Lots of learning with a spring feeling

Dear parents,

First of all. we would like to give a very warm welcome to the new pupils in Year 2, Gabriela, Natalia and Joshua, who have settled into school life at ISG very well. It was lovely to see the other children taking them under their wings.

It has been a very busy time in our classroom with so much new learning going on.

The children have been getting so much out of our IPC unit ‘Active Planet’. They have been learning all about natural disasters and the disastrous effects they can have on society. In pairs the children researched and made posters on their chosen volcano, it was lovely to see them working so well together. Learning about Tectonic Plates can be tricky, so the children learnt a song and a dance about how the plates move and the different plate names. They shared their learning and performed their song & dance at assembly and they were brilliant!
We also located the Ring of Fire and the Tectonic Plates on a world map and the children are now aware of the main areas of activity.

In groups the children made their own Earthquake Proof Buildings and they put them to the test through vigorous movements. It was interesting to see their different ways of thinking and how they have learnt the importance of secure buildings.

Ms. Maija shared with us her Earthquake experience in New Zealand and from this is we continued with learning about Earthquake survival kits and the children then wrote an Earthquake survival story.

In literacy the Year 2’s have been learning to proof read, expand sentences and use conjunctions to make their sentences more interesting. All of this learning is ensuring that they are strengthening their writing skills.

There has been a big focus on fractions, telling the time and multiplication the last weeks. In order to ensure the children’s understanding we took a hands on approach through art work, cutting pieces out and gluing onto plates, cutting up fruit into pieces and grouping them (and of course eating it!!) and through games.

The children have been learning to programme Bee-Bots, which are friendly robots which follow the children's commands. The children are developing an understanding of the mathematical concepts of coordinates, distance and location. The Bee-Bots have proven to be a huge success!

We have celebrated Leo’s, Gabriela’s and Natalia’s birthdays, a big thank you for the delicious treats.

And here we are ready to start our much needed spring break and be fresh again for more learning.

Enjoy the next days wherever you go and whatever you do.

Ms. Rebecca