Ask your child how many books make up the bible. I’m hopeful they will be able to tell you. We discovered there are 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. Frank then kindly added them up for us for a Grand total of 73. We also discovered that the Old Testament books were written before Jesus was born and many of them are like history books- explaining how God gathered his people to him. On Wednesday morning, we had the opportunity to have look through a Children’s Bible to find any stories and pictures we recognised - ther were many. It has truly been a very busy week full of learning but time to pray too. Mrs Gren took us for a beautiful assembly on Monday morning and we listened to how the Gospel asks us to be OPEN to God. Then Rhys, Reyan and Oliva Howcorft led us in a beautiful class worship in which they asked- How can each one of us be open to being Jesus’ helpers?
Today we thought about our second virtue for this half term - DISCERNMENT - the ability to think carefully and learn and make good decisions. This is something we are always striving to do as Our Lady STARS.
MAGIC MOMENTS OF LEARNING
We launched our new “My Happy Mind” lessons this week. Through these sessions we’ll learn all about the brain and how it works. This week, we learnt that the brain is pinky grey and it has three parts: “Hippocampus” “Amygdala” and “Pre- frontal cortex”. Can your child remember what each part does? Don’t worry if they have forgotten we cover this again and again as we study the brain further.
In Maths explored groups of ten and how the number names end in “y” and not “teen”. We have looked for multiple patterns and I think we have cracked it. In English we have listened to Little Red Riding Hood and Rumpelstiltskin- gathering new vocabulary as we go. The children also understand what a NOUN is (naming word - a person, a place or a thing). We also noticed that we can put “the” before the noun. In Geography we were very busy spotting HUMAN FEATURES. These are the things humans have built on the land - we took pictures in the school ground but we are keen to go beyond the school to find more! In science we explored “Living and Non-living Things”. This was tricky - what do all living things do. Well we used another mneumonic device - MRS GREN. Are you ready:
M - Move
R- Respiration
S- Senses (sentivitiy)
G- Grow
R- Reproduce
E- Excrete
N- Nutrition
We really were talking like scientists!! Further to this, we continued with our fun spelling sessions. This week words with the “OO” phoneme but spelt “ui” “ew” u-e” “ue” or “u”. In art we looked at creating texture in our drawing and we coded with Miss Lavelle (she was very impressed). Of course we did gymnastics and games too - what a packed week!
On Thursday we completed our safeguarding lessons for children (session 2). This week we explored what it means to BULLY. What bullying is, what a bully might do and why and how to manage this situation. I have attached the parents letter for session 2 below.
GOING DEEPER - HAVE A CONVERSATION
Here is a question from the “My Happy Mind” challenge cards:
“What activities do you do to relax your mind?”
Would you like to be a class counsellor? We will be choosing next Monday. Can you think about why you would make a good counsellor and then you can share this with us on Monday!
LET’S CELEBRATE
It was so lovely to see the certificate winners with their parents in assembly this week!
Annabelle - You have been a Bobby Bee. Your focus and enthusiasm for all the learning has been so inspiring and exciting. I just can’t wait to see just how far you will go this year! I have been continually impressed with the depth of your thinking - just GREAT!
Olivia Howcroft - What a complete delight you are to teach. You have been a real focus Kuba Crab. You listen so carefully and make connections in your learning from one day to the next. Your hand is always up - ready with answers but also questions to make us think - just GREAT.
VIRTUE - Our little star this week is Ronnie who has been attentive and discerning. Noticing when someone in class needed some help. He acting so calmly and maturely - thank you Ronnie.
Dinner time awards:
Marvelous Manner - Rhys
Role Model - Aubree
IMPORTANT NOTICES
INDUCTION EVENING next Wednesday evening. There are two sessions 3.45pm - 4.30pm and 4.45pm - 5.30pm. The team is really looking forward to meet you and sharing information.
Next Wednesday the children will need a teddy for art. Small - size of a litre juice cartoon
I’m so sorry about the homework books not going out efficiently this week. I’ve discovered that I am on my own at the end of the day and this has led to some difficulties - but we have sorted it and Miss Slater is on hand to help. I will ensure that we have a nice smooth routine. Homework books due Monday - thank you.
SNACKS - I’ve had a chat with the children about snacks and how they need to be healthy for our brain and our teeth. As a school we have but together a guide which has many interesting and creative suggestions. Almost all the children eat the fruit provided - I do too I have eaten about 20 large tomatoes this week.
TRIP - GEOGRAPHY FIELDWORK WEDNESDAY 2nd OCTOBER - would you or a grandparent be available to volunteer as a trip helper? We will be going from school into St. Annes on a HUMAN and PHYSICAL FEATURES scavenger hunt. We will be going in the afternoon leaving school around 1:00pm. Please drop me an email:
l.hotchkiss@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk
Please make sure you have completed the annual induction form below:
Have a wonderful weekend from the whole Year 2 team!