Living and Learning: anti-bullying day and odd socks day
We kicked off anti-bullying day with our odd socks to celebrate that we are all unique and different.
Odd socks day is a celebration to show that we are all different and that makes us unique.
We are wearing odd socks today because we are all different and we should be treated fairly.
Odd socks day shows that we are all different. We should respect everyone no matter what they look like
We explored our school definition of bullying, created by our junior leaders, by looking at what some of the words meant.
What are the different types of bullying?
Our school definition helped us understand the different types of bullying – physical (hurting someone’s body), emotional (hurting someone’s feelings) or cyber bullying (online).
We also considered the role of bystanders and their responsibility to start telling other people.
The story #Goldilocks looks at how we should treat everyone with respect whether it is in person or online.
How can you STOP bullying?
We used our weekly circle time to think about the role we all have to STOP bullying. Year 2 had some excellent suggestions.
Our main message is Start Telling Other People and to continue to do that until you are heard.
You can stop bullying by…
respecting others
telling the bully to stop if you are a bystander.
telling a trusted adult.
asking a lunchtime helper to help.
standing up for others.
letting everyone join in and not leaving people out.
being kind to people and not hurting them.
helping the person being bullied and take them to an adult.
being resilient and saying STOP.
ignoring the bully, walk away and don’t say anything back to them.
Using positive words and actions can also help to prevent bullying by creating a happy and healthy school.
We thought about some positive words and actions we could use to stop bullying.
How can you get help?
Seeking help can be done in a number of different ways.
Who could you tell? (taken from our child friendly anti-bullying policy)
- Safeguarding team – Mrs Weekes, Mr Wilks, Mrs Russell and Mrs Szczepanska
- Any other members of staff
- A trusted adult
- Someone in your family
- Friends
- Childline (0800 1111)
- Write a worry slip and put it in your Living and Learning box or the whole school worry box (outside the school office)
- Email stayingsafe@spherefederation.org
The children thought about who they would tell if they needed to Start Telling Other People.
Help at home: discuss our school definition of bullying with your child. Do they know the difference between falling out and bullying, and between a one-off situation and something that’s happened more than once?
Me and My Money themed week
We’ve had a fantastic start to the week! The children have returned from the half-term break feeling refreshed and ready to learn. We’ve begun our Me and My Money themed week by exploring the difference between wants and needs, discussing why saving is important and having fun investigating real money.
Help at home: Have a think about the things you spend your money on? Are they a want or a need? Is it ok to spend money on things you want?
Anti-bullying day/Odd socks day Monday 10 November
Bonfire safety
Recently, our local PCSOs, Sian and Matt, came to talk to us about staying safe at this time of year around bonfire night.
Help at home: ask your child what stop, drop and roll means. Why did Sian show us a carrot?
Do you have a child due to start primary school in 2026?
A video and FAQ’s are available for more support and guidance with applications.
Training day – Arty ideas !
We thought you’d enjoy hearing a little about what went on during our recent teacher training day! Part of the day was dedicated to developing our art knowledge and skills with our resident art teacher, Mrs Boulton.
Teachers got hands-on with paints, pastels and even soap! There was plenty of colour, laughter, and even a bit of friendly competition as we experimented with new techniques and ideas for upcoming art lessons.
The rest of the day focussed on other important areas too, including maths and inclusion. It was a full, productive day – and we left feeling ready and excited for the next half-term!
Living and Learning: Me and my money themed week
Living and Learning: democracy
This week, our Living and Learning has been around one of the British Values, Democracy.
We use voting within the classroom. For example, what class reward the children would like or which book to read at the end of the day but this week it is our Junior Leadership Team elections so all the children had a difficult decision to make when giving their vote at the polling station.
Year 2 did a fantastic job delivering their speeches to be elected for the Junior Leadership Team (JLT). The children thought about what would make them a good leader and what ideas they would bring to the JLT.
Every child had their democratic vote by deciding who they’d like to see represent our class in the JLT.
Well done to Lydia May and Zara Mae for being voted as our new members of the JLT and thank you to Teddy and Rowan for doing such a good job representing the class as our junior leaders for the past year.
Help at home: Think about voting and why it is a fair way to make a decision. Are there any times you vote at home?
Watch us while we work
Thank you to those parents who were able to join us for our watch us while we work session earlier this week. We hope you found it useful.
Here’s a summary of how we are encouraging the children to become more responsible for their learning at home.
Spellings – use the spelling guide for ideas to help with learning weekly spellings.
Sentence practice – use spellings to make silly sentences. Use a picture as a stimulus for writing sentences including asking questions about what they can see.
Daily reading – we thought about some of the reading skills the children are learning in Year 2 (fluency, prosody (using expression in their voices), retrieval, interpret and learning new vocabulary). Reading needs to happen daily to build up these skills. A brief note in their reading record books is needed after reading at home. We will continue to monitor the use of e-books at home. Please alert us to any access issues.
Maths – number facts such as counting in 2s, 5s and 10s and number bonds to 10 and 20 are really important to secure this year. Hit the Button is a great online game to build up the recall of these facts.
Numbots certificates are awarded every Thursday and it’s great to see children already achieving their next levels in Year 2.
Finally, here’s the help at home section of the website.
Please get in touch if you need any further support with your child’s learning at home.
Geography fieldwork
What a fantastic time we had on our Geography fieldwork this week! The children showed excellent awareness of how to stay safe while carrying out their investigations.
Before setting off, we reminded ourselves of our important safety rules:
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We wear our hi-vis jackets so we can be easily seen.
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We stay with our group and our adult at all times.
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We listen carefully to our adult’s instructions.
Our fieldwork question was: “What trees are there in Moortown Park?”
To find the answer, we took photographs and collected leaves from different trees.
Back in class, we examined our leaves carefully and used an identification guide to find out which trees they came from. We discovered a wonderful variety of trees in the park, including oak, birch, sycamore, beech, and holly.
Help at home:
Why not explore the trees in your local area? Use a leaf identification guide to see what types of trees you can find near you!
