Year 2
April 2022
Dear Parents and Carers,
Summer term has come around quickly! It has been brilliant working with year 2 over the last two terms and we are incredibly excited for what’s to come. We hope that you had a good Easter break and are well rested for the busy year ahead.
This term the children will be learning:
Topic
Our Topics this term are ‘By the Sea’ which is based around our school theme of ‘Diversity’. The children will have plenty of opportunities to extend their geographical knowledge and develop their skills in historical enquiry as well as learning through art and design technology. At the end of the term, we will find a way of sharing our ‘By the Sea’ work with you.
English and Maths
In English we will be developing reading and writing skills, supporting children to spell words using their knowledge of letter sounds, and introducing the children to a wide range of texts. We will be using Oracy and word aware strategies to help develop vocabulary and grammar. The children will have daily reading activities and read to us during guided reading sessions. We will be focusing on developing fine motor skills as this will support their handwriting. We would appreciate your support with handwriting practice.
In Maths, learning will be developed through the use of equipment and picture representations as well as numbers. The children will be practicing their 2s, 5s and 10 times tables. As well as practicing their subtraction, money handling, working with numbers within 1000 and exploring length, mass, capacity and volume (during Summer term 1).The children will be bringing home practice papers on a weekly basis to support their development.
Reading
The children’s home reading books will be changed regularly. Please support their progress in reading by listening to them at home every night and asking questions about what they have read. You might ask about what happened, what they think will happen next, and how characters are feeling/behaving. Each child has a Reading Record for you or the children to date and make comments daily. These will be checked regularly by the class teacher. If your child is reading shorter texts, we encourage them to read the book 3 times over 3 days to develop their word reading and comprehension.
Homework
Weekly homework will be set on a Wednesday for handwriting, spelling and maths. On a Tuesday, the children will be quizzed on their spellings from the previous week.
PE
PE this year will take place on Wednesday mornings. Children need to wear their P.E. kit to school as they will be starting P.E directly after guided reading. The school P.E. kit consists of a white t-shirt, green shorts and trainers. No jewellery, apart from ear studs, should be worn.
General information
Thank you for your support in ensuring school uniform is worn consistently. Jewellery, with the exception of stud earrings, is not allowed for safety reasons. As a Healthy School, packed lunches should promote healthy eating habits and not include sweets, chocolate bars or fizzy drinks. Children at West Hampstead can celebrate their birthday at school with a song and a sticker should they wish to share this information with their teacher. Please note that we do not accept cakes, party bags or any sort of ‘treats’ for the class.
Show and Tell
In year two, a child will be selected each week to present something to the class on a Friday should they wish to. Show and tell is very important in developing the children’s speaking and listening skills. The child can bring a small item to school in their bags and it can be left on their peg until the end of the day when show and tell takes place. Please make sure that items that are brought in are not easily breakable or expensive. You can support your child by helping them to practice their presentation at home.
Thank you your great support so far this year, the children have been wonderful and we are looking forward to this Summer term. If you have any further questions, please email us at year2@westhampstead.camden.sch.uk
Year Two team,
Jessica Hardcastle
Alex Efford