Hi, my name is Miss Coyne, and I am the Year 2 Nightingale Class Teacher.

I have spent over 11 years teaching in Early Years and Year 1 and have fallen in love with the creativity and breadth of the curriculum. 

At St. John's, I lead Phonics and Early Reading, and Music, and I am the Team Leader for KS1. 

I have a passion for listening to and playing music as well as competing in sports events. I have represented Ireland twice for different sports; the 100m freestyle event in swimming and Team Twirling at the Baton World Championships!

Other staff working in our class are:

Mrs. Bradshaw - 3rd Teacher and Nightingale Teacher on Fridays

Mrs. Wells - Teaching Assistant

Mrs. Hmar - Teaching Assistant (Monday–Thursday)

Mrs. Bates - Teaching Assistant (Fridays)

Our weekly timetable: 

Important dates for the diary this term for Nightingale Class:

Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas lunch - Wednesday 18th December

KS1 Nativity 9.30 Thursday 19th December

PE - Every Wednesday - Please come to school dressed in the correct PE uniform

Our learning this term:

In term 2, we will be reading the texts 'Field Trip to the Moon' and 'The Great Explorer'.  We will learn about and use nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs in our writing.  In Year 2, the children will focus on writing their own narratives with a clear beginning, middle and ending.  We will continue to edit our work by re-reading it, correcting our spellings and adding in more adjectives.

  

 

In Maths, we will focus on adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers, such as 52 + 21 = __, and 78 - 9 =__ . Later in the term, we will look at the symmetry in 2D shapes as well as identifying vertices in 3D shapes.

  

Our History topic this term is 'Explorers'.  We will study, identify and describe key events in the life and expedition of Robert Falcon Scott.  The children will learn about other great explorers too and compare the legacy of their achievements.

                                                                                   

In Science, Year 2 will continue to learn about 'Animals and their Habitats'.  The children will use their knowledge from last term to carry out some fair tests, answering questions like: 'Why are trees an important feature of habitats? Where do you see the most ivy and why?'

In RE this term, the children will be learning about Islam and discovering who is a Muslim and what do they believe?  We will begin to understand the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, learn about Ramadan and understand why a mosque might be so special for Muslims.

Learning at home for Nightingale Class: 

Children are expected to read every night for at least 10 minutes.  Reading records should be signed by an adult and brought back into school each day to be checked by a member of staff. Your child will take home 2 books each day – a banded book, and a phonics book.  These will be changed on Mondays and Thursdays.

Spelling Shed and Numbots can be accessed from home using the logins provided on the inside of your child's reading record.  Spelling assignments will be given out each week, which support the Year 2 spelling curriculum.

Spellings will be given out each week and tested on a Monday.  

Be ready for learning! In Nightingale Class, your child will need to have these items in school: 

Key Stage One (Years 1 and 2) 

• Book bag (no rucksacks please) 

• PE kit (to be worn on PE day) 

• Water bottle (no squash or juice) 

• Lunchbox (if not having school meal) 

• Wellington boots (to leave in school) 

• Coat (weather appropriate) 

Please don’t bring other items into school, as we do not have space to store them, and it can cause upset if things are lost or damaged. 

School Uniform Checklist:

Please label ALL items of clothing and shoes clearly with your child’s name. This helps even our younger children to take responsibility for and look after their uniform. 

Highlights of our learning so far this year:

Term 1: Lost and Found.  To launch this term, we went on a treasure hunt.  We had to read clues in search of Miss. Coyne's water bottle!  It was stuck up a tree! 

We spent time outdoors making animals using natural materials! We looked at food chains and spoke about how animals survive in their habitats.  We even discovered some plants and animals living in our pond. 

         

 Thank you to all of our wonderful parents/carers who came in to create a habitat with their children - they looked amazing!

      

 

So far in Term 2, we have started our 'Explorers' topic by building a base camp with suitable shelter, food and drinks for someone who might be going on an overnight adventure.