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Term 3 & 4 Newsletter – Class 2

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a relaxing break over Christmas and are fit and well for the start of a new term.  Our main theme for our learning this term is rainforests, and it will be looked at across the curriculum.

Maths

In Maths this term we will be increasing our understanding of numbers up to 50 (for the Year 1s) and consolidate our understanding of numbers to 100 (for the Year 2s).  This leads us nicely into a unit on multiplication and division, counting in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, sharing and grouping amounts.  The expectation by the end of Year 2 is that the children know their 2, 5 and 10 times tables.  Following this, we will be learning about fractions and measurement, including time.

Science

In Science we will be learning about plants, finding out what plants need to grow and conducting some experiments to prove this.

PSHE

In PSHE this term’s theme is Dreams and Goals, followed by Healthy Me.

Music

In Music we will be creating our own rainforest orchestra, making a rainstorm with our bodies and then seeing whether we can transfer these sounds onto instruments.

Geography

In Geography this term we will be focusing on the rainforest, understanding where they are in the world and why, how they are formed and what lives in the different layers of the rainforest.  We will also be using our mapping skills to locate polar regions, the equator, the continents and oceans in an atlas.

Computing

In Computing, we will begin with a catch up of the work we began on creating binary trees and then we will follow up with a few sessions about online safety.  In term 4 we will be learning about animated story books.  All our work is done on Purple Mash, so the children can practise the skills they are learning at home.  Please let me know if you need a reminder of your child’s log in.

English

In English we have a good selection of books to study this term, including Rainforest Animals by Paul Hess, The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, “Slowly, slowly, slowly,” said the sloth by Eric Carle and many more.  We will be writing in different genres, including riddles, stories, explanations and poetry.

Handwriting continues to be a focus this term, and it would be great if you could encourage your child to practise their pre-cursive handwriting when completing homework tasks and other free writing activities at home.  There is a crib sheet on the Class 2 page of the school website for those who need a reminder about how to write in a pre-cursive style.

Reading continues to be important in class, with our regular volunteers coming in to listen to individual readers and the children bringing home their Monster Phonics and Dandelion books to read.  As a whole class, we will be reading The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, taking turns to read parts of the text and answering questions about what we have read.

RE

In RE the children will be answering the question: Who is Jewish and how do they live?  In term 4 they will be thinking about the religions they have learnt about and answering the question: How should we care for others and the world, and why does it matter?

Art

In Art the children will be learning about sculpture and will be designing and making their own clay sculptures of rainforest animals. 

DT

After half term we will be doing DT and our theme is structures, looking at a rainforest shelter with a focus on making it waterproof.

PE

In PE, the children will be learning dance skills with Miss Zara and continuing with gymnastics with Mrs Hall in term 3 and moving back to ball skills and small games in term 4.  They will need to have shorts for their PE lessons as these will be taking place in the Hall until half term.

Homework

We will be continuing with the Maths and English sheets that the children were completing last term.  Please remember that homework is given out on a Wednesday and should be returned on a Monday.  This enables me to have it marked and the new sheets stuck in before handing it back out.  If it is handed in on a Tuesday, or even a Wednesday, it may not be marked until the following week.

Reading

Every child should be reading for a minimum of 10-15 minutes each day. They could read to you, their siblings or independently. You can also read to your child and then discuss the book in greater detail. Comprehension is an incredibly important part of reading. You could also ask your child to predict what will happen next, describe what has happened, explain events, describe characters or rate their book. Lots of discussion!

The main focus should be the Phonics books that the children bring home, but don’t forget that they should also have a couple of books from our old reading scheme that can be read as well.  Although we focus mainly on reading skills and automaticity in reading, the concept of reading for pleasure is of huge importance and this is the perfect time to instil great habits for life, so please make sure you also look at other books with your child, whether these are their own books or ones that have been borrowed from the library.

All reading should be recorded on the Reading Record Booklet and then brought to school for a certificate. 

Reminders & Key Dates

Please check that your child’s uniform is clearly labelled with their name.  

Thursday 1st February – Class 2 Assembly

Monday 5th February – Parents’ Evening

Tuesday 6th February – National Safer Internet Day

Wednesday 7th February – Parents’ Evening

Monday 12th – Friday 16th February – Half term

Thursday 7th March – World Book Day

Wednesday 13th March – Salvation Day (more details to come)

Tuesday 26th March – Easter Service at Framfield Church

Thursday 28th March – End of Term 4 Cup Assembly

As always, if you have any questions you are very welcome to come in and discuss them with me. 

Many thanks

Mrs Sullivan

hsullivan@blackboys.e-sussex.sch.uk

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