Welcome to Year 2

Teachers: Mrs Dowson, Miss Bathe
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Curtis

Email: RSPSirius@southbankprimary.co.uk

Contact Number: 01642 453451

Please be aware that contact may be made outside of teaching hours.

Welcome to Sirius class page where we will share all our wonderful learning and achievements with you. Throughout Year 2, we will cover a wide range of exciting topics. In the autumn term, we will delve into the past and look at how technology has changed over the last 60 years and make sculptures inspired by castles.  In spring, we will explore the similarities and differences between where we live and Tulum, Mexico. Finally in the summer term, we will look at how the Great Fire of London changed London and how we record and measure different weather phenomenon. 

Our Learning

Below is a snapshot of some of the learning Sirius class have completed during year 2.

Autumn 1

Autumn 2

Phonics and Reading

In KS1 there is a focus on Phonics and application of this within their Reading and Writing. The children will be continuing to develop their phonic knowledge through our Phonics scheme ‘Read, Write Inc’. The children are assessed and grouped half termly to closely focus on their current Phonic understanding. Each child is then grouped accordingly and receive bespoke Phonic teaching to their level. Phonics will be taught daily and will help your child to recognise sounds, segment and blend words within reading and write unfamiliar words. Children will then read books linked to their phonic knowledge in order to build fluency and participate in discussions on what they have read. Once children have completed the Phonics programme, they will access a reading skills groups, focusing on comprehension, vocabulary and fluency. 

Important: Y2 children who did not pass their phonics screening at the end of year 1 will retake the test week beginning 9th June. 

Writing

This term, we will begin by focusing on presentation and our handwriting. We will also be working on our place value of punctuation and grammar and will look out different nouns, verbs and subjects to help us build our sentence structure. 

We will also be encouraging our children to 'read for pleasure'. To support this we will have a weekly session in the school library for children to explore a variety of different texts and choose a book to take home to share, remember to bring your book back to school to change each week.

Maths

This term, we will be exploring place value within 100, securing our addition and subtraction skills, and counting in 2, 5, 10 and 3's. Throughout the year, children will use Times Table Rockstars to develop their times table knowledge. Children would greatly benefit if they continue to practice their times tables at home. Children will also use Numbots and Freckle regularly to support their Mathematical understanding and consolidate previous learning in the different areas of maths. All of these can be accessed below. If you would like login details, please speak to classroom staff.

https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth/school/student

https://play.numbots.com/#/account/school-login/63735

Freckle Student Dashboard

Science

This term we will be looking at how we know if something is alive and materials. We will research different materials before investigating their properties to decide which material is best to protect Humpty Dumpty from breaking when falling. Children will be encouraged to think scientifically and will participate in making predictions and carrying out fair tests. 

Art

Children will be looking at sculptures that have been inspired by castles and use inspiration from different artists to create their own sculptures, experimenting with different colours and designs. 

DT

Children will explore mechanisms such as levers, sliders and wheels to design and build their own castles. 

Geography

Children will use maps to locate different castles.

History

Children will look at how technology had changed over the last 60 years with a focus on change and continuity. 

PE

Children will be focusing on jumping and dodging through different games and team building. 

Music

The theme for this term will be 'Hands, Feet, Heart' and 'Ho Ho Ho'. We will also have Tees Valley Music specialists coming in each week to work with the children on different musical elements.   

PSHE

Children will focus on the topics 'Being Me In My World' and ‘Celebrating Difference’ These topics explore the British Values of Mutual Respect, Individual Liberty and Tolerance. 

RE

In the Autumn term we will look at Christianity and Judaism . The key questions that we will look at within these topics are ‘How and why do Christians care for others?’, 'How and why is Christmas a festival of light?' and ‘How and why do Jews celebrate Sukkot?’

Computing 

The children will continue to use 'Purple Mash' to practise their computing skills. The focus during the Autumn Term will be on 'Online Safety’, ‘Coding’,  and ‘Effective searching’. 

We Are A Rights Respecting School

We are currently on our journey towards achieving the Gold Rights Respecting Award. We explore our rights across all areas of our learning. This term we will focus on Article 28 - Access to Education and Article 14 - Freedom of thought and religion.

Important Information & Reminders

• If your child brings home a QR code, this is linked to a particular sound that your child needs to practice to help with their phonics.  
• PE will take place on a Friday. Children are expected to come in to school in full uniform and change into PE kits at school. Please ensure that children wear appropriate shoes on PE days. No jewellery should be worn on PE days and long hair must be tied up. 
• Reading Books will be changed on a Tuesday during our library session. Please ensure your child brings their book bag to school with their Phonics Reading Book and their Reading for Pleasure book inside. The RWI book will be matched to their Phonic ability and should be reread to build up fluency. Please ensure you write the date on your child's Reading Record as this is when the books will be changed. 
• Children must wear their school uniform everyday and have a suitable coat for outdoor play. Please ensure you write your child's name inside their uniform, including coats and jumpers. 

Key dates

• School Photo - 8th November
• Children in Need - 15th November
• Phonics parental engagement session - 20th November
• PD Days - 22nd November and 25th November
• Reindeer Run - 2nd December
• KS1 Christmas Lunch - 3rd December
• KS1 Christmas Performance - 10th December
• Christmas Jumper Day - 12th December
• Christmas Fair - 18th December
• Last day of term and Christmas parties - 20th December
• Phonics Screening 9th - 13th June