Year 2 Class
'Excellence Everyday'
'Learn, Live, Laugh and Love Ashurst'
Learn to be inspiring and make a difference to this world, we know how amazing you are,
Live with understanding and compassion for others, knowing we are all different and special in a community where equality stands tall,
Laugh and listen to the enjoyment of learning and excitement of everyone celebrating their achievements,
Love Ashurst, our special school and the hub of supportive staff, parents and children who aim high to be the best they can be.
Year 2 - Important Information
Staff Team - Miss Fildes, Mr Bonnell and Mrs Evans
Learning Environment
Year Two is a warm and welcoming classroom where lots of exciting learning takes place. We aim for all lessons to be interactive, exciting and engaging. Throughout Year Two, children continue to develop their independence. They are given lots of responsibilities and they challenge themselves to achieve their full potential! With support from teachers and family at home, the children work hard on their goals. Mental health and well-being are high priority in Year 2. We work hard to support the children to be happy and free from worry and anxieties. We promote positive self-talk and resilience and guide children through any difficulties they face. We use wonderful stories to explore themes linked to mental health and well-being.
Each child enters Year Two at a different stage. Therefore we treat every child as an individual and plan to cater for their individual needs. We understand that every child learns in a different way and has different interests and it is our aim to adapt our teaching to suit the children. We encourage their independence throughout, allowing them to take ownership of their learning and achievements and to understand how to solve problems on their own.
Rules and Routines
At the beginning of the year, children are encouraged to contribute to our class rules and vision. This runs alongside the schools policies and procedures and is expected to further improve the learning environment for all and in turn develop strategies for 'Behaviour for Learning'. Conversation and discussion are encouraged in Year 2 and is balanced with dedication to learn and succeed through quiet and independent work.
Routine
- Doors open 8:45am
- Registration is at 8:55am and the school day ends at 3:15pm
- Break time will be at 10:20am.
- Lunch time will be at 11:30am until 12:30pm.
Important things to remember for September 2024:
- The class door opens at 8:45am and closes at 8:55am. The school day ends at 3:15pm - your child will enter and leave from the Year 2 classroom door.
- You may wish to provide a healthy snack for your child to eat at 10:20am playtime or your child can have a piece of fruit provided by school. Lunch will be at 11:30am -12:30pm.
- Each child can have their own water bottle on their desk, please provide these with their name on.
- We have PE every Wednesday and Thursday– please ensure that your child attends school on these days in their PE kit. On these days children must wear the following PE uniform: Black jogging bottoms with the new logo, or black sports leggings, white PE tops , black hoody tops . Or a Summer PE kit : red shorts and white PE top.
- Reading books will be changed every Friday. Please ensure your child has their reading book in school each Friday. Reading records will be provided for you to comment on your child's reading. We will ask for these to be sent into school each Friday so that we can celebrate the reading taking place at home. We expect every child to read at home every night to develop good habits and make the best progress. Thank you in advance for your support with this.
- Homework will be set weekly and will usually consist of English, Maths and Spellings but may also relate to other subjects. Homework will be set on a Friday, and will be expected back in the following Friday.
- Spellings will be sent home in the form of a worksheet (these will be different than the RWI spellings). Worksheets will be sent back into school the following Friday, with homework. Please support your child in learning these spellings at home. We recommend little and often. A spelling quiz will take place each Friday to allow us to assess and support your child.
- Topic webs will be uploaded onto this class page in the first week of each half term. Topic webs will inform you of the learning taking place that half term, you may wish to discuss key learning with your child at home.
KS1 SATs
May 2023 was the last year when mandatory Key Stage 1 SATs were held. From 2024, the tests are optional. In Year 2 we will continue to report teacher assessment levels in combination with the optional KS1 SATs tests. These tests remain to be published and provided to schools to allow teachers to assess knowledge and learning in KS1.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of your child's learning then please don't hesitate to call and make an appointment to see us.
Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to working alongside your child and your family.
Year 2 Long Term Plan 2024-2025
Year 2 Topic Webs
Book recommendations for Year 2
Follow the link below to view a wealth of recommended books for your child in Year 2. You will never be short of book suggestions with this site.
https://www.thereaderteacher.com/year2
Useful Phonics Websites
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo7fbLgY2oA_cFCIg9GdxtQ - free phonics films for parents
Learning 2024-2025
English
Stay and Read
Mrs Hunter invited Year 2 parents to a workshop about the importance of reading at home. Following this, parents joined the children in class to watch how Miss Fildes models reading and then to do this with their own children. We loved listening to the expression and intonation from our super Year 2 readers.
Story Time
Every day in Year 2 we have a story read to us by our teachers, however, this week was extra special because it was National Story Telling Week. We listened to celebrities read their favourite children's story.
Talk 4 Writing
One of our Talk 4 Writing model text is 'Jack and the beanstalk' the classic fairy story about a poor country boy who traded the family cow for a handful of magic beans, which grew into a massive, towering beanstalk reaching up into the clouds. Take a look at our story map, that helps us to imitate the story. We have read and watched various versions of the fairy tale. We have explored the model text and practiced writing skills that the author has used.
National Poetry Day
As part of National Poetry Day, Y2 chose an exciting a funny poem by Michael Rosen called "Don't". We loved reciting and performing it. Michael Rosen even liked it on twitter and retweeted it to his page.
Maths
We have been embedding our knowledge of place value within 2 digit numbers. We have made numbers and exchanged the ones for tens, when we could, this involves moving place value columns to understand the value of numbers.
Science
Plants
This year in Science we will be observing and describing how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants. This will help us to find out and describe how plants need water, light and a suitable temperature to grow and stay healthy. We started by planting our own daffodil bulbs.
Materials
In Science we are learning how to identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses. Today we played 'which material is it made from?’ The material munchers would only eat one type of material.
Foundation Subjects
Geography
We are learning all about where our food comes from so we visited our local shops. We found food from both plants and animals.
Spanish
To end our topic of Fiesta in Spanish lessons, we were treated to a game of Pinata by Mrs Interian.
PE
Our focus has been to apply 'champion gymnastics' to explore different movements that pupils can link together. We focused on making a routine with a partner.
Computing
Our new topic is 'Questioning' so today we learnt how to use yes/no questions to separate information. What better way to practice this, than playing our own Guess Who?
Art
We have been learning about the works of artist Rachel Dein. Rachel makes plaster casts of plants and flowers which record all their texture, pattern, and delicacy in fine detail. In Y2 we have explored texture in nature through rubbings and designing our own prints of different natural objects such as leaves, pine-cones and flowers.
PE
We have been working on simple defending and attacking tactics, this also involves improving our throwing and catching skills.
Religion
We have made Christingles as part of learning about Christianity at Christmas time. Christingle' means 'Christ Child' and originates from the Moravian Church. A symbol of Christianity, Christingles are made from an orange decorated with red tape, sweets or dried fruit and a candle.
Enrichment
World Book Day 2025
Just look at how amazing we all look, dressed as our favourite book characters !!!
Money Minds
We were visited by the Yorkshire Building Society and they taught us all about money and the difference between needs and wants. We even budgeted for a trip to the cinema with only £10.
European Languages Day
Year 2 celebrated by learning 10 different ways of saying "hello" in 1 minute.
Chinese Dragon Dancing
Year 1 and Year 2 experienced the exciting traditions of Chinese culture with a Lunar New Year Dragon Dance workshop and had a fabulous time.
Meeting Father Christmas at Tatton Park
Year 1 and 2 experienced the magic of Christmas at Tatton Park - Not only did we meet father Christmas, we were also swept away on a wonderful adventure through iconic scenes from the Wizard of Oz, transformed and brought to life within the grandeur of Tatton Park's historic mansion. As we wandered through the beautifully decorated staterooms, each corner turned revealed a new surprise, from the exciting adventure following the Yellow Brick Road to the sparkling Emerald City, all adorned in beautiful festive decorations.
