Year 2 have had a really successful Autumn term where they have really settled back into school and making progress with their learning. They have really adapted to changes that have had to be made in school to keep everyone safe. Well done Year 2.

Through our topic ‘Who am I’, we have done lots of learning across different subjects. We have explored Darnall in Geography and used maps to locate our local area and further away.  We created a map of our school and created a route that we would need to follow to get from school to the park. We used the compass points to give directions. We really enjoyed looking through the atlases.

In English, we have been using the text Pattan’s Pumpkin. We have explored the language used and used the beautiful pictures to describe the setting of the picture. We wrote a story based on the book where we had to change the pumpkin to another fruit or vegetable that could grow as big as Pattan’s pumpkin. During our reading lessons we have been reading short texts that we are learning to read fluently and then answering questions about the text.

In phonics, we have been learning all of our Set 2 and 3 sounds. We have been finding our sounds in words and practising reading our words quickly without sounding them out. We have all done our Phonics screening check. Well done Year 2, for working so hard on your phonics.

In Maths, we have finished learning about Place Value. We are now learning addition and subtraction. Starting off by looking at patterns when adding and subtracting and then we started to look at adding and subtracting 1s and 10s to a number.

In art, we created a city scape based on the work of Paul Klee. We drew shapes to represent the buildings and colouring in the shapes using crayons. We have been practising our colouring making sure that we stay in the lines and colour in the same direction.    

In computing, we have learnt how to programme a turtle to move around a computer screen. We had to give it instructions and to solve problems.   

Our favourite author is Jeremy Strong, so we are enjoying reading some of his books during storytime. They are really funny and make us laugh. We have been looking at the language that he uses. We have also been reading some of our 10 to read before you leave books.

The Year 2 team have really enjoyed teaching year 2 this half term and getting to know their new classes. It has been a successful start to the year, and we are all impressed with the year group’s enthusiasm for learning and determination to do their best.

We wish all of the children a restful break and say Merry Christmas to all of the families that celebrate Christmas.

Well done Year 2.

The Year 2 team.

What a busy term we have had in Nursery! We have been learning all about celebrations of light and made our own diva lamps and fireworks! We used lots of new words to describe them such as bright and sparkly. We have also been looking at seasonal changes in the outdoor environment - we even used some leaves to make our very own owls to sit on the bench! 

In the middle of this term we enjoyed a visit from some owls. We went into the hall and did our best listening and looking as we watched a flying demonstration. Some of us even had a turn at holding an owl on a special glove on our arm- we had to be very brave! 

In the second part of the term we have been learning all about Christmas. We have enjoyed using a variety of materials to make different Christmas decorations and learnt all about shapes at the same time! We have also made Christmas biscuits and enjoyed listening to Christmas songs. 

We have enjoyed all our new learning and experiences this term - make sure you ask us all about it! 

Year 3 have had a fantastic half term, through exploring the historical monument of Stonehenge and creating a free-standing replica to writing mystical and enticing twisted fairy-tales! Well done.

Writing:

In Writing, we have been learning about the features and structure of a fairy tale and using this information to write our own terrifying, twisted fairy-tales. We have also looked at non-fiction texts and used our prior learning and understanding of Rocks to produce an informative leaflet for tourists at Castleton cavern.

Geography:

In Geography, our new topic has been all about the UK. First, we went on a virtual tour of the UK and spotted various landmarks and cities. Next, we used atlases to locate cities, river and mountains in the UK. We learnt about the various aspects which make up the UK and why people would choose to live in different types of places such as cities and the countryside. We considered what facilities we have in Sheffield which makes it a fantastic city to live in!

D & T:

Last half term, children learnt all about the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. One of the most amazing things we touched upon was the monumental structure of Stonehenge that has remained after all these years. In DT, we used this knowledge to research about Stonehenge and used our understanding to design a replica. For our final piece, we used clay, tools and precision to carefully shape out each stone and create a free-standing structure of Stonehenge.

Music:

In Music, we have continued our scheme of learning on Charanga, creating more opportunities to improve our skills on the Glockenspiels. We have loved copying, following and improvising with different pieces of music!

After-school Clubs:

The children have really loved being part of the after-school clubs available to them. We have had some very excited children for Sports club, Music Club and Board Game Club. We hope to see the same enthusiasm in the clubs for next half term!

The Year 3 team have thoroughly enjoyed teaching Year 3 this half term and it has been uplifting to see so many children dedicated and excited for their learning.

We look forward to welcoming all children back after half term to enjoy another 6 weeks of new learning and experiences.

See you soon,

Year 3 Team.

This week in Writing Y1 have been innovating 'The Gigantic Turnip'. We have enjoyed innovating the story and choosing our own animals and vegetables. We wrote the beginning, middle and end. We re-read our innovated stories to our class friends and teachers. It was fun. Our teachers were super proud of our writing and reading.

This week in reading we learnt all about theatres and plays. We looked at some playscripts (Jack and the Beanstalk and James and the Giant Peach) and acted them out on a 'stage' in our classroom. We thought about the actions and expressions that the characters would have and then performed them to each other. In maths we looked at using estimates and calculations to check our answers. In writing we looked at the poem 'The Jabberwocky' and thought about the story and inferred what all of the nonsense words might mean. In science we wrote up our shadow experiment and learnt how to show the results in a graph. We have also been getting ready for our virtual christmas concert and recording our performances. 

This week in nursery we have been getting the classroom ready for Christmas. We have made decorations for our Christmas tree. We have used the play dough to make Christmas trees and we have all made our own Christmas cards to take home next week. We have also been practicing singing our favourite festive songs. We love playing the bells in time to jingle bells. 

Dear Parents/Carers

Due to Christmas lunch being served on Friday 11th December.  There has been a change in the menu this week:-

Wednesday - Beef Burger in a Bun with Potato Wedges,  Quorn Burger in a Bun, Sweetcorn, Baked Beans, Chocolate Sponge

Thursday - Fish Fingers, Chips and Tomato Sauce, Vegetable Samosas, Sweetcorn, Baked Beans, Marble Cake

Friday - Roast Turkey with Sage & Onion Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce and Gravy, Quorn Roast Joint, Roast Potatoes, Glazed Carrots and Garden Peas, Chocolate Orange Cake

The menu will revert to normal on Monday 14th December.

Many thanks

This week in Maths Y1 have been identifying and naming 2D and 3D shapes. We have enjoyed exploring the shapes and finding object's in the classroom which are the same shape. We have also identified their properties and what makes each shape unique. 

In Y3 this week we have been sculptors and used clay to create our own models of stone henge to link with our stone age topic. In maths we have been using place value to solve addition and subtraction problems. In writing we have written our own version of the story Little Red Riding Hood, using expanded noun phrases to describe the characters and the setting. In science we have been experimenting with torches, investigating how light travels and how shadows are made. In music we have using body percussion and sign language to prepare for our performances in the school's virtual winter concert.