Welcome to Year 2!

Dear Parents/ Carers,

We have had a fantastic first week back and the children are settling into the new challenges and responsibilities well. Thank you for your hard work with the home learning set over the holidays – they are displayed in the corridor outside of each classroom.  Please feel free to pop in and see them or wait for Tuesday Newsday to come in.

I would like to introduce myself; my name is Katie Norman and I am Year 2 Team Leader and teacher of Polar Bear class. I have been teaching for four years now, one of these years at Downs View in Year 2.   I am very excited and ready to begin a new role and responsibility this year . Previous to teaching here at Downs View, I have worked in an International school in Dubai. This was an excellent experience and involved working with 10 other teachers within the year group. As you know at Downs View we have an ‘open door’policy, so if you have any comments, compliments or queries, please feel free to pop by before or after school and have a chat!

There are a few things below which will help to settle your child to Year 2:

Multi-Sports Kit

Please remember to send your child to school with a kit for Thursdays which can stay at school. This needs to be warm clothes with trainers which are suitable to be used outside on the field.

Cold Weather Clothing

As our weather is always changing, It is important that all children have the necessary attire; wellies, a warm coat, hat, gloves so that they can partake in all aspects of their learning inside and outside.

Outside Area

The area where you drop off and collect your child is Year 2’s outside learning area. This is used on a regular basis during child initiated time (ID) and throughout lessons. There may be occasions where equipment is left out and we would appreciate your help and support with ensuring that younger siblings could respect this area and if using equipment are supervised.  We would kindly ask that the sandpits and water trays are left closed as they are often set up for the next day with all sorts of treasure.

We will be developing the outside area further with a new mud kitchen and investigative area. If you have any old pots and pans or musical instruments that you no longer need, any donations would be greatly appreciated. Please speak to me if you have something that may be useful.

I hope this information will help your child and you to settle into year 2.  If you require any further information , please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher or myself.

I look forward to working with you and your child over the year.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best Wishes

Katie Norman  – Year 2 Team Leader

Welcome to Year 2

Download the topic plan

Some highlights of our learning in Year 2

Computing:

In computing we have been learning about Algorithms and how to use them to direct different objects. We explored this on the playground by imagining we were a rocket which had to be programmed to travel from the Earth to the moon. We then used these skills to instruct the BeeBots by considering the direction and distance they needed to travel.

Design and Technology:

This term we have been learning about what keeps us healthy, by thinking about different food groups and the components of a healthy diet. In Design and Technology we have designed and written our own instructions for making a Fruit Salad. We had to think carefully about the tools and equipment we needed to ensure the fruit was cut into manageable and appropriate pieces. We really enjoyed tasting it at the end!

Science:

In Science we learnt about the different food groups: Carbohydrates, proteins, fruit and vegetables, fats and sugars and dairy. We had to sort food into the correct category. We used this to create our own healthy dinner plate thinking carefully about having the correct proportions of each food group.