Handwriting fun with Year 2

I have uploaded the 100 high frequency word mat to the class page so that the children can use these to practise their handwritings. These words have been picked as it is quite difficult to spell them as the children should know it by sight. Please practise these with your children. Thank you!

STEM WEEK FUN!

Wow, what an incredible week this has been. We have been learning all things STEM. We know that STEM means science, technology, engineering and maths. We can definitely say we have done a lot of all of these!

On Tuesday, we started off with 'innovation for renewable energy' and we discovered what renewable energy sources are. We carried out a water pressure experiment with a plastic bottle, some pins and water. We had to see if the water would leak due to the holes in the bottom of the bottle. We tried to make a bigger cut to the bottle to see if the water would leak however we discovered that the water did not leak once the lid was on top. We had loads of fun with water and looking at the different ways of it coming out (and we certainly got wet)!

We continued with Profssor Bubbleworks workshop where Professor Chris demonstrated some hair raising stuff, such as showing us various different flames and then we learned about static electricity! 

Moving onto innovation for transport on Wednesday, we created hovercrafts and discussed the history and future of transports. The children were in awe at the future transport that we may have! We discussed how technology is ever changing. 

We continued with STEM week in the afternoon on Wednesday and the children created their own wind turbines! They look absolutely amazing! We used our hammering skills to hammer the nails into the wooden stick used for the wind turbine and the children had a real buzz during this afternoon. 

On Thursday, we delved into the world of bacteria and we had to take swabs of the places where the children thought would have the most bacteria. We learnt about vaccinations and what they mean and how important they are in order to keep us safe and healthy!

On Friday, we ended up becoming innovators of  communication and discussed various ways we can communicate with one another. We participated in a telephone string experiment in which the children had two plastic cups, a piece of string and they tried to talk to one another. 

We ended our STEM week with a paper aeroplane race between the whole class and we had so much fun!!!

Overall, what an amazing week of all things STEM!

What an amazing first week of Summer term!

Welcome back to school everyone! What an incredible first week back. We have already been learning lots this week. We have been learning about St George's day and we created information leaflets all about St. George. There have been halves and quarters in our classrooms as we have been learning to recognise these.

In our outdoor classroom, we have started growing sunflowers, each of the children have their own sunflower that they are growing. This is so exciting. Mrs Edmead, Mrs Dedman and I are also growing our own sunflowers alongside the class. I can't wait to see what they will look like after the weekend (I don't think they would have grown just yet, or would they)?

The children have been learning about Ramadan this week which is a festival that I am currently celebrating where we fast (no eating or drinking) during daylight hours and we eat/drink after sunset. The children have shown lots of interest in it with a lot of teasing with their delicious fruits that they have been bringing in. 

The castles from the children's home learning project over Easter look absolutely incredible! We will be taking photos of these so have a peek at the website throughout the week as these will probably appear. Our classroom looks just like a castle with all of the various castles we have. 'Turrets and Tiaras' has certainly started! 

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Congratulations everyone! We have made it to the end of our home learning! I have been getting the classroom ready for you all to return to on Monday! Frosty is so excited to have everyone back. You all looked so happy and so excited to be back on zoom this morning, I honestly cannot wait for you all to return. 

In the meantime, cast your eyes over the wonderful learning that YOU have been doing! 

See you on Monday!! 

Frosty is excited, are you... 

Good morning Year 2!

What a very exciting week this week! You are going to start your incredible projects this week! I hope you are as excited as I am. This is the week where you become authors, publishers, illustrators and you create your very own non fiction book about Penguins! I cannot wait to see the results of the booklet that you create at the end of the week - Frosty is most definitely dancing around in my bedroom right now waiting in eager to see your booklets!

Children's Mental Health Week

It is children's mental health week this week and this year's theme is all about expressing yourselves! Instead of doing our usual afternoon activities - I have based it around positive mental health so exploring themes such as keeping on learning, sharing kindness, being physical and then you will have a special pre recorded story time from me relating to our emotional wellbeing this week!

Times are tough at the moment but you are all such a positive bunch and you're really having a go! I am so proud of you all - even grown ups! I can't imagine how tough it must be trying to get on with your own jobs with children too - just know that you are absolutely incredible. Please do remember if it gets TOO much, you are more than welcome to step back, take a breather and then come back to it or just leave it altogether. All we ask is you do what you can do and remember family is a priority more than anything! Please take care and look after yourselves! 

If we were at school, I would say to the children - 'We've got this! We can do it! We can smash this together!'

Take care grown ups and children! 

Miss Miah!

Bug Club details

Good evening. 

Below you will find the information regarding Bug Club. I hope you find it useful. 

Please ensure the children are taking their time to read the books on Bug Club and not rush through the books. Particularly those who may be on longer reads - they should be taking some more time to read the book to ensure that they fully understand the book itself. 

Please can the children try to read one chapter/book each day. 

We look forward to see how the children are getting on with their reading. 

Enjoy!

Some useful bits to help with our learning:

Good morning everyone!

Please find below some resources which I thought you may find useful. These are: 

Sound mats to help with our writing (it also includes the common exception words);

Cursive handwriting mats (different sizes);

Number lines;

2s, 5s, 10s times table posters;

Hundred Squares.

Don't forget you also have TT Rockstars and Spelling Shed. 

Remember these are only to help you - not required as an extra thing to do! The most important thing you do is have fun at home with your learning and to stay safe! 

Take care!x

Good Morning and a Happy New Year!!

Good Morning everyone! I hope you have had a restful break. I was looking forward to seeing all of you but we find ourselves here again. I hope you are all keeping well and safe during these crazy times we find ourselves in. I already miss you all.

Below I have attached our lovely English and Maths for today.

English

I would like you to draw/write down what you have been up to over the Christmas holidays. What did you eat? What did you watch? Who/What did you play with? What did you get for Christmas? What did you give (it could be hugs to your family to say thank you). Enjoy!

Maths:

Please find attached the maths worksheet for today and the link to the video from White Rose. Please watch the video and complete the sheet alongside the video. Enjoy!

Week beginning 16th November 2020

Before we start off thinking about what we are learning this week. Let’s just take a moment to think about how much incredible learning we have had over the last week. Our beans are starting to grow!! The children have received their nativity roles - how exciting! That is amazing! We are looking forward to practising these in class! The songs are on the website so we can practise anywhere at any time. We have started learning about Florence Nightingale and we had an incredible day on Thursday learning about the life of Florence Nightingale! The children have created lanterns, peg dolls, chalk art, spinning tops, went to the gross Scutari Hospital in Turkey! They were incredible!

This week, we are going to be writing our incredible diary entries in the role of a nurse in the 1800s using special paper and pens - so exciting!! We are also going to start learning about money this week and looking closely at coins. This week - it is anti bullying week so we will be spending time as a class looking at how to be kind, friendships and how we can help one another. It is odd sock day on Monday - we look forward to seeing your odd socks - we will definitely be wearing odd socks!!!

We also hope that you are enjoying the new book rota system - please do not worry - the diaries are checked everyday so any messages that are left will be checked. 

Let's have another incredible week!!

Mrs Chandler and Miss Miah xx

Nativity!

Good evening Topaz, 

We have uploaded the nativity songs for you to listen and practise to at home. As you are aware - the script has now been sent and emailed out to each child. Please do practise this at home and how they conduct themselves on the stage as much as possible. The children will be performing live on zoom and this may be  bit nerve wrecking for them and we want them to feel as comfortable as possible. We are hoping to have an amazing time and we are looking forward to sharing it with you all.

Many thanks, 

Mrs Chandler and Miss Miah xx

Reading Books - A New System  10.11.20

Dear Year 2 parents/carers, we are going to try a new way of distributing home reading books.

On a Monday your child will be sent home with 3 reading books. These books can stay with you all week, you can choose one to read each evening.

Please return the 3 books on a Friday. The reading record books will be checked daily.

We are hoping this new method will give you more choice when reading and will reduce our time changing books. On the weekend you can read one of your own books,

Thank you – Year 2 Teachers

Week beginning 9th November 2020

Good afternoon everyone! Before we move onto next week, wow what a week we have had! You have been absolutely incredible and have shown us what brilliant children you all are on the first week back. You have been brilliant! We started the week off by creating greenhouses for our bean plants, we are learning how to write a diary by looking at their features, we have been learning about Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day next week and we ended the week on our Forest School visit to Ashdown Forest! You were all absolutely brilliant and you should all be proud of yourselves! Well done Year 2! 

Next week is a very exciting and busy week as we are going to be learning about lots of different things. We are going to start the week off by writing a recount of our trip to Ashdown Forest and we will be taking a closer inspection of our bean plants. We will be further exploring Remembrance Day! We are going to have a really exciting day on Thursday as we dress up as someone from the 1800s and learn about Florence Nightingale. We are going to use our diary writing skills to use and write about our Florence Nightingale Day. 

Please do continue to read with your child at home and access Spelling Shed & TT Rockstars! They really do make a difference in school.

Thank you!

Have an amazing weekend!

Mrs Chandler & Miss Miah.  

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 - Science Project - Can you make your own mini greenhouse?

Today we learnt about Tim Smit, the scientist behind the Eden Project. The children were then asked to create their very own mini greenhouse, into which they planted a bean seed.

We will monitor and observe the seeds to see which greenhouse successfully allows their bean to grow!

Watch this space!

Mrs Chandler and the budding team of engineers!

On Friday 6th November, the Year 2 children will be taken to Ashdown Forest for a "forest day".

The children will leave at 930am and will return to school at 2:30pm.

Children need to come to school dressed comfortably and appropriately for the weather on the day. Clothes may get muddy/messy during the visit so a spare set of clothes is advisable. Please ensure all items are labelled. Sturdy footwear is essential. Children must wear long trousers/leggings tucked into socks and long sleeved tops. Children will need to bring their own packed lunch (nut free). 

If you have any further questions, please contact the school before Thursday afternoon.

Many thanks

Mrs Chandler and Miss Miah

Dear Year 2!

You are doing so well in class, we are so proud of you all for working hard and trying your best.

At home, if you wish to practise letter formation and number formation, please see on our Topaz Class page for some sheets to practise - lots of you are getting your numbers back to from and so on, not to worry, but a little practise at home may help.

At home, please make sure you are reading every single day. We would like you to take part in the Times Tables Rockstars and Spelling Shed to come your skills brilliantly sharp!

As the weather turns colder - please ensure all items of clothing (gloves, scarves, coats etc) are clearly labelled. Remember a good place to keep gloves is in your own tray in the classroom.

We look forward to yet another fun filled, action packed week in Year 2!

Many thanks,

Mrs Chandler and Miss Miah 

Week Beginning 7th September 2020: 

To the children – 

What a fabulous start to the term! You have all done an incredible job this week learning about Mister Gee and the ordinary boy, creating maths shapes, having both PE indoors and outdoors, learning about the world around you and writing about your extraordinary dreams! You have learned so much already.

To the parents/grown ups - 

What a week it has been. The children have really settled in and are getting used to us as their teachers. We are both absolutely enjoying teaching your wonderful children. Their beautiful smiles as they enter and leave the classroom is an absolutely wonderful sight to see. 

This week, we have been learning all about the ordinary boy and his extraordinary teacher Mr Gee from the following book ‘Once upon an ordinary school day’. They have written amazing character descriptions; they have also been thinking about the wonderful extraordinary dreams that they may have and have been writing about these. It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm on their face when they were busy writing. In maths, this week we have been looking at Jo Boaler Maths and the children have been very intrigued by it, they have created some 3D shape net monsters and insects as you can see from below. These look fantastic and the children really enjoyed making these (below is the wonderful picture). 

Next week, we start our very exciting topic called ‘Superheroes’ and we are looking forward to hearing about the children’s superb ideas about superheroes. 

Please can we remind parents to only provide your child with a fruit and water as part of their snack. 

Reading is extremely important and that is why we would like you to read with your child every night. Reading diaries get taken in everyday and checked every day. This will also link with the whole school reading initiative and will contribute to your child earning a leaf on the whole school reading tree. The adults in school will also write if additional reading has occurred in school on top of their daily reading times.

Homework will be set from either rnext week or the week after, we have run into some teething problems with our server, so we are hoping once this has been sorted we can start giving out/assigning homework – most of this will be online through TT Rockstars, Spelling shed and maths shed.  

Have a lovely weekend. 

Mrs Chandler and Miss Miah,

xxx

Week Beginning 2nd September 2020

It was absolutely incredible seeing the wonderful smiles of the lovely children in Year 2. The children have settled in really well and have had beaming smiles all week this week. Due to the warm welcome of the incredible team and children Dormansland Primary School, I already feel very much part of the Dormansland Family. 

We have enjoyed a range of activities this week whereby we created an ‘all about me’ t shirt, we wrote about our lockdown memories or what we have been up to during the summer holidays. We have been learning about our amazing numbers and have been playing some fantastic games – the children have been absolutely brilliant and so enthusiastic. We explored our emotions through watching the film Inside Out. 

The children should now have received their reading diaries with a reading book, if you have any queries regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact us. Please do read with your child every day and record it in their reading diaries. 

It has been a wonderful first week back at Dormansland Primary School. Mrs Chandler looks forward to teaching the children on Monday. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Miss Miah & Mrs Chandler xx

Hello everyone and welcome to Year 2! 

We hope you have somehow managed to have a lovely summer break despite the unfortunate global events. We are so excited to be teaching your children in Year 2 this year. We have been speaking to each other almost every day talking about all of the wonderful children. 

A few housekeeping bits to inform you on: 

Staffing:

On Mondays and Tuesdays – Mrs Chandler will be in class teaching. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays – Miss Miah will be in class teaching. We are lucky to have Mrs Edmead supporting us in class every morning. Mrs Seltzer will be covering Miss Miah’s PPA (planning time) in class on Wednesday morning. 

Contacting us:

The best way of contacting us is through your child’s reading diaries which we will be checking and signing daily. For less urgent messages – you can email the school office on info@dormansland.surrey.sch.uk or use the contact form below, who will then pass on the messages to us. We would also usually say ‘please feel free to speak to us at the end of the day’ however due to current guidance this will be unable to happen at this time. If you would like to speak to us, it is possible to arrange a telephone conversation with us through the school office. 

Reading:

Reading with your child is absolutely vital and where possible we do encourage children to read, share a book or listen to a story daily. If you do any type of reading activities, please record this in your child’s reading diary and an adult will sign to say we have checked it and changed the book if requested. This will also link with the whole school reading initiative and will contribute to your child earning a leaf on the whole school reading tree. The adults in school will also write if additional reading has occurred in school on top of their daily reading times. 

Homework:

Homework will be given out in the next few weeks. It will be mainly done online through Spelling Shed, Maths Shed and Times Table Rockstars which you will receive a login for. These will be monitored by us and we will be checking to see who has completed their homework. 

PE Days:

Our PE days are on Mondays and Wednesdays so please ensure a full PE kit is in school for these days. Trainers are preferred to plimsolls for outdoor PE and a spare pair of socks is always a good idea! Shorts and jogging bottoms are essential as our aim is to have indoor and outdoor sessions each week. All items must be named. Long hair should be tied back and no earrings to be worn for PE.

Water bottles:

Please ensure your child brings in a named water bottle and coat. Children are expected to go out to play all year around. A healthy snack is encouraged for the children during their morning break – no nuts, no chocolate, no cake and no sweets. 

Thank you

Once again – for reassurance, we would like to say your children have been as wonderful as ever and it has been incredible to see their beaming smiles at school every day. They are such a lovely bunch and we are very much looking forward to having them in school with us every day. Please also find attached below the Year 2 welcome letter and our topic web for this half term. We also would like to say thank you for your incredible support and if you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Please stay safe!! 

Miss Miah and Mrs Chandler xx