LONG BUCKBY INFANT SCHOOL
Stingray Class
Welcome to Stingray Class. Our class is taught by Mrs Burbury.
Welcome to a new school year in Stingray Class!
We are all looking forward to great fun and lots of exciting learning in the coming Year 2. We have started with the announcement of our exciting topic for this term, Turrets and Tiaras and we are all really looking forward to our trip to Warwick Castle next week. Click here for an overview of what we will be learning about.
Your child will have brought home their orange homework book - inside the front cover is his or her log in for the spag.com website, where any online grammar homework will be set.
To access the homework, go to www.spag.com and get your child to log in. Once in, there should be a single task (this week it is about the 4 sentence types) for you to complete together. Please do let me know if you have any difficulty accessing the internet as we can make some alternative arrangements.
Please can you also help your child to learn both their Spelling Bee and Rainbow Words. To help you, here are a few activities that will enable you to work in a fun way with your child as they learn the words.
The children have all come back to the new school year with a real 'can do' learning attitude. Let's work together to keep this going all year.
What a fantastic day we had at Warwick Castle!
On Friday 23rd of September 2016 we all set off to Warwick for a day of excitement and learning at the magnificent castle.
Our first foray into medieval times involved an encounter with the excitable yet knowledgeable Bowman.
Next things got 'Orrible. We gathered lots of gruesome facts about different times in history. Did you know that boys used to lie about their age in the Frightful First World War so they would be sent to fight overseas? And, Guy Fawkes didn't come up with the Gunpowder Plot. We won't even talk about the disgusting Measly Middle Ages!!
Stepping softly, we dared to enter the hallowed Great Hall. The children were amazed by the shiny armour, even on the horses, and loads of historical weapons. They also learned about how Warwick Castle used to look and found the biggest porridge pot they had ever seen!
After a suitable feast, our intrepid band of adventurers dared to climb the 500 or so steps to the very top of the castle until they could see some of the amazing views across Warwick. It was breath taking (well there were A LOT of steps!). And as everybody knows, what goes up must come back down so then we wound our way back to the ground.
Last on the long list of fab things we did was a visit to the Kingmaker exhibition, deep in the bowels of the castle. The children loved seeing the rooms set out exactly as they would have been hundreds of years ago.
Finally, the weary wanderers boarded their noble steed and galloped along the highways and byways in order to return home, happy and extremely tired.
WELL DONE YEAR 2! You were a pleasure to take on the trip and your wonderful behaviour was noticed by several members of the public. We are very proud of you.
14th October 2016
Another fantastic week in Year 2! As well as lots of Forest School-ing, Creative Curriculum-ing, literacy and very hard maths, we also took the children to 'The Castle Mound' which is believed to be the former site of Long Buckby Castle.
They walked all around the ridge, where the wall of the main castle might have been and tried to imagine what the old wooden building might have looked like.
They then took on various roles of people who might have lived and worked in Long Buckby Castle. We had a Lord and his Lady, their servants, some knights, farmers and tradespeople such as bakers and seamstresses.
But, what it this? Treachery behind the castle! A ruthless band of terrifying invaders were plotting the downfall of Lord Buckby and they crept up and stormed the castle from behind.
When peace was finally declared in the Battle of Long Buckby, the children then put their imaginations and art skills to the test and sketched a view of what they think the real castle might have looked like.
The morning finished back in the present as Year 2 gave a little back to the community of Long Buckby by removing some of the litter that had accumulated in the environment.
Well done Year 2, a fantastic morning was had by all.
Castle Day
On our first day back, after our short break, all the children had the most amazing day. No school uniforms in sight anywhere! However, medieval children laid siege to the building. It was 1140 - no not lunch time but the YEAR! Lady Ruth engaged the children in various endeavours to prepare for the outcome of the battle between her husband and Sir Jeffrey, a dastardly knight who was trying to prevent the true Queen, Matilda from ascending the throne.
The damsels and squires were required to perform many tasks such as making ink for the scribes, preparing the finest pies for hungry villagers and creating marvellous medicines in order to treat the various medieval maladies they might encounter. When rats were found in the castle, they were caught, beaten and put into a most nourishing stew for the troops. The work was arduous but the children thoroughly enjoyed making these vital preparations in case evil Sir Jeffrey triumphed.
After all their hard work, the squires and damsels were allowed some time to rest and recuperate as we awaited news of the battle between our Lady's brave husband and his terrible enemy. Upon their return, the news was glorious! Sir Jeffrey was defeated and Good Queen Matilda was to be crowned. Such preparations were then needed for the finest banquet to celebrate and welcome the returning troops.
Some children worked on a song of such amazing tunefulness whilst others juggled their way to glory. A dance was created, so elegant and graceful which was followed by our country's finest thespians retelling the story of the wondrous Saint George.
Whilst all of this was going on, a team of dedicated servitors made sure that the guests were kept properly fed and supplied with finest wine that our Lady's vineyard could offer.
Finally, amid much excitement, all proceeded out of doors to witness a display of the finest knights' skills. We 'oohed' and 'ahhed' as they demonstrated their horsemanship and jousting.
Lady Ruth was very impressed with all the guests in the castle. The children returned home with many tales to tell.
9th December 2016
The end of another busy week! Last week we had the excitement of decoration day, as a result of which the school looks absolutely fabulous and the children all got so involved in each of the activities and really took pride on the work they did for the school.
This week we have been hard at it with final rehearsals for our play 'Ralph the Reindeer'. It has been very difficult with so many children off sick but we have had some amazing stand in performances. The children did so well that those who didn't know couldn't tell who any of the stand ins were! Very well done Year 2! Year 3, Clarecroft and the pre-school were all very impressed by the dress rehearsal.
The children have still been working hard with their learning and their writing this week has include some very fine letters to Santa. I think Santa would have a lovely time reading all the good things the children have done for other people this year.
Don't forget to join us (if you can) at the church on Monday for the Christmas Service. This will be followed in the afternoon and evening by our first official performances of the play.
Rest well this weekend, Year 2 and keep washing those hands to keep that sickness bug away from our school!!
18th November
Whew! Another couple of weeks have absolutely flown past! Year 2 have been so busy and worked so hard, they have definitely deserved their charity pyjama day today.
FOREST SCHOOL
Last week was the last Forest School session for the Dolphin Class, Stingrays finished just before half term. All the children (and the adults!) had a LOT of fun and learned a huge amount about our local environment, different British plants and trees and about British artist Andy Goldsworthy. They might also have sneaked a few crumpets and mugs of hot chocolate in along the way as well!
Here's a PowerPoint showing the children of both classes enjoying their outdoor learning experience.
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ASSEMBLE FOR OUR ASSEMBLY!
Next, the Year 2 classes were hard at work putting together their assembly presentation. Everyone who wanted to had a part to play. They made Mrs Pettifer and Mrs Burbury extremely proud as they explained all about the work they have been doing over the last few weeks.
Finally, after a week of excellent effort from all the children (and staff), we finished with Children in Need Day. Year 2 really rose to the occasion and have raised a fantastic amount of money to help children all over our country. Well done everyone!
Rest well, Year 2 - next week we start to rehearse for the Christmas Play. There will be lines to learn, songs to sing and possibly even tantrums to be had (and that's just Mrs Burbury!).
Have a great weekend!!!
6th January 2017
And so here we are in a whole New Year! We really hope you all had a great holiday and that 2017 brings you lots of luck and happiness.
The new year started with a bit of a chill. When we went down to assembly on the very first day, someone had been playing in the hall!!!
There was lots of discussion about who might have made this mess in the hall but then, you'll never guess what we found! The footprints led outside and all the way into the classrooms!!
The children followed the footprints and finally discovered the sneaky culprit!!
Penguins!!! Penguins had been wandering around the school - we think they are lost because there was a letter from a little boy asking if the children would help him to get the penguins back home.
The children talked a lot about what they already know about penguins and what they need to find out to make sure they are well looked after while they are in Long Buckby.
We are all looking forward to our Pole to Pole topic a lot. We think it will tell us masses about penguins and where they live and who might live nearby or even at the other end of the world!
For some more information about our topic, take a peek at our overview.
Your child should also have brought home the Spring Newsletter for you to see.
21st April 2017
Welcome back! We hope you have had a great Easter break. The children have come back in ready to learn and have some fun in the process.
We started the new term with our Stunning Starter for our new topic - DEEP DOWN UNDER.
The children had a great morning on the first day, seeking pieces of what seemed to be a HUGE jigsaw. They went all over the field and even down into Forest School. Finally, once they had collected all the pieces, they worked as a team to put the picture together. It turned out to be a diver swimming beneath the ocean. I wonder where this fabulous topic will take us! We will let you know more...
As promised, please click the link below to see the Year 2 summer overview.
CLICK HERE for our overview
CLICK HERE to see the Summer Newsletter.
12th May 2017
Mayday Dance and Picnic
Last Friday, after weeks of practising and lots of counting to eight, the children performed a set of traditional English dances to perfection! They even managed to encourage parents to have a go. Take a look at the pictures to see how much fun we all had.
9th June 2016
Goodness me! I hope everyone rested well over half term because this week has been sooooo busy! We have been finding out all about turtles in the wild, writing letters and making books in Literacy, practicing adding and subtracting BIG numbers (like 4921 - 2157) in maths and in science we have moved on to look at electricity - where does it come from, what things around us use electricity from the mains or from batteries and how to make a circuit that works. The children were shockingly (get it?!) good at this science and are really looking forward to exploring electricity more next week.
In addition to our learning, we have had two exciting events to think about as well. On Wednesday, the Women's Tour bike race shot through Long Buckby on their latest stage. We were amazed at how closely together the ladies were and by how many extra bikes were needed - every car seemed to have at least 6 on the roof!! The children behaved impeccably as usual and proved yet again that they are an absolute credit to you, their parents, and to us, their school.
Then, on Friday, we had our sponsored walk to raise money to help endangered animals. The children were extremely keen to get going and some even tried to run the whole 30 laps!! We were exhausted just watching them go past! We think it was almost 3 miles they did in the end so very well done to all of the children. They didn't let a little thing like a sudden downpour stop them - they simply folded up their lap cards and tucked them under their coats to stay dry. We are looking forward to seeing how much money the school has raised so keep collecting that sponsor money and remember that it is not too late to get new sponsors!
Finally, you should now have received the letter by email about our Year 2 educational visit to Hunstanton. Please do read and respond as soon as you can so we can get cracking on making sure that every child is able to enjoy this fabulous experience.
Have a great weekend - don't forget to put the finishing touches to those maths games - they are due in by Wednesday please.
14th July 2017
Goodness me! What a busy, busy month we have had in Year 2!! In addition to all of our fabulous classroom learning, we have had a wonderful trip to the seaside and run a cafe for the local community!
Last Friday, the children had a wonderful learning experience beside the sea as they journeyed to Hunstanton for the Fabulous Finish to our Deep Down Under topic. They learned about water safety (very important as we approach the summer holidays), how to make a working kite and how to fly it, what it feels like to be on a boat on the sea and how delicious fish and chips are when eaten in the sea air!
It was a long, long journey to Hunstanton but the children were so beautifully behaved, both there and back again, that we hardly knew we had them on the bus! We walked to a nice safe and quiet spot on the beach and almost immediately we took to the water - paddling, splashing and pretending to be mermaids! There were lots of crabs, cockles and winkles found, some alive, some not so alive.
After paddling and beach play, it was time for fish and chips then the most exciting part of the day - a trip on the Wash Monster, an amphibian vehicle that drove up onto the sand then turned around and sailed away into the sea. It was an amazing day and we returned to school with lots of very tired children. Take a look at some of the highlights...
After that it was all hands on deck to prepare for the Year 2 Community Cafe, where the children worked incredibly hard to raise money for the school and for their chosen charity - the Birmingham Children's Hospital. They had to design, make and run their own stall as well as making lots and lots of sweets and cakes for the visitors to taste. There were so many different things to do - we had a Treasure Hunt, Sponge Throw, Blind Football, a raffle, a chocolate tombola, books, fruit.....Oh my word! There was so much to do! The weather tried to dampen our spirits but the Year 2's showed the rain that they would keep calm and carry on - we are so very proud of them! They raised around £350 to be split between the 2 good causes and learned a huge amount about being independent, taking responsibility and helping others. Very, very well done Year 2!!
It is so hard to believe it will be our very last week together next week. It has been an absolute pleasure working with these talented, hard working and considerate children for the past year.
Hopefully we will see you all at the Leavers' Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. Have a great weekend!