Tricky words
At the back of your child’s reading record book are the Year 2 common exception words for your child to practise reading.
One of the end of Year 2 expectations for writing is for children to spell these words, too.
Therefore after half term, we’ll be having some informal spelling checks using these words.
We’ll use the word lists in the order they are in the reading record books, starting with list 1:
- door
- floor
- poor
- because
- kind
- find
- mind
- behind
- child
- children
Features of living things
Have you ever met MRS GREN? She’s the friendly old acronym that helps us understand the features of living things.
- Movement
- Respiration
- Sensitivity
- Growth
- Reproduction
- Excretion
- Nutrition
Can you guess which feature we’re acting out in the clips below?
“Movement is when a human’s body moves or a plant moves towards the sun.” – Yusayrah
“Respiration is when you breathe and get oxygen from the air.” – Leo
“Sensitivity is when something happens in the environment and it causes you to act upon it.” – Henka
“Growth is when you get bigger from eating. A plant needs water and sun to grow from a seed.” – Rayn
“Reproduction is when something has babies.” – Ethan C
“Excretion is getting rid of waste.” – Hifza
“Nutrition is the food we eat like fruit.” – Priya
Skipping
Funded through our PE and Sport Premium, Year 2 and Year 4 have recently taken part in a skipping workshop led by ‘Skipping School’; both classes will then be part of a Leeds wide skipping competition.
- ‘I learnt a lot! It was fun and I learnt new skills.’
- ‘I think it is a good idea to skip because we are a happy and healthy school.’
- ‘I liked the skipping because I got to learn new things.’
- ‘I loved the skipping and the new skills because skipping makes you fit.’
- ‘First, I was really bad at skipping but when Jodi came I got better. Now I like skipping.’
We are offering all children the opportunity to learn these new skills, from their peers, by introducing skipping as a physical activity at lunchtimes. This is one way we are promoting physical activity during the school day for children to get their active 30 minutes.
The Government’s Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action, shares the expectation for all primary schools to provide a minimum of 30 active minutes every day for all pupils. The Chief Medical Officers recommend a minimum of 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity for children aged 5-18. Schools are expected to provide 30 of these minutes and families to achieve the other 30.
‘Skipping School’ also sell their ropes and we would like to offer all children the chance to buy a rope at a heavily subsided price (funded by our PE Premium) to continue learning these fundamental movement skills at home.
Ropes will be on sale at a price of £2 (normal price £5) before and after school during the week of 05 February. Starting with a stall at the PTA cake sale, Year 6 children will be selling the ropes in the playground subject to the weather. Please bring exact change wherever possible.
02 February 2018
This week’s homework is Talk Time. It’s our Year 1 class assembly on Wednesday and each child has a few lines or actions to learn. Your child’s homework is to practise them in preparation for Wednesday.
Please return homework books next Thursday.
What is ‘8’?
We’ve been learning about the number 8. Can your child explain what’s happening in one of the pictures? Can your child spot eight things at home?
New school dinner menu
After half term, our school dinner menu will be changing. This menu, provided by our school meals provider Catering Leeds, will be served until the end of the summer term.
Our School Council have recently repeated a vegetable survey to find out children’s favourite choices. These preferences have now been incorporated into the new menu.
As well as on our website, the three week cyclical menu is also displayed on our dining room window for you to discuss with your child. If you would like a printed copy, please ask at the office.
Have a look for the days ahead to make your child aware of what the daily meals are. Following pupil and parent feedback, children now make their main meal choice at the start of the day. This ensures they get their first choice of meal.
School meals continue to be free for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. If your child is in Key Stage 2, please check for eligibility for free school meals. (It’s important to check for eligibility for younger children, too, because school receives additional funding for each child who is eligible for a free meal, even when they’re free in Reception and Year 1 and Year 2!)
If your child would like to start having school dinners, please inform the office. A combination of packed lunches and school dinners is also available.
Children are consulted on school meals through our regular School Council meetings. Feedback may also be given by speaking to an adult in school or completing a suggestions/comments slip and posting it in their class I want to say box. We have a few new dishes on the menu which we encourage the children to try.
Thank you to parents who also raise questions and give feedback. We can then ensure this is passed on to the kitchen staff.