Welcome to Foxes and Otters

This morning we met the new FS2 children. We had lots of fun exploring the classroom and getting to know each other. We read stories about otters and foxes and talked about our favourite thing to do at school.

Please don't hesitate to speak to us next week if you have any questions about September. It was lovely to see so many happy, smiley children! We are really looking forward to getting to know the children better.

Goodbye Mrs Cordy

On Friday Otter class said a very sad goodbye to their LSA Mrs Cordy. Mrs Cordy is going back to the UK and is very excited about Marks and Spencer food! We will miss her very much, she has been a fabulous LSA and has helped the children with all of their learning. Yesterday we thought back over our memories of Mrs Cordy....Miss Sullivan's memory involved wasps and hair!

Mason - ''I will miss Mrs Cordy because she is very funny and she is very helpful.''

Logan - ''I remember all of the funny things that she said like tiddlywoo.''

Jessica B- ''I liked it when she gave us some sweets and i liked it when she read us stories. I liked it when she told us what to do.''

Ellie - '' I like it when she read all of the stoires to me at snacktime and lunchtimes sometimes.''

Jeden - ''I remember when she said funny words to me.''

Antonia- ''I liked it when Mrs Cordy changed my books and when she did afternoon phonics with me. I liked it when she played games with us at snacktime.''

Cameron - '' I am sad you didn't see sports day Mrs Cordy.''

Grace E - ''I miss Mrs Cordy because she read funny stories and she laughed funny!''

Freddie- ''Mrs Cordy read funny stories and she handed out the snack for us.''

Clara - ''I will Mrs Cordy very much because she is very kind.''

Grace D - ''I miss Mrs Cordy. I hope she comes back soon, I loved you helping me on the bus.I think you wont come back but have fun in England, I hope you like it there.''

Lydia - ''I miss Mrs Cordy because she thinks we are so nice to her.''

Robert - ''I remember that Mrs Cordy is thirtythree. She tells us funny stories, her laugh makes me laugh.''

Joshua - ''I really miss you Mrs Cordy because I miss all of the fun phonics and it is fun to play with you but I can't play with you anymore.''

Garden party

The sun came out! We hope you all enjoyed yourselves this afternoon, it was lovely to see so many parents. The children really enjoyed sharing their work with you and playing lots of games. It was really nice to see parents and children finding their old t-shirts in the rugs we made. We had lots of fun making a caterpillar out of salad- and of course eating it!
Did you make it onto our hall of fame?

Our trip to the church

As part of our RE learning Mrs Gill took us on a visit to the station church. We have been talking about special places and special people. Today we talked about special places for Christians. Lots of us have been to church before for family celebrations.

The children would like to know where your special place is?

Mrs Lewis loves going to Filey with her family.

Miss Sullivan likes walking her dogs on Dartmoor when she is at home.

Weaving a web!

Today we have begun our 'big arts week' project. We are making rugs for the garden party. We cut up some old t-shirts and began weaving them in and out on our hoop. They are starting to look fantastic!

If you have any more t-shirts (adult sized is best) we would be very grateful for them. Foxes class have run out of t-shirts and haven't yet finished.

The children have had really enjoyed this, Isabel told me it looked like Gunther's shell. "We have been working really hard today" said Olivia.

A butterfly reunion?

No photos but exciting news nonetheless...

As the otters were walking back to the classroom after lunch Mason spotted a butterfly inside our corridor. It was on the window and flapping its wings "like it wanted to escape back to its habitat" (Ella). It had the same pattern as our released butterflies. Joshua thought that perhaps it was one of ours and that it had come back to say hello! We could see that we would need to help it find its way back outside so Miss Sullivan caught it using a Fruity Friday cup and a piece of card. It was very difficult to catch, we had to be careful not to trap the wings. We decided to release it near to the flower beds "so it has nectar to drink" (Joshua). It stayed very still for a long time and did not fly away but when we went outside to play later in the afternoon it was gone.

We wonder if it was one of our butterflies?

Meet Gunther...

Today was a brilliant day in Foxes class. This morning Owen found a snail, he brought it into the classroom and we were all keen to look at it. The snail needed a name. We came up with a list of names and the children voted for their favourite. Finley's name 'Gunther' was chosen as the most popular name for our tiny snail.

We later discovered this poor snail had a crushed shell. We decided we would help Gunther and design a new shell for him. We all drew a picture of what his shell could look like and then wrote about the special features. Poppy's shell had an ice cream incase he got hungry. Harrison and Michael's shells both had a flashing light to warn people where Gunther was so he didn't get stood on again. Finley protected Gunther with the same stings as a jelly fish.

We realised Gunther needed something to eat. A discussion began- what did Gunther eat?! We decided he wouldnt want sausage and chips but would rather eat grass and leaves. A group of boys went outside to collect some food. We chose a mixture incase he didnt like them, "its like going to the chinese and having a mixture".

At lunch time lots of Foxes class decided Gunther "needed some friends to look after him" (Ella). They searched the quiet area and found him 6 friends which we later named Gerta, Gertrude, Greta, Gordon, Gary and Grumpy.

Today we learnt some new words: pseudopodium and gastropod. Do you know what these mean? Ask one of Foxes class if you're stuck!

We really like to see your comments on our blog and love hearing from the children about how they have looked at it with you.

More minibeast mayhem...

Grace was very excited to tell us that because she had left her bathroom window open over night the moths had been attracted to the light. She carefully carried her moths to school on the bus. We all had the chance to touch the dead moth if we wanted to. It was very furry, we were able to move the wings and see the mouth. Lydia suggested that we put it in the magnifying glass ''to see the scales on the wings.'' We put it on our observation table, Freddie enjoyed being a scientist in the morning. He wrote all about the living moth.

Foxes and Otter's class thought back over their minibeast learning.They all thought of one word to describe something new they had learnt. A lot of the words relate to caterpillars and butterflies. Can your child tell you what they mean?

We need you...

Next week is Big Arts Week at school. To continue with our themed curriculum we are going to do lots of recycled art. This is where we need your help. We need lots of plastic bags (in as many colours as possible). We also need some old t-shirts, preferably adult sized (again in lots of colours). If you are able to donate any items we would be very grateful.

Remember the garden party on 12th July is your opportunity to come into school and look at the marvellous creations made from these items.

Thank-you.

More photos and thoughts from yesterday...

FS2 have had the ipads again today. We have been reading the comments that you have left us and exploring Mr Chapman's and Mr Fessey's class blogs. The children wanted to share more of their photos from yesterday. We created a video using the animoto app, the children added their thoughts and edited the video themselves.

The big release!

Today was another exciting day in FS2. We had to release the butterflies into the environment. The children discussed where the best place to release them would be. We decided to release them in our school garden because 'it is nice and quiet and near to the flower beds so they can drink nectar' (Grace). Otter's butterflies didn't want to fly away- they must like school too much! Matthew very carefully helped Foxes' butterflies find their wings.

Mason took on the role of David Attenborough/ Steve Backshall! Listen to his commentary...

Here is the exclusive interview with the intrepid butterfly handler... Matthew.

Don't forget to check out our updated phonics page. Who needs Mr Thorne when our very own Otters and Foxes do an even better job!

How to leave a comment.

We have had a few people ask us how they can leave a comment so we thought we would tell you how.

1.  Type your comment into the box.
2. Click the drop down box and select anonymous.
3. Click the blue publish button.

If you have a google mail account, sign in first then you can select your username.

Happy commenting :)

Drum roll please.......

....... We have butterflies!

Today we have been...

very busy!

We have done lots of fabulous writing.

Both Foxes and Otters class are very lucky. Ask your child why.

Miss Sullivan and I will add some pictures later on this evening for you to look at and discuss with your child.

Mrs Lewis

Ladybird fever!

Keep watching for our exciting news! The children are excited to share it with you. 

Thank you for all of the comments left so far, the children enjoyed reading them today during snack time. They have been discussing what they want to add to our blog. Watch this space...

Miss Sullivan