​Following previous year groups excitement surrounding investigating a teacher’s missing packet of biscuits and last year’s faux police incident, we know that Year 2 children are up for a challenge…especially around SATs season.
 
Have you been wondering why the school building work seems to dragging on for a while?  This half term Year 2 will be analysing videos, photos and spreadsheets to discern what is going on.  The children will be reading and responding to messages on the Google Classrooms platform as part of their learning.
 
Although e-safety is a frequent theme covered within Computing lessons, the experience of instant messaging within a safe virtual classroom enables learning opportunities about aspects such as appropriate use of devices, comments making and content in a way pupils have found very applicable.
 
If you have any questions regarding this half term’s Computing, how this relates to the broader Computing curriculum or online safety, please speak with your child’s class teacher.
 
We hope that you enjoy the video!
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svwkD_OMgaU

In Year 2 this half term we are learning all about alternative fairy tales and we have been really enjoying ourselves so far! ​

Year 2 have been continuing their work on fractions this week. We have been busy solving word problems and looking at reasoning tasks. We are all now confident in finding ½ ¼ ¾ 1/3 2/3 of shapes, numbers and quantities. To find these, we have been looking at dividing by the denominator and counting the parts stated by the numerator. We have also started learning our 4 times table in class and have used the Bee Knees Dance Party track on youtube (link below). 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ0T9YScLeM 

In Year 2 we work in English groups rather than our usual classes. This enables us to work on specific skills and our teachers can target particular needs. This week we have written newspaper reports as part of our unit of work on space. We watched the moon landing from 1969 and pretended to be reporters of that time. Some of our newspaper reports will be available to view on the Year 2 website page very soon. ​

In our foundation lessons we have continued to learn about space. The missions we have received allow us to research and train to be mini astronauts following a similar programme run by NASA. We have also developed our historical skills and learnt about significant events and people in history. We will continue with this unit until the end of the spring term, and look forward to sharing our learning at the next project evening.  

In Year 2 we continued to consolidate our learning about multiplication. We solved multiplication problems that included the 2, 5, 10 and 3 times tables. We even took part in an investigation regarding the number of spots on different ladybirds. It was a lot of fun! In English we wrote diary entries in character as Zog from the book by Juila Donaldson. We applied what we knew about how to write in first person and the past tense. 

Half term two was a very busy half term for Year 6; we had a fantastic few weeks. Pupils conducted their own remembrance service, with many reading the names of those from the surrounding areas who had fallen during conflicts. Following the service, the public were invited back for tea and biscuits and enjoyed performances from each Year 6 class. In English, we created our own warning narratives using a variety of figurative devices; the children were experimental with their characters and their storylines.  
We also had a very interesting time in science, learning about light and reflection. Children had the opportunity to work in pairs to create their own periscopes using household materials, which they enjoyed immensely.  

Of course, this great learning and attitude continued into half term three - well done Years 2 and 6!

This term in year 2 we have been learning all about The Great Fire of London. We have enjoyed finding out about how the fire started and many interesting facts through researching along the way.  
This week in English we have been writing diary entries, we started off by writing a diary all about our own life. Once we were confident with the features, we used drama to learn more about Samuel Peyps’ diary and how everyone would have felt at the time. We then transported ourselves back in time to 1666 and took on the role of a character to write our diaries.  
In Maths this week we have been learning all about 2D and 3D shapes. We have been trying our best to identify the features and have even started to compare these. We have got very good at guessing the shape when given its key features. 
In the afternoons this week we have been working in small groups to create our own Tudor houses. Firstly we planned and designed our houses using inspiration from houses of the time to think of our own unique designs. We had to use our problem solving skills to work out how to connect the different pieces before gluing it together and painting it white. We will be adding to our houses to add detail before an exciting ending for our buildings at the end of the term. ​

Leading up to the new year, Year 2 were linking their learning to dragons.  This provided a fantastic opportunity for the children to use their imaginations, particularly when writing.

We have also been using the new ICT suite to develop our learning of block coding.  We have progressed from understanding the basics of algorithms, linking these to giving instructions.  Following a number of weeks getting to grips with ScratchJr on the iPads, we are now using the full version online at sratch.mit.edu.

Thank you to all those parents and carers who were able to attend last week's project evening, where children were able to display and share their various homework projects from this half term. 

As always, we really value your feedback, which again has been overwhelmingly positive. Have a look at some of the work shared by Mason (Y6), Emelia (Y3), Billie (Y2), Sutijay (Y2), Paige (Y2) and Aaliyah and her big sister (Y2).

Please also remember that while these half-termly homework projects will continue, pupils still have opportunity to practise and consolidate their basic skills through their personal logins to Mathletics, Active Learn and other online tools that the school has subscribed to. Challenge within these programs can be managed and adjusted by class teachers, so do speak to your child's class teacher if you have any further feedback or requests regarding the level of challenge in these activities.

The lightbulb moment for the children happened when they realised how their typed messages would appear on their classmate’s screens instantaneously.  Naturally, it didn’t take long for some children to work out how to post an emoji or two!  Billy (2JP) explained that he likes how he can “text the other people in class”.  Lacey (2JP) said that she is enjoying using Google Classroom because she can read the comments that other children post.  This shows a lot of promise for cultivating peer work alongside computing and literacy skills.
 
The school’s co-operative value of solidarity has helped embed a collegial culture which has enabled this innovative plan to become a reality.  It is great to see the children enthused as they learn and develop the key skills of creating, contributing and retrieving digital content.  By virtue of the iPad Mystery’s novelty the children are exceedingly engaged and have high expectations for what they will achieve.
 
For more information, please speak to Mr Powell or your child’s Year 2 class teacher.  As you are here, please enjoy the iPad Mystery videos that the children have seen in class so far.

Children in EYFS, Year 1,Year 2 and Year 3 will be performing in their Chriostmas Production on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th December. There will be a 9.30am and 1.45pm performance on each day. Check below to see the times each group will be performing.
 
​The performance times are:
 
​Tuesday 12th:                    EYFS/Yr 1  9:30am
                                               Yr 2/Yr 3  1:45pm
 ​
Wednesday 13th:                Yr 2/Yr 3   9:30am
                                           EYFS/Yr 1   1:45pm 
 
We estimate that the performances will last for up to 60 minutes. For the afternoon performance, we aim to have the children changed and ready for collection by 3.00pm for EYFS/KS1 and 3.10pm for KS2. Parents/carers who have watched the performance and will be collecting their children should exit through the main community doors, walk round to the playground and wait for the children to be dismissed.
 
Complete the form below to book a seat on the production. Please read and follow the instructions carefully to ensure you book for the correct event.
 
​Each family may have two seats for each of their child’s performance. When you register you will receive a confirmation email. If you register for more than two seats or the names of the persons registered are not known to us as parents/carers, the booking will be removed. If there are special circumstances that require more than two seats i.e. parents have new partners, please email office.etp@stcleres.coop and a member of the office team will contact you to discuss your requirements. You must bring either a print out of the email you receive or show the email on your phone when you attend for the performance. There is a maximum number of one hundred and sixty seats per performance, once we reach this capacity it will not be possible for you to register for the performance.