Friday, 17th January 2025

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Year 2 enjoyed a very active week. On Monday the children moved on in their Gymnastics PE unit and learnt about different ways to travel, thinking about speed and levels. On Wednesday, they further consolidated that learning by revising their individual and later pair balances, distinguishing between them as patch and point.

In Science this week, the class looked at personal hygiene as one of the needs for human survival. They completed a practical enquiry when they used black pepper flakes and soap to model and investigate what happens to germs when washed away by soap.

On Tuesday, the class participated in a Whole School Trampoline workshop and enjoyed 40 minutes of jumping, dancing and games using individual trampettes.  The children had an absolutely fabulous time! We thank Miss Pringle for organising this treat for us!

In other areas of the curriculum, we practiced long and short written methods for adding 2 digit numbers in Maths, whilst in English we learnt about organisational tools within sub headings and used factual adjectives for description. We also practiced using commas in lists and wrote formal sentences about various animals applying them.

In RE, we looked at the third Catholic Social teaching principle Peace and Solidarity and wrote acrostic poems reflecting on our Mission to show peace to others. In Geography, the class used satellite images and web cameras to compare the North Pole and the South Pole whilst in Computing the children looked at IT around the world. In Art, they used graphite rods to create prints of small objects.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning

Spelling: https://www.edshed.com/en-gb  Please complete the assigned activities. Also, if you would like a paper style worksheet to further consolidate this week’s words please download :

Stage 2 Lesson 8 Words ending in le – Homework Answers

Stage 2 Lesson 8 Words ending in le – Homework Sheet

Reading: Please continue to read and sign reading records.

Maths: https://login.mathletics.com/

https://ttrockstars.com/    Well done Mia and Ianis, our Class Leaders!

Friday, 10th January 2025

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Happy New Year and welcome back!

It has been lovely to see the children after the Christmas holidays and hear how grateful they were for their experiences and presents. The children reflected on their favourite memories by filling their ‘Jars’, which we have displayed on our classroom door.

We started new units in many subjects this term. We are learning about information texts in English as a lead up to the children’s final outcome: non-chronological reports based on penguins. We compared a variety of non-fiction books to fiction ones this week, as well as, identifying text features of information texts, such as: titles, sub-headings, labels, diagrams, captions, paragraphs and technical language. We also launched our SPaG revision sessions with a focus on sentence structure, key punctuation, word families and spelling.

In Maths, we moved onto subtraction strategies and practised 3 different ways to subtract single digit numbers from 2 digit numbers up to a hundred.

In RE, we celebrated the Epiphany by participating in a Collective Worship wearing crowns made before the holidays, as well as, spending time planning for Collective Worships that the children will lead themselves in class in small Liturgy Groups starting next week Tuesday.

In PE, we used the hall to start our next unit of work on Gymnastics and looked at various ways of travelling as well as balances and turns. We created routines of 3x 8 counts with a different quarter turn in between.

In Geography, we compared the Antarctic to the Sahara Desert noticing how they are actually quite similar. They lack rainfall, they are barren with extreme temperatures and are habitat to species (plants and animals) that needed to adapt in order to survive these conditions. We later used information texts to compare the penguins we learnt about before to the camel and again notice similarities in their bodies and way of life.

PE lessons will continue to be on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please ensure that if girls are wearing tights due to the cold temperatures, they have a pair of socks to change into as children often have to use apparatus (gymanstics) barefeet.

Our Class Assembly originally scheduled for Friday, 31st January 2025 had to be moved to Friday 7th March due to unforseen circumstances.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning

Spelling– please log onto Spelling Shed and see the assigned lists. https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Reading– Please continue to read with your child and sign reading records.

Maths– Please log onto Mathletics and complete the assigned tasks. https://login.mathletics.com/

Please also continue to access multiplication practice through TTRockstars. https://play.ttrockstars.com/   Well done to Ianis, who is our overall leader!

 

 

Friday, 20th December 2024

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The last week of the Autumn Term has been a busy one in all classes, Year 2 no exception!
On Monday, we had a great time at the Panto, watching Aladdin. Thank you for Freddy’s, Fiona’s and Jacob’s mummy for your support.
On Wednesday, we enjoyed a lovely Christmas lunch:
before watching some amazing performances during our Pope Paul’s Got Talent Show:
Well done for our finalists, you were brilliant!
We spent the rest of the week making Christmas cards and other crafts whilst solving Christmas Maths Mysteries and writing acrostic poems inspired by the festivities.
It has been a great term and the children  did really well settling in and doing challenging learning!
Thank you for your continued support, the cards, and your very generous presents. They were much appreciated by all members of staff working in Year 2!
Have a fantastic Christmas and a happy and healthy  New Year !
See you in 2025!
Ms Varga

Friday, 13th December 2024

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What a week for the children in Year 2!

Super well done for your amazing Nativity play on Tuesday AND Wednesday! Your performance was brilliant and it has been wonderful to watch you so animated and happy on stage. All your hard work during the rehearsals was worth it in the end! I couldn’t be prouder of you all!

On Thursday, we had our Christmas Fun day when the children met Father Christmas and enjoyed party games before heading into the hall for cakes and tattoos. Thank you for all the parent helpers for their hard work; the class had a lovely time.

Please remember that on Monday, we are watching the Panto so the children need to come to the Church car park at 9.30am and be registered. If your child attends breakfast club, members of the staff will walk them down to the Church. As we are walking back to school later, please make sure the children have appropriate coats with a hood.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning:

Spelling: Please log onto EdShed to consolidate this week’s words (Words where ‘kn’ and ‘gn’ make a /n/ sound at the beginning of words) and use the games to pre-learn next week’s Challenge words.

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Reading: Please continue to read at home and sign reading records.

Maths: Log onto TTRockStars and practice your assigned tables.

 

Friday, 6th December 2024

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Well done for another busy week, Year 2!

In Maths, we consolidated our 2nd  strategy for addition, ‘Think 10’, before moving on to adding 3 numbers and adding to the next ten. In English, we have worked towards a list poem using expanded noun phrases for a chosen colour as part of our ‘The day the crayons quit’ unit. In RE, we carried on our learning of the Annunciation with a lesson on the Visitation according to Luke, as well as, further extending our understanding of the religious signs and symbols of Advent and Christmas.

We spent time on rehearsing for our Nativity production as well as being the audience for Reception’s  Nativity Dress rehearsal.

But the highlight of our week must have been our class trip to St Albans Cathedral on Thursday.

During our first workshop, we went on a trail around the Cathedral to gain a better understanding of symbols of Advent and Christmas, such as the cross, an Advent calendar, Advent wreaths, Christmas trees and greeting cards, as well as the Nativity scene.

Later on in our workshop, the children had an opportunity to look at the Liturgical colours of various garments worn by the Bishops as well dressing up into one of the Nativity roles and act out the story of Jesus’ birth.

After some lovely lunch, we participated in a Christmas clay workshop, putting our learning into action by designing some learnt symbols and  sticking them on clay tiles.

Thank you to Mrs Badini, Mrs Orsi-Harper, Mrs Treiber and Mrs Moccia for accompanying us on this trip!

Please remember, we have a filmed dress rehearsal for our Nativity on Tuesday, 10th December and another final performance on Wednesday, 11th December. Thank you for those of you who brought in your costumes; if you haven’t, please make sure it is in School on Monday.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning:

Spellings: Words where ‘c’ makes an /s/ sound before ‘e’, ‘i’ and ‘y’  and pre-learning for next week: Words where ‘kn’ and ‘gn’ make a /n/ sound at the beginning of words

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Maths: Please complete the assigned activities based on addition strategies

https://sign-in.mathletics.com/

https://ttrockstars.com/

Reading: Please continue to read at home and sign reading records

Friday, 29th November 2024

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The children in Year 2 had a busy week with a focus on rehearsals for our Nativity production later in December.

In English, the class completed their third big write, a letter of complaint as a classroom item- such as a sharpener, a rubber or the carpet- giving reasons for their upset, using conjunctions and apostrophes for contractions. They also published these pieces in neat.

In Maths we moved on and later consolidated our second addition strategy- Think 10. In applying this strategy, the children rewrite complex number sentences as simpler ones by forming a number bond to 10. E.g.: 8+7 can be re-written as 10+5.

In RE, we looked at Luke’s Gospel of the Annunciation and Visitation and used image prompts to identify the characters, setting and plot. The class also made Advent promises, reflecting on their Advent journey of mission whilst also produced stained glass pictures to add to our display.

The class also enjoyed 2 art activities related to our Geography topic: Antarctica. First, they used a video tutorial to sketch and colour in Emperor penguins, whilst later in the week, they also used clay to create 3D models of these remarkable animals.

 

Please, remember to bring in hamper items (check class colour in the newsletter) and please check that you have given consent for our class trip, next Thursday, 5th December 2024. Please also remember to order a school packed lunch if needed in time.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning:

Spelling- Please consolidate this week’s words: Words where ‘g’ makes a /j/ sound

Please see next week’s words in the second assignment: Words where ‘c’ makes an /s/ sound before ‘e’, ‘i’

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Reading- Please carry on reading with your child and sign reading record

Nativity- please practice your lines for the production and go through the lyrics for the songs too.

Song lyrics

Friday, 22nd November 2024

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The children in Year 2 this week wrote informal letters as Duncan to one of the Crayons from our class book, The day the Crayons quit, applying conjunctions and persuasive words/phrases. They also edited for punctuation including apostrophes for omission and contraction.

In Maths, we used BBC’s Number block song-Ten again- to recall number bonds to 10, 20 and 100 before moving on to addition and subtraction strategies.

In RE, the children made Advent wreaths in class and later explained their choices and their symbolism of Advent. The endless circle- Jesus’ life, the evergreen leaves – Jesus’ endless love for us, the candles-each for a Sunday leading up to Christmas.

The children also wrote Advent prayers that will create our classroom display later next week.

The class also spent time in the afternoons  rehearsing for their Nativity play. We are getting very confident with our songs and the children’s lines are coming along nicely.

Well done to Donnie and Amelia who presented their wonderful ‘Show and tell’ learning this week. Donnie made his very own picture book with lovely illustrations to accompany the story of the 5 little pumpkins:

Whilst Amelia created a 3D Arctic scene, with the Northern light, snow dunes and Emperor penguins enjoying a swim, as well as, preparing exciting and often surprising facts about penguins and their habitat.

I am always happy to see how learning in the classroom inspires you to do more! Great job Donnie and Amelia!

I hope you have a nice weekend,

Wrap up warm!

Ms Varga

 

Home Learning

Spelling: Please log onto Spelling Shed to consolidate this week’s rule: Words where ‘ge’ makes a /j/ sound and to have a look at next week’s rule: Words where ‘g’ makes a /j/ sound. (The children will  have their spelling test on these next week Friday.)

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Reading: Please carry on reading with your child and sign reading record.

Lines: Please practice your lines and try and learn them by next week.

 

 

Friday, 15th November 2024

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This week has been anti-bullying week and the children in Year 2 have learnt about the importance of ‘Choosing Respect’.  The class completed many activities, such as role playing behaviour types using scenario cards and making a pledge demonstrating their understanding of respect. They also sorted scenarios into behaviour types and gained understanding of ‘joking, teasing and bullying’. They discussed strategies to cope with each and mapped out their support network; people they can trust and turn to for help.

In English, the class carried on in their ‘The day the crayons quit’ unit and looked at apostrophes for omission and contraction in particular, using the text. They used matching cards to find each other in class before applying the contracted forms in sentences.

In Maths, we used practical resources such as ten frames, not only to consolidate our number bonds to 20 but to draw up fact families as well. If we know that 7+13=20 then we also know that: 13+7=20, 20-7=13 and 20-13=7 without actually calculating any of these number sentences.

In Science, we grouped food items into food groups such as: grains, proteins, dairy, fats, fruit and vegetable and designed a healthy lunch box for our Science duck, Diddy.

In RE we looked at Advent as a time of waiting and reflected on children’s own experiences of waiting for something special such as the arrival of a baby  sibling or a trip to Lego Land. We also identified signs and symbols associated with Advent such as a Jesse Tree, an Advent Calendar, an evergreen wreath or the Advent candles.

In PE, we used balls to play simple invasion games practicing the roles of an attacker and a defender.

Well done to Luca, who showed us his wonderful learning from home, all based on the next sequence of our class book, titled ‘The day the Crayons came home’. Luca recalled the story with great detail and showed us the amazing fortress and crayon characters he made with his family. It has been lovely to see how the book inspired him and how he applied his learning in such a creative task!

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning:

Spelling– Children took home their login details for Spelling Shed on Thursday. This resource will enable them to practice and consolidate the spelling rules learnt each week, as well as introduce the next rule that they will learn about further in class the following week. Children will participate in weekly spelling tests based on the week’s rule. This week, the class learnt to spell words where ‘-dge’ makes a /j/ sound. They will have a test on these and next week’s words (Words where ‘ge’ makes a /j/ sound)  on Friday, 22nd November 2024.

Please log onto this new resource and complete the assigned activities (spelling games).

https://www.edshed.com/en-gb

Reading– Please continue to read with your child and sign reading record.

TTRock Stars– A huge well done to all children who accessed their accounts and practiced this week. Our class leader is Mia at the moment. Congratulations! Please continue to practice your 2s, 5s and 10s.

https://ttrockstars.com/

Mathletics– Please log onto your account and complete the To do list.

https://login.mathletics.com/

Nativity– I am pleased to announce that Miss Pemberton and myself chose our Nativity production for this year and rehearsals began in earnest this week. Parts will be given out next week and we shall send information out about costumes and props in due course. Please read through the lyrics for the songs if possible, with a specific focus for the first 3 which we learnt in school.

Song lyrics

 

 

 

Friday, 8th November 2024

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Welcome to the second half of the autumn term!

It was lovely to see the children return well rested and ready to learn.

In English, the class first edited and then published their second big writing based on our class book, Ravi’s Roar. The stories read really well clearly showing that the children have put a lot of effort into writing their narratives. We have also started reading our next picture book to inspire our stories called, The Day the Crayons Quit. The class have really enjoyed reading the letters and answering inference type questions based on it.

In Maths, we have moved onto Addition and Subtraction. We consolidated our number bonds to 10 (from year 1) through playing interesting Maths games using the ten frames and playing cards.

In RE, we have looked at the second Catholic Social Teaching principle, the Preferential Option for the Poor. The children have reflected on people’s basic needs and found ways to support them in the form of a ‘reverse advent calendar’ where they came up with some great ideas such as donating to food banks, supporting a soup kitchen, donating socks and toothbrushes for the homeless, etc.

In History, the class role played some of the activities Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin completed on the surface of the Moon before participating in a reasoned debate about should there be a next Moon mission or not. The children came up with some brilliant arguments to support their views and communicated well to convince each other!

In Science, the children have looked at the human body and its needs, such as exercise. They partook in a practical enquiry to investigate what type of activity elevates their heartrates the most and looked at the basic parts of the heart and lungs to understood their roles within the body.

In Art, the children moved onto mono printing as their next medium and spent some time copying using nature themed video clips.  In PE we moved onto invasion games.

Thank you to those of you who have sent in some photos to go onto our Remembrance display in class.

There is still time to send in special photos on Monday, ready for the school’s Remembrance Pilgrimage.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning:

Reading- please read with your child and sign your child’s reading record

Multiplication-https://ttrockstars.com/

Your child will bring home a TT Rockstars parent letter in their school bag today. Please support them in logging onto this new platform which in the future will allow them to practice their times table facts (initially 2s, 5s and 10s) in a fun but effective way. We shall announce top scorers weekly!

Maths- https://login.mathletics.com/

Please log onto Mathletics and complete the assigned activities.

 

 

 

Friday, 25th October 2024

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This week in Year 2, we have had a wonderful time finding out about Colombia during One World Week. First, we located the country using maps and globes, before looking at its rich history and culture. We learnt some simple phrases in Spanish and made orchid bracelets depicting Colombia’s national flower. We later made paper toucans and used clay to re-create the megalithic statues found in San Agustin. We also learnt about the life and work of the only Colombian saint, St Laura Montoya and researched how Fair Trade and Cafod are supporting the coffee farmers of Colombia. We learnt about the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest too and listened to great ideas from Cafod to stop the damage caused and ways to help recover God’s Creation. We listened to Colombian folk music during activities such as making festival masks or creating our own ‘mola’ patterns. We made Colombian muffins and sampled Plantain crisps as well.

Another highlight of the week was Mrs Wilson’s absolutely brilliant animal workshop, where the children had the opportunity to learn about insects, invertebrates and reptiles as well as handle them. They thoroughly enjoyed this experience and were very open and careful when it came to holding the animals. We thank Mrs Wilson for supporting our Science learning in such an amazing way!

Thank you for all of you who came to see me for this week’s Parent consultations; it has been great to celebrate the children’s achievements with you. They worked hard this half term and settled well into Year 2’s new routines.

I wish you all a lovely half term,

Ms Varga