Year 2

Welcome to Year 2 at Kingsbrook View Primary Academy! We have so enjoyed our first full week in Year 2, and welcome you to our Year Group page. This page will give you some key information about our classes, including Dates for the Diary, newsletters and other exciting adventures and learning experiences we have planned.

As a reminder, we have Reading, English and Maths every day, with a daily emphasis on  handwriting and mental maths. Spelling is taught three times a week, phonics twice a week, and we are fortunate to use our library once a week too. 2O and 2EG both share Thursday as their library days.

Our Geography topic this half-term is London, which will get us ready for our learning of the Great Fire Of London to come before Christmas.

We are learning some great techniques about singing in Music, and look forward to finishing 'Into The Woods' in our reading lessons.

As a quick reminder, earrings are not permitted in Key Stage 1 - next year the children can wear one pair of plain stud earrings. Hair should be tied up if longer than shoulder length. 

We are finding a lot of children are coming into school with laced shoes, without the ability to tie them! As a bit of extra learning, we would kindly ask that the children practise this skill at home before bringing in laced shoes to school.

We would also like to remind parents to label the children's clothes, as we already have a few lost coats and jumpers. Please make sure your child's clothes are clearly labelled before they bring them into school.

 The Year 2 team!

Mr M Ellis-Green Class Teacher, 2EG Phase Leader Year 2, 3 & 4	Miss A Oakley Class Teacher, 2O

Your child's class teacher should always be the first port of call when communicating with the school, however our amazing Learning Support Assistants are often on the door during the start of the day and dismissal - they are always happy to help or pass messages on for you.

It should also be noted that on Monday mornings, Mr Ellis-Green and Miss Oakley meet outside the classroom to prepare learning for Year 2. During this time, Mrs Nichols and Miss Morgan will be teaching the children. 

Mr Ellis-Green also spends time outside the classroom on a Wednesday to complete his role as Phase Leader. Mrs Nichols teaches 2EG on a Wednesday.

Reading

"To learn to read, is to light a fire" - Victor Hugo

Reading is an essential skill that all children need to have to progress to their full potential. Daily reading broadens children's vocabulary, widens their imagination and drastically improves their writing ability. 

Each week your child will continue to take home; one banded reader book that is specifically chosen for your child's reading level and one book from the library. 

Banded books will be changed weekly by our year group learning support assistants - children will be told a certain day to bring their banded books in to be changed. Library books will be changed weekly on each classes library day; Thursday for 2O and 2EG.

If you have forgotten any books on the book change day, please send them in on an alternative day and let us know, where we will change them in a spare moment.

Reading in partnership is an enjoyable, powerful and enriching experience. We ask that parents read with their children five times a week. 10 minutes of adult/child reading per day is proven to significantly enhance children’s reading skills and therefore enhance their life chances in accessing academic success. 

All reading should be recorded in their journal with your child recording twice a week using the grid in the front of the journal to support their ideas and an adult at home should record in the journal every time you read at home. 

In school, you child will also read with an adult once a week, as well as having a daily Reading lesson, where they will learn the skills behind reading. 

Recommended Books for Year 2

Spellings

Spellings are taught three times a week, consisting of 10 minute lessons that offer the children quick challenges that allow them to apply their knowledge of spelling rules.  This regular practised aims to unpick parts of words that cause spelling mistakes. We also create rhymes, mnemonics and different 'memory hacks' to help the spelling stick! 

If you wish to practice spellings at home, the 200 high frequency words or Year 2 common exception words are a great place to start. There are also a whole host of resources on the internet with one simple search. 

We will be looking at our Year 2 phonics until Christmas, just to make sure those skills are embedded after a lot of hard work throughout Year 1.