This week, Year Two have been exploring our new guiding question: “Does Crew stop at the school gates?” We began the term by thinking carefully about what it means to be part of a crew, not just in our classroom but in our wider community too.

Throughout the week, children took part in a range of activities designed to reconnect us as a crew after the summer break. We shared stories, took new crew photographs, created self-portraits for our classroom displays, and agreed on norms to help guide how we want our classroom to look, feel and sound. We also enjoyed team-building games and challenges, reminding ourselves that we are always stronger when we work together.

A real highlight was our work on kindness. Each child wrote a thoughtful kindness poem, which was carefully packaged alongside small treats into gift bags. In the afternoon, we set out together to deliver these kindness bags around Norton. The children were so proud to share their poems and gifts with members of our local community, showing that acts of compassion can travel far beyond the school gates.

This project helped us to see that crew is not just something that happens inside the classroom – it is about how we connect with and care for others wherever we go. We are excited to continue exploring this question throughout the year.

What a brilliant first day we’ve had back at school today! It was wonderful to see all the children arriving this morning with big smiles, smart uniforms and lots of excitement (and a few little nerves too – which is completely normal!).

The children have settled back into school life so quickly. We spent time getting to know our new classroom, reminding ourselves of our routines and expectations, and most importantly, enjoying being back together as a crew.

A big focus for us today was on the character trait of Craftsmanship and Quality. Using the artist Piet Mondrian as our inspiration, the children worked carefully and thoughtfully to create some beautiful pieces of artwork of their own – we were so impressed with the pride they took in their work.

We also shared the story Our Class is a Family. Together, we thought about our families at home and then reflected on what will make our classroom feel like a family too. The children came up with some wonderful ideas about kindness, teamwork and looking after one another.

There were also plenty of opportunities for fun games and team challenges to help everyone feel comfortable and confident. It was lovely to see new friendships beginning to form and old ones picking up right where they left off.

We are so proud of how brilliantly the children have started the year. This is going to be an exciting term filled with learning, discovery and new adventures – and today was the perfect start!

Well done, everyone – we can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Mrs Parsons and Miss Tinker xx