Foundation Subjects Home Learning 

All of the children will have an investigative topic-linked learning task to complete, which is rotated over a three-week cycle. The children will focus on one of their three current foundation subjects each week.
To support this, the children are split into 3 groups, which you can see below.
This will be set on a Thursday and due by the following Tuesday.
In class on a Tuesday or Wednesday, the children will then share the outcomes of their research, and the knowledge they have retrieved, within their own group.

This week (beginning 17th November 2025)

We’ve had another wonderful week in Durham 2, filled with creativity, curiosity and lots of hands-on learning!

The children have been busy in maths exploring both 2D and 3D shapes. They’ve been naming and describing shapes using key vocabulary such as sides, vertices (corners), edges and faces, and have enjoyed making and spotting repeating and symmetrical patterns using a variety of shapes.

In English, we’ve been using expanded noun phrases to add rich detail to our writing. The children applied these beautifully when creating setting descriptions of a forest, using imaginative adjectives to help paint a vivid picture for the reader.

In science, we learnt about the different types of shelters animals need to survive. The children researched real examples — such as hedgehogs making nests of leaves, badgers building setts underground, and birds using twigs and moss to create strong, safe nests.

In history, our focus has been on activists from around the world and the impact they’ve had in creating change. The children were fascinated to learn how people can stand up for what they believe in and make a difference.

Our Design and Technology lessons were full of excitement as the children created moving-head owls using linkage mechanisms. They loved experimenting with how the parts moved and bringing their owls to life.

We also enjoyed a brilliant trip to the DC, which sparked lots of discussion and enthusiasm back in the classroom. Alongside all of this, we’ve been sharing and enjoying a wide range of books during story time, helping to build our love of reading.

Rehearsals for our Nativity are now in full swing, and the children are already practising with great enthusiasm — it’s lovely to see their confidence growing each day.

Well done to all the children for their fantastic effort and positive attitude this week. We hope you have a restful and happy weekend.

The Durham 2 Team💫

Spelling (Term 2 Week 3-4)

Here are the spellings your children can practise at home to support their learning. The following link will take you to the spelling scheme we are working from in school Oxford Owl Primary Spelling. The following document contains spelling strategies that are used in class, and can be used at home to aid learning new words: Southborough's Spelling Strategies

A typical week in Durham 2...

Maths, Numbots and Timestable RockStars

To use Numbots or TTRS, for games to support number knowledge, timestables and fluency go to https://play.numbots.com/#/intro or https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth. If you need your child's log-in please ask your class teacher.

Reading

Parents please log your child's reading on the BOOM reader Parent Portal or by using the BOOM reader parent app on your tablet/mobile no more than once a week. You can record their school reading book or a book they are enjoying from home. 

Your child will bring home a Read Write Inc. book every Friday with speed sounds to practise. Children are asked to bring these back in on Wednesdays please.

Read Write Inc. Phonics

Please click on the link to view how to pronounce the Read Write Inc sounds.

Click here for Read Write Inc sound pronunciation