YEAR TWO

 Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Primary School provides a range of holistic learning experiences to enable students to:

• Participate in the life and mission of the school.
• Deepen their knowledge and engagement with the Catholic faith and tradition.
• Build the capacity to continuously reason, reflectively, logically and critically.
• Embrace interdependence of human existence as global citizens, who are responsible to and for themselves and others.
• Engage in learning in a multitude of ways, through personalised and self-paced learning.

Religious Education

Our Religious Education units for this term are:

2.6 Reconciliation

This unit reflects on the human experience of forgiving others and being forgiven. The parable of the Prodigal Son is presented and explored. It presents God as loving and forgiving. The unit explores the concept of reconciliation and living together in peace. It introduces the Sacrament of Penance, exploring how the Catholic community celebrates reconciliation with God and one another.

 2.8 Advent and Christmas

This unit explores Advent as a time of waiting and hoping. Students are introduced to people from the Old and New Testament and how they waited in joyful expectation for the coming of Jesus. 

You can help your child by:

• Encouraging simple daily prayers with your child
• Attending Mass regularly with your child

English

In English this term, students will focus on the contextual concepts of Characterisation, Narrative and Imagery. Texts will include Twits by Road Dahl and Into the Forest by Anthony Browne.

Students will explore how reader response to a character can be created through language, dialogue, actions, images and music. They will engage with well-known literature and innovate from mentor and supporting texts to compose literary descriptions of characters. 

Students will consider how visual elements can enhance meaning and discuss how narrative patterns and structures support predictions and evoke feelings. 

Students will also build on their understanding of imagery, symbol and connotation by exploring intertextuality. They will consider how the relationships between and within texts help shape meaning and consider how images and symbols bring deeper meaning. Texts 

Year 2 students will also continue the Soundwaves spelling program. 

You can assist your child by:

• Listening to them read each night and asking them to retell what they have read in their own words. This is essential for comprehension. Also, ask some literal and inferential questions about the text to ensure they have understood what they have read.
• Checking their spelling words during homework and visiting Soundwaves online to play games

Mathematics

The students will be explicitly taught concepts from the NSW Mathematics K-10 Syllabus with a focus on problem-solving, communication, reasoning and understanding. All activities are differentiated in order to cater to all student needs and abilities.

The topics taught in Term 4 are: Combining and separating qualities, 2D spatial structure, non-spatial measure, Geometric measure, forming groups and 3D spatial structure.

You can assist your child by:

• Telling the time to the half and quarter hour using the language of ‘past’ and ‘to’ on digital and analog clocks.
• Interpreting simple maps of familiar locations and giving directions using positional language
• Investigating the effect one-step slides and flips
• Identifying and describing half-turns and quarter-turns
• Solving simple addition and subtraction problems using a range of efficient mental and written strategies (jump strategy and split strategy).
• Describing patterns with numbers and identifying missing elements
• Describing outcomes as likely or unlikely and identifying some events as certain or impossible
• Identifying practical activities and everyday events that involve chance
• Creating displays of data using lists, tables and picture graphs and interpreting them

Science and Technology

The Science unit this term is called Physical World. The students will further develop their understanding of forces and energy and how these can be used for specific purposes in products. The Digital Technologies strand focuses on digital systems and their components.

History

Students will continue the unit called ‘The Past in the Present’. The students will explore, recognise and appreciate the history of their local area by examining remains of the past and considering why they should be preserved. They will identify and describe significant people, events, places, sites and changes in the local community over time. They will also investigate the effects of changing technology on people’s lives.

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education

In Term 4, students will apply movement concepts to create and perform movement sequences. Students will create, follow, repeat and alter movement sequences in response to rhythm, music or words. Students will perform movements using relationships eg. under, over, through and between objects and equipment. Students will demonstrate changes in speed, direction and level of movement in response to changes in music tempo. 

This term, students will also participate in Peer Support sessions, led by our Year 6 students. In Peer Support, students will delve into a module called "Promoting Harmony." Aligned with our school's core values, this module will empower students to actively and critically construct shared values linked with our Mercy Values.  These will take place every Tuesday afternoon.

This term, in Week 4, Year 2 students will participate in an intensive swimming program. The swimming program is part of the school curriculum and is compulsory for all children.

The intensive program will run for 5 days. Each lesson is 40 minutes (Yrs 2 - 5). 

Year 2 Swimming Program

Amadeus Music Program

Students will continue their participation in the Amadeus Music Education program, introduced by Sydney Catholic Schools to our school this year.

Students will participate in activities in listening, performing and organising sound (Kindergarten to Year 6), within their regular Classroom Music lessons. Within these lessons, students will:

• Sing in unison and in parts
• Play tuned and untuned percussion instruments
• Play available instruments such as Ukulele, Guitar and Keyboard

Creative Arts

In Year Two, students make artworks representing both real and imagined situations exploring a range of techniques and media. They will discuss the qualities of artworks such as subject matter and technique, recognising that artists create artworks for different audiences.

Mandarin

Our students continue to enjoy participating in the Chinese language program called the Meg Language Program. The Meg Curriculum is written by the co-author of the Australian Curriculum. All students and teachers will participate in the digital learning platform via Zoom weekly sessions with educators in China.

Homework 

Homework will follow the same structure. It is recommended that Year 2 students spend up to 20 - 30 minutes of homework per day. This includes 10 minutes of reading every night. Homework consists of daily reading, spelling and Mathematics activities. 

These activities are to be completed weekly. 

Homework is due each Thursday and will be sent home every Friday.

As a reminder, Year 2 has access to WUSHKA Readers Online which includes comprehension questions on each book. Please refer to their password sheet for login information. 

We look forward to continuing to work with you and your child this term. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher via email, a written note or by appointment through the office. 

Thank you for your partnership and support. We are looking forward to a productive term!

2B - Mrs Katrina Hedges

2G - Mrs Lauren Govers

2W - Mrs Alison Bofinger

Important Dates for Year Two

Sport Days are as follows:

2Blue - Tuesday

2Gold - Tuesday

2White - Tuesday

Students are to wear their sports uniform on these days. 

Library 

Each week, students will have the opportunity to borrow books from our school library. Please ensure your child brings their Library Bag to school on their allocated day. 

2Blue - Tuesday

2Gold - Tuesday

2White - Tuesday

Christmas Concert - Wednesday 29th November (Week 8) 5:30 - 7:00 pm

2023 - Term 4

10th October - 15 December 2023

 Parent calendar available at this link