And just like that, we are suddenly in the final half term of yet another academic year- time certainly flies when you’re having fun!

In English, our recent work has been based around a beautiful book called ‘Ocean Meets Sky’ by the Fan Brothers, which the children have loved. It is a magical story about a little boy called Finn who lives by the sea and has cherished memories of his late grandfather, who used to tell him stories of a faraway place where the ocean meets the sky. Our next book also features a grandfather- ‘Grandad’s Camper’ by Harry Woodgate and we are looking forward to making comparisons between the two texts.

In Maths we have been working hard on our Fractions unit which is now coming to an end. Over the next few weeks we will be covering Time, Statistics and Position and Direction so there’s still plenty to keep us busy! Alongside these White Rose Maths units, we continue with our daily ‘Basic Skills’, focusing on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, word problems and daily challenges also form part of our morning maths lessons.

The majority of Year 2 children have now completed the RWI phonics scheme and have moved on to RWI spelling, focusing on a different spelling pattern each week. This takes place every day for fifteen minutes, followed by Whole Class Reading, where the focus is on developing specific reading skills: vocabulary, prediction, questioning, inference, summarisation and comprehension. It is also opportunity to develop ever-increasing fluency and expression when

reading aloud. Earlier in the term we used a book called ‘Gregory Cool’ which was set in Caribbean, alongside various Seaside Poems in these sessions; we are now sharing a book called ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’.

Miss Finch has been delivering recent Geography lessons, asking the question: ‘Why do we love being by the seaside so much?’ and the children have enjoyed learning about the different physical and human geographical features as well as comparing coastal, urban and rural environments. Our next topic is a History one, entitled ‘Why did Delia buy a hat?’ and the children will be very excited to learn that this focuses on the sinking of the Titanic!

In Science this year we have covered Materials, Animals including Humans, Living Things and their Habitats and we are now enjoying our final topic: Plants. These lessons build on prior learning in Year 1, extending children’s understanding of what plants need in order to grow, and increasing their scientific vocabulary- learning how to say and use words such as ‘germination’. They are very excited about their recently planted beans…I wonder whose will grow the tallest?

RE lessons have been focusing on ‘Good News’ stories from the Bible and there have been lots of discussions around being a friend to the friendless, peace and forgiveness. Our final unit asks “What makes a place sacred?” looking at the significance of churches, synagogues and mosques as well as other places of worship.

Our recent Art topic has been focusing on sculpture, working with clay which the children have loved! They have made pinch pots and clay tiles, using various tools and techniques to create patterns and join pieces together. We now swap back to DT, focusing on another Mechanisms unit entitled Moving Monsters.

The children continue to enjoy weekly PE lessons with our PE coach- outside as often as possible now that the weather has started to improve. They have practised tennis skills, enjoyed athletics, played team games and are currently working on fundamental skills like throwing, catching and striking balls.

Mr Martin and Mrs Higson lead whole school singing every Friday morning and Year 2 continue to enjoy their Music session every Friday afternoon.

On Fridays we also have Computing, a visit to the library to choose a book to share at home and for the final part of the day Golden Time as a reward for following our 4 key values: Kind, Respectful, Safe, Ready. We continue to earn ‘Marbles in the Jar’ for working together; receive Star of the Week and Character Matters certificates for individual achievements and Dojo points are given as ‘on the spot’ rewards for a wide range of reasons.

Please continue to monitor Class Dojo for updates and remember you can contact us via this app if you have any questions or queries.

Thank you as always for your continuing support and cooperation,

Mrs Smith, Miss Finch and all the team.