Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Fern and Bramble Class! We hope you all enjoyed your summer break and that you’re ready for a wonderful time in Year 2! We’re really excited to be working with you this year and we’re really looking forward to getting to know you all. As always, we have great learning opportunities planned for the children and we have lots of exciting topics which we know the children will love! The children have all come back to school full of enthusiasm and they have settled in brilliantly. We are hoping to see as many of you as possible at our class coffee mornings on Wednesday 10th September 2025 (Fern Class), and Thursday 11th September 2025 (Bramble Class), where we will be giving you lots of information and insight about what happens in Year 2.
What to bring to year 2
Children should bring in their book bags containing their Reading Records and reading books into school every day. Children also need to bring in a named water bottle every day. They will keep these in the classroom and will bring them home at the end of the day.
PE Times and Kits
Please ensure that your child has a named PE kit in school with them every day. The children will keep their kits on pegs in the cloakroom until the end of each half term.
Reading
Children take part in a group reading lesson with us each week. In addition to this, if your child is at the early stages of reading then they will practise reading in small groups and individually with a Teaching Assistant or volunteer as often as possible.
As mentioned above, please send your child’s book bag, containing their reading books and Reading Records, into school with them each day.
Changing reading books
At the start of the year, we will change the children’s reading books for them weekly on a Wednesday. When children move onto Box 6, we will help them to become more independent and change their books themselves. The children will then be able to change their reading books when they have finished them. Please continue to sign Reading Records when you have heard your child read. We have some new Reading Records for Year 2 which we hope you will find helpful and informative. In the centre of the records, you will find some tips to help with reading; some support with phonics and also the common exception and high frequency words that children need to know.
Homework
Homework will be set on a Thursday and we usually ask that it is completed by the following Monday. We will be using homework books and we will be encouraging children to remember to hand in their books on the correct day. Please remind children to hand in their work if you see that it is still in their bags and we will do the same, this is to encourage independence as they progress through the Key Stage.
Teachers
In Bramble Class this year, Miss Armstrong will be teaching the children, supported by Mrs Foster. Mr Richardson will teach Bramble class on a Monday morning.
In Fern Class this year, Miss Bommel will be teaching the children, supported by Mrs Jennings. Mr Richardson will teach Fern class on a Wednesday morning.
Reading Volunteers
If anyone is interested in hearing children read on a one to one basis, then please come and see one of us. We are always looking for as many parents or carers (or grandparents!) as possible to come into school to help support children’s reading. Thank you!
Library books
Our children will choose a book from the library each week. They will keep these in their drawers at school and they can bring them home to share with you too. Children will change their books weekly and we will be encouraging children to read these for pleasure alongside their school reading books.
Thank you,
Miss Bommel and Miss Armstrong
English
Reading opportunities
In reading, children will listen to and discuss a range of Traditional Tales, Fairy Stories and stories based on places that children have been and are familiar with. They will also be reading and following instructions. Throughout the half term children will be:
• predicting and discussing events
• linking reading to their own experiences
• asking and answering questions about texts
• applying phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words
• reading accurately by blending sounds in unfamiliar words
• re-reading books to build up fluency and confidence in word reading
Writing opportunities:
In writing, children will learn to write their own story in the style of a Traditional Tale; write their own story set in places they have been and write simple sentences using imperative verbs. Children will be:
• learning to write for a variety of purposes
• using adjectives to add detail
• writing imperative verbs
• learning to join letters and ensuring that they can form their letters correctly (please see joins below)
• spelling correctly by segmenting words
• begin to learn homophones
• using familiar and new punctuation correctly including full stops, capital letters, exclamation marks, question marks and commas for lists
Maths
Number-place value
Children will learn to:
• count in steps of 2, 3 and 5 from 0 and in tens from any number, forward and backward
• recognise the place value of each digit in a two digit number (tens, ones)
• identify, represent and estimate numbers to 100 using different representations including the number line
• compare and order numbers from 0 up to 100; use <, > and = signs
• read and write numbers to at least 100 in numerals and words
• use place value and number facts to solve problems
Number-addition and subtraction
Children will learn to:
• recall and use addition and subtraction facts to 20 fluently, and derive and use related facts up to 100
• show that the addition of two numbers can be done in any order (commutative) and subtraction of one number from another cannot
• add and subtract numbers using concrete objects, pictorial representations, and mentally, including: a two digit number and ones; a two digit number and tens; two two digit numbers; adding three one digit numbers
Geography
Continents and Oceans
In Geography this half term we will…
• be able to know where we live in the world
• locate on a map the 7 continents
• locate on the map the oceans that link the continents
• describe where different continents are located
• spot the human and physical features of each continent
• To share my understanding about each continent.
Art
Understanding Tone and Texture
Experiment with a range of materials to create marks and tones.
Use different pressures and control to make different marks.
Describe the texture of objects.
Identify how artists use tone.
Control shading to show tone.
Sketch simple shapes lightly so that changes can be made.
Refine a drawing by building up the outline of an object.
PSHE
Family and Relationships
In PSHE this half term we will…
• Understand that families offer love and support and that different families may be made up of different people.
• Consider what friends may be thinking and feeling in different situations.
• Recognise some issues that may occur in friendships and which of these may need adult help to resolve.
• Understand that expectations of manners may change according to the situation.
• Know that remembering people who were important to them but are no longer here can cause a mixture of emotions. Explain what gender stereotypes are in relation to careers.
Credits:
Created with images by jakkapan - "Vintage landscape nature background of beautiful cosmos flower field on sky with sunlight. retro color tone filter effect" • Atlas - "Many books textured background, top view. Multicolored books" • david_franklin - "Open writing book notebook or notepad blank white on a school student desk with pencils crayons college studying homework photo" • boygostockphoto - "notebook" • zephyr_p - "Male hand calculating with beads on wooden rainbow abacus for number calculation. Mathematics learning concept" • Divina Epiphania - "Close Up Of Terrestrial Globe With Focus On North America. Focus on Canada, United States of America and Mexico." • Yurii - "Collection Exotic plants in a pot on a white background" • bonnontawat - "Close-up of an aged wooden wall with overlapping weathered planks, showcasing natural textures and rich earthy tones." • vencav - "View of wooden cross at sunset from cave." • Natali - "Wooden musical instruments: xylophone, trumpet, maracas, bells, tambourine on white wooden background. Top view. Flat lay. Copy space for text" • eakgrungenerd - "asian child girl using tablet, notification social multimedia icons internet connection application digital network marketing online communication." • Africa Studio - "Small model of house and family on nature background" • fotosr52 - "Empty european gym class for school sports for football, basketball and handball"