Good afternoon,
We are at the end of another busy week in Year 2. This week we have been trying something new (check out the pictures at the bottom of this page to see exactly what that was!).
In English, we have been looking at writing instructions, such as recipes. This is linked into our focus on George’s Marvellous Medicine. We have focused on Grandma’s requests for a cup of tea from George and noticed that she wasn’t very specific with these instructions. We followed instructions to make and drink our own cup of tea - there were mixed results on what it tasted like!
In Maths, we continued our work on times tables with a focus on the two times table. We have been becoming fluent in recalling two times table facts and in applying these facts to solve more challenging word problems. We have also been engaging in daily morning arithmetic practice.
In Science, we have observed our plants (they are growing well!), wrote about the life cycle of a flowering plant and have set up another investigation to see exactly what things plants need to grow well. We will observe this over time.
In RE, we have looked at the command at the end of Mass, thought about what we are being asked to do and suggested practical ways we can do this. I was very impressed by the children’s thoughtful responses.
In Geography we have begun our new topic on islands. We learned about what islands are, how they are formed and how they differ from one to the next. We then used atlases to identify and label islands in the UK. We really enjoyed this!
In PE, we continue our ball games and team games skills.
Holy Week
Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week with Palm Sunday. We will explore a part of the Easter story each day next week.
As well as this, each class has been given the task of making two pieces of art based on the stations of the cross. We are busy at work preparing for this!
Reading
We have been carrying out reading assessments this week and have been busy amending children’s book levels as a result of this. Therefore, you may find that the difficulty of your child’s book may have increased or decreased depending on their current reading level.
I strongly request that you try to read at home as regularly as possible. Reading underpins everything we do and after such a stop-start year, reading has never been as important as it is now.
Homework
In regards to queries about homework, you do not need to send me evidence that this has been completed. The tasks are set for extra practice for your child. Likewise, the homework set does not necessarily reflect the work being done in class, most tasks set for homework at the moment are more basic revision tasks. The children are working incredibly hard at school and I think it is important to rebuild that home-school divide to promote their well being.
Lip Balm
We appear to have a large majority of children bringing in lip balms to school at the moment. I appreciate that the children get chapped lips when it is cold and may need this but now that the weather is changing could I ask you to only send your child in with lip balm if they have a problem with their lips. The reason for this is because we are losing learning time with children applying the balm after break and we have also noticed children eating their own lip balm! Also, some children have been seen sharing lip balm which of course is a a huge health and safety concern during Covid 19 times. Thank you for this.
Award Winners
Golden Award - Kurt - for working so hard with his reading and writing.
Writing Award - Emilia - for a wonderfully descriptive piece about George.
Maths Award - Henry - for trying so hard with multiplication.
Have a peaceful weekend,
Mr Whetnall and Mrs Bowdell.
