Friday 27th May

It has been Take One picture (run by the National Gallery) Art week and we have been looking at the painting by Henri Rousseau, 'Surprised' (tiger in a storm). We composed Haiku poems based on the storm using thoughtful language and well observed details. We spent time copying aspects of the painting with pencils and oil pastels and produced some wonderful printing and collage work which will be on display after half term for you to see.

As well as our artwork, we have spent time completing this half-term's RE unit on 'What is the good news Jesus brings?' and our History unit on explorers, learning about the differences between Shackleton's and Aston's expeditions. In Computing we learnt how to use Chrome Music Lab. This is a fun website which introduces children to some of the basics of music, including pitch, rhythm and a musical keyboard. We would thoroughly recommend this website! We also had great fun learning how to play 'Rapid Fire cricket' on Wednesday morning with our Schools Sports Partnership.

Please keep reading with your child over half-term. This week's assessments showed the incredible progress that many have made. Please keep encouraging your child to read to you as well enjoying reading by themselves. It all makes a huge difference!

After half-term we have our class trip to Kew Gardens on Thursday 8th June. We will also be launching our final topic of the year - Pirates!

PE kit needed for Monday and Wednesday in the first week back please.

We wish you a wonderful, restful half term and look forward to seeing you on Monday 5th June.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 19th May

A huge well done to Year 2! They worked incredibly hard and were very focused for this final week of assessments. Results of these assessments will be included with the end of year report.

Aside from assessments we have spent time learning about famous explorers and expedition equipment in History and we will continue with this unit next week when we learn about the explorations of Ernest Shackleton and Felicity Aston. We have continued to be inspired by the music of Gustav Holst listening and comparing 2 compositions from his 'Planets' suite. In RE, the children listened with great interest as a visitor from New Hope charity came on Tuesday afternoon, to tell us about their work with people without homes. We have had a great day, making butter, finding out how flour is made and learning to crack an egg! Hopefully the children can share their new baking skills with you at home!

After this week's one PE session, next week we have 3 PE sessions: Monday, Wednesday and Friday - one of which will be a cricket morning.

Home Learning

English/Science: Please create a life cycle for a living thing, e.g. a tree, a frog a butterfly or even a dinosaur. It can be drawn, a model or word processed - whatever you like! Please follow the structure we used in class and label each stage of the life cycle. Please see the example below.

Maths: Please practise mental recall of the 2, 5 and 10 times tables. No sheet this week.

We will be assessing Year 2 spelling next week , so please continue to practise the CEW word list. We will return to word lists and spelling tests after half term.

Please continue to read regularly and sign the Reading Record book.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 12th May

We have spent much of this shorter week focused on assessments in Maths and English. We are proud of their continued determination and pleased with how much they have grown in terms of resilience as well as in their learning.  Our Science topic on plants is progressing well and the children will be able to bring home their seedlings soon!

Assessments will continue next week. The week will end with a DT day on Friday in which they will be learning about and then making biscuits, so hopefully a fitting treat for all their hard work!

PE: Monday and Wednesday

Home Learning

Maths: Green maths book, pages 35, 37 and 39 focusing on division and fractions

English: Homes Around the World comprehension, please answer the questions on the lined paper that children have brought home.

Spelling: Please continue to revise the Year 2 CEW

Reading: please read five times and sign the Reading Record book.

Enjoy the weekend, fingers crossed for some sunshine!

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 5th May

This week we have really shown how much we have grown in our skills of writing and reading! Our writing focus has been on writing letters in the character of Noi, from our class text 'Grandma Bird'. The letters showed sensitivity, thoughtfulness and detail, and we were very proud of the results.  As a class we have talked alot about needing to improve our spelling across the board. We have also spent time learning how to find symmetry and revisiting data handling and money in Maths.

For the next 2 weeks our focus in class in the mornings will be on assessments. We have been gathering evidence for some weeks to give each pupil a really accurate assessment level in reading, writing and Maths, and this will continue for the next fortnight. We have sent out a letter regarding the official SATs week. Please remember that these official assessment papers form only a part of our assessment and not the entirety. 

Today we began our celebration for King Charles III's coronation with a special assembly led by Mrs Dineen, followed by by a crown making workshop! It was lovely to see so many of you at the parade and for the cake sale afterwards.  

PE - Wednesday and Friday

Home Learning

Maths: Finding the change worksheet

English: Field mouse comprehension

Spelling: Please continue to practice the CEW 

Please continue to read at least 5 times each week and sign the Reading Record.

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend and enjoy the celebrations if you are having any.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 28th April

Year 2 have worked really hard this week. As we focus more on our Maths and English assessments, their resilience and determination have been impressive. Next week we will send out a letter explaining more about the assessments.

In Maths we have learnt 2D and 3D shape names and properties as well as how to sort and classify them using Venn and Carroll diagrams. In one of our English lessons, we spent time composing our own similes to describe the characters in Grandma Bird, with great hilarity! Next week we will spend time writing in the character of Noi as he regales news of his time with Grandma.

In Music this week we listened to 'Mars' by Gustaf Holst listening for instruments and discussing how the music dynamics made us feel. In PSHCE, we had an extremely valuable lesson learning about what to do in an emergency, going through step by step a list of possible actions in various situations. The children were very sensible and thoughtful in their ideas. The PSHCE scheme we follow (Scarf Coram) suggests that a possible follow up might be for them to learn their own full name, address and a parent's mobile number. 

Our Science topic is 'Plants' and we have been busy planting again this week, exploring the difference between bulbs and seeds and how they grow into mature plants. We will be tracking their growth over the coming weeks and keeping a plant diary.

Next week is a shorter week of 4 days and we are planning a special school celebration for the King's Coronation on Friday 5^th May. More details will be sent out from the School Office. 

PE: Wednesday and Friday

Home Learning

Maths: activity sheet naming 2D and 3D shapes

Comprehension: Toad Attack p.30

Spelling: please continue to revise the Year 2 CEW

Please keep up the reading and signing of the Reading Record book, thank you.

We hope you have a wonderful Bank holiday weekend.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 21st April

Welcome back to the Summer Term. We hope that you had a refreshing and restful Easter. We have enjoyed hearing recounts of wonderful holidays and days out from so many of the class.

This week we have started many of our Foundation subject topics, including: Rights and Responsibilities in PSHCE  and 'Dynamics, timbre, tempo and motifs' in Music - composing and appreciating music with a space theme. In PSHCE this week we discussed what responsibilities we have in order to help everyone in the classroom be their best. 

In Maths this week we have worked hard to understand how to find fractions of a quantity, measurement and shape. Next week we will be focusing on 2D and 3D shape - properties, names, being able to sort into Venn and Carroll diagrams. In English, we have been reading 'Grandma Bird' by Benji Davis which is a charming book about the relationship between a Grandmother and her grandson involving quite an adventure! We will continue to explore this book for the next 2 weeks.

Today we had a fantastic time celebrating Earth Day and have been busy weeding and planting all round the school to increase wildlife and grow food for us to use in our cookery lessons. We had a very informative assembly from from Ellen from Three Rivers Council who talked to us about recycling in the county - did you know we have the highest recycling rate nationally? 

Next week PE is on Wednesday and Friday.

Home Learning

Maths: fraction worksheet

Comprehension: p28 and 29 The Selfish Giant

Spelling: please continue to practice the Year 2 CEW

Please continue to read at least 5 times and sign the Reading Record book.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 31st March 2023

We have had a great week in Year 2 this week with such a mix of activities and we have heads full and buzzing from all the learning that has taken place! Yesterday's Easter Celebration Day was a real success and we all thoroughly enjoyed the Easter egg hunt, craft and biscuit decorating whilst appreciating too the time to pause and reflect quietly on the meaning of Easter for so many people around the world.

Today we have sent home a Maths sheet that explains our Year 2 method for each of the 4 operations and some worksheets with questions to practise. In the run up to SATs we very much encourage pupils to draw out their workings using the methods explained as they are not allowed to use any other resources (eg 100 squares, bead strings, number fans) in the actual assessment week. If and when you want to set aside some time to look at the Maths questions with your child, please do use the methods as explained to help embed these.

Over the holidays please continue reading and practising the Year 2 Common Exception Words - the list of which is attached below for your reference.

Please also find below a selection of sample SATs papers to give you an idea of what the children will be sitting next half term. 

We wish you all a very happy Easter and look forward to seeing you all on Monday 17^th April.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 24th March

It has been lovely to see so many of you this week for Parents Evenings. Thank you for prioritising time to discuss progress and ways you can support your child moving forwards. If you have any further questions, please do ask.

We celebrated with the class today their successful writing of Traction Man adventures and awarded the whole class the Learning Certificate this week. Across the class their writing was creative, interesting and followed the style of Mini Grey really well. We are very proud of them all!

Next week we are hoping to complete many of our learning units and have a variety of activities planned. On Monday, we have a teacher from the Schools Sports Partnership coming in to spend the morning with the class teaching them how to stay fit and well through diet and exercise. This will involve PE activities during the session, so please send your child in to school wearing their PE kit.

On Thursday, as a school, we will be taking part in our Easter Celebration Day. This will start at St Mary's Church at 9am. Once we arrive back at school, we will be spending time reflecting on the message of Easter, before having an afternoon full of wonderful activities including biscuit decorating and an Easter egg hunt!

On Friday, the whole school is invited to wear an Easter bonnet to school, as is our usual tradition. There will be a parade on the KS1 playground at 9am which you are most welcome to stay and watch, as pupils across the school show off their fabulous designs!

PE days - Monday and Wednesday  

Just for next week, Mrs Bartram will be teaching on Monday and Mrs Lee on Thursday. We will both be in school as usual on Wednesday.

At the end of next week, we will upload a sample SATs paper for Maths, reading comprehension and SPAG so that you have an idea of the level for reading, writing and Maths that Year 2 children are expected to be reaching. We will also upload a guide to some of the strategies that we teach in Maths for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as discussed with many of you at parents evening this week.

Home Learning

Maths: Worksheet on finding half of a number or group.

Comprehension: 'Slippers at school' p26

No spellings this week.

Please continue reading and signing the Reading Record book.

Sadly, next week will be Liam's last week at school before he relocates further north. We will all really miss him. We would like to create a book of special messages from the class. Please could you send in a small piece of paper (anything smaller than A4) with a drawing and message on Monday, so we can collate these. Thank you in advance. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 17th March

It was lovely to see so many of you at our Book Look on Monday afternoon. The children appreciated being able to show you their wonderful learning. We look forward to talking to you on Wednesday and Thursday next week, for our online parent meetings. If you are yet to make an appointment there is still time, please contact Mrs Palmer in the office.

In class, we have really enjoyed our English text: Traction Man, cheering on our epic hero and his sidekick Scrubbing Brush whilst booing the likes of Wicked Professor Spade and the Evil Pillows! Next week we are going to plan and write our own classroom-based adventure for our heroes. In Maths we have worked hard to understand how to share (division) and will continue this next week.

In RE we have learnt how Christians show their beliefs about Jesus through how they worship at Easter time. In PSHCE we had a great discussion about how to stay well, including vaccinations, the Eatwell Plate and washing our hands effectively. 

As it was STEAM week, we have also enjoyed some special activities including a Science assembly, a visit from Cassiobury Farm (complete with Taco armadillo!), our school competition to design a wall mural for the school garden and our bird making project this morning.

Next week PE is on Wednesday and Friday.

Easter bonnet parade: last day of term. Please spend time creating your design to show off to the school community on Friday 31^st March.

If possible, please could we have some more boxes of tissues - thank you.

Home Learning

Maths: Dividing worksheet

English: Comprehension p.24 Animals

Spelling: CEW and irregular past tense verbs

Mrs Lee completed most of the reading assessments today and will assess the rest of the class next week. Please keep up the reading and sign the reading record book.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, and to all Mums and important woman in our lives  - well done and keep going!

Many thanks,

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 10th March

We have had a great week completing our traditional creation stories in English; describing how the zebra got its stripes or how the rattlesnake got its rattle. We have been practising telling time, with a focus on reading and drawing the time to the nearest 5 minutes. Homework this week will practise this skill - some children will need more support with this than others as it is a tricky skill to grasp.

Next week in English we are going to start a 2-week unit on 'Traction Man', which is a fabulous book by Mini Grey, describing the adventures of its hero. In Maths we will be learning how to divide by sharing. In RE, we will be continuing to explore why the Easter story is so important to Christians. In art we have started to explore our topic on architecture by look at some landmark building and making simple line drawings.

PE on Wednesday and Friday.

Next week is STEM week and we have some interesting activities planned. We will also celebrate Comic Relief on Friday, so another busy week!

Home Learning

Maths: worksheet on telling the time to the nearest 5 minutes.

English: comprehension p22 The monkeys and the crocodile

Spelling: CEW and homophones

Please keep up the reading.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 3rd March

It has been a great week celebrating Brilliant Book Week! We have thoroughly enjoyed lots of different activities including Bedtime stories with hot chocolate, dressing up (thank you for such wonderful costumes!) as well as poetry activities, storytelling, and the big book swap. 

As well as having such fun with literature we have worked really hard to learn how to multiply, count in multiples and draw arrays this week in Maths. This morning we explored money in our maths lesson; making different amounts, adding pence and working out change. If you have the opportunity, please encourage children to count the contents of your purse, their piggy bank or perhaps your spare change. They could set up a shop at home buying and selling their toys and practising their money skills. This will help to secure their understanding.

Next week we are having a week on 'time' so please do make the opportunity to revise how to read and tell the time over the weekend . We will be learning about intervals of time - seconds and minutes especially as well as reading to the nearest 5 minutes, eg, 20 past 4, 20 to 6.

In Geography we studied photographs, maps and atlases to get a good idea of what Lagos in Nigeria is like, in terms of both physical and human features. In music we enjoyed a lesson exploring the rhythms of African animals on a variety of percussion instruments for which they showed great control. In PSHCE we discussed what choices we get to make each day and how to make healthy choices where applicable.

Next week PE is on Monday and Wednesday.

Home Learning

Maths: p33 Multiplying and p51 Money

English: write a description of your World Book Day character or favourite book character

Spelling: Common Exception Words or -el spellings

Please continue to read and sign Reading Record books.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 24th February

Welcome back, we hope you enjoyed a good half-term.

This week in English we launched our new unit of work on traditional stories, focusing on the tale: 'How the camel got his hump'. We had great fun acting out the story and rewriting it carefully using story-telling language.

Next week is  'Brilliant Book Week' and we have lots of wonderful activities planned, please see the letter from the office. There will be a different emphasis each day, including some whole school projects. We have storytelling on Monday, poetry on Tuesday and bedtime stories on Wednesday with a mug of hot chocolate.  It is of course 'World Book Day' on Thursday and we would love the children to join us dressed as a book character, in book themed costume or pyjamas. The book week will conclude with the invitation to come into school on Friday morning, straight from drop-off, to read with your child in our classroom. We hope that many of you will be able to support this.

In Maths, we have been learning how to double and halve 2 digit numbers, looking at the patterns of the timetables 2s, 5s, 10s, and working out how to find a difference. Next week we will be learning what it means to multiply. On Friday, after the book reading session, the class are going to spend the morning focusing on money skills: using pounds and pence, finding totals and finding change. 

In Geography we explored Nigeria and had fun marking Nigeria, Abuja and Lagos on maps. In Music, we explored West African animals and used instruments to imitate their sounds. Great fun!

Our apologies for the late notice change of PE last weekend for this week. PE days next week are: Wednesday and Friday.

Library will be fortnightly on Friday this half term. Children visited today so can keep their books for two weeks. We will post the next date on the blog.

Home Learning

Maths: p.29  2 X table and p.31 10 X table

Comprehension: p. 20 Habitats

Spelling: Common Exception Words or digraph 've'

Please keep up the reading and sign the Reading Record book.

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 17th February 2023

PE Update

PE will be on Monday and Wednesday in the first week back.

Thank you 

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 10th February

We have had a wonderful week of wellbeing activities. On Monday we explored some mindfulness activities and reflected on what we have learnt from looking at prayer and stories of Islam. One story's key message was to care for all of creation. Many of the children commented that they were inspired to show greater care for their family, friends and pets as a result. 

On Tuesday we revised how to stay safe online, singing along with 'Smartie the penguin' who learnt to STOP before you CLICK and TELL someone. We talked about the danger of giving any personal information online to a stranger, what to do if you saw an image that scared you, and that not everything you read online is true so be careful where you source your information. The class showed thoughtfulness in our discussions.

On Wednesday, we learnt the difference between a secret and a surprise, in PSHCE, and what to do with a secret that bothers you. 

On Thursday we practised crossing the road safely and today we spent time in our Family Group working on an Art activity.

It has been great to spend time assessing the children's reading and we are thrilled to see continued enthusiasm, progress and commitment to reading at home and at school. Please continue to support them this half-term. 

PE will be on Wednesday and Friday in the first week back.

There is no home learning but please continue to read and comment in the Reading Record books.

Wishing you all a wonderful, restful holiday. See you on Monday 20th February.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 3rd February

We have all worked really hard this week. In our English lessons we changed our notes on big cats into clear, detailed, flowing sentences. The class were excited to share their WOW facts after last week's homework and we began to write them up to add to our Big Cat reports. Next week will will be designing our page and writing up the different sections under sub-headings.

In Maths, we had a successful week learning subtraction and how to exchange a ten for 10 ones before regrouping, to solve sums such as 45 - 29.  Next week we will look at problem solving.

We have completed our learning on Rickmansworth ready to start exploring the city of Lagos when we return after half-term. In Science we looked at the habitats of different animals and talked about how these met an animals basic needs of food, water and shelter.

Next week is Wellbeing week and we will be looking at  different aspect of wellbeing each day (please see the letter sent from Mrs Crilly).

Mrs Lee assessed many children with their reading this week. She will complete this next Thursday. Well done to so many who are making great progress, and thank you for your continued support with reading. It is making a real difference.

PE = Monday and Wednesday

Home learning

Maths: subtraction word problems on sheet.

Comprehension: Sports p.19

Spelling: six words and six sentences.

Some children still have the same spellings from the start of term. Please support your child to learn these so that they can move on to the next set of Common Exception Words.

Please continue to read and sign the Reading Record book.

Enjoy your weekend - next week is the last week of the half term!

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 27th January

We've had a great week in Year 2! On Tuesday we photographed our way around the landmarks of Rickmansworth - learning about the geography and history of the area. A huge thank you to all our parent helpers who supported our map reading and photography skills! Yesterday we spent the day creating our African art inspired animal heads, the class worked so hard to produce their imaginative designs, which look fabulous. 

Next week, we will be creating and writing an information page on big cats, having spent this week working hard to make notes on different aspects including senses, playtime and habitat. In Maths, we will spend the week practising how to subtract 2-digit numbers by regrouping a ten. In Geography we will be completing our study on Rickmansworth and evaluating our photos. In PSHCE we will be thinking about what makes us feel safe and who we can talk to when we feel unsafe in any way.

PE - Monday and Wednesday

Home Learning

Maths: Green book p24 Subtracting 

English: Find five amazing facts about big cats. You can use books, watch videos or explore websites such as:

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/awesome-8/article/big-cats

Spelling: six individual words and sentences.

Reading: x5 and sign the Reading Record book

Friday 20th January 

Today we completed our writing on sharks and shared what we had found out about shark's senses. Next week we begin our research on big cats . We will be working towards producing our own non-fiction page of information to create a class information book. In Maths we have worked hard to count on and back and have shown confidence and accuracy in our written methods for 2 digit + 2 digit addition. Next week we are going to explore subtraction in greater depth.

In RE this week, we continued to look at how and why Muslims pray. In science we explored what it means to be 'living' and the 7 life processes all living things share. In Computing, we learnt about the difference between taking a photograph in portrait and landscape mode, ready for next week's Geography field trip around Rickmansworth. This will take place on Tuesday afternoon next week. We will be leaving from school about 1pm, following a map and taking photographs of our town as we go. We are aiming to walk through the Aquadrome to the top end of the High Street, down past the shops to the Library and then past St Mary's Church on the way back to school. 

Next week:

PE: Wednesday and Friday

Art: an A3 piece of cardboard for Art day on Thursday. No cereal boxes please as they are too thin.

Geography: Rickmansworth field trip on Tuesday afternoon.

Home Learning:

Maths: Block diagrams p.75 and Pictograms p.77

Comprehension: Tiger Troubles p.16

Spelling: 6 words and sentences

Reading: 5 times and sign the Reading Record Book

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 13th January

It has been a busy 5 days settling back into the rhythm of a full week and launching new topics along the way. In RE, we welcomed a special visitor, Mrs Ravji, who talked to Years 2 and 5 about her Muslim faith. We will be learning more about Islam and in particular prayer and stories of Islam this half-term. This week's lesson in PSHCE focused on how to keep safe with medicine and what else we might do to feel better when we are poorly. 

In Geography this half-term we are going to compare Rickmansworth and a town called Abuja in Nigeria, looking at land use in particular. In a couple of weeks, we will be carrying out a field trip around Rickmansworth, following a simple map to the town and back to school. If you are available to help on Monday 23^rd or Tuesday 24^th January from 1pm until 3pm please do let one of us know as we will need 1 or 2 parents to accompany us. The date of the walk is weather-dependent! Many thanks.

In English this week we have learnt how to make notes from a non-fiction text ready to write our own mini page about sharks by the end of next week. We have also had fun composing our own questions to research and learning about the 4 different types of sentences. In Maths, we have spent the week reading and drawing tally charts, tables and block graphs, and will complete this mini topic by looking at pictograms on Monday. After that we will be improving our addition and subtraction skills.

On Thursday 26th January we will be having an Art day and will be creating cardboard African animal heads. Children will need a cardboard box of approximately A3 size for the head. The cardboard needs to be thicker than a cereal box, but the children must be able to cut it themselves with scissors. Please can these be sent into school from Monday 23rd January as we have little storage space. No boxes next week please.

PE next week will be on Monday and Wednesday.

Home Learning

Comprehension: Our Solar System p14

Maths (green book): Tables p71 & Block diagrams  p73

Reading: Please continue to read at least 5 times each week and sign the Reading Record book. We have given out the first of the silver badges today and the children were very excited!

Spelling

We have changed spelling for this term.

From next week children will be tested on Wednesday and given new spellings on Wednesday to learn for the following week.

All children were assessed on their CEW this week and will now be given 6 individualised spellings to learn each week. If your child loses their sheet please contact us and we will write out a new one for them.

When your child is tested, any spellings that are incorrect will be sent home again the following week. This is to ensure all CEW are learnt for Year 2. Children who have learnt all CEW will be given words from phonics that we have been learning that week. If you have any questions please come and chat with us.

Have a wonderful weekend and fingers crossed for less rain!

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 6th January

Happy New Year and welcome back to the Spring Term.

This half term our topic is Africa and today we began our art project looking at Tingatinga animal paintings. We have made a great start to our new English unit on report writing and are looking forward to writing a report on sharks for a class book.

Next week we will begin a unit on statistics for maths and make a start on all the foundation subjects. 

For this term, PE will be on Wednesday each week but will alternate between Monday and Friday for the second session. This is due to our management responsibilities which are covered by coaches Jack and Daryl.

Please can you check the blog each week as we will post the PE days for the coming week.

Next week PE will be on Wednesday and Friday.

You'll be pleased to know there is no homework this week but can we ask you to continue reading and to practise the Year 2 CEWs that were sent home before Christmas. We will be retesting the children on these next week.

Best wishes

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Wednesday 21st December 

It's been a wonderfully festive week. We have fitted in lots, including Christmas computing activities, card making and  carol singing.

From Mrs Lee, Mrs Merrell and myself, thank you so much for our wonderful gifts, best wishes and messages. We really appreciate all your support in helping your children be the best they can be.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and very best wishes for a happy, healthy start to the New Year.

See you for the start of term on Friday 6th January.

Mrs Lee, Mrs Bartram and Mrs Merrell

Friday 16th December 

We have had a great week with lots of brilliant Christmas activities.

It was lovely to see so many of you at our Nativity performances. We hope you enjoyed watching as much as we enjoyed performing! We were very proud of the class. Base layers should have been returned home now. Thank you. We all thoroughly enjoyed the pantomime on Tuesday afternoon (Oh no we didn't! Oh yes, we did!). The children were incredibly well-behaved and participated with gusto at the right times:) FoSMS treated us all to an ice-cream in the interval which was hugely appreciated by everyone. Our thanks to them. Finally, it was fantastic to celebrate Christmas as a whole school in our carol service on Thursday morning. Our grateful thanks for all your support throughout.

Next week, we have lovely activities planned for our 3 days together, including making our Christmas card and our party (joining with Year 1) on Wednesday morning. As a teaching team, we have all agreed to keep children in their uniform for our parties since we only had Christmas jumper Day this week. Children may bring in a SMALL treat to eat, just for themselves, at the end of the party on Wednesday.

Home Learning

We would like the class to focus on reading and learning their Common Exception Words over the holidays.

We have assessed the class on their Year 2 Common Exception Words and have sent them home today. Please practise the highlighted words for homework this weekend and over the holidays. We will retest the class next term. 

Please could ALL Reading Records and books be brought into school on Monday so that we can change/supplement books ready for the Christmas holidays. We would really appreciate your support in continuing to encourage their reading over the fortnight break. 

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the rest of the snow.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 9th December 

We have spent much of this week preparing for next week's Nativity 'Everyone loves a baby'. The children have worked hard to remember and perform their lines and songs and are very excited to perform to you next week. We do hope that you will be able to join us as we sing and dance our way through the Christmas story on Monday and Tuesday (12^th and 13^th December). Thank you for supplying their base costumes and for helping your child to learn their lines. 

In Maths, we have continued our learning about part and whole. We have worked hard to understand how to find a missing number in calculations, in both subtraction and addition sentences. In RE, we have spent time learning that Christians believe Jesus was a King, looking at the characters of the wise men in particular. 

Next week we will be looking at a new text in English,  'Julian is a mermaid' which highlights the importance of being seen and affirmed for who we are. We will complete our Materials unit for science and finish off the final bits of painting on our Tudor Houses.

We also have a varied week of Christmas festivities:

Monday - 2:30pm Nativity performance

Tuesday - 9:15am Nativity performance and then our school outing to enjoy the pantomime Aladdin at Watersmeet Theatre. Pick up is from the theatre afterwards. Thank you if you have offered to walk with us there. To clarify, there are no extra adult seats available so we will be able to enjoy your company on the walk only.

Wednesday: Christmas jumper day, Christmas lunch and Santa fun run in the afternoon! Please see the newsletter for further details.

Thursday: carol service at St Mary's Church at 9am. Please drop your child off directly at the Church on Thursday morning. We hope to see you at the service and would appreciate some extra walkers to accompany us back to school.

Home Learning

Maths: Time worksheet which includes some timed activities to try out.

Comprehension: p12 The Phoenix and the carpet

Spelling: soft c and hard c

Please put 5 of the words into sentences on the back of the sheet.

Please continue to read and record this in the Reading Record book.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 2nd December

We have thoroughly enjoyed our Nativity practice and the class are busy learning songs and lines for our performance 'Everyone Loves a Baby!'. Please help your child to spend time over the weekend, rehearsing their line(s) and remembering where/when their line is spoken. The narrators need to spend time reading their lines out loud so that they are clear and articulate.

A reminder that the costume 'under layers' need to be brought into school in a named carrier bag on Monday. Plain clothes, without a logo please:

Angels - light coloured tights/leggings/trousers and long-sleeved top

Narrators - party/smart clothes

All other characters - dark long-sleeved top and long-legged bottoms

In Maths this week we have finished our first block studying time and will return to this in the Spring term. Please keep practising reading the time with your child as this skill takes time and practise to embed. We have also started work on part and whole bar and cherry models, which the class will begin to use when solving number problems.

We have completed our Tudor Houses this week and the class have really enjoyed decorating them using black 'beams' to show the distinctive Tudor style. As a class they did not want to create a Tudor London street and burn them - but some may wish to do this at home!

Home Learning

Maths: Clock making activity 

Comprehension: Making a bird feeder p.11

Spelling: y as in very. Please write 5 sentences on the back of the sheet using words from the list.

Reading: Please continue to read five times each week and sign the record book, so that children can receive their stamp.

We look forward to seeing you at the Christmas fayre on Saturday!

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Photos from our London trip:

Friday 25th November

We had an excellent trip to London on Monday! We started with a tour round the area where the fire started and stood in Pudding Lane. We saw the monument whilst we were there. The afternoon was spent dressing up, writing with a feather and ink quill 'pen' and exploring the church. The children listened really well and our guide, Lindsay, emailed to say how brilliant the class had been:) A huge thank you to the parent helpers who came with us. We really appreciated your support, time and presence. 

The rest of this week has been full of learning to tell the time in Maths, writing an explanation text of how and why the Great Fire spread in English, as well as focusing on our Nativity songs ready for ' Everyone loves a Baby' at the end of term. Next week we will be exploring part and whole in Maths as well as completing our learning on time. Please help your child to be confident telling the time by focusing on half past, quarter past and quarter to - on an analogue clock.

In RE, we will be starting our Christmas unit: Why does Christmas matter to Christians? which explores the idea of Jesus as a King, and incarnation. In History we will be concluding our topic on the Great Fire by understanding the consequences (both good and bad) of the fire and how London life began to change. We finished our materials topic in Science this week by looking at the work of scientist Charles Macintosh. The class worked hard to explain how he invented waterproof fabric. Next week we will see the finishing touches to our Tudor houses before the come home!

Costumes for the Nativity:

Today we have told the class the part that they will each perform in our KS1 Nativity. ALL costumes will be provided by the school (we have extensive costumes) but each child will need to bring in a dark coloured long sleeved, plain top and bottom (eg leggings or track suit bottoms) to wear underneath, with the exception of the angels who will need white tops and leggings/tights. These need to be brought in to school, in a named carrier bag, on Monday 5^th December please. Please save the date for coming to see us perform: Monday 12^th (afternoon) or Tuesday 13^th (morning).

Home learning

Maths: telling the time to quarter past worksheet

Comprehension: p10 Plum

Spelling: 'ie as in field' and 'ea as in bread'

Reading: We have been really pleased with the reading progress of so many pupils. Thank you for all your support. It is making such a difference. 

Have a wonderful weekend

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 18th November

This week has been anti-bullying week in school and we have spent time discussing this and also looking at how we build and strengthen friendships. We have enjoyed some extra special activities including spending time in our family groups on Monday morning, making friendship bracelets and solving clues from a treasure hunt around the school grounds.

Yesterday we had a wonderful DT day making our Tudor houses. We learnt how to join cardboard in a variety of ways to create the floors and roof of a Tudor house, papier mache the joins and prepare the house for decorating in a Tudor style which we will do next week. We will then be ready to share our finished houses with you.

We are looking forward to our trip to London on Monday! However, the weather does not look promising so please make sure that your child has a water-proof coat as the morning is spent walking to see different monuments and buildings connected with the Great Fire, led by an experienced London guide. 

In Maths, we will be learning to tell the time: half past, quarter past and quarter to as well as thinking about our own timetable of weekly events. In English, we are going to spend the week looking at explanation texts and designing our own that explains the causes and consequences of the Great Fire. 

We are sorry if changing PE days has caused any stress for you. PE days for the rest of this term should now stay as Wednesday and Friday. Also, apologies for any reading Records that have not received enough stamps or too many! We think we have now ironed out the initial problems but do keep us informed if things go awry.

Mrs Lee has been assessing the children's reading today, if your child has not been assessed this week, they will be heard next week.

Below is the list of the children's reading days for your reference. Please send in books to be changed on your given day and we will try to ensure they are returned the same day. Thank you.

Home Learning

Maths - adding 2 digit numbers crossing a ten worksheet

Comprehension - p8. Amy Johnson 

Spelling: 'o' and 'de'

Please continue to read regularly and sign the Reading Record book.

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 11th November

This week we have really got stuck into our learning about the Great Fire of London. Lots of great questions have been asked! We now know something of the causes and journey of the fire, and why it was so catastrophic. Next week we will be looking at historical sources, including paintings and Samuel Pepys' diary extracts.

In Maths, this week we have worked hard to understand how to add 2-digit numbers together. Next week we are going to continue with this but crossing a ten. We will be learning how to exchange 10 ones for 1 ten. In English, we have been preparing to write our own diary extracts. We have learnt what a verb is and how the ending often changes when we are writing in the past tense. Children will learn some of these for spelling this week. In RE we had an introduction to the religion of Islam. We looked at prayer mats and began to learn what is important to a Muslim and how this affects how they live their lives. We will continue this exploration in January.

Today the children designed their Tudor houses and next Thursday we will spend the day constructing them. Please can you ask the children if they need one or two boxes for their design and send these in before next Thursday. The boxes should be about the size of a shoe box, so that children can cut and join them easily to create their house. Thank you for your support with this.

Next week we will begin learning songs for our Nativity 'Everyone loves a Baby' to be performed in the penultimate week of term:) More details to follow!

PE next week will be on Monday and Wednesday. NOT Friday.

It is Odd Sock Day on Monday, and we will be spending some time in our 'family' groups' participating in some lovely activities to encourage and foster kindness. Children in Need Day is on Friday - come dressed in spots or mufti:)

Home Learning 

Maths: Addition 2 digits+ 2 digits on sheet

Comprehension: p9. Diary entry

Spelling: -ed verbs

Please continue to read regularly and sign the Reading Record book.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram 

Friday 4th November

Welcome back, we hope you had a wonderful half term.

This week we have started many of our new topics, including the Great Fire of London. Thank you for the books and resources that have been brought in. It has been great to hear about the many family adventures into London, and we are all looking forward to our trip in 2 weeks' time, to learn more about the Great Fire and explore the area.

In Maths, we have been learning how to subtract single digits and tens from a 2-digit number. Next week we will be learning to add larger numbers together. In English, we have enjoyed exploring the story of 'Toby and the Great Fire'. This will be continued for the next fortnight with the aim of writing our own historical diary account as the final outcome. In RE we concluded our topic 'What do Christians think God is like?' Some very thoughtful prayers and reflections were written. We thoroughly enjoyed watching different video clips of musicians and orchestras in our learning about the 4 groups of instruments. If any pupil would like to bring in their instrument and play something to the class, that would be welcomed. We have begun our DT topic and will start building our Tudor houses in two weeks time. The children will need 1 or 2 smallish boxes each for the construction (about the size of a shoe box), so you may want to put these aside if you have anything suitable but please don't send them in yet.

Next week, PE will be back to Wednesday and Friday.

Many of the class have reached the Bronze badge award for their reading commitment at home, which is fantastic. These will be handed out the next week. 

Home Learning

Maths: adding tens activity sheet or Blue book pages 8 and 9

Comprehension: p6 Get Well Soon

Spelling: ve and u-e words

Please choose 5 words to put into sentences on the back of the sheet.

Please continue to read at least 5 times each week and sign the reading record book. We are not able to give a stamp if record books are not signed, so please ensure there are 5 signatures even if you are not writing a comment as some children have been very disappointed not to receive their stamp and badge.

Can we ask that you check with your child that they have a pencil, glue stick and whiteboard at school as a number of children have not had their pencil cases restocked. They use these items daily and we do not have a school supply. Thank you in advance for your support.

We hope you have a lovely weekend and enjoy the fireworks!

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 22nd October 2022

Time has flown by since September 5^th and we can't quite believe we are at the end of our first half-term! A huge well done to all our Year 2s- they have worked incredibly hard and settled into routines and expectations well:) They all deserve a good holiday and rest! Thank you for your support this half-term. It was lovely to meet and talk to so many of you this week at Parents Evening. We appreciated your time.

This week we have completed many of our topics. We debated who was the more significant Queen in History on Tuesday - Queen Elizabeth II won by an overwhelming majority! We also finished exploring our text 'Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters'. The class wrote some fantastic retellings of different sections of the story. We look forward to watching their skills grow as we start on 'Toby and the Great Fire of London' after half-term.

The children have brought home their puppets today - they have worked independently to sew their designs and have done very well for their first ever sewing project - it was certainly a challenge!

Please do continue to read with your child over half-term, and please do record this. Many of the class have reached their first bronze milestone which will be awarded next half-term. In addition to the reading we have sent home some spellings to learn. We assessed the Year 1 Common Exception words and have highlighted the words to practise. We will assess these again after half term. 

Please can we ask you to check your child's pencil case and replace pencils, glue sticks and white board pens ready for the start of term. Thank you.

We wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable Half Term.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 14th October

This week we have continued to immerse ourselves in our topics. In History we spent time learning about Queen Elizabeth I and her significance. Next week, we are going to debate who was the more significant Queen, Queen Elizabeth I or II! On Wednesday, Karl, a Youth leader from Wellspring Church in Watford came to talk to us for RE about why Christians sing in Church, and in PSHCE we learnt about the difference between teasing and bullying. The class listened well and expressed thoughtful, articulate ideas. This week as part of celebrating Black History Month we focused on the painter Alma Thomas who is most know for her abstract colourful paintings based on nature. The class enjoyed exploring her paintings and experimenting with their own. Today we began sewing our puppets and for most children it was the very first time they had picked up a needle. Enthusiasm was high and they tried very hard. A huge thank you to the parents who joined us, we really appreciated your help.

Next week, we will complete our text of 'Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by retelling specific sections of the book, focusing on noun phrases and varying sentence openings. In Maths, we will be continuing to practise and expand our skills of addition. On Tuesday afternoon, we will spend time focusing on our Computing unit 'IT around us' with Chrome book activities too.

We look forward to seeing you at Parents Evenings next Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Home Learning

Comprehension: Seasons

Maths: p.20 Number bonds. Please can you practise number bonds to 10 and 100 with your children to secure their confidence with these facts. They are attached below for your reference.

Spelling: 'oe' and 'au' 

Please choose two words to put into sentences on the back of the sheet.

Reading: please continue to read and sign the Reading Record book at least 5 times each week.

Mrs Lee assessed all the children's reading today, therefore books were not changed as usual, all books will be changed next week on the usual reading days. Thank you.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 7th October

We had a brilliant day at Windsor Castle on Monday. The class were incredibly well behaved and respectful. They walked in silence around St George's Chapel as we filed past the Queen's memorial stone, following many visitors paying their own respects. We were very proud of them. The workshop was great fun and informative - teaching us about the role of a monarch and the lives of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III.

In class, we have been practising writing in sentences. Further practise would be really helpful at home, especially in trying to avoid using 'and' over and over! We have focused on keeping a sentence simple with one idea and remembering our punctuation. 

Next week, we will be beginning a new Maths unit on addition as well as continuing to explore 'Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters' thinking particularly about extended noun phrases, settings and characterisation. In RE, we have invited a visitor to come and explain why Christians sing worship songs.

In DT we having been designing puppets and next week will begin sewing them. If you are able to come in and help with this that would be fantastic. We will be sewing from 1.15 - 3pm on Friday and no experience is necessary - just lots of needle threading and knot tying! Any help would be gratefully received. Please contact the office if you are available for part or all of the afternoon. Thank you.

Please note - PE will be on Monday and Wednesday next week. 

Home Learning

Maths book - pages 11 and 13 number lines

Comprehension - 2. Making Lemonade

Spelling - ph and aw

Please choose two words to put in a sentence on the back of the sheet.

Reading - please read at least 5 times each week and record this in the Reading Record Book.

A number of children are failing to complete and return their homework. If you are experiencing difficulties with this please come and talk with us. The spelling sheet is particularly important as it secures the phonic work from the week. Books and the spelling sheet should be returned to school by Wednesday. Please support your child to complete and return their homework. Thank you.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 30th September 

We all enjoyed a lovely Harvest service at church yesterday. We were very proud of Year 2 for their poetry performance and leading prayers during the service, as well as the hard work they put in beforehand.

In English this week, the class successfully composed their own retelling of the Rapunzel story whilst in History we learnt about the 4 main reasons why Queen Elizabeth II was so significant, ready for our class trip on Monday to Windsor Castle. (See letter sent on 15^th September for more details). In science we looked at the strength of different materials and the class made great predictions on which material would hold the most weight.

Next week, we will be exploring positioning numbers on a number line in Maths and understanding how to explore a Maths investigation in a systematic way. In English, we will be starting a new book 'Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters' - a fabulous modern take on the Cinderella story, set in Africa. In RE, we will be thinking about why Christians sing songs in Church and what this shows about their beliefs.

We hope that you have had opportunity to book an appointment for the Parent Consultation meeting on Tuesday 18^th and Wednesday 19^th October. These will take place in person, in the school Hall. We value this time to talk together with you in our school /parent partnership and encourage you to sign up if you haven't done so already.

Home Learning 

Maths - p15 partitioning numbers and p.17 ordering numbers

Comprehension - p2 How to grow a seed

Spelling - 'ue' words, please select 2 words to put in a sentence on the back of the sheet

Please continue to hear the children read at least 5 times and sign the Reading Record book.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 23rd September

It has been a short but busy week in Year 2. Yesterday we began our new phonics lessons after receiving training on Wednesday and the class have begun to pick up the new methods very quickly. We look forward to seeing how this impacts reading and spelling over the coming months. In Maths we continued looking at placing numbers accurately on a number line and have begun ordering numbers from smallest to largest.

In English we have looked at harvest paintings and composed a class poem. Children will come home with this today. Please can they practise reading this aloud with fluency and expression over the weekend ready to perform as a class on Monday. 

Next week we will finish writing the story of Rapunzel and will continue ordering numbers then begin using greater than and less than symbols to compare 2 digit numbers. In RE, we will be thinking about what Christians believe about God from the story of Jonah. In History, we will be looking specifically at the significance of Queen Elizabeth II's role before preparing for our class visit to Windsor Castle on Monday 3rd October. (This date has been confirmed by the Education Office at the Castle.)

We are delighted to have the Bishop visiting on Tuesday to officially open the KS1 Prayer Garden. This was part of the work planned and organised by last year's Ethos Council. Whilst at school he will be meeting with the Ethos Council for tea, cake and a chat. On Thursday, we will celebrate Harvest Festival at church (9am service, please drop off your child at the Church) and we would be delighted to receive donations. Further details will be in the newsletter. This will be sorted and delivered to local charities by our Year 6 students.

Home Learning:

English: read and perform Harvest poem

Maths: CGP maths book p7 and p9 questions 1 and 2 

Spelling: 'oy' and 'ir' words. Please write them out daily and then choose 2 words to put into sentences on the back of the sheet.

Please continue to hear children read 5 times each week and sign the Reading record book, so that children can receive their book stamp.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Bartram and Mrs Lee

Friday 16th September 

It was lovely to see so many of you on Wednesday at our Zoom 'Meet the Teacher' event. 

Year 2 are continuing to settle well into the routines and expectations. In Maths, we have focused on the place value of 2-digit numbers, learning to read and draw different partitions of tens and ones - in Dienes, on a PV chart, as words, as a part/whole model. We will continue to embed this next week. In English we have had great fun reading 2 different versions of 'Rapunzel' in our unit exploring fairy tales. We acted out the story and then spent time writing a description of Rapunzel. Next week we will be learning how to use details to retell aspects of the story.

Many of our foundation subjects have been launched this week, including our PSHCE unit on 'Me and my relationships'. Session 1 saw us looking at the variety of feelings we all have and how we express ourselves differently. In RE, we read and acted out the story of Jonah at the start of our unit exploring what Christians believe God is like. We have designed and made templates for our fairy tale hand puppets in DT and look forward to making them over the next few weeks - we would love some help with this if you are available to support children with their sewing (no sewing skills required!)

Here is a reminder of some of the key information from the 'Meet the Teacher' event:

• PE is on Wednesday and Friday
• Spelling test - the vocabulary is given out on a Friday to be learnt for a test the following Friday 
• please check pencil cases - some pupils still need pencils, glue sticks and white board pens as these are used daily in class
• Children need to read 5 times a week and have Reading Record books signed in order to receive a special stamp for our St Mary's Reading Challenge. As they build up the number of stamps, so they build up the rewards

Home Learning: 

Spelling: 'ea' and 'nk' words based on our phonic work this week. Please complete the Look, cover, write, check

                sheet and then turn over and write 2 sentences on the back using 2 of the spelling words from the list.

Reading: Please read 5 times and sign the reading record book each time. We cannot issues book stamps without

               these.

We are still waiting for CGP books to arrive, therefore maths and comprehension home learning will start next week. Spellings will be tested on Friday. 

We look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday next week. (Wednesday is a school INSET day for phonics and the school is closed to pupils).

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram

Friday 9th September 2022

It has been wonderful to welcome your children into Year 2 and we are looking forward to teaching them and partnering with you in their education and care. The children have made a great start to learning Year 2 routines, showing excitement and enthusiasm.

Our class page will be used to keep you updated on learning, events and key information and will be updated weekly.

Home Reading

Your child should have brought home 2 reading books as well as their new Reading Record. Please read each book with your child 3 times so that they have opportunity to build up their fluency of vocabulary and understanding of the text. Please sign their Reading Record each time you hear them read (5 times a week is our encouraged aim!) The books (including the signed Reading Record) then need to come back to school on the allocated day (written at the top of their Reading Record) for us to see how they are getting on, and to exchange for new reading books. As a school we have launched a new reading reward system - each week when we can see they have read 5 times, they will get a special stamp on their Reading Tracker (inside page of Reading Record) which will build up to special certificates. A letter will be sent out soon giving more details of this and of our new Phonics scheme.

Mrs Lee will teach on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Mrs Bartram on Thursday and Friday.

Homework will start next Friday. Further details of this, class routines, expectations and curriculum will be shared at our Meet the Teacher Meeting on Wednesday 14th September at 1:30pm via Zoom. 

PE days are Wednesday and Friday - please can children come to school dressed in PE kit.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Mrs Lee and Mrs Bartram