Sky
Sky (Year 2)
Autumn Term 1
Welcome back to school! We are all really looking to seeing you and have lots of exciting plans for this term.
Our Recovery Curriculum
Haddenham St Mary’s CE School has put the children’s well-being at the centre of our thinking. We acknowledge that the children will have had different experiences during this time. However, the common thread running through all is the loss of routine, structure, friendship, opportunity and freedom. These losses can trigger anxiety in any child. Some of you may have experienced this with your own children. We know that an anxious child is not in a place to learn effectively. With this in mind, the school community has thought about the most effective way to support your child’s ability to learn. This approach will encompass and support the academic expectations for your child.
Our approach will be based on the research of Professor Barry Carpenter, who has developed the Recovery Curriculum, as a response to the losses described above. It is a way for schools to help children come back into school life, acknowledging the experiences the children have had. We want children to be happy, feel safe and able to be engaged in their learning. A way to achieve this for the children is to acknowledge the importance of helping them lever back into school life. Please see the document sent to you by email on Tuesday 1st September for more information.
Year 2 Structure
Timetable:
Each day there is an English and Maths lesson. Once a week the classes have an extended writing session called Big Write. They write for half an hour based on a writing stimulus. The children work hard to try to meet their personalised targets so that they can improve their writing.
There is also an R.E lesson or a Music lesson every other week and this term, owing to the unique circumstances, we will have two PSHE (Personal, Social and Health and Economic education) sessions, in order to allow time to focus on ‘ Wellbeing’. Twice a week science lessons are taught and twice a week the classes have a Topic lesson. We also have one computing lesson a week.
This half term, Sky 1 will be having PE on a Monday afternoon (not the first day back 7th Sept please) and Sky 2 will be having their lesson on a Tuesday afternoon. Children will be coming in to school dressed in their PE kits. Girls should have their hair tied up for P.E.
Our topic this term is ‘There’s No Business like Showbusiness’ which is based around the theatre and tremendous fun! Here is our Topic Web:
Wow day
We will be having our Wow day on this topic on Friday 11th September, not the first day back, in order to allow time for the children to settle after a long time out of school. One of the activities we will be doing is making a pop up theatre, which we are very excited about!
Outdoor Learning:
Although we won’t be running Forest School sessions this term, we will be outside as much as possible and will provide the children with a range of regular outdoor learning opportunities as part of our curriculum. Please make sure that your child has a pair of named wellies in school. They will be kept on our welly racks outside.
Reading
Owing to Coronavirus Health and Safety recommendations, we need to limit the frequency of items going in and out of school and will not be able to change books throughout the week. Therefore children will bring home reading books each Monday and will need to return the finished books along with their Reading Record on a Friday.
Please send your child’s named empty book bag into school on Friday 11th September so we can issue books on the following Monday 14th September.
We will be sending home a login for your child to access a wider range of e-books on the Oxford Owl website (see below), along with details of the letters and sounds phase your child is working at so you can read more books online if you would like to.
Each child will also have a reading book in school kept in a separate folder to read regularly to an adult.
Spellings
These are the spellings to practise at home for this half term:
Times Tables
We will start times tables in earnest in the second half of this term.
Homework
Homework is optional. ‘Learning Log’ books will be sent home on Monday 14th September (along with your child’s first set of weekly reading books). A list of Learning Log activities will be stuck inside (also posted below).
Please then return your child’s Learning Log book during the last week of this half term for teachers to give their feedback. The Learning Logs will be sent back home after half term with a new set of activities for Autumn 2 when we will start a new topic.
Maths and English sheets will be posted on the Sky page too and are extra practice at home – there is no need to hand these in.
Class rules and behaviour
In September, the children will be discussing our class rules so that they all agree on them.
Each Friday the class have Golden Time for half an hour and they choose from different activities each week. If they do not follow the Golden Rules during the course of the week then they might lose some Golden Time in 2 minute increments.
Please do not hesitate to email us if you have any questions or any concerns. Stay well and happy!
With best wishes from the Sky Team,
Alice Gilbert Scott, Anna Allison and Emily Roads
sky1@haddenham-st-marys.bucks.sch.uk
sky2@haddenham-st-marys.bucks.sch.uk
