It's been wonderful to see all the children this week and my how they have all grown over the 2 weeks! 

Class 2 have had a brilliant week back after the Easter break. As usual, we dove right into learning beginning with a new unit in Maths (one that we have all been eagerly waiting to learn) - Fractions. This week, we explored equal parts and learned how to find halves of shapes and numbers. In Literacy, we continued the unit on setting description. This week, we planned our piece and have begun writing our setting descriptions using our plans. We will continue writing our original pieces next week and learn how writers improve their writing by editing their original piece.

In Science, we have started a brand new unit this term - Living things and their habitats. This week, we learned the key features that defines a living thing, and learned how to use these key features to differentiate between things that are living, dead and things that have never been alive. In PSHE, we reminded ourselves about the Green Cross Code and used the dry weather outside to practice it on our school grounds. 

We have also started a new unit in RE with Miss Walker. This week, we listened to the story of Matthew from the Bible and looked at how Jesus was a friend to the friendless. In History, we learned about King Charles III and explored what kind of role he plays in our country and in the world.

We ended our week with an exciting Art session. This term, we are all becoming architects. We begun our unit by looking at what architects really do and the kind of amazing buildings that we have around the word because of the ingenuity and creativity of architects. Then, we took a walk around the school to identify some features and had an interesting discussion around why some of these features have been designed in our building. One of the key theme that came out of our discussion was around accessibility and why ramps are needed in a building like ours but not so much in our houses. Finally, we ended our lesson with a calm sketchbook session where we responded to visual architectural prompts.

Please note that this term, our KIRF focus is the 5-times table and related division. Children should have come home with the KIRF document. However, if you have misplaced it, you can download the PDF document from the link above (Year 2 Sum 1. pdf).

Finally, a very well done to:
> Theo for getting the Ready Award for his awesome writing during Literacy lesson.
> Isla for getting the Safe Award for being a kind and patient learning partner.
> Ivy for Respectful Award for being always kind and helpful around the school.
 

  Storytellers Nursery has had a wonderful start to the half-term with our exciting new topic, The Zoo. The children have shown great enthusiasm as they begin to explore the world of animals and where they live.

This week, we have been learning about different animals and their habitats. The children have enjoyed discovering how animals live in a variety of environments, such as jungles, oceans, farms, and deserts. Through stories, discussions, and play, they have started to understand what animals need to survive and why their habitats are so important.

 A highlight of the week has been the children creating their own habitats for a chosen animal. Using a range of materials, they have built imaginative homes, thinking carefully about what their animal would need, such as water, shelter, and food. It has been lovely to see their creativity and growing understanding come to life.

We have also been looking at animals within our own environment, encouraging the children to notice and talk about creatures they may see every day. This has helped them make connections between their learning and the world around them.

It's been a fantastic start, and we're looking forward to continuing our zoo adventures over the coming weeks!

Friday 24th April

What an amazing first week back at school, for summer term!

The children seemed to have grown so much over the two weeks break!

They have come back raring to explore and learn and boy , have we explored this week!

Our new big question is: Are minibeast like me?

In English this week we have started our new text: The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The children have used role play, and a story map to learn the story. We came into class on Tuesday and The Very Hungry Caterpillar was clearly still hungry as he had eaten our raisins and bread sticks!! The children have loved reading this story and recalling all the yummy foods the caterpillar are. Today we had a story table and then children tried the first three foods of the story, an apple, a pear and an orange!

In maths we have been exploring teen numbers 11-19, we have explored how teen numbers have one ten and some more! We have used base ten, blocks, counting teddies and lots of manipulatives to learn our teen numbers!

We have also this week used so much of our outside area, the children have been so happy to get back outside. Brain and AJ our trust caretakers, worked so hard in the holidays to make our new sandpit! The children can now utilise all the new things that the fund-raising money brought us, including a new writing/colouring table, a mud kitchen, new water tray resources, a dumper truck area, garden decorations, new sand play toys, binoculars and water fountain and so much more. The Foundation team cannot thank you enough for the fundraising; listening to the vocabulary, conversations, excitement and role play that has been taken place this week has been nothing short of wonderful!

The children have explored so much this first week back and the sun has helped with an exciting engaging week!

Have a lovely weekend

The Foundation Team 

Well done to the group of children who visited the University of Plymouth today to take part in a fantastic art workshop. During the session, the children learned about early photography methods and explored how images were created before modern cameras. Using photo-sensitive paper, they produced their own beautiful pieces of artwork inspired by leaves and flowers. The work created was thoughtful and creative, and we are very proud of the care and focus shown by everyone involved. These artworks will be used alongside poems as part of an exhibition in October, which is very exciting. Above is an example of the work that was produced.

Back in school, learning has continued across all subjects. In Maths, Year 6 have been developing their understanding of graphs and charts, while Year 5 have been finishing their unit on fractions, focusing on finding fractions of amounts using clear and accurate methods.

In English, we have been studying a text inspired by Oliver Twist. The children have been exploring how authors bring characters to life through speech, thinking carefully about how dialogue can reveal personality, mood and relationships between characters.

In History, we have been looking closely at the design of the £5 and £10 notes, discussing why certain historical figures have been chosen. This led to some excellent discussions as the children considered who they think should appear on the £50 note from history, giving thoughtful reasons for their choices. It has been another busy and productive week, with lots of creativity, curiosity and excellent thinking on show. Well done to everyone for their hard work!

Summer Term! 

It has been wonderful to welcome everyone back after the Easter holidays. The children have returned full of energy and enthusiasm, ready for a busy and exciting term ahead.

This week, we have begun our fantastic new topic on Transport and Vehicles. The children are already showing great curiosity, and we are looking forward to exploring this theme in lots of creative and engaging ways including a trip to Saltash Fire Station! Please see the attached information for more details about what we will be learning.

We have also been delighted to welcome our early transition children from Nursery-hello to the Dolphins! They have settled into their new classroom beautifully and are already becoming part of our Tregantle family. On Monday, we enjoyed a truly special visit to St Anne's Residential Home. The children brought so much joy to the residents with their singing, poems, and storytelling. It was a lovely experience for everyone involved and a great opportunity for the children to connect with the wider community.

Thursday afternoon was equally special as we welcomed parents into the classroom for our Books and Pastries event. It was wonderful to see everyone sharing stories together, both indoors and outside, and enjoying such a relaxed and happy end to the day.

We are so pleased to be back and are looking forward to a fantastic summer term filled with learning, fun, and new experiences.

This month in Year 2, we have been very busy with lots of exciting learning across our subjects!

In RE, we explored the question: Why does Easter matter to Christians?
We learnt the Easter story and spent time thinking about the different emotions people might have felt at each part.
We also discussed what the word saviour means and why it is important to Christians. To finish our topic, we looked at different ways Christians celebrate Easter around the world.

In Geography, we investigated - Why is our world wonderful?
We examined maps and aerial photographs of our local area and compared what we could see.
We learnt the countries and capitals of the United Kingdom and identified key landmarks. We also sorted physical and human features.
As part of our learning, we went on a local walk where we carried out traffic surveys and enjoyed some time at the park.

In Art, we focused on developing our sketching skills. We practised drawing different types of lines and patterns, and explored techniques such as hatching, cross-hatching and stippling. We added detail to our line drawings and learnt how to shade effectively.
At the end of the unit, we created a final piece showing the view from our school using all the skills we had learnt.

In PSHE, our topic was Healthy Me.
We learnt about healthy and unhealthy foods, how medicines can help us, and what makes us feel stressed or relaxed.
We especially enjoyed making our own fruit kebabs!

In Music, we have been learning to play the glockenspiel. We practised playing the tune Hot Cross Buns and worked hard to keep in time with the music.

Well done Year 2 for your fantastic effort this month!