Year 2 Update Week 24
Friday 29th March – PTA International Food Fair
Thursday 4th April – ESF Choral Concert
Friday 5th April – Ching Ming Festival.….no school
Wednesday 10th April – Easter Concert
Friday 12 April – Last day of school before Easter holidays, 12 pm finish
Five ways to Wellbeing Logo Competition
Please see this important message from the Student Council.
Brody, Ryan and Muchan in Year 6 are organising a Book Drive to help spread our love of reading. The Sony Corporation will collect books to create mobile libraries in South Africa for schools that do not have enough books for children to read. If you have books that are:
Please send them to school. There is a collection box in the school foyer. Any books you can donate will help spread the enjoyment of reading.
It has been great celebrating the talents and achievements of our students through the ’Student Achievement’ section in the newsletter. We would like to do something similar with Student Action. Action in the PYP is when students are inspired through their learning and their experiences to make a difference to their lives or the community connected to real life issues and opportunities. We would like to celebrate our students taking action outside of school.
Please could you email examples to kannis.tsui@bhs.edu.hk and they will be shared through our newsletter.
There are different types of Action. We would like to start with a focus on Participation. See below for a definition and examples.
| Type of Action | Examples |
| Participation
Being actively involved in their learning and contributing as an individual or a group |
Getting involved with community projects
Making appropriate choices and taking responsibility to help people Taking on different roles e.g. being a leader, completing my chores, working in a group, looking after my pet Taking part in any decision making process Joining a new club |
| PE Kit | Library Bags | |
| 2D | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday | Thursday |
| 2F | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday | Thursday |
| 2K | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday | Wednesday |
Student Led Conference
Thank you for your attendance at the Student Led Conferences. The children did a marvellous job at talking about their learning and showing you some of the wealth of learning that shapes their experience at school. Please don’t be concerned if your child seemed nervous. They might well have been, but it is only the second time they have done this, so please just congratulate them on their efforts. Their confidence will grow the more you recognise their effort rather than their performance!
Unit of Inquiry
This week it was the turn of the other classes to make ice cream with Mr Thompson. They had lots of fun and it really got them thinking about the changes that happen to different materials. The children are also growing increasingly familiar with and comfortable using adjectives to describe the properties of materials.
Maths
The children have been engaged in division problems. In classes, we have related division to sharing out into equal groups. They’ve enjoyed using hands-on materials to gain a better understanding of this operation.
English
Many of the children have begun writing their own version of “The Three Little Pigs”. Expect to read about houses build of ice being melted by flame throwers, and other exciting variations!
Fun Friends
The Year 2 classes are currently completing their FEELINGS sessions. The important messages from these initial sessions are that all feelings are ok, how we feel can influence our behaviour choices and we can practise being brave.
Once the FEELING sessions are finished, we will move on to “R” for RELAX. Please use the username and password in your child’s Home School Diary to log into the Fun Friends online programme to see how you can support this social emotional learning at home.
Central idea: Scientists explore materials to discover how they can be used.
Lines of inquiry
-
- The properties of materials (form)
- How scientists carry out investigations (function)
- How materials can change (change)
Next week in our unit of inquiry the children will be scientists carrying out their own experiments!
Central Idea:
The operations of multiplication and division are related to each other and are used to process information to solve problems.
Lines of inquiry:
- How we solve problems using multiplication and division
- Mental and written strategies for multiplication and division
- The language and symbols of multiplication and division
Next week the children will look further into how multiplication relates to division and will be encouraged to show a growth mindset as they solve further problems.
All of the Year 2 classes have also spent some time on the Daily 10. This is a useful way to check and support your child’s mental maths skills. Different levels can be set. Please see the link below: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/daily10
Hit the Button is another fun game that practises a range of different mental maths, including multiplication facts. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
Writing focus: Writing to entertain
The children will continue to explore narrative as they create their own stories within a group.
When reading, the children make connections by using what they already know to connect a text to their life experiences, another text, or the world.
They will also be encouraged to use the comprehension strategy of Visualising, as they engage in a text they will create pictures in their head.
Next week the children will finish their Three Little Pigs stories and will possibly move on to write a story of their own choice.
2D – Sophie Fong
2F – Felicity Chan
Mandarin – Xavier Chan (2F)
Games and Activities to Develop Vocabulary
We have noticed that many of our Year 2 children would benefit from developing a broader vocabulary. With this in mind, we would like to recommend some games you can easily play at home, or on the move that will give your child the opportunity to develop their awareness and language skills.
- I Spy With My Little Eye
Benefits: vocabulary development, phonics and spelling awareness, observation skills and focus
Equipment: None
Number of players: Unlimited
Location: Anywhere!
Say, “I spy with my little eye something beginning with …” Start playing the game using objects in the room you can see. Begin with obvious items and over time move to more discreet objects. You can vary the game by using the initial sounds (phonics), or letters (spelling) or even colours or numbers. You can increase the challenge level by saying, “I spy with my little eye, something that ends in …”
- Word Association Game
Benefits: vocabulary development, fluency, memory and recall
Equipment: None
Number of players: Pairs are good, but more players possible if everyone takes turns
Location: Anywhere!
The first player, chosen randomly, says one word out loud. The other player has to quickly say a word that has some connection with the previous word. Players lose if …
- They take more than three seconds to make a connection.
- They repeat a word that has already been said in this game.
- They are challenged and loses the vote.
The last player standing is the winner.
For example, one sequence of words might be:
– Bus
– Stop
– Go
– Green
– Grass
– Garden
– Flower
Other well-known games we would recommend include, Pictionary, Charades
