JUNIOR DEPARTMENT NEWS

This week in Reception

Reception’s first Lent term topic is Materials and Buildings. The children have shown great enthusiasm when learning about materials. There has been lots of discussion about materials and their properties. One of the activities Reception has particularly enjoyed was being material detectives and working as a team to sort a variety of objects into different groups (fabric, glass, plastic and wood).

They have also enjoyed a ‘Materials I Spy Walk’ around the school and the children were fascinated to see that the buildings of Beechwood are made up of a variety of materials, depending on their purpose! They are now busy creating their class cities, which we look forward to showing you soon!

This week in Year 1

This half term Year One are learning all about Africa. In class, we have been talking about how far away Africa is from where we live, and discovering all the different landscapes on the continent – mountains, deserts and cities. We now know that there are 54 countries on the continent of Africa – can anyone name them all?

It has been fascinating to look at maps of the world, and we are now making our own globes, which will show the seven continents – we know where to find Africa on the globes now too!

We look forward to the next few weeks where we continue to learn more about different locations in Africa and its different landscapes.

Pupils have enjoyed getting creative with balloons and ModRoc this week- can you guess what we might be making? All will be revealed soon …..

This week in Year 2

In Art this week, Year 2 created our own watercolour background taking inspiration from Ted Harrison, a Canadian artist, who painted scenes of the Arctic. Just like Ted’s work, we added an Inukshuk (structures made from piling stones on top of each other), which are built by the Inuit people to represent communication and survival. It is amongst one of our favourite lessons this term, with the colours and careful brushstrokes creating a real sense of mindfulness in all of our classrooms.

In Literacy we jumped into the shoes of Barnaby Bear and imagined a day in Norway. Our writing might just give you a taste for a visit!

As part of our ‘Hot and Cold’ topic this term, each class has started a ‘Weather Watch’. We are using the iPads and the BBC Weather App to plot the weather in Markyate, Tromso (Norway) and Mexico City. Do join in at home, by asking Alexa and looking at the temperature gauge in the car as you drive to school. The children are hoping to plot snow in Markyate although the teachers aren’t that keen!

Have a lovely weekend everyone

The Year 2 Team

From the Junior Library

Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor by Lucy Brandt

Leonora Bolt lives on the remote Crabby Island, that she shares with her otter Twitchy, eccentric housekeeper Mildred and her nasty Uncle Luther. She’s never left the island and spends all her time breaking her uncle’s appliances to make crazy new contraptions. However, her life changes when a strange boy washes up on an inflatable lobster and reveals that Uncle Luther has been stealing her inventions to sell them on the mainland. Armed with her most important inventions, Leonora must leave the island for the first time to embark on an unforgettable journey that will test her brainpower to its limits.

First in a brand-new series, Lucy Brandt’s debut is packed full of courage, friendships and crazy inventions. With quirky fonts and engaging illustrations every few pages, this book is a must for newly confident readers looking for an adventure.

Teachers’ Book of the Week

To support our pupils in their enjoyment of reading, members of staff will be sharing their favourite books over the coming weeks – this week, it is Mrs Dalkin’s turn…

She has chosen a book with a special connection – it was a present for her now grown up son on his 4th birthday – from Mrs Bloomfield!

Mrs Lott and Mrs Ford

Head’s Commendations

Year Group	Nurture	Engage	Inspire
Reception	Haoyu G. Eloise F-C, Masato L. Evie R	-	-
Year 1	-	Max L, Bella J	Ari D
Year 2	-	Louis S, Josh G, Lela J	Jack B

Useful Resource

Click on the image for some information about an app that you and your children may find useful. It is called 1 Minute Maths and helps children to build greater number confidence and fluency – in one minute chunks.