Living and Learning – healthy mind (strong emotions)
We’ve been talking about emotions and feelings this week. Children were good at identifying fair/unfair, right/wrong and kind/unkind in various scenarios.
We also used a book, Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?, to help us visualise how we can think about the emotions of ourselves and others and how we deal with them. We need to understand and be able to accept our emotions before we’re ready to learn.
Y2 maths methods
Some Y2 parents have been asking about different methods we use in maths. There are some examples below. Please ask if you would like any further explanation.
PE and swimming
We’ll be increasingly using the outdoor spaces for our PE lessons. With this in mind, it would be helpful if children have tracksuit bottoms and suitable footwear for these occasions. Sturdy, well-fastened school shoes (not boots) are perfectly suitable providing they are flat and fit well to enable running, jumping and climbing. Otherwise a pair of trainers or well-fitting black pumps could be sent in with PE kit.
PE days for Summer term 1 (although these can be subject to change):
- 1K (Miss Parling) – Wednesday
- 1,2V (Mrs Latham) – Friday
- 2KL (Miss Lowry/Mrs Wilkins) – Wednesday
Swimming days
- 1K (Miss Parling) – Thursday
- 1,2V (Mrs Latham) – Monday
- 2KL (Miss Lowry/Mrs Wilkins) – Friday
Dance for Daniel!
We danced for a whole hour on Thursday in support of one of our pupils, Daniel, who has recently undergone an organ transplant. He will spend several months in hospital recovering and we thought it would be nice to show our support. The sun shone and it was a great way to end Spring term – with everyone smiling and feeling happy! If anyone has any sponsor money or donations, please send them into school after the Easter holidays.
An egg-cellent end to Spring term
Year 1 and 2 enjoyed some Easter-themed fun to round off Spring term. We made chocolate nests to raise money for our school charity, The Donkey Sanctuary. There was also great fun at our egg rolling competition and some fantastic hats in our Easter bonnet parade. Thank you for all your support for these events. We couldn’t do it without you. Happy holidays!
Poetry Recital
Homework a couple of weeks ago was to learn a poem to recite in front of the class. Lots of children were able to do this. It is a great way to strengthen memory skills and to learn how to pronounce words clearly and fluently.
Are you beautiful?
Our Talk Time homework (linked to our Living and Learning theme) produced some super discussions about what is beautiful.
‘I think elephants are beautiful.’
‘Beautiful is not just about how you look. You can be beautiful if you are nice, clever or generous.’
‘Beautiful means different things to different people.’
‘Nature is beautiful, like wild animals and pets, and particularly snails shells.’
Practical maths
We use concrete objects and equipment whenever possible to ensure children can see numbers and maths concepts. This is based on the CPA approach (concrete, pictorial, abstract) for maths mastery.
Year 2 and Year 6 assessments
The STA has published an information leaflet and two videos for parents/carers of children in Year 2 and Year 6 about national curriculum assessments. The purpose of these materials is to help you understand more about the end of key stage assessments that will be administered in primary schools in May. (The end of Key Stage 1 is Year 2; the end of Key Stage 2 is Year 6.)
The materials provide basic information about the purpose and format of the tests, how parents can best support their children and how results will be reported.
Living and Learning – I Can Recognise My Talents
Our Living and Learning statement this week is I recognise my talents. We’ve talked about what a talent is and shared our own with the class. The children enjoyed showing their talents during a mini talent show.
‘My talent is drawing.’
‘My talent is dancing.’
‘My talent is dancing.’
‘My talent is playing games.’
‘My talent is phonics.’