Good afternoon everyone,

It has been a very busy week in Year 2 and we can see that the children are beginning to settle into the changes that Year 2 brings upon them. It has been lovely to see them grow as learners and to be able to share their amazing journey with you all during parents meetings.

We have reflected on this week's gospel about the persistent widow who wanted justice. We learned that we must not become disheartened with prayer and should keep praying to God so that we can ask clearly for what we need of Him. The gospel tells us that God will never let us down.

English - Following on from our wonderful setting descriptions, we began work on another write based on a journey along a river. We began to plan this and have looked in detail at a very difficult sentence type - exclamation sentences.

Maths - In Maths we have continued with addition and subtraction. Our focus has been upon knowing our number bonds, identifying and recalling related facts, finding bonds to 100 from bonds to 10 and solving subtraction problems by taking away one digit numbers.

Science - In Science we focused upon life processes and thought about what something needs to be able to do to be considered 'alive' or 'once alive.'

RE - We learned about the mystery of the Holy Trinity and how God is one God but in 3 parts - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We explored symbols of each part of the trinity and what their meaning is and designed our own trinity symbol, including our favourite symbols.

Geography - We learned about rivers and explained how rivers are formed.

PE - In our outdoor PE we practised passing and moving with speed. In indoor PE, we continued our dance unit.

Regular Tasks

Please continue to practise counting in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s and reading the Year 1 and Year 2 common exception words every week. This is so important for our learning!

Times Table Rockstars - You should have all received a login and password for Times Table Rockstars to use at home. Please play this as regularly as possible to improve and develop multiplication speed.

Other Tasks

Spelling Test

/ow/ sound spelled 'ow'.

There are two groups doing slightly different spellings.

Phonics

Read Write Inc sound charts to learn. Please practise these regularly throughout Year 2.

I do not set much homework over half term as it is important for the children to have a rest.

 

You do not need to return completed homework to school. It is set so you can see what your child is learning about during the week. However, I am happy to look at any completed work if you want it be checked.

We are all taking our reading quiz and this has given us a book level (known as ZPD). This allows us to give the children reading books which are at the best level for them in regards to both word reading but also their ability to remember and explain what they have read. We will do these reading quizzes at the beginning and end of every half term.

Please read as often as possible at home. It is the most important piece of work you can do with your child to support their learning.

Please ensure that you sign your child’s reading records as they can have a sticker on their book mark for each day that they read to an adult at home. Once the book mark is full the children will receive a certificate. Also Mrs Bowdell will give out a Golden Ticket every third time your child’s record is signed. These will be added to a draw done at the end of the half term with the chance to find a book themed prize. The more tickets you have in the draw, the more chance you have of winning a prize!!

Golden Award - Ava - for a fantastic attitude towards school and her learning.

Writing Award - Louis P - for his wonderful ideas and presentation.

Maths Award - Teddie - for showing more resilience and self-belief in his maths.

 

Please Remember….

Water bottles - This will come home each night to be cleaned and re-filled. Please ensure your child brings their’s each day especially now it is hotter as we do not have any spares in class.

Earrings - please ensure these are only small gold/silver studs as stated in the uniform policy. Please also make sure earrings are removed at home before PE on Tuesday and Friday. Children wearing them will not be able to take part in PE.

Jewelery - Please do not send your child into school in any jewelery, such as necklaces, bracelets or rings. These can cause upset if they become lost but can also be dangerous on the playground.

Nail Varnish - please ensure any nail varnish is removed for the pupils come into class. It should not be worn at school.

Key Rings - please do not put key rings onto your child’s school bag, it create fuss in class and then upset if they are lost.

School bag - please continue to use the red book bag that your child was given in Reception where possible, we do not have the room to store large bags. Many thanks for your help with this matter.

FRIDAY 24.10.25 - school closes for half term. Children return Tuesday 4.11.25

 

Please take a look at what the PTFA have planned this term….

Family bingo night: 14th November

Christmas movie nights: KS1 - 28th November, KS2 - 5th December

Christmas Fair: 12th December (after school)

Please click the links below to discover resources for the Catholic life of our school.

 

Parent Meetings

 Thank you to all who were able to attend our meetings on Tuesday. It was lovely to share your child's successes with you!

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters. 

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

What Parents & Educators Need to Know about Fortnite.  This online safety guide explores Fortnite’s newest updates, outlining potential concerns, including spending pressure, screen time increases, and unfiltered voice chat with other players.

We hope you find these guides informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all. Thank you.

The BEBCMAT Rock Stars Super League competition concludes today at 3pm 

Our school is currently in 6th place out of 15 schools in the trust and we have scored 1349 points (school average score) so far.

This week’s Our Lady’s Top of the Rock’s Leaderboard:  

1st.                   Fionn                 Year 4          13362      WINNER!

2nd                   Matilda              Year 4          10726

3rd                    Freddie             Year 4           9022

4th                   Matilda               Year 5           8556

5th                    Luke                  Year 4           8136

Well done to Fionn, who is our Rockstar champion this half term, and everyone on our leaderboard this week! Top scorers across Year groups will be announced in assembly after half term.

Have a lovely weekend and restful half term,

Mr Whetnall, Mrs Bowdell and Mrs Gilheaney