WELCOME TO YEAR 2K

St Martin de Porres Class

Autumn 2024

A really warm welcome, to children coming to Year 2.  We hope you've had a splendid summer and have enjoyed spending time with your families and loved ones.  We welcome you back and hope that you are excited to begin the new year with, engagement, resilience and creativity!

Important Information:

Home Learning and Book Bags

Book bags will be sent home with a new reading book and reading for pleasure book every Friday. This is a book to share with the family and discuss together. It is a great opportunity to build a love of reading together. Please ensure book bags are brought in each Thursday. Home learning projects will be set each half-term linked to pupils class learning. These should be completed throughout the half-term in learning logs or on Seesaw. Home learning will be shared in class in the final week of the half-term, where the children will be able to celebrate their learning with their class. We will also look on our class Seesaw page during this time too! 

Water bottles

Water bottles should be brought into class each day. Pupils will have access to these throughout the day.

Reading, Phonics and Spellings

We will be using the Spelling Shed website to support the children's learning in Phonics and Spellings.

My Maths

My Maths tasks are set every week and these should be completed on the My Maths website.  My Maths supports the children's learning in class, as well as consolidating previous learning. 

PE Days

Our PE days will be on a Monday (Indoor) and Friday (Outdoor).  Children should come into school wearing their PE kits on these days. Please ensure your child's name is labelled in all items of clothing including their basic school uniform. If your child's name is not on their items of clothing, this makes it very difficult to locate lost items. If you are unsure of what your child needs for their PE kit please see our School uniform policy.

English

In English we will be developing our reading, writing, spellings and grammar skills through a range of fiction and non-fiction writing opportunities.  Key speaking and listening skills will be extended through role plays, hot seating and outdoors which will impact on the children's writing.  Daily Guided Reading sessions and reading across the curriculum will enable children to develop a love of reading.  Daily phonics and spelling sessions will ensure that children are able to grasp strategies to spell. 

Maths

In Maths we will consolidate children's understanding of Place Value and then use this knowledge to solve addition and subtraction problems.  Children will be doing arithmetic focusing on counting skills and then using this to help understand how to solve mental arithmetic problems. Children will be challenged to apply the skills learnt to gain a deeper understanding of the application of mathematical concepts in the real world.  Continuing from Year 1, children will be using Mastering the Number programme to further develop their understanding.

Science

In Science we will be learning about Living Thing and their Habitats.  Children will look at the different habitats and compare them.  They will then use this information to think about why habitats are suited to their animals.  Children will carry out an investigation in the Forest School looking at micro-habitats.  During our Forest School sessions, children will explore habitats in detail and have a go at making habitats too. 

Religion

This term we will be looking at New Beginnings and how God created the world.   Children will consider how each day presents us with different opportunities for beginnings and how we can approach beginnings with a wide range of feelings and attitudes.  We will be learning to write our own prayers and to praise and thank God.  We will learn about the importance of belonging and the role families play in our lives. 

Topic

Our new topic is all about the city of Manchester and children will do various tasks and aim to answer the enquiry question 'What makes Manchester a city?  Children will explore the buildings in Manchester during field work where they will identify the different uses of buildings found in a city.  After looking at the features of Manchester, children will compare their findings with St Ives.  Children will get the opportunity to sketch a map of the school and understand the importance of using a key.

PSHE

This term we will begin our learning with the module 'Created and Loved by God' that explores the individual. Rooted in the teaching that we are created by God out of love and for love, it helps children to develop an understanding of the importance of valuing themselves as the basis for personal relationships.  We will also continue to develop our learning on children's rights and the impact of these for children globally and for children themselves.  Using their rights, children will create a class charter.