Measuring, comparing and observing
As part of the Year 2 learning on capacity/volume, we’ve been measuring and comparing today. Hopefully, your child has been looking at labels at home to compare volumes of everyday household things.
By the end of Year 2, this is what the children should be able to do.
Choose and use appropriate standard units to estimate and measure length/height in any direction (m/cm); mass (kg/g); temperature (°C); capacity (litres/ml) to the nearest appropriate unit, using rulers, scales, thermometers and measuring vessels.
Compare and order lengths, mass, volume/capacity and record the results using >, < and =.
Concert in Year 2
We had a short concert in the classroom this afternoon showcasing the guitar skills of one of our classmates.
The playing was almost as impressive as the understanding of how to read music.
SEAL theme – Changes
We start this half term with a focus on manners.
Our SEAL statement is I cover my mouth (when I yawn, cough, sneeze).
For coughing and sneezing we have referred to the vampire method of sneezing into your elbow rather than a hand. After introducing this method a few years ago, it is great to see children now doing this without reminders.
During this half term, we start to think about changes the children will experience in school in terms of moving class, key stage and even school.
This SEAL theme tackles the issue of change and aims to equip children with an understanding of different types of change, positive and negative, and common responses to change. The key ideas and concepts behind this theme are:
- Change can be uncomfortable, because it can threaten our basic needs to feel safe and to belong
- Change can also be stimulating and welcome
- Both adults and children can experience a range of powerful and conflicting emotions as a result of change – for example, excitement, anxiety, uncertainty, loss, anger, resentment
- Worries about change can be made worse by uncertainty, lack of information, or misinformation and lack of support from others
- People’s responses to and ability to cope with change are very variable, and might be influenced by individual temperament, previous experience of change, and the nature of the change – chosen or imposed, expected or unexpected, within our control or out of our control
Some children may welcome most forms of change and dislike routine and predictability. Other children may find even small changes very difficult.
Perhaps you can support your child’s learning by discussing at home any current and future changes, too.
Dogs Trust
We had a visit from the Dogs Trust yesterday who taught us how to stay safe around dogs.
Scooter safety training
Thank you to Anne from Leeds City Council road safety department who provided lots of safety advice for riding a scooter today.
The first job was to make sure we were safe to scoot by checking safety helmets were fitted correctly and listening carefully to the instructions for the training. Children then followed the playground course making sure they were keeping a safe distance between scooters.
We look forward to some of the children developing these skills in the scooter after-school club starting after half term.
Staying Safe week so far
Our themed week has been jam-packed so far with visits from NSPCC, d:side drug education, Moortown Fire Service, Leeds City Council Road Safety team, Canal and Rivers Trust and Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative.
Children have also worked with different classes to take part in safety carousels including food safety, sun safety, water safety, first aid, safety in the home and the importance of safety helmets.
Ask your child about all the learning they have experienced so far.
Still to come is One Day Creative (e-safety drama workshops), local PCSOs, Dogs Trust and an outdoor adventure day for Year 6 at Yeadon Tarn.
Year 5 and 6 parents are invited to watch the e-safety workshop showback at 2:30pm on Thursday.
The weather has certainly helped to encourage lots of children to travel to school in a sustainable way on foot, by bike or scooter. There are two more days to register your journey to school to be in the prize draw for vouchers for each class.
d:side
D:side, a drug education provider, have worked with all classes this week as part of our Staying Safe themed week.
In Year 2, we started by looking at similarities and differences in our appearance.
We then considered what should and shouldn’t go into our body before identifying and naming internal parts of the body. The test was could we remember their position in the body?
We finished our learning with a special person car wash. This was a chance for all the class to show how they value others by telling them a compliment as they passed through the ‘car wash’. The smiles show how much they feel valued!
Bike maintenance with Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative
Thank you to Mark and Jack from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative in Chapel Allerton who checked all the bikes at school today to ensure they were safe and road worthy.
They also delivered some bike maintenance sessions to Year 5 and 6 to make them aware of simple checks they can make to keep safe on their bikes.
Junior Warrior event
Total Warrior are launching a brand-new obstacle event for young people aged between 6 and 11 years old – Junior Warrior!
Total Warrior are a professional events delivery company, putting on events across the country since 2011. They are returning to Leeds for the 4th year, and are expecting over 7,500 people to join them at Bramham Park over the weekend of 24th & 25th June 2017.
In an effort to build on the success of previous years and maintain Total Warrior’s reputation as an epic adventure for all the family, the team don’t want young people stuck on the sidelines this year; they want them getting stuck in. The course will be a (approx) 2K route across the estate at Bramham, with 10 obstacles (tailor built for the age range) to tackle including walls, pipes, nets, loads of mud and an awesome water slide!
It will start and finish adjacent to the car parks and main Event Village in Bramham Park Estate, so navigation on the day will be straightforward. The course will be for children only, but will be easily accessible throughout for spectators. Volunteers and outdoor trained lifeguards (where relevant) will be on each obstacle, and volunteers will be distributed to ensure they have eyes on every section of the course.
Speak out. Stay safe.
The first visitors for our Staying Safe themed week were volunteers from the NSPCC who delivered their Speak out stay safe assembly to all children.
The assembly reinforced key messages about keeping safe and who children can talk to if they are sad or worried. We also met ‘Buddy’ who is their mascot.
