Friday, 14th March 2025

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This week, we celebrated British Science Week, exploring the theme ‘Change and Adapt’ through exciting investigations and practical experiments.

Throughout the week, we looked at various ‘Zoom in, zoom out’ images from Explorify and used oracy skills to discuss our ideas about the objects under a microscope. We applied specific vocabulary that we have been using this term such as: transparent, translucent, opaque,flexible and waterproof.

We also welcomed Mr Friedlander from Dame Alice Owen School, who led us in a wonderful investigation about Indicators. The children used cabbage leaves and hot water to create an indicator and tested various substances used at home to determine if they are acidic or alkaline. They investigated toothpaste, salt, sugar, hand soap, washing powder, lemon juice, etc using pippets, beakers, funnels and filter paper.

We later carried out our own class investigation to answer the question: Which biscuit is the best dunker?

We tested: Ginger nut, Digestives, Rich tea, Nice and Shortbread biscuits and dunked them into cups of tea to then observe and probe. Our winner was the Shortbread that although soaked up some of the liquid, stayed nice and crunchy. We used tables to record our observations and drew conclusions afterwards.

We are going to carry on our Science week activities next week and welcome another Scientist, Mrs Holly, in our classroom who will lead us in some practical enquiries and help us understand how Science is used in other areas of life.

If you would like to continue your learning inspired by the British Science Week, please try one of these fun science investigations at home. Observe what happens, record your findings- this can be a photo or a drawing with labels, and be ready to share them with the class!

British Science Week 2025 Home Learning Challenge

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning

Spelling-  Words where ‘-ed’ is added to words ending in ‘y’ (consolidation) Words where ‘-er’ and ’-est’ are added to words ending in ‘y’ (next week’s )

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

Mathletics- https://login.mathletics.com/

TTRockstars

https://ttrockstars.com/ Please also access TTRockstars. I have enabled all tables for all children to extend their knowledge of multiplication facts. In class we learnt 2s, 5s and 10s and will have regular timed tests on these from now.

 

Friday, 7th March 2025

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The children in Year 2 had a busy week of Celebration!

On Tuesday, the class celebrated Mardi Gras. In the morning, the children participated in races before flipping some pancakes (splats) in the hall and later made Mardi Gras bracelets from colourful beads. They also learnt festive dances and sampled pancakes in class. They made masks and gathered for a fun whole school assembly at the end of the day.

On Wednesday, we celebrated Ash Wednesday and participated in a lovely service led by the Year 6 Liturgy group. The class also enjoyed their basketball session with Coach Moretti in the afternoon.

On Thursday, the school celebrated World Book Day. After a whole school assembly, Year 2 participated in an onlive live reading session before completing some writing activities about their favourite books. Later in the afternoon, the class met up with Year 3 in the Peace Garden where the children had an opportunity to share books before listening to a story.

Finally, today the class led a whole school Collective Worship with the theme: Freedom. Well done for all the children! They worked hard to learn their lines and created a beautifully prayerful atmosphere.

I hope you have a restful, sunny weekend

Ms Varga

Home Learning

Spelling- Words where ‘-es’ is added to words ending in ‘y'(consolidation) Words where ‘-es’ is added to words ending in ‘y'(next week)

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

Maths- https://login.mathletics.com/  Please complete the assigned tasks all related to multiplication and division.

Friday, 28th February 2025

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Happy last day of February!

The children in Year 2 had a busy start to their new term.

On Monday, the class participated in a whole school Collective Worship to introduce our 4th Catholic Social Teaching principle, Community and Participation.

 

The children first reflected on the Scripture reading, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ and created Community nets, whilst later they  designed a formal invitation for a Community Picnic.

In English, the class completed their learning based on our book, ‘The Dark’ and planned their own 3 part narrative based on Lydia Monks’ entertaining book, ‘AAAArrrggghh Spider!’ The children will write their own ‘fear’ stories next week, introducing the characters and their fear of spiders before detailing a resolution to this problem.

In Maths, the class completed their learning of multiplication and moved on to division, using manipulatives to consolidate their understanding between grouping (when the group size is known but not the number of groups) and sharing (when the number of groups is known but not the size).

In Science, the children looked at changing materials and carried our practical investigations, using a large variety of materials, to stretch them, squash them,etc.

In Geography, we used secondary sources to compare housing in the UK and Kampong Ayre reflecting on the significant differences we noticed.

In PE, the class enjoyed their first 2 sessions of specialty basketball training provided by PSD (Primary Sporting Development). Coach Moretti was very impressed with the children’s discipline and hard work!

A few key dates:

Tuesday, 4th March 2025- Mardi Gras Day. Children can come to school in ‘festival’ colours of green, purple and gold.

Wednesday, 5th March 2025- Ash Wednesday Service for KS1 in school.

Thursday, 6th March 2025- World Book Day. Children can come dressed as a book character or wearing their pyjamas.

Friday, 7th March 2025- Year 2 Class Collective Worship @ 9.15. Parents are invited!

PE DAYS WILL MOVE TO TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS STARTING FROM NEXT WEEK!

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning:

Please use the link below to practice our class song: Amazing Grace. The children need to learn the first 3 verses by heart. We have practiced the song in class and in the hall accompanied by piano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjcfQZtgwAI

Amazing grace, how sweet the soundThat saved a wretch like meI once was lost, but now I’m foundWas blind, but now I see
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fearAnd grace my fears relievedHow precious did that grace appearThe hour I first believed
Through many dangers, toils, and snaresWe have already come‘Twas grace that brought us safe thus farAnd grace will lead us home
Please also learn your lines for our Collective Worship. We will have further rehearsals next week.
Spelling:
Consolidation: Words where ‘y’ makes an /igh/ sound
Next week’s: Words where ‘-es’ is added to words ending in ‘y’

Friday, 14th February 2025

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During this week -Other Faith Week- Year 2 has been learning about the religion of Jainism. Respect for traditions and beliefs of other faiths is vital in our multicultural community. The children visited the Oshwal Centre in Northaw on Monday and participated in prayer as well as learning about the main principles of Jainism, such as non-violence and care for Creation. During the week, they made simple comparisons between Jainism and our faith beside using art to learn about Jain symbols such as the Ohm and Lotus flowers.

In English, we carried on in our new narrative unit and used expanded noun phrases and subordinating conjunctions to describe mysterious settings, whilst in Maths, the class completed practical tasks, using ten frames and counters, to gain understanding of equal groups and make connections with multiplication.

In Geography, the children compared our school’s location in Potters Bar to Kampong Ayer, a water village in Brunei using Atlases and Google Earth images. Through this activity, the children consolidated their understanding of cities, countries and continents.

In Science, the class observed and handled various materials to understand their properties and used that knowledge to explain why everyday items around us are made of certain materials. We also planted bulbs and will record our ‘growing journey’ in our plant diaries.

Thank you so much for all of you to make the time to come and see me this week during Parent Consultations. The children were very excited to share their learning with you! I am proud of their efforts and achievements; they worked hard!

 

I wish you all a lovely, restful half term break,

Ms Varga

Please keep up with your reading over the half term and record it in your Reading Records.

 

 

Friday, 7th February 2025

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The children in Year 2 had a busy time last week publishing their beautiful Penguin Reports in my absence and I have to say, I am very impressed with their outcomes. The booklets turned out excellent and it is very clear how much care and effort the class put into this work.

In English, the class started their new unit based on Lemony Snicket’s wonderful book, The Dark and will continue to work on this narrative unit in the next two weeks.

In Maths, after finishing their learning on 2 and 3D shapes and their properties, the children moved onto their next big number unit, Multiplication and Division and looked at equal groups as a starting point using arrays. In RE, the class reflected on people being a special part of God’s creation and thought about how their actions and words best show God’s presence in them.

Well done to our next Mini Liturgy Group who presented their Collective Worship with the theme of Hope.

In Science, the children grouped objects according to their material to start their new unit of ‘States of Matter’, whilst in Geography, they summarised everything they have learnt about the Antarctica this term. In Art, they used simple printing techniques to experiment with lines and textures, whilst in PE they worked on pair and later group routines, including rolls and balances.

We are looking forward to our second class trip next week Monday, 10th February 2025. Please make sure you gave consent for this trip on School Gateway. The children will be back in time for lunch so hot dinners will be available to order on the day.

I am also looking forward to seeing you for our Parent Consultation meetings on Tuesday and Thursday. You will have the opportunity to view the children’s books before or after the meetings in the hall.

Next week, Year 2 is planning to plant some bulbs in class. Please may I ask that you provide a small planting pot for your child for this activity. They do not have to be new and of course they can be of any material (plastic, pottery, etc). Please if possible label the pot with name.

Many thanks for your continued support,

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

 

Home Learning:

Spelling: https://www.edshed.com/en-gb   Please consolidate this week’s ‘il’ words and prepare for next week’s challenge words using the assigned games.

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

Maths: https://login.mathletics.com/      Complete assigned activities based on Multiplication arrays.

Friday, 24th January 2025

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This week, the children in Year 2 finished their Maths unit of addition and subtraction and swiftly moved on to identifying common 2D and 3D shapes. In English, the class carried out a thorough research on Emperor Penguins before writing up the first 3 paragraphs of their information booklets, explaining details about the animals’ look, habitat and diet. They edited their writing and are getting ready to write the final 2 paragraphs next week.

In RE, the children created timelines to detail some of the miracles Jesus performed during his lifetime before reflecting on where we can find him now, thinking about words, actions, symbols and signs around us. Well done to our very first Mini-Liturgy group who led their Collective Worship in front of the class on Tuesday. We will listen to a new group every week reflecting on the Gospel and its teaching.

In Science, the children looked at oral hygiene and thought about how to keep their teeth healthy whilst in Geography they answered the question: Why don’t Polar bears live on the Antarctica?

In PE, the class worked on paired balances as part of their Gymnastics unit and showed great flexibility when working together.

 

I am delighted to announce that we have managed to secure our second class trip, this time to the Oshwal Centre as part of our Other Faith Week. We will travel to this beautiful place of worship on Monday, 10th February 2025. We will leave in the morning at around 9.30am and should be back in school by lunchtime. Please let me know if you can support us during this visit, as I am looking for 3 parent helpers.

Have a lovely weekend,

Ms Varga

Home Learning:

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

Please consolidate ‘-el’ words and use resources to introduce next week’s words: ‘-al’.

Please see the paper resources for this week’s words:

Stage 2 Lesson 9 Words ending in el – Homework Sheet

Stage 2 Lesson 9 Words ending in el – Homework Answers

Reading– Please continue to read and sign reading record.

Handwriting– https://www.letterjoin.co.uk/log-in.html

Sign in information was sent home in a letter. Please use this resource if you would like to further support children’s joint up, cursive handwriting.

Maths– https://login.mathletics.com/

Please complete the assigned tasks all related to common 2 and 3D shapes.

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.