Year 2 Newsletter

February 2015
Welcome back! I am pleased to inform you that we have successfully set up a link
with a school in Qatar Al Maha Academy for Boys. Each child in Year 2 now has a
pen pal in Qatar and they are really excited about writing to them.
This half term we will be exploring different materials and their uses. We will be
designing our own moving vehicles and testing them to see how they move on
different materials. We will also be preparing for the KS1 SATs which will take place
in May. The children will be given practice questions for homework each week.
If you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to speak to me. I
will be available before and after school every day or you can email me. My email
address is r.nicholson@harris.lancs.sch.uk
Literacy
This half-term we will begin by writing our own stories based on Mondays visit
from George the Dinosaur. We will also be writing explanation texts about how
vehicles work. In the lead up to Easter we will look at the Easter Story and will
write our own accounts of what happened.

Reading
Thank you again to parents who read with their children at home. It really helps and
those children who have read more at home have made more progress than those who
havent. As usual, the children will have their books changed weekly by myself or Mrs
Thompson. If your child would like their book changed more frequently, I am more
than happy to do this.

Phonics and Spellings

In Key Stage 1 we stream the teaching of phonics between Years 1 and 2. There are 5 phonics
groups and your child will be in the group that currently meets their needs. The children will be
given spellings to take home and learn every Friday for a test the following week. The spellings
will include the spelling patterns they are covering in their phonics sessions.
Check out http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk for games to help your child.
Numeracy
This half term we will be revising the skills that we have learned so far this
year. This will help to prepare the children for their SATs in May. We will
be learning about place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division, with a focus on problem solving. The children will be given practice
questions as homework each week.

TThhee W
Whhoollee S
Scchhooooll tthheem
mee ffoorr tthhiiss hhaallff tteerrm
m iiss......
M
Maatteerriiaall W
Woorrlldd

Science Uses of everyday materials

In science, we will be learning about materials and their uses. We will
be looking at the properties of different materials and why they
have different jobs (e.g. wool woolly jumper, glass window). We
will be carrying out investigations, including finding out what which
material will best protect an egg from breaking if dropped from a
height. Check out http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks1science.html for
games linked to our science learning.
Design and Technology Moving Vehicles
In Design and Technology we will be designing and making moving vehicles. We will be using
wheels and axels to make our vehicles move. We will select which materials will be best to use
for the body of our vehicles. Once we have made our moving vehicles, we will be testing how
they move on different materials. This links to our science work.
Music
In music, we will be learning to play the recorder with the help of
Mrs Holt. We will be learning to read musical notations, play and
compose our own tunes.
French
In French, we will be learning about clothing.
We will be singing songs to help us with our learning.

Computing
In computing, we will be learning about algorithms and how to debug simple
programs. We will be using Purple Mash - Coding. I have sent the childrens
passwords home so that they can practice this.
PE
Our PE lessons will take place every Tuesday and Thursday, please ensure
that you child brings their PE kit to school on both of these days and that
earrings are taken out. Please also ensure that your childs PE kit is clearly
labelled with their name. This half term we will be doing outdoor games and
gymnastics.
Heres to a fantastic half term! If there is anything that you wish to discuss with me,
let me know.
Mrs Nicholson