Library
Due to a change in the timetable, we will now visit the library on Fridays instead of Mondays.
The children will choose a book to keep for a week (or longer if they wish). Children should take responsibility to return their library book to school after this time to be ready to choose a new book.
Have you visited local libraries nearby at Moor Allerton or Chapel Allerton?
Reading books will continue to be changed on Tuesdays and Fridays. Daily reading at home is very important to support your child’s reading fluency and understanding. Please comment in your child’s reading record book to show they have finished their book.
Mars from the planets
Music forms part of the Wednesday afternoon timetable for Year 2 and this piece of music, Mars from The Planets by Gustav Holst, is a focus for this half term.
We’ve also been listening to it in class and trying to recognise some of the instruments from the orchestra.
Have a listen at home and ask your child what they think of this piece of music?
Adel Tennis Club coaching
This half term, Year 1, 2 and 6 are developing and improving their tennis skills in sessions led by John Moore from Adel Tennis Academy.
Adel Tennis Academy are running half term tennis camps. Click here for more information.
After-school clubs return
Our autumn term after-school clubs return next week.
Here is the schedule that has recently been sent out to all children.
We invest part of our government PE and Sport Premium in subsidising these clubs and we hope to get as many children as possible active after-school.
If your child is interested in joining a club, please sign up via School Gateway or contact the school office.
More great learning at home
Every week, the children are rewarded with certificates from their Numbots and Lexia learning at home.
Well done to the following children this week.
Lexia
Hadi
Numbots
Keira and Aaron
Keep working hard at home!
Year 2 scientists
This half term, Year 2 are being chemists with our learning about materials. Here’s the key vocabulary we are using in this science learning.
Today, we had a note from Nothing (who spent time with us in Year 1). He needed our help to see what material would be the most suitable for a tent so he could go camping with his family.
First of all, we had to think about what properties are the most important.
It needs to be waterproof so that Nothing stays dry inside.
The tent needs to be strong so it doesn’t blow away.
It doesn’t want to be transparent.
Here are the stages of our investigation. We used lots of science skills and our focus for today was carrying out a simple test and recording our results.
Then, it was time to carry out our test. We used some great Living and Learning skills in our groups too including turn taking, helping others and resilience.
Finally, we used our results to answer the original question, ‘Is the material waterproof?’ and to make a conclusion.
The foil and the plastic were waterproof because they didn’t let the water in and no water was absorbed.
The fabric and the paper were not waterproof because they let water in. The water soaked in.
We think plastic would be the most suitable material for the tent because it is waterproof and it is also strong.
Wow, Year 2 – you have been fantastic scientists and Nothing will be so pleased with your testing to find the most suitable material for his tent.
Our local area
Today, Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed their walk to view our local area. The main focus of our walk was to look for human geography and physical geography.
Human geography in our local area
Physical geography in our local area
We looked at how Moortown had changed over time on the maps displayed in Moortown park.
We enjoyed spotting school from the park.
We discussed how this tree (physical geography), had now become a human feature because humans have made the old trunk into seating.
The children could explain that the hills in the park weren’t physical features. We knew that humans made the hills for the playground equipment.
The children all represented Moortown primary School with impeccable behaviour and a fantastic understanding of human and physical geography.
Bike to school week and reading fluency
This week is Bike to School week and our weekly reading fluency text is based around this. We read this text daily and by the end of the week, we would expect the children to have a go and read the text independently. The texts vary every week and they include both fiction and non-fiction texts.
By reading the text every day, we can explore how to read unfamiliar words and the meaning of any new words. This website helped with this. We can also point out punctuation and look at how that helps us to read the text correctly. Let your child have a go at reading it to you at the end of the week.
At the end of the week, we answer questions about the text. Some of the answers can be found in the text but others might need us to think a bit more and use our inference skills (‘reading between the lines’).
Linked to this, the class created their own bar chart to show how they come to school. It was great to see a lot of active travel!
We are geographers!
Year 2 are enjoying our geography based topic ‘Where in the world am I?’
Ask your child what they have learned so far? Can they name the four countries in the United Kingdom? Maybe they could tell you the capital city of any of those four countries. Do they know what continent they live in?
This week, we discussed human and physical geography. What is human geography and what is physical geography? We looked at some examples together before sorting pictures of famous features in the UK.
Next week, we hope to take a walk in our local area to take photos of physical and human features close to school and home.
You may have noticed that ‘physical geography’ and ‘human geography’ are on the vocabulary list as part of this week’s talk time homework. Hopefully, the children can talk confidently about these words at home.
Living and Learning: 8Rs for learning
The Eight Rs for Learning promote good learning behaviour.
They include being resilient, responsible, reflective, ready, resourceful, risk taking, responsive and there is one more.
Can your child remember the last one?
Although these eight attributes have been our current focus in Living and Learning, we refer to the 8Rs throughout the year. We thought about some ways the children can show these 8Rs for learning in school or at home and here are some top tips they thought of.
Read more about the Eight Rs in our guide for parents and carers.
