School & Home LinksMiss Blissitt teaches the class from Monday until Wednesday lunchtime when Mrs Devonald takes over for the second half of the week. Both of us are more than willing to see parents before or after school so feel free to make an appointment at

the office or grab a word with us, via the office, before 8.30am or after 3.15pm. You can also email us at y2@st-annes.lincs.sch.uk with any messages or questions as we both check this email account throughout the school day. As well as this, your child has a Home/School diary which we regularly check for messages and comments. Parents Evenings will take place from 3.30-7pm on Wednesday 8th and 3.30-6pm on Thursday 9th March. We’d love to see you there!It is extremely helpful if your child brings their book bag to school each day with their reading book, word book, homework book and target booklet inside. Homework is set on a Tuesday and collected in to be marked the following Monday morning, when we also have their reading/spelling of 5 high frequency words and times table tests.We aim to hear the children read individually twice a week in school with the help of some, very much appreciated, volunteers. If you have some spare time and would like to find out about getting involved in some of our classroom activities, feel free to chat to one of us.Regularly updated information about what we have been up to can be found on our page of the school website, www.st-annes.lincs.sch.uk . We can also be found on twitter at @STAClassBliss and @STAClassDevon. We are excited about sharing photos and daily news in this way! #followY2 #teamstannes

Special Events There are a number of special events currently being planned for the Spring term related to our 3 exciting topics and further information will follow very soon.Year 2 will be sharing breakfast together on Friday 27th January and class

photographs will be taken on the morning of Tuesday 28th February. The school will be celebrating World Book Day on Thursday 2nd March before hosting a week long Book Fair from Wednesday 8th to Tuesday 14th March when we will be promoting the enjoyment of reading with a variety of fun activities for the children and families. Year 2 will also begin weekly swimming lessons from Wednesday 8th March until Wednesday 24th May. Red Nose Day events will take place on Friday 24th March before term ends the following week, at 1.15pm on Friday 31st March.You are all most welcome to join us for our Celebration Assemblies at 2.30pm on Friday 27th January, 24th February and 17th March, as well as for our Easter Service on Thursday 30th March at 1.30pm at St Anne’s Church.Further details of all of these events, and more, will follow in school newsletters.

EnglishThis term we will be reading, investigating and writing a range of texts including Information Texts, Poetry, Stories and Fables. Linked to our topic themes where possible, the children will be developing their abilities and skills in terms of reading

fluently and with expression as well as answering written questions about a variety of texts. We will focus on writing sequences of sentences that make sense, use accurate punctuation marks and include interesting nouns, verbs and adjectives. Conjunctions such as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘because’ and ‘so’ will be used to make our sentences a little more varied and we will work hard on making sure that our writing has clear beginnings, middles and endings. We will also investigate compound words as well as how to add and spell common suffixes. The children will have 4 x weekly Read Write Inc. Phonics/Spelling sessions to help develop their reading

and spelling skills and will take part in at least one additional guided reading group per week. In Handwriting, the children will continue to form letters of appropriate size, with entry and exit strokes in order to aid joining. Your support is invaluable so please continue to read with your child at least 3 times per week, help them to practise their reading, spellings and high frequency words and encourage them in their writing.

MathsThe children will take part in daily Maths sessions which will develop their mental and written maths skills. With an emphasis on the use of ICT, games, problem solving and regular practise, the children will enjoy recalling number facts for each

number to 20, counting forwards and backwards in multiples of 2, 5 and 10, learning x2, x5 and x10 tables, adding and subtracting teen numbers to/from 2-digit numbers, finding simple fractions of shapes and amounts, naming and describing 3d shapes as well as measuring mass and capacity. The children will also learn to tell the time to 5-minute intervals. Again counting, adding, subtracting, multiplying and having fun with maths at home is a great way to support and give confidence to your child.

ComputingThe children will write e-mails in our We are detectives unit in order to solve the mystery of the missing cake. In We are Journalists, they will then explore how newspapers are set out and learn how to create their own fact sheets. The children

will also use ICT to support their learning across the whole curriculum, regularly accessing curriculum-linked games, the internet and word processing packages on our iMAC and iPads.

REThis term the children will be studying Judaism. They will recognise different Jewish symbols, learn about Passover and the Seder plate and consider why Jews have this special meal. They will learn about commitment and what that means to Christians

in terms of religion and having faith.PSHEThrough stories, drama, discussion and games the children will consider Relationships in our Personal, Social & Health Education sessions. The children will think about how they can communicate their feelings to others, how their behaviour

affects other people, what the differences are between secrets and surprises and to recognise what is fair and unfair, kind and unkind, right and wrong.

Topic 4 Weather Watch (with an English, Science, Geography, Art and Music focus)In Science, the children will set up and use a weather station to collect and record

daily weather information. They will then analyse this data and create graphs to show what the weather was like in January. Clouds will be their inspiration in Art and they will create different types of cloud pictures using colour mixing and washes. In Geography the children will consider the locations of different climates across the globe and in Music the children will use percussion instruments to create ‘weather’ music.

Topic 5 Town Mouse, Country Mouse (with an English, Science, Geography, Art, DT and Music focus)In Science, the children will investigate different habitats and identify where creatures can be found. Linked to Art as well, the children will make their own habitat display and go on the Alive or Dead Hunt in the school grounds. In

Geography the children will investigate the differences between living in the city and the countryside as well as thinking about how life in other countries compares with life here in Grantham. In DT the children will design and make vehicles for the Town Mouse and for the Country Mouse and in Music they will be making ‘environmental’ sounds using percussion instruments.

Topic 6 Sowing & Growing (with an English, Science, Art, DT and Music focus)In Science, the children will be planting bean seeds and growing cress. They will record any developments and ensure they carry out fair tests. They will also

investigate how many everyday things (not just food) are made from plants. In Art we will

explore the drawings of Beatrix Potter and create continuous line drawings of animals. In DT the children will create and sample some healthy dishes using a variety of ingredients and in Music they will listen to Beethoven, compose their own short pieces using pitched instruments and continue to sing songs to an audience.

PEThe children in Y2 have PE twice each week, on a Wednesday and a Friday. The children need plimsolls, shorts and a t-shirt in school every day and may bring a tracksuit if they wish as some sessions will take place outside. In gymnastics the

children will focus on increasing their range of basic skills. They will create simple sequences of actions on the floor and then transfer what they learn on the floor to apparatus. In our swimming sessions, the children will focus on increasing their water confidence and their abilities to float, move and swim on their backs and fronts.

Have a great Spring Term, Miss Blissitt and Mrs Devonald