Wednesday, 22nd October
Our first half-term is completed and it has flown by! Well done to our fantastic Year 2s. You have worked so hard and it has been a really successful half-term. Thank you parents for all your support. It was good to spend time with you on Tuesday and Wednesday this week in our parent consultations.
In class we have been busy publishing our pirate stores, learning addition strategies and completing our RE unit by reflecting on some 'big' questions. We had great fun on Tuesday with Pirate Day. Photos to follow ...
We look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday, 4th November for our next half-term's adventures. Explorers is our main theme to begin, with Advent and Christmas following that:)
We hope you all have a restful, refreshing half-term.
Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram
Friday 17th October
We’ve had a fantastic week of learning in Year 2! Highlights have included completing our Pirate Quest stories, adding percussion accompaniments to a fairy tale in Music, testing materials to see if they are waterproof in Science, and drawing beautiful butterflies for our Art project. Reading assessments have also taken place—well done to everyone for their effort and enthusiasm!
Next week will be a shorter week of just three days, but it promises to be packed with fun and creativity.
Pirate Day is on Tuesday, so please send your child dressed for adventure! We’ll be enjoying a range of pirate-themed activities, including a treasure hunt, singing sea shanties, and creating our very own weather-beaten treasure maps.
We are also looking forward to meeting with you all on Tuesday and Wednesday evening to discuss how your child has settled into Year 2, their progress so far, and the reading, writing, and maths targets outlined in their mini report. Please bring along any questions you may have.
A quick reminder: children who usually change their reading books on Thursday or Friday should bring them in on Wednesday next week for changing.
We understand that some parents have expressed concerns regarding the upcoming Year 2 trip to the Golden Hinde. Please be assured that, having successfully led this visit in previous years, we are very confident it will be a safe, enriching, and memorable experience for all pupils.
Travelling by train into London is always an exciting part of the day for the children. However, if you feel your child would benefit from practising this type of journey in advance, the half-term break would provide an ideal opportunity to do so.
Home Learning
Please continue to read and sign the Reading Record five times and complete spelling practise and putting spelling words into sentences.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee
Friday 10th October
We have had a wonderful week writing our own version of 'The Pirate Quest'. The class have used the tools in our toolkit as well as showing great, fun imaginations. We are looking forward to sharing these with you at Parents Evening in the last week of this half-term. (Please do book an appointment to see us and have the opportunity to look at some of your child's work.) Next week, we will complete these stories as well as edit them, ready to publish in our Publishing Book.
In Maths, we launched into our next unit: addition and subtraction. Many of us are confident with number bonds to 10; please spend time practising number bonds to 20
In foundation subjects:
RE - we had a visitor (Alex, from Wellspring Church, Watford) who explained why Christians sing songs of worship and then taught us the actions /melody for 2 kids' worship songs.
Music: we were working in groups to decide on tempo and dynamics
PE: we choreographed more of our 'Water' dance
Geography: we designed our own treasure maps
Science: we investigated and sorted solids into those that could be squashed, twisted, bent or stretched
Art: we created a minibeast from coloured papers
PSHE: we explored the difference between teasing and bullying
Pirate Day: Tuesday 21st October. Please send your child to school dressed as a pirate! We will spend the day learning as pirates and then in the afternoon, Captain Green Beard is expected to return to choose his next motley crew. Argh me hearties!
The Change Maker project: Next week is the final week to complete an activity for this half term's value of Friendship as we will be awarding stickers in the last week of half term.
Spelling: please support your child to both practise the spelling list as well as write each word into a sentence.
Reading assessments will take place next week. Please ensure that your child has their books and Reading Record in school each day.
Thank you for your continued support.
mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram
Friday 3rd October 2025
We have had great fun in English this week: we were thrilled and inspired by reading alternative texts: 'The Pirate Cruncher', and 'The Eyebrows of Doom' as well as enjoying an online poetry workshop on National Poetry Day (Thursday). Next week in English, we will begin planning and writing our own pirate stories and are really looking forward to reading the children's ideas.
In Maths, we have completed our first unit on place value and will be launching our next unit on addition and subtraction. Next week's focus is number bonds to 10 and 20 as well as making fact families. Please do practise number bonds to 10 and 20 over the weekend, where possible.
On Wednesday, we took time to say thank you, and paused to reflect on all that we have been given, during our Harvest festival service in the Church. Thank you to all those who brought in food for the Foodbank.
This week in our Foundation subjects:
RE - we listened to a Christian worship song 'Our God is a Great Big God' and discussed why Christians sing worship songs
Geography - we used compass points to work out the location of countries and pirate objects
Music - we played percussion instruments varying tempo and dynamics
PE - we choreographed movements for a whole class dance
Science - we explored stretchy materials and tested the stretchiness of different tights
Art - we drew a range of insects and arachnids and experimented with graphite sticks and oil pastels
PSHE - we discussed how we can take care of our friends
Home Learning
Please continue to read 5 times each week and sign the reading record book.
Practise spellings and put them into sentences.
We have been unable to solve the technical issues with Doodle so will be resetting the accounts next week. We will carry out baseline assessments next week so that home learning can begin next Friday. We apologise for the delay in starting but were very keen not to lose all of the children's data if at all possible.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram
Friday, 26th September 2025
It has been another great week in Year 2, and we have been enjoying both foundation subject topics as well as our English text. We read a brilliant book called 'Inside the Villains' and explored at depth the characters of the giant and the wolf, to give us vocabulary and inspiration for our own pirate text. Next week, we will continue to explore our toolkit and also a fabulous text called 'The Eyebrows of Doom'!
In Maths, we have continued partitioning tens and ones, and are now moving onto number line work, thinking about the position of numbers, comparing and ordering them.
In our Foundation subjects:
RE - we thought about what Christians might learn from the story of Jonah.
Geography - we learnt where the 7 continents are and labelled a world map accordingly
Music - we practised changing tempo and dynamics on untuned percussion instruments
PE - paired work using 'unison' and 'canon'
The Change Maker's Project - we spent time on Tuesday in Collective Worship, revisiting the 4 possible activities for this half-term's value of FRIENDSHIP. It was lovely to see everyone was excited about what they have chosen. Some have started, others were yet to. We would really appreciate your support here: We will be returning to award stickers in the week before half-term and evidence is needed in order to get a sticker. So, if they opted for Activity 3 (making a friendship card) or Activity 4 (writing a friendship diary), please encourage your child to bring them into school when completed, so that we can celebrate their achievement, citizenship and thoughtfulness! We will support Activities 1 and 2 at school.
Home spelling books were sent home this week with suggestions for how to practise learning them. We have asked the class to write each spelling word into a sentence, as well as write them out in a variety of ways. If there are any questions, please come and talk to us next week. Spelling books will be sent home, with the next list on Wednesday, to be returned to school on a Tuesday, ready for their test.
Tissues - we would welcome some boxes of tissues now that Autumn is here!
Next Wednesday (1st October) is our Harvest service at St Mary's Church. Please drop your child to the side entrance at 8:45am. Smart uniform is required, please.
We hope you are enjoying the extra long weekend and we will see you all on Monday.
Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram
Friday 19th September
It was great to see many of you at our 'Meet the teachers' presentation on Tuesday morning. We hope that it was useful. We have uploaded the PowerPoint slides in which you can find a copy of our Autumn class timetable and our curriculum overview for this first term. If you were not able to be there, please do come and ask any questions you may have. We are keen to work well together to bring out the best in each and every child. No comment or question is too small to ask.
In English, this week we have continued to explore our toolkit, focusing on adjectives and exclamation marks especially, and writing sentences in our new English book. This will be continued next week as we also explore some alternative texts to provide further vocabulary and ideas. In Maths, we have partitioned 2-digit numbers into part/whole models, practised writing them in words not numerals, used place value charts, and flexibly partitioned numbers. We are becoming 2-digit experts!
In our foundation subjects, we:
PE: danced in small groups to reflect the movement of water
Music: thought about how music reflects a storyline partly through tempo and dynamics
Geography: named (and sang) the 5 oceans on our planet. (Pirate Bear joined us to teach us some pirate skills too). Next week: the continents!
Library books were chosen this week. We plan to visit the Library on Tuesday afternoons. If your child would like to change their Library book, they can bring it in on a Tuesday, and we will aim to change them during our session in the Library.
Spellings will be tested on a Tuesday and new lists sent home on a Wednesday. We are aiming to send out our Year 2 Home Spelling books next week. Most children will receive 6 spellings each week. Our focus will be Common Exception words. Please practise these by writing them out in the book, as last year. Home Spelling Books need to come into school each Tuesday.
A date for the diary: Pirate Day will take place on Tuesday 21st October. We would love the children to come dressed as a pirate on the day. Captain Green Beard will be returning to find his next crew!
Next week we will spend one of our Collective worship sessions as a class, discussing our new initiative: The Change maker Project. We introduced this bespoke citizenship programme to the school and our class 2 weeks ago and we are looking forward to hearing which activities have been chosen, and how our class is getting on progressing with it. If you've not had opportunity to discuss it with your child, please do so this weekend, ready for next week. They only need to choose one activity from the Friendship section - St Mary's Changemaker Project - KS1
Have a relaxing weekend.
Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram
Friday 12th September
We have had a wonderful week starting our foundation subjects, and exploring our English text 'The Pirate Quest'. The class have responded brilliantly - with enthusiasm, great ideas and thoughtful contributions, in every lesson.
In English, we learnt 4 our of 5 of our story sections, learning about Captain Finn McGraw with a focus on adjectives, conjunctions and punctuation along the way. In Maths, we revisited teen numbers and have begun to explore 2-digit numbers, making these in a variety of ways. This will continue next week.
Foundation subjects:
In Geography, we had a visit from Captain Greenbeard who flung herself into the classroom in search of a crew to join her for her next expedition. Discovering that Year 2 had very few pirate skills as yet, she left vowing to return on our Pirate Day (Tuesday 21st October)
In RE, we explored the Christian story of Jonah, acting it out and discussing our questions as well as 'Wow!', and 'Oh!' thoughts
In PE, we started our dance unit on water, pairing up to choreograph movements to Saint-Saens 'Aquarium'
In Music, we listened to an orchestra and narrator play and tell the story of Goldilocks, revisiting the terms 'dynamics' and 'tempo'.
We have also begun our Flora and Fauna project in art looking at the work of Jan Van Kessel with great enthusiasm and can't wait to start or insect drawings next week!
We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday (16th) at 9m for our 'Meet the Teachers' presentation where details of class routines, expectations and curriculum will be shared. For now, for clarification:
Mrs Lee is the class teacher on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with Mrs Bartram teaching on Thursday and Friday.
PE days are Monday and Wednesday - please can children come to school dressed in PE kit.
Home Reading
All children should now have brought home 2 reading books as well as their new Reading Record. As in Year 1, please sign their Reading Record each time you hear them read; 5 times a week is the aim so that children can get their star stamps and begin collecting their badges. The books (including the signed Reading Record) are required in school every day but will be changed on the allocated day only - written on the front of their Reading Record.
Pink, Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Orange levels: Please read each book with your child 3 times so that they have the opportunity to build up their fluency of vocabulary and understanding of the text.
Turquoise, Purple, Gold, White, Lime levels: read the book through once as they are significantly longer but check for accuracy of unfamiliar vocabulary, and practise fluency as they read from the start to the end of each sentence.
We look forward to seeing you next week. Have a wonderful weekend.
Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram
Friday 5th September 2025
Welcome to Year 2!
What a fantastic first week back. The children have returned to school with great energy and enthusiasm, settling back into school and the new routines of the day. We have enjoyed a range of activities including a vision and values afternoon and a pirate treasure hunt to kick off this half term's writing project.
Mrs Lee has begun assessing the children's reading and issuing reading books. This will continue next week.
As in Year 1, please comment and sign the Reading Record book when you hear your child read. Please aim for 5 times a week so that we can issue a stamp in their passport. We will begin giving stamps on Monday 15th September.
We look forward to meeting you at our 'Meet the Teacher' session on Tuesday 16th September at 9am where we will share more information about Year 2 and the year ahead.
Wishing you a relaxing weekend.
Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee