Our amazing brains – Brain Box week!
This week is dedicated to developing an awareness of learning and how the brain works.
The importance of exercise, healthy food, sleep, hydration and emotional health, for a healthy brain, will be covered throughout the week alongside a main focus for each day:
Monday
Understanding your brain, brain cells and how to help your brain to learn.
Tuesday
How your brain learns best and learning styles.
Key Stage 2 classes will also have a visit from d:Side. As part of our drug education in school, representatives from d:Side, a drug and health programme, will be looking, in particular, at the effects of various drugs on the brain.
Staff from d:Side will be available after school, in the dining room, for parents / carers to ask any questions about these sessions.
Wednesday
Developing the understanding of multiple intelligences and that everyone has gifts and talents.
Dr Dave Lewis, Senior Lecturer of Neuroscience, from the University of Leeds will be visiting Key Stage 2 classes.
Thursday
Thinking about thinking and problem solving.
Friday
A day to remember – exploring a range of memory strategies.
The whole school Water Aid sponsored walk will take place during Friday.
Please check the website for further information and links to websites throughout the week.
Forces
We’ve started the year with a mini-topic on forces. We went to the playground to think about pushes and pulls that we use. Here’s a pupil using a pull force to lift himself up (he loves climbing from what I read in his homework)! Gravity and friction are two new words that we’ve learnt this week.
Maths
This half-term, the children will learn to develop their number skills. So far, we’ve learnt about multiples of numbers, partitioning numbers, odd and even numbers and we’ve been mentally adding numbers, too.
We’ll soon be focusing on using other methods to add and subtract. To help your child at home, you could encourage them to count on and back from random numbers in 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s.
We’ll learn our 2, 5 and 10 times table this year so practising them will help, too.
Roll Up! Roll Up!
Our big topic ‘Roll Up! Roll Up!’ will start in October – we’ll learn all about the circus.
We’re looking forward to learning some circus skills too!
You might be interested to know that the Netherlands National Circus are performing in Harrogate on The Stray between the 18 and 23September.(Check out Groupon for some discounted prices!)
SEAL
The SEAL topic for this half term is ‘New Beginnings’. As a class, we have decided what rules we should all follow and have created a learning contract that we have all signed. The children will develop their speaking, listening and thinking skills through circle time. It is also a good opportunity for children to reflect on their week and help others with their problems.
Well done to Grace and Mia for making Jorja feel welcome in her new beginning at Moortown Primary.
SEAL statement 07 September
This week we begin our new SEAL theme, New Beginnings, and the weekly statement is ‘I can make someone feel welcome.‘
Over this half term, as the children are experiencing new beginnings, each class will be looking at how they can all contribute to establishing a welcoming and safe environment for learning.
PE
PE will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please ensure that your child has pumps for indoor PE and suitable outdoor footwear.
This half-term, we’ll focus on dance in our indoor PE sessions and throwing and catching skills in our outdoor PE sessions.
Reading
Oxford Reading Tree books will be changed on Tuesdays and Fridays.
If your child finishes their book before these days, they should have a go at the reading tasks (these can be found in their homework books). They should also re-read the book a couple of times (this is useful to develop instant recognition of some words, especially important for words that can’t be broken down into phonics eg ‘said’ – we sometimes call these ‘tricky words’).
We will allow children to have a book from the library at home, too. These can be changed on Wednesdays.
In addition to reading at home, each child will read some of their Oxford Reading Tree book once a week with Mrs Stewart. They will also read a separate book with me in one guided reading session a week.
Welcome back
Welcome back. I hope you all had an enjoyable summer break. I’ve enjoyed listening to all of the days out and holidays that the children have been on!
I’ve been really pleased with how motivated the children have been in our first week back. Our first few weeks will involve some re-capping. For example, we’ll revisit some of the phonics covered in Year 1. Children tend to slip back a bit over the long holidays so regular reading at home and practising of handwriting, counting and number bonds will all help.
For those of you who I don’t know, this will be my fifth year at Moortown Primary and my second year teaching in Year 2. Parents’ Evening will be towards the end of October; in the meantime, please feel free to drop in if you have any queries. I look forward to getting to know you all better.
Finally, I’d like to welcome Jorja to our class. She’s been welcomed by all the class and is already proving to be a great member of the Year 2 learning community.
Health questionnaire
There will be no further homework this term. However, please support your child to complete the health questionnaire sent home today in order to find out their views on some of our key health issues at school.
Emotional health and obesity are the two targets we are working on in school to further our healthy schools status and the questions, devised last year by the school council, are linked to these areas. These include:
- Are you happy at school?
- What do you enjoy most about playtimes and lunchtimes?
Completed questionnaires to be returned by Monday 16 July.
