Christmas has come early in Hoberman! We have not only kick started our Nativity preparations but we have also worked together to make a class Christmas card. We channelled all our creative energy into a small bauble to be hung on a paper tree ready to be made into a Christmas card. Luckily for you all, you will be able to buy one or more closer to Christmas…

Thank you all for the effort you and the children made to make my not-so-kept-quiet Birthday so special. I was completely overwhelmed by how kind and generous all of the children were. What more can a girl ask for, than to start the day having what felt like 30 homemade Birthday cards thrown at her!? There were also a couple of boxes of chocolates and flowers which I wasn’t sure which little hands they came from, but was so grateful for.

In English, the children have absolutely loved writing their own stories with Mrs Hayes. Following reading Six Dinner Sid the children planned and wrote their own versions. Their imaginations ran wild and the finished pieces were really fantastic. Their progress really shone through which is great to see.

In Maths, we have been perfecting our subtractions and finished the week with a lesson full of puzzles and challenges. The children worked in pairs to answer reasoning questions before writing their own problems for their partner to solve. The children were encouraged to explain their strategies for finding their answers.

In Science, we continued learning about animals and the many clever ways in which their bodies are adapted to their environment. The children then focussed on a report about elephants and had to find out where the animal got its water from, what it eats, where it lives and what it needs to survive.

In Humanities, we have started looking at the events of The Great Fire of London. The children enjoyed thinking about life has changed from the eighteenth century to now.

In RE, we discussed what the world would be like without rules. We (mostly) decided not so fun. The children wrote their own rules in groups which they then presented to the class. This led onto a lesson about the Ten Commandments.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Miss Hall

What a fantastic week back we’ve had. All of the children were extremely excited to see each other on Monday morning. I really missed them all over half term. Everyone sounds like they had a lovely week.

Nativity scripts have been sent home today. Please read these through with your child over the weekend and start to learn lines.

In English, we have started an exciting new book called ‘Six Dinner Sid’ by Inga Moore. We were changing a verb from present to past tense. We also annotated a storyboard, picking out all of the exciting adjectives, punctuation, past tense words and conjunctions.

In Maths, we have been using tens and ones to add two 2-digit numbers that cross ten. This was a bit tricky as we had to remember that if we counted ten ones then we had to swap them for one ten. We then moved on to adding three 2-digit numbers. We then moved on to subtracting a one-digit number from a two-digit number, using tens and ones to support us. We also have been subtracting two 2-digit numbers not crossing 10.

In R.E, we have been recapping and quizzing ourselves on what it means to be a Hindu,

In Science, we have been learning about what animals, including humans, need to survive. We discovered that the three important things are food, water and oxygen. We also discussed the difference between carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.

In Humanities, we took a quiz on everything we have learnt about London last term.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Miss Hall

Please note: If you have trouble reading your reading comprehension apologies. The photocopier was playing up for us.

Year 2 have had a great week. They really enjoyed learning all about Argentina on Hispanic day. They all looked fabulous in their outfits. We took part in a very exciting drama and dance workshop. At the start of the day we labelled Argentina on a world map and did a quiz all about animals found there. As well as this, we did some cave art using chalk pastels.

Yesterday, we held our third ‘Red Card to Racism’ day where all pupils came wearing something red (no matter how big or small) to show unity with those who experience racism and as a school this is something we are incredibly passionate about fighting.

Here is the video of the book, ‘I Am Enough’, which we will be working on next week for celebrating black voices week.

https://youtu.be/FnAX2674tr0

In English, we looked at the use of commas when writing a list and expanded noun phrases to help with our descriptive writing. We finished the week by planning a story based on the book ‘A Lion in the Meadow’ by Margaret Mahy but with a twist.

In Maths, we have been continuing our work on addition. To help with this, we used place value charts and dienes. The dienes really helped with exchanging.

In Humanities, we learnt all about the seasonal weather patterns in London.

In R.E, we have been learning about why Hindus believe pilgrimage is important.

In Science, we have been identifying how humans change as they get older. The children have been taking part in a very exciting Science workshop this week, which has been based on space.

We are really looking forward to our first DT day of this academic year on the 22nd October. This time the theme is bags and we are asking for children to bring in an old T shirt (cotton/polyester). Any colour or pattern will do and please feel free to donate more than one if you can. These T shirts will be turned inside out and repurposed to be given a second life as a stylish bag made and designed by the children. Please send t-shirts in a labelled bag on Monday.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Miss Hall

Another happy week in Hoberman with a lot covered! Some key dates for you first, next Friday is Hispanic day and our country is Argentina.

On Thursday 15th October, we have ‘Red Card to Racism’ day for the third year in a row. All children are encouraged to come in and where something red to show their allegiance to the anti-racist movement. We will be having a special (streamed) assembly and all children will carry out an anti-racism activity in their classes. Next term, our ‘Relationships and Health Education’ learning unit is ‘Valuing Difference’, which will continue the conversation from Thursday. ​We can’t collect with the buckets this year due to Covid but should you wish to/are able to donate via text.

Please text ‘RED’ to 70470 to give £1, ‘RED5’ to give £5, ‘RED10’ to give £10 or ‘RED20’ to give £20 if you are able to.

In English, the children’s main focus was around writing their own set of instructions. The children imagined that these instructions were to be given to a Year 1 and so they had to be clear and thorough. The children did an amazing job at taking in three new word types and using them effectively; adverbs, time connectives and imperative (or ‘bossy’!) verbs. I was blown away by how fantastic these instructions were. Towards the end of the week we started our new text ‘The Lion in the Meadow’. The children had a chance to act it out in small groups and answer questions about the text.

In Science we played ‘guess the baby’ and then started to discuss what we can do now which we couldn’t do when were a baby. We even discussed how there are still things that we can’t yet do. There were a lot of great ideas and very sweet pictures being shared! Thank you for sending these through, it was a very fun lesson!

In Relationships and Health Education we talked about the differences between teasing and bullying. The children had a chance to write down or share any concerns and we had a good discussion.

In Maths the children have started to add one and two-digit numbers together and even two two-digit numbers together. That’s a mouthful! The children understand that one ten is the same as ten ones and these can be exchanged or ‘swapped’ when adding to help us find an answer. That sounds more complicated than it is!

In Humanities, we looked at geographical features and understood what man-made means.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Miss Hall

We have had another lovely week in Year 2 with lots of happy children. A reminder that this week is comprehension week. This will be in the plastic wallet in your child’s homework book. In addition to the weekly homework, over the next few weeks could you please practise the alphabet letter names (not the phonetic sounds).

In English, we started the week writing our final letter for our ‘Meerkat Mail’ unit. The letters written to Sunny by the children were fantastic and very persuasive! We then moved onto a new English unit which is all about instructions. We read and followed some instructions about making a London guard. We identified the use of imperative (bossy) verbs, time connectives (first, then, finally) and adverbs. We can now find adverbs, understand why we have them and can even make our own from adjectives.

In Maths this week, we have been making good use of our friend ‘the number gator’ in our challenges. We have been ordering numbers from 0-100. Following this, we have been counting in steps of twos, threes, fives and tens from zero forwards and backwards. We were also recalling the multiples of 10 below and above any given 2-digit number. To finish the week we have been ordering and positioning numbers on a number line as well as recognising odd and even numbers.

In Humanities, we have been using compass points and positional direction to navigate between London landmarks. The children had a lot of fun during this. They loved directing each other around a London map.

In R.E, we have been learning about the word ‘Karma’. We understand that good deeds cause more good deeds. We used drama to explore this in practice. The children asked some really amazing questions about Hinduism.

In Science, we have been identifying which animals lay eggs and which give birth to live young. Can you believe an elephant is pregnant for nearly 2 years?!

In Art, we have been looking at Picasso’s blue period and will soon be moving onto Frida Kahlo. Today the children thought about where they are from and what ‘home’ means to them. They then drew some ideas which we will be using next week when we look at creating our own ‘Frida Kahlo’s’!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Miss Hall

This week the children were evidently really in the swing of things in Year 2. Thank you for all the homework books and reading books which came back when they should. The class all did very well in their spelling test so the practicing has really paid off.

In English, we have read a letter to Sunny from his cousin George who has invited him to come and visit him in London. The children enjoyed picking out all of the exciting adjectives that were in the letter as well as any conjunctions George had included. Inspired by cousin George, Year 2 wrote some of their own exciting sentences, including adjectives and conjunctions. Now it is their turn to write to Sunny! They need to tell Sunny about why he should stay with them. We have had some amazing descriptions of food and very persuasive plans put in place. The children will write these letters up on Monday.

In Maths we worked on the ‘greater than’, ‘less than’ and ‘equal to’ signs. Once these were absolutely perfect, we moved onto counting forwards and backwards in 2s, 5s, 10s and even 3s.

In Science, we have been finding out about the babies that different animals have and have learnt some new words like foal, fawn and hedgehog urchin! We talked about why it is important that animals (including humans) have babies and discussed how animals reproduce by either giving birth to live young or by laying eggs.

In Humanities, we have been discussing our favourite landmarks in London and others around the world.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Miss Hall

What a fantastic full week back we have had. There’s lots of happy, smiley children who have really enjoyed their week at school. Thank you to all who have sent in their photos. Very much appreciated. If you have not done so, please can you send them this weekend. Thanks so much.

In regards to homework, the spelling and arithmetic homework will always be put on our class web page. The children must complete the spelling section in the front of their book and the math section in the back of their book. Mathletics activities will be set weekly. Your child’s mathletics password will be stuck in their homework book. Every other week there will be a comprehension exercise, which must be completed in the front of the homework book. Please ensure that you child is continuing to learn our class poem and practising their reading.

In English, we have started our brand new book ‘Meerkat Mail’ by Emily Gravett. We have discussed all of the wonderful places that the central character Sunny has visited on different days of the week. For each place that he visited, Sunny sent a postcard home to his parents. Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed reading these heart-felt postcards. We have also been thinking about when to use our capital letters (the start of a sentence, I, a name, a place, days of the week and months of the year) and answering retrieval and inference questions based on the book.

In Maths, we worked in partners using tens and ones dienes to make 2-digit numbers. We then partitioned our 2-digit numbers in two different ways using a place value column, the part whole model and calculation sums for example: 64 = 60 + 4 OR 10 + 54 = 64. We have also been using ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ symbols to compare objects. We finished the week by comparing pairs of numbers using ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ symbols. In our Maths starters, we have been revising the commutative law and inversing. Next week, we will be ordering numbers and counting in twos, fives threes and tens.

In Science, we have been learning about how animals, including human, have offspring that grow into adults. We looked at pictures of baby animals and their adult such as a foal and horse and fawn and dear and discussed how they have changed.

In Humanities, we have been locating London on a map and describing its location. We are starting to learn all about London. We discussed what London is, where it is on a world map, that London is in the world and within the UK, that it’s a capital city and that the UK has three other capital cities. In pairs, we looked at the UK Map, World Map and had Picture Cards. Using all of the information provided, the class answered questions such as:-

1. Which country is London in?
2. What continent is London in?
3. What are the other capital cities in the UK?

In R.E, we have been discussing the importance of family in Hinduism.

In Art, Year 2 have been studying the artist Roy Lichtenstein.

Have a lovely weekend,

Miss Hall

The children have a done a brilliant job at settling into Year 2 this week. It has been absolutely lovely spending time with some of them for the first time, and just getting to know them all a lot better. What a great class! I foresee great things!

The children have written detailed replies to my letter introducing myself, telling me all about what they did during the holiday, where they live and what they like doing.

We have talked about the importance of rules in our lives and have made our own set of rules for our class. The children have all signed the ‘Class Contract’(!) as a promise to try to follow them at all times.

In Maths, we have been practising ordering one and two-digit numbers and have also been writing numbers as numerals and in words. The children have been showing me how good they are at finding one more and one less of given numbers. Some children can even find ten more and ten less of two-digit numbers.

Today, I talked to the children about our class poet, Mary Ann Hoberman. The children have impressively learnt most of the words already to her poem ‘Brother’ and even have some actions to go with them. The children then wrote their own poem in the style of Mary Ann Hoberman, filled with interesting adjectives.

P.E. lessons and Gymnastics will commence next week so please make sure that your child comes in in their PE kit on Monday and Thursday. At pick up time, the children who have siblings in Years 4, 5 or 6 only will go through to the big playground to be collected with their sibling. Please note the homework attached to our class page. In Year 2 the children will also be doing comprehension every other week starting from next week.

Have a great weekend.

Miss Hall

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Year 2!

I hope you all had a super summer holiday and are feeling refreshed and ready for the new school year.

Drop Off and Collection

In the mornings, Year Two children are to arrive between 8.45am and 8.55am. We ask that parents and carers say goodbye to their children at the school gate where I (Miss Hall) will be waiting to welcome them. I will then direct them to their classroom, up the stairs in the small playground where they will be welcomed by Mrs Hayes and Mrs Walsh. In their new classroom they will then take part in a ‘soft start’. The ‘soft start’ is a chance for the children to quietly do an activity at their table whilst we wait for the whole class to arrive before starting the day. At the end of the day, Year Two children will be dismissed from the small blue door to the right of the main entrance at 3.30pm.

Reading Books

Your child will be given two new reading books every Monday which they will keep until Friday. They are being given two books because there will not be an opportunity to swap these books during the week. The books need to be brought back to school on the Friday and put into the reading book box, which the children will find inside the classroom. Please make sure that you sign the reading diaries when the books need to be changed. Books will not be changed if your child’s reading diary is not signed.

Homework

English homework (spellings, sentences and comprehension tasks) are to be completed in the front of the green homework book. Arithmetic homework is to be completed at the back of the same green homework book and children will also be set online Mathletics activities. Your child’s Mathletics login card and J2E login card will be attached to the back of their homework book. Their logins remain the same. All homework will be set on a Friday and needs to be completed and handed in by the following Tuesday, they are welcome to hand it in on Monday if they would like. Please note, English, Arithmetic and Mathletics homework will begin on Friday 11^th September. This Friday a poem by our class poet will be uploaded onto the website for children to learn in addition to the homework set.

Gymnastics and P.E.

Children will need to come into school wearing their P.E. kit on Mondays and Thursdays starting from this Thursday. The children will have their Gymnastics session on Thursdays and their P.E. session on Mondays. If children have clubhouse, which they need to be in PE kit for, please make sure they bring a bag of their kit in with them in the morning. May I please remind parents that earrings must be taken out before school on the days that your child has sports lessons.

Water Bottles

The children are encouraged to bring in a water bottle each day.

Our first Science topic is all about the growth and survival of animals including humans. The children will be thinking about how they have changed since they were babies and it would be lovely if we could have some photos to illustrate their work. Please email these through to your class teacher by the beginning of next week. I am really looking forward to getting to know the children and yourselves over the next couple of weeks. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me.

Thank you for your support,

Miss Hall

f.hall@ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk