Welcome to Class 2!

Welcome to Class 2's home page. We will be filling this page with exciting class news, pictures of things we have been doing and lots more. Please make sure to check the termly folders below for regular updates. 

Parent Information 2019-2020

Thank you all for coming to the Parent Information Meeting on Friday. I have attached the information below. Please remember that homework and times tables are slightly different this year. 

Homework: 

Given out on Friday's, to be given in on a Wednesday. 

Spellings:

The new spellings for the week will be given out every Friday. Children will also have their spelling test on a Friday. Please remember to practise your spelling's during the week by doing the activity sheets. Bring your spelling folder in every Friday. 

Thanks, 

Miss Neeson 

Maths games:

Please have a look at the links below for some useful maths games. During the first term we will be focusing on place value before moving on to look at addition and subtraction and money as well as our weekly multiplication and division lesson. Top marks have many different fun games so do explore the website. Hit the Button is particularly popular and beneficial for fast recall of multiplication facts.  

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/place-value

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/multiplication-and-division

Class 2 reading list

Tuesday 27th March

Atlas Activity homework. Collect a Country (please do Mexico) page 30-31 no hurry for this, over the Easter break if you wish.

Monday 26th March.

Maths homework today is to do corrections from our test. We also did a timed test to check the speed of recall and will do this again after the Easter break. Please practice quick recall of all times tables facts learnt so far this year. (2.3.4.5.9.10 and 11)

Easter holiday homework will be Bond English Papers 6 and 7, Bond Maths Papers 4 and 5. 

Happy Easter!

Mrs Saul

Friday 23rd March

Some of the English scores may look a bit strange today. Apologies but I thought the marks were out of 25, getting confused with the maths test book. Some of the children were delighted to find that they got 22 out of 20 even when they got 3 wrong!!!! 

We have completed our poetry work on Monsters and Aliens and I hope you will be impressed with our classroom display when you come in on Tuesday.

As this term is slightly shorter and we lost time due to the recent weather I will be saving 2D/3D shape work from the maths curriculum until the beginning of next term.

We will continue practicing adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers, weight and data handling with Mrs Broadbent and length and problem solving with myself until the end of this term.

The children are enjoying learning about Mexico and Tocuaro and their English focus on Traditional Tales from other cultures has started with stories from Mexico.

We will also be continuing with our Science work on electricity including the dangers attached to it's use, and in ICT, online dictionaries. We are beginning to explore the use of search engines so anything you can do at home to help them search for information on the topics covered in school, aiding them in selecting child friendly websites, would be useful.

We had been looking at The Synagogue and comparing the internal features with our local church of St Mary's but will now need to shift our focus to the Christian celebration of Easter, returning to The Synagogue briefly at the beginning of next term before looking at Parables and stories that Jesus told.

Looking forward to seeing you all next week.

Mrs Saul

Tuesday 6th March.

Please do the prefix homework on the sheet provided. No need to  copy the words out!!!

Monday 5th March.

Thank you so much for all your efforts with the snow days homework. I will do my best to work through it as quickly as possible.

Apologies but as I had to attend a meeting today I did not have enough time to mark the tables tests so will send these home tomorrow.

Next weeks tests will be mixed times tables again and the worded problems will reflect the measurement work taking place in school. Metres, centimetres and millimetres with myself and kilograms and grams with Mrs Broadbent. The children need to know how many cm and mm in a metre and the ways they can write this (see snow homework) and how many grams in a kilogram and the ways to record weight. They know that 100 cm equal a metre so can write 275 cm = 2.75m = 2m 75cm.

Wednesday 28th February

Class Two Maths

Answers may be written in their homework books. 

You will need a calendar to answer these questions.

Firstly choose any month from 2018.

1.  What month is shown on the calendar?

2.  On which day does the month a) start b) finish?

3.  How many days are in the month?

4.  What day of the week is the a) 3^rd b) 14^th c)25^th?

Now use a calendar for the whole year.

5.  Write the names of the months with a) 31 days b) 30 days.

6.  a) What month is missing? b) How many days does it have?

English work can be continued so that all 3 pages in their homework books are completed.

Attached is the Science task that we would have been attempting in school. I am happy for them to complete this at home either indoors with a toy car or outdoors where they could use a flat bottomed vehicle (boat perhaps) and cover the ramp (plank of wood maybe) with snow so that the vehicle slides down the ramp. The results charts would be suitable whichever way they choose to complete the task.

Kind regards,

Mrs Saul

Tuesday 27th February

Good morning everyone.

I expect many of you noticed that I gave the children their homework books a day early this week in anticipation of a snow closure.

There are three pages of English related activities to complete. I would normally have just sent one but thought it best to be prepared. They must do at least one today.

They may also have some maths test questions to finish or correct. The printed clock faces should not be altered and calculation corrections should be done in the column that is clear for working out next to the printed problem.

In some books I have shown them where to do this and I have reminded everyone that original answers should never be rubbed out and replaced.

Corrections in test books should be done in the space to the right of the problem whereas in their exercise books at school corrections are done at the end of the piece of work.

Please enjoy the snow today. We would have been looking at moving objects and friction in science today so moving objects through snow (sledging!) could be a useful learning experience!

Friday 23rd February

There were some lovely performances of poems in Class Two this week so thank-you for all your efforts preparing the children over half term.

Finalists will be selected next week by all classes on Tuesday.

I have set a booklet making task for homework which gives the children the opportunity to show what they have learnt about Pocahontas.

They allhave paper, card and several information sheets in their wallets in their book bags. I have suggested that they use the folded card however they wish but they need to present interesting facts and include printed pictures  as well as hand drawn diagrams. Some facts could be printed but hand written parts are expected. 

They can have until Thursday to complete this task.

Their focus from next week onward in Geography lessons will be "Tocuaro" a Mexican village.

SCHOOL POETRY COMPETITION

I know that many of you are giving some thought to the school poetry competition after half term so this is just a reminder that each child needs to memorise and then perform a 12 to 16 line poem for the first week back so that we can choose three finalists for the competition on the 1st of March.

We will be continuing with our focus on "Monster and Alien" Poetry for one more week in school so it would be brilliant if the poems that the children recite could also have that theme. I will send some examples of poems that could be used home with the children for you to read and enjoy over half term.

We are coming to the end of our work on famous carers and people of local interest.

The children are full of facts about Pocahontas so if you haven't already done so  and you have time, the Pocahontas statue at St Georges Church in Gravesend is worth a visit.

Today was Science Day!!!

We had a fantastic time working in teams to create the tallest tower possible.

Well done everyone and thank-you to all those who came in to see us in action.

Friday 26th January

Friday homework supports our English and maths curriculum.

I have sent home instructions for games with dice which the children need to follow careful and learn well enough to enable them to teach someone else at least one of the games next week.

We have been looking at telling the time, digital and analogue, and will continue with this next week.

Our English focus shifts from instructions to poetry.

Monday 22nd January

We did our maths doubles/halves/word problems test last lesson today.

I will mark these after school so that the children can bring them home tomorrow.

Next week's test will be doubles, halves, four times and quarters up to twenty. 

Word problems involving all of the above.

Friday homework

I have asked Class Two to make an A4 Information leaflet about Florence Nightingale over the weekend and the following few days to be completed by Wednesday at the latest.

This can be portrait or landscape, contain two or three images and approximately six good facts about Florence Nightingale.

I have given all of them a piece of white card and a sheet with two pictures on that they are welcome to cut out and use. The map shows The Crimea but not Scutari so they may like to show this and label it on the map. They have read, watched and listened to lots of information so could probably choose six facts that they wanted to include without any extra research but if anyone wants to add extra interesting facts or images of their own that is fine.

School Equipment

Some children came back to school after the holiday without pencils, rulers or sharpeners.

I do hold spare items for lending but not as many as were needed this week. 

Please could you check that the children have all their equipment this week to ensure lessons run smoothly.

Many thanks.

Friday 12th January

Science homework set on Friday can be completed in which ever way he children choose. A labelled diagram or written explanation would be acceptable as the task is asking the children to reflect on what they learnt in class and find examples of forces at work around the home.

Maths tests this week will assess topics covered this year so far after which I will set revision for tables tests for the following Monday. There will be a return to worded problems as part of the test and it is also likely that doubling and halving up to double 20 will be part of that. (doubling/halving multiples of ten for those feeling confident)

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas holiday.

Thank-you all so much for your gifts and good wishes, they were much appreciated.

I have added this term's curriculum overview after this posting for your information.

As this week is not a full week there may be some slight changes to the timetable but English and maths activities, reading and homework should not be effected.

I will be in London on Friday at an ISA Art Coordinators  meeting and the class will be taught by Mrs Gordon who they now know quite well. I am hoping to teach PE earlier in the week so that Mrs Gordon can cover, English, maths and science instead on Friday.

Friday 15th December

I will be sending home a Basic Skills English book and a Mental Arithmetic book for Christmas Holiday homework. There are no spellings to learn and for tables tests, doubles and halves can continue to be practiced.

The children normally work through these books at their own pace in the mornings on arrival at school but as a rough guide I would have expected them to have finished the whole of section one in maths and the complete book in English by the beginning of next term. Some children will have corrections to do but I will leave it up to you to decide what is reasonable.

I will not expect anyone to be spending too much time on school homework! It is a holiday and they deserve a break so that they can come back refreshed in January.

Children who went home straight from the church will bring their books home today as they are already packed in their book bags.

Happy Christmas everyone.

Tuesday 112th December

Just to clarify homework tasks for this week. 

I will not send tables, sentences or spellings as I will be sending mental maths and basic English skills workbooks home for the holidays.

I was unable to mark everyone's tables yesterday as we performed our play to the school in the afternoon. I will send these and holiday homework to you with the children on Wednesday as I am on a safeguarding course today and Mrs Gordon is with the children this morning.

STEEPHILL'S GOT TALENT

There were a few children who didn't bring what they needed on Friday for the heats of the competition so I intend looking at their performances on Monday and make my selections for the Final (on Friday) by the end of the day.

Friday 8th December

Homework this weekend is a short creative writing task. This should show good descriptive sentences using  adjectives as practiced this term and careful checking that there are capital letters in the right places and correct punctuation.

Friday 1st December

Apologies that I won't be posting much today. I have managed to catch whatever is going around at school.

Homework is in their blue books (two pages) and their play lines need practice. In particular knowing when to speak. In most cases they know their own lines but not who says what before they speak so there are too many long silences at the moment.

Our dress rehearsal to the school is on Monday 11th December so costumes need to be in school by then.

Mrs Saul.

Friday 24th November.

Christmas is coming!!! Weekend homework is to learn lines for our Christmas play so that next week when we rehearse no-one will be looking at their scripts.  The play is set in Victorian England and the majority of the class are playing poor children and street sellers so need to be dressed to represent the poor in those times.

Girls in any of these.. pinafores, petticoats, blouse and skirt, shawl, bare feet. Anything that can be made to look scruffy.

Boy sellers....cut off trousers, perhaps braces, torn shirts, caps if you wish and bare feet.

Chestnut sellers still need to look poor but could wear longer trousers, old shirt, perhaps a waistcoat or cap. Dickens plays and films are a good source of ideas.

Our Town Crier, Mayor, Mr Jones and Narrator need to look smarter and more wealthy. I have the tricorn hat for the town crier and can make a sash for the Mayor so the boys just need long trousers, a shirt, a waistcoat if they wish and some sort of coat, jacket or cloak. If any of these are difficult to find or convert let me know and I will see what I can find at home that will do.

I have collected a few images that might help!

Friday 17th November

I did set Science food groups homework for the weekend but this was before Mrs Birtwell dropped in to our play rehearsal last lesson to remind us the International Day was on Tuesday.

For this event each child needs to select a country, find out a few interesting facts about it, learn a few words or phrases in their language and then share, initially with the class then in assembly, what they have discovered.

It is entirely up to them how they present their research. Some like to make a poster, others dress up and do a verbal presentation. It really is up to them and anything goes!!!

Please could the children concentrate on their International Day preparation over the next few days and leave the Science work for Tuesday homework time instead. I will not need it to be handed in before Thursday.

I did have to send some sheets home without a plastic wallet as the children had left them at home. Could they please return their work in the wallet next time as it protects what they have worked so hard on and it is sometimes stuck into their exercise books when appropriate.

Mrs Saul

Maths  Update!

The children were thrilled during our open morning that they had so many positive comments from visitors about the standard of their work.

" Seriously impressed" was heard from one lady who was in awe of their problem solving skills during our maths lesson.

As you know, we do work at a level that is above that of the National Curriculum and our focus within class will now include problem solving at least once a week.

I think all the worded problem practice in their tables tests has really paid off so the main focus in tests now will be learning the remaining tables and tests will include the inverse division calculation.

We have been practicing this in class as a number pattern so that no calculating or sharing is required.

So, for example, if they know that 6 x 4 is 24, they also know that 4 x 6 is 24, 24 divided by 6 is 4 and 24 divided by 4 is 6. They have played games in class and manipulated the numbers so they can see that they only need to learn the basic times table to be able to answer division questions as well.

Fantastic news from the ISA Autumn Study Conference!

Daniel was declared overall winner in the National Finals Key Stage 1 Digital Art Competition for his picture of the Tiger in a Tropical Storm. Well done, Daniel!