraway seeds - safe to say that there were none left by the end of the afternoon!
Victorian Christmas Decorations - The children were proud to show their knowledge of who brought the first Christmas Tree to England and the names of some of the Evergreen plants we had collected the previous day at school as well as making a cornucopia to hang up at home.
Victorian Christmas Cards - The children got to find out about a real Victorian Stationary Shop, use a real dipping ink pen and make their own Victorian Christmas Card.
We ended the day by answering questions and tasting the real lemonade that the children made whilst in the kitchen - delicious!
After singing we wish you a Merry Christmas to the staff and thanking them we returned to a very windy Dorchester.
Many thanks to the parents who came with us and supported their groups so well.
Also, well done year 2 for a super day out!

Chrismas Play Costume -

Thank you to all of you who have brought in your white shirt and baseball hat / sunglasses for the Christmas performance next week!  The dress rehearsal is on Monday, so we need them in by Friday at the latest please on a named hanger or in a named bag.

Missing T-Shirt

Please could you keep a look out for a school t-shirt (uniform, not PE) which belongs to Avril?  It is marked with her name.  Please could you return it as we have a spare t-shirt in class after a mix up in PE.

Musicians assebmly Monday 7th December

On Monday 7^th December it is our Musicians Christmas assembly at 10am in the school hall. This assembly gives all children who are learning instruments the opportunity to perform to an audience. Your child should have received a letter if they have been chosen to play. They therefore need to remember their music and instrument too!

Chrismas Play Costume - Updated 2-12-15

*****NEWS FLASH*****

Please note extra request...

Here we are again!  Another costume, but hopefully not too much bother!  Please could your child bring in a plain white shirt and either a baseball cap or a pair of sunglasses in a named plastic bag to wear for the Christmas Production?  Please bring in for Thursday 10th December.

Christmas Card Challenge - 1-12-15

Here we are in December!  As a true Victorian tradition, we would like to encourage the children to write Christmas cards this year.  I know lots of children enjoy doing this and it is a great opportunity to practice handwriting as well as getting into the Christmas spirit.  We have a post box in school that the year 4 elves will be emptying and distributing every day!  So go on... join in the challenge!  You can collect a list of class names from the classroom and send a card to as many or as few as you wish.  You may also like to send one to a child or adult in another class, just make sure you write the year group on the envelope!  Merry Christmas!

Message from Mrs Wollffe

Mrs Wollffe was really impressed with the violinists in yr 2 this week and wanted to let the parents know how impressed she is with their attitude to learning and resilience in having a go.

Super to hear, well done children!

Maths Learning - Week Beginning 23rd November

This week year 2 have started learning about multiplication.  They have become much better at recalling facts from the 5x table and some children have been confidently working with facts from other times tables as well.  We have been looking at how we can show multiplication using arrays of objects:

This one shows 5x4=20 or 4x5=20
Perhaps you could make some arrays at home with your child, bring in any work for some superhero points!
As a challenge have a think how an array could help you x larger numbers

Literacy Learning - Week Beginning 23rd November

This week year 2 have been looking at information texts and how they can be presented.  They have been making their own information books about India in which they have been drawing diagrams and illustrations, completing activities, writing about a Village called Chembakolli, Writing instructions about how to play the traditional game of Kabaddi and using our best handwriting to write down some interesting and fun facts!  At home see if your child can identify some features of information books, ours even has a contents page, does yours?

Costume Reminder 25-11-15

Oh we do love to dress up in year 2!  But, we would like to say sorry that two of our major dress up events have landed so close together!  In a couple of weeks, on Tuesday 8th December, year 2 will be heading to The Priest House Museum to find out more about a Victorian Christmas.  For this trip the children enter into role as Victorian Children to take part in 4 exciting activities in real Victorian setting, so for the trip it makes it so much more memorable if we can enter into the spirit of things and dress as Victorians!  Boys could wear a cap, shirt, smart trousers and a waistcoat or shorts (depending on the weather - it can be quite cold at the museum) and the girls could wear a skirt and blouse or a dress, aprons, shawls and mob caps also look good!  All of the teachers and parents going along on the trip will be dressing up too!  We do have a few spares if you cant find things at home, just let us know.

The Big Read - 25-11-15

This week the children have been given a slightly more challenging text in group reading to bring home and read together and talk about with you.  Next week in lesson time the children will be answering some questions about what they have read.  We are trying to promote enjoyment of different and longer texts, so if you read and they listen; if they want to read; if you talk about what you have read or discuss the pictures, all will be useful to help them understand the text.
Thank you for  your support at home.

so proud!

Year 2 did an amazing job in delivering their class assembly on Friday, despite having such a busy week and only a couple of rehearsals. So much learning has already been packed in, as well as learning knowledge the children have developed aspects of confidence, independence, willingness to have a go, pride in their work; elements we have seen shining recently. The class has such a creative side too, improvising to music, dancing  and different forms of art work have been produced recently. If you have not seen any, do pop by the classroom and take a look!

Kit list for Friday! 17-11-15

As I expect you know from reading our blog, Friday is a busy day for us in year 2.  The children will need to bring the following to school in a named bag:
A pillow or cushion for our party.
A teddy or cuddly toy for our party.
Your indian costume for assembly.
Don't forget it is our class assembly on Friday, 9.20am in the school hall.

The Marble Jar is Full! 17-11-15

Well done year 2 - you have managed to fill the marble jar!  This means that the class has earned their first year 2 party.  We had a brainstorming session today about what the party should be.  Mrs Webb and I have chosen the idea of a chill out film party on the afternoon of Friday 20th November.  This should work well as it is also the day of our class assembly and the children will be tired out by then!  For the party we would like the children to bring a teddy and a pillow so that they can relax and enjoy the film in the afternoon. 

Welcoming our student 17-11-15

We welcome Sarah Brown to the class on Thursdays and Fridays this half term.  She is a student from Weymouth college who is training to become a classroom assistant.

Super Sandwiches! 17-11-15

The children in year 2 have been working hard this term finding all about sandwiches.  They have researched ingredients including different types of breads and fillings as well as calculating the fat content and number of calories in their chosen design.  Today was making day!  Hopefully you have got to taste your child's design and they didn't eat them all themselves.  Perhaps you could help to complete the design process by evaluating their product?  Can you identify three things that worked really well and one improvement for your child's sandwich design?  Happy Munching!

Wonderful India Day 16-11-15

What an amazing day in year 2 on Monday.  All of the children were dressed in Indian costume and took part fully in all the exciting activities we had planned for them.  A great big thank you to Mrs Mystry-Dyer and Mrs Webb for their hard work and to all of the parents who dressed their children so brilliantly.  We also had some great artifacts and photos from Emily and Erica, so thank you!  We hope you enjoyed the Indian Restaurant, come and see some photos from the day at our class assembly on Friday at 9.20am.

Class Assembly

A quick reminder that it is our class assembly on Friday 20th November at 9:20 am in the school hall.  Please could all children bring their Indian Day costume in to wear for the assembly?  We look forward to seeing you there and showing you what we've managed to achieve this term so far!

India Day!

Don't forget it is India Day on Monday 16th November.  Please send your children in wearing their costumes to enjoy an action packed day.  Also, don't forget you are all invited to our Indian Restaurant from 3pm.

British Week - Week Beginning 9th November 2015

Time for Tea Anyone?
Drinking tea is a great British Institution, nearly everyone does it, but what makes it such a British activity?  Year 2 are on a mission this week to find out!  They will be writing instructions, and asking if you should really put the milk in first!?  We will be finding out where tea comes from and will be having the chance to taste tea from Commonwealth countries of the past, not to mention our Biscuit Dunking Challenge!
Come along and taste some of our tea and maybe even a biscuit or two on Thursday from 3pm.  What could be more British than a cuppa?

Literacy Learning - Week Beginning 2nd November 2015

This week we have been looking at our factual writing skills.  We visited India as tourists at the beginning of the week describing some of the things we might be able to see in different parts of India.  Later on we started practicing our instructional writing, thinking about how to instruct others to do simple tasks and write them as a set of ordered instructions.  We used our "bossy" verbs to start each sentence.

Maths Learning - Week Beginning 2nd November

This week we have started looking at time as a unit of measurement.  We have been using calendars to remind ourselves of the months of the year and their order and we have been using three main success criteria when learning to tell the time:

1. Know what the different hands show on the clock (the hour hand and the minute hand).
2. Divide the clock into halves and quarters to read 1/2 past times and 1/4 past and 1/4 to.
3. Using the minute hand to count around the clock in 5s starting from the 12.

Why not see if the children can work out the 3 success criteria above with your help at home?  Also can they find out the birthdays of some of their family and bring them into school?

Children in Need 2015

Children in Need is fast approaching. You should have all received a letter today explaining about Friday (13th).

 

The Children's Voice will be selling Children in Need merchandise from Monday in the area outside Year 1.

 

On Friday our dress up theme is 'Britishness'  (maybe they could dress up in the colours of our flag or famous British person)

 

Just like the country file team all children and staff at The Prince of Wales School will be partaking in a 1 mile ramble around our school grounds.

 

After school on Friday we will be having a cake sale. We would love to have lots of cakes (whole and cupcakes) and biscuits to sell. Please give all the cakes to your class teacher to store in the morning.

Harvest fundraising

Harvest fundraising.

 

To let you all know that a super amount of £350 pounds has been raised! This will be sent to UNICEF to buy water kits as the children requested.

Many, many thanks to everyone for the generosity towards such a needy cause.

India Day - 3rd November 2015 (for 16th November 2015)

On Monday 16th November Year 2 will be having an "India Day" where the children will be taking part in 3 fun activities relating to our India topic.  We would like the children to dress up for this occasion and a letter will be coming home this week with some ideas about what they could wear.  At the end of the day we would like to invite you all to the classroom early to watch an Indian Dance and to sample some of the food that the children have made at our Indian Restaurant.  Come along from 3:00pm onwards and see for yourself what fun we've had learning about India! Thank you to those parents who have already pledged their help on the day, if you are available to help please see a member of the year 2 team.

Welcome Back - 3rd November 2015

A super start to the new half term in year 2.  The children have come back with great attitudes to learning and have been demonstrating that they know what year 2 is all about and what we expect of them.  We are well and truly into our India Topic now and ready for the challenges of a new term.

Award assembly 22.10.15

Today we had our first of the year ‘Award assembly’. This is the assembly when we ask teachers and their teams to select children who they think have worked particularly hard during this first part of the year in subject areas; writing, reading, maths, ICT, Creative arts, PE and displaying our Citizenship qualities.  Some awards have a certificate and a trophy to keep for half a term! You may have found one of these when you got home!

For our Reception parents; the awards can stay at home with your child until we send a letter inviting it back in for our next ‘Award assembly’.

Happy half term everyone, we will see you all back on Tuesday 3^rd November!

BIG WRITE - Big Success!

Year 2 were really successful with their BIG WRITE today.  The children sat and wrote independently for nearly an hour!  We made the classroom a relaxing and creative place, giving everyone the opportunity to really focus on their own work.  We had Mozart playing and our mini lighthouses were switched on to inspire us with their flickering lights!  We used our Superheros to help with our Vocabulary, Connectives, Openers and Punctuation.  At the end of the session the children were really proud of what they managed to produce, many saying it was the best piece of writing they had ever done.  We can't wait until our next big write and would like to have the same atmosphere in our class when we do some of our other learning!  As a reward the class earned 5 marbles for the jar - Miss Johnson and Mrs Webb were so impressed!

Maths Learning - Week Beginning 12th October 2015

Year 2 have been Measuring this week.  We have talked about and used standard and non-standard units of measurement.  We have compared and estimated weight of objects; decided what equipment would be best to measure; practiced using our rulers accurately and have been using Mathletics to revise these skills.  At home, what measures can the children spot around the home? 

Literacy Learning - Week Beginning 12th October 2015

This week we have been looking at adjectives.  Everywhere we have been, including the farm we have been looking for interesting adjectives to describe what we have seen.  We have then used these in our writing.  Why not ask take part in the adjective challenge and see if you can come up with 10 adjectives to describe an everyday object?  Bring in any that you find!

THE BIG WRITE 16-10-15

Next week the children in year 2 will be taking part in the Big Write.  We are going to make our classroom a writing zone!  After building up our traditional story writing skills, learning how to use connectives and adjectives in our sentences we are now ready to write!  The children will be writing their own versions of Jack and the Beanstalk.  Please could you spend some time with your child talking about their story plan and who or what they might find at the top of their beanstalk in their story?
  The children will complete the planning process on Monday and will be writing their stories on Tuesday next week.

Mega Mathletics 14-10-15

Well done to the children who have been using Mathletics at home.  Last week Oona and Scarlett both got certificates and Rosa had an amazing high score recently as well!  Don't forget to keep your eyes open for your name on the leaderboards on the Mathletics home page - Maybe you will be in the UK top 100!  Look even Harry Potter is on there!  Certificates are earned when you get 1000 points within a week (From Wednesday to Wednesday)  You gain points by completing tasks and by playing live, to see how far you have got this week have a look at the rocket on the left hand side of your mathletics page once you have logged in, try to get to the top by Wednesday!  So far this term the following children have managed it...

Rosa
Nicole
Noah
Scarlett
Avril
Andrew
Frank
Oona

Well done!

Super Farming 14-10-15

What a wonderful day at the farm.  Thank you so much to Hazel for her time and to Mrs Thornton and Mrs Taylor who came along to help.  We couldn't have wished for better weather and the sun shone on us as Hazel guided us around the farm to find out about the different produce from this year's harvest.  The children were able to use their Literacy skills to describe all of the different grains grown on the farm.  We saw the mill which ground the grain down so that it could be fed to the animals.  Hazel checked we remembered the difference between hay and straw and even taught us about silage!  We even got to smell some!  We saw some tractors at work and learned about how the farmer now has to plough and prepare the land for next year's crops.  Lastly we visited the cows and saw that they were eating some of the produce from this year's harvest.  A super morning's learning year 2 well done for your super behaviour at the farm!

Book Fair - Come and see! 14-10-15

The Prince of Wales Book Fair started today.  Please go along to the hall after school to have a look at the books for sale, there are some exciting reads to be had and maybe even some ideas for Christmas!  The more books sold, the more we raise for POWSA!

Maths Learning - Week Beginning 5th October 2015

This week we have been looking at addition and subtraction methods and weighing lots of ingredients in preparation for our harvest bake off produce!  Number bonds are really important facts that they children need to learn in order to be confident with their number skills.  Through problem solving we have looked at number bonds for 20, for example 17+3, 12+8, 10+10, etc and number bonds for 100 and 200 such as 190+10, 87+13, 140+60, etc.  When learning these number bonds it is also important that the children see the link with subtraction so that they can use this to check and find answers when applying their addition and subtraction skills.  So if your child knows that 3+17=20 can they answer questions such as 20-17= without having to work out the answer?  Can they also answer missing number questions such as ??+7=20?  Try to be flexible when learning these facts at home and put them into context where possible.  For example, there are 8 dogs over in that field, and over their there are 5 more, how many dogs are there altogether?

Literacy Learning - Week Beginning 5th October

This week we have been thinking about sentence construction in the context of traditional tales.  The children started the week by learning about the ingredients for a sentence.  We discussed word types and order as well as composed and wrote silly sentences to help us remember how we should be doing it!  Later in the week we rewrote the story of Jack and the Beanstalk using Captain Connective - who is our superhero who encourages us to write compound sentences by using connectives such as and, but, so, because, then, etc.  Why not ask your children if they can tell you what a connective is, or try and spot them when reading?

Off to the Farm 11-10-15

Year 2 are off to the Farm this Wednesday!  We will be finding out more about what is going on at this busy time of year at Maiden Castle Farm.  Please ensure your child is dressed in school uniform top with play trousers and suitable footwear.  I've heard the weather should be dry, but is turning cooler, so please make sure they have a coat.  Snacks, drinks and lunch arrangements will be as usual.

A bounty of bread!

Here we have more bread products made by Scarlett, Alfie and Jamie, another lovely sample of different tastes and textures. Well done children!
 

We're Off to India 7-10-15

We will be beginning our India topic in year 2 next week.  The children will be learning lots more about the county, its people, culture and traditions and comparing them with our own.  We have got off to an excellent start this week as Mr Farrington has been into class to teach the children about Indian Farming and Food.  The children have been asking lots of questions and trying lots of tasty food.  Why not help the children find out about something relating to India and they can come and tell the class all about it?  Towards the end of our topic we have an India Day where the children are invited to dress up and take part in various fun activities, the day usually culminates with an Indian Restaurant in the classroom to which you are all invited - new date to be announced!

Mmmmm! Amazing Bread! 7-10-15

Thank you to Andrew, Megan, Rosa, Frank, Charlotte, Rohana and Noah who provided us with all kinds of amazing bread to eat today.  From focaccia to fruit bread and from house shape to wheat shape, it was all so tasty.  We have been very well fed - thank you!

India Day Postponed 7-10-15

Year 2 were due to hold our India Day on Wednesday 21st October, we have decided to postpone until we are further along with our topic in the middle of November!  I will let you know the date as soon as we have confirmed with our helpers!
Many thanks.

Beautiful Bread 6-10-15

We were lucky enough to taste bread baked by Amalia, Katherine, Rosa, Erica, Oona and Odette yesterday!  All of the loaves were different and delicious.  We had hints of garlic, chocolate, seeds and even a gluten free one to try.  Today Lewis brought in his Belgian Bun Bear and Emily made Bagels - they were both amazing! 

Certificates for taking part in the Great POW Bread Bake Off are on their way home and we look forward to tasting more later in the week!