Year 2 2022 - 2023

Mrs Taylor

(she/her)

I am proud to be part of our school. I gained a first class teaching degree with English literature and Q.T.S. in 2014 at Liverpool Hope University, where I had trained for four years before qualifying. Prior to this, I taught dance and drama on the Wirral which gave me seven years of vocational teaching experience. I have worked in years 2 - 6 during my time at Westminster and enjoy them all for different reasons! In my spare time, I like to read and play on the beach with my little boys.

Mrs Birt

I enjoy working at Westminster and like to work with all classes on art projects and different activities as well as supporting learning in class.

Welcome to Year 2

Welcome to the Year 2 class page! Over the academic year, we will be building upon the skills and knowledge children have already acquired in reception and year 1, and we will be working towards the end of KS1 tests that take place towards the end of the school year. On a Monday afternoon, Mrs Phillips will join us for RE (Religious Education) and UMMPW (Understanding Me and My Place in the World). On a Friday, Miss Dunn will be working in our class, leading English, maths, P.E. and computing (currently P.E. is swimming on Fridays). If you ever have any questions or queries, please speak to one of us on the door at drop off or pick up - we will be happy to help!

Here is our google classroom link to use for homework and should we need to do any other remote learning: Y2 Google Classroom

Here is our Purple Mash link to use when necessary Purple Mash Login

Reminders

Our school day is 8:30 - 15:15
Our children will enter and be dismissed through blue doors (in the football cage)
Water bottles must be brought in each day and taken home each night to be washed
Homework to be returned on a Wednesday
Reading records to be returned every day in book bags
Please read at least 3 times a week and record this in the orange reading record provided (every night is even better!)
PE is on Wednesdays and Fridays - please bring your kit into school
Please make sure that everything belonging to your child is clearly labelled

Homework

Homework is to be completed weekly. The tasks are set in a grid-style format; please pick one task a week to complete and document (any order is ok). Homework is to be returned on a Wednesday. All of this can be done using Google classroom (see link above).

English

English lessons will be taught daily with the aim of developing vocabulary, speaking skills, listening skills, reading skills and writing skills. We are currently studying the story 'Bog Bbay' by Jeanne Willis. This unit includes some work on poetry, fiction and non fiction reading and writing. Here is a link to the book if anyone is interested in exploring it at home: https://st-james.kent.sch.uk/media/ib4lolu1/bog-baby-1.pdf

Phonics

Children will continue to learn phonics in year 2. Phonics is a method of teaching children how to read and write by matching spoken sounds to individual letters or groups of letters. It is taught daily within school and children will begin by learning initial letter sounds and then progressing onto blending these together to read and write words. A written language is essentially a kind of code. By teaching phonics, we help children to crack that code. Within our school, we follow a scheme called Read Write Inc. These sessions will build on prior knowledge, and children are streamed to work at the level that is right for them - helping them make optimum progress.

Here are some useful links to use at home:

Read Write Inc - How to say the sounds
Read Write Inc - Parent Guide

Maths

At Westminster Primary School, we use Power Maths. Power Maths is a UK curriculum mastery programme designed to spark curiosity, excitement and nurture confidence in maths. Built around a child centred lesson design that models and embeds a growth mindset approach to maths which focuses on helping children to build a deep understanding of maths concepts.

At the start of each maths lesson, all children will work on the curriculum year group they are in, they then will work in smaller groups where there will be a more targeted approach to teaching based on the groups needs and ability.

This term we are looking at: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Science

Our aim is to make sure Science is as practical as possible, providing the children with opportunities to research and investigate regularly. They will practise their skills in observing changes over time; pattern seeking; fair testing; identifying and categorising and grouping; and research.

During the Spring Term, the children are learning about living things and their habitats.

History and Geography

During the Spring Term, we will have a geography focus. We will be looking at The UK; we will be focusing on the coast, rivers and our local area.

Art

Our art lessons this term will focus on the artist Claude Monet.

Music

Year 2 will follow the Charanga scheme for their Music lessons. Our current topic is The Beatles.

P.E.

Our PE lessons will be every Wednesday and Friday. Our topics are dance and ball skills. We will also be having an extra cricket session each week run by professionals.

R.E.

During weekly RE sessions, the children will work with Mrs Philips to learn more about Christianity.

Computing

During weekly computing lessons, children will be focusing on learning about questioning.

Forest School

Forest school will take place once this half term. We will text you with the date of this in advance.

Please ensure your child has the following in school: