We hope that you had a wonderful summer. We are really looking forward to working with you and your child this year and hope that you are looking forward to the exciting new school year ahead!
Reading
Our goal is to create confident, fluent, independent readers. We prioritise reading at Latchmere School and have very carefully chosen the texts your child will study this term. We focus on word reading to develop fluency and encourage the whole class to join in through strategies such as choral reading (the whole class read together) and echo reading (the teacher models the reading and the class echo back). We also have the Latchmere reading skills. These are based on comprehension skills such as retrieval, inference, summarising, making links, prediction and vocabulary.
In Year 2, we will be studying books including The secret of Black Rock, James and the Giant Peach, Explorers, Millie’s Marvellous Hat and I Want my Hat Back.
In Year 2, we will be studying books including Oliver’s Vegetables, Katie in London and The Fox and the Star.
We will be continuing to embed the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds phonics programme. This involves daily teaching of phonics and up to three reading sessions per week for every child focussing on decoding, prosody and comprehension.
Please see the phonics page on the website for further information.
Maths
Our curriculum is based on the White Rose Maths programme. This research-based initiative ensures that the skills and concepts children taught are fully embedded before moving on. The children are taught strategies such as bar modelling and have plenty of opportunities to use ‘manipulatives’ such as counters and dienes all the way through the school.
This term we will be focusing on place value, addition and subtraction and shape.
Children in Year 2 also use the Numbots program to help embed the core maths skills of subitising, number bonds, addition and subtraction. White Rose have also released an app called ‘1-minute maths’ which is very useful.
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Curriculum Highlights
This term in geography, we will learn about the British Isles and the children will use maps to explore parts of the UK. We will then look at polar landscapes. In science, we will learn about animals including humans. The children will have the opportunity to learn about animals and their young as well as consider how humans grow and stay healthy. We will also learn about living things and their habitats. During PE lessons we will be developing fundamental skills such as skipping, jumping and balancing whilst also improving our teamwork skills.
You can find out more information about the autumn term learning by looking at the overviews and programmes of study on the website.
We hope your child will find their time in Year 2 both exciting and rewarding. If you have any questions or concerns about your child please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you in advance for all of your support in the year ahead.
Kind regards,
The Year 2 Team
Ms Paish Ms Conroy Ms Hammond Ms Allmand
(Silver Class) (Sapphire Class) (Gold Class) (Gold Class)
Year Group Lead
Updates and reminders
Morning and afternoon routine – In the morning, the children should enter school via the Year 2 gate (which will open at 8:40am and close at 8:50am) and walk to their classroom. If you arrive after this time please enter via the school office. At the end of the day, the school gates will be opened shortly before 3:20pm and you will be able to collect your child from the KS1 playground.
Snacks – Children are able to bring in a healthy (nut-free) snack for them to have during morning play. Each class will also offer a daily selection of fruit and vegetables.
Water bottles – Children may bring a water bottle to school each day. Please remember to put your child’s name on the bottle.
PE Kit – We are asking for children to come to school in their P.E kit on P.E days. We ask that children are dressed appropriately for the weather. Please see the P.E day timetable on the Year 2 notice board (by the Year 2 gate) for P.E days.
Medication – Please ensure that any medication your child needs is in school and up to date. Please speak directly to the main office regarding medication that is kept in school.
Class Representatives – Parents who volunteer to be class reps form an important link between the teachers and parents of each class. If you are a class rep please make yourself known to the class teacher. Class Reps will take the lead in communication and organising events. Class teachers will liaise with their Class Rep on a regular basis, so please keep an eye out for emails or messages they may send regarding dates, PE kit etc.
Contact Address and Telephone Numbers – If you have moved recently or changed home or mobile telephone number, please let the office staff know. It is important that we can contact you quickly if your child is unwell.
Parent helpers and DBS Clearance – We really appreciate the support that parent helpers can offer in school. As you can appreciate, we are only able to ask parents who have an up-to-date DBS form. Please speak to the office if you need to apply for clearance of if you are unsure whether your DBS form is up to date. Thank you.
Get To Know You – Our ‘Get To Know You’ meeting will be held on Wednesday 25th September at 2:30pm. This will give you an opportunity to meet the Year 2 team, be given information about class routines, the curriculum and the school year. You will also have the chance to ask the teachers questions.