Welcome to 3VF!

Welcome to 3VF’s brand new blog. We are really excited to share all our fantastic learning with you and we will try to update the blog weekly so you can stay up to date with all of our amazing work! If you would like to leave us a comment please scroll to the end of our blog and fill in the boxes. Thank you!

Sports Day 2019 

A huge thank you to all the family member that joined us for our annual sports day! The children had a great afternoon in the sunshine and showed fantastic team spirit throughout the various events. 

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

On Monday we went on our school trip to Yorkshire Wildlife Park. All of the children had a fantastic day and enjoyed observing lots of different animals from around the world. The children had opportunities to walk through relaxed enclosures where animals roam nearby and observed animals they’d never seen before. It was great to see them so engaged with their learning and asking questions about the incredible creatures we saw. 

Animal Enclosures in Maths 

This week in maths we have linked our learning to our topic and have used animal enclosures as a hook for our learning. We have learnt to draw and measure straight lines accurately and now know what parallel and perpendicular lines are. Once we had learnt lots of new skills, we used our learning to design and build our first prototype enclosure using pipe cleaners.

Amazing Angles!

This week we’ve been learning all about angles in maths! We even made our own angles on our desks and identified which ones were acute, obtuse or right angles! Eryk said that it was “the best maths lesson ever!”

Splash Stomp and Soar! 04.06.19

Today all the children looked fabulous as they dressed as creatures who ‘stomp’ on the land! We had a fabulous day developing our painting skills and used the animals from Lion King as a stimulus for our final pieces! We will share some pictures once they are dry! 

Summer 2 Newsletter

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope you all had a lovely and relaxing half term and are refreshed and ready for our final half term of the year! I cannot quite believe it’s here already but we have some amazing things to look forward to in the coming weeks!

Our whole-school topic this half term will be ‘Splash, Stomp and Soar’. This topic has been developed from pupil voice surveys conducted last year and is something the children really wanted to learn about. In Year 3, the children will be focusing on animals who ‘stomp’ on the land and we will be exploring their habitats within our geography lessons.

English

In English this half term we will be writing to entertain, focusing on descriptions, diary entries and story endings linked to our class text ‘Varjak Paw’. Children will learn about the purpose of entertainment texts and develop the skill of narrative writing, thinking carefully about word choice, structure and engaging their reader. In year 3 the children will continue to build on their understanding of grammatical features and learn new skills to enhance their writing. We will also continue to practice and develop our joined handwriting in weekly handwriting lessons.

Maths

In Maths this half-term, our focus will be on shape and measurement, with the children learning about angles, properties of shapes and exploring the construction of shapes. We will also spend some time consolidating skills from throughout the year across all mathematical strands. In Year 3 the children will continue to develop their fundamental fluency in each area before being challenged with reasoning and problem solving tasks. The children will also continue to take part in daily calculation practice to help consolidate and apply their understanding of calculation skills. It would be great if they could continue to practice their times tables at home with you too as this will support the children throughout the year in various units of work.

In Geography, children will be exploring Europe and its vast differences and similarities. The children will learn about climate zones, land use and settlements across the continent and also discover key physical and human features across the land.

Our Art lessons this half term will link directly to our topic and the children will be developing their painting skills and exploring the work of famous artists. The children will then design and paint their own repetitive painting in the style of 4 artists

In Computing, pupils will be continuing to use our school scheme ‘Purple Mash’ to develop their understanding of key computing skills, this half term they will be developing their skill of understanding and creating databases. Alongside our scheme of work we will also be revisiting the importance of e-safety with the children, ensuring they understand the importance of using safe searches and appropriate websites when online.

Finally, in Science the children will be focusing on humans and other animals this half term. They will be learning about how all animals and humans need nutrients to survive, exploring types of skeletons and their purpose and beginning to explore how muscles help all animals and humans move.

PE

This half term the children will begin continue swimming lessons at Kippax Leisure Centre which will take place on Monday afternoons. Children will be required to bring the appropriate equipment for their lessons each week including need swim shorts/swimsuit, a towel and goggles for their weekly lessons. The children will also have their weekly PE lessons on a Friday morning and will need a change of clothes to wear for the lesson

General Information

Please be advised that your child will continue to need a pair of plain black pumps to change into when they arrive at school, this is to keep the carpets in our building and classroom as clean as we can.  Children that do not have these are at risk of getting hurt from chairs/other children’s feet when in the classroom and so we would like to thank you in advance for your help with this. If you could also make sure that all items of clothing that your child brings into school are labelled with both their first and last names to reduce the risk of lost items.

If you have any questions, queries or concerns that you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to come and see us – our door is always open.

Kind regards,

Miss Firth & Mrs Revis

Time!

The past few weeks we have been learning about time! It has been quite tricky but also lots of fun! We have made hula hoop clocks, sang time songs and even planned our own party!  Please keep on encouraging the children to tell the time whilst at home or out and about to help them consolidate their learning! 

Tour De Yorkshire!

It was fantastic to see so many of the children participating in the Tour de Yorkshire today, despite the wet conditiions! The children watched the female race live, designed their own jerseys and managed to get outside to cycle and soot o the playground. Just in case you missed it, the school even managed to get on TV! 

Swimming! 

The children took part in their first swimming lessons this week and LOVED it! They were sensible and mature at the pool and each member of staff commented on how brilliant they were! We cannot wat to see how much they progress over the coming weeks! 

Summer 1 Newsletter

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope you all had a fantastic Easter holiday and are feeling rested and refreshed ahead of a short but busy half-term! Below is an outline of what the children will be learning during the next half term of this academic year.

Our whole-school topic this half term will be ‘Keep On Moving’. This topic has been developed from pupil voice surveys conducted last year and is something the children really wanted to learn about. In Year 3, the children will be focusing on bikes and cycling and linking that to our whole school focus.

English

In English this half term we will be writing to inform, focusing on informative posters and non-chronological reports. Children will learn about the purpose of an information text and develop the skill of informative writing, thinking carefully about word choice, structure and engaging their reader. In year 3 the children will continue to build on their understanding of grammatical features and learn new skills to enhance their writing. We will also continue to practice and develop our joined handwriting in weekly handwriting lessons.

Maths

In Maths this half-term, our focus will be on fractions and time, with the children learning about equivalent fractions, adding and subtracting fractions before moving on to time when the children will become confident and accurate in telling time to the nearest 5 minutes. In Year 3 the children will continue to develop their fundamental fluency in each area before being challenged with reasoning and problem solving tasks. The children will also begin to take part in daily calculation practice to help consolidate and apply their understanding of calculation skills taught previously, and throughout this academic year. It would be great if they could continue to practice their times tables at home with you too as this will support the children throughout the year in various units of work.

In History, children will be exploring the history of bicycles and cycling to link with our whole school topic. We will investigate the developments of bicycles throughout history and how the evolution of the equipment has had an impact on the sport of cycling over time.

Our DT lessons this half term will link directly to our topic and the children will be developing their textiles skills and spending time learning how to stitch. The children will then design and create their own patch which links with our topic and also the Tour de Yorkshire.

In Computing, pupils will be continuing to use our school scheme ‘Purple Mash’ to develop their understanding of key computing skills, this half term they will be developing their skill of typing and learning how to type efficiently. Alongside our scheme of work we will also be revisiting the importance of e-safety with the children, ensuring they understand the importance of using safe searches and appropriate websites when online.

Finally, in Science the children will be focusing on magnets and forces this half term. They will be learning about different forces

PE

This half term the children will begin weekly swimming lessons at Kippax Leisure Centre which will take place on Monday afternoons. This sporting activity will become our formal PE lesson each week and children will be required to bring the appropriate equipment for their lessons each week including need swim shorts/swimsuit, a towel and goggles for their weekly lessons.

General Information

Please be advised that your child will continue to need a pair of plain black pumps to change into when they arrive at school, this is to keep the carpets in our building and classroom as clean as we can.  Children that do not have these are at risk of getting hurt from chairs/other children’s feet when in the classroom and so we would like to thank you in advance for your help with this. If you could also make sure that all items of clothing that your child brings into school are labelled with both their first and last names to reduce the risk of lost items.

If you have any questions, queries or concerns that you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to come and see us – our door is always open.

Kind regards,

Miss Firth & Mrs Revis

Science Week! 

This week, throughout school, we are promoting science and all its amazing qualities! We will be doing a different experiment each day followed by a write up of our investigation and findings! Keep checking the blog for updates on our learning! 

IRON FOR BREAKFAST??

SLIME!

World Book Day 2019

WOW! What an amazing day! I was blown away by all the children’s efforts with their costumes and their engagement with the various activities throughout the day. The children visited the KS2 teachers throughout the day and took part in lots of reading themed lessons from setting descriptions, to crime scene investigations and limerick writing. I cannot wait to see which books the children purchase with their vouchers and which new books they read after hearing some recommended reads throughout the day!

25.02.19 – READATHON

This week marks the beginning of our school readathon! Children and adults will be trying to read as much as they can at home and in school! We will be encouraging the children to read in their free time and also stopping for a 5 minute read during the day in school, where everyone will stop what they are doing and read for pleasure for a short time. Please help us encourage the children at home too by reading with them or asking them to read to you!

Spring 2 Newsletter

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope you all had a wonderful half-term and are ready to begin another exciting half-term in school! Below is an outline of what the children will be learning during the next half term of this academic year.

Our whole-school topic this half term will be ‘Mad Science’. This topic is always very popular with all of the children and they will be immersed in scientific studies this half term. In Year 3, the children have discussed and voted on investigations they would like to carry out in science and they will be looking into the science behind compasses to support their geographical skills.

English

In English this half term we will be writing to entertain, focusing on character descriptions and story endings. Children will learn about the purpose of an entertainment text and develop the skill of narrative writing, thinking carefully about word choice, structure and engaging their reader. In year 3 the children will continue to build on their understanding of grammatical features and learn new skills to enhance their writing. We will also continue to practice and develop our joined handwriting in weekly handwriting lessons.

Maths

In Maths this half-term, our focus will be on measurement, with the children learning about units of measure, converting between different measurements and how to measure accurately. In Year 3 the children will continue to develop their fundamental fluency in each area before being challenged with reasoning and problem solving tasks. The children will also begin to take part in daily calculation practice to help consolidate and apply their understanding of calculation skills taught previously, and throughout this academic year. It would be great if they could continue to practice their times tables at home with you too as this will support the children throughout the year in various units of work.

In Geography, children will be developing their map and orienteering skills by learning about the uses of a compass and using these to understand their local area and the wider world. The children also wanted to learn about the science of volcanoes within their Mad Science work and so we will use their geographical skills to locate and plot volcanoes on maps and discuss their position in relation to the equator and the position of the hemispheres of north and south.

Our DT lessons this half term will link directly to our topic and the children will be using their knowledge of volcanoes to design, create and finally evaluate their own volcano shelter. They will work on this design project over 3 weeks and try to use their knowledge of volcanoes to design a successful shelter for people living within the eruption zones of active volcanoes.

In Computing, pupils will be continuing to use our school scheme ‘Purple Mash’ to develop their understanding of key computing skills, this half term they will be developing their understanding of how to use and create their own spreadsheets to collect data.  Alongside our scheme of work we will also be revisiting the importance of e-safety with the children, ensuring they understand the importance of using safe searches and appropriate websites when online.

Finally, in Science the children will be carrying out a variety of experiments. The children discussed what they wanted to learn and we voted on the ideas they liked the most. The children came up with some fantastic ideas from investigating lava lamps, to exploring which material conduct electricity the most. We are confident the children will thoroughly enjoy science this half-term as it has been directed by their interests entirely! We will also be enjoying Science Week in Week 3 of the half term where the children will be immersed in scientific enquiries all week – again planned from the children’s interests and scientific questions.

PE

Our PE day will be Monday afternoon and our unit of work this half term will be net games. All children will require a full ABPS PE kit (dark / navy shorts, with a plain white t-shirt). Should your child wish to bring some trainers to wear specifically for PE (as opposed to their normal indoor pumps) then they are more than welcome to do so as warmer whether may allow us some time outside during our lessons. For children with longer hair, may I request that it is tied back during PE lessons, and earrings are removed / taped over, purely for health and safety reasons.

General Information

Please be advised that your child will continue to need a pair of plain black pumps to change into when they arrive at school, this is to keep the carpets in our building and classroom as clean as we can.  Children that do not have these are at risk of getting hurt from chairs/other children’s feet when in the classroom and so we would like to thank you in advance for your help with this. If you could also make sure that all items of clothing that your child brings into school are labelled with both their first and last names to reduce the risk of lost items.

If you have any questions, queries or concerns that you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to come and see us – our door is always open.

Kind regards,

Miss Firth & Mrs Revis

07.02.19 – SMARTIE STATISTICS!

Today the children applied their understanding of bar charts by making their own … with Smarties! 

05.02.19 – Safer Internet Day

Today is Safer Internet Day and throughout school we spent time thinking about the uses of the internet and how we can remain safe whilst using the world wide web. The children participated in some thought provoking discussions in class and were very mature when discussing the dangers of the internet. They also knew lots of ways to keep themselves safe on the internet which is fantastic!

25.01.19 – Stay and Learn

Thank you to all the parents who came and supported our stay and learn session this morning! It was great to see so many parents getting involved and we hope it gave you an insight into what your child does on a daily basis in school!

14.01.2019 – Mad Scientist Assembly! 

Today we were lucky enough to be visited by a mad scientist who demonstrated how exciting and fun science can be to all the children in school. KS2 had an assembly where they observed the scientist conducting a variety of experiments the help of some willing volunteers! There will also be the opportunity to come to the mad science after school club so don’t miss out! 

08.01.2019 – Viking Launch! 

The children in Year 3 and 4 had a fabulous day today immersing themselves in our new topic – Vikings! The children took part in lot’s of different activities to excite and intrigue them whilst dressed up in some fabulous viking costumes!

Spring 1 Newsletter

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year and enjoyed spending quality time with loved ones over the festive period. Below is an outline of what the children will be learning during the next half term of this academic year.

Our whole-school topic this half term will be ‘London Calling’. In Year 3, the children will be focusing on the Vikings and how their invasions of the British Isles shaped the country both then and now.

English

In English this half term we will be writing to persuade, focusing on letters and arguments. Children will learn about the purpose of a persuasive text and develop the skill of persuasive writing, thinking carefully about word choice, structure and selecting information for the reader. In year 3 the children will continue to build on their understanding of grammatical features and learn new skills to enhance their writing. We will also continue to practice and develop our joined handwriting in weekly handwriting lessons.

Maths

In Maths this half-term, our focus will continue to be on multiplication and division, with the children revising and developing both their mental and written skills, allowing them to really master their understanding in these areas. In Year 3 the children will continue to develop their fundamental fluency in each area before being challenged with reasoning and problem solving tasks. The children will also begin to take part in daily calculation practice to help consolidate and apply their understanding of calculation skills taught previously, and throughout this academic year. It would be great if they could continue to practice their times tables at home with you too as this will support the children throughout the year in various units of work.

In History, children will be exploring the lives of the Vikings. They will discover where the Vikings came from, why they settled in Britain, how they lived and worked and identify the Viking Gods and their roles within Viking communities.

Our Art lessons this half term will link directly to our topic and focus on children creating three-dimensional sculptures. . The children will develop their understanding of what a sculpture is, explore different types of sculpture, and investigate materials that can be used within a sculpture. The children’s learning will allow them to design, make and evaluate their own 3D models of Viking faces.

In Computing, pupils will be continuing to use our school scheme ‘Purple Mash’ to develop their understanding of key computing skills.  Alongside our scheme of work we will also be revisiting the importance of e-safety with the children, ensuring they understand the importance of using safe searches and appropriate websites when online.

Finally, in Science our focus will be ‘Light’. We hope this topic will really engage the children as it will give lots of opportunities for practical investigations and experiments. The children will learn about the importance of light, how light is reflected and how shadows are formed. This unit will continue to promote the children’s questioning and enquiry into the world around us and allow them to explore science by setting up practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests.

PE

Our PE day will be Monday afternoon and our unit of work this half term will be dance. All children will require a full ABPS PE kit (dark / navy shorts, with a plain white t-shirt). Should your child wish to bring some trainers to wear specifically for PE (as opposed to their normal indoor pumps) then they are more than welcome to do so. For children with longer hair, may I request that it is tied back during PE lessons, and earrings are removed / taped over, purely for health and safety reasons.

General Information

Please be advised that your child will continue to need a pair of plain black pumps to change into when they arrive at school, this is to keep the carpets in our building and classroom as clean as we can, especially as we move into the wetter wintery days.  Children that do not have these are at risk of getting hurt from chairs/other children’s feet when in the classroom and so we would like to thank you in advance for your help with this. If you could also make sure that all items of clothing that your child brings into school are labelled with both their first and last names to reduce the risk of lost items.

If you have any questions, queries or concerns that you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to come and see us – our door is always open.

Kind regards,

Miss Firth & Mrs Revis

Mindfulness Day 2018 

On Thursday 22nd November, our whole school decided to take some time to think about mindfulness and how it can be achieved by everyone. The children took part in some fantastic activities during the day to achieve this including yoga, visualisation, tree planting and bookmark making. We’ve added some pictures so you can see what we got up to! 

Welcome to 2AW!

Welcome to 2AW’s blog. We are really excited to share all our fantastic learning with you. Please check our blog regularly to find out what we have been doing. If you would like to leave us a comment please scroll to the end of our blog and fill in the boxes. Thank you!

Schools Yorkshire Tour

Well done to the year 6s who were part of the Schools Yorkshire Biking Tour. 2AW made flags and enjoyed cheering and waving you off!

Curry

As part our our Indian topic this half term, 2AW made a vegetable curry.. Everybody tried at least a little bit and some people tried lots and lots! The overall vote was that it was delicious and we are expert chefs!

India Topic Launch Day

Today was lots of fun celebrating our new topic of India! We all dressed up in bright colours, designed mehndi patterns, bhangra danced and made Indian styled clothing and lanterns. I can’t wait to continue learning all about India in our topic!

 

No Glue Sticks!

In Science we were faced with a problem. There are no more glue sticks left in school. We had to come up with an investigation to see what we could use as a replacement. We tested, blue tac and water, paint, flour and water, condensed milk, mashed bananas and  vinegar sugar and water. I wonder which one will be the best when it dries!

Moving Vehicles

In DT we have been designing and making our own moving vehicle. We have been very creative with our designs and they are able to move!! Well done 2AW!

Tour De Yorkshire

In celebration of the Tour de Yorkshire arriving, we rode our bikes and scooters in the playground and made posters and flags to wave for the race after school!

Lotherton Wildlife World

Year 2 had lots of fun at Lotherton Wildlife World. We were able to show off our fabulous knowledge about animals and their habitats and we learned about the adaptations. Our favourite part was watching the penguins being fed!

Year 2 Summer 1 – Newsletter.

Welcome back! We hope you all enjoyed your Easter celebrations and are refreshed and ready for another term of learning. Below you can find out what Year 2 will be learning about this half term:

Topic: The school topic for this half term is entitled “The Lightbulb Moment”, with KS1 focussing on “Cars”. Our topic lessons will be split between History and DT.  In History, the children will be learning about the lives of Henry Ford, John Boyd Dunlop and Karl Benz and their significance. They will have the opportunity to design, build and evaluate their own moving vehicle. Thank you very much for all the boxes and bottles that have been brought in already.

Literacy: This half term in Literacy, we will be focussing on writing to inform and entertain. All of our learning will be based on our non-fiction book “Cars”. The children will build upon their writing skills to write a non-chronological report and an invention story.

Maths: In Maths this half term we will start by revisiting number and place value, before learning about capacity and position and direction. We will be continuing to practice times tables weekly, with stamps available for those who improve on their highest score. Just a reminder that every child has their own log in to Times Tables Rockstars, which can be used to help practise those tricky times tables. “Hit the Button” (https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button ) is an online game used regularly in class that the children love to play. It not only helps with times tables, but also number bonds, and it is important that the children can instantly recall these facts.

Science: Our topic for this half term is “Everyday Materials”.  The children will be investigating the suitability of everyday materials for different tasks.

PE: During our PE sessions we will focus on Tennis. Both class will have their PE day on a MONDAY. Please ensure that your child has a full PE kit (white polo shirt or tshirt, black or blue shorts and pumps) in school every week. We ask that children do not wear jewellery (earrings/watches) so if your child needs assistance, please remove these before school. We will hopefully be outside for the majority of lessons so please provide suitable clothing.

Other key messages:

• Children will need to bring their book bags each day, containing their planner, reading book and water bottle. Please ensure that these, along with all of your child’s other belongings, are clearly labelled so that they can be easily returned if mislaid.

• ‘Reading Champions’ will be continuing in school this term. Well done to those children who have been a reading champion so far, but we would love to see even more of you standing up in assembly every week!  We have also been running a competition in each class to encourage more children to read: if every member of the class reads at least once each week, there will be a short party during Golden Time on Friday afternoon. We’re really hoping that this term we will be able to have a party!
• Newsletters and learning updates can be found on the class blogs. Please take the time to have a look and comment!
• Homework will continue to be set weekly, comprising of one Literacy task and one Maths task. Homework will be set on a Wednesday and will need to be returned by the following Monday.
• Please see the PSHCE letter about our topic for this term. Any queries about this please see Mrs Oldroys, Mrs Allanson or Mr Cairns.

We are very excited about all the fantastic learning we have planned in Year Two. If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to ask!

Many thanks,

Miss Cowley, Miss Wilkinson, Mrs Thackray, Mrs Powell and Miss Watson

Science Week

Wow what a busy week it has been! Have a look at our scientific week! We have made volcanoes, done chromatography and  investigated electricity!

World Book Day

Third time lucky and World Book Day finally happened! You all looked great 2AW.

   

E-safety Day

Thank you to all the parents who came to visit us during stay and learn. We had lots of fun all day learning how to keep safe on the internet.

Exercise

01.02.17 Today we were investigating the importance of exercise. We learned that we need to exercise to keep fit and to develop stronger muscles. We did lots of different exercises to find out which one we found the hardest and the effects they had.

Chocolate Stories

Today in groups we have been planning our chocolate stories ready for our big write next week. We planned on a story board and then retold our stories orally o a friend. I can’t wait to read them!

Super Skippers

Well done to all our amazing skipper who traveled up to Brigshaw to compete in a competition. You did us all proud. Well done!

   

The Royal Visit!

Today Princess Anne came to Allerton Bywater to visit Samuel Valentines so 2AW walked down to watch. We waved our flags as we saw Princess Anne’s car arrive and her walked into the cafe. 2 children from KS1 were even lucky enough to speak to Her Royal Highness and give her some bunches of flowers from the school.

   

The Chocolate Touch

In Literacy we are focussing our work on the book ‘The Chocolate Touch’. The book is about a boy called John who visits a magical sweet shop. When John eats the piece of chocolate he bought earlier from the shop something mysterious happens to him.

When we came back from assembly our classroom had turned into our own year 2 sweet shop! The children were given 20p to spend in the shop. It was a hard decision to choose which sweets to buy!

 

We were lucky enough to have a visit from the shopkeeper Mr Arkwright who we were able to ask question our questions that we had written to. We were able to find out lots of information to help make our writing more exciting!

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate!

Our exciting topic this half term is Chocolate! 2AW have been busy learning about the process of how chocolate is made and most importantly have taken part in an exciting taste test! We had to try and guess which piece of milk chocolate was which.

Year 2 Spring 1 – Newsletter.

Welcome back! We hope you all thoroughly enjoyed the festive celebrations and are refreshed and ready for another term of learning. Below you can find out what Year 2 will be learning about this half term:

Topic: The school topic for this half term is entitled “Chocolate”. Our topic lessons will be split between History and DT.  In History, the children will be learning about the history of chocolate, how it is made and Fairtrade, as well as the similarities and difference in adverts for chocolate past and present.  In DT, the children will be designing and making their own packaging for a chocolate bar.

Literacy: This half term in Literacy, we will be focussing on writing to entertain. All of our learning will be based on the book “The Chocolate Touch” by Patrick Skene Catling. The children will be using a vast array of skills to write character and setting descriptions, before moving on to write their own chocolate-based story.

Maths: In Maths this half term we will be focussing on “Multiplication and Division”, with specific focus on the 2, 5, 10 and 3 times tables. Just a reminder that every child has their own log in to Times Tables Rockstars, which can be used to help practise those tricky times tables.

Science: Our topic for this half term is “Animals including Humans”.  The children will be learning that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults; finding out the basic needs of animals and humans; and learning about how important exercise, a balanced diet and hygiene are for humans.

PE: During our PE sessions we will focus on Multiskills. Both class will have their PE day on a MONDAY. Please ensure that your child has a full PE kit (white polo shirt or tshirt, black or blue shorts and pumps) in school every week. We ask that children do not wear jewellery (earrings/watches) so if your child needs assistance, please remove these before school.

Other key messages:

• Children will need to bring their book bags each day, containing their planner, reading book and water bottle. Please ensure that these, along with all of your child’s other belongings, are clearly labelled so that they can be easily returned if mislaid.
• ‘Reading Champions’ will be continuing in school this term. Well done to those children who have been a reading champion so far, but we would love to see even more of you standing up in assembly every week!  To be in with a chance of winning, we ask that children read at home every night, even if it is only a couple of pages of their school book, and that parents/guardians/older siblings sign planners accordingly. As well as reading their school books, the Year 2 team love to hear that children have been reading their own books – do let us know if your child has a particular favourite that we can discuss with them!

• Newsletters and learning updates can be found on the class blogs. Please take the time to have a look and comment!
• Homework will begin next week, comprising of one Literacy task and one Maths task. Homework will be set on a Wednesday and will need to be returned by the following Monday.

We are very excited about all the fantastic learning we have planned in Year Two. If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to ask!

Many thanks,

Miss Cowley, Miss Wilkinson, Mrs Thackray, Mrs Powell and Miss Watson

Christmas

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! 

David Hockney

Linked to our topic of ‘The Countryside’ 2AW have been looking at David Hockney’s landscape artwork. We used this to inspire our own work to create a collage based on one of his paintings.

Science

In Science we have been learning all about everyday materials and their uses. We have been investigating if the shape of objects can be changed and also which material would be best to help Santa mop up his glass of spilt milk!

   

Aladdin!

We all had such a great time at the pantomime. All the children had big smiles on their faces and joined in (oh yes they did!!!).

    

Road Safety

In preparation for  our big write on Thursday we went into the hall to orally rehearse our ideas. We created freeze frames to help us remember what to include in each section.

Let’s Get spotty

Thank you 2AW for dressing up for Children in Need. We raised lots of money and you all looked great!

 Field Skills!

In Topic we took our lesson down to the woods. We wet on a scavenger hunt, created art pictures with leaves and made leaf and tree rubbings. 

Hedgehog Houses

13.11.17 Today we made some awesome hedgehog homes at the bottom of the field. We used a big cardboard box and covered it in a plastic bag and then camouflaged it in leaves. Have a look at our end products!

  

Den Making!

06.11.17 This morning year 2 went on a walk down the frosty field to the woods. In the woods we explored the dens that had already been made and then we made our own. Tomorrow we are going to write a set of instructions for how to make our amazing den!

The Day of the Barrage Balloon

As part of our literacy work 2AW and 2AC took part in some drama in the hall ready for our big write. We created freeze frames for the main events in our diary entry. Have a look at our fabulous acting!

  

Skipping

18.10.17 2AW were lucky enough to have a skipping morning. We learnt how to speed bounce, hop and even swing our skipping from side to side. Why not ask us to show you our skills!

Autumn Walk

12.10.17 This afternoon 2AW went on an Autumn walk to collect leaves from around school. We used our tree identification sheets to name the trees our leaves came from.

    

Harvest Festival

11.10.17 Well done to 2AW for their beautiful singing in church today and a extra big well done to our three readers who were so brave and confident when reading their amazing acrostic poems!

    

Rugby Grand Final!

06.10.17 To celebrate Castleford Tigers and Leeds Rhinos making it to the final on Saturday all the children came to school in their Rugby kit or colours. In Maths we created tally charts and pictograms to represent who we thought would win the final! Good luck to both teams!!

Planting!

28.09.17 As part of our science topic of Helping Plants Grow well, we have set up an investigation. We are investigating what plants need to grow. We have planted 4 flowers, one with water, warmth and sunlight, one with no water, one with no sunlight and one with no warmth. We will be looking back at our plants in a couple of weeks time. I wonder what our results will be. What do you think?

Comparing Crocodiles 

22.09.17 We have made our own comparing crocodiles to help us to compare objects and numbers. We have been using the phrases ‘Greater than’ and ‘Less than’. Why not ask us about it!

WW2

Our topic this half term is War and Peace. 2AW have been lucky enough to explore lots of old artefacts to understand what life would have been like during WW2 and how different it was to now. We also had lots of fun on our topic launch day where we sang, drew, decoded morse code message and had a chance to do some evacuee role play!

     

Marvelous Maths

We have been learning all about place value of numbers this week and have been investigating all the different ways we can make our given number. We used numicon, counters, dienes rods, money and dominoes! 

Welcome to 1GH!

Welcome to 1GH’s blog. We are really excited to share all our learning with you. Please check our blog regularly to find out what we have been doing. If you would like to leave us a comment please scroll to the end of our blog and fill in the boxes. Thank you!

Banana Bread

28.06.17

Measurements 

Over the next few weeks we will be investigating different forms of measurements, including weight and capacity. 

Sunflower

19.06.17 Today we planted sunflower seeds! We can’t wait to watch them grow over the next few weeks.

Money money money

16.06.17 All this week we have been working with money, learning it’s value, working out change and solving money problems.

Welcome back

Hope you had a fab holiday!

Clay

24.05.17 Linking to our Temple Newsam trip we have designed and made clay pots. We looked at African designs and patterns to help us decide what we wanted to put onto our pots. The children did a fantastic job!

Does it float?

22.05.17 Today we did an experiement where we discovered which materials sank and which floated.

Newpaper Article

16.05.17 In literacy we are working toward writing a newspaper article about Hansel and Gretel. To get to know the story we got into groups and did some drama, then performing to the rest of the class. I think we have some future film stars in 1GH!

Temple Newsam

10.05.17 What a great day touring the house at Temple Newsam, sketching and making animal heads out of clay. We were also so lucky that the weather was good, meaning we could eat our lunch outside!

Traditional tales

09.05.17 For the previous two weeks we have read the stories, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. We have discussed the features of traditional tales and now the children have created their own characters and setting, ready to write a traditional tale on Friday.

Recapping our number bonds

5.5.17 This week we have recapped our number bonds to 10 and 20. We received letters from local farmers who were struggling to sort their sheep into two fields. The children had to arrange sheep in the fields and write down all the different ways this could be done to help the farmers.

Multi-skills at Brigshaw

A huge well done to the children that took part in the multi-skills competition at Brigshaw. You impressed us with your determination, skill and attitude. Best of all, we came 2nd out of 7 schools!

Florence Nightingale

21.4.17 Today was the launch of our brand new topic, where we will be learning all about Florence Nightingale. As part of our launch day the children made lamps, created clothes out of paper, created some art work and learnt some first aid. In my session each child learnt how to put someone into the recovery position and how to put on a sling.

Easter

I hope you all have a brilliant Easter half term, we had great fun today with an Easter egg hunt and making Easter baskets.

52 eggs to find!!

The Big Pedal

31.3.17 For two weeks we were set the challenge of riding our bikes or scooter to school every day. As a class we did brilliantly and got lots of points, today we were able to go on our bikes and scooters on the playground. 

Making animal houses

30/3/17 As part of our topic and DT this half term we have made bird feeders and then created an animal house for a hedgehog.

Red Nose Day

Thank you to all your efforts on red nose day!

We were lucky enough to sit out in the sun and have a tea party, eating the cakes we made.

 

Weather reports

20.03.17 In science our topic is seasonal changes, we have been working on how the weather changes across the seasons. Today we created a weather report for Leeds. Great fun!

It’s Science Week!

15.03.17 Today we created potions with oil, water and food colouring. Ask your child what happened when we put the oil in the water, then what happened when we added drops of food colouring slowly.

13.03.17 Today we attempted to make slime, unfortunately the slime didn’t quite work, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have fun trying! This also meant we could evaluate what went wrong.

Bird Feeders

09.03.17 As part of our DT topic this half term we have been looking at animals, today we made bird feeders. We mixed lard with seeds, cheese and nuts to make a delicious meal for the birds in our garden. Putting our hands in the mixture created some funny faces! YUCK!

 

World Book Day

02.03.17 Fantastic day with fantastic costumes! Well done everyone for brilliant efforts.

Exploring

01.03.17 This half term we are learning about David Attenborough, today we set out to be explorers like him, completing a treasure hunt outside!

Measuring

10.02.17 All this week we have been looking at how to measure length and height. We used rulers to measure and help us order from shortest to longest. I also challenged all the children to work in silence and get themselves into height order!

The Deep

01.02.17 What a FANTASTIC day! We looked around all the different tanks and had a workshop about the oceans, I am so proud of all the children, they showed the staff how brilliant they are.

Recapping place value

27.01.17  For the past two weeks the children have been recapping place value, we have been representing numbers in different ways, including 10 blocks and 10 frames, we have also been solving 1 more and 1 less problems.

Animals including humans

We were so lucky to have this manikin brought in for us, by one of the parents,  to look at all the different parts of the human body!

Coach Clayton

13.01.17 We are so lucky to have the amazing Coach Clayton come to do our P.E sessions on a Thursday! The children love all his different activities! 

Atlases

13.01.17 Our topic is all about the 5 oceans, this week we looked in the atlases to see what we could discover, we found the 5 different ocean names and labelled them on a map!

Time

06.01.17 This week we have been learning to tell the time to o’clock and to half past. Today we made our own clocks so we could check that we knew different times.

Pirate Day

05.01.17 AHOY!! What an amazing pirate topic launch day! Filled with fun activities linking to our under the sea and ocean topic. 

Science

03.1.17 This half term in science we are concentrating on ‘Animals including Humans’. Today we named all the different body parts.

Welcome back! Hope you had a fantastic Christmas and New Year!

Christmas Jumper Day

16.12.16 What a brilliant final day of term, everyone looked fab in a Christmas jumper, and then in the afternoon we had the staff pantomime!

Party Day

Look at our amazing crowns, we made them ready to dance and play games!

Performance

Well done to all the children in the nativity, you were fantastic and should be very proud of yourselves. 

DT

12.12.15 This half term we have been looking at healthy eating and where our food comes from. We finished the topic by making a healthy vegetable soup and then a non-healthy snack, gingerbread. 

Christmas Fair

2.12.15 Thank you everyone who came to support us at the fair! 1GH had loads of fun making their frames and myself and Miss Harrison had lots of fun putting glitter tattoos on everyone!

Number bonds to 20

30.11.16 We have recapped our number bonds to 10 and 20 this week, we played a brilliant matching game, which the children loved. Ask your child if they know all their number bonds to 10, then to 20.

Pantomime Time

29.11.16  What a fantastic day! As always you made me proud, brilliantly behaved and fun was had by all.

Stay and Learn

22.11.16 Another fantastic stay and learn, this time focusing on literacy and gathering adjectives.

Comic Relief

18.11.16 Thank you to everyone who donated! 

Anti-Bullying Day

17.11.16 Today was Anti-Bullying Day, for the morning we mixed up with Year 2and completed fun activities like making friendship bracelets and drama.

Super subtraction

15.11.16 In numeracy we have recapped adding and subtracting this week. These two super stars impressed me so much with the subtraction today that I had to take them to see Mr Cairns, they had even completed missing number problems! So proud!

The Three little Pigs

15.11.16  Today is our last day of looking at the story before the big write tomorrow, today we spoke through the story and added lots of detail. We used a large story map to help us ‘walk through’ the story.

Sorting Food

15.11.16 Today we were looking at where food comes from, for example milk comes from a cow. The children had to match up the pictures, they were brilliant at this. They have also been creating healthy plates and meals.

Acting

09.11.16 Today we acted out The Three Little Pigs, we did an amazing job! 

” Little pig, little pig, let me come in!”

“Not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin, I won’t let you in!”

Topic Launch Day

02.11.16 What a fantastic day! Not only did we all look amazing we all enjoyed a fabulous day taking part in Victorian activities. We did a silhouette drawing, created Queen Victoria’s dress out of paper, experienced a Victorian classroom, made Victoria sponge cake and played Victorian games.

Feeling Adjectives

01.11.16   In literacy we are reading the story of the Three Little Pigs, today we looked carefully at some of the pictures and thought how the different characters must be feeling. As a group we wrote these words down and created a brilliant word bank ready to use later in the week. 

Materials

31.10.16   This half term our science topic will be Everyday Materials. Today the children went on a learning walk to see what materials they could see around school and then they sorted different materials on the interactive whiteboard.

 

Welcome back to Autumn 2

31.10.16      I hope you all had a wonder half term filled with fun!

Church

What a wonderful Harvest service at church. Year 1 were amazing singers and I am incredibly proud of the three boys who stood up and read a poem, they were brilliant!

 

Number Bonds

14.10.16 This week we have been concentrating on number bonds to 10 and 20. This is something the children should be able to recall instantly, for example 2 and 8, 7 and 3, 5 and 5. 

Classifying Trees

10.10.16  This afternoon we went outside and collected all different types of leaves that we found on the ground. Then we identified what tree the leaves had come from and then if they were evergreen or deciduous.   

Stay and Learn

04.10.16  Thank you to all the adults that came to stay and learn today, we had a lovely morning exploring maths activities.

Art

03.10.16 During art we have been experimenting with tone. Look at the amazing job these three girls did, they used tome to create wonderful fruit pictures. 

Wild Flowers

03.10.16 Today we created a tally chart to see what the most common wild plant we have on our school grounds. 

Our first full class photo

Mr Cairns came round to take a photo of us right at the start of the school year, I wonder how grown up we will look if we took one at the end of the year. 

Adding

27.09.16 Today we have been adding using two numbers we got by rolling a dice, we then had to represent our sum pictorially and write the sum underneath. We will continue to add all week, including adding using a number line and solving addition reasoning problems.

Counting in twos

23.09.16 This week we have been concentrating on counting in twos in maths, we used objects and songs to help us, I was very proud of our learning. We also moved onto answering counting in twos worded problems where the children had to prove why an answer was true or false.

Plants

Our science topic is helping plants grow well, we have done lots of interesting things, including a plant hunt and planting our own seeds. We decided to conduct an experiment, seeing what happens to plants put in different places, or not giving them something they need to grow. We put one plant in the dark, one in the fridge, we are not giving one water, and our final one we are giving everything it needs to grow. I wonder what will happen!

 

Home School Agreements

Please return the Home School Agreements so I can put lots of amazing pictures of us all up for you to see!

First few weeks 

20.09.16 Thank you to all the children for an amazing first few weeks in 1GH. We have already completed lots of fantastic work! This includes a recount of our summer holidays, recapping and consolidating our numbers to 20, using the terms more than, less than and equal to, representing numbers in different ways, reading and writing numerals in words and counting in twos. Not only all this amazing maths and literacy work but also science where we have started our plant experiment, finding out what conditions to plants need to grow the best.

 

Golden Day 2016

21.07.16 We’ve been busy bees today! F2H were lucky enough to have African drumming lessons, p.e with Coach Clayton, dance lessons with Sargent Sadie and watch a film with popcorn!

A lovely week…

07.07.16 We have had a lovely week in F2H. In literacy we have been talking about our favourite part of our year in F2H then writing it for our reports.  In maths we have been talking about sharing,  we had a pretend picnic and shared out the food equally.

Sports Day

22.06.16 Well done to everyone who took part in sports day. It was a fantastic day and F2H did really well! 1st place for effort!

Football Week

16.06.16 This week we have been getting ready for the England match. The children have been trying out lots of different football activities such as scoring goals, dribbling footballs, designing kits and making flags.

 

 Flamingo Land 2016

10.06.16 WOW! F2 had a fantastic time at Flamingo Land. The children saw animals from all around the world, held two rain forest animals, saw the sea lion show, had a picnic and had an ice lolly! A big thank you to all the contributions from parents to make this trip possible. 

  

  

Stay and learn

24.05.16 Thank you to all the adults who attended stay and learn. We hope you enjoyed working in our classroom and finding out about what we have been learning. 

Our trip to Samuel Valentines

19.05.16 Yesterday we went on our trip to Samuel Valentines. All the children loved being able to buy some juice and a bun. On the walk down to the cafe we listened to the sounds of the village, looked carefully to see if we could find any animals and loved smelling freshly cooked food from the shops on the way. Thank you to all the adults that bought cakes and donated money to make this trip possible. 

Handwriting practice

17.05.16 Today we have been practicing our letters and numbers. Miss Harrison is very impressed with how neat our work is!

 Holding the chicks

13.05.16 F2H loved holding the chicks today. We all agreed that they are very cute!

I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!

12.05.16 The children had lots of fun reading the story of the three little pigs this week. After we read the story, we had a go at building the houses and re-writing the story.

Halving jam sandwiches!

12.05.16 This week we have been learning about halving! To practice what we have learnt we have been making jam sandwiches, halving them and then of course eating them!

Writing challenge

28.04.16 After learning about money last week the children have been doing a shopping writing challenge! They have been writing sentences about what they would like to buy from a café. We have had some lovely sentences with lots of children wanting juice and biscuits

  

Happy 90th Birthday Queen Elizabeth!

Marvellous Money!

21.04.16 The children have been learning about money in maths this week. They have worked very hard and have been using what they have learnt in our new garden centre. Keep up the hard work F2H!

Yoga

01.04.16 Today as a special treat we did some yoga with Mrs Hartley! We really enjoyed it and listened very carefully. 

Capacity

01.04.16 F2H have worked so hard this week. In maths we have been learning about capacity and we have lots of fun using measuring containers and sand!

Music with Miss Duff

30.03.16 In F2H we are so lucky because every Wednesday we do half an hour of music with Hannah. This week we practiced some songs and had a go with the instruments.

Easter

24.03.16 We have had a lovely week getting ready for Easter. We made Easter cards for our friends and adults, went on an Easter egg hunt, designed our own Easter eggs and talked about estimating!

Planting sunflowers

17.03.16 We have had so much fun this week planting our sunflowers! The children learnt all about how to look after plants and what they need to grow. Today, the children are taking home their planted sunflowers seeds, we look forward to hearing about how they are doing.