What another wonderfully busy week we’ve had! The children have been working so hard, and their enthusiasm is shining through in everything they do. With the colder weather arriving, please remember coats, hats, scarves and gloves for playtime.

Our Nativity practice is now in full swing, and the Christmas cheer is definitely spreading! The children are doing brilliantly with their songs and actions, and we can’t wait for you to see the final performance.

A quick reminder that Nativity costumes need to be in by Friday 8th December, please.

Let’s have a look at what we’ve been up to this week!

 

English

In English this week, we have continued our journey with Julia Donaldson’s story Stick Man, and the children’s enthusiasm for the text is still going strong. Building on our earlier comprehension work, we moved into a brand-new focus: learning how to write a letter and doing it all through the eyes of Stick Man himself!

We began by exploring the features of a letter, looking carefully at real examples and spotting important elements such as the greeting, introduction, main body, and closing. The children did brilliantly at identifying what makes a letter different from other types of writing, and they enjoyed practising how to set one out correctly.

Next, we worked on one of our key writing skills for the term: using commas in a list. We played games, created our own silly lists, and worked together to spot where the commas should go. It was lovely to see how confidently the children then used this skill in their own writing.

With all these tools under their belts, the children were ready for their show piece of the week: writing a letter to Father Christmas from Stick Man! Stepping into character helped them think carefully about what Stick Man, Stick Lady Love, and their little stick children might wish for this Christmas. Their ideas were wonderfully imaginative from cosy twig blankets to sparkly forest decorations and they showed such pride in their finished letters.

It has been a joy to see the children developing their writing skills while having so much festive fun.

Our daily phonics sessions continue to play an important role in developing the children’s reading and writing skills. This week, we have been using Fred Fingers to sound out and spell words, especially trickier ones with more sounds. We’ve also spent time blending sounds to read unfamiliar words more fluently and practising our Red Words – these are words that don’t follow regular phonetic rules and need to be remembered by sight, such as “said,” “because,” and “come.”

The children have also been writing sentences independently, working hard to remember their finger spaces, capital letters, and full stops. They are making fantastic progress in becoming more independent and confident writers. If you have a few minutes at home, going over Red Words or encouraging your child to sound out words using their Fred Fingers can make a big difference. Even a short practice each day helps reinforce what we’re doing in school.

 

Reading

Reading at 3: Every Friday at 3, our doors will open for you to come in and enjoy a quiet read with your child. This will be for the full 15 minutes, and we kindly ask that children are not taken home early during this time.

Reading folders: Some children are bringing home two books – one of these will be a Read Write Inc (RWI) home book, which we ask them to read three times throughout the week to help build fluency. These books will be changed by an adult.

The second book (with the coloured sticker) should be changed independently by your child – ideally first thing in the morning.

Some children have moved onto the Accelerated Reader programme and will be able to change their books once they’ve completed the quiz online.
AR login: Click here
Parent Guide: How to use Accelerated Reader

Please ensure reading folders are placed in the trays each morning so that we can read with your child and update their books when needed.

Chilton Heroes Reading Certificate – Each week, one child per class will be recognised for their fantastic reading in our Chilton Heroes assembly.

 

Maths

In maths this week, we have moved on from last week’s work on statistics and begun exploring the exciting world of money and the children have taken to it brilliantly! We started by looking closely at different coins and notes, talking about their values and how we can combine them to make different amounts. The children enjoyed hands-on activities where they built totals using a range of coins, carefully checking their work and explaining their thinking.

Once we were confident making amounts, we moved on to counting money, adding coins and notes together and practising efficient strategies to help us total up more quickly. The children showed great focus and resilience, especially when working with trickier combinations.

We then began comparing amounts, using the greater than, less than and equals signs to show which total was larger. This really helped the children strengthen their understanding of value and reinforced their place value knowledge too.

To finish the week, we tackled the challenge of giving change. The children loved role-play shop activities where they practised working out how much change a customer should receive. They did a wonderful job thinking carefully about counting on and using number bonds to help them find the answer.

 

DT

After discovering how the Great Fire of London destroyed so much of the city including London Bridge. We took our inspiration straight into DT, where the children became engineers for the week.

We began by exploring different materials and discussing which ones might make a strong, stable bridge. The children carefully selected their resources and practised a range of joining techniques, working together to create their very own model bridges. It was wonderful to see them problem-solving, adapting their ideas and showing fantastic teamwork throughout the building process.

Once our bridges were complete, it was time for the big test! First, we checked whether each bridge could hold the weight of a small doll, there were lots of proud smiles as many of them stayed standing strong. Then came the ultimate challenge: could the bridge withstand gale-force winds? The children loved watching their creations being put to the test and were eager to discuss what worked well and what they might improve next time.

It has been a brilliant week of creativity, engineering and hands-on learning, and we were so impressed with the children’s enthusiasm and resilience.

 

Home Learning

This week we are on the count down to our Nativity! This week we would like the children could learn their lines and use expression for their home learning this week.

 

Advance warning for our party day…

Red Romans: Sweet treats

Blue Vikings: Fruits and Vegetables

Yellow Saxons: Savoury snacks (Not crisps)

Green Normans: Crisps and dips

 

Dates to Remember

8th December – Year 3 to Royal Harbour

10th December – No swimming this week, Year 5 will have PE as usual

10th December – Christmas Fair 3.15pm-4.15pm

11th December – Year 4 to Maidstone Museum

12th December – Reception Nativity at 9am in the hall

15th December – No PE this week

15th December – Year 1 Nativity at 9am in hall

16th December – Year 3 and 4 Church Performance at 10am and Year 5 and 6 Church Performance at 2pm, both at St Laurence Church

16th December -Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 Christmas Parties – children to wear Party Clothes to school

17th December – Year 2 Nativity at 9am in School Hall

17th December – Year 3, 4, 5, and 6 Christmas Party Day – children to wear Party Clothes to school

17th December – Christmas Dinner Day

18th December – Year 2 and 3 to watch the Pantomime at St Lawrence College

18th December – Christmas Jumper Day

18th December – Final day at school; school finishes at 2pm and there will be no after school club

 

Thank you all for your support and we hope you have a lovely weekend! 😊

 

The Year 2 Team

Miss Maddy Kennedy – Team Sapphire – maddy.kennedy@chiltonprimary.co.uk

Mr Josh Belsey - Team Cornflower - joshua.belsey@chiltonprimary.co.uk