Rising Sun Country Park

By C Black27th May 2016

In Science we have been looking at the habitats of different animals. We visited Rising Sun Country Park where we looked at two habitats.

The first habitat we looked at was the pond. With our nets we went pond dipping and collected different pond animals including pond snails and fish.

After lunch we looked at the woodland habitat. We became mini beast explorers. We found lots of different creatures and had to categorise them into those with no legs, those with 6-8 legs and those with more than 8 legs. We were very good at this! Before releasing the creatures, we created a home for them out of natural resources in the wood such as sticks and stones.

Victoria Tunnel and Ouseburn Farm

By C Black27th May 2016

As part of our topic on World War 2, we visited the Victoria Tunnel in Newcastle which was used as an air raid shelter during the war. When the air raid siren went off, we had to quickly get into the tunnel. It was very dark inside and we switched off our torches to see what it would have been like during the blackout. We were extremely brave!

After that, we met a man names Basil who lived during the war and used the Victoria Tunnel. He told us his experiences of being a child during the war and what it was like to use the tunnel and also what it was like to be evacuated.

In the afternoon, we visited Ouseburn Farm. Dorothy told us how the children who were evacuated during the war would have to help out on the farms. We helped feed all the animals. We then looked at the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign and created our own plant pots out of newspaper before planting our own peas.

We had lots of fun!

Flood Defence Houses

By C Black25th March 2016

As part of our weather topic, we have been looking at extreme weathers in different countries across the world. We then looked at houses in different countries and how they are built to withstand these extreme weathers and conditions. We then designed our own flood proof houses for a country with hot temperatures. We had a choice of materials to choose from but had to think carefully about their properties and whether or not they would be suitable for our houses. We had lots of fun making them.

 

Orion and the Dark

23rd March 2016C Black

We have been reading the book ‘Orion and the Dark’ in year 2 and have based all our work this half term around this text. We discussed Orion’s fears and looked at whether they were similar to any of our own fears. We created story maps using black paper and chalk to help us remember the story. We then created freeze frames at different stages in the book, and finally used these to sequence the story.

Year 2 and Year 6 Assessments 2016

By N Noble20th March 2016
Date Activity
May 2016 Key stage 1 testing period.
Monday 9 May 2016 Key stage 2 English reading test, reading booklet and associated answer booklet.
Tuesday 10 May 2016 Key stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test, Paper 1, short answer questions. Key stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test, Paper 2, spelling.
Wednesday 11 May 2016 Key stage 2 mathematics, Paper 1 arithmetic test. Key stage 2 mathematics, Paper 2 reasoning.
Thursday 12 May 2016 Key stage 2 mathematics, Paper 3, reasoning.
Weeks commencing 6 June and 13 June Key stage 2 science sampling test period.
Week commencing 13 June Phonics screening check week.

Following on from Parents’ Week, we thought parents of Year 2 and Year 6 pupils would find this short video about this year’s SATs helpful:

CLICK HERE FOR 2016 National Curriculum Tests (SATs): information for parents

Download (PDF, 1.52MB)

Further information about assessment at Dunn Street can be found by clicking here.

Beamish Visit

By lbridges21st October 2015

We have recently been learning about the life of Queen Victoria as part of our topic. We have looked at her family tree and used this to create our own family trees. As well as this, we have looked at important events within her reign, such as the expansion of the British Empire and her decision to make education in England compulsory up to the age of 13.

We decided to take a visit to Beamish Museum where we had the opportunity to attend a Victorian school.

Immediately, on arrival, we were ordered by the head teacher to line up straight in lines of boys and girls and not to talk unless we were spoken to! We had lots of fun learning about what school life was like for Victorian children.

On the afternoon we had the opportunity to visit the mine and the local village. We has so much fun finding out about what life was like for people during Queen Victoria’s reign.

Afternoon Tea

By lbridges21st October 2015

In year 2 we have been studying Kings and Queens as our topic. We have really enjoyed learning about the life of Queen Elizabeth II. To celebrate her becoming the longest reigning monarch in British history, we had afternoon tea outside and learnt the British National Anthem.

 

Year 6 / Year 2 Maths Programme

22nd June 2015T Finnigan

Mr Jackson from Simonside Primary School has been working with some of our Year 6 children to help them become “Maths Teachers”. The children then supported some Year 2 children using a variety of visual representations to support their learning.

Last week the Year 2 children involved in the Maths Programme had to demonstrate their newly acquired skills to the rest of the Year 2 children, with support from our Year 6 “Maths Teachers”.

All children have thoroughly enjoyed this experience as it has deepened their knowledge and understanding with number, place value and calculations. Children have developed positive attitudes to Maths through their enjoyment of participating in the programme.