Year 2

Welcome back to all of the Year 2 pupils and families! I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas break and are ready and raring to get back to school.

Our scripture theme for the year continues to build upon our ‘BRW Spirit Strong’ motto. Our scripture theme is ‘The Treasure Within’ Matthew 6:21, where we continue to focus on our spiritual values within and showing human dignity to all.

As always, our RE topics will be at the heart of our learning this term:

• Galilee to Jerusalem: We will learn more about the preaching of John the Baptist and how he Baptised Jesus. We will find ways to recognise that we are all tempted to make bad choices but that God loves us and will forgive us.
• Desert to Garden: We will retell the stories of the events that took place during Holy Week. Children will learn that Lent is a time for reconciliation and forgiveness. Children will use religious words and phrases to describe what happens at Easter Vigil Mass.

Year 2 have got another exciting term ahead of them. This term we will be learning about the Golden Age of Piracy as part of our Land Ahoy topic. In history lessons, we will find out about famous male and female pirates as well as the explorer Captain James Cook.

In geography lessons, we will learn about the continents and oceans around the world. We will link our history learning as we find out where Captain Cook sailed to on his many expeditions.

In art lessons we will create pirate ship inspired collages as we learn about the artist Romare Bearden. We will explore texture and colour as we make our own paper to be collaged. We will take inspiration from the outdoor environment as we create.

 

Our first science topic this term is animals where we will learn about the basic needs of animals including humans. We will explore healthy diets and how we look after our bodies. Our second topic is uses of everyday materials where we will explore how to change materials for a variety of uses. We will plan scientific investigations and draw conclusions from our results.

In PE we will be joining Mrs Bathgate for gymnastics lessons and Mrs Cook for  athletics, striking and fielding games. We will have lots of fun as we burn up some energy and get our heart rates pumping.

In English lessons we will focus on the texts  ‘The Troll’ and ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’’. There will be a consistent focus of spelling, punctuation and grammar so that the children become confident and accurate writers. We will also explore non fiction and poetry texts throughout the term. Phonics lessons will continue to take place everyday.

Maths lessons will focus on deepening the children’s understanding of multiplication, division, money, length and height, mass, capacity and temperature.

It really is going to be a busy term and we can’t wait to get started!

 

 

 

Ways to help at Home!

PE: PE will be on Wednesday and Friday afternoons this term, please make sure your child has their full PE kit (outdoor and indoor kit) in school. As the weather becomes colder, your child will need the appropriate PE kit e.g jumper and joggers.

Earrings: due to health and safety reasons, earrings must be removed before all PE sessions. Please remove them before school if your child is not able to do this independently.

Reading:   “Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage” ― Roald Dahl. 

Please encourage your child to read every evening. Sign  your child’s reading record in their diary so we can keep up-to-date with their successes at home.

Homework: Year 2 will be given homework on a Wednesday. Please check your child’s homework sheet each week for more information.

Spellings: Year 2 have their Spelling Quiz on Wednesday mornings.  Please remind your child to learn their spellings and to learn how to use the words accurately in sentences. Vocabulary knowledge is key to ensuring your child has strong reading comprehension and writing skills.

Maths: Please encourage your child to access NumBots and Mathletics at home for 5 minutes a day. This will help them to practice their number facts and support their learning in class.

 

Websites for Year 2 to learn from and enjoy…

https://my.risingstars-uk.com

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zgkw2hv

http://community.mathletics.com/signin/

https://ttrockstars.com/login  

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/helicopter-rescue

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/primary/zd7p47h

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/

We look forward to supporting your child to thrive and flourish this term and we will continue to help them to investigate, discover and learn through making ‘marvellous mistakes’. Strong home-school links are key to ensuring that your children gain the best support from both school and home so, if you do have any questions or concerns, please feel free to get in touch so we can discuss them further. Thank you in advance for your support over the coming term, it is very much appreciated.

Best wishes,

Mrs Cook