Week 8 round up!

Well, what a term we have had! The children have settled into Year 2 so well with the new routine, expectations and learning requirements - we are SO proud of each and every one!

In English, we started off the week with a reading skills lesson based on Bonfire Night and Guy Fawkes.

We then moved onto our new story for our 2 week unit called "The Invisible". It's a lovely story with a real message behind it! If you'd like to listen to the author reading it, please click on/ open the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT8jDsPn_PI

We look at the main character in this story, discussed what it meant to make a difference and also put the story into the correct order.

We then moved onto learning how to write contracted words such as "don't, he's, they're" and so on. Once practiced, we used words such as the above in sentences linked to the main character and our class story.

In maths, we worked on recognising and then finding a half and then repeated these ideas linked to recognising and finding a quarter. This learning involved solving problems in different contexts and really testing our understanding of truly understanding what each looks like.

For our afternoon learning, we practiced our skipping skills in PE - this was a real but fun challenge for many of us - including myself to be fair!

We looked at the Hindu festival 'Diwali'  and watched the story of Rama and Sita. On Friday, we had our class party of a movie and a popcorn! What great fun indeed!

Thank you for a lovely first term, we all feel lucky to have two lovely classes full of keen children and supportive parents and carers.

We hope you are all having a wonderful start to the half term holidays! I've managed to have park dates and play dates so far but also enjoying relaxing and chilling with my two little ones (although I am punishing myself with personal training later on!).

Enjoy the week and we all look forward to seeing you all next week!

Year 2 Team x

Week 7 learning update:

Another lovely, busy week with Lions and Tigers. In English, we wrote a fact file about Tigers using the two subheading questions: What do tigers look like? and Where do tigers live? Children really thought about what facts to include in their writing and used technical vocabulary like camouflage and habitat. We’re so proud of our blossoming writers. Our next target is to get our handwriting as neat and joined up as it is during our handwriting lessons!

In Maths, we talked about fractions and looked at splitting shapes into equal parts. We learned the meaning of part and whole of a shape. We’ll continue learning about fractions next week.
In our history lesson, we compared the facts we’ve learned about Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale to make sure we know the difference and similarities between these two inspiring women from history. On Friday as part of Black History Month, we learned about the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King and his ‘I have a dream’ speech. We also learned about the story of Rosa Parks and how she stood up to injustice by not giving up her seat on a bus.

Friday morning, PE coach Alex from Mangotsfield Secondary School came to visit and we completed the Infant Agility challenges. Each child took part in a series of throwing, jumping and running challenges. They each tried their best and some may get certificates in a week or too for outstanding performance.

In Art on Friday we created wax resist leaf pictures using wax crayons and Brusho water paints. The wax crayon picture of the leaf resists the paint leaving a brilliant shape and colour. We will cut out these leaves to create an Autumn tree display in our cloakroom which you can see at parents evening Tuesday 19th and Thursday 21st November (booking details will be sent out by the office in Term 2).

Reading books have been changed today and new spellings stuck into spelling books.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs Johnson, Mrs Rammell and Miss Sheppard

Week 6 Update:

Another amazing week for Tiger class and Lion class.

In English we have focussed on statements and questions linked to what we find in fact files. First we practised what questions and statements should like. Today we have put this into our very own short burst write. Very impressed with our brilliant young writers!

In maths, we have been looking at symmetry and drawing 2D shapes. We learned how to find lines of symmetry within a 2D shape. We then looked at drawing mirror images using lines of symmetry. Today we touched on subtracting 2 digit numbers and although it is quite a tough concept, they all did incredibly well.

In art we have been looking at the natural world around and began sketching leaves that can be found in autumn time.

In History, we have been comparing modern day hospitals with ones from the Crimean war and the role Florence Nightingale played in improving them.

We also all enjoyed a trip to Downend Library to watch a fairy tale twist on "Little Red Riding Hood". The children were so immersed in the story, it was lovely to see them interact with the characters on stage and it links to our English subject later in the year. Please have a look at the pictures below, what a cool opportunity for Year 2!

Tomorrow is an INSET day so please have a lovely long weekend and we can't wait to see you all again next week.

Miss Sheppard, Mrs Rammell and Mrs Johnson

Week 5 Update:

Well, it's been another fantastic week in Year 2!

In English we have focussed on using key vocabulary linked to our class text, "One Day on our Blue Planet" and putting these words into interesting sentences. For example; nuzzled, velvety, elegant, crouched and so on. We then planned and wrote a detailed diary entry based on a day in the life of a lion cub. Great work indeed by Year 2!

In maths, we have started our unit linked to 2D shape. We focussed on naming and describing 2D shapes and it was a great opportunity to recap and extend our knowledge and understanding of these shapes. Next week we will look at drawing 2D shapes and also symmetry.

Within our Religious Education learning, we compared how Muslim and Christian people care for the world. We noticed that both Muslim's and Christians value kindness to all humans and animals no matter how big or small.

We had an assembly about Grandparents Day on 6^th October from the charity Age UK. The lady encouraged us to speak to our grandparents and great parents about what their childhood was like. Also to smile at older people and perhaps say hello when out and about with parents. It could make someone’s day.

During our History lesson, we learned about the terrible, dirty hospital conditions during the Crimean War 1853-1856. Children thought about how diseases spread and how to combat the spread by washing our hands, keeping floors clean and tidy and covering our mouths when coughing or sneezing.

Your child may come home singing the continents song linked below. This is because we have named Lion Class tables after the continents and are earning points for our tables during the week. Table with highest number of points wins a raffle prize on Friday afternoon. Tiger class, you are MORE than welcome to have a listen and learn this song too!  Seven Continents Song (youtube.com)

Polite reminders:

Please remember to read 5x a week and sign your child's learning diary.

Make sure your child has a water bottle every day!

Don't forget that Friday 11th October is INSET day therefore no school for you!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone and we look forward to seeing you on Monday again, ready for Week 6!

Mrs Rammell, Mrs Johnson and Miss Sheppard

Week 4 learning update:

Another busy week for Year 2. In English we read a new book called One day on our Blue Planet: In the savannah. It follows a lion cub exploring the African savannah. This week we studied past tense verbs like jumped and ran. We noticed that a lot of past tense verbs end in -ed. Next week we will write a diary entry describing a day in the life of a lion cub.
 
In Maths this week, we continued our learning on addition and subtraction from last week. We used number lines and drawings of the tens and ones to solve our calculations. On Thursday children solved subtraction word problems. It was impressive to see how they well the children could read a word problem and work out what to do. All that reading practice at home is really paying off. Thank you for your support with this. 

In History we learned more about the Crimean War. We looked at pictures of soldiers heading off from London to war and looked at soldiers on horses charging into battle. The children wrote down what they could see and what they would like to find out more about. This added to their learning about Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole the nurses during the Crimean War.

In PE, we played a game of keepy uppy working in groups to keep the ball off the ground. If someone accidentally didn’t catch a ball they ran around the cones on the outside of the group then back into the game again. The children seemed to really enjoy this. 

Our teaching assistants, Mrs Woodward in Lion and Mrs Bradford in Tiger, have been busy changing reading books and checking children’s reading records today. We give out 5 raffle tickets for those who have read 5 times a week.

Children should also have a new spelling list in the front of their spelling books. A copy of those can also be found on our classroom doors. 

Year 2 have all worked so hard this week. Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Johnson, Mrs Rammell and Miss Sheppard

Term 1 Week 3 Update:

Another fabulous week for the Year 2 Tigers and Lions!

In English we have written a postcard from the narrative of Sunny the Meerkat! We focused on Noun phrases and using adjectives to level up our learning! We looked at the components of a post card, how we start a post card and use informal wording to make it sound more personal, the children really enjoyed putting themselves into Sunny's shoes.

In maths, we have been looking at number bonds, becoming familiar with number families and even began looking at how our number bonds to 10 can help us work out our multiples of 10. For example:

4+6=10
40+60=100

Our afternoon learning has continued to be fun and engaging! Science, we have continued to look at the suitability of a material, we tested the bottoms of shoes and which material was the best option for the soles of our shoes. They had a great laugh taking off their shoes and testing the level of friction! In History, we have looked at the life of Mary Seacole, a famous nurse who helped care for injured soldiers in the Crimea War. 

We are beginning to send out MyMaths logins for the children in their reading records. Lions, this has been stuck in for you. Tigers, we had such a busy day today that we unfortunately ran out of time! I will stick their logins in on Friday next week, if you would like yours sooner, please catch me at the door and I can hand these out :)

Please remember to read at home 5x a week - reading helps your child to access ALL subjects and learning and so, we really appreciate your support with this. A new spelling list is also stuck into their spelling books. Test on Fridays.

And finally, should you need to get hold of us, our school email is the best way to contact us as we have daily access to this.

Therefore a reminder of our email addresses are:

jessica.rammell@barleyclose.org.uk
katie.johnson@barleyclose.org.uk
jessica.sheppard4@barleyclose.org.uk

Thanks so much everyone!

We hope you all have a fantastic weekend and look forward to see you on Monday!

Year 2 Team

Term 1 Week 2 Update:

Well! What a great second week we've had in Year 2!

In English we have introduced the children to our new text, Meekat Mail. This is a story about Sunny and her adventures! We first got to know the story by discussing what happens and using pictures and sentences to put it into the correct order, then worked on our basic skills of capital letters and full stops with noun phrases when describing the farm (a place Sunny visits). We then applied these skills to writing full sentences when describing the different settings within the story,

In maths, we have continued with our learning linked to place value. We have looked at 2 digit numbers using a place value chart,  partitioned two digit number into tens and ones, used dienes to support our learning and understanding and also written numbers up to 100 in words.

Our afternoon learning has continued to be fun and engaging! Science, we looked at the suitability of a material to an object - for example, would it be a good idea to make a slide out of glass? History, we looked at the key events of Florence Nightingale and put them into order. We continued our PSHE learning and in computing, we focussed on getting to know parts of the computer like a 'mouse'.

Times Table Rock Star log ons would have come home with you child's updated reading book. Please log on and have a go - I have set up a weekly challenge so please do contact me if it is not working just in case! 

Mymaths will be next where we set 1 task a week for your lucky children!

Please remember to read at home 5x a week - reading helps your child to access ALL subjects and learning and so, we really appreciate your support with this.

And finally, should you need to get hold of us, our school email is the best way to contact us as we have daily access to this. 

Therefore a reminder of our email addresses are:

jessica.rammell@barleyclose.org.uk
katie.johnson@barleyclose.org.uk
jessica.sheppard4@barleyclose.org.uk

Thanks so much everyone!

We hope you all have a fantastic weekend - mine is starting off with swimming lessons and the library!

There's an event at Downend Cricket club today but I believe you need to pay for tickets for adults at least. Whatever you do, enjoy!

We'll look forward to seeing you all on Monday!

Year 2 Team

Term 1 Week 1 update:

What a fantastic first week we’ve had getting to know the children of Year 2! They are all wonderful and bring so much to our classrooms. We have worked hard, we have read picture books each day after lunch and we have shown kindness in listening to and sharing with each other. A great start to the year.

In English we practised the basics of writing sentences with capital letters and full stops. We also used adjective words to describe ourselves like kind, honest, friendly. On Friday we read a story about a lion and a mouse. The lion thought a little mouse could never be of help to a great lion like him but in the end it was the little mouse that chewed through the net that had caught the lion and freed him. Showing us that we must be kind to all. 

In Maths this week, we looked at numbers to 50 and 100. We reminded ourselves of place value and how even numbers with the same digits can have very different values depending on their place value position. For example, 28 is a very different number to 82. We looked at a 100 square and children spotted patterns. They told me that when you move one square down it is adding 10 each time. 

This week we also started our history unit on Florence Nightingale: the lady with the lamp who changed hospitals for the better. Ask your child about her and see what they say. We will also learn about Mary Seacole too this term. 

We enjoyed a warm up game of cups and saucers turning the cones up or down for PE and throwing and catching in circles. Children had to work together to see how many catches they could make without dropping the ball. 

READING BOOKS have now come home as of Friday 6th September. Please try to read 5x a week and sign your child’s reading record. There is no box for Saturday and Sunday in the yellow reading record so please use the blank space on the other page to jot down when you have read. We will CHANGE BOOKS EVERY FRIDAY if they have been read.

We have Mrs Paddock who reads with children in the afternoon so please could children keep their reading record and book in their bag every day ready to read. 

Log in details for Timestable Rockstar and My Maths website will be given out by the end of Week 2. 

Any questions, please catch us at the classroom door or send us an email. Our email addresses are on the class page of the school website. Have a lovely weekend.

PE on Monday. 

Mrs Johnson, Mrs Rammell and Miss Sheppard