Class 2

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Term 1 & 2 Newsletter – Class 2

A big, warm welcome to Class 2! I hope you all had some lovely family time this summer and feel ready for the year ahead. We have already had such a great start to the school year and I know we’re going to achieve so much and have lots of fun along the way!

English

In English we will be reading “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch” which will link nicely with our work on Grace Darling.  We will be writing recipes for sandwiches for Mr Grinling, the Lighthouse Keeper, to have for his lunch. We will also re-tell the story of “The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch” using the language and sentence structure of the original story.  At the end of Term 1 we will be looking at poetry, “The Land of Nod” by Robert Louis Stephenson, and describing our own dream lands.  Finally, we will have a chance to write our own Bonfire themed poems.  After the half term break, we will be looking at non-fiction texts about Florence Nightingale and will be writing a letter in role as Florence.

Computing

In Computing we will be recapping and developing our skills in programming the BeeBots.  In Term 2 we will be learning how to take and edit photos using the ipads and creating a photo collage from the results.

PE

PE – PE will be taught twice a week, one session with the coaches from Bright Sparks Sports and the other session with Mrs Hall, who will be teaching the class every Thursday morning.

Music

In Music, we will be learning and composing sea shanties to fit with our work in other subjects.

PSHE

PSHE sees us learning about Being Me in the World and Celebrating Difference in terms 1 and 2.

Spellings

The children will be learning their spellings through their phonics lessons, which may occasionally take the form of a spelling test.  There won’t be a weekly list of spellings to learn, but it would be super helpful for your child to learn to read and spell the common exception words on the list for Years 1 and 2.  You can find the lists for Year 1 and 2 at the bottom of the class webpage.

Phonics & Reading

We will be using Monster Phonics to teach our phonics, with the children generally being split into their year groups to access the appropriate level of phonics.  In some cases, where we have noticed gaps in understanding through our assessments, we will be teaching some children within a different year group.  We will communicate this with you separately if it relates to your child.

The children will continue to work in small groups on Guided Reading, working their way through the Monster Phonics reading scheme. 

As last year, your child will bring home a Reading for Pleasure book on a Monday.  This book will generally be a picture book that is above your child’s reading level.  The purpose of this is for you to share the book together to help to foster a love of reading.  This book is then returned the following Monday. 

On a Friday, your child will bring home their Monster Phonics book which we would like them to read several times during the week and return the following Friday.  When this book comes home, it will have been read 3 times in school already, so your child should be fairly fluent in reading it and talking about what has happened.  It is important in this stage of developing fluency that children re-read books several times to build their confidence. 

If you would like your child to read other books as well, then they can choose from the class book corner and change these as often as they like.  Even if your child is a strong reader, it is still important for them to continue to read aloud to an adult and talk about what they have read.  The comprehension of what they have read is as important as being able to read fluently.

Please continue to record all reading in the Reading Record Booklets and then your child can bring the booklet to school to be stamped – a certificate will be given out in Thursday assemblies for each completed booklet.  The Reading record Booklet will be checked once a week, so please ensure that it remains in your child’s book bag.

Maths

In Maths we shall be looking at number, focussing on reading and writing numbers and counting. We will have a focus on addition and subtraction for both year groups, with the year 2s moving onto looking at multiplication and division later in the term.  This term the focus will be on gaining a really good grasp of numbers; 0-20 for Year 1 and 0-100 for Year2.  Alongside all of this, we will be having a daily fluency session to practice doubling, halving, number bonds to 10 and other 1-digit number facts.  There will also be Early Bird Maths to complete each morning during the register.

We will continue to have a subscription to NumBots, which is a great app for practising the important skills of Maths that underpin all calculations.  We give out certificates each week in our Gold Book Assembly that celebrate children who have increased their accuracy in answering questions.

There is also the White Rose One Minute Maths app, which can be downloaded onto phones or tablets.  This tests the children’s fluency skills and they can select areas of maths that we have been learning.

History

In History we will be learning about Victorian women who inspire us and what they did that has made a difference.  We will start with Grace Darling, learning why she is famous and what impact her actions had.  After half term we will be learning about Mary Seacole and the impact she had on nursing in the Victorian times.

Science

In Science this term we will be learning about the human body, beginning by learning the different parts of the body and working through each of the five senses.  After half term we will be looking at animals and finding out about the different types of animals, eg mammals, reptiles, etc and learning which are carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.

DT

We will be doing a DT project in term 2 about fruits and vegetables, learning how to prepare them and we will be designing and making our own fruit kebabs for a Christmas party.

Art

In Art we will be learning some general drawing skills, how to make different types of marks and using different tools to draw with.  In Term 2 we will be working in 3D, focusing on techniques like rolling paper tubes, shaping paper strips, and constructing imaginative sculptures.

RE

In term 1 in RE we will be learning about Creation trying to answer the big question “Who Made the World?” learning about Christian beliefs and comparing these with other world faiths and secular views.  In term 2 we will be turning our thoughts to Christmas and the concept of incarnation, trying to answer the big question of “What is the Good News that Jesus brings?”

Homework

This year, homework in Class 2 will be Maths and English, and it will greatly help your child if you can get into a routine of completing the work each week and handing the orange book in to be marked.  There will be a Maths sheet, with a selection of questions related to the sorts of learning your child will have been doing in school, and a SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) sheet which will help your child to practise the skills they have been learning in class.  Homework books will be given out on a Wednesday and need to be handed in on a Monday morning.

 

Children can earn house points for completing homework, so there is an incentive for them to do it!

Reminders

P.E. kits

Our P.E. lessons are on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  Please make sure your child has their full P.E. kit and this is clearly named – thank you.  

Uniform

Please check that all of your child’s uniform is clearly labelled with their name – this saves so much time when trying to sort out clothing! We often have several children with the same shoes, so it is worthwhile naming your child’s shoes as well.

Water Bottles

Please send a named bottle of water for your child to drink in class. It is important to remind your child to take bottles home everyday to ensure they are clean and hygienic. Their water bottles go into a box by the sink but can be accessed whenever your child needs a drink.  They are not kept on the tables because of the risk of accidentally knocking them over!

Book bags

This year, I would like to keep the children’s book bags in the classroom, as they did in Class 1.  If your child has graduated onto a back pack, could I please request that your child keeps their reading books and reading record in a plastic folder that can be brought into the classroom each morning to assist our classroom organisation.  If you need a plastic folder, please ask.

The rest of your child’s things, eg PE kit, lunchbox etc can stay in the cloakroom.

Other Key dates

Friday 12th September – PTA Coffee Morning

Thursday 18th September – PTA AGM

Friday 26th September – European Day of Languages

Tuesday 30th September – Harvest Festival at Framfield Church

Friday 3rd October – Parental Phonics Workshop 9.00 School Hall

Wednesday 8th October – RE themed “Creation” Day

Friday 17th October – Parental Maths Workshop

Monday 20th and Wednesday 22nd October – Parents’ Evenings

Friday 24th October – End of Term 1

Monday 3rd November – Start of Term 2 and School Photos

Friday 14th November – Children in Need

Friday 21st November – National Takeover Day

Friday 28th November – INSET Day

Saturday 6th December – PTA Christmas Fair

Wednesday 17th December – KS1 Nativity

Thursday 18th December – KS1 Christmas Party

Friday 19th December – End of Term 2

Other INSET days – 13th April, 1st June and 22nd July.

 

Please talk to me at the end of the day or email if you have any questions.

Many thanks

Mrs Sullivan

hsullivan@blackboys.e-sussex.sch.uk

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