Welcome to Year 1

Welcome to Year 2 Teacher: Miss Ruth King Support Assistant: Mrs Angela Case

The School Day 8.55am Registration 10.40am Break time 12.00 Lunch time 1.00pm Afternoon lessons 2.00pm Afternoon break 3.15pm Home time

If you are late or absent please telephone the school office beforehand and follow up an absence with a written letter or email.

Equipment PE will be on Mondays and Thursdays. Children will need a white t shirt and black shorts with trainers/plimsolls.

Please ensure that your child’s PE kit is labelled and always in school in case of unexpected changes to the timetable.

Swimming started this week (Wednesdays). Your child will need either a one piece swimming costume for girls, or trunks/fitted shorts for boys, a swimming cap, a towel and goggles (optional).

Healthy Eating Children in Year 2 continue to receive a piece of fruit each day. Milk is available at a reasonable cost. If you would like your child to drink milk at break times please see Mrs Hickley, the school secretary.

Your child should have a water bottle in school every day.

Uniform At Trinity St Stephen First School:  We are always smart.  We know that we tuck our shirts in.  Our hair is tied up or clipped back using brown, black or school colours hair accessories.  Please label ALL clothing to avoid distress, wasted time and expense.

Year 2 Maths When we are doing maths:  We always use a pencil  We write the date in the short, numeric way  We write the title and/or learning objective underneath the date (WALT).  We miss a line before starting a new piece of work  We draw pictures and diagrams using a pencil  We use one square for each digit  We put a single line through work we have done wrong

Our Learning- Maths We will be learning to work with and understand the value of numbers up to 100 and beyond.

We will be counting in 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s. We will be learning the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.

We will be working on calculations using mental and written methods.

We will be collecting data and producing tallies and graphs.

We will be estimating and comparing weight. We will use standard units and learn to read a scale.

We will learn to describe the properties of common 2d and 3d shapes.

See Key Objectives for more detail.

Year 2 Writing When we are writing:  We always use a pencil  We always use a cursive script  Every sentence starts with a capital letter and finishes with a full stop  We write the date in full for each new piece of work  We miss a line before starting a new piece of work  The title is written underneath  We put a single line through work we have done wrong

Our learning - English We are starting with a unit on stories with familiar settings, followed by a unit on information texts, followed by a short unit on poetry .

We will be focussing on sentence construction and extending vocabulary choices.

We will be working regularly on handwriting and presentation.

We will be learning to spell words linked to our daily phonic sessions.

See Key Objectives for more detail.

Our Learning - Reading Each week there will be one Guided Reading session. The children will be in small groups with either myself or a teaching assistant leading the learning. The focus will be on understanding the text as well as decoding.

The children will be able to change individual reading books on any day, once the book is completed. Please keep all reading books in the red book bag and bring them to school daily so opportunities to read are not missed! Ensure that you sign and comment in the reading record; we need to know that books have been read before moving pupils on.

Guided Reading books are not sent home.

We will also visit the library every Monday afternoon where the children will have the opportunity to choose one book.

Our learning – Science  Animals including humans (animal classification)  Materials  Plants  Habitats and food chains

Our Learning – topics Geography and History are alternated each half term. We are starting off with a Geography topic of Continents and Oceans.

Art and DT are also alternated each half term. We are starting off with Art, looking at famous artists.

Music, PE and RE are taught weekly.

IT is taught within other subject areas.

Our whole school Harvest topic this half term is focusing on Thankfulness.

Assessment  The government removed levels and put in place a new primary curriculum last year  We introduced the Key Objectives to assess children’s progress  This year we are using more specific objectives- please see hand out (Objectives in bold are the Key Objectives)  As a result of feedback on reporting last year we have changed our procedures. At every parent’s evening and reporting, parents and carers will be given a copy of the objectives with ones achieved clearly marked and targets identified.

Homework  Daily reading  Spellings, (given on a Thursday and tested on the following Friday)  English activity (work sheet, research, comprehension, grammar work)  Maths activity (My Maths, work sheet, practical games)

Helping at home Reading regularly.

Give your child small amounts of money to handle and spend.

Play games with your children like snakes and ladders and other dice game.

Cook with your child to help with following instructions and measuring accurately.

Encourage independence – this is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child!

Visitors in School At Trinity St Stephen we welcome your support in school.

If you would like to help us in the classroom please ensure: •You have seen the safeguarding information and you understand that working with the children is both a privilege and a responsibility.

•You are dressed appropriately – this is a professional environment.

•You listen and follow the instructions given to you by the member of staff you are working with.

Communication with school There may be occasions when you need to talk to the class teacher. Please understand that this is not always possible before school, unless by prior arrangement.

Messages may be left with Mrs Hickley on the playground before school.

Teachers can be more flexible at the end of the school day.

For the safety of all children in our school only come into school in exceptional circumstances. Please only use the front door.

The Class News Please check the class news on the school website. It is published on a Tuesday. http://www.tssfirst.co.uk/