Year 2
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 23rd or Tuesday 24th 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 (12th and 13th 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 5th December please. Please save the date for coming to see us perform: Monday 12th (afternoon) or Tuesday 13th (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.
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
Alfie Lilly G Matei Paul-John Skye-Anne Thomas Witold
| Alessandro Emmy Fletcher Francesco Liam Lily D | Ava Jacob Minnie Nancy Quinn | Charlie Danny Nicole Reggie Olivia | Anabelle Duke Lily M Marly Sasha Scarlett Simran |
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 5th 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
Number bonds to 10 and 100
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 15th 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 18th and Wednesday 19th 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