Good afternoon everyone,

This week we light a different coloured candle; pink to represent the joy we feel that our preparation and wait for Jesus’ coming is nearly here. Philippians 4:4-5 tells us to “rejoice, for the Lord is near” and so this week, we focus on that celebratory feeling of welcoming Jesus.

This candle is also known as the Shepherd’s Candle as it reminds us of how the life of simple shepherds was changed for ever when they were greeted on their hillside by a host of angels, singing and announcing the birth of the Saviour of the World. In class we have looked at the shepherds and how people did not think much of them at the time, thinking of them as dirty and certainly not important. However, they were still chosen by God to rejoice in the miracle of Jesus’ birth. We can see ourselves in this story a little. We might not feel so important on the grandest scale but we too are chosen by God to rejoice and spread the good news of Jesus’ birth.

English - In English we have continued work on ‘A River’ by Marc Martin. We have been using powerful vocabulary to create and improve our own sentences. We have also been focusing upon the role of subordinate conjunctions and how they can extend and improve our sentences. We looked at how we can change the order of these sentences to begin with a conjunction and the effect this has on our writing. We also did some comprehension work on the text and identified key features of a circular narrative to help us to create our own later in the unit.

Maths - In Maths we continue our work on addition and subtraction. This week we focused upon subtraction of 2 two-digit numbers. We practised both exchange and non-exchange methods and started to look at the ways we can see what type of subtraction we need to do based upon a number sentence.

Science - We have been learning about medicine and how we can use it safely. We learned that different medicines can help us if we are poorly but can harm us if we use them incorrectly. We created posters to inform people how to stay safe with medicine.

RE - We looked at the story of the visit of the Wise Men and what this tells us about Jesus. We learned that the symbolism of this story is that these men were not Jewish but were still invited to see the son of God. From this we can learn that God welcomes everyone to be a part of his family.

Geography - We learned about hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the equator and the poles. We coloured a map of different climates and then used our map to identify the climates of specific countries.

PE - We continued to practise our football skills.

Art - We continued our work on artist Wassily Kandinsky.

We also spent some time practising for our Nativity.

Please continue to practise counting in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s.

Please practise the year 1 and year 2 common exception words sent home before half term. The children need to be able to read and write (spelling correctly) each one of these by the end of year 2.

Spelling

Mr W’s group - Y2 Common exception words (sixth set)

Mrs B’s group - Y1 Common exception words (mixed set)

There is also a handwriting practise sheet for each group’s spelling words.

Maths

Subtracting a two-digit number from a two-digit number where there is an exchange. There is a video here to help you which I made during Covid.

Writing

Correct the mistakes sheet.

Golden Award - Jacob F - for being a hardworking and active learner who always aims high and shows resilience.

Writing Award - Elsimae - for her super concentration in English.

Maths Award - Sofia - for always being focused and ready to learn in Maths.

Year 2 PE lessons will take place on Wednesday and Friday. Please come to school in PE kit on these days.

Water bottles - all the children were given a new school bottle. This will come home each night to be cleaned and re-filled. Please only use the school bottles and ensure your child brings theirs each day. Lost water bottles can be replaced at the school office, but I am afraid you will have to pay for those. Year 2 have green tops.

I will not be in class on a Thursday afternoon, as it is my release time. This will be covered by Mrs Bowdell and Miss Andrew and is also when the children will have Music with Mrs Watson.

Party Invitations - I am afraid that Mrs Bowdell and I will not be able to give out party invitations in class. Please do not send your child into class with them for them to give out - it creates upset and fuss about something that takes place outside of school.Thank-you for your understanding with this matter.

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

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

CHRISTMAS CARDS - Although it is lovely to want to send a card to everyone in the class, it is not necessary. The children often leave them in school and they end up in the bin, it also takes up SO much time giving them out and staff just don’t have the time to dedicate to this each day. Instead can we ask that if you wish to send a card then just send in ONE for the whole class and a £1 donation to CAFOD. We feel this is a much better use of your hard-earned money and will help us support Catholic charities around the world. (Please don’t feel you have to send a card at all) Many thanks.

18.12.23 Year 1 and 2 Nativity! There will be two performances at 10am and 2pm. Each child will be sent two tickets for each performance. These are free but we have to limit numbers as it is for two classes and we can only physically fit so many people safely in the hall at once. Many thanks for your understanding.

Thursday 21.12.23 - Break up for Christmas at normal time.