Welcome to Year 2

2WH - Ellie Simmonds class

Why Simmonds?

As you may already know, every class at Hillcrest has been renamed this year, after an inspirational person. Ellie Simmonds fits the bill perfectly. She is a para-Olympic swimmer who has achieved significant success during her career and is a role model to us all. She is a true example of our four elements: Resilience, Partnerships, Excellence and Innovation. We will be learning about her throughout the term. 

2KL - Wright Brothers class

Why the Wright Brothers?

The Wright Brothers invented the first motorised aeroplane and are also great examples of our four elements, particularly resilience. We will learn why throughout the year and be flying high just like the brothers! 

Ellie Simmonds class

Your class teachers this year are Mrs Willis and Mrs Howells. Mrs Howells can't wait to work with you again this year and Mrs Willis is super excited to get to know you all! 

 Our teaching assistants are Miss Wyatt and Miss Thompson, both of whom are   super stars. 

Wright Brothers Class

Your class teacher is Mrs Lamb. She loves teaching Year Two and is very excited about all the wonderful learning we will do this year.

Your teaching assistants will be Miss Young and Miss Wyatt. 

Term 5 Newsletter

Welcome back to school. We hope you had a wonderful Easter break. This is a very short term but, boy, do we have lots planned!

Authors & Readers:

We will be studying what makes a good recount and having a go at writing our own. This will be linked to our whole-school Eid celebrations.

We will be continuing to work on handwriting, grammar and punctuation.

Please can we remind you, although we read with your children in school, the children should be reading with an adult at home at least four times a week. There are school reward systems in place for those children that do. Reading to your child and asking your child a range of questions while reading together will further support their ability to think critically and make connections with what they have read.

Weekly spellings will also be set and tested each Friday – please continue to practise these at home with your child.

Maths:

This term we are focusing on measures. We will begin with length and height using cm and m and then move onto mass and capacity. We will also work on securing knowledge of the four operations.

Enquiry: How do plants grow near me?

This term is all about growing seeds and bulbs. We will observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants and find out and describe how plants need water, light and a suitable temperature to grow and stay healthy. The children are very excited, as they have already planted some seeds. Hopefully we will also grow something that we can eat!

PE will continue to be on a Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. Please ensure the children are prepared for outdoor PE on these days, making sure names are on all pieces of clothing.

Assessments:

As you may be aware, your child will be assessed using the End of KS1 tests throughout the month of May. These are known as SATs (Standard Assessment Tests) and are used nationally for all children in Year 2.

The primary aim of these assessments is for the government and Local Authority to look at trends across schools throughout England.  Within schools, these tests can be a helpful measure of children’s progress but this is used alongside the teacher's judgement of their work throughout the year.

The tests are presented as booklets with colourful pictures and characters. They are composed of two reading comprehension papers (sections to read with pictures, with corresponding questions) and two maths papers (one arithmetic and one reasoning/problem solving).

Here is a website where you can find past papers if you want to take a look KS1 SATs Papers - SATs Papers KS1 [1999-2022] - Free Downloads (sats-papers.co.uk)

These assessments are carried out in small groups with a familiar adult. The children are unaware that they are taking place to prevent any unnecessary pressure, as the style and format of questions is similar to many of their daily activities. This is the format we have used over the last few years and it works really well.

We are more than happy to talk to you about any concerns or issues you may have. Please feel free to contact us through email. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Kind Regards

Kim Lamb, Katie Willis, Tracey Howells, Nat Wyatt and Jemima Thompson