Year 2 / Blwyddyn 2
Welcome to Year 2 / Croeso i Flwyddyn 2
Don’t let what you can not do stop you from doing what you can
Winning doesn’t mean always being first. Winning means you are doing better than you’ve done before
The Year 2 Team / Tim Blwyddyn 2
The Year 2 teachers are:
Mrs Ceri Harries 2H
Mrs Rachel Evans and Mrs Naomi Thomas 2ET
The Year 2 Teaching Assistants (TAs) are:
Mrs Sian Johns, Mrs Karen Martin (Monday to Friday), Miss Alys Evans (Monday to Wednesday), Miss Sophia Callow (Thursday to Friday)
Times / Amserau
The Year 2 morning drop off starts at 8:45 and finishes at 8:55 when our school day starts.
Children should stay on the path and avoid walking on the grass.
If you arrive later than 8.55, to ensure the safety of your child, please take them to the main entrance to be dropped off as there will be no-one on the 2P gate to meet them.
Our day finishes at 3.25. Please collect your child promptly from the lower playground.
Snacks & Lunch / Byrbrydau a Chinio
Your child will need a packed lunch, or you can order a school lunch via ParentPay. All lunches for primary school pupils are now free.
Please aim to order your child's lunch the night before or at the latest, by 8am on the day.
Each day, children will need to bring in their healthy fruit or vegetable for snack and a full drinks bottle. The children have access to a water cooler where they can refill their bottles throughout the day.
As there are children with allergies across the school, please avoid sending food items into school that may contain nuts. This includes any foods that contain nuts such as peanut butter, Nutella/chocolate spreads, cereal bars etc.
What & How we learn / Sut a beth yr ydym yn dysgu
Year 2 Learning Projects
Autumn 1 - Muck, Mess & Mixtures
Autumn 2 - Heroes & Heroines
Spring 1 - Towers, Tunnels & Turrets
Spring 2 - Tales from Wales
Summer Term - Our Natural World
Personal Equipment
Everything that your child needs will be provided for them, so please ensure that they do not bring any personal items to school.
It would assist us greatly in school if you could ensure that your child's name is clearly marked on all items of clothing, especially cardigans, jumpers, coats, bags, lunch boxes and drink bottles.
Homework
Homework will be allocated during term-time on Seesaw.
Outdoor Learning
Year 2's Outdoor Learning day will be every second Tuesday with the first session starting 10th September. Please can you send your child into school with a pair of willies on the day, or you can send in a pair to keep on their pegs.
Curriculum for Wales
The Curriculum consists of What Matters Statements which are found within these Six Areas of Learning
Expressive Arts (this spans five disciplines: art, dance, drama, film and digital media and music)
Health and Wellbeing (this includes PE)
Humanities (this Area encompasses geography; history; religion, values and ethics; business studies and social studies)
Languages, Literacy and Communication (which aims to support learning across the whole curriculum and to enable learners to gain knowledge and skills in Welsh, English and international languages as well as in literature)
Maths and Numeracy
Science and Technology This area draws on the disciplines of biology, chemistry, computer science, design and technology, and physics to enhance learners’ knowledge and understanding of the world.
These are carefully planned within a broad and balanced curriculum.
Literacy
Pupils take part in weekly Guided Group Reading sessions. Reading Folders are sent home every Friday with a Bug Club book allocated as they are completed. Please return reading folders on Wednesday mornings.
Phonics is taught throughout the week and three times a week and handwriting every week also.
Welsh
Helpwr Heddiw session daily, in which the teacher chooses a helper to assist with Welsh games, vocabulary and commands for that day
Dysgu Cymraeg/Learning Welsh
If parents would like to join their children in practising Welsh at home, please see below for some links which we hope will be helpful:
https://www.s4c.cymru/en/dysgu-cymraeg/#
Apps:
Say Something in Welsh
Duolingo
Maths & Numeracy
Pupils study Maths three times a week plus tests every Friday. There is also a weekly focus on Application; up to Autumn half term the focus is on Number, moving on to include Reasoning from then on
Health & Wellbeing
Through the learning projects, Year 2 pupils explore Safe and Unsafe Materials (Muck, Mess & Mixtures), and Handwashing (Glitterbugs) - part of Heroes and Heroines, one of whom is Welsh nurse, Betsi Cadwaladr.
Personal and Social Development learning is continuous with a strong focus in the first half term. Every Friday is Friendly Friday. Pupils enjoy fortnightly Jigsaw sessions for their personal, social and health education, and they also have access to Thrive sessions with Miss Clarke, our Thrive practitioner.
Mrs Thomas leads regular Outdoor Learning sessions in which the pupils explore, enjoy and learn about the natural environment in the school grounds and surrounding areas.
Science & Technology
In Muck, Mess and Mixtures pupils make a magic potion, explore the properties of materials, and investigate who pushed Humpty.
Year 2 pupils make a catapult in Towers, Tunnels & Turrets and in Tales from Wales they research facts about landmarks and create an Ebook on Visit Wales in the Book Creator programme
In Our Natural World pupils research the amount of sugar in drinks and the effects of plastic pollution. They also create a KWL grid on minibeasts, and construct a branching database to record their research and findings, and they enjoy pond dipping in Newport Wetlands
Humanities
Tales From Wales encompasses Geography, looking at landmarks in Wales and exploring why people visit Wales
Heroes and Heroines takes the children to historical hospitals, researching Brilliant Betsi (Betsi Cadwaladr), Florence Nightingale, and Mary Seacole, and comparing them to how hospitals work today. They meet parent experts who are hospital doctors and GPs, and learn about hygiene.
Class assemblies enable the exploration of the many religions that are followed at Lakeside and festivals such as Diwali and Chinese New Year are celebrated with craft and dance workshops
Physical Education / Ymarfer Corff
Year 2 PE sessions take place on a Monday. Please could children wear their PE kit into school: navy/black joggers, shorts or leggings and navy/white t-shirt, and a school jumper for warmth.
Learning Areas / Mannau Dysgu
Classroom areas include creative, literacy, numeracy, discovery, carpet, outdoor, and a reading corner.
Language areas are used for interventions and small group work.
Learners are given the opportunities to explore and discover various aspects of their natural environment outside. The outdoor activities planned often link to their indoor learning projects.
During the school year, as part of our learning projects, Year 2 visit Cardiff Castle, Roath Park, Porthlerry Park and Cosmeston Lakes.
Communication, and helping at home / Cyfathrebu, a helpu eich plentyn
Year 2 use the platform Seesaw as a tool for home school communication as well as setting homework and recording their digital learning journeys in school.
We will send out any announcements and reminders using the messaging part of Seesaw.
Parents & Carers can also use the messaging part of Seesaw to communicate with class teachers however if it is urgent, please inform the office, as we may not see a message until the end of a school day.
Homework
Homework will be set every Friday using Seesaw, where teachers can set homework digitally for children to complete on a device at home, which can then be sent back for the teachers to respond to. We will also assign books to your child’s Bug Club online library.
Home Reading Folders
Please can book bags be returned with the home reading book inside every Wednesday.
Sharing with Parents/Carers / Rhannu gyda Rhieni/Gofalwyr
Year 2 share work and learning experiences with parents/carers at Christmas and during the Spring Term.
Parent Consultations take place in October and March.
Learning Areas / Mannau Dysgu
Classroom areas include creative, literacy, numeracy, discovery, carpet, outdoor, and a reading corner.
Language areas are used for interventions and small group work.
Learners are given the opportunities to explore and discover various aspects of their natural environment outside. The outdoor activities planned often link to their indoor learning projects.
During the school year, for their learning projects, Year 2 visit Cardiff Castle, Victoria Park, Newport Wetlands and Porthkerry Park