Year 2 artists

This week saw the culmination of our Newbridge 50 work on Beautiful Bath. Last Thursday Jo Hargreaves, a local artist who has just had an exhibition of her paintings of Bath, came to talk to the children about her life as an artist and show them examples of her work. The children thoroughly enjoyed this and asked some insightful questions. 

The children were able to take some of Jo's ideas and suggestions and put them into their own work on famous Bath landmarks. We're sure you'll agree that the children's finished work that went into the Year 2 art exhibition was of an amazing standard. Many thanks to everyone who came.

On Friday Year 2 walked to the Royal Crescent to discover more about it's history. We had an interesting and enjoyable morning - please ask your child all about it. 

We can't believe that the end of term is almost here. Please can you make sure that you take your child's PE kit, wellies and any inhalers home.

It has been a fantastic year, the children have worked hard and developed in so many ways. It has been a pleasure to work with them. Thanks for all your support, it's much appreciated. Have a fantastic summer break and do come and visit us next year when you're in the Upper School.  

Artists in residence

Over the last few weeks we have been focusing on “Beautiful Bath” and our Newbridge 50 challenge of creating an art exhibition. The children have been working hard to produce beautiful drawings of Bath landmarks. Tomorrow we will be visited by a local artist, Jo Hargreaves, who will be showing the children some of her artwork and discussing her life as an artist with them. This work will culminate next Tuesday afternoon when the Year 2 children will be holding an exhibition of their work in the Lower School Hall. Please look in book bags on Friday as your child will be bringing home an invitation to this event.

Hopefully you will have received a Parent Mail asking for help with our trip on Friday. Please let us know if you are available to help so that the trip can go ahead as planned. Many thanks.

Please note that today is the final day we will be changing books. From Friday we will be collecting books and link books once your child has finished their current one. Please remember that the school library is open most days after school and books can be borrowed over the Summer holidays. BANES libraries are taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge. Here is a link to the national website: http://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ . The school’s “Remarkable Readers” website is a great source of information and activities to support reading. You can access this via a link on the school website.

On Monday afternoon the children will be visiting their new classroom and teacher. Please collect children as normal at the end of the day.

As next week is the last week of term there will be no spellings or maths homework sent home this week. Thank you for your support with these activities over the year.

Beautiful Bath!

We have had an exciting couple of weeks in Year 2. Last week the children were set the challenge of identifying some parts of the school from some very tricky, unusual photographs. The children worked as a team to decide what they thought their photograph was of and then marked its location on a plan of the school. They then used their plan to navigate to their location where they found a mysterious envelope. When we got back together we opened the envelopes to find out what our next ‘Newbridge 50’ is going to be. We found lots of photographs of landmarks in Bath. The children will spend the next few weeks learning all about “Beautiful Bath” and have started creating lots of art based around the buildings of Bath. We will be inviting you to come and see the finished pieces in our "Year 2 Art Gallery". More details to follow!

We have also been busy becoming programmers. The children had lots of fun following some instructions to draw a picture of a monster. They learnt that instructions have to be very clear otherwise the monster doesn’t look the same as the original. The children also practised giving their friends instructions to move from one point to another on the playground. They then had a go at writing their own code using the iPads to move robots. We used the BeeBot and ALEX apps and had lots of fun! The children have learnt some new computing vocabulary while doing this; ask them if they can tell you what an algorithm or debugging is.

Please remember to return trip letters for our walk to The Royal Crescent by this Friday (3^rd July). If you are available to help please see your child’s class teacher.

This week sees the final Forest School session of the year for 2R. Even though it is hot the children will still need to have long sleeved tops and trousers. The children (and teachers) have had an amazing time exploring nature and have learnt so much over the course of the year. I’m sure you will agree that it has been an enriching experience for the children and we want to say a huge thank you to Sarah Webb and all the volunteers who have helped make it such a great experience.

Invasion Week

 

 

Invasion week was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to get to know the Upper School and our buddies. We're sure your child has already told you all about it but here are some photos you might like to look at together.

For your P.E. Home Challenge this week, with a partner play 'Follow my Leader', passing the ball ropund different body parts.

Welcome back!

Welcome back to term 6 - we can't believe how quickly the year is going.

This week has been 'Invasion Week', a week of special activities designed to familiarise the children with the KS2 building and facilities, as well as give them lots of opportunities to get to know their Y5 buddies.

On Monday the children had a tour of the upper school and also had their playtime there. We spent some time working in the Y6 classrooms whilst Y6 are away at the Isle of Wight.

On Tuesday the children  worked with their buddies to design and make a shield. The shield had to have symbols related to themselves and their buddies. It was a pleasure to see the children working so well together, there was great team work and co-operation.

On Wednesday afternoon the children did some sketching in and around the Upper School building.

We have more planned for the rest of the week but don't want to spoil the surprise now!

Thank you to everyone who has remembered to bring their PE kit back to school. Please ensure all kit is in by the end of the week if you haven't already done so.

Forest School for 2R starts this week, Thursday 4th June. The children will continue to need long sleeved tops and long trousers even in fine weather as there are plenty of nettles and thorns around.

There is no maths homework this week due to Invasion Week, however we will send spellings home this Friday.

Another busy term

As we come to the end of another busy term we just wanted to congratulate the children for all the effort they have made and thank you for your continued support.

On Friday to celebrate the end of our topic we will be having some special visitors. We don't want to spoil the surprise now so please ask your child about them when you see them on Friday.

As it is a holiday next week, there will be no spellings or maths homework given out this week so the children can enjoy a well-earned break.

The first week back is Invasion Week which is an opportunity for the children to get to know more about life in KS2. Drop off and pick up arrangements will be as normal.

  

We hope you have a great holiday....fingers crossed for sunshine!

What happens at night?

Continuing with our topic of night time the children worked together to use the iPads to create night time themed collages. First the children used the camera on the iPad to take a selection of images. Then they used an app called pic collage to manipulate the images, adding background and text. We saw some amazing teamwork. The children enjoyed using the iPads and were proud of their finished results! 

We have begun to read the Roald Dahl story - The Twits. We hope never to meet a couple as disgusting as they are! The children worked across Year 2 to complete a choice of art, craft and creative activities linked to The Twits. The children enjoyed the opportunity to work with friends from the opposite class.

PE Home Challenge - Try moving quickly with a friend with your inside knee lifting up together with your opposite arm. Can you get faster as you become more confident?

Forest School Fun

The children have continued to work hard and enjoy their learning.

We have spent time investigating our topic question - What happens at night? We have used books, the computers and Ipads to research and find answers to our questions.

This week was Skip for Life week. Both Y2 classes spent time learning how to skip forwards and backwards. The children were very enthusiastic. Hopefully they will be able to practise their new skills at playtimes.

It has been brilliant to watch the children at Forest School, working co-operatively in teams. Last week we made damper bread. Ask your child to tell you all about it.

Our focus in PE over the last 2 weeks has dynamic balance. Try these Home Challenges - Standing side by side with a friend try walking with your inside foot touching. Now try moving slowly with a friend with your inside knee moving at the same time. Have fun!

Welcome back

We hope you have had an enjoyable Easter break. 

Please note the SATs information session will be held this afternoon (Monday 13th April) at 2.45pm in the Lower School Hall. We hope many of you will be able to attend but don't worry if you can't, we will send all the information home in your child's book bag later this week.

The Forest School dates for Term 5 are:

2R

Thursday 16^th April

Thursday 30^th April

Thursday 14^th May

Even though the weather is getting warmer please ensure your child continues to come to school with full forest school kit. This should include a complete change of clothes, waterproof coat and trousers, long sleeve top and appropriate footwear.

Many thanks for your continuing support.

This week in numeracy we have been concentrating on solving multiplication word problems. We have talked about how we can draw pictures and arrays to help solve problems even if we don’t have a hundred square. The children have enjoyed the challenge. Please could you continue to practise counting in 2s, 5s and 10s at home as this will support the children’s learning. How high can you count?

In literacy we have begun to plan our non-chronological reports about Native Americans. We will be writing them next week so keep fact hunting for any interesting information that could be included!

In science this week the children are thinking about the Great Plains habitat and the wildlife that lives there. We will be looking at how Native Americans were able to track this wildlife by identifying and following their footprints and creating our own footprint identification charts.

This week’s PE home challenge is to try to add tuck jumps to your skipping routine.

Thank you to everyone for returning the American Museum trip forms, the children are really looking forward to it. We still need another parent helper to join 2R on Thursday 26^th March. Please let Ms Rhodes know if you are available to help. 

I am sure you will agree that 2R performed brilliantly in their assembly yesterday. The children spoke clearly and confidently and I am really proud of them, as I’m sure you are too. Well done 2R!

In literacy this week we read the Native American story of ‘The Fox and the Boastful Brave.’ The children wrote descriptions of the main characters. Ask your child to retell the story and describe the characters to you. They might even tell you the moral of the story!

Over the next few weeks in science we will continue to learn about living things and their habitats. We will be looking at a range of habitats and thinking about special features that animals have that mean they are suited to live there. If you have any books or posters linked to this we would love to see them. Can you find any micro-habitats in your garden or local area?

In PE we have continued to focus on dynamic balance to agility. This week’s home challenge is to try and create a skipping routine that involves turning around. Remember to try going in both directions.

This week we have been completing some assessment activities in class. As a result there will be no spellings or maths homework this week. New maths and spellings will be sent home next Friday 20^th March.

Reminder: Please remember to return your American Museum trip permission slips and contributions by Friday 13^th March. Thank you.

World Book Day 2015

We've had a brilliant day today. Thanks for all your creativity and hard work.

Tipis and Headdresses

This week we have continued to base our literacy work on our topic 'Who Lives Here' focusing on  Native Americans. We have been identifying the features of non-chronological reports and deciding on which features help us locate information quickly. We have continued to learn lots of interesting information about our topic which will be very useful when we come to write our own non-chronological reports.

In numeracy we have been learning how to use a ruler to measure and draw in cms. This weeks homework will use these skills. Please let us know if you need to borrow a ruler.

In art and design the children have made tiny tipis and headdresses. Did you know that each feather and its colour or shape signifies an act of bravery in battle? Ask your child all about it.

We are all very excited about World Book Day tomorrow. The teachers have their costumes planned......what about you?

Just a quick reminder that there is no forest school for 2R tomorrow - Thursday 5th March - due to World Book day. However we will have a session on Monday 9th instead.

Welcome to Term 4

Welcome back everyone. We can’t believe that we’re half way through the year already!

Over the next few weeks we will be basing lots of our learning around the topic Who Lives Here?

In science this week we are looking at different environments, such as forests and jungles and the plant and animal life that live in them. This has linked to our learning in literacy as we are learning about non-fiction texts focusing on The Plains area of North America. The children have enjoyed researching this topic through books, websites and Google Images on the IPads. We will be learning about The Plains and its inhabitants in more depth over the weeks to come.

In PE this week our focus is dynamic balances. The Home Challenge this week is to try lots of different jumps with a skipping rope. Try on 1 foot, 2 feet and 1 foot to 2 feet.

In art/design we will be making tiny tipis and decorating them with Native American patterns and symbols.

This week’s forest school is for 2OB and next week it will be 2R.

Also just a reminder to let you know that PPA has now changed to Wednesday morning. The year group will be divided into 3 groups so as well as working with Mr Seaborne and Mrs Houston the children will also be having art or drama with Mr Baigent. 

My treasure

This week our learning has focused on our topic work - My treasure. 

At the start of the week the children had a challenge linked to their learning in science. Can you build a pirate ship that will float on water? They worked co-operatively in teams and had to consider the properties of different materials before deciding on which materials to use. Although each boat floated initially, the boats had to remain afloat overnight. We had some interesting results and discussions the following morning. Please ask your child if their boat floated and why. 

Our Newbridge 50 theme was to design and make a treasure box. Throughout the term the children have been exploring various treasure boxes and their contents.The children are making their own treasure box to share with the rest of the class and explain what special treasure will go inside and why.

The children will also be making their own treasure maps. Let's hope X really does mark the spot!

As it's the last week of term we will not be sending spellings or maths homework home.We will however give children the opportunity to change their reading book on Thursday so that you have a new book to share over the holiday.

Have an enjoyable week and thank you for your continued support.

Who's that trip trapping over my bridge...?

This week we have continued our focus on traditional stories in Literacy. We have been busy reading, retelling and innovating the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

In maths we have been investigating weight. The children have been using balances to find the weight of objects. First we used non-standard measures such as cubes then we introduced standard measures.

In PE the children have started to practise and develop their balancing skills focusing on static balances. The home challenge this week is to stand on one leg and make up a clapping rhyme with someone else. Remember to try on both legs. How long can you balance for?

Next week we will be focusing on our Newbridge 50 topic of ‘My Treasure.’ Please continue to bring in any special books or boxes of treasure. To help support the children’s learning we would appreciate the following materials:

- Junk modelling materials

- Small and medium boxes

- Plastic trays

Please send any items into school by Monday 9th February

Thank you!

Fairy tales and greedy gobblers

This week in numeracy the children have been learning about right angles and time. On Monday we all made a ‘Greedy Gobbler’. Greedy Gobblers love eating right angles so the children used their Greedy Gobbler to investigate angles on both 2D and 3D shapes.

Our focus in maths for the next few days will be to learn about half past, quarter past and quarter to. We are learning this on analogue clocks first and then will move on to digital. Try to encourage your child to practise their time telling skills at home.

In literacy we have been learning about narrative through fairy stories and traditional tales. We have learnt about speech marks and practised using them in our writing. We will move on to comparing different versions of the same story before writing our own innovated versions of The Three Little Pigs.

The home challenge for PE this week is to practise hopping on your weaker leg. You might want to try playing hopscotch this way.

The children are continuing to enjoy forest school. Thank you for ensuring they are well wrapped up in this cold weather. Below is a link to the Woodland trust website and some information on the Radio 2 500 words competition. This links well with our learning in Forest School so might be something your child may like to take part in.

http://links.woodlandtrust.mkt4889.com/servlet/MailView?ms=NDc4NzM3NjkS1&r=MTE4MDM1MjczMTY4S0&j=NjAzMjI5ODU4S0&mt=1&rt=0

It's been another busy week in Year 2. 

Lots of children have been bringing in their 'treasures' from home and have been talking with great enthusiasm about them. We have learnt so much from them so thank you and keep them coming!

In Literacy this week the children have continued to write their pirate adventure stories. We have had a go at including speech in our work and have also started to edit and improve our learning so it is ready for a final draft that will be shared with Year 3.

In numeracy we have been busy sharing and have learnt that sharing is called division. The children have explored different division sentences and have started to come up with some rules for numbers that can and cannot be shared out equally.

We have continued to enjoy exploring floor patterns in PE. This week's home challenge is to find out how to play hopscotch and learn how to play with somebody. You could draw your own hopscotch court using chalk (ask a grown up first!) You could also practise this on the school playground at playtime.

Sadly next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be Miss Francis's last days with us. She will be missed by both the children and the Year 2 Team.

X doesn't always mark the spot...

This week, inspired by a visit from Year 3, the children have been busy becoming adventure story authors. The Year 3 children visited us in our classroom and read adventure stories they had written to us. Year 2 were able to ask them questions about how they planned and wrote their stories. The children then planned their own pirate adventure stories and have begun to write them. When we finish them next week we will go and visit Year 3 to read our stories to them.

In numeracy we have been investigating multiplication. The children have learnt that the 'x' symbol means 'lots of' so 5x3 means there are 5 'lots of' 3. We have learnt how to solve multiplication problems using a range of apparatus and strategies such as repeated addition and have discovered some interesting patterns in number.

The children have continued to enjoy activities from our new P.E. scheme of work. This week we focused on skipping, sidesteps and pivots. This week's home challenge is to try performing footwork patterns in time with a friend or family member. See if you can go forwards and backwards.

Next week we will be starting to learn about special books in R.E. If your child has a book that is special to them we would love to see it and find out why it is special to them. Please ensure any books are clearly labelled with your child's name and class.

As it's likely to be very cold in Forest School over the next few weeks, please ensure that your child comes with plenty of layers of warm clothing, including warm socks, hats, gloves and scarves. 

Happy New Year - welcome back!

Welcome back. We hope you all had an amazing Christmas and New Year. Thank you again for all the lovely Christmas cards, presents and wishes.

This term our topic is linked to our Newbridge 50 theme of 'My Treasure'. To spark the children's enthusiasm on Tuesday we had a treasure hunt.

First we discovered hidden treasure in the wet and windy pirate ship in the playground.

 We took the treasure chest back to the classroom to look inside.

 To our amazement there was a letter from Captain Blackbeard of Bristol as well as some pirate treasures. The letter asked us to hunt for other treasure boxes and contained some clues as well as a treasure map.

We discovered lots of treasure in Blackbeard's chest.

Blackbeard gave us some helpful clues.

We learnt that treasure comes in all shapes and forms!

On Monday the teachers were busy having a PE INSET day. As you will see on our curriculum overview on the school website we have begun to implement a new PE Scheme of Work. To compliment the new SOW we will put a quick and easy Home Challenge on the blog. Here is this week's challenge.......

Can you teach someone in your family the Rock, Paper, Scissors game we learnt in PE this week? 

You should have all received a ParentMail detailing the dates for forest school. Next week, Thursday 15th January is 2R's first session of the year.