Autumn Term 2023

Welcome back!

I do hope you've had a wonderful holiday and are ready for your first hard-working term in year 2. 

Do keep checking this class page for updates as we go through the year.

Any vital or short-term changes to the school day will be sent out via text or email as usual.

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General Class Information:

Our School Day:

Children can arrive in school from 8.45am, through the EYFS entrance via the playground.

Adults will need to remain on the playground when the children come in to school, as the entrance can get very congested!

Morning register closes at 9.00am

Children can order a school snack if they wish. Payment of this is via ParentPay. Please speak to the office if this needs setting up.

Lunchtime is 12.30pm - 1.30pm

Please make sure that your child's school lunch has been pre-ordered via the form sent by the office each week.

Hometime is 3.15pm

Children will be brought to the small wooden gate at the EYFS entrance to be collected by their parent / guardian. Please notify the office if the adult picking your child up is not the designated person that we are expecting.

School Uniform and P.E Days

Please send your children to school in the correct school uniform on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

This consists of:

• grey trousers, shorts, skirt or pinafore dress.
• white or red polo shirt, or white collared shirt / blouse long or short-sleeved
• red jumper or cardigan (with or without the Castle logo)
• black, white or grey socks
• black shoes (NOT trainers).

Our P.E lessons are on Thursdays and Fridays. On these days, please ensure your children come to school wearing the correct P.E uniform.

This consists of:

• plain white t-shirt or polo shirt (no crop tops)
• plain black shorts/skorts/jogging bottoms/leggings
• plain black or red sweatshirt / hoodie, and plain black pumps or sensible trainers.

Long hair should be tied back.

NO JEWELLERY should be worn, including EARRINGS. Please make sure children are not wearing earrings on P.E days.

This Half Term's Topics:

English - Through our reading of stories with familiar settings we will discover characters with their toys, and characters who ARE toys and how bears may not all be cuddly and soft! We will be creating non-chronological reports about animals in our non-fiction writing and finally our poetry work will encompass both acrostic and list poetry.

Maths - Place Value; Addition and Subtraction; Properties of Shapes

Science - Animals and Humans: We will explore and understand life processeses, identify animals in their habitats and understand needs for healthy living. We shall also find out how animals are suited and adapted to different habitats. 

History - Toys Through Time: We shall be exploring how toys have changed from our grandparents' time (and beyond) to present day.

Art - Animals: Through discovering the different skeletons of animals we shall be experimenting with texture and sculpture to create a selection of artwork.  

Computing - E-Safety; Word Processing; Internet Research. We shall be developing our understanding of how to stay safe whilst using a computer online. Our word processing skills will progress as we discover Microsoft Word and all the tools we can use to edit our written work.

P.S.H.E - Getting To Know You; Class Rules; Tales That Teach.

P.E - Invasion games and dodgeball.

Please note: to enable the children to experience the full curriculum of subjects we work from a 'rolling programme.

The curriculum subjects that are not listed above will be taught in the following half term. 

Reading At Home

Your child has an independent reading book in which to take home and practise their reading with an adult. We ask that you provide opportunities for your child to read as much as possible at home; ideally a few short minutes every day, but at least 3 times per week. This is invaluable to their literacy development. KS1 children are learning to apply their decoding skills (phonics) and also comprehend what they read, so try to discuss the book's events or contents as part of their reading practice routine too. The book may need to be read several times in order for your child to grasp some of the tricky words or longer decodable words. Your child will gain in confidence with every read!

Please record reading sessions in your child's reading record and send into school everyday.This is so we can hear them read their book in school and keep track of their progress. Books will be changed on a Thursday once our 3 reading sessions in school have taken place.

The children will also bring home a 'sharing' book of their choice from the school library. This book can be read to your child or together with your child at home. This should be an opportunity to instil the positive experience of reading in whichever way your child feels confident with. This 'sharing' book can be changed on a Friday, where the children will get the opportunity to choose from the wide variety of texts that the school library offers.

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If you should need to contact me with any questions or concerns then please use the following email address:

hannahbours@castleprimary.co.uk

Looking forwards to a fun-filled term!

Mrs Bours