Welcome to Year 2

"In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work like you are working for the Lord, not for the people"

Colossians 3:23

Mrs Connell and Mrs Bonner would like to welcome you to our Year 2 class page for 2023-2024. Our aim is to keep you informed of things that are happening in our class.

Summer Term Updates

Dates For Your Diary 

Summer Term 

Summer 1 

Mini Marathon Say No to Knife crime - Wednesday 17 April

Deaf Awareness Assembly - Friday 10 May

Bank holiday - Monday 6 May

Y6 Smile Challenge - w/c 20 May Children will be offered activities to take part in

Non Uniform Bottles -  Friday 24 May

School Finishes for Half term - 3pm Friday 24th May

Summer 2 

School Re-opens 8.55am - Monday 3rd June

Y2 Trip to Martin Mere  - Tuesday 4th June

Healthy & Active fortnight - Monday 17 – Friday 28 June (PE Kits needed every day)

Children’s University Graduation Y2 & Y6 Edge Hill Uni - 1pm Wednesday 19 June

Fun Run - Friday 21 June

Sports Day - Friday 28 June (10am Juniors 1pm Infants)

Non Uniform TOYS - Friday 5 July

Arts Festival - 9am Wednesday 10 July

Summer Fair - 1.15pm Friday 12 July

Term finishes -1:30pm

Healthy and Active Week - Fun Run

We learnt today that you can keep fit and healthy while having fun! We absoloutely loved taking part in out annual fun run.

Healthy and Active Week - Tennis

It was great to improve our tennis skills today!

Children's University Graduation

We attended graduation at Edgehill University today, well done to Year Two for this great achievement! It takes a lot of commitment and perseverance over the years to gain enough credits. We are all very proud of you.

Healthy and Active Weeks - Science, PSHE

Over the next few weeks we have got lots of activities planned to help us keep active and learn what our bodies need to be healthy.

We loved Scootfit today! Scooting uses the same large muscle groups as running but is much more fun. It helps to  develop and improve agility, balance, co-ordination, muscle strength and endurance.

We really enjoyed zumba today, we learnt that is was a really fun way to keep fit through dancing with our friends.

Jay from Active Sefton worked with us today to help us identify the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. We found out that eating a balanced diet could help to strengthen our bones and muscles, give us energy, help us to feel happier, improve our sleep, keep our heart healthy and give us the vitamins and minerals that we need. We also identified the food groups that our body needs and how much of each is necessary. Finally we made delicious berry smoothies.

We loved working with sports leaders from King's Leadership Academy today to improve our running, jumping and throwing. It was a great idea to create a mini Olympics for us all.

RE - Treasures

We enjoyed sharing what we had been learning in our RE lessons with our friends and family today. We explained how we all have special treasures inside of us and that we can share them with others, we can be kind, helpful, caring and hardworking. We told the story of Levi and explained how he changed and showed the world the special treasures inside of him. He chose to follow Jesus.

#kNOwKnifeCrime

As a school we are always looking for opportunities and ways to educate our pupils on how to keep themselves safe. We have decided to team up with #kNOwKnifeCrime campaign and London Marathon 2024 and we will be fundraising for this cause.

Our school came together to complete a mini-marathon on the school grounds while representatives from Year 5 and Year 6 took part in a relay race with other Sefton schools. Well done everyone.

We had the chance to make Spanish churros with Senorita today. We made these as they are a traditional Spanish dessert. We all thought that they were delicious.

We love reading the  books about Space that are in our Reading Graduate Scheme so we were all so excited when we got to visit The Wonderdome. We learnt an awful lot about space. From the Solar System and how it works together, the size of the planets and the space landings. It was so interesting.

Year Two were very luck to get the opportunity to visit The Al Rahma Mosque in Liverpool. We learnt a lot about Islam. Thank you so much for welcoming us all.

We investigated using arrays to support us with making links between division and multiplication and how using this concrete equipment can help us to solve questions. It really helped us to make those connections.

Spring Term

After finishing our unit of work about materials, we were given a problem to solve. We had to find a suitable material to create a shelter in the playground. First we thought about the properties the material had to have, then tested each one to see which were suitable. From our observations we chose the one we thought would be best.

Mad hair day was so much fun! We all enjoyed being creative with our hairstyles and raising money for charity at the same time. We found out that the money we donated today supports lots of different communities nearby and across the World.

Easter

As part of our Easter Celebrations we went on our Big Lent Walk to raise money for CAFOD! Thank you so much for being so generous with your donations. We also brought in our Easter bonnets and gardens, well done to our competition and raffle winners.

Geography - Human and Physical Features

Today we went into the local area to identify human and physical features around us. We noticed that there were more human than physical features in our area and decided that that is because we live in a city.

Art - Insects

In art this half term we have built on our art skills from last year so that we could observe and draw insects and creatures. We completed some continuous line drawings before introducing detail and texture. 

Design & Technology - Textiles 'Trashion Show'

Well done to everyone who took part in this years 'trashion show' - your designs were fantastic. The children have been working hard to design and make a new stylish product from an old T. shirt. Some people made new creations, cushions, bags and hats.. The project made us think about the importance of recycling, so that we can cut down on the waste we produce and look after our world better

History and English - Titanic Learn and Present

We worked with Altru drama to learn all about The Titanic and what happened to it before we begin the unit of work. We found it so interesting to learn what it was like onboard the ship and the story of what happened to it. We were relieved to know that this event changed the law and there has not been another incident like this since.

Autumn Term

For more detailed information about each curriculum subject please refer to the appropriate tab on the Curriculum page.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

We have been getting into the Christmas spirit in Year Two, using a variety of techniques to make an Advent wreath including painting, colouring and cutting. We have also been practising for our Christmas production! This tells the story of Christmas from the point of view of the angels. Our speaking and listening skills have improved so much we could speak audibly and fluently and gain the interest of our listener. 

RE - Advent Collective Worship

We thought about Advent in Collective Worship, Advent is a time for preparing and waiting for the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.

Art - Liverpool Buildings and skyline

We started our topic by appreciating some of the artwork of local artist Jessica Arrowsmith Stanley. We then looked closely at the buildings around Liverpool when we went on our trip to the waterfront, we especially took notice of the Three Graces. When we got back to school we investigated different pencils and techniques that we could use to draw the buildings that we saw. Before we looked at the buildings close up we identified the different shapes that we could see and use to create the outline of them, then we used a view finder to help us draw one building. We then used the view finder again to look at a small section and add detail to our outlines of buildings because it helped us to identify the shapes and lines that we could use in that area.

We then used this knowledge to create a skyline picture and created our own printing tile using this. We then created brightly coloured prints of our own.

PSHE - Friendship 

We took part in our school friendship assembly. We talked about what makes a good friend and how we can all be good friends. We recognised that if everyone was a good friend to each other there would be no bullying at all!

Odd Socks Day 2023 - Anti-Bullying Week

Today the whole school wore odd socks as part of an initiative run by the Anti-bullying Alliance. The purpose is to spread the message that we should encourage people to express themselves, celebrate individuality and be unique! #oddsocks #antibullying week.

Remembrance Day Collective Worship

Today we took part in a Remembrance Day Collective Worship to remember those who have suffered and those who have lost their lives in wars. We observed a minutes silence at 11 O'clock.

DT - Making a 4 wheeled vehicle

We worked with Steph to design and make a 4 wheeled vehicle. Steph gave us all a design criteria for our vehicles. They had to fit a toy driver in, carry the driver when moving without the driver falling out and the bearings must hold the axle in the correct place securely. We made the chassis then used cardboard to make the body because we knew that the properties of cardboard meant it could be cut, bent and folded. We all learnt some new vocabulary  like axle, bearing, chassis, boot, bonnet and body. 

Show Racism The Red Card - Tolerance and Respect

Our school supported the show racism the red card initiative. We thought about what racism meant and what we should do to stop it. We wore red or blue clothes to show our support

Hello Yellow! - PSHE

We raised awareness of mental health by wearing yellow and discussing ways in which we can have positive mental health. We supported the charity Young Minds and reminded ourselves that we are never alone, there is always someone to talk to.

History - Liverpool Landmarks

When we worked with Altru we found out the names of some famous Liverpool Buildings and we identified some more when we produced Liverpool skylines in art. We were all really interested so we carried on our learning at home. Thank you so much for supporting us with our learning.

History - Chronology

 We revisited the concept of chronology and examining a source. We began by looking carefully at 8 pictures and identifying something that they had in common, year two decided they were all linked by Liverpool.

We sorted the photographs into two piles, one of pictures that we knew something about and one of the pictures we did not recognise. We carried out a brain dump of all the facts we knew then researched the ones that we did not,  a picture of the old docks and a portrait of King John. We researched these and were happy that we had knowledge about them. Once we had done this we revisited the term chronological order and tried to put the images in chronological order discussing why we made those choices. We thought this was difficult so we added years and captions to our images. We tried to re-order the pictures using this information and were much more successful than before.

 Desk Organisers - DT

We worked with Steph to design and make desk organisers today. We thought about the shapes that we wanted to make the containers and selected a template to divide the cardboard into the correct number of sections. Then we folded the sections and stuck the tab down to make the outside of the container. We used pegs to hold the tab in place until the glue had dried. We did this for three different sections. When we had finished we attached the containers to a base board so that we can use them. This activity helped us to improve the skills that we need to complete our next unit of DT work.

Macmillan Coffee Morning and Collective Worship

Today we celebrated the Macmillan Coffee Morning a little bit differently. We started off by thinking about all of those people who help us when we are sick especially those people who work with Macmillan. Then we took part in a Collective Worship where we prayed for those people who help us when we are sick and those who are sick. At playtime we bought cakes to raise money for the charity. 

Hello Yellow! - PSHE

We raised awareness of mental health by wearing yellow and discussing ways in which we can have positive mental health. We reminded ourselves that we have got lots of things that make us happy and that we should treat everyone with kindness.

History and Art - Liverpool

We visited the Liverpool waterfront to put all of our History topics into context and to see the buildings that we will be using in art to create our skyline prints.

We walked along the front from the Ferry Terminal to the Albert Dock identifying any statues or memorials and what they represented. We will use these images when we study Remembrance. We also looked at the three graces and photographed them so that we could use these in art when we sketch the buildings and produce a skyline print. We also went to the Merseyside Maritime Museum to take part in a Titanic workshop, this workshop told the story of what happened onboard the Titanic from the point of view of a passenger. We loved the role play of the story!

PSHE - Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation help us all to manage difficult emotions. Self-regulation is best described as the best state of alertness for a situation.  From time to time, all of us find it hard to manage strong feelings such as worry, anger, restlessness, fear or tiredness, and this stops us from getting on with our day. The Zones of Regulation teach us strategies to help us cope with these feelings so we can get back to feeling calm and ready to learn. 

Hands - Deaf Awareness Project

Hands is a Deaf-led project that sees Deaf and Hearing people working together to deliver sign language sessions within mainstream schools. This is done by using a variety of platforms and one of these is by using the medium of song. Year Two will be working with them every week for ten weeks, each week covering a different aspect of signing.

History and English - Learn and Present

Today we worked with a drama company called Altru to produce a play called The Pool of Life. This documented the local history of Liverpool from the ice age, King John, The Beatles, football and  history of important buildings! We loved having fun while learning historical facts and improving our speaking and listening skills. At the end of the day we performed our play to another class.

British Values - Democracy

This week we went to the polls to vote for our new year two school councillors. All of the children who wanted to be considered for the job had to complete an application form saying why they would make a good school councillor and what they would like to do. These application forms were submitted and then shortlisted. Those children on the shortlist presented their ideas to the class before voting. Well done to our two new councillors!

Art - Alma Thomas

We have been studying African American artist Alma Thomas in our art lessons. When we looked at her work we identified hot and cold colours and that she had used paint to create a mosaic effect. We chose the colours that we wanted to use and mixed some of them to make them lighter or darker. We also practised using our paintbrushes to get the shapes that we wanted to use. 

We created our own paintings in her style for our Mission display this year.