12.7.19

The last shabbat of term is always a momentous day. It's just so hard to believe how quickly the year has gone and that the end of term really is just around the corner.

We will make our final Year 2 blog post on Tuesday which for now leaves us just wising you a peaceful shabbat.  

Shabbat shalom

28.6.2019

Starting at the end of the week, it has been a strange day. As teachers, we think of your children as ‘our’ children but today, we had to start the process of them becoming someone elses!

We are pleased to say that they had a wonderful time with Mrs Collins, Mrs Kanzan and Mr Portnoi and we know that they are going to have a great time in Year 3. The children will have another session with the Year 3 team next week and before the end of term, the current Year 2 team and the new Year 3 team will be carrying out a full transfer of information meeting. 

Yesterday, the children had a wonderful time at Forest School. The session began with den building. The children learnt how to tie a Timber Hitch Knot to secure a rope around 2 trees. Not only was the knot tying a challenge, but in order for the den to be built, a great deal of teamwork was required. This did not come as easily to everyone as they thought it would and it will be great to see these skills develop as they continue to go to Forest School next year. After building dens, the children had the chance to make willow stars or crowns, create paint from charcoal and water and whittle twigs. 

On Thursday we had lots of fun celebrating Miss Wise’s upcoming wedding. The children made her a beautiful card and designed wedding outfits for her and her husband to be. We dressed up her in a veil and listened to wedding music too. Mazeltov Miss Wise from us all in Year 2! 

In Maths, the children went over the work that they had done earlier in the year about place value. They also practised their mental maths skills. We really can’t recommend highly enough Hit the Button. It has lots of different games at a range of levels which will provide a challenge for everyone. Each game is only 1 minute long so it can be squeezed in on even the busiest days. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

In Literacy this week, the children wrote some excellent descriptions of Katie Morag. They described her appearance and her personality. In Maths, they used their knowledge of coordinates to answer questions about the Isle of Struay. 

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom
 

This week the children were introduced to the wonderful Katie Morag books by Mairi Hedderwick. Katie Morag lives on the (fictional) island of Struay where she has lots of adventures with her family, friends and two special grandmothers. Please ask your children to tell you all about it.

The following link will take you to lots of episodes that you can enjoy together.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/shows/katie-morag

In Science we had lots of fun finding out about all the different parts of the plant that we eat. The children are now able to identify which part of the plant (root, stem, leaves, seeds, flower) a huge variety of fruit and vegetables are. They were very good at this. It was fantastic to see just how many vegetables the children were familiar with!

In Maths the children practised finding ⅓ of a group of objects. We looked at the patterns found in the answers and linked it to what we knew about times tables. For homework we would like the children to practise the times tables that they know and start to learn one new one. The order that the tables should be learnt is 2,10,5,3,4,6,8,7,9,11  

We are very much looking forward to sports day. Please make sure you read all of the information carefully so that your child has everything that they need.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful shabbat, we look forward to seeing everyone at the school fair on Sunday.

Shabbat shalom

7.6.19

This week in Literacy, the children enjoyed looking at the fabulous book - The Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle. It tells the story of a small seed’s journey and its survival through the four seasons of the year. The children also learnt about the different methods of seed dispersal. Ask them to tell you as many as they can remember. As part of their homework, the children are bringing home an abbreviated version of The Tiny Seed to enjoy and discuss with you.  

In Maths and Art we looked at 3D shapes. After  examining some examples of these shapes, we learnt about their properties (faces, vertices, edges) and then completed a fun, QR code scavenger hunt. The children followed clues around the school to find the different shapes. In Art, we made cubes from nets and covered each face of the cube with emoji faces. 

Wishing you all a wonderful Chag

Shabbat shalom 

24.5.19

What a week! The children have had a fantastic week. They have learnt both in and out of the classroom and its been lovely watching them enjoy these experiences. 

Check out the photos below and ask your child to tell you all about the activities. 

Shabbat shalom, have a wonderful week

17.5.19

The children really enjoyed performing their Chaggigat Chumash, learning with you and of course eating cupcakes! We were very proud of them and it is special for us to watch the children start out on this next step of their Jewish Learning journey. 

In Maths the children continued to learn to tell the time. Below are some links to websites with good games.

https://www.teachingtime.co.uk/

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=telling+time

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/116/telling-the-time

In History, the children have been learning about holidays in the past. Below is a link to the video they watched in case they want to watch it again. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1h1d5GAPRg

We are very excited that next Thursday it is our turn to visit the Forest School. Please remember to send the children to school wearing PE and with the appropriate clothing as set out in the original letter. With the exception of high winds, the children will be going out in any weather so please make sure that they are properly equipped. 

We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

10.5.19

What a week!  The children really celebrated Yom ha atzmaut in style. They enjoyed lots of different activities including a concert and Israeli dancing. The walk that they did raised over £800 so thank you all for your generous donations. 

This week the children really enjoyed writing and decorating congratulation cards to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The children were very interested to watch all the news footage and see the live appearance of the royal couple and their new baby boy. All the cards have been sent off to the palace and we are hoping for a royal reply 

In Maths this week the children began their lessons on time. We were very impressed with the new times that they picked up. Please help your child to practice telling the time at home. An analogue clock in their rooms is a great resource to have. Please focus on the analogue time before moving onto digital clocks. 

In Geography this week we began our joint History and Geography topic of The Seaside. In Geography the children will be learning about the physical features of a coastal location and in History they will be learning about seaside holidays in the past and comparing them to today's holidays. 

Have a lovely weekend, Shabbat shalom 

12.4.19

As we prepare to teach the children about the concept of time, we marvell ourselves about how time has flown by so quickly. Suddenly we have reached the end of the second term of Year 2. It has been another great term, full of hard work and successes and we're very proud of all of the children. 

Please see the photos below for information about a book review task. The children have a paper copy of this but this is for your records. 

We hope that everyone has a wonderful break. For those travelling, do so safely and please remember to ask the children to send us a postcard. For those staying at home, we still love to receive letters from the children. 

Please keep up the reading and any writing for pleasure that the children want to do but remember, in the same way that adults need some down time, so do the children so relaxation and fun is the key activity!

Shabbat shalom and Pesach Sameach 

5.4.19

Over the last two weeks, in our PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, Education) lessons, we have been focusing on listening skills and extending communication to include lots of details. 

As such, we are not going to fill this week's blog with what we have been doing as we would like to see what detail they can give you.

To give you a clue here is a short list and some photos. We hope they can fill you in

• Maths - data - pictograms
• English - non-fiction texts
• History - Diary extract (see display photos below)
• Science - Live Science lesson - see photos below
• Art - self-portraits

After the holidays, we will be starting a unit of work on time. If you don't have one already, we strongly recommend that you get an analogue clock for your child's room and maybe even for a communal room downstairs e.g. a playroom. If you don't already have one and your child can't tell the time yet, then you might want to consider one like the clock below which is a really good teaching clock. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Teacher-Silent-Ticking-Quartz-Mechanism/dp/B01COBL2KO/ref=asc_df_B01COBL2KO/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=205236697639&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8655052322821623759&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045994&hvtargid=pla-420475625466&psc=1 

We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

29.3.19

This week in Maths the children started a unit  of work on data. They looked at tally charts and pictograms. They learnt about how charts give us some information in a very direct way but that there is also information that they can work out by using the data e.g. "how many more" of one item than another. To work this out, they need to use the previously learnt strategy for what's the difference, an empty number line or counting on. There are some children who would benefit from counting in 10s from different numbers to increase the speed of their mental maths. e.g. 16-96 16, 26, 36, 46, 56, 66, 76, 86, 96.

This week in Science we found out all about Healthy Eating. We discussed the difference between ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ food and the amounts of each we should have in our diets. The children worked together to decide which foods we can have as much of as we like, which ones we should have some of everyday and which foods should only be occasional treats. We then leant all about food groups and what particular foods provide for our bodies. The children learnt lots of new words. Using the food journal that the children completed for homework last week, they were able to analyse their own eating habits. We took into consideration that it was Purim last week - lots of treats!

For homework, the children have a scanning activity on Healthy Eating. It would be a good idea to read this through with your children and find out what they have learnt. They also need to make a poster for a healthy packed lunch. The website provided will help them with ideas. The children can draw or stick pictures of their items in the bag. They should be able to explain in class why their packed lunch is healthy. 

In History the children learnt about improvements that have been seen in hospitals since the time of Florence Nightingale. Next week, they will continue to learn about the work that she did in during the Crimean War.

Have a wonderful, sunny weekend.

Shabbat Shalom

22.3.19

Purim Sameach to everyone! We hope that you all had a great day yesterday. The children had a wonderful time celebrating. 

In English this week the children continued to learn about non-fiction texts. They reviewed what an index, glossary and contents are. If you are reading any non-fiction books at home then see if you can get them to point them out to you. 

In Maths the children have completed the unit of work on Money. The unit finished with a shopping lesson in a bakery! Sadly there were not real cakes but the children still had lots of fun. The practical support that you gave the children really helped them with this work so please continue to get them to help you when you are out shopping.  They will have a mini assessment on it on Monday before moving onto a short unit on statistics and data handling.

For Science, the children should be filling out their food journal. Please make sure it is in school for the lesson next Wednesday.

In History, the children told the class about the significant person that they found out about. Thank you again for your support with this, it was great how much the children remembered. 

Please note that as mentioned in 'Hot off the Press' that Love Corn will not be allowed in school from next week. If the children have any, they will not be allowed to eat it so please send them with an appropriate snack. Many thanks for your support with this. 

Wishing you Shabbat shalom

15.3.19

It has been another busy week in Year 2 with the children learning both inside and outside of the classroom.

In Maths we are continuing to learn about money. The children are using the addition, subtraction and place value skills to help them with their work. This week the children learnt that in Maths when asked: "what is the difference between?" it does not mean what is different about these 2 numbers but, how many jumps are there to get from the first number to the second. The children learnt how to use an empty number line to help them with this as well as learning how to use their fingers to represent different numbers to be able to count on in their heads. Next week will be our last week on money but please do continue to give the children lots of real-life experiences with money. 

This week in our Literacy lessons we learnt about the differences between fiction and non-fiction. We spent some time discussing the features of non-fiction books and the children have become brilliant and identifying them in a range of INFORMATION BOOKS from our class library. In the next couple of weeks we are going to be working towards writing our information texts about animals. 

In Art and DT the children made simple bird kites. We had such fun flying them on Thursday. It was very windy outside - perfect weather for kite flying! Take a look at us in action in the video. 

In History, the children learnt about the timeline of Florence Nightingale's life. They mapped out the events of her life in chronological order. Next week they will learn in more detail about life in the hospital in Scutari.

Maths homework - Money

The children have worked hard to develop their use of money. This week we looked at finding the difference between 2 amounts of money and this will lead to finding change needed. It would be fantastic if you could please take your child to the shop with some loose change and ask them to select the coins needed to make a purchase. If your child feels confident then you could give them too much money and ask them to calculate the change that they should receive. An alternative to going to a shop is to set up a shop/cafe at home and have them role-play different scenarios with you, their siblings or friends. 

The link below will take you to a wide range of games which will develop the children's recognition, understanding and use of money. Many of the games require flash which means they will need to be played on a desktop or laptop rather than a tablet.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/money

8.3.19

Another week seems to have flown by. At the beginning of the week, the children finished their unit of work on continents, oceans and countries of the UK. We really do want to thank you for the support you gave them with the UK homework and we love that some of you have been inspired to take a holiday closer to home. The UK does certainly have many wonderful places to visit. The children completed an assessment where they recorded any facts that they could remember about the different countries and we were really impressed with the information they had retained. 

Next week the children will be beginning a unit of work on significant people from the past and to begin with they will be learning about Florence Nightingale. We are attaching a word bank which it would be helpful if you could look at with your child before Tuesday to help introduce new vocabulary. 

In maths the children have been further developing their knowledge of money. They have been checking different amounts of money as well as comparing money using the < > = sign. Many of them told us about purchases that they had made at the shops to help them experience this for real. Thank you for supporting them with this. 

Of course, a highlight of the week was the trip to the zoo. The weather held off and we spent a fun few hours walking around in small groups seeing many different animals. It was amazing how much the children were able to do and see and everyone had an exciting day. The children particularly enjoyed seeing the monkeys playing, the lions (who were all out!) and the very grumpy male gorilla called Kumbuka. We also enjoyed watching the penguins being fed and visiting the Reptile House and the Aquarium. Halfway through the day the children took part in an interesting workshop about Life Cycles. The children impressed the Guide with all their existing knowledge about various life cycles and the also learnt a new word - Metamorphosis. Take a look at the photographs of our brilliant day out. We are sure that the children slept well. Mrs Rosenberg certainly did. Thank you so much to the parents who joined us on the trip. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, 

Shabbat shalom 

1.3.19

Happy St David's Day! Ask your children if they can tell you what happens in Wales on St David's Day and if they know anything else about other 'saint days'.

The children have worked hard this week, settling back into school life with ease. 

In Maths this week the children have been recognising and using money. This has included coins and notes and the children can recognise all of these. They have been counting different amounts of money and answering reasoning questions e.g. Sarah has a £10 note, a £1 coin, a 50p and a 2p. She wants to buy a toy for £11.75, does she have enough? This topic is really good to re-enforce the work that the children have previously done on place value, addition and subtraction.

Money is one of the maths topics that children are able to practise at home although in reality children rarely see money being exchanged as adults are using banks cards, smart phones and even smart watches to pay for items. As unofficial homework, we would like to encourage you to take your child to a shop with some coins. Select an item for them to buy, give them some coins, ask them if they have enough and to select the best coins to give the shop keeper (you might want to explain to the shop keeper that this transaction might take longer than most). Unless you know that your child is confident with the concept of change then you might want to ensure that they have the correct notes/coins. We have not covered change yet but some children understand the concept. Using money is a real-life situation will help consolidate their learning. 

This week in Literacy the children completed their Author Study on Oliver Jeffers. We discussed which of his books we liked best and gave reasons why. We have all loved his books (and we only looked at 4 in detail) - there are lots more out there to enjoy.

In Science we continued our topic on Habitats. We spent some time looking at how animals and plants adapt themselves to be able to live in their surroundings. Ask your children how camels. cacti, polar bears and monkeys are able to live in their particular habitats. 

Homework this week is all about 'You as a baby'. We are looking forward to seeing photographs of all the children as babies. It is always great fun seeing how much we have changed!

We have enjoyed preparing for Shabbat UK this week with lots of activities in school. The children had a special assembly and visited the Shabbat UK dome. Make sure you ask them what happened inside the dome. We loved celebrating Kabbalat Shabbat with so many of you today. As you saw, it is a very special service that the children have each week.

Shabbat Shalom  

In DT we are investigating kites from around the world and we are researching the history of kites. This week the children had lots of fun beginning to make their own 'Carp Kite' (used in Japan on Children's Day'). As you can see from the photographs, the children worked extremely hard sticking a variety of colourful scales on coloured paper. Next week we will complete the cylindrical kites and they will be displayed in our classroom. We are looking forward to enjoying all the beautiful colours. 

Spelling words 

Before half term the children received individual spellings. For your reference, below are the lists that they were taken from. 

15.2.19

We have loved spending the week reading books and taking part in book related activities.

The week began with a joint book quiz with Year 1. The children were paired with someone from Year 1 and they had to identify different book covers or character. There were many that the children recognised, even if they couldn’t remember the title. There were some that they did not know and we are setting them the challenge of reading/listening to all of the books on the list. We discussed going to the library or sharing books with friends as alternatives to buying new books.

On Tuesday, we thought about why we read and how we know what books we might enjoy. The children then wrote book reviews to help each other choose books. It was a good opportunity to go over the vocabulary of author and illustrator.

On Thursday the children did an absolutely brilliant job during the KS1 debate. Year 1 were the perfect audience as small groups of Year 2 children stood up and delivered well-written arguments about why they thought their colour was the most important. The debate was inspired by a book illustrated by Oliver Jeffers called 'The Day The Crayon Quit'. After the groups completed their speeches all of the children were able to vote for the best colour. Mazel tov to the joint winners, Pink and Red and well done to all of the groups for working so hard. 

The children performed brilliantly in the poetry recital, showing the work that they had put into practising the words.

For the final book-related activity, the children designed new book covers for books that they like. We might just have some future illustrators in our midst!

We can’t quite believe that we have reached the end of the half term. The children have continued to work hard and we can see real progress in their work.  As well as continuing to work hard, the challenge for the remaining term and a half will be to develop better listening skills and greater independence.

Over the holiday, please continue to read with your child as well as do mental maths activities, including practising times tables. If you are able to encourage your child to write, then we love to receive postcards, read diary extracts or stories that the children have written.

Most importantly, enjoy the time together with plenty of rest as the children have a busy second half of the term ahead.

Shabbat Shalom

This week in Literacy we thoroughly enjoyed looking at the story ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’.  This book was illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.  We enjoyed reading all the letters that the different coloured crayons wrote to Duncan. 

On Thursday next week, as part of Book Week,  the children are taking part in a debate together with Y1 about which is the best-coloured crayon. Please can you remind them to bring in something to wear in their group colour. It can be a hat, t-shirt or bow - something that can be easily put on and removed.

In Maths this week we continued to develop division skills. Next week we will have an opportunity to catch up with the children to see where they are up to with learning their times tables. Please use the grid given last week to self assess at home. 

In Science we learnt about habitats and how they need to provide shelter, food and climates for the animals and plants that live there. We grouped different living things into different habitats. 

In Art we looked at the history of kites and how they were used in different countries in the past and today. The children enjoyed decorating a Malaysian moon kite using the colours red, brown, blue and yellow and creating patterns with circles and diamonds. 

Homework this week is on sheets in the children’s folder. Children need to read the information about habitats and answer the questions in the booklet. They also need to produce a Scotland fact file - pre warning, yes, there will be one for Wales and Northern Island!

Next week is Book Week. One of the activities that the children will be attending is a poetry recital. As a class we will be reciting the poem Winter Morning by Ogden Nash. Please help your child to practise reading this and if possible learn it off by heart. The recital is Thursday next week. 

Have a lovely weekend

Shabbat Shalom

31.1.19

This week in Literacy we read Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. It is a lovely story about a special friendship between a boy and a penguin. The children enjoyed comparing the book and the short animation and successfully completed a comparison using a Venn diagram. In connection with the story the children enjoyed playing penguin multiplication dice games and ordered 17 species of penguin according to their heights. 

In Maths this week the children began thinking about division. We introduced this as sharing into equal groups. The children used drawings and concrete resources such as cubes to help them with this. We will be continuing with this next week. 

In art we had fun making camouflage binoculars (using crepe paper and toilet rolls) to search for ‘Living Things’. We all got a bit sticky! 

Some children are asking us if there is fruit left from lunch for their afternoon snack. Please ask your child if they would like afternoon snack and if they do then provide two named snacks. 

We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Stay warm! 

Shabbat shalom 

Democracy in action

Yesterday we held elections for the School Council. Even though we can only have 2 represtatives, we were delighted that 11 children put themselves forward as this shows commitment to the life of the school. The children had written well considered thoughts about the impact they would make and then they all had a vote. Well done to Ollie and Rafi who were selected to represent the class. Thank you to Naomi and JoJo for everything they did during their time on the School Council. 

Homework 31.1.19

All homework this week was on a sheet so has come home in a folder. 

Geography - create a fact file about England - information on sheet provided.  

Maths - practise times tables - grid provided - grid does not need to be returned, it is for you to track progress at home. 

English - Penguin information sheet - children need to read information and write notes in information grid provided. Children should be correctly spelling any words that are on the sheet. 

25.1.19

In Science this week we began our new topic 'Living Things'. We had a very interesting discussion about what being 'alive' means. The children brainstormed lots of ways that we could work out if something was living or not. We discussed animals (including humans) as well as plants. We also looked at things that were 'non-living' (had never been alive). We concluded that some things did not fit neatly into either of those two categories. We thought that there was another term that we needed to use. We decided that some things could have been alive at some point in time but were now no longer living (a bunch of cut flowers or an apple). The children played a sorting game with different pictures and hoops. The children have brought home an activity on this topic.

Next week we will be making binoculars with the children. Information about this can be found in the letter sent home with the homework. Please can you send your child into school with 2 cardboard rolls by Wednesday 30th January.

In Literacy we continued working on the story 'Stuck' by Oliver Jeffers. The children wrote their own strategies for getting a kite out of a tree and decorated beautiful,colourful kites which we will display in the classroom. They also wrote their own version of 'Stuck' and used Oliver Jeffers’ ideas and writing techniques to great effect in their own stories.

In Maths this week the children consolidated the work that we had been doing on arrays as well as answering simple word problems which use multiplication. For example there are 3 cookie jars with 10 cookies in each, how many cookies are there altogether?

In Geography we began looking at the 4 countries of the UK. We talked about the flags, capital cities, symbols and where they are on the map. We will now look at each of the 4 countries in turn, finding out interesting facts about them. If you have been to any interesting landmarks in any of the 4 countries and have any photos or leaflets, we would love to see them.

Wishing you a warm and restful weekend.

Shabbat shalom

Mrs Rosenberg and Ms Simon

Tu Bishvat - 21/1/19

We had a very enjoyable day eating fruit, playing games and learning about Tu Bishvat.  Thank you to all of you for providing the fruit and to the special mums, who cut up the fruit and presented it so beautifully on individual class platters. 

Looking ahead to March, we shall be having Consultation Evenings, when we'll have a chance, please G-d, to discuss your child's progress in Jewish Studies.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Consultation Evenings in the Autumn Term.  Should any parent feel a particular urgency to see me before the March Consultation Evenings, please email me so that we can set up a mutually convenient appointment.

Best wishes

Mrs R Stahl

Jewish Studies teacher

18.1.19

This week in Literacy the children had a lovely time looking at another one of Oliver Jeffer's books. This one is called 'Stuck' and tells the story of a boy called Floyd who accidentally gets his kite caught in a tree. He decides to throw his favourite shoe up into the tree to knock the kite out. Unfortunately his shoe gets stuck too. This leads to an amusing series of events where Floyd attempts to dislodge his kite by throwing some very unusual items at it. The children laughed throughout the story and produced some excellent written work using time connectives, commas and their great imaginations to come up with some of their own descriptive objects. Next week the children will be writing thier own 'Stuck' stories and looking into how to solve problems that they might encounter at school or at home. 

In Art this week some of the children made beautiful hanging stars linked to 'How to Catch A Star' whilst the others explored some excellent maths and literacy games on the IPADs. The link for these games is   http://www.ictgames.com/ 

The games can be played either on a desktop computer or a tablet. Make sure that you choose which one you want on the home page. Next week the two groups will swap over activities. 

In maths the children have been continuing to develop their multiplication skills. They looked at arrays which are a pictorial representations that help the children to see multiplication calculations. 

In Geography the children learnt about the different oceans and the countries that they surround. They then wrote facts about different countries to create a 'Where in the World' display. Next week we will be starting our work on the four countries of the United Kingdom. We will begin by looking at England.

This week we have thought about "Keeping Safe". On Tuesday, the children learnt about E-Safety. They now know how to keep their personal information safe online. It was lovely to see many of you at the parent session. It was really informative, keep a look at for next year's date to do your best to be able to attend. On Thursday, the NSPCC gave an assembly called "Speak Out, Stay Safe". The children met "Buddy", the friendly, green speech bubble who believes children should be able to speak out to someone if they feel worried or unhappy. The assembly explained about children's rights, which grown ups they can go to for help and how to keep their bodies safe.

Today, Mike Freer, our local MP, came to speak to the children about democracy and elections. At Kerem we have a very pro-active School Council. Every January we elect 2 members from each class. They meet in the Y1 classroom every other Thursday at 8.30am. We have discussed the qualities of a good class representative and will be voting in class on Monday 28th January. If your child would like to stand for election, please help them write a short manifesto e.g. "I think I would be a good school councillor because ..." Please note that the children should not make any promises e.g. ice cream for dessert nor provide any gifts to influence the vote. 

Reminders for next week

Monday is Tu Bishvat  - please remember to bring fruit to school. 

Friday is Blueish Jewish - children can wear blue and white. The suggested donation is £1

E-safety evening

A reminder about the important e-safety evening that is taking place on MONDAY 14TH JANUARY 7.30-9.00PM. 

This is a really important and informative event. Even if your children are not on line independently yet, it's good to get ahead with information. We really can't recommend this enough. 

11.1.19

This week in our Literacy lessons the children began an Author Study. For the next few weeks the children will be studyng the fantastic author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers. They have already learnt quite a bit about his life and his work. Please ask them to share their knowledge with you.

We have throughly enjoyed reading together the first book that he wrote and illustrated. It is called 'How To Catch A Star' and it tells the story of a determined and patient boy who wants to catch a star to have as a friend. The story contains wonderful themes and messages. We focussed on the idea of always trying to reach your goals, never giving up on your dreams and hopes however difficult or impossible they may seem. 

Over the coming weeks the children will look at a range of Oliver Jeffers stories. Each one contains lovely messages which we hope tha the children eill enjoy discussing with you at home. 

In Geography this week the children began their unit on the world around us and learnt about the continents and oceans. We talked about knowing where we fitted geographically in comparison to countries that we had visited. A really nice project to undertake as a family is to have a large world map and for the children to locate countries that either they or people they know have visited. Doing this will help them to get a good idea about where countries are, how close they are to the UK, how large or small the country is etc. This can build and build over time and would be a great momento for the whole family to look back on. You could extend their interest by finding out facts about the different countries. 

A reminder about the maths app found on the homework sheet and the link for Hit the Button are below. 

Shabbat shalom 

Have a wonderful weekend 

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button 

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday. See you in 2019!

7.12.18

What a week! We have loved celebrating Chanukah in school this week. It has been lovely lighting candles together each day and listening to the children sing enthusiastically. The children participated in a oil making workshop, made Lego chanukiot and of course enjoyed doughnuts! 

We can't quite believe that this has been the final full week of the term. The time has flown by. We have had great fun with the children and have been blown away by the progress they have made. We were so proud of them on Tuesday, they performed with great maturity, speaking loudly and clearly. 

Have a wonderful weekend. 

Shabbat shalom 

30.11.18

It was lovely to meet with those of you whom we met with on Wednesday. 

In English, the children learnt about the use of speech marks. When you are reading with them at home, it would be great if you can see if they can point out where they find speech marks. 

In Maths, the children have been using concrete equipment to support their work on subtraction. 

In Art, the children added silhouettes of houses onto the fire background that they painted last week. 

We are very excited about you seeing our show on Tuesday. Please help the children to learn their lines and to know who they speak after. We have told the children that they can wear any colour but we would like them to be wearing the same colour on the top and the bottom (to give the impression of being a coloured candle). If the girls wear leggings, they must bring a skirt with them for the rest of the day.  On Monday, please send in their fire jars. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom and happy Chanukah 

23.11.18

Another week seems to have flown by and the children have continued to work hard. 

It was lovely to meet with so many of you on Tuesday and we are looking forward to meeting with everyone else on Wednesday. 

This week in Literacy we discussed the importance of using expression when reading the dialogue. The children spent time writing in speech bubbles some different conversations between the main characters in our story. The children were very creative and really thought about what Vlad and Boxton might say to each other as they tried to escape the fire. 

In Art we painted a fiery background for a piece of art that we will complete next week. The children used colour mixing (red and yellow) effectively to create a fire scene. Look out for the finished product very soon. 

In music this week the children began practising for our Chanukah show. We are very excited for the children to share their learning with you. They will be bringing home a script next week. Please support them to learn their lines, say them loudly and clearly and to know who they speak after. 

We are thrilled that more children are trying to include some walking in their journey to school. If you live too far to walk the whole way then 'Park and Stride' is still a good way to not only encourage walking but helps to clear the area in front of the school from cars. Walking also gives children an opportunity for daily exercise and reduces the pollution that is coming from the cards.

With this in mind, today we had a lesson about road safety. It began in the classroom with a discussion about what the children need to be aware of when they are out walking. It moved onto a walk in the local area thinking about the rules that the children had just learnt. We crossed over the A1, being sure to wait for the pedestrian crossing to let us know that it was safe to go, walked up Norrice Lea, checking to see if cars were pulling out of their driveways and crossed over Linden Lea, thinking about where in the bend of the road was a safe place to cross.  See if your child can tell you about the important things that they need to remember when crossing the road. 

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend.  

Shabbat Shalom 

16.11.19

It has been another busy and exciting week in Year 2. The children are really enjoying the work that they are doing about The Great Fire of London. In History, the children learnt about the role that Samuel Pepys had in how we know so much about the fire. They answered a comprehension about him which will help them write their own diary entries as if they are him. Continuing on the theme of The Great Fire, the children made fire lanterns. These lanterns are coming home today BUT please keep them safe as, without giving too much away, we would like to have them back in school for our Chanukah show. 

This week in Literacy we did a Hot Seating activity. The children interviewed Vlad about his experience escaping the fire and wrote questions in their books using Who? What? Why? When? Where?

The children are really absorbed with the Great Fire of London and have learnt so much which they are always eager to share. As teachers we love it when a topic inspires and enthuses the children so much that they just can’t wait to talk about it and get creative. We hope that they will always remember this topic with excitement. 

In Maths, the children were using a number line to complete addition calculations. Rather than just counting on in ones, the children were looking to find more efficient ways to count on. This might involve using number bonds to 10/20 or knowledge of adding 10s to a number. 

The Ivrit team are helping to prepare the children for Chanukah. Please log into the Ivrit class blogs for YouTube links to the Chanukah songs. Individual class songs will be in individual class blogs but you can find the full Shiron on the main Ivrit page. 

We hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend. 

Shabbat shalom 

In Literacy this week the children were introduced to the lovely story of Vlad and the Great Fire of London by Kate Cunningham. It tells the story of a flea and his rat friend Boxton and describes the Great Fire of London from the perspective of a flea trying to escape the burning city.

To see a trailer of the book – click on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yVCl-fV8k0

We have been very impressed with the children’s knowledge of the Great Fire of London. They are enjoying the topic immensely and have learnt so much already.  The children’s Literacy/History homework this week is to look at the following website and complete the activities. Help Jane and Tom through the city. Please click on the link below. Enjoy.

http://www.fireoflondon.org.uk/game/

A fun summary of the Great Fire of London to enjoy with your children

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er3GKw8Z3R4

We also spent some time thinking about Remembrance Day and the significance of the poppy. The link below can be used as an alternative way of marking a 2-minute silence at 11 am on 11.11.18 to commemorate 100 years since the end of the first World War.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/poppies

Poppy’s Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joIMzR5VoWc

In Maths this week we have begun our topic on addition and subtraction. The focus of the unit is learning different strategies to complete these calculations. We also talked about the importance of having quick mental recall of number bonds. We focused this week on 20 but some children still need to practise their fluency to 10. Please help your child to work on these by playing games with them. It is as simple as you calling out a number and them calling back the pair which would make 10/20. If your child is confident with this you can do 100. You do not have to use 10s so you could say 33 and they call back 67. You will also find games here

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button  

In Art, we enjoyed making HOUSE paper chains using black strips of paper and then decorating them. The paper chains were a great way for the children to visualise just how close and connected the houses in the city of London were in 1666. It was a challenging activity to fold and then cut the paper carefully but all the children tried hard and were thrilled with the result.

If anyone has any glass JAM JARS  that they no longer need - please can you send them into school next week as we will be using them to make something very special with them in our Art lessons.

A bingo style maths game to practise bonds to 20 and other mathematical skills. The children need to choose any 8 numbers between 1-20 and draw their own bingo board on a piece of paper. When the questions are generated by the maths machine - your child can cross off the answer IF they have it on their board. Have fun together. See who can be the first to shout ‘Bingo’!

http://www.ictgames.com/numberFactsBingo/index.html

Jewish Studies - Rosh Chodesh Kislev - 9th November

We caught up on last week's Parashah as we were away on half term.  We learned that although it is called Chayei Sarah, "Sarah's Life", four people die in the Parashah: Sarah, Betuel, Avraham and Yishmael.  Do you know who of these four were buried in the Cave of Machpelah (pictured below)?

WOW! 

We can't quite believe it but somehow we have reached the end of the first half term. 

We have had such a great time teaching the children. We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and watching them settle and grow into life in Year 2. We hope that you also feel that it has been a great start to the year. 

This week has been as busy as any other. We loved seeing the houses that the children made and were so impressed with the creativity that was shown.  Thank you for the support you gave the children with gathering resources and putting them together. Following on from Mr Hirschfield's visit last week, Mr Baliti joined us this week to test the strength of the houses. The children really enjoyed doing this and learnt all about fair testing. They also enjoyed Mr Baliti and Rafi's multiple choice quiz and learnt about different aspects of a building site. 

In Maths the children revised the symbols < and > and used them to compare numbers. They have worked well to consolidate their place value knowledge over the half term but please keep practising mental maths skills with them over the holidays. 

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting 

is an excellent website where you will find lots of fun games covering a range of maths topics and abilities. 

In English, our main focus has been on using and checking for capital letters,  finger spaces and full stops in our sentences.  Please look at the links of a sentence song that the children saw and enjoyed and a game that the children can play. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/starship/english/games/penguins_on_ice/small_no_sound/standard2.shtml    (Sentence Game)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tChuU2owaOI  (Sentence Song)

In History, the children reviewed the sequence of events for The Great Fire of London. We have talked about The Monument which is in Pudding Lane. If you are looking for a half term activity then climbing the 311 steps of The Monument is a great one! If you happen to find yourself on The South Bank, then not too far from The Globe Theatre, there is a plaque on the wall of the public house showing where Samuel Peyps sat when he wrote his diary. 

Here is the youtube link to the bookmark that the children made in case they would like to make another one. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OFo2a3UFHiA

We hope that you have a wonderful break. Safe travels to anyone who is going away. Don't forget to send us postcards!

Reading books

When children are ready to change their book we listen to them read the old book to check for fluency of reading, understanding of vocabulary and comprehension of the text  This process takes up to 5 minutes per child and if we can we like to spend longer with each child. We are thrilled how enthusiastic the children are about changing their books but we are sure that you appreciate that this therefore can't happen every day for every child. If your child has finished their school reading book, this does not mean that they can't read other books at home, or that they can't re-read it.

Today we were visited by Enav from Israel and her special guide dog Jeff. She talked to the children about the role guide dogs play in enhancing the lives of blind people. 

This week we were thrilled to welcome Mr Hirschfield to Year 2 who came to tell us all about his exciting job as an architect. He explained to the children about what his work involves and showed us some amazing photographs of different sorts of buildings focusing on the variety of materials used. He demonstrated how important the foundations of a building are by building towers using plastic cups in different ways. He also answered our interesting questions. We enjoyed watching a fun video on the history of architecture. It was fascinating to see how the designs of buildings has changed so much over the years. Thank you so much Mr Hirschfield.

We are looking forward to testing out our houses next week. Please make sure that your child’s house and planning sheet is in school for Tuesday 23rd October.

In Science we have started thinking about our role in protecting planet Earth. We have discussed the 3 R’s in great detail and why they are so important. 

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE. 

We have also learnt what environment and biodegradable means. From now on - we are all going to try EXTRA HARD to find ways in which we can do all 3 R’s in order to look after our world. We have put up a display about the 3 Rs. If you would like to send a photo of your child doing one of them we would love to add it. 

You can have a go at these fun science and english games on line.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/tg-ga-56-twinkl-green-week-recycling-with-emily-phase-3-phonics-pairing-game

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/go/resource/tg-ga-59-twinkl-green-week-junk-jumble-recycling-game

15.10.18 - The Gym

The children had a great time at the gym today. They worked hard to develop their  jumping, balancing and rolling skills. 

At the end of most days we have lots of snack left over. We do ask the children to take theirs but by the end of the week we still have lots left. It would be a great help if you could name your child's so we can return it to the right person. If, for the benefit of the environment, you don't want to use small plastic bags each day then we will ensure that any named pots get returned to you.

Jewish Studies - 12th October 2018/3rd Cheshvan 5779

This week’s Parasha is an exciting story. We discussed whether we would’ve been influenced by Noach’s generation and what a Tzaddik Noach was to resist all the wickedness around him. We wondered whether it was a fitting reward for Hashem to make Noach look after all the animals in a tightly packed teyva (ark) for a year.

On Monday we attended a fabulous visit at the Barbican Centre where we saw the wonderful London Symphony Orchestra perfom Peter and the Wolf. The children enjoyed listening to the amazing music, finding out about some of the instruments and hearing the story told by a narrator. They also had fun joinig in with some of the songs and performing the actions. Thank you again to those parents who helped on the trip. 

In school we discussed how houses around the world are built from different materials depending upon the climate of the country. We had fun watching a video showing some very unusual houses that have been designed and built. We also watched a short clip about the Ice Hotel in Sweden. Brrrr..

The children have been set a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) challenge to build a house for the Three Little Pigs. They have been given a black plastic plant pot to begin their design. They must use this pot as a base for their own house. The children can add materials to the pot by sticking them on. However, they are not allowed to stick the pot down on any surface. The completed houses and the planning sheet need to be brought back to school by Tuesday 23rd October. We will be (fair) testing them for their strength using the "Big, Bad Blowdryer" on Thursday 25th October.

In Maths the children have continued to work on their place value knowledge, working to plot numbers on a number line that has no numbers. They did this by looking for known facts to support them e.g. if it was a number line that went from 0-10, the children know that 5 is half way. They can then plot 5. They then know that between 0-5 they need to equally plot 4 numbers and the same between 5-10. It may seem like we have remained on this topic for a long time, but a solid understanding of place value forms the foundations of children's ability in Maths. 

9.10.18

Today we began our History topic by thinking about what is History. We thought about different events or periods of time in history. We then categorised the events into 3 different groups. These were events in the very recent past (within the children's life time), events that happened in the past 100 years and events that happened over 100 years ago. 

When recording in their books, the children thought about other events but below you can see some of the events that the children thought of. 

Jewish Studies - 5th October 2018/26 Tishrei 5779

After learning about and enjoying the Chagim we've now started our new topic, Brachot (blessings) on food.  We were surprised to learn that the Bracha on mushrooms is Shehakol, that carrots grow in the ground and that pasta is made of flour and consequently we say the Bracha, Mezonot, on spaghetti Bolognese! Not having grown up in the country and certainly not on a farm makes it difficult for us to work out which category of Bracha a  particular food belongs to.

N.B. A change in the Hebrew reading homework schedule:

Aleph Champ books should be brought to school on a MONDAY.  They will be returned by WEDNESDAY i.e. on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

5th October 2018

Well, somehow it is now October, the weather is cooling and the daylight is not with us for quite as long but none of that has stopped the children working their hardest. 

On Wednesday we were lucky enough to have Miss Burns with us for the day. This is a real treat as she gets to see the children in all of their lessons. She even spends lunch and play time with them. 

In Science this week we discussed the difference between natural and man-made materials. We had fun sorting pictures of materials into the correct group. 

In English, we wrote apology letters from the Big Bad Wolf to the 3 Little Pigs and used a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two versions of our traditional tale. 

In Maths, the children were consolidating their knowledge of place value and how we can estimate the approximate position of numbers on an empty number line. 

On Thursday, we had a lovely afternoon making some pencil holder pigs out of air-drying clay and mastering the ‘Score and slip (and mush)’ technique. Next week we will be painting our pigs.

Outing to the Barbican Monday 8th October

• Please provide your child with a NUT FREE packed lunch for this outing.
• Please put the lunch in a named plastic bag. It should consist of milky/parev sandwiches, fruit, drink (in a disposable container). 
• School uniform
• Boys - school caps

Please remember to practise the words of our songs for our outing to the Barbican.

HOMEWORK

Homework will be given on a Thursday and should be returned by the following Tuesday.  Should there be a reason why this can't happen, please let us know at the earliest opportunity. 

We will have shown the children what the homework is and have chosen the activity based on prior learning, however, they may still need an adult to sit with them and go over what they need to do. Should the homework be too easy or far too hard please let us know. 

Any sheets that the children write on, must be stuck in their books before handing them in. If you don't have glue at home then please get some. We are sure that you appreciate that sticking 1 or 2 sheets in a book is much quicker for you than us sticking in 23!

The children’s homework should reinforce the high standards for presentation that we expect at school.

• Work should be presented clearly, using space as needed.

• Titles and the date must be underlined with a ruler.

• Sentences must be written on the lines, in neatest handwriting.

• Sentences must include basic punctuation and capital letters.

• If relevant, question numbers should be written in the margin before each answer.

• Rubbers should not be used. Answers should be thought out carefully, and any mistakes crossed out neatly with one line so that corrections can be read easily. Mistakes are not shameful, they show that we are trying and learning.

Each piece of homework should not take longer than 20 minutes to complete. Please feel free to stop your child from working beyond this length of time, and let us know if there have been any problems in pitch or amount.

SPELLING BOOKS

Spelling lists will be given every Friday. Any activities that the children do in order to learn their spellings do not need to be in the book. They can be on paper and kept at home. The spelling books must be in school every Friday in order to receive the next list. 

JS - 28th Sept - 19th

We were so lucky that we got the chance to visit some Y2 children's succot. We were welcomed so warmly and the tables were heaving with so much delicious, kosher food. We heard stories and played riddles. Thank you so much to our hosts.

28th September 2018

It has been a busy week with our Sukkah visits and our Trip to Kenwood. The children enjoyed both experiences. Thank you to everyone who helped. We were really impressed with how the children were on the two long walks, managing with little or no fuss. 

In school they carried on learning about The Three Little Pigs and, in order to think more about characterisation and questions, they interviewed/ interogated the Big Bad Wolf!

We hope that you enjoy the photos and videos. 

"In honour of Artishrei, we have launched a whole school Art Competition. We would love as many children as possible to enter. The children can work alone or with others to create a piece of artwork entitled ‘New Beginnings’. They can use any medium and there will be prizes for the winning entries!" 

We wish everyone Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.

Sukkah visits 

The children had a lovely time visiting the different Sukkot, thank you so much to the families who hosted us. 

Friday 21st September

Although it has been a broken week, this has not stopped the children working hard. 

In English the children continued to focus on the character of the Big Bad Wolf. In Maths they have been looking at reading and writing numbers in letters e.g. thirty eight and in Science, they have been looking at and describing a range of materials.

We have come to the end of our reading and phonics assessments and hope that reading books will come home from next week. When we send out the books, we will also send home our plan for hearing children read and them changing their reading books.

This week we have begun our Artishrei project. The painting that our class will be studying is A Coast Scene with Fisherman Hauling Boats Ashore by Joseph Mallord William Turner. We will look at many aspects of this painting in a range of lessons. The link to Tishrei will be made through the storm in the story of Yonah and the Great Fish. We think it would be lovely for your child If you could look at the painting with them.

Please make sure that you have read the trip letter to ensure that your child has all of the correct things for the trip next week.

Wishing you all chag sameach

Barbican Trip

We are very excited about our trip to The Barbican. It is a wonderful opportunity for the children to engage in a musical experience. 

In preparation for the trip, Mr Fingerhut has begun teaching the children the songs that they will be singing when we are there. It would be great if you could help your child learn the words and the tune. The web links are a recording of the songs and the photos are the lyrics. 

This is the Story 

http://lsostream.dh.bytemark.co.uk/KS_songs/01This_is_the_storyVoice%26Piano.mp3

Hungry Wolf 

http://lsostream.dh.bytemark.co.uk/KS_songs/03The_Hungry_WolfVoice%26Piano.mp3

Monday 17th September

The children enjoyed their first gym visit of the year. Following on from their warm up they enjoyed jumping, swinging and balancing. 

Jewish Studies - 14/09/18

Today we went down to the river to say Tashlich.  There we read the prayer which says that HaShem is our kind King who wants us to be good.  When we emptied our pockets at the river, we found all sorts of interesting bits and pieces there, although we understood that we were symbolically throwing away our sins.

Friday 14th September 

It might have been a short week but it has still been a busy one! 

In English, the children have been writing character description for The Big Bad Wolf. They have been using adjectives and will be producing a 'wanted' poster using this language. 

In Science the children went on a walk around the outside of the school identifying different everyday materials. See below for photos. 

In Maths the children have been learning about the place value of different digits in a number. The children have begun using reasoning language to explain how they know something about a number. 

Friday 7th September 

Cross Country

The children were very excited to have this event so early on in the term, especially as it was accompanied by ice-lollies! The children all did fantastically with each of them completing the course. We were very proud of them all. 

Congratulations to our medalists

Girls 

Gold - Mia 

Silver - Amelie

Bronze - Naomi 

Boys

Gold - Eitan

Silver - Isaac

Bronze - Raphael