Welcome to Kingfisher Class

Class teacher: Miss McCormack

Class email: kingfisher.class@rawreth.essex.sch.uk

Thank you all so much to the parents who were able to come along and see how well their children worked this half term. I think we have had a great (and very long) half term! Thank you all for your support with homework - please keep this going moving forward. This week we have been focused on instructions for English and D.T. Today we made strawberry and bananas smoothies which were delicious! Over the half term I would love to see some photos of the children following instructions at home. This could be a Lego set, a recipe, a drawing video. These can be sent on the class email and will be added to our whole class floor book.

Have a wonderful half term -get some rest - have fun and we will see you on the 4th November.

Changes to Kingfisher class this week:

Tuesday PM - PPA/ECT time - Mrs Harrison will be covering.

Wednesday PM - PPA/ECT time - Mrs Harrison will be covering.

Thursday 2.45-3.15 - parents invited in.

This week is our whole school TT Rockstar battle! Although Kingfishers do not use TT Rockstars, their data for numbots counts towards the final competition! This is part of our weekly homework and children will be given time during the school day to practice. Please encourage your child to spend  a few minutes playing each day. The child with the highest score in each year group will receive a certificate in our celebration assembly.

This section will be updated every half term. For the first few days back we will be having lots of fun lessons focusing on learning routines, team building and expectations.

This week we will be learning:

• Maths - we will begin our block of learning for addition and subtraction this week. We will start by looking at number bonds and build up to learning number bonds to 20. We will look at doubles and near doubles before moving on to adding and subtraction up to three 1-digit numbers.
• English - we will be looking at instructions this week to make a smoothie in our DT lesson. 
• Science - identifying how the weather changes across the four seasons. We will look at the four seasons and identifying the weather in each of these. We will begin to recognise how the trees change over the seasons. We will then work towards creating our own weather reports.
• DT - We will be starting by identify different fruits. This will be by looking at whether the food item contains seeds and where it is grown. This will help us decide if it is a fruit or a vegetable. We will then plan to make our own smoothies.
• Geography - we will be looking at our local area. We will start by describing familiar places and what we see on our way to school. We will then focus on places which are near and far. We will then plan a walk around the local area.
• Computing - we will be exploring different types of technology and how it helps us. We will first look at what technology is and find these in our classroom. We will then move onto looking at parts of a computer before moving on to improving our typing and mouse skills. We have been practicing our typing skills.
• PSHE - we will begin by discussing the rules of PSHE lessons e.g. respect, listening to others, and taking turns. We will be looking at different families and identifying those who can look after us. We will look at friends, manners, respect and overcoming friendship issues. We will be looking at gender stereotypes and how to begin to overcome these.
• RE - we will be learning about and describing the events of Christmas and Eid. We will then explore how these celebrations bring a community together. This week we have a visit from Rev. Steve to talk to us about how Christmas is celebrated in the church.
• Music - in our music lessons we will be learning to find the beat to music. We will listen to new songs, discuss our likes and dislikes before learning to sing and perform them.
• PE - on Monday's this term we will be focusing on ball skills - this week we will be dribble a ball with our hands. On Thursdays this term we will be focusing on team building - this week we will be co-operating with a partner to complete challenges.

PE Days - Monday and Thursday

Please could you ensure children have the appropriate clothing for the weather and they have a top, trousers/shorts and appropriate footwear in their PE kits.

Please remove any earrings before school.

Homework

Login details for homework will be stuck in the back of reading records by Friday.

Daily reading - please log their reading in their reading records. Please be aware that children's books will be changed once per week. If your child has read lots at home that's fantastic, please use the questions in the books to discuss the story so we are also building on their comprehension as well as their reading and fluency. Please also allow them to read their own materials - this could be magazines, books, poems, songs, etc. to help encourage a love for reading rather than just reading for homework. 

Maths - Please encourage your children to explore the numbots website. There will be dojos up for grabs for time spent using numbots.

Phonics - Children will receive a blue folder with the sheets for the year, this can be kept in their book bags and bought into school. Once your child is secure with the sound and words at home please could you highlight/mark this. 

Handwriting - Please spend time focusing on letter formation ensuring the letters start and finish in the correct places. This is to help ensure a smooth transition when they move through the school and begin to join their handwriting. I have uploaded some more resources below to help support handwriting at home. There is a worksheet for both lower and upper case letters as used in the Monster phonics scheme. There is also a document which details the handwriting rhymes used in Monster phonics to help the children remember how to form each letter.

Spelling - Using the spelling shed website, children have assigned tasks set for each week. Year 2s will have their spelling tasks assigned according to their group.

Thank you!

Phonics resources:

Pure sounds: https://youtu.be/oJGDN5p-Kvg 

Letter formation: https://vimeo.com/909204231?fl=pl&fe=vl

The children have a phonics book to read and an additional book from the library to share with someone at home. The library book is to be read for pleasure so they may need help to read this. Both books need to be returned to school each week. 

Year 2 pupils in Kingfisher class have been very excited to start quizzing on their accelerated reader book and have so far been amazing!!