Year 2CS

Welcome back!

We hope you all had a relaxing and restful break.

This Spring term, we will be starting a History unit on Changemakers. This is such an exciting and interesting topic about historical figures who have made an impact on the world around them. The children will learn about famous Scientists, Architects, Olympians and much more.

In Geography, our new unit is a village study on Kenya. The children will learn what a village, town, and city are. They will then learn about the differences between Kenya and Manchester for the rest of the term.

In English, we will be looking at a meeting tale called ‘The Secret Sky Garden’. The children will be learning how to write in a range of styles. We regularly assess your child’s writing skills throughout a unit of work and formally at the start and end of a topic. This term, we will be focusing on handwriting and spelling, as many of our children are struggling in these areas.

We’ll be learning about Animals, including Humans, in Science. Our focus will be on the life cycles of both humans and animals and what they need to survive. We will also be looking at how we keep ourselves clean and healthy.

In Maths, we are using the White Rose curriculum. We will continue to learn about multiplication and division before moving on to shape and money. We will also continue to make sure we know our times tables fluently—in Year 2, the children are expected to know their 2s, 3s, 5s, and 10s.

Our PE sessions will be on Mondays and Thursdays. Your child can wear their PE kit to school on a Wednesday and change into their uniform after the session. Please ensure your child has their PE kit in school these days.

Our school PE kit is:

A white T-shirt and black shorts or tracksuit bottoms and trainers or pumps. Please ensure your child’s PE kit is labelled with their name.

Homework:

Homework in Year 2 consists of daily reading for 10 minutes minimum (of your child’s banded/coloured reading book which is one level below their class reading level to support their fluency and enjoyment/their library book), counting in 2s, 5s and 10s and completing their Maths homework which is set each week on Class Dojo. We will also send home a ‘Homework Menu’ each half term, a list of activities related to our learning in class. Your child may choose some or all of these activities to complete at home and then bring them into class.

Reading books:

In our reading lessons, we will continue to read various text types and books. Fluency and comprehension are especially important, and this is something which can be helped by 10 minutes of reading at home every day. Your child will have the opportunity to choose their reading books independently on a Monday. We carry out daily guided reading sessions where we listen to your child read twice a week to check their progress in reading. Children are moved colour bands when ready to be challenged by the demands of the next level. We formally assess your child three times a year using a reading assessment, but informal assessment occurs every day.

Home Time

Firstly, thank you all for adhering to our new pick-up system at the end of the day. Can we remind all parents that if they want to speak to a teacher regarding their child, they will have to wait until all children have been dismissed? Thank you for your continued support in keeping our children safe.

We’re looking forward to another fantastic term with your children,

The Year 2 Team: Miss Shields, Miss Rosa and Miss Dupont