Week beginning 10^th November

To all our wonderful Highflyer families

Welcome to an enormously exciting start to what promises to be yet another brilliant Term (Term 2!) including our new topic (History) of ‘How were schools different in the past?’

Already we have begun thinking about what classrooms, schools, staff and pupils were like over a hundred years ago and started to make comparisons between ‘Then and Now’ – whilst also spotting what is the same! We will be using photographic evidence to show and bring out some of the history/log books from our own beautiful school as well – including the four framed photographs (taken in 1914) in the Main Entrance foyer … given everyone was hugely interested in the different photographs of how Nettlebed school classrooms have, thankfully!?, changed over the last century or so …

This term also heralds the preparation and performance of our Christmas play ‘Gabriel’s Big Break’; with more information coming your way very shortly I promise… after we have started to learn our songs and finalised provisional plans/pupil non-speaking parts re: the two Lower School performances towards the very end of term.

Phonics and Spellings

This week our phonic focus is: Term 2 Week 2 - Apostrophes for possession (and review words with / ir / ur / er /)

Contraction word: won't

Please send planners into school every day if at all possible … with HUGE thanks as always.

Reading

Alongside reading books related to our topic of 'How were schools different in the past?’ our new class book called 'The Great Escape' should have – we hope - made it safely home throughout this week; therefore, please do return any copies of Chicken Little, Extreme Earth or Animal Poems if you didn’t manage to before the break :) We shall also be continuing to enjoy 'The Toymaker' by Martin Waddell for a second week in our English sessions …

Maths

This week the children will revisit and reason about the composition of odd numbers. Working with odd numbers (within 10) will also allow the children to understand the structure of these numbers in relation to developing their deeper understanding of how they are different to even numbers. The children will also begin by recapping that odd numbers are composed of 2s AND 1 ‘extra’ block, through looking at the ‘shape’ made by odd number blocks. Our other focus continues with addition and subtraction - and understanding how they are linked together with learning points of adding three 1-digit numbers, reasoning and problem solving, adding to the next 10, adding across a 10 and subtracting across a 10.

Forest School remains as normal this week. – therefore, please do remember to arrive in our outdoor learning clothes (warm/waterproof) with a full change before we head into lunch at 12.00pm. All Year 2 should also wear PE kits to school every Thursday this coming term – particularly with our Tag Rugby Performance Sport event already firmly pencilled into our class diary for Tuesday 18^th November (from 9.30-11.45am).

Just a quick note for individual school photos next Friday 14^th Nov - full school uniform, including school jumper/cardigan PLEASE :)

Finally, on Tuesday this week (11^th) it is Armistice Day; with every class duly observing the two-minute silence at 11.00 am (as a whole school). We shall be having some brief discussions prior to this point about poppies and what they represent; however, please do not worry if your child has not had an opportunity to buy a poppy as of yet, as they will still be available on Monday (all day) and Tuesday first thing.

Wishing you all a LOVELY week second week of Term 2; including World Kindness Day on Thursday.

With very best wishes – as always,

Mrs Winters and our amazing Year 2 ‘Team’