Dear Parents and Carers

Thanks to all of you who attended the SATS meeting. Hopefully, everything was clear but please let me know if you have any questions.

Wednesday was DT Day and the children worked in groups to make Ferris Wheels. We have been learning about the mechanisms of a wheel and the children drew on their understanding of axles to design their wheels. They used cardboard, lollipop sticks, egg cartons, cocktail sticks, pipe cleaners as well as PVA glue and masking tape. The results are fantastic – have a look at the pictures.

In English, we finished our work on La Princesa and the Pea which culminated in the children writing a letter as La Reina to a friend describing what happened in the story. They used lots of fabulous adjectives and adverbs to retell the story in their own words in the style of an informal letter.

In Maths, the children have been practicing word problems in measure. Some of the questions are multi-step and not easy and I have been impressed with their perseverance.

In RE, the children thought about the meaning of the bread and the wind in the Easter story. In History, we learnt about the life of Mary Seacole and compared her experience of the Crimean War with that of Florence Nightingale. While in Relationships and Heath, we talked about the importance of being good with money. We compared the desire to spend our money with the feeling of satisfaction we get when we save up to buy something special for ourselves or for someone else.

Happy Mother’s Day! The children have all made a card so please remind them it’s in their bag if they forget.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

A few of you have asked about the football event at Greenside Primary School that was due to take place on Wednesday. The match was organised and hosted by Greenside. Clare and Alastair select the teams for all sporting events and they do this based on the criteria given by the hosting school or organisation. Greenside was putting forward its best players and so for this event Alastair and Clare selected a competitive team. Unfortunately, there are limited opportunities for inter school competitions in Year 2 but the good news is that there are many more in KS2. You will remember that in the autumn term, Alastair and Clare organised a football tournament for the whole of Year 2, which was lots of fun, and I’m hoping we might be able to do something similar in the summer term.

In English this week, we read La Princesa and the Pea. The children used a glossary to translate some of the Spanish words in the book and then practiced using the suffixes –ful and –less to describe the main characters. We looked at the illustrations to see what we thought the characters were thinking or feeling at key moments.

In Maths, the children took a little test to check their understanding of length and distance and they all did very well. We spent the second half of the week learning about weight and next week, we will look at volume and temperature.

In RE, we read the Easter Story and talked about some of the symbols that are used to represent parts of the story. The children then sequenced the symbols and used them to retell the story to a partner.

In Science, the children dissected fruit to learn more about seeds. We talked about the seeds being part of the fruit and being the part of the plant responsible for reproduction. Then, we found out about all the different way in which seeds are dispersed.

In Art, the children started to prepare for DT day which is on Wednesday. They learnt about the mechanisms of a wheel and then planned their design for a Ferris wheel.

Have a lovey weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

It’s been a fun week! World Book Day was a great success and the children looked wonderful. They all deserved to win! On Monday, we watched a production of The Secret Garden which everyone enjoyed. Then today, the children took part in an interactive version of Cinderella told by Cinderella herself.

As I write, the children in Crummell are enjoying a trip to Kidzania. The rest of us have been learning about all the amazing things that Florence Nightingale did to improve the conditions at Scutari hospital and save the lives of hundreds of wounded soldiers. We finished the lesson by watching the Florence Nightingale episode of Horrible Histories.

In English, we learnt how to use an apostrophe for contraction and the children have been practicing this all week. There is a sheet in their books for homework to help consolidate that understanding. On Monday morning, the children will be writing their own version of The Pea and the Princess by Mini Grey. Then, we will start our third version of the fairy tale which is a South American version called the Princesa and the Pea written by Susan Middleton Elya and illustrated by Juana Martinez Neal.

In Maths, we have moved onto measure. We have been learning about measuring size and distance and have been talking about the units mm, cm, m and km.  The children practiced measuring objects in the class room with a metre rule and then recording the measurement to the nearest metre.

In Science, we learnt about bulbs. In RE, we thought about what we can learn from Saint Stephen, and in Relationships and Health, we read a story about a little boy who couldn’t stop interrupting people. We thought about how that would make others feel and the things we could do to help us wait our turn.

In Computing, we talked about the dangers of using a search engine to find out information. We discussed real content and fake content and thought about how to make sure that we always use a trusted website. We did an online search on a trusted website for ‘computes’ and then observed that many of the pages that came up were not relevant to our search. On closer inspection, we noticed the word ‘computer’ was written somewhere on all of those pages even though the page itself was not about computers.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers

I hope you had a good half term.  It’s lovely to see all the children looking well and rested! A quick request: Could you please ask your children not to bring toys into school. They are causing too much of a distraction on the carpet and in the cloak room and I have an ever growing box of plastic and rubber on my desk!

This week in English, we began our topic on fairy tales. We started by reading the original version of The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. We talked about some of the features of a fairy tale including ‘once upon a time’, a happy ending, royalty and magic and the children answered some comprehension questions in pairs. Later in the week, we read The Pea and the Princess by Mini Grey. This version of the story is told from the perspective of the pea and provides an alternative explanation for the princess feeling the pea!

In Maths, we have moved on to division. The children have been learning how to divide by drawing out equal groups as well as by using their knowledge of multiplication. Today, we discovered that if the dividend is a multiple of the divisor then there is no remainder but if the dividend is not a multiple of the divisor then there is a remainder.

In RE, we learnt about Saint Stephen. In History, we started our topic on Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole.  In Science, we conducted a fair experiment to see what happens when a sunflower seed is deprived of water, sun or both. We predicted what will happen to each seed and we will watch the seeds over the next few weeks to see whether our prediction is correct.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parent and Carers,

Lovely to see you all at our assembly yesterday. I was very proud of the children and thought they did a brilliant job! Thank you so much for helping them learn their lines and all the lyrics to the songs.

Thank you also to everyone involved in the amazing spread that arrived in the staff room on Monday morning. What a treat! I’ve never seen the staff room so busy – I know the gesture was appreciated by everyone.

In English, we finished the book How to find Gold. The children wrote a fabulous description of an underwater scene using their five senses and including lots of adjectives, expanded noun phrases and similes.

In Maths, the children learnt how to do multiplication word problems. In RE, we talked about the meaning of the words ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us for evil’ and ‘Amen’ in the Lord’s Prayer.

In Science, the children learnt how paper is made and we discussed the properties of materials that make them ideal to make certain items. We thought about how to balance the use of plastic, which on the positive side is affordable but on the negative side is non-biodegradable and a massive polluter of the planet.

We finished our unit on Kenya by talking about Kenyan culture and then comparing the UK with Kenya based on geographical location, landscape, weather and culture.

Unfortunately, there is homework during half term but it’s not due until Wednesday 25^th February. The children have worked really and deserve a rest!

Have a great holiday and see you on Monday 23^rd Feb.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

The Children are working so hard and the assembly is really coming together so thank you so much for all your help with the songs, the poems and the script!  Could you please make sure the children have their costumes on Monday (black trousers or leggings and a black t-shirt) as we will be doing dress rehearsals on Monday and Wednesday. The assembly is this Thursday at 9am.

Today was NHS day and we had a parent visit from a nurse who works in intensive care at Chelsea and Westminster. She did a presentation on nursing and introduced the children to Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole who we will be learning about in History next term.

In English, we read our new, exciting book called How to Find Gold by Viviane Schwarz. We looked at the beautiful illustrations and talked about the story and discussed our own ideas about how to find gold. The children worked in pairs to create their own treasure map which showed how to navigate the perils of the sea in order to find gold. They also wrote sentences using adjectives, expanded noun phrases and similes to describe the sea monster in the book. Next week, they will write a letter to the protagonist of the book advising her on what to do with the gold she has found as well writing an underwater description.

In Maths, the children learnt about arrays and how to use them to help understand repeated addition and multiplication.

In RE, we talked about the penultimate line of the Lord’s Prayer. We discussed the word temptation and thought about the things that tempt us. We learnt that some Christians ask What Would Jesus Do (WWJD) to help them think about how to resist temptation and to do the right thing.

We talked about the use of materials in Science. We thought about which properties made materials appropriate for certain functions. For example, a water bottle needs to be made from a material that is waterproof. Then, the children made posters encouraging people to recycle and reuse plastic.

Have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

The children have nailed the Pi Song and it sounds brilliant. So, I have sent home the words to our other song Money, Money, Money. They know the first verse but are not so confident with the second verse so I would be hugely grateful if you would go over it with them this weekend.  I have also sent home the words to another poem called Potion for a Maths Test by Vikram Madan. I know this is a lot for the children to learn on top of the script and the songs so we’ll see how it goes but the children are very keen to include it! Home time was a little hectic today as our last lesson was art so I have put the words on the website under the homework in case any of the children didn’t get a printed copy.

We celebrated Luna New Year today with a fantastic assembly arranged by parents and including a dragon dance (led by Mr Schumm) and a ribbon dance. Later, the children had a go at performing themselves during a dance workshop.

In English, the children wrote a detailed A3 information text all about bees. They planned their own heading and subheadings and decided which words to put in their glossaries. They wrote so many interesting facts including a detailed description of how to make honey. They are all mini experts and next week, we’ll taste some delicious honeycomb as an end of topic treat. We will be starting a new book called How to find Gold by Viviane Schwarz.

In Maths, we have moved on to multiplication. The children have been learning that multiplication is repeated addition of groups of equal size. The Maths homework this week will help to consolidate that understanding.

In RE, we talked about the importance of forgiving and being forgiven. We watched the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant and thought about who the king and the servant might represent in the story. Finally, the children applied their learning to the line in the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.’

In Art, the children experimented with texture while in Relationships and Health, we read an interactive story where the children had to decide whether a situation was safe, unsafe or needed adult approval. You will be delighted to hear that they all know how to keep themselves safe!

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

Rehearsals for our assembly will start next week. I’ve sent the scripts home today and it would be amazing if the children could learn their lines over the weekend. There is some complicated mathematical vocabulary in the last poem so I have made sure that the children only need to learn one line at most. Obviously, they do not need to know the meaning of the mathematical terms and I have told them just that they are things they will learn for Maths GCSE! I’ve also sent home the words to the Pi song (100 digits of π) . Could you help them learn this too? We’ll be practicing it every day at school but a little bit of help with memorising the numbers would be hugely appreciated! Look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 9^th February at 9am.

This week in English, the children sequenced and wrote an information text on how to make honey. They also learnt a little bit about homophones which are words that sound the same but have different meanings. We focused on there, their, they’re and the children had to write sentences using each one correctly. This isn’t easy and I will make sure they have more time to practice in the coming weeks.

In Maths, we continued our work on Money. The children learnt to add together different amounts of money giving their answer in £s and Ps (rather than using a decimal). They also learnt that they need to do a subtraction sum to work out how much change they should get in a shop when paying for something.

In RE, the children thought about the difference between needs and wants and then applied their learning to the words ‘Give us today our daily bread,’ in the Lord’s Prayer.

In Geography, we focused on the climate in Kenya and compared it with the climate in the UK. While in Science, the children did an experiment with materials to see if they behave as expected. They had to predict what would happened to playdough, elastic and stone when they were squashed, bent, twisted and stretched. They learnt the words ‘temporarily’ and ‘expand’.

Please see the message below about an Art competition and have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Red Card to Racism Art Contest

On Monday Miss Hall introduced all the children to the Red Card to Racism Art Contest that is running. Children can make their entries at home and bring them into school to enter into the national competition! Please return all entries to either Miss Hall (Year 5 Blackman) or Mrs Allen (Year 1 McNaughton).

You can find out more about the competition by following this link: ​

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/574451fe37013bd0515647ac/t/6388d1793e498f0edcead03d/1669910910116/School+COmpetition+2023+Flyer.pdf​

Dear Parents and Carers,

It’s time for our class assembly! Please put Thursday February 9^th in your diaries and let work know you’re going to be late! I’m hoping to have the script ready for next Friday so it would be great if the children could  learn their lines for the following Monday. We won’t have long and the sooner they learn their lines, the sooner we can rehearse!

Next week, PE will be on Friday instead of Tuesday so the children should wear school uniform on Tuesday and PE kit on Friday.

This week in English, the children have been deepening their learning on honeybees. They have written a list of facts about queen bees thinking about their sentences structure as well as making a glossary. Our grammar focus has been conjunctions and apostrophes for possession.

In Maths, the children did an end of unit test on shape before we moved on to look at money.

In RE, we looked at the third and fourth line of the Lord’s Prayer, ‘They Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. We talked about what earth looks like now and how God’s Kingdom on earth might look. The children drew a picture and then answered some questions exploring their ideas.

As part of Relationships and Health and our current unit on Keeping Safe, Coram Life Education brought its Life Bus to St Stephen’s and on Wednesday, the children took part in a workshop on medicine. They thought about what makes medicine safe to take and discussed scenarios where it would be dangerous.

In Geography, we started our new topic on Kenya and in Science we learnt about natural and manmade materials and watched a video about how glass is made.

RHE Knowledge Page – Keeping Safe

This half term our Relationships and Health Education topic is ‘Keeping Safe’. You will find a break down of the upcoming lessons and key vocabulary on our ‘Knowledge Page’ which is saved alongside our Curriculum Map on the blog. This will give you a greater understanding of what conversations we are having with your children and when. If you would like to discuss the content of these lessons further, please get in touch.

Artist Workshops

​As part of enriching our Art learning, we are looking for any parents, carers or even grandparents who are Artists or work in an artistic career, such as architecture, who would be willing to run an Art workshop with the classes. It can be linked to the curriculum or a standalone lesson in the year group of your choice. If you would be interested in volunteering your time with us, please get in touch with Mrs Allen (e.allen@ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk).

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year – I hope you all had a lovely Christmas break.

A little bit of admin.  The entrance door for Year 2 will close at 9am sharp so that we can do the register and be in collective worship for 9.05am. If you are later than 9am, the children will need to enter via the main entrance and let Miss Annora know that they are here.

We are straight back into a busy curriculum. In English, the children wrote a recount of Christmas Day so that I could hear all their exciting news. Then, we started our new topic: Honeybees. This is one of my favourite to teach because there are so many interesting facts to learn and the children tend to become experts very quickly. This week we have been learning to recongnise the features of an information text as well as how to use apostrophes for possession.

In Maths, we have been studying 2D and 3D shapes. We have been identifying 2D shapes as faces on 3D shapes and learning how to count the number of faces, edges and vertices on 3D shapes which can be tricky – particularly when there are lots!

In RE, we are learning about Cristian prayer and in particular focusing on the meaning and significance of the Lord’s Prayer. In Science, our new topic is materials. This week, we thought about which properties could best be used to categorise materials.

Homework is on the blog and there is a comprehension stuck into the children’s yellow books.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

A massive thank you to everyone for the hugely generous gifts. We are all super touched and very grateful! It’s been a brilliant first term. We have loved getting to know the children and are looking forward to the spring term already!

Thank you also to Lizzy, Clare, Alex, Robbin and Guy for coming with us to the National Gallery. We had a fantastic guide and the children really enjoyed looking at the paintings. It was a lovely end to the term.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year and see you all on the 4^th January.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers

They did it and they were wonderful.  So much time and effort went into the Nativity but hopefully you’ll agree that it was worth it! Thank you for helping the children with their lines – it made our job so much easier!

The Christmas Fair is tomorrow (11am – 4pm). The children have made and decorated gingerbread biscuits so please come and buy them from the Staff Stall in the atrium.  If your child was ill this week, one of their friends will have made a gingerbread biscuit for them!

We have our final trip of the term next week so please remember the children need a packed lunch on Friday. I will send out an email with timings for those parents that have offered to come with us.

As well as dress rehearsals, performances and baking and decorating we have managed a bit of Maths and History.

In Maths, we learnt about Commutative Law (ask the children) and practiced adding and subtracting three numbers. In History, we learnt about the importance of primary sources and eyewitness accounts. We looked at some primary sources from the Great Fire of London and thought about what different sources such as diaries, paintings and artefacts could tell us.

Everyone needs a rest so homework this week is just the spelling sheet on the website. There is no Mathletics.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

Less than a week until the Nativity! The children have worked extraordinarily hard this week and it’s going to be fantastic. Could you please have one final push this weekend to make sure that they know all of their lines and when to say them as well as the lyrics for all the songs. We have a dress rehearsal on Tuesday so can they please have their costumes in school by then.

Next week is busy. As well as the Nativity, we have Christmas lunch on Wednesday when the children can incorporate a Christmas jumper into their school uniform. Then, on Thursday the children are allowed to come to school in their own clothes in return for providing something for the Tombola. Please leave your offering (wine, spirits, beauty products or a jar full of goodies such as hair clips, marbles, crafts, toys or sweets) in Reception or in Mr Schumm’s office. Remember no nuts or seeds!

We have managed to squeeze in a little bit of work this week. In English, we learnt about sentence structure and conjunctions. All sentences need a subject and a verb and most sentences also have an object. The children have been practicing writing sentences about the character Rocket using coordinating conjunctions such as ‘and’ and ‘but’. Some of them also tried using subordinating conjunctions such as ‘although’ and ‘when’.

In Maths, we have been focusing on using the inverse to check our calculations. This is not easy and the children have worked really hard to understand how to lay out their sums so that their working proves that their original calculation is correct (or not).

In RE, the children learnt about the significance of a Christingle and the light it provides at Christmas.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

Nativity rehearsals are in full swing and it’s going to be fantastic! We did the first full run through yesterday and there are still a few children who don’t know all their lines. It would be great if you could run through their lines over the weekend. They should also know the line before theirs so they know when to come in. The nativity will be performed on Thursday 8^th December at 9.30am and 2pm so make sure you clear your diaries now!

In English, the children wrote a description of a meteor shower using adjectives, exciting verbs, expanded noun phrases (adjective, adjective noun), adverbs and some of them even included a metaphor. They showed lots of creative flare and imagination with their ideas.

In Maths, we continued to practice subtraction crossing ten. My class have been working very hard on presentation and have demonstrated how diligent and meticulous they can be when there is the potential for dojo points and Pokemon stickers.

In computing, the children have learnt how to programme a Bee-Bot using an algorithm. They have become familiar with terms including input, output, quarter turn clockwise and quarter turn anti-clockwise.

In DT, Mrs Hardy has been teaching the children about stability and what makes an object stable. Today, the children made toy chairs out of straws and pipe cleaners. Then, they had a go at creating a stable chair from cardboard.

Please could you make sure that you have paid for the Lyric ticket on ParentMail by Monday morning at the latest. We are officially in the Christmas season!

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

We’re back from a second hugely successful art workshop at Bute House. One pupil said to me as we were clearing up, ‘I don’t want this to end!’ which I hope sums up how much the children enjoyed themselves.

In English, we started a new book called Look Up! by Nathan Bryon. On Monday, we read the book together and then the children worked in pairs to sequence and retell the story in their own words. Later in the week, we learnt about metaphors and the children had a go at thinking of a metaphor for the book’s female protagonist Rocket. I particularly liked: ‘Rocket’s blood is full of shooting stars!’

In Maths, we learnt how to subtract crossing ten which means the children had to learn how to exchange one ten for ten ones.

In History, the children pretended to be living in London in September 1666 and wrote a letter to a friend telling them all about the Great Fire of London.

In Science, we discussed the importance of exercise and the role it plays in keeping us fit and heathy.

In RE, we talked about our experience of light and darkness. Then, we used these ideas to understand why Christians often refer to Jesus as the ‘light of the world’.

A little bit of admin.

We still need one more parent volunteer to come with us to the National Gallery. We will be taking the tube and we need a child to adult ratio of 4:1 so please let me know if you can accompany us.

Mrs Pereira has asked that you remind the children to bring their library books on Monday. They are so disappointed when they aren’t able to take out a book!

Finally, we need cardboard for Art on Friday so please send in any old cereal packets and loo rolls etc.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

I really enjoyed talking to lots of you at Parents’ Evening. I’m aware that several conversations were cut short because we ran out of time so please do email me if you would like to chat further.

A few of you asked for some reading suggestions. Here is link to The Book Trust with lots of age appropriate ideas.

https://www.booktrust.org.uk/booklists/1/100-best-books-6-8/

A massive thank you to Mr Vessey who invited Year 2 to Bute House for an Art Workshop. We took the first group this morning and they had a fantastic time. After learning to use a saw, a heat gun and a mallet, the children all came back to school with a beautiful dream catcher. The second group will go next Friday.

We still have one more ticket left for the Lyric if anyone would like to come with us on Tuesday 29^th November. It’s a morning trip and we’ll be back at school in time for lunch.

In English, we’ve been continuing with our poetry theme. This week, we have been thinking about rhythm and repetition and we based our work around the song London’s Burning. We spent the first part of the week analysing the structure of the song and then on Thursday, the children wrote their own version. I asked them to include a progressive verb in line one, an imperative verb in line two and/or four and repetition in line three. They also had to think about the rhythm and make sure they could sing their lyrics to the tune.

In Maths, we have moved on to subtraction. I am very proud of my Maths class who have all mastered the art of exchanging. It’s not an easy concept and they have all worked hard to achieve this. Please keep practicing with them at home!

In Science, we talked about the importance of eating a balanced diet in order to stay healthy. We learnt about the different food groups discussing which ones we should eat the most of and which one we should try to resist!

Miss Whiting has asked me to remind you that the children need to learn their lines for the Nativity. It makes rehearsing much more fun if the children can scrap the script and focus on their acting!

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back. I hope you all had a lovely and restful half term.

St Stephen’s has introduced a brilliant new spelling scheme called Spelling Shed. You will have been sent an email explaining how it works and I’ve spent some time this week going through the changes with the children. The idea is that the children are introduced to their spelling words before they get sent home and that we spend some time in class discussing the week’s spelling rule and the meaning of the spelling words as well as how to use them in a sentence. This should, in theory, make their homework much easier. Please do feed back your thoughts.

We have a number of trips planned for this half term. The first is to Bute House on Friday 18^th for an art workshop curtsey of Philip Vessey – many thanks, we are very excited. The second is to the Lyric for its Christmas show on Tuesday 29^th November. We have two spare tickets for this if anyone would like to accompany us – although I’m afraid they cost £15 each as we could only secure 7 free adult tickets and we have 7 adults in Year 2! Finally, we will be going to the National Portrait Gallery on the last day of term (Friday 16^th December) and we will need some adult helpers so please let me know if you would like to come.

We’ve been very busy as usual. Our English topic for the week was Autumn Poetry and we have been learning and incorporating lots of new vocabulary with a particular focus on adjectives and progressive verbs (ending in –ing).  We read lots of different autumn poems, learnt and performed a poem called I’m a Tree by Tony Bradman and then wrote our own poem using his to help us with the structure. Next week, we will be writing our own versions of London’s Burning.

In Maths, within our addition topic, we learnt to exchange. The children are brilliant and have picked up this quite difficult concept very quickly.

In History, we are learning about the Great Fire of London. We will be working towards our final lesson in the sequence where the children will make model houses out of match sticks, lollipop sticks and paper. We will place the houses very close together (as they were in the Stuart era) in the playground. I will then set fire to one of the houses and the children will watch as the flames spread and the model houses are all burnt down. The objective is for the children to think about the differences between houses in 1666 and houses today. In the past, this topic, and in particular this lesson, has been a favourite!

Miss Lulu has asked me to remind you to sign the children’s reading records when you send them back in with their reading books. Please also remember library books for Monday.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

We’ve had a fabulous time celebrating Black Voices Week. Our English this week was based on a beautiful book called Black is a Rainbow Colour by Angela Joy. On Monday, we listened to the book being read online by Angela Joy. I asked the children what they liked about the book and they picked out the illustrations and the rhyme. Then, the children drew their own interpretation of a rainbow which included the colour black. On Tuesday, we discussed the meaning of the book which is full of history. We talked about the meaning of the word culture and then focused in particular on the reference to Martin Luther King. We learnt a little bit about him and  I read them parts of his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. The children then wrote their own speeches about their dreams for a better world. On Thursday, we looked at rhyme and then on Friday the children wrote a poem in the style of Black is a Rainbow Colour. I read some wonderful speeches and poems!

Today, we wore red in support of the anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card. There was an assembly for Key Stage 1 explaining racism in very simple terms and focusing on how racist behaviour makes people feel. Later in the day, we talked about how we are all different and then we looked at some specific examples of racist behaviour explaining why that behaviour is unacceptable and how it affects people.

In Maths, we have moved on to addition and subtraction and the focus this week has been number bonds to 10, to 20 and for some to 100.

In RE, we talked about pilgrimage and learnt specifically about the Kumbh Mela festival which takes place every 12 years in India where the Ganges and the River Yamuna meet.

Art was fun but messy. I have just escaped for a few minutes to write the blog while the children squeeze soapy wax out of the felt that they are making.

Finally, I’m very sorry but some of the children lost money that was meant for snap bands. It is very difficult to monitor money with Year 2 so I suggest that in future you buy the merchandise for them before school rather than giving them the money. There were a few tears!

There is no homework over half-term. The children have worked very hard during the last few weeks and deserve a break. However, I have sent home the scripts for the Nativity and it would be fantastic if they could learn their lines.

Have a wonderful and restful break and see you in a week.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

Next week, we are celebrating Black Voices Week and we are going to be basing our work on a beautifully illustrated book called Black is a Rainbow Colour by Angela Joy.

On Friday, the children can come to school wearing red as part of an annual charity fundraiser and national awareness day for Show Racism the Red Card. They should bring a £1 donation which will go towards raising funds for anti-racism education for young people and adults.

A little bit of admin. Mrs Pereira has asked me to remind you about bringing library books back to school on Mondays. More than half the class has forgotten to return books which is upsetting for the children as they then aren’t allowed to take out a new book. Please could you help them to remember!

In English, we have come to the end of our topic on the King’s Guard which has focused on commands. The children wrote some fabulous instructions explaining how to make a King’s Guard as well as a list of items they would need. They have learnt to use imperative verbs and time connectives and have recapped on commas in a list. After half-term, we will be looking at autumn poetry.

In Maths, we have finished Place Value and the children will be doing a little test on Monday. We will then be moving on to addition and subtraction.

In RE, we learnt about how and why Hindus use the five senses during prayer. In computing, the children were introduced to the word algorithm which has been explained to them as a set of instructions for computers. In Geography, we discussed the seasons. Meanwhile, in Science, we looked at food groups and discussed what we like to eat and what we need to eat to stay healthy. More than three quarters of the class claimed that fruit and vegetables are their favourite foods with just four children admitting a love of sweets, chocolate and McDonalds. I’m not quite sure I believe them but maybe times have changed!

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a lot of fun this week. Wednesday’s football tournament was a massive success and it was fantastic to see all the children in action on the pitch. We’ve got some very talented players who clearly play out of school but what impressed me most was the level of enthusiasm. Everyone joined in and had a go!

On Thursday, Saumya’s mum, Priyanka, came into class to teach us about Hindu Gods. She chose seven Gods to talk about and explained how Hindus choose which Gods to worship. The girls were very impressed that there is a Goddess of girl power – so we nearly put on some Spice Girls! Thank you Priyanka.

Today was Hispanic Day and we welcomed our second mum of the week into Madan class. Lily’s mum, Carrie, came to read us a book called El Monsuro de Colores by Anna LLenas. The children loved listening and then discussing the colours of emotions. Then, they bombarded Carrie with questions about Guatemala where she lived and worked. Again- thank you Carrie.

We spent the day learning about Mexico and the artist Frida Kahlo. At lunch, the children had a wonderful Spanish feast and just before pick up, we were treated to a live Mariachi band and a few of Mr Schumm’s best Mariachi moves. Who could ask for more?!

In English, we have been learning about the King’s Guard. The topic’s learning is based on instructional text. As well as finding out lots of facts, the children have been introduced to imperative verbs (bossy verbs) which are used when we give or write instructions. We also learnt how to use time connectives. Next week, the children will be making a King’s Guard and then writing instructions for their partner to follow.

In Maths, the children have started to count in 3s and have been learning to recongnise patterns in numbers. Is the pattern going forwards or backwards and how many steps is it counting in?

In Art, we talked about using exaggerated features to create expression. The children had a go at tracing some illustrations from the Big Friendly Giant and then exaggerated some of the facial features to enhance or change the expression.

Finally, in Computing we started to tackle online safety. The children commented on their friends’ blogs from last week and we discussed the importance of always being positive and polite and not revealing any personal details.

The children are probably all exhausted so have a lovely and restful weekend. Thankfully, we are back on timetable next week.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

Another busy week! It was lovely to see some of you at the Family Supper last night. I really enjoyed meeting those of you I haven’t met before!

Today, the second half of the class took part in a Science workshop on ‘Animals in their Habitat’ and will be coming home with beautiful animal masks. I have noticed that this class is particularly arty and all the children love a creative task becoming completely absorbed in their work.

This week in English, the children have been learning all about alliteration. They wrote their own versions of The Lion in the Meadow which included lots of fantastic examples of alliteration as well as some brilliant adjectives.

In Maths, we have been counting forwards and backwards in 2s, 5s and 10s. In my class the children have learnt the meaning of the word multiple and have been comparing multiples of 2, 5 and 10 as well as experimenting with counting in 2s, 5s and 10s with a starting number that isn’t 0.

In RE, we learnt about karma and re-incarnation. The children worked in groups of three to act out concepts of good karma and bad karma, recognising that positive actions have positive consequences whereas negative actions have negative consequences.

In Science, we learnt that all animals (including humans) need water, oxygen and food to survive. In Geography we learn about geographical features and thought about whether these features are found in cities or countryside, or in both.

Next Week

On Wednesday, the children will be taking part in a multi-sports tournament in Hammersmith Park. You will have received a ParentMail about the trip so please make sure that you have given permission for your child to go and that they come into school wearing their PE kit.

Friday is Hispanic Day and we will be learning about Mexico and in particular the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The children should come to school dressed in the colours of the Mexican flag – green, white and red.

Homework is on the blog and is due by Wednesday. Mathletics should be completed by Friday.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week, Year 2 was lucky enough to be chosen as the first year group to work with our St Stephen’s Scientist in Residence. Half the class took part in a workshop this morning and the other half will take part next week. The children learnt about animals in their habitat. They found out lots of interesting facts and then made and decorated an animal mask.

Thank you for sending in all the art objects. The children spent the afternoon experimenting with mark-making to create different textures such as cross hatching, squiggling, stippling and scribbling! They choose two of their objects to draw and then filled the outline with one of the mark-making techniques.

In English, our work has been based on The Lion in the Meadow. We recapped on when to use a question mark as well as how to use commas in a list. It is really important that the children get to grips with their word classes in Year 2 and at the moment we are focusing on nouns and adjectives. This will help them to remember how to use an expanded noun phrase (adjective, adjective noun) which I will be encouraging them to include in all their creative writing.

In Maths, we have continued with our work on partitioning. The children have moved on from partitioning into tens and ones and have been thinking about different ways of partitioning.

In RE, we have been talking about values. We decided that traditional Hindu values such as truth and tolerance are values that we all share. We listed all the values that are important to us and thought about how we can stay true to them.

Homework books have gone home today and are due back on Wednesday. There are spellings, sentences and Maths on the website and a grammar sheet which has been stuck into their books. Mathletics should be completed by Friday. Reading books should have come back today but I’m sure Miss Lulu will still change them if they come back on Monday morning.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

We’ve had a fantastic second week and everyone is settling in really well and getting used to the routines of Year 2.

Reading books were sent home on Wednesday and can be kept until Tuesday when Miss Lulu will change them. From next week onwards reading books should be returned on Friday. Miss Lulu will only change books if the reading record has been signed so please make sure you keep this up to date.

We have sent home the yellow homework books today. Your child’s reading group will be displayed on the inside cover along with their Mathletics login. This week’s homework is on the website. There are spellings, three sentences to write, a little bit of Maths and Mathletics. Please note there is no comprehension or grammar sheet this week.

1. Green Group – 6 spellings
2. Purple Group – 9 spellings
3. Blue Group – 12 spellings

In English, we have started a new book called The Lion in the Meadow by Margaret Mahy. We have been looking at comprehension and talking about the different types of questions. Some answers can be found in the text, while others require us to look for clues in the book or to give our own opinion. These questions are called inference questions and when we answer them we need to explain our thinking using the word ‘because’. We had a very heated debate about whether the lion in the book is real or imaginary. Does the fact the lion talks make it real or not?!

In Maths, we have been learning about Place Value and the children have been learning to partition numbers in different ways. The challenge this week has been presentation. We are moving away from using sheets and the children are starting to lay out their work in their books. We have been focusing on keeping the part whole model diagram small and neat and remembering to write the two number sums next to it. When using squared paper, the children should try to write one number in each square.

Our RE topic is Hinduism. This week, we have been talking about the role of members of a traditional Hindu family and discussing how these roles apply to the first three ashramas (stages) of Hindu life. We have also been thinking about our own families and the important role each member plays.

In Geography, we learnt all about London landmarks and then did a quiz. The children are now experts!

In Science, we thought about which animals give birth to their babies and which animals lay eggs. The children were introduced to the terms, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Have a lovely weekend and remember there is no school on Monday.

Mrs Walsh

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Year 2 and welcome to Madan class. I’ve very much enjoyed my first week back at school and I hope the children have too. We’ve spent most of the week getting to know each other and adjusting to the expectations of Year 2. The children are doing brilliantly and I think we’re going to have a fantastic year together.

In English we’ve been learning about our class poet Vikram Madan and studying a poem he wrote called Roller Coaster. The children recited the poem in small groups earlier in the week and then today they adapted the poem to make it their own. On Monday, they will write their own version.

Next week, the children will be split into two groups for Maths. One will be with Miss Whiting and the other will stay with me. We will be telling the children which group they are in on Monday. Both groups will be learning about Place Value.

It’s been a very emotional day here at St Stephen’s. We started the day with a church service to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II. We watched Newsround and talked about Her Majesty’s seven decades of loyal service and the inspiration she has provided to people all around the globe. Miss Lulu had the brilliant idea of giving all the children a copy of today’s Metro which is devoted to our late Queen and which they can keep as a memento of this moment in history.

A little bit of admin.

Homework will be set on Fridays and can be found on the website. Please click on Madan class on the home page. There will be spellings, a little bit of maths, three sentences to write and either a comprehension or a grammar sheet (this will be stuck in their homework book). The children will be sent home with their homework books on Friday and should complete the homework in the book and return it by the following Wednesday.  Mathletics will also be set on Friday and should be completed by the following Friday. Please don’t let your children get behind with Mathletics. The work set will consolidate their class learning and help ensure it is stored in their long term memory.

Mathletics logins and spelling groups (which are fluid throughout the year) will be on the inside front cover of your child’s homework books. The green group should learn the first 6 spellings, the purple group should learn the first nine spellings and the blue group should learn all 12 spellings. Spelling tests will take place on Friday mornings.

Miss Bell will be reading with all the children next week to determine their current reading level. Reading books will go home on Mondays (next week it will be Tuesday) and are due back on Fridays. Miss Lulu will not be able to change the books if they are not returned.

PE is on Tuesdays and Gymnastics is on Thursdays so please make sure that your children come to school in their PE kits on these days. I have uploaded a copy of our timetable and our class poem to the website.

I will put up curriculum maps next week once they are finalised.

There is no homework this week. Please feel free to email me with any questions or concerns. My email address is v.pawsey@ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Walsh