Year 2

Welcome to the Yellow and Purple Class page!

Nina and the Neurons Use your engineering skills to play games and help the Neurons collect stars.

Computing

The children in year 2 have started their computing topic this week. For the first session the children had to work as a team to give each other instructions in order to get through the maze. It was very important that the instructions were precise otherwise they could not make it through the maze. The children struggled at the beginning but then became skilled in giving very precise instructions. The reason they need to do this is because when creating a game in computing they need to program a set of instructions for the game to work. If they are not exact then the game will not work. Well done year 2!

Candle Making

The children in year 2 have been learning about 'Jesus and the stories he told' during our Religious Education lessons. During the lessons we learnt about the various aspects of 'Christianity' and what they symbolise. The children were able to use their artistic side and create their own 'Christian candles' and here are some examples.

Young Scientists

The children in year 2 have been learning about what it means to work scientifically and work through the scientific method. Over the period of 6 weeks the children have come up with an investigation question to ask. They then came up with a prediction on what might happen and then wrote up what equipment they will use and why. The children then went through the experiment and they analysed whether their predictions were correct or incorrect and they wrote this up as a conclusion. We then discussed that scientists, even when their hypothesis is wrong, they learn from the findings of the experiment.

Making Puppets

The children in year 2 have been working very hard this last 2 weeks in designing and making puppets in design and technology. They first planned their puppets and this involved the design and what materials they would use. Then they made them using their plan to help them. The children then showcased the puppets to the rest of the class. Everyone was very impressed with the final product.

Roll on Reading

Reading has always been and always will be at the heart of our learning at Sir John Heron Primary. The children have eagerly taken to our phonics program RWI and have showed resilience when faced with new sounds and words. We are very proud of their hard work. Thank you also to the parents for continuing to read with their children over the national lockdown. Your hard work has shown. Please continue the reading at home so the children can improve even further.

Back to basics!

The year 2 children have come back incredibly eager to see all their friends and to continue with their learning in their new year. The children have been using practical mathematics lessons to embed their new learning. We want to thank the year 2 parents for continuing their learning at home in which must have been a very difficult time for all. It clearly shows in class that the children have learned a great deal while at home! We know that we will continue this partnership this year in order for your children to excel with their learning. It will be a great year!

2019-2020

Howard Hodgkin

The children are currently learning about the artist 'Howard Hodgkin' during their Art topic. The children have looked at the various brush stroke techniques and the style of the art of Howard Hodgkin. The children then created a painting in the style of Howard Hodgkin using frames, colour and the abstract. They also explored colour mixing and looking at tints and shades.

Computing-Boat Race

5.2.20

This week Year 2 have been creating their own computer game. The children worked in groups and followed a set of instructions to ensure the boat around a maze. This was complicated as they needed to follow precise instructions to ensure that the boat did not crash or get blocked inside the maze. They persevered during this session and were able to escape the maze. Well done Year 2!

Computing workshop

Year 2 were treated to a computing workshop this week. They designed their own set of instructions using the Scratch program. First of all, they were shown how to create the instructions on a life size maps. This allowed the children to make their set of instructions more precise. This ensured that when they move to the computer their instructions would allow the 'sprite' to move. They will be expanding on this topic in the coming weeks.

Henry Moore-Sculpture

This week year 2 have been studying the artist 'Henry Moore'. He created sculptures of the human form and the children created their own sculptures of the human form. To do this the teachers showed the children a variety of examples from his sculptures and other artists for inspiration. The children thoroughly enjoyed this topic.

St Paul's Cathedral Educational Visit

On Wednesday 15^th January 2020 Year 2 visited St Paul's Cathedral to learn about the Great Fire of London. In the morning, we had a guided tour of St Paul’s Cathedral where we found out what happened to the old cathedral, which burnt down during the fire in 1666. We also learnt lots about the building of the new cathedral which took nearly 35 years to complete and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. We climbed over 500 steps to the Stone gallery and the Golden gallery and imagined London on fire! We even saw the site of Pudding Lane from above where the fire began in Thomas Farriner’s bakery. We had a great time and have been really enjoying learning about the Great Fire of London as part of our history work in Year 2.

The Great Fire of London

This term Year 2 are learning about the Great Fire of London and what happened during this period in history. During this lesson the children were sketching out a map of what London looked like in this period of history and how the fire spread. The children are enjoying this topic and are looking forward to their visit to St Paul's Cathedral as part of that.

Pantomime

This week Sir John Heron were visited by the Pantomime. They performed a version of ‘Jack and the beanstalk’ which the children thoroughly enjoyed. There was a great deal of audience participation which made the performance even more thrilling.

Nativity rehearsal 13.12.19

This week Year 2 gave a dress rehearsal to the rest of the school. The children were proud of their performance and the teachers were thrilled at the final result. Thank you to the year 1 children who helped with the singing. We look forward to performing to the parents next week.

The Christmas story-6.12.19

The children of year 2 have been learning about the Christmas story through their rehearsal of the nativity. They have worked hard to learn the various songs and dialogue and are looking forward to performing to the parents.

Healthy Eating Workshop

This week Purple class took part in a healthy eating workshop. We had a great deal of parents attend along with the children. As you can see from the pictures the children and parents thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and learned what is healthy and unhealthy to eat or drink. We want to thank all the parents who attended and if any parents want to attend in the future, you are more than welcome!

Falconry UK

13.11.19

This week Year 2 had a real treat! Falconry UK came to visit the EYFS and KS1 to show them a variety of birds. The children were able to see the birds flying and some children were able touch the birds under supervision. The children thoroughly enjoyed their experience and were talking about it long after the session. At Sir John Heron Primary we provide the children with a wide variety of enrichment opportunities and this was a welcome addition to the children's experience of the world.

Mathematics Parent Day

4.11.19

Today KS1 invited parents to come into school and observe our mathematics lessons. This was invaluable for both teachers and parents. Teachers were able to effectively show parents how we teach children and parents can now use these strategies with their children at home. At Sir John Heron we value the contribution that parents have in our school and we want them to be as involved as possible in their children's learning. We want to say thank you to all the parents who attended and we hope you will continue to attend our events.

Emotions

During the year 2 PHSCE lesson they were learning about the emotion of anger. Children discussed what makes them angry but more importantly they discussed how they could regulate their feelings. They came up with ideas on how they can deal effectively with the emotion of anger. At Sir John Heron we feel lessons such as these are extremely important for children's mental health and well being.

Phonics workshop

14.10.19

At Sir John Heron Primary we provide a wide variety of parent workshops to ensure we are working together to ensure the children get the best education they can. Here you can see one of our teachers showing parents how to teach our phonics program RWI. This will allow the children to make further progress when the school work in partnership with parents. We appreciate all the support we receive from our parents and want to thank them for attending.

"Snail and the Whale" puppets

11.10.19

This week year 2 have been making puppets of characters from the book they are using in English lessons "Snail and the Whale". This made cross-curricular links with their Design and Technology topic "Puppets". As a school, we aim to link our subjects as much as possible in order for the children to not see the subjects as isolated lessons. Their learning becomes more important to them as they know they can use their new knowledge in other contexts.

Christian Candles

4.10.19

Year 2 have been studying Christianity this week in R.E. and decided to be creative. They created their own Christian candles which represent the Christian belief of Jesus as the light of the world. Exploring different faiths allows our children to have respect and tolerance for other cultures with different beliefs. This is one of the fundamental British Values which are embedded within our curriculum.

Perseverance

Year 2 have been learning about what it means to show perseverance in their daily lives during their recent PSHCE lesson. At Sir John Heron we want to create learning opportunities where children can apply skills such as resilience in the real world.

Chicks

The Chicks have come to Sir John Heron. Over the next couple of weeks we will watch the chicks grow and learn how to take care of them to become healthy strong chickens. Stay tuned for further exciting updates on the chicks and how they are enjoying their stay at Sir John Heron Primary.

St Stephen's Church

Year 2 recently visited St Stephen's Roman Catholic Church as part of our Religious Education curriculum. We were joined by some of the staff and children from St Winefride's Catholic school. The children kindly took our children, in small groups, on a tour of the church and the important parts which are sacred to Christians. They were very informative and Children from Sir John Heron were asking a great deal of questions as they were very curious. The reason we visit places of worship is because we want to instil in our children a sense of respect of all cultures and religions and this will allow children who are different faiths to get along with each other regardless of their differences. Our children at Sir John Heron epitomise this behaviour and we pride ourselves on the respect each and every one of our children show to each other and members of our community. We want to thank the staff and the children from St Winefride's Primary for their support and for providing a very educational tour for our school community.

Music Matters

At Sir John Heron we pride ourselves on our broad and balanced curriculum. To this end we have a dedicated Music teacher who teaches all year groups throughout the school for sessions every week. Here is Year 2 in their first music lesson learning about rhythm and as you can see they are all taking an active part in the lesson. Please check our dedicated music section on the website for further updates on this exciting subject.

An Active life is a happy life!

Year 2 had their first physical education lesson this week and they enjoyed it thoroughly. They played a variety of games and they worked up a sweat with their hard work. At Sir John Heron primary we pride ourselves on seeing physical exercise as an extremely important part of a healthy lifestyle. This is shown through our twice weekly P.E. sessions and our wide variety of sports and fitness clubs that we also offer weekly. Please check our dedicated P.E. section on our website for further updates on this exciting subject.

Anti-bullying

Year 2 have had a very exciting first week back with a great deal of learning taking place. A very important piece of learning the children have done is on Anti-bullying. As a class they signed a Anti-bullying charter which states how we will treat everyone in this school and the wider community. They have agreed to use a variety of strategies to tackle the problem of bullying. At Sir John Heron we have a zero tolerance policy on bullying and the staff and the children work together to stop it at all levels. Well done Year 2!

Back to school!

The children were excited to finally back in school after the long break. They were excited to see their friends and their new teachers. They all enjoyed their learning and showed great enthusiasm. We are looking forward to a great year together and taking our learning to the next level.

2018/19

Year 2 Graduation

Year 2 celebrated a great day today at our very special graduation. We have all graduated from Year 2 and in September we will begin a new journey in to KS2. This was a very important time for all of us and all our mums and dads came into school to share this great day with us. The children loved seeing their parents supporting all the hard work they have done this year. We wish Year 2 a very successful journey in Year 3!

Barleylands

KS1 visited Barleylands Farm park on Wednesday the 10th of July. Children got the opportunity see different types of reptiles in the huge Reptile House and awesome birds of prey where children were able to see the birds in action through the flying displays. Children raced around the indoor play area, and enjoyed the outdoor play areas especially bouncing on the jumping pillow. Each class explored the Discovery Barn where there were a variety of animals and took a ride on the Tractor Trailer. The children thoroughly enjoyed their day and so did the adults. We want to thank the parents who gave up their time to attend. Your support is greatly appreciated.

The Planetarium

As part of our space theme the Planetarium came to our school to immerse us in an amazing interactive show on our solar system and wider galaxy. The children were able to tell their teachers about the various aspects of our galaxy such as ‘orions belt’. This type of visit engages the children in ways that aid their learning.

Year 2 recently went to Manor Park library to increase their love of reading. At Sir John Heron we want all of our children to have a deep love of reading and these visits to Manor Park library play a key role in ensuring this. The children receive a talk from the librarian explaining how to use all the facilities at the library. They take their library cards and are then able to take books out that they are interested in. They were also told about events that are happening regularly such as the family film night. They were also told about the summer reading challenge which is taking place on July the 20^th. We would love it if you could attend with your child.

Science Museum

Year 2 recently went on an educational visit to the Science museum. The reason we went was to explore the theme of space as this is our science topic. Children were able to see how humans first went into space and also learnt about the various planets in our solar system. Most excitingly, the children took part in an interactive experience where they got to experience the first moon landing in 3D. This has helped the children experience first hand the exciting realm of space travel.

Year 2 football festival

This week year 2 took part in the action packed football festival. Teams were made up from our houses and they unveiled our brand new house sport uniforms, which the children were thrilled to wear! The teams were all very competitive and most of all, they had an amazing day. We had an excellent turn out from our parents who were cheering and supporting all the children, not just their own. They are a credit to our school community.

Anti Bulling parent workshop

Year 2 hosted an afternoon for parents to show how our school effectively deals with bullying. The children worked creatively and collaboratively to design their own Anti-bullying super hero. They also came up with superhero names and inspirational quotes that the superhero could say to the bully to adjust their behaviour. We would like to thank the parents who came and took part in our afternoon and joined in with the children so readily. We had a wonderful afternoon together.

STEM Week

During Stem week, year 2 explored the function and purpose of fountains in our world. To engage the children we decided to visit Cabot's square in Canary Wharf and see the wonderful fountain found there. The children explored such questions as 'How do you think the fountain works?' and 'what is the purpose of this fountain?' The children spent time sketching the fountain from different angles to really explore its workings. This visit helped the children be more engaged in their lessons when exploring fountains in the classroom.

STEM week

The Great Fire of London

As part of our topic the 'Great Fire of London' Year 2 created their own model houses. These were then put together to make a scale model of the city of London as seen below. We then recreated the 'Great Fire' in our very own school playground! We had several fire wardens on hand to ensure the children's safety but sadly our houses didn't make the 'Great Fire of Sir John Heron!'

St Paul's Cathedral

Year 2 have recently been learning about the 'Great Fire of London' during their history lessons. As part of this topic Year 2 decided to visit St Paul's Cathedral which took considerable fire damage during the 'Great Fire'. This created a sense of awe and wonder in the children seeing this incredibly beautiful and ornate building in the flesh. The children impressed the adult guide there with their detailed knowledge of the events and made the teachers very proud!

Educational Visit to the Science Museum

Year 2 visited the Science Museum on Friday the 14th of September. It was an amazing opportunity for children to enjoy a unique experience of watching Legend of Apollo in the Discovery Motion Theatre. It was the ultimate multi-sensory experience where children were able to see, hear and even feel what it was like to be part of the ground-breaking Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s. Children also explored the different parts of the museum, this included the Wonderlab, Tomorrow's world, Flight and Making the Modern World. All of the experience gave children the chance to imagine what it was like for explorers around the world. We are now using this knowledge and understanding to look into greater depth in our new topic 'Intrepid Explorers'.