Hello and welcome to Cherry Tree Class!

Learning in Cherry Tree Class is both fun and stimulating, please have a look at some of the exciting activities happening in our class.

12th September 2019

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Cherry class. We hope that you had a fantastic break over the summer. It is lovely to see the children back at school. They are all settling in well and getting to know the new routines. For your information Mrs Hutton is teaching Monday-Thursday and Mrs Rebello on Friday. Our teaching assistants are Ms Altomare, Mrs Rodman and Mrs Keightley. Additionally we will also have Miss Aslett working with us on Thursday and Friday during the Autumn term.

Topic

Our topic this half term is ‘Our Local Area'. We will be answering geographical questions such as ‘What is this place like? What or who will I see in this place? What do people do in this place?’ We will be looking at features of an area, both natural and manmade, using maps and taking a walk in the local area.

If the children have any books about these topics they are very welcome to bring them into school to share. Please make sure books are named so we can keep a track of them.  Additionally if parents or grandparents have any knowledge or photographs they would like to share, please talk to us.

English

We will be learning about writing labels, lists and captions. This half term we will be focusing on the use of capital letters, full stops and finger spaces. Year 2 will also be looking at using commas in a list and using conjunctions to join sentences (for example - and, or, but, because).

The children will continue to have guided reading sessions and phonics in groups on most days. In addition, we read with children individually as much as the timetable allows.

Spellings

       In line with the National Curriculum we will be reviewing all key words which children need to know how to spell. These will be published on our class pages. We will continue to encourage children to use their phonics knowledge to attempt spellings and we will also focus on tricky and irregular words which need to be practised and memorised. Look out for spelling lists in the homework books.

Maths

In Maths we are concentrating on place value and looking at addition and subtraction. We are putting a 100 square at the back of the learning log for your child which is the same as those that we use in school. It is very important that the children, particularly those in Year 2, understand the layout of the 100 square and how it can be used. Please spend some time looking at the 100 square and the number patterns with your child. If you are unsure please see a teacher who will explain. Playing games such as dominoes, snakes and ladders, number snap etc at home will help to consolidate learning at school.

R.E.

In RE the children will be thinking about people and places that are special to them and what it means to belong.

Reminders

Please continue to read daily with your child and encourage your child to change books as often as required.  Please speak to Mrs Hutton if you feel that your child is not on the correct reading level. We ask that you record in the diary when you have read with your child and what they have read so that we have a complete record of their reading. Do not feel you have to make a comment each time, just the date and title of the book is fine. Children should bring their reading book, target card and reading diary into school each day.

Please ensure that your child's named PE kit, including plimsolls, is in school every day. Valuable time is wasted if adults have to find spare PE kit for children. Kit can be taken home on a Friday if you wish to wash it but please return to school on Monday. As usual, one PE session per week will be taught by Active Kids.

Please send in a named water bottle and a coat each day.

Please ensure that your child’s school uniform is clearly named. It saves valuable time when we are trying to match clothes to their right owner! Children should now be coming into school in trainers ready for the Daily Mile. School shoes should be kept in school to change into before lessons start.

Please note that children may now enter the classroom from 8.40am. The register is taken promptly at 8.50am and will close at 9am.

Homework will be sent home on a Friday and usually needs to be completed by the following Thursday unless otherwise stated. We ask that you support your child to complete homework to the best of their ability and on time. Children should use a pencil to write with and colouring pencils for drawings. No biros or felt tips please. A list of the weekly homework activity is on the Cherry class page of the school website and at the front of the homework log. Any problems with completing homework please see Mrs Hutton.

Parent helpers

          If you have any spare time and would be willing to come in to help in school on occasion, please let us know. We will usually require a DBS check to be carried out prior to parents volunteering in schools.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to speak to Mrs Hutton.

We look forward to a very busy and productive half term!

 Mrs Hutton, Mrs Rebello, Ms Altomare, Mrs Rodman and Mrs Keightley.

Brilliant Britain.

We have enjoyed learning all about Britain. We have learnt about the countries that make up the United Kingdom. We have learnt about some myths connected with these countries such as the myth about the Loch Ness monster and the Giant's Causeway. We have looked at famous London landmarks and painted them. We discussed traditional British foods such as bangers and mash and apple crumble. We looked at British values and talked about respecting differences.

Great British tea party,

We prepared a selection of traditional British foods for a class tea party. We made cucumber and jam sandwiches, rice krispie cakes and fairy cakes. We decorated the classroom with red, white and blue paper chains and made personal place mats. We all had a great time and some of us discovered that we liked cucumber sandwiches!

Parent Letter Summer 2 2019

Please see below the letter detailing the learning for this next half term. Our topic is 'Brilliant Britain' and will allow the children  to discuss British values and what they mean to them. 

Learning Log tasks Summer 2 2019.

Please see below details of homework activities for this half term. 

Australia Summer 1

We have had lots of exciting learning going on all about Australia. We have found out about Sydney and looked at famous buildings such as the Sydney Opera House. We have looked at examples of Aboriginal art and created our own animal pictures using dot patterns. We wrote a fact file about kangaroos and made a kangaroo out of a paper cup! We discussed the importance of Uluru to the Aboriginals and talked about whether we thought it was disrespectful for tourists to climb the rock. 

For our homework project we found out some facts about didgeridoos and made our own didgeridoos! We used a variety of materials such as cardboard, wood, bamboo, plastic and clay. We played our instruments together and showed them to the rest of the school. They are now on display in the school hall so please take a look. 

Year 2 Multi Sport Tournament.

We had a fantastic afternoon at Stokenchurch Primary School with other Year 2 children from local schools. We took part in a number of activities including shooting a basketball, obstacle course, throwing a shot putt, balance beams and dribbling a football. The children were beautifully behaved and we were very proud of them. Everyone got a certificate for taking part. 

Learning Log Activities Summer 1 2019

Litter Pick.

In PSHE we have been talking about rights and responsibilities. We looked at the UN convention about the rights of children and thought about which adults help to protect our rights. We decided to do a litter pick around the school grounds and local area to show responsibility for our local environment. We were shocked by how much litter we found, particularly plastic items. We are planning to do litter picks more regularly in order to keep the area safe and pleasant for humans and animals. 

Signs of Spring.

We have been thinking about signs of spring in science. As part of our outdoor learning we went outside and recorded all the signs of spring that we saw. In art we looked at some daffodils and drew and painted them.  The display below includes all of our daffodils.