Another week has come and gone... and boy has it been a full week!

In Class 2, we are really enjoying our Literacy lesson as we write our class story about the runaway Snowman cookie. We have looked at past tense of regular verbs and been conscious of using them in our stories. We have also revisited our 2A sentences and used them (with some similies) to describe our main characters. In Maths, this week has been all about the tens and ones. We have been using a lot of deins to help us add and subtract numbers.

In Science, we conducted our first enquiry into the nature of some everyday materials and tested them for use in building a bridge. In Computing, we learned about algorithms and how we can decompose them to help us figure out what they do. In Geography, we have looked at the coldest places and located the North and South Pole. We also reminded ourselves of the 7 continents by singing along to the 7 continents song. If you would like to have a go, here is the YouTube link to the song:
https://youtu.be/KiXjGFOzY3c?si=JX2LKNtxTnuQjx3U

We have also started practicing our Nativity! Please check book bags to see if your child has a script to learn. I will also be posting the class song on Showbie soon.

What a jam-packed first week back it has been!

First of all, thank you everyone who made time to join us for our belated Harvest Festival performance at the Village Hall today. It was so good to see so many of you and to watch the children performing to all of you. Here is Class 2 again with their special autumn leaves they created in Art class for their special poem about Autumn leaves.

In Maths, we have continued with our unit on Addition and Subtraction. It is so amazing to watch the children not only get more confident with their mental maths, but know what resources they can use to help them with their calculations. In Literacy, we have begun a new unit. This term, we are writing a traditional story based on the story of the Gingerbread Man. We have had oodles of fun learning the story and performing it for each other using our actions to help us remember key events. 

We had our first Dance lesson with Miss Walker during PE. We worked on remembering a set of actions, repeating and linking them. In RE, we looked at the significance of the Christmas story for Christians. In Science, we recapped our understanding of the difference between materials and objects, and went on a material hunt around the classroom.

Finally, a very well done to:
> Harriet for her Ready Award for her excellent work in Maths.
> Roux for his Respectful Award for his immaculate presentation.
> Freya for her Safe Award for always being such a kind and caring member of the classroom.

We had a wonderful bright start to the week when we came together to celebrate Diwali on Monday.

We started the day with a video call with Miss Parul Abrol, a journalist from India, who talked to us about her understanding and own experiences of the festival of light. Then we had a morning of wonderful Diwali themed activities - making firework rangoli patterns, using our Botleys to trace kolam patterns, learning about the story of Diwali and making clay diyas. We finished off with a sumptuous lunch of Indian food that Mrs Paradise and her team had prepared.  

In Literacy, we have completed our draft stories and will be writing up the neat copy when we come back after the half term break. In Maths, we have moved on to subtraction and have had a few fun sessions of using a variety of strategies to subtract a variety of numbers.

In wider curriculum, this week has been all about reflecting on our learning and recapping some of the key concepts we have learned. We really enjoyed learning about the happy chemical, endorphin, that our brain creates when we get physically active.

Thank you everyone who made time to join us for the art exhibition in Class 2.

It was lovely to see you all and share the amazing Autumn collages the children have created as part of their final art piece for the half term. We have been on an incredible journey of discovery - we have done live drawings, created Autumn colours using found natural things, explored nature journaling, explored drawing using all our senses, sketched oodles and oodles of Autumn leaves and finally explored wax resist paintings of our Autumn leaves.

And we have loved every minutes of it... as can be evidenced by the final products in class!

Thank you for all your support this half term. Have a well earned break and see you fresh and ready for more adventures next half term.
  

Thank you everyone who made time to join us on Wednesday for our Morning Maths session. Albeit brief, I hope it gave you an idea of the kind of language we use in our Maths learning and some of the strategies we practice to help us with our calculations. Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions about Maths learning in the class.

This week, Class 2 had a great time reflecting on our learning from the Victorian Day last week. We thought about our experience on Friday and compared it to our daily experiences in school. We found a lot of differences between a Victorian school and schools today. However, we were surprised at how many similarities we found.

In Literacy, we have begun writing our own stories about an animal who has lost something just like Augustus. We have everything from a crocodile who has lost his dinner to a zebra who has lost her stripes. I cannot wait to read all the stories when they are finished! In Maths, we explored adding 3 digit numbers and adding to make the next 10.

In Science, we conducted our first experiment of the term. We discussed the importance of exercise for our body (we learned about the happy chemical - endorphin - that our brain releases when we get physically active) and conducted some experiments to find out what else we changes in our body when we get physically active.

Finally, a very well done to:

• Theo for getting the Ready Award for trying his very best and for being ready to learn during RWI sessions.
• Sofia for getting the Respectful Award for always listening respectfully when teachers give instructions.
• Lilly R for getting the Safe Award for always being kind and helpful in the classroom. 

It has been another week full of learning, fun and discoveries in Class 2.

In Literacy, we have continued to look at book by Catherine Rayner and comparing them. Besides "Augustus and his smile," we have read "Solomon crocodile" and "Smelly Louie." We used the language in these books to help us explore similes. In Maths, we have continued with Addition and Subtraction by exploring number bonds. We have had oodles of fun using our knowledge of bonds to 10 to help us understand number bonds to 100.

In Science, we used our knowledge of a healthy balanced diet to design our own healthy balanced menu for the day. In Art, we continue to explore autumn leaves by experimenting with painting wax resist autumn leaves. In History, we continued our enquiry into how schools have changed by learning about what the school was like during the Victorian era.

To help us better understand this, we travelled back in time on Friday and had an entire day of experiencing a Victorian classroom. We had a paperless and screenless classroom. So, the children used slate and chalk for all their lessons while teachers gave / wrote instructions on a "chalk board." In the afternoon, children also got a taste of the life skills Victorian boys and girls learned at school. While Mr Hunt took the boys out for a lesson in woodwork, the girls stayed with me and Miss Connell for sewing lesson. Finally, we ended the day by playing some games children in the Victorian era might have played. Please find below some photos from this experience.

A very well done to:

• Jimmy for getting the Ready Award for his amazing efforts at writing neatly and especially for coming in early to complete his Morning Maths. 
• Harriet for getting the Respectful Award for making time to help keep our classroom neat and tidy.
• William for getting the Safe Award for trying his very best to use kind hands and for his honesty. 

What an amazing end to another busy week!
We had the awesome Rock Steady in for a special assembly followed by a taster session with them. It was so much fun trying out all the different instruments and belting out some popular tunes. 

In Literacy, we have completed our first unit of the half term. Our neat copies look really awesome. Here are two of the many amazing pieces our class produced. On the left is Roux's report with his very detailed illustration of lion cubs (with their spots) and Isabella's beautifully produced neat copy. We have now begun our new fiction unit based on the books by Catherine Rayner. In Maths, we have now moved on to a new unit on Addition and Subtraction. This week, we have had a lot of fun working on our number bonds.

In Science, we had a very lively discussion about why we need to eat a healthy balanced diet. In History, we had Mrs Moyle visit us to talk to us about the school in the 1980s and 90s. We then discussed what our school must have been like in the 1800s. We can't wait for next week when we can learn about Harrowbarrow school in the 1800s. Art lesson was really fun today where we practiced sketching Autumn leaves as we plan and prepare for our final art piece. We had a really good go at drawing on a much larger scale then we are used to, with varying results.

Finally, a very well done to:

• Isla for getting the Ready Award for not only her amazing 2A sentences but how she is applying this skill into every piece of her writing.
• Isabella for getting the Respectful Award for being a super star during our Rock Steady experience - for listening respectfully to all instructions and being a super drummer.
• Darcie for getting the Safe Award for always looking out for everyone in class - always ready with a cuddle and a kind word for anyone who is sad.