Welcome to the 2nd Class Page 

Big Games

This week we are enjoying using the new outdoor big games.

 

Buddy Bench

We got two beautiful new buddy benches in our school yard. Here we are enjoying the new bench.
 

Cotton Bud Easter Egg Designing

This week we got ready for Easter by designing easter eggs to hang in our classroom. We used cotton buds to paint all sorts of lovely designs on our eggs. We are getting hungry just looking at them!!! 

 
 
The Solar System 
The girls in 2nd class have been learning about the solar system and it's various components. They created a picture of the solar system, positioning and labelling the planets. They also worked in pairs to create a fact sheet with lots of information on the 8 planets. 

 

 

Our Sprouting Seeds Have Sprouted! 

We have been busy closely monitoring the changes in our pots and recording them on our chart. Slowly, roots have begun to appear and in the last few days green leaves have grown. Soon we will take home our pots! 
 

The girls in second class have been learning about plants and what they need to grow. This week they put their knowledge to the test with some planting. We planted sprouting seeds and gave them water light and heat. Stay tuned to see what happens next in our planting pots!

Story Telling Workshop

Today we had the wonderful storyteller Brendon Nolan in our school. He told us some wonderful stories. Thank you Brendan.

This week the second class girls had lots of fun as they put their senses to the test with some experiments. In groups we did blind smell and taste tests with lots of yummy foods. The girls used their scientific questioning skills to question and decribe the smells and tastes that we encountered. It was a busy and fun afternoon for the little scientests!

Story Telling Workshop

Today we had the wonderful storyteller Brendon Nolan in our school. He told us some wonderful stories. Thank you Brendan.

 

Spelling Strategies – Information for Parents

 

Research tells us that the best approach to learning the spelling of new words is a multi-sensory approach. With this in mind, here in St. John of God NS, we use the LOOK, SAY, COVER, WRITE, CHECK strategy. You might also find this useful at home.

 

When helping your child with spellings;

 

  • Ask her to LOOK at the spelling. Can she picture it? What does it mean? Are there any small words in it? What are the first and last sounds? How many syllables are there? (Bear in mind that not all words can be “sounded out”).

 

  • Get her to WRITE it out a number of times, in her joined writing while SAYING it out loud e.g. “H-O-M-E spells home”. (Writing it in the air, on the table / a sibling’s back with her finger might help to make the activity more enjoyable).

 

  • When she feels confident that she knows it, ask her to COVER the word and WRITE it onto a sheet of paper.

 

  • Then get her to CHECK to see if she is right.

 

  • If the spelling is right, cover it up and write it one more time. The word will need to be written correctly a number of times over a few days in order for it to be learned properly.

 

** If the spelling is wrong – have a look at the word and the bit that was wrong, then cover it up and have another go.

 

It is not beneficial for children to recite spellings without any written activity.

 

The action of looking at the word, saying it out loud and writing it down involves the child using her hearing, sight and muscle memory. This is a multi-sensory approach which is very important for the effective, long-term learning of spellings.

 

5-10 minutes every day is enough time to spend.

 

Remember, spellings are for life, not just for Friday! J