Lionfish May Update!

Welcome back! All the children had spoken well about their holiday and felt ready to return to the routines of school. Lionfish continue to display our school values proudly, and I am pleased with each one of them.

Particularly this week, children’s curiosity and ambition have been sparked during our Careers Week. This week has allowed children to think deeper about what or who inspires them and what their hobbies and talents are. Ultimately, they have considered who they would like to become when they grow up! We had inspirational talks from an Airhostess, Zookeepers, a Hairdresser, a Swimming teacher and a Construction team. How motivating! Children have also practised applying for jobs and held interviews in class. On Friday, 3^rd May, children dressed up as their future career. Careers Week has given pupils a purpose – to think about why they come to school and understand that what happens in school could shape their future.

A few reminders:

• In English, we continue to develop children’s writing skills and coherence through descriptions and Story Writing
• In Maths, we are learning how to add and subtract using the column method. We will soon move on to fractions
• In Science, we are learning about seed dispersal
• In PE, we are learning to run, jump and throw (athletics)
• In RE, we are discussing how we should care for others and the world, and why it matters
• We have started learning about Explorers like Christopher Columbus in History

We look forward to lots more engaging learning in the coming week.

Kind regards,

Miss Asiedu

Happy Easter from Lionfish!

Congratulations Lionfish for completing another term successfully! It has been a very busy term with lots of new learning and other engaging activities to further develop pupils’ personal skills.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents for making time to look at and share their children’s learning and for attending parents’ evening. It was rewarding to see how proud the children were to share their learning and your comments after these sessions were lovely. A huge thank you for attending our Year group assembly also. All the children were super excited to show what they had been learning at school. Another thank you is in order to everyone who bought something, paid for or donated an item to support Lionfish class and our school activities this term. We appreciate all for your kind gifts.

As we celebrate Easter, I wish all the pupils in Lionfish a lovely break, rest up and may the season bring you all fresh, new beginnings. You have worked hard and deserve the holiday. Happy Easter everyone!

 

Kind regards,

Miss Asiedu

Lionfish March Update!

It is lovely to see everyone back after a well-deserved half term! As usual, children have been fantastic since returning and happy to resume learning at school. The term began with lots of engaging and exciting new learning, whilst still building on previous knowledge.

Inspired by Little Red Riding Hood and Little Red Riding Hood was Rotten, we have begun to write our own version of the story. To excite us to write, we created our own mini baskets and went on a picnic, mapped out our version and developed our story language through role play. I am certain that we have authors in the making in Lionfish class!

Our unit on money has ended. It is important to continue to enhance your child’s knowledge of British coins and notes. Make this a fun activity by playing ‘shops’ and ‘spot the coins’ or involving them in weekly shopping. A free interactive money game can be found on… https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/money

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to our families for spending time to look through and discuss their children’s work in books at school. It means a lot to them. A thank you also for the effort you put into decorating those wonderful ‘Story Plates’ and your involvement in World Book Day.

Lionfish were over the moon when they met, in person, one of the best-selling authors in the country, Tola Okogwu. They were inspired to say the least, but most importantly, the beam on their faces and happiness they expressed was priceless.

A few reminders:

• Reading has a massive impact on all curriculum areas. Please ensure you read with your child at least 3 times a week
• PE is now on a Tuesday, so please ensure that your child is in the correct kit
• Please visit Spelling Shed weekly to practise your child’s spellings with them
• We have a new ‘Attendance Table’ in class. Encourage attendance to earn a golden star each week
• If you have not already booked, please visit SCOPAY to book your parents evening slot

A massive well done to all the children in Lionfish for proudly and confidently displaying our CARES values since returning from their half term. We look forward to lots more!

Kind regards,

Miss Asiedu

Lionfish February Update!

It has been a brilliant term with lots of exciting learning and engaging activities. I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all the children in Lionfish for their curiosity, ambition to always do the best they can and their resilience to never give up. They are making great progress!

Lionfish have enjoyed their gymnastics lessons in PE. Working on small apparatus, they have developed movement patterns and individual routines including large body part balances, various power jumps, explored taking weights on hands and recognised what it means to be flexible.

Storytelling Week was fantastic! A big thank you to Marling Cross library for welcoming pupils warmly and allowing the use of the library. Parent readers also made the week memorable so thank you to our pleasant parent readers!

Lionfish have learnt other religions and their places of worship in RE. You could visit some places of worship over the half term to enhance your child’s learning.

Enjoy the break, rest, play, read books for pleasure and I hope to see you all back again in Term 4. You deserve the break!

Kind regards,
Miss Asiedu

Lionfish January Update!

Term 3 looks promising! Children, since returning, continue to demonstrate resilience and ambition to achieve. Lionfish have maintained good relationships with their peers, worked collaboratively to explore their learning and they have completed some fantastic pieces of work.

Pupils have begun exploring with materials in Science. In teams, they are beginning to think deeper to investigate objects and materials. In the weeks ahead, we will compare and test different materials. Please continue to explore materials with your child to enhance their understanding.

In Maths, we have come to the end of our addition and subtraction unit. Please watch the videos attached to see some examples of explanations by children.

Lionfish are excited by our new book ‘Coming Home’ by Michael Morpurgo. They have embraced a new writing style and so far, have produced fantastic pieces of writing. In the coming weeks, we will discuss unfamiliar vocabulary from the book, make predictions, write poems, delve deep into the Robin’s character and impersonated it. How exciting!

Art has been equally interesting this term. We are learning all about self-portraits and looking closely at portraits of different artists. We will understand the message they convey and the different techniques used to represent them.

We look forward to lots more exciting learning in the weeks to come. I am proud of all the efforts of pupils in Lionfish. Well done to each and every one of them!

Miss Asiedu

Lionfish December Update!

We cannot believe we are coming to the end of the Autumn Term. Lionfish continue to work hard and have been consistent with their learning.

In English, we are coming to the end of our unit for the term and so far, children have produced some praise-worthy pieces of writing about George’s Marvellous Medicine.

In our topic discussions, we have been exploring different celebrations shared during this time of the year. We also remembered, discussed and respected the significance of ‘Pudsey Day’. 

On 4^th December 2023, we were fortunate to have a special visit from a parent firefighter and the Kent Fire Service. The visit linked in beautifully with the Great Fire of London, which we are currently learning about, and the making of fire trucks in Design and Technology. A massive thank you to our parent firefighter and the Kent Fire Service.

Lionfish has been working efficiently and diligently with Pufferfish to prepare for our Christmas production. A huge well done to all the children for learning their lines for the performance and for a fantastic demonstration of their acting skills!

From the team in Lionfish, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We encourage you all to enjoy the break, have a good rest and share in the joy that the season brings. See you all again in January.

Best wishes,
Miss Asiedu

Lionfish November Update!

I am happy to see all the children after the half term. Welcome back! Lionfish, since returning from our half term, have been ready to dive right into our routines again. Already, children have shown their ambition and resilience to learn. I am proud of them.

In English, we are reading a new book, George’s Marvellous Medicine and children are excited! So far, we have worked on areas such as character description, vocabulary development and grammar. We will soon be making our very own ‘perfectly perilous potions’ and writing instructions for them.

In Maths, we are learning to add and subtract 1-digit and 2-digit numbers. Please enhance your child’s knowledge of partitioning and number bonds to 10 and 20. This is key when addition and subtracting. For example; 16 + 7 will be worked out as 16 + 4 (to make 20) and then + 3 to equal 23. When subtracting 35 – 8, we will work this out as 35 – 5 (partitioning the 8) to equal 30 and then -3 to equal 27.

In the foundation subjects, we are learning to explore, observe and ask questions using ‘Explorify’ in Science. In Art, Lionfish have enjoyed creating fantastic firework pieces. Soon in Design and Technology, children will be learning about fire engines, explore the different parts of a fire engine and design what theirs will look like. We will then make our very own fire trucks in the coming weeks.

We hope to have a terrifically triumphant time in the coming weeks.

Best wishes,

Miss Asiedu

Lionfish October Update!

It has been a good term! Children in Lionfish have been curious in finding out about living things and how they are suited to their habitats, how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals in what is called a food chain. Lionfish class has been ambitious with their learning and produced brilliant pieces of work. They have shown resilience in adapting to the change from Year 1 to Year 2 and have embraced new routines and learning challenges. I am super proud of them. It is lovely to see how children respond to their peers’ feelings during play and how they treat each other equally. Who can forget how safely children worked with their parents during the autumn workshop and during our first ever ‘colour run’.

Please find below pictures of some key learning this term. A huge well done to all the children in Lionfish and I hope they have a relaxing half term.

Kind regards,

Miss Asiedu

September Update!

Lionfish have been engaging with school well since starting Year 2. One can hardly tell they were in Year 1 last term. Even though Year 2 is somewhat different to Year 1 in terms of lesson structures, expectations and routines, pupils have shown such resilience and have settled in beautifully. I am super proud of all of them. They have embraced their new class and have worked collaboratively in all areas of school life.

In Maths, we are currently learning about place value; how to recognise and show tens and ones in numbers to 100. We are using different resources like base ten, counting sticks and numicon. We have been making and partitioning numbers to 100 in different ways. Please seize homework opportunities to enhance your child’s learning.

We have been equally busy with English for the past few weeks. Our focus has been enhancing our phonics knowledge and developing our vocabulary. We have been writing magical wishes, exploring poems like Kennings and finding out lots of information about our class fish. Lionfish enjoyed performing their Kennings and I must say that we have some great actors!

Science lessons have been nothing short of exciting learning about living things and their habitats!

I am super proud of how far children have come in such a short space of time. I look forward to more amazing learning in the coming weeks.

Gentle reminders:

• Reading books are changed every Thursday and homework on a Friday. Please read regularly with your child to help build their confidence. Remember to also sign reading records once you have read with your child to count towards a raffle ticket.
• Please log on to Spelling Shed to find a red notification. Click on the notification to access your child’s spelling for the week. To further embed spelling skills, please write them down or use them in sentences.
• PE is every Thursday. Kindly ensure your child is in the correct kit on the day (black bottoms, red or white polo shirt with no hoodies please).

Thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes,

Miss Asiedu

If you were unable to attend the 'Meet the Teacher' session, here are the slides shown for your information.