Year 2: Mrs Ganguly - Macaw Class
Welcome to Macaw class
Scan the QR code and enjoy reading some amazing facts about Macaws
https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/macaw/
Macaw Class is made up of 26 fabulous Year 2 children. Our class teacher is Mrs Ganguly and our teaching assistants are Mrs Salt, Ms Hawkins and Ms Musson. Every Wednesday, we will be taught by Mrs Salt whilst Mrs Ganguly has her planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time.
On our webpage you will find regular updates on our learning as well as useful information and important dates. Alongside this webpage, you will also have access to our class dojo where we will share regular updates with you so that you know exactly what we have been up to.
Message from Mrs. Ganguly
Hello Everyone,
I hope you have all had a wonderful and restful summer . I am so excited to welcome you back and begin our Year 2 adventure together!
The Autumn term is always a busy and exciting one, with lots of special events, celebrations, and memorable learning experiences planned. We have so much to look forward to already!
In the meantime, I have attached our new spelling list and curriculum information so you can see some of the exciting things we will be learning this term. Please also make a note of our PE days:
Monday – Indoor PE
Thursday – Outdoor PE
I am genuinely looking forward to getting to know the children even better this year, celebrating their achievements and creating lots of wonderful memories together.
If you have any questions, concerns, or simply want to get in touch, please do not hesitate to contact me via Dojo or email. I am always happy to help.
Warm regards,
Mrs Ganguly.
Meet the Teacher
Meet the teacher-Macaw class.pdf
Autumn 1- Key dates for your diary
- Friday 4th September - Inset Day
Monday 7th September - Children's first day in Year 2
Wednesday 23rd September - School Parliament elections
Wednesday 30th September - Expert Group afternoon
Tuesday 13th October - Parents' Evening
Friday 23rd October - Dovedale's Got Talent and break up for half-term
Monday 2nd November - Inset Day
Tuesday 3rd November - Children back in school
Timetables
Spellings
Spelling List - Autumn 1 - Main Group.pdf
Our weekly spelling test of Year 2 words takes place every Friday and our first spelling test this term will be on Friday, 11th September 2026.
Your child will also receive spelling practice and tests on words at their phonics level, which takes place throughout the week as part of their phonics and literacy lessons.
PE / Forest School
Our PE days for Autumn 1 are as follows:
Outdoor PE – Every Thursday afternoon
Indoor PE – Every Monday afternoon
The indoor and outdoor PE kit should include:
A plain red T-shirt (with or without the school logo)
A plain black sports jacket/zip-up jacket – please ensure these are named
Plain black or navy joggers or shorts (weather dependent)
If your child has long hair, please make sure they have a bobble to tie it back in.
Our Autumn 1 Curriculum
In the Autumn Term we will be covering the following:
English – During our first half-term we will be focusing on the basics which underpin our curriculum by unpicking spelling, grammar and punctuation and using this knowledge to construct sentences. Each week we will explore a different focus, varying from capital letters and full stops, to conjunctions before recapping and introducing different word classes. Later in the term we will apply these skills to a setting description based on The Great Fire of London.
Maths – In our Autumn Term, lessons will be consolidating our knowledge of number and place value. We will begin partitioning numbers into tens and ones and begin to order numbers to 100 using a wider range of mathematical language, including greater than, less than and equal to. As the term progresses, we will begin to introduce mental strategies for adding to 10, to the next 10 and across 10. Throughout the year we will be focussing on the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
Science – Our unit this term focusses on animals, including humans. We will begin to learn that animals have offspring which grow into adults and begin to classify them into groups. We will look at the basic needs of animals and humans to survive and will learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and hygiene.
History – In History we will focus on the significant event in British History known as The Great Fire of London. We will make comparisons between London in the past and present and begin to communicate how the fire started. We will use different sources and significant people to help us retell the narrative.
Art – This term our focus will be around the skill of drawing by using different mediums to create layers and to show different textures and effects.
PSCHE & RSHE – This term we will kickstart our learning by identifying the importance of Drug Education. In these sessions we will explore the role of drugs as medicines and learn the difference between helpful and harmful medicines. We will look at ways we can keep ourselves safe and how to make informed, responsible choices.
RE – This term we will build upon the children's knowledge from Year 1 by talking about the different things which Christians believe in. We will focus on different biblical stories and begin to tell these in different ways – through pictures and captions, writing and even through drama.
PE – In our indoor PE sessions we will be working on developing our rhythm and control by perfecting dance routines. In our outdoor PE sessions we will be focusing on the basic skills of throwing and catching.
Please click on the document attachments below to see what we will be learning in each subject.
- English - SPAG.pdf
- Maths - Number and Place Value.pdf
- Maths-Addition-and-Subtraction-Knowledge-Organiser.pdf
- Maths-Multiplication-and-Division-Knowledge-Organiser.pdf
- Maths-fractions-maths-knowledge-organiser.pdf
- PSCHE - Drug Education.pdf
- RE - Christianity.pdf
- Science - Animals Including Humans.pdf
- History - Knowledge Organiser - Great Fire of London.pdf
Our class books this term are...
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
This half term, Year 2 are reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The story follows Charlie Bucket, a kind and humble boy who wins a Golden Ticket and gets the chance to visit Willy Wonka’s amazing chocolate factory. We have enjoyed exploring the exciting characters, magical inventions and important lessons about kindness, honesty and gratitude. The children have loved using their imaginations and discussing their favourite parts of this wonderful story.
Reading
Your child will receive a reading diary and a wallet containing 2 books. The first book is a black and white ‘storybook’ – this will be a copy of the book your child has learned to read in their Read, Write Inc phonics group. They will know this book and should be able to read it fluently – this is their book where they can show off their great reading skills to you! The second book is a ‘Book Bag Book’ – this book will be matched to your child’s phonics knowledge. Although they will not have read this book in school, they should be able to read it quite easily. This book enables your child to apply their phonic skills independently and for this reason, this is the book we encourage you to focus on at home.
Each child will also choose a book to share together at home. We promote a love of books and reading at school and would like to encourage this at home. We do not expect children to be able to read the sharing book themselves, but we do expect them to enjoy listening to it, learning from it and talking to you about it!
In order for our phonics teaching to work effectively, it is essential that all books are returned to school. After hearing your child read at home, or sharing a book together, please make sure all books go straight back into their reading wallet / bag so they are always readily available at school. Depending on their phonics group, children will be given new reading books every 4 to 6 days.
Please note: Some black and white storybooks have a space for the child's name. Please leave this blank as these are not personal copies, and will be re-used.
Finally, a reminder that we ask for you to hear your child read at least 3 times each week. Please sign your child’s reading diary after each read and include any comments you would like to make. If your child has read at least 3 times each week their name will get entered into our Reading Raffle!
Homework
Alongside weekly reading and spelling practice, your child will also be set some online activities linked to grammar and Maths. These activities may be set on Spag.com or MyMaths.
This term we are also going to start times tables practise on TTRockstars. Children will be given a letter and their username and password and all other details to login.
Weekly updates will be provided via class dojo to make you aware of the homework each week.
You can access the homework apps and websites below: