Term 1

Week 1

Week ending 8.9.17

How lovely to welcome the new Willow class back to school, looking bright eyed and bushy-tailed!

The children are settling quickly into the class routine and raring to go!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned to hold my pencil correctly.'

'I learned how to form my numbers correctly.'

'I learned to write the names of numbers.'

'I met Hector, the class dog and told him all about myself, because he was shy.'

'I learned to sort food into different groups: vegetables, fruit, meat and fish.'

'I started to make a symmetrical kite.'

'I learned how to play tunnel ball and 'the up and down freeze game'.'

'I learned how to log my dinner onto the interactive whiteboard and how to make an array of the names.'

Dear Parents,

Below is a guide to what your child will be learning in Willow Class this term. If you have any queries, please contact me.

LITERACY

We will be learning to read and spell words with long vowel digraphs, i.e.: ‘ee’, ‘ea’, ‘oa’, ‘o-e’, ‘ow’, ‘ai,’ a-e’, ‘ay’, ‘ie’, ‘igh’, ‘y’, ‘oo’, ‘u-e’, ‘ew’, ‘ue’, ‘oo’ (as in good). At the beginning of each week the children will be given spellings to learn, these will be sent home on Friday and tested the following Friday. We will be investigating the use of capital letters, commas and exclamation marks and using them in our writing. We will also try to make our writing more interesting by using connectives, such as suddenly, unfortunately, luckily, etc. Our text work will be based on fiction and poetry, with familiar settings and we will use non-fiction to look at instructions. Good letter formation is a priority, with Year 2 children practising a cursive style. Children are invited to take home a home reading book as often as they wish- please fill in the title and date in their home reading book, together with any comments about their reading. The children are invited to take Bouncer Bunny and his cousin Betsy, for a sleepover: they record what the bunnies do at home, in Bouncer Bunny’s Diary. They may also take Willow Bear home for a weekend visit.  Speaking and listening is crucial to children's development and 'Show and Tell' is on Mondays, although often spills over to other days!

NUMERACY

Children are becoming familiar with reading and writing numbers over 100. They will count on in ones, twos, fives and tens. They will practise recording in number sentences, using +, -, =, x and division. They will learn to recall pairs of numbers that total 10 and 20 and addition doubles to at least 10+10, together with corresponding halves. Year 2 children will become familiar with multiplication facts of the 10x, 5x, 2x and 3x tables and deduce corresponding division facts. They will recognise odd and even numbers. We will also be looking at: length, 2D and 3D shapes, time, money and position and the associated vocabulary. We will recognise halves, quarters and thirds and investigate maths problems and puzzles. We will look at ways of handling data, including tables, bar charts and Venn diagrams.

SCIENCE

We shall be studying ‘Animals, including Humans’, finding out about their needs and how they grow.

HISTORY

Our topic is Famous Events- we shall be finding out about Remembrance Day.

GEOGRAPHY

We are comparing a village in another country with Elham.

R.E.

This term we are studying Christianity: the Creation and the parables of Jesus. We will be making a book of the Christmas story, linking with our Nativity play.

I.C.T.

We will learn to use a word processor to improve the presentation of our work. This will include saving and loading work, editing and printing; we will use a variety of programs throughout the curriculum and produce artwork. ICT is used on a daily basis in Literacy and Numeracy, and where appropriate, in other areas of the curriculum

P.E.

We will learn ball skills and develop these into playing football. P.E. is on Fridays. Please wear suitable plimsolls or trainers and bring a cosy top and trousers or a tracksuit to wear.

MUSIC

We shall investigate the sounds we can make, loud and soft, short and long, fast and slow and rhythm. This will develop into using percussion instruments to compose and perform music. Mrs. Hickman teaches the Ocarina, as well as singing and percussion on Wednesdays. We will be practising singing songs for the Nativity play.

ART/DESIGN

We are investigating making different marks on paper and colour mixing. We will develop this into studying portrait painting and sculpture. In the second half of the term we shall be designing and making pop-up cards for Christmas.

Thank you very much to all the parents and friends of Elham School, who give up their precious time to help in Willow Class: your contribution is very highly valued. If anyone feels they can help with any area of the curriculum we would be delighted to hear from you!

Yours faithfully,

Genevieve Ferguson

September 2017

Term 1

Week 2

Week ending  15.9.17

We made the most of the fine weather and went on a conker hunt! We had Rugby Tots in and we learned how to carry a rugby ball, score a try and kick a goal!

What else have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'ee', 'ea' phoneme.'

'I learned how to write 'ee' joined up.'

'I learned about homophones.'

'I learned to order numbers.'

'I learned to say a number in between a pair of numbers.'

'I learned about our new R.E scheme and the story of The Creation.'

'I learned that some foods are treats and some are everyday foods.'

'I learned the names of the seven continents and five oceans.'

'I learned how to hold an Ocarina.'

'I learned how to dribble a football.'

Star of the Week: Arthur for being quick to help in class and for always trying his best.

Term 1

Week 3

Week ending 22.9.17

We have been busy preparing for our Harvest Festival in the Methodist Church next Friday - watch out for a pride of lions!  We had a visit from Sound Art and had great fun with Mrs Sharp using microphones to record our voices making different sounds and rhythms.

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'oa' phoneme.'

'I learned homophones with the 'ow' phoneme.'

'I learned to join 'ee' and 'oa'.'

'I learned to dribble in football.'

'I learned to use my Unifix bricks to add two numbers.'

'I learned my number bonds to ten.'

'I learned the story of 'Androcles and the Lion':  this story shows the generosity of Androcles, the lion and the Emperor.'

'I learned to write a prayer about 'perseverance.'

Star of the week:  Gabriy'el for always trying her best and for being quick to help.

Term 1

Week 4

Week ending 29.9.17

We went to the Methodist Church for our Harvest Festival on Friday.  The theme was 'Generosity' and when discussing this with the children I was surprised how many of them thought about being generous with your actions;  as a result we told the story of 'Androcles and the Lion' in church and showed the magnificent lion heads they had made. Despite being nervous, they read very well: we were very proud of them!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'ay' phoneme.'

'I learned homophones.'

'I learned how to count in tens and ones.'

'I learned how to partition numbers into tens and units.'

'I learned what is healthy food and what is a treat.'

'I finished making my Butterfly Kite and flew it!'

'I finished making my lion for 'Androcles and the lion'.'

'I learned my number bonds to 10.'

'I wrote the instructions for making my kite.'

Star of the week: Joe A. for an excellent attitude towards his work.

Term 1

Week 5

Week ending 6.10.17

We had some beautiful sunny weather towards the end of the week and were able to go outside and collect horse chestnut leaves for our science lesson and play football on the playground.

What have we learned this week;

'I learned the 'oo' phoneme.'

'I learned that words that are spelled the same but have different meanings are called 'homographs.'

'I wrote instructions for making a jam sandwich.'

'I learned to use time-connectives to order my commands.'

'I learned that commands must start on a new line.'

'I learned that commands star with a capital letter and end with a full-stop or exclamation mark.'

'I learned to use a bullet point at the beginning of my commands.'

'I learned to use imperative (bossy) verbs in my commands.'

'I learned how to identify a horse chestnut leaf.'

'I learned my number bonds to 20, by using my number bonds to 10.'

'I learned to add multiples of 10 up to 100, by using my number bonds to 10.'

'I learned to combine a tens number with a one digit number.'

'I thought about what God might look like and what sort of person would create the World.'

'We thought about what we would like to find out about Tocuaro in Mexico, so we can compare it with Elham.'

Star of the week:  Samuel for trying hard and always being helpful in class.

Term 1 

Week 6

Week ending 13.10.17

Again some lovely 'Indian summer' weather to hunt for Sweet Chestnut leaves and nuts and to practise our football skills!

We ended the week with the start of Book Week: Ian Crosher from KIC Theatre is an old friend of the school and never fails to delight the children with his exciting drama activities!  He is already booked in with us for the next two years as he is so popular and he gets snapped up really quickly!

We have lots going on next week!!

On Monday we have Tales from the Book of Life, visiting us again - I can't wait!  On Wednesday Ian MacDonald a local author is coming in to do workshops and Jane Buss will be in KS 1 and Reception on Friday enthralling the children with tales of Keiller, the Cathedral Cat.

Do not forget the Scholastic Book Fair after school next week until Thursday; a lot of the books are at discount prices.

There is a competition for KS1 and Reception to draw a Super Hero.

Next Friday is Dressing-up day for Book Week - come as your favourite Super Hero!

We will be sending home Readathon sponsor cards, for the children to complete, if they wish, over half-term:  this is to raise money for Roald Dahl children's charities, for very poorly children.

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'u' phoneme.'

'I learned to recognise a sweet chestnut leaf and nut.'

'I learned to order coins, starting with the smallest.'

'I learned to add two amounts of money to make a total.'

'I learned to identify common nouns.'

'I wrote instructions for making my kite as a Hot Task.'

'I wrote a prayer thanking God for his wonderful creation.'

'I learned how to draw a face.'

Star of the Week: Erin for always trying her best and being helpful in class.

Term 1

Week ending 21.10.17

Week 7

What an exciting week we have had! 

On Monday 'Tales from the Book of Life', combined music and storytelling to entertain the children.  Ramona has visited us for a number of years and plays an enormous array of instruments, notably the harp and viola. Tony Cooper, stood in for Tony Edwards, and enthralled us with tales from around Kent.  We wish Tony E. a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him next year.

On Tuesday, the children were invited to enter a competition:  KS 2 had to write a 'day in the life of their Super Hero' and KS 1 had to design a costume for their Super Hero.  In Willows, Sabine won for her beautiful drawing of 'Cloud Woman' (she also came dressed as Cloud Woman!). We also had an assembly visit from a representative from the Scholastic Book Fair - she must have inspired the children, for over £820 was spent over the four days after school.  An enormous' thank you' to Mrs. Clayton for arranging the rota of parent helpers and to all our wonderful Mums for selling the books!

On Wednesday, Ian MacDonald, a local author, read from his books and spoke about the craft of writing.  After school he signed copies of his books, which proved very popular!

On Friday, Jane Buss (Philips), another local author (and grandmother to Jacob and Joanna), read her book 'Keiller, the Cathedral Cat', to Acorns, Hazel and then Willows.  They enjoyed asking her questions and will be able to do some interesting follow- up work.

We also, of course, had our traditional 'Dressing-up Day'. I applaud the creativity of the parents and children!  The Kent Messenger took some photos - so look out for them next week!

Term 2

Week 1

Week ending 3.11.17

Welcome back after a lovely half-term!

We have started learning the songs for our Nativity play - 'Off to Bethlehem' and the children have been allocated parts:  understandably, they are very excited!

What heve we learned this week?

'I learned the 'oy' phoneme.'

'I learned to plant a daffodil bulb and to write the instructions how to do it.'

'I learned how to trace a picture.'

'I learned to measure using a non-standard measure.'

'I learned to make 'Maurice the Metre Man.'

'I learned to measure things more than a metre, less than a metre and the same as a metre.'

'I learned the learned you can write metre as'm' and centimetre as 'cm'.'

'I learned there are 30 cm on my ruler.'

'I learned to mark centimetres on my Maurice the Metre Man.'

'We measured ourselves on the Height Chart.'

Star of the Week: Beaumont for making an enormous effort to make his writing smaller and neater.

Term 2

Week 2

Week ending 10.11.17

This week we were visited by Fire Fighter Max, who showed us his uniform and told us not to touch matches and to get regularly check our smoke alarms;  the children did some very good recounts following his talk.  We also went to church for the first time this term and took part in a service led by the Year 6s.

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'ow' phoneme.'

'I learned to count in twos.'

'I learned to write a recount.'

'I learned the names of 2D shapes.'

'I learned the properties of 2D shapes.'

'I measured lines in centimetres.'

'I learned my words for the Nativity Play.'

'I practised my acting for the Nativity play.'

'I learned some songs and actions for the Nativity Play.'

Star of the week:  Sabine for always trying her best.

Term 2

Week 3

Week ending 17.11.17

What a busy week with two parent evenings, but it was lovely to meet all my parents!

On Friday, we celebrated 'Children in Need' day - it was hard to know who had chicken pox and who had gone spotty for the day!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'o-e' phoneme.'

'I learned to find symmetry in 2D shapes.'

'I learned to count in tens.'

'I learned to do column addition.'

'I learned the story of The Little Red Hen' with actions.

'I learned to put capital letters and full-stops in my sentences.

'I learned to describe how I feel when I do exercise.'

'I practised the Nativity Play.'

Star of the Week: Tamsin for always working hard and teaching us Polish!

Term 2

Week 4

Week ending 24.11.17

We held our annual seed competition and had a lot of beautiful,  varied collages, based on the song 'Autumn Days'. 

The winners were; 1st Samuel, 2nd Daisy, 3rd Tamsin and 4th Charlie.  Well done to all the children who entered; Mr. File, who judged the competition , was very impressed with your creativity!

On Wednesday we had our first music concert of the year and I was very proud of the Willows as they played their ocarinas beautifully in front of the whole school and then joined in a rendition of Silent Night with all the other classes.  Thank you very much to Mrs. Hickman for organising the concert and to Miss Hickman for joining her in playing her wind instruments.

Rehearsals for our Nativity Play are coming on apace - prepare to be amazed by your children!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'ey' phoneme/grapheme.'

'I learned to put commas in lists.'

'I learned that 'and goes between the last two items in a list.'

'I learned to do column addition.'

'I learned to count in tens from any number.'

'I learned 'The Rule of Three.'

'I learned describing words are called adjectives.'

'I learned to write a prayer about 'wisdom'.

'I learned to put actions to our Nativity songs.'

Star of the week: Joe H. for trying hard with his writing.

Term 2

Week ending 1.12.17

Week 5

On Thursday, we had a visit from the 'Make time for Music' team.  They demonstrated a range of instruments and the children were very keen to have lessons ( drums featured heavily on their wish list - sorry parents!).

Friday, 1st December, what an exciting day this was!  The children came into school to find the class had been decorated with a Christmas tree, a 'Merry Christmas' banner, an advent calendar, a Father Christmas/ stocking advent calendar and a stable with Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and all the characters from their Nativity play.  Needless to say they were very excited!  Thank you, Riley for your help!

To add to the excitement, it was the Christmas Fair after school and we had fun practising our 'Bean Bags in a Basket' game. We had a constant stream of children taking part and everyone enjoyed the fair. 

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'dge' phoneme.'

'I learned the 2 x table.'

'I learned that 'x' means multiply, times or' lots of'.'

'I learned that x 2 is doubling.'

'I learned that multiplication is repeated addition.'

'I learned that you can do multiplication in any order, like addition.'

'I learned that adjectives are describing words.'

'I learned to put adjectives in a 'Rule of Three.'

'I learned to retell the story of 'The Little Red Hen.'

'I learned that Mexicans make tortillas.'

'I learned that Mexicans put plain chocolate in their stews: it is called 'mole'.

Star of the week: Howie for a great attitude towards his learning and making very good progress.

Term 2

Week 6

Week ending 8.12.17

On Wednesday we went to the pantomime! " Oh no we didn't", "Oh yes we did!"  It was up to its usual brilliant standard and the children loved it and were very well behaved.

After a throw off for first place in the 'Bean Bag in a Basket' competition, at the Christmas Fayre, the winner was Arthur for KS 1 and Sammy for KS 2 - well done boys!

Friday saw our first proper dress rehearsal in front of Age UK, Elham Pre-school and KS 2;  the children sang beautifully and their acting was amazing!  We are looking forward to our matinee performance on Monday, starting at 2.00 pm and our evening performance on Tuesday, starting at 6.00 pm.  Please bring your children back to school for 5.30 pm and collect them at around 6.45 pm.

What have we learned this week?

'I learned to halve numbers.'

'I learned halving is the opposite of doubling.'

'I learned how to write a letter.'

'I designed a bedroom for a special baby.'

'I learned my 2x table.'

'I finished my' Little Red Hen' story.'

Star of the week:  Beaumont, who stood in for Howie for our Friday performance of 'Off to Bethlehem', and was magnificent!

Term 2

Week 7

Week ending 15.12.17

What an amazing week we had!

On Monday we had our matinee performance of 'Off to Bethlehem'.  The children were magnificent!  Then on Tuesday we had our evening performance - the best ever!  Well done Acorns, Hazel and Willows, we were very proud of you.  Especial thanks to Mr. Davison, our lighting director, Alice, our voice coach and Mrs. Lewis, publicity and Box Office - well done team!

On Wednesday we made Christingles, using oranges, a candle, red tape, cocktail sticks and sweets.  In the afternoon we went to church and lit the Christingles - it was a beautiful service.  Father Christmas visited Mrs. Lewis and left Christmas cards for the children - they were beside themselves with excitement!

On Thursday we made our Christmas cards - a lovely Nativity scene, and made snowflake calendars, with a picture of the children in costume.

On Friday we had a class party because we had achieved 20 marbles in the jar, through team work.  The children were allowed to bring games from home and it was lovely to see them playing together.

Happy Christmas everybody! 

Term 3

Week 1

Week ending 5.1.18

Happy New Year everybody!

It is lovely to see everyone healthy and happy to be back at school!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the silent letters 'kn' and 'gn'.'

'I learned that dividing between (by) 2 is the same as halving.'

'I learned about everyday materials and their uses.'

'I wrote about my favourite day in the holidays, using time-connectives and joining words.'

'I learned how to hold a hockey stick and how to dribble.'

'I learned to share between 3,4 and 5.'

'I wrote my New Year's resolution.'

Dear Parents,

Below is a guide to what your child will be learning in Willow Class this term. If you have any queries or can help in any way, please contact me.

LITERACY

We will be learning to read and spell words with long vowel digraphs, i.e.: ‘air’, ’ere’, ‘are’, ‘ear’; ‘or’, ‘oor’, ‘aw’, ‘au’, ‘ore’; ‘er’, ‘ur’, ‘ir’; blends, e.g. ’wh’, ‘ch’ and ‘ph’; prefixes, e.g. ‘un’, ‘re’ and ‘dis’’; antonyms, e.g. pretty and ugly, cheap and expensive; compound words, e.g. playtime, homework and icepack. We will learn to count syllables and phonemes. The reading and spelling of high frequency words is an ongoing priority. At the beginning of each week the children will be given spellings to learn, these will be tested on Friday. We will be investigating the use of commas and speech marks and using them in our writing. We will also try to make our writing more interesting by using adverbial connectives, such as suddenly, unfortunately, luckily, etc. We will be looking at grammatical agreement and using the standard form of verbs. Our text work will be based on fiction and poetry, by significant authors and we will use non-fiction to look at instructions. Good letter formation is a priority, with Year 2 children practising a cursive style. The children will be looking at different ways of presenting their work, including using word processing. Writing is encouraged and practised at every opportunity and this term we will be focussing on the structure of a story and key elements, such as setting, character, the use of adjectives, alliteration and onomatopoeia. Children are invited to take home a home reading book as often as they wish- please fill in the title and date in their home reading book, together with any comments about their reading.

NUMERACY

Children are becoming familiar with reading and writing numbers up to. They will count on in ones, twos, threes, fives and tens. They will practise recording in number sentences, using +, -, and x and division. They will learn to recall pairs of numbers that total 10 and 20 and addition doubles to at least 10+10 together with corresponding halves. Year 2 children will become familiar with multiplication facts of the x10, x5, x3 and x2 tables and deduce corresponding division facts. These will be tested on Fridays. They will recognise odd and even numbers. We will also be looking at: length, 2D and 3D shapes, time, money, capacity, weight and position and the associated vocabulary. We will recognise halves, quarters and thirds and investigate maths problems and puzzles. We will look at ways of handling data, including bar charts and Venn diagrams.

SCIENCE

We shall be studying the uses materials and investigating how plants grow.

HISTORY

We are investigating the Great Fire of London. What is London like now? What was it like before the fire in 1666? How can we find out about it? Who was Samuel Pepys?

R.E.

This term we are studying the parables of Jesus and learning about Easter.

I.C.T.

We will be learning how to take photos and edit them using I pads.

P.E.

We will be exploring different ways of moving, combining sequences into a dance. For the first six Fridays, Mr.Hodgeman will be teaching us hockey skills. After half-term we will be learning rugby skills, on the pitch – wrap up warm!

P.E. is on Tuesdays and Fridays.

MUSIC

We shall investigate the sounds we can make, loud and soft, short and long, fast and slow and how these affect the rhythm of a piece of music. We are going to learn songs, to put together as a class performance. Mrs. Hickman will to teach the ocarina, singing and percussion on Wednesdays.

ART/DESIGN

We will be looking at buildings and observing different patterns. We will turn our sketches into a clay collage.

PSHE

This will be an integral part of our R.E. project, investigating the need for rules in our lives. We will also discuss social problems as they arise naturally in the group.

Yours faithfully,

Genevieve Ferguson

Spring Term 2018

Term 3

Week 2

Week ending 12.1.17

It is great to get back into the swing of things - the children have worked so hard!

On Tuesday, we had Dance with Mrs. Everett and then we went to Church in the afternoon.  On Friday we continued our Hockey training with Mr. Hodgeman:  it was great fun, but cold - do make sure your child has warm clothes to wear for outside P.E. (they can wear gloves - I did!) and trainers.

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'ie' phoneme.'

'I learned that if a word ends in a 'y' and you want to add an 's', you need to change the 'y' into an 'i' and add 'es'.  For example, 'cry' becomes 'cries' and 'try' becomes 'tries'.

'I learned how to use exclamation marks, for example when there is a loud noise or someone is shouting, if there is danger and you are warning someone, or if something is funny or unexpected.

'I learned there are four different types of basic sentence - question, statement, exclamation and command.'

'I learned how to divide with a remainder.'

'I learned how to make different amounts of money.'

'I learned how to give change.'

'We decided the questions we wanted to ask about The Great Fire of London.'

'I learned about The Monument.'

'I learned The Great Fire of London was in 1666.'

Star of the Week: Jack for always being so helpful and trying his best.

Term 3

Week 3

Week ending 19.1.18

The children noticed the interesting date on Thursday: 18.1.18.  They had also spotted the palindromic date on 8.1.18!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'le' phoneme.'

'I learned about contractions.

'I learned that multiplication can be done in any order.'

'I learned how to draw an array.'

'I learned that you can read arrays two ways, e.g. 4x3 =12 and 3x4 =12.'

'I made arrays on pegboards.'

'I learned my 5 x table.'

'I wrote a prayer about humility.'

'I learned about the four different types of sentence.'

'I learned to write an exclamation sentence, with 'how' or'what' at the beginning, and a verb at the end.'

'I wrote questions and commands.'

'I started learning how to tackle maths word problems.'

'I wrote a Rule of Three to describe my mummy, for Mothering Sunday and drew a lovely picture of her.'

Star of the week: Benjamin for trying hard with his sentences.

Term 3

Week 4

Week ending 26.1.18

An exciting start to the week with a visit from Jo, of The Dogs' Trust.  We learned a lot about how a dog uses its senses and compared it with our senses.

What else have we learned this week?

'I learned how to add 'ing' to verbs with a split digraph and a 'magic 'e' at the end.' (Knock off the 'e' add 'ing)

'I learned how to add 'ing' to verbs with a short vowel sound and two consonants.' (Just add 'ing)

'I learned how to add 'ing to a verb with a long vowel sound.' (Just add 'ing')

'I learned how to add 'ing' to verbs with a short vowel sound and one consonant.' (Double the final consonant, then add 'ing')

'I learned my 3 x table.'

'I learned that multiplication is the opposite of division.'

'I learned that multiplication is repeated addition.'

'I learned that division is repeated subtraction.'

'I learned how to cut a square into halves.'

'I learned how to cut a square into quarters.'

'I learned that two quarters is the same as a half.'

'I learned that four quarters make a whole.'

'I learned how to test plastics for flexibility.'

'I learned that God loves us like a parent and has given us gifts.'

'I learned that Charles 11 was the king at the time of The Great Fire of London in 1666.'

'I learned that Samuel Pepys wrote a diary of the fire and this is how we know about it.'

'I wrote a recount of the visit from Jo of Dogs' Trust.'

Star of the Week:  Saul for trying hard with his sentences and maths.

Term 3

Week 5

Week ending 2.2.18

What have we learned this week?

'I learned my 3 x table.'

'I learned the 'ey' phoneme and grapheme.'

'I learned that you only have to add 's' to words ending in 'ey',to make them plural.'

'I learned how to write an information leaflet about snow leopards.'

'I learned how to draw a self-portrait.'

'I learned how to edit my writing.'

'I learned how to draw lines in centimetres.'

'I learned the < and the > sign.'

'I learned to order the days of the week.'

'I learned to order the months of the year.'

'I learned to put the months into the four seasons.'

'I learned how to solve word problems.'

'I learned about the story of Jesus and the 10 lepers.'

'I learned why it is important to thank God and to thank people if they have done something for me.'

'I made a picture of a timber-framed house, that might have been around in 1666, the time of The Great Fire of London.'

'I learned to count to ten in french.'

Star of the Week:  Riley for being such a great help in the mornings, handing out registers to the different classes and morning work for the rest of the Willows.'

Term 3

Week 6

Week ending 9.2.18

What a very busy week we have had! 

It was Mental Health week and the children came up with super ideas as to what mental health meant.  They wrote poems describing themselves in terms of other things, e.g. If I were a colour, I would be black and white.  If I were a season I would be spring.

We also wrote our stories for The Winter Writing Competition.  The children were really inspired by the snowy pictures and by our research into snow leopards. The winner for Year 2 was Beaumont, with a very entertaining and well written story about the friendship between a rabbit and a mouse.  Well done Beaumont!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned to tell the time to the o'clock.'

'I learned to tell the time to half past the hour.'

'I learned to tell the time to a quarter past the hour.'

'I learned to edit my story.'

'I learned silent letters; 'gn', 'wr', 'sw' and 'kn'.

'I drew a self-portrait.'

'I learned about The Great Fire of London.'

'I drew a picture of The Great Fire of London.'

'I learned my 3 x table.'

'I enjoyed going to church on Tuesday.'

Star of the week: Owen for a lovely winter story.

Have a super half-term!

Term 4

Week 1

Week ending 23.2.18

Lovely to be back with...a brand new interactive whiteboard!  It was super to see all the children looking healthy and rested - bring on Term 4!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned to add 'ing','ed', 'est' and 'er' to words with a short vowel sound and one consonant between the vowel and the suffix.'

'I learned to tell the time to a quarter to the hour.'

'I learned my 2x table.'

'I learned to test different materials to see how bouncy they were.'

'I recorded my results in a table.'

'I learned to sort numbers and shapes using a Venn Diagram.'

'I wrote a prayer about faithfulness.'

'I wrote an information leaflet about snow leopards.'

'I learned the reasons why the Great Fire of London spread.'

'I played a game of hockey and can dribble the ball.'

'I identified good writing and have 'magpied' some ideas for my next story.'

Star of the week:  Daisy for trying hard with her sentences.

Term 4

Week 2

Week ending 2.3.18

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!  We were closed for two and a half days, but for the intrepid and healthy there was still lots to learn!

What did we learn this week?

'I learned my 2 x table.'

'Two times is the same as doubling.'

'I learned that 'wa' and 'qua' sound as if they have an 'o' phoneme.'

'I learned place value of H.T.U.'

'I learned to write the four different sentences: statement, question, exclamation and command.'

Star of the week: Jeremy for always taking part in class discussion.

Term 4

Week 3

Week ending 9.3.18

We had our last hockey session with Mr. Hodgeman, which was a mini tournament.  He was impressed with the children's skill and how competitive they were!  A huge thank you to Mr. Hodgeman, the class have thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and learned a lot.

On Tuesday we went to church with Rev. Jane  and Howie took part in the Cracker Challenge!  He was determined not to give in and have a drink of water!  A lesson to us all during Lent.

Happy Mothering Sunday on the 11th!

What else have we learned this week:

'I learned my 5 x table.'

'I learned the 'zh' phoneme, as in 'beige' and 'treasure'.

'I learned how to write a diary.'

'I learned about Samuel Pepys.'

'I learned how to weigh using grams and kilograms.'

'I weighed out ingredients to make Rock Cakes.'

'I learned how to mix ingredients together to make Rock Cakes.'

'I learned about the Easter Story.'

'I learned what happened during Holy Week.'

'I made a Mothering Sunday card and wrote why my mummy is special.'

'I played a game of hockey.'

Star of the Week: Nicholas for a lovely Mothering Sunday Card.

Term  4

Week 4

Week ending 16.3.18

What an exciting Science Week we had!  Bridget and Mr. Clayton visited from Pfizers and did some hair-raising experiments with static electricity and Mrs. Levitt taught us about balance and gravity.  The Folkestone School for Girls taught us how to track animals by their poo, how to make a Ph indicator using red cabbage, how to find out what birds eat by the shape of their beaks and about digestion.

What else did we learn this week?

'I learned my 10 x table.'

'I found a pattern in the 10 x table.'

'I designed a mad scientist!'

'I found out about Stephen Hawking, who sadly died this week.'

'I wrote my diary of Samuel Pepys.'

'I made my butterfly balance using 2 x 1ps.'

'I made my empty can balance on its edge by putting 20 mls of water inside it.'

'I made 14 nails balance on one nail.'

'I learned how to carry a ten in column addition.'

'I learned how to make a bar chart about Willow Class's favourite birds.'

'I learned that when a noun or verb end in 'y' to add 's', you must change the 'y' into 'i' and add 'es'.

'I learned that lots of something is plural.'

Star of the Week: Ava for trying very hard with her Samuel Pepys Diary.

Term 4

Week 5

Week ending 23.3.18

What have we learned this week?

'I learned my 3 x table.'

'I learned that I could check my subtraction number sentences by doing the opposite - adding!' For example: 14-7=7 so 7+7=14.

'I drew a portrait of one of Jesus' disciples.'

'We made a class acrostic poem about The Last Supper.'

'I wrote a diary as Samuel Pepys.'

'I learned some martial art moves.'

'I learned the 'le' phoneme, as in 'able' and 'sensible'.

'I learned the 'er' phoneme as in 'mother, 'father' and 'brother'.

Star of the Week: Joe A. for a consistently high standard of work.

Term 4

Week 6

Week ending 28.3.18

On Thursday, the last day of term, we went to church and performed our acrostic poem about The Last Supper.  The children were magnificent and we were very proud of them!

What else have we learned this week?

'I learned the suffix 'ly'.

'I learned to find missing numbers in number sentences, by doing the opposite operation. For example: 8+ ? = 16, so 16 - 8 = 8.

'I made an Easter card, with a cracked 'egg' and a pop-up chick!'

'I learned about angles - they are corners, where two sides meet.'

'I learned my 10 x table.'

'I re-read my Samuel Pepys' diary and made improvements.'

Star of the Week: Beaumont for much quicker application of his skills in writing and maths.

Term 5

Week 1

Week ending 20.4.18

Lovely to see the children back from the Easter break and what beautiful weather we had at the end of the week to do our sponsored bounce and to experiment with capacity!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the suffix 'sion' and 'tion'.'

'I learned the 'sh' phoneme as in 'sugar' and' facial'. '

'I learned my 10 x table.'

'I learned my 5 x table.'

'I learned how to use co-ordinates to find something on a grid.'

'I learned how to use words to show the position  and direction of something.'

'I learned how to measure capacity in litres and millilitres.'

'I learned how to read a scale.'

'I learned how to find right angles using Rodney the Right Angled Cruncher.'

'I learned how to do a chest pass and a bounce pass.'

Star of the Week:  Charlie for a much better attitude towards his work.

Term 5

Week 2

Week ending 27.4.18

What have we learned this week?

'I learned my 3x table.'

'I learned how to use adverbs in sentences.'

'I learned how to test the best conditions for planting seeds.'

'I wrote a prayer about kindness.'

'I learned how to divide numbers.'

'I learned how to find a fraction of a number.'

'I learned how to find a half and a quarter of a shape.'

'I learned the rules for adding 'le' or 'el' to words.'

'I learned a welsh country dance.'

'I learned to draw arrays to show multiplication.'

Star of the week:  Finlay for a great effort with his work.

Term 5

Week 3

Week ending 5.5.18

What a lovely week we have had!  On Thursday we went to The GulbenkianTheatre in Canterbury to see 'What the Ladybird Heard' by Julia Donaldson.  It was an excellent production, with singing, dancing and playing instruments - the children were enthralled.  When we got back to school we designed and made posters to advertise the show - the children were well and truly inspired!

A huge 'thank you' to Mrs. Lester for organising the trip and to the PTA for subsidising it.

Mrs. Woodward and I took cards the children had made for Mrs. Collins;  she is making very good progress and misses all the children very much.  We miss her very much and can't wait for her to return after half term! 

What else have we learned this week?

'I learned my 10 x table.'

'I learned to compare things using words like 'funny', 'funnier' and 'funniest'.

'I learned to find a third and three quarters of a shape.'

'I learned to tell the time to show 5 minute intervals.'

'I practised my maths problem solving.'

'I practised my comprehension skills.'

Star of the week: Arthur for working extremely hard to catch up on work he had missed.

Term 5

Week 4

Week ending 11.5.18

SATs testing week and the children were magnificent!  They worked really hard and deserve a lot of TLC!

What else have we learned this week?

'I learned my 2 x table'

'I learned all the different ways of writing the 'or' phoneme, especially the tricky 'al' as in 'ball' and 'ar' as in 'warm'.

'I learned to write a recount of our trip to The Gulbenkian to see 'What the Ladybird heard.'

'I learned to solve maths word problems.'

'I looked at our bean experiment and wrote my observations in a table.'

'I discussed how to investigate things in science.'

'I looked at different habitats, to see what plants and animals lived there.'

Term 5 

Week 5

Week ending 14.5.18

We had a party to celebrate getting' 20 marbles in the Jar' and the end of SATs!  Hurray!!  On Friday we dressed in our PJs to raise money for charity - well done everybody!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned my 5 x table.'

'I learned the suffixes 'ness' and 'ment'.

'I learned how to play English rounders.'

'I learned how to play Danish rounders.'

'I learned how to find missing numbers.'

'I made puppets to tell the story of 'What the Ladybird Heard.'

Term 5

Week 6

Week ending 25.5.18

What have we learned this week?

'I learned my 5 x table.'

'I learned about compound words, like' workman' and' workbook'.'

'I learned how to innovate a story by changing the characters, setting and plot.'

'I wrote my own story based on 'What the Ladybird Heard.'

'I learned the 'wor' phoneme.'

'I tried to beat my score in the standing jump, the long jump and chest pass.'

'I designed a hospital for the future.'

'I located the countries of the UK on a base map.'

'I located the capital cities of the UK on a base map.'

'I named the seas around the UK.'

Star of the week:  Sabine for persevering with maths problem solving.

Term 6

Week 1

Week ending 8.6.18

How lovely to see the children back, full of their stories of the half-term holiday!  And....drum-roll.. we had a very special returnee - Mrs. Collins!  She has been sorely missed!

On Wednesday we were visited by Tiempo Dance:  it was so hot we danced on the playground!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned my 3 x table.'

'I learned the 'al' phoneme/grapheme, as in 'metal'.

'I wrote a recount of my half-term holiday.'

'I investigated adding two, three and four odd numbers.'

'I could predict what would happen when I added five odd numbers together.'

'I multiplied odd numbers and could see the pattern.'

'I multiplied even numbers and could see the pattern.'

'I learned that Muslims say 'Peace be upon him' when they talk about the Prophet Muhummad PBUH.'

'I know what a common noun is.'

'I know what a proper noun is.'

'I know what an adjective is.'

'I know what a verb is.'

'I know what an adverb is.' 

'I can use the possessive apostrophe.'

'I can write contractions.'

Star of the week: Jack for stretching himself with his math's investigation.

Term 6

Week 2

Week ending 15.6.18

What have we learned this week?

'I learned my 2 x table.'

'I've  learned to write contractions with an apostrophe.'

'I learned to plan my postcard.'

'I learned to write a postcard.'

'I learned the seaside towns of Kent.'

'I learned about animal habitats.'

'I learned to compare and contrast shapes.'

'I learned to read scales at one and two intervals.'

'I took my Star Reader test.'

'I made a Father's Day card and badge.'

'I wrote a prayer about forgiveness.'

'I learned to focus on the ball in team ball games.'

Term 6

Week 3

Week ending 22.6.18

On Thursday we had our whole school Music Concert in front of an invited audience of parents.  What incredible talent we have at Elham School! We were so proud of Tamsin (violin) and Howie (guitar) and for all the Willows playing their ocarinas - what stars!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned my 10 x table.'

'I learned to add 10, 9 and 11.'

'I learned to subtract 10, 9 and 11.'

'I learned to compare shapes.'

'I learned to read scales.'

'I learned to partition numbers into different combinations.'

'I learned the 'are' phoneme.'

'I learned to write contractions.'

'I learned about Muhammad and the cat.'

'I designed my perfect summer fete.'

Star of the week:  Tamsin for excellent maths and English and also for an amazing performance at our Music Concert, playing her violin.'

Term 6

Week 4

Week ending 29.6.18

Another beautiful sunny week, culminating in Sports' Day.   Lovely to see all the children doing their best and giving it a go as not all children are natural sportsmen or like performing in front of parents.  Well done Willows!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned contractions.'

'I learned high frequency words.'

'I wrote for the first time in pen.'

'I learned my 5 x table.'

'I learned more stories about Muhammad.'

'I learned how to do running stitch as part of my embroidery.'

'I learned songs for the opening of the Forest School.'

'I wrote an acrostic poem about the seaside.'

'I took photos of nature for computing.'

Star of the week: Nicholas for trying very hard with his sentences.'

Term 6

Week 5

Week ending 6.7.18

We started the week with a treat!  M and M Productions performed 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the children were enthralled!

'I learned my 3 x table.'

'I learned the 'ture' phoneme/grapheme.'

'I learned the 'ch' phoneme.'

'I wrote a recount of the play we watched.'

'We rehearsed the play of 'What the Ladybird Heard.'

'I learned to do cross stitch.'

'We practised for our assembly.'

'I played rounders.'

Term 6

Week 6

Week ending 13.7.18

Another glorious week!

What have we learned this week?

'I learned the 'or' phoneme.'

'I learned to solve money problems.'

'I learned where Muslims worship.'

'I saw a Muslim prayer mat.'

'I saw the Qu'ran, their Bible.'

'I learned my 2 x table.'

'I learned to play Danish rounders.'

'I learned how to do cross stitch.'

'I drew a snail, looking at its patterns with a magnifying glass.'

'I made a snail out of clay.'

Next week I intend to give the class their first SRE lesson, looking at gender stereotypes.

On Tuesday it is Hazel and Willow classes' joint assembly, showcasing our work on 'What the ladybird Heard.'

Term 6

Week 7

Week ending 20.7.18

A brilliant week, watching the KS 2 play, 'The Flower Girl', culminating in our reception and KS 1 outing to The Rare Breeds Centre.

What have we learned this week?

'I learned how to spell time-connectives and adverbs.'

'I learned my 2 x table.'

'I painted my snail.'

'I glazed my snail with PVA glue.'

'We held our assembly about 'What the Ladybird Heard.'

'I learned how to play cricket.'

'I learned how to make embroidery stars.'

'I learned how to do 'the wiggly worm' in sewing.'

'I learned the 'oy' phoneme.'

'I learned about gender stereotyping.'