​Over the last few weeks, we have looked at Tutankhamun. We saw how Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter found the tomb, but actually it was a little boy. We think some of the treasure was stolen, and that this was wrong. Then we looked at the life of the pharaoh, and we found that he became king at 8 or 9 years old and that he died about 10 years later. People think that he either died from an accident or that a hippo attacked him.
 
RG    4TH
 
In English, we have recently written instructions on how to mummify a body. We mummified our own bananas to show how it worked. We did grammar on imperative verbs and then focussed on up-levelling words to make our writing more interesting.
 
SB      4TH
 

Well, what a busy week it has been in Year 2! We have been loving our new art topic, where we have been exploring clay. Although it has been incredibly messy which has caused a few adults to twitch (Mrs Weston), it has been amazing to see so many children enjoy creating pots and making marks. Not to mention the sensory benefits for our SEND children! Next week, we are aiming to make clay houses, so stay tuned for how they turn out.

Next week, Year 2 are also going on a school trip! It will be the first for many children and adults (Miss Loasby, Miss Seeley, Miss Hasler and Miss Woodhead) so we are all very excited. We are going to Wat Tyler Country Park and are going to do some pond dipping and go on a minibeast hunt! Hopefully we see lots of interesting creatures while we are there!
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As we reach the final stretch of the academic year, I thought it might be a good time to remind everyone what an amazing job they are doing. For many of us this has been a challenging year and it’s important to reflect on how much we have achieved and accomplished. Well done everyone – keep going! 

​With the days getting warmer and the summer holidays fast approaching, I’m sure all of the children are excited to spend some time in the sun. The summer holidays is the perfect time to engage young minds in exciting and educational activities. And what better way to spark their interest than with some fun and engaging science experiments? From making slime to building volcanoes, there are plenty of hands-on science activities to keep kids entertained and learning throughout their summer break.

Here are some cool science ideas to keep your young scientists busy this summer:

🔬 Make slime with simple ingredients like glue, borax and food colouring. Add glitter for some extra sparkle!
🌋 Build a volcano using baking soda, vinegar, and food colouring for a fantastic chemical reaction.
🔭 Explore the stars with a telescope or stargazing app. Encourage children to discover the different constellations and learn about our universe.
🧪 Create a simple science kit that includes magnets, plants, rocks, and a microscope. Encourage your children to explore the objects under the microscope and learn how to identify different types of plants and minerals.

In English, I enjoy writing due to the fact that I love writing stories and books and novels. When writing, I get the chance to exercise my ability to write better. The Write Stuff (our new writing scheme) helps most of my classmates with structuring our work out and building our piece of writing up. We have the opportunity to add figurative language to our writing during the lessons. Although I like the Write Stuff a lot, I’m having to get a little more comfortable with seeing some empty space on pages as we use double page spreads in lessons. Another reason I like writing in school is because sometimes the teacher allows us to finish our texts by ourselves and we can let our imagination roam freely. In addition to writing stories, in English we learn different types of writing like: sonnets, limericks and others.  In Handwriting, we have been recapping prefixes and suffixes, my new favourite word is antidisestablishmentarianism!
 
In Art, we are studying Paul Nash and his landscapes; Paul Nash was a certified World War 1 and World War 2 artist. Paul Nash was first a landscape artist and some of his famous paintings are the Wittenham Clumps. However, after being a soldier in WW1, he became traumatised and began drawing dystopian paintings. He once said, ‘I’m no longer an artist. I’m a messenger to those who want this war to go on forever… and may it burn their lousy souls.’  The other day, we drew our classroom, in any way, and I drew my classroom as if we lived in the 1984 universe. Today (4th July 2023) we were drawing a top-notch drawing of our classroom and then we are going to draw a random object (like paintings in Paul Nashe’s style) and then we are going to stick that object in (the drawing, not the object).
 
In Maths, we are currently consolidating our knowledge of measurements. We explored Imperial Measurements the other day such as: Stone to Kilogram, Pounds to Kilogram and inches to Metres and vice versa. Also we are revising measurements of time. We are also recapping decimals in preparation for SATS. 

​By JM in 5JP

This week year 2 have been learning all about persuasive writing. To consolidate our learning, we have started composing a persuasive leaflet about London. Within our leaflets, we have included description about some of the most amazing attractions including The London Eye and Buckingham Palace. I am already so impressed with the vocabulary choices that the children are implementing within their work and cannot wait to read the completed leaflets. I wonder if the children in 2RM could convince you to book a trip to London soon!
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In Science this week we started our new topic: plants. 2RM enjoyed exploring our outdoor area, completing observational drawings of the trees and leaves. This term we will be finding out what plants need to grow and stay healthy.

In Geography this week, we consolidated our understanding of human and physical features, focusing on identifying these within the city of London. The children were highly skilled in observing from arial maps that bridges and skyscrapers were all human features and The River Thames was a physical feature of London.