Wake Up Shake Up!
We have been enjoying the sunshine in Early Years and KS1 over the past two weeks. It has been great to dance along to our favourite songs together every morning on the playground! We have been dancing to ‘Green, Green Grass’ by George Ezra recently, one of our favourites! Why not ask your child to show you their moves and learn some of our special WUSU dances?
Living and Learning
‘I know how to respect the similarities and differences of people.’
In Living and Learning sessions this week, KS1 have been discussing the similarities and differences between themselves and others around them.
We talked about some differences between boys and girls and spoke in detail about a how a lot of these differences are actually opinion rather than fact. For example that only boys can play football and that only girls can wear makeup.
One child in 2C said, ‘Girls and boys have different histories because in the past, boys had more rights.’
The children were very respectful towards one another, listened politely and shared their own ideas with care.
Maths – telling the time
This week in Year 2 we have been learning how to tell the time. We have really focussed on how to recognise: o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to the hour. We have practised looking at clocks often, showing times in intervals of 15 minutes. We know that the ‘long’ hand shows the minutes and the ‘short’ hand shows the hour.
We know that:
‘When the minute hand is pointing to the 12 it is o’clock.’
‘When the minute hand is pointing to the 6 it is half past.’
‘When the minute hand is pointing to the 3 it is quarter past.’
‘When the minute hand is pointing to the 9 it is quartet to.‘
The children have shown lots of enthusiasm about learning the time! Help at home: by talking about time often at home. E.g. ‘It is 8 o’clock, it is now bedtime.’
Why not also try using a teaching clock at home so that your child can practise the time? Teaching Clock (topmarks.co.uk)
Zog theatre trip – Year 2
Year 2 had a fantastic day at The Carriageworks theatre today watching a performance of Zog, the classic story by Julia Donaldson. We have used the story to work on our reading fluency, reading with prosody and also writing. It has also shaped discussions about resilience – keeping on trying even when things are tough.
Zog theatre trip – Year 1
Year 1 had a fantastic day at The Carriageworks theatre today watching a performance of Zog, the classic story by Julia Donaldson. We have used the story to work on our reading fluency, reading with prosody and also writing. It has also shaped discussions about resilience – keeping on trying even when things are tough.
Topic-Heroes
Our topic this half term has been heroes. We have been looking at two in particular-Nelson Mandela and Leonora Cohen.
The children have learnt about their lives and beliefs.
They have been using vocabularly such as apartheid and suffragette to describe what these two historic people stood up for and the difference they made to others.
The children have enjoyed dressing up as real life heroes and sharing why they are real life heroes.
Maths – fractions
This week in 2C we have been securing our knowledge of fractions. We have been looking at fractions of shapes and of amounts including one and two-digit numbers.
The fractions we have been learning about are halves (two equal parts), thirds (three equal parts) and quarters (four equal parts).
In order to find fractions of a number, we used paper plates and counters and divided them up into equal parts.
Help at home: think about where you can find fractions in the home. Why not use pizza or cake and cut them into slices to find fractions?
Living and Learning – 60 minutes of daily exercise
This week’s Living and Learning statement is, ‘I know the importance of 60 active minutes’.
In KS1 we have been discussing the importance of exercise and how we need to keep active to keep our bodies healthy. The NHS guidance states that children and young people should ‘aim for an average of at least 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity a day across the week’. We know that the exercise we need to do to achieve this, should increase our heart rate.
At school we provide opportunities for at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. Some of these include:
- Daily WUSU
- 2 weekly PE sessions (including swimming)
- Play times x2
- Lunch time play
- Go Noodle, Just Dance and Supermovers in class
- After school clubs
Help at home – GoNoodle and Supermovers are both educational, active resources that are available for free online. Walking to school (where possible) will also help towards achieving active minutes.
Living and Learning – physical and mental health
This week’s Living and Learning statement is ‘I know that being physically active is mentally and physically healthy’.
In KS1 we have been discussing the importance of having 60 minutes of exercise per day.
We keep active in school every day through WUSU, PE and play during break and lunch times.
One child in 2C said ‘I walk to school every morning. This is part of my exercise.’
We also talked about the importance of rest and that we need both exercise and rest to keep our bodies and minds healthy.
We calculated how long we spend being physically active each day and how we can make small changes to stay active for longer.
History – suffragettes
We have been learning all about Leonora Cohen in our history topic. She was a suffragette from Leeds and a very inspirational woman! We talked about how she fought for the right for women to vote and have equal rights. She designed and wore this dress, which is displayed at Abbey House Museum. We then designed an outfit she might’ve worn.
