Week 1

Caring for God's acre

This week we were given the opportunity to take our learning out of school and on and around the graveyard of All Saints Church. The children used cross curricular skills alongside learning new skills to measure the height of trees around the church as well as working out how old trees were too. We also undertook a scavenger hunt, looking for different symbols on the gravestones, whilst learning about the history and meaning of the different symbols. The children also got to use their art skills to explore the different patterns they could create from bark rubbings.

English - Non chronological reports

After reviewing what we had been learning about at the end of last term, the children planned, edited and then published their own non chronological reports on the destruction caused by poachers and hunters and endangered species. The children chose which animals they wanted to write about and then chose their own headings and subheadings to present their different facts and information.

Computing - ScratchJr

This term we are continuing to develop our understanding of programs and algorithms. This week we recapped and reviewed our knowledge and understanding of using the app ScratchJr which is a programming app. The children very quickly were able to create their own algorithms to make their sprite move, grow and shrink, as well as changing their sprite and environmental backgrounds. The children were also able to explain why certain algorithms wouldn't work by spotting mistakes in the programming. 

Mathematics - Addition and subtraction problem solving

This week in maths we have continued to develop our number and place value knowledge by solving 2 digit missing number problems and 2 step word problems. The children were able to break the two 2digit numbers into their tens and ones values to help them. They were also able to use the inverse operation to check their calculations.  

PE - Athletics - Chest passes

This week we developed our coordination, control, and ball skills by focussing on chest passes. The children explored how they needed to change the force and angles to enable a successful pass from various distances. We then took these skills and used them in different game situations.

Week 2

Phonics / Spelling - Homophones

This week in spellings the children have been developing their knowledge and understanding of homophones (words that sound the same but spelt differently). At the start of the week the children were set the challenge of listening to different sentences and choosing the correct spelling of the homophone used correctly in the sentence. At the end of the week the children were set the challenge of creating their own silly sentences correctly using as many different homophones as they could.

PSHE - "You can do it!"

This week the children explored how we learn new skills and how through perseverance we can over come obstacles and develop our skills and learning. We also explored how we can help ourselves and others by offering encouragement and having a positive inner voice. The children were set different challenges and experimented using encouragement and positivity to overcome them.

English - Instructions

This week the children developed their knowledge and understanding of instructions. The children looked through a set of instructions to identify and recognise common features of instructions - verbs, time connectives etc. The children will be using these next week alongside our book "The Clockwork Dragon", to create their own set of instructions.

History - Hospitals and the Crimean War

This week in History the children became historians by looking at different historical evidence and information and drawing on their own knowledge to find out as many different things as they could to find out what hospitals were like during the Crimean war and what the Crimean war was all about.

PE - Dance

This week in dance the children were set the challenge of thinking about how certain words can be portrayed through still poses and movements. Using all the skills they have learnt this year the children created fluid movement and creative poses for the words "freeze", "melt", and "bounce".

Maths - Fractions

This week the children developed their knowledge and understanding of fractions. The children explored equivalent fractions for shapes and amounts and then used their knowledge of times tables to solve fraction word problems.

Week 3

Science - Forces - how things move

This week we started our final science topic on exploring forces. The children were asked what they knew about force and then had to think about how things move and the different forces that are needed to make them move. The children were then set the challenge at investigating lots of toys and working out what forces were needed to make them work.

History - Florence Nightingale

In history this week the children were historians again and looked at the impact Florence Nightingale had on the treatment of patients during the Crimean war and beyond. The children compared drawings and pictures of hospitals from then and now and found all the differences before learning about Florence Nightingale's life and then discussing the changes she brought about.

English - Writing instructions

This week the children used their knowledge of instruction writing along with the story "The Clockwork Dragon" to plan, edit and then publish their own instructions on how to catch a dragon. The children came up with some very creative ways of capturing dragons and were able to use time connectives, imperative verbs, and numbered bullet points to create clear and well laid out instructions.

Maths - Fractions

At the start of the  week the children reviewed their knowledge of fractions of shape and amount before moving on to look at equivalent fractions by linking fractions such as 2/4, 4/16, and 3/9 with  1/2, 1/4, and 1/3. The children then took this further by solving fraction word problems. 

Sports Day

On Thursday afternoon, we all enjoyed taking part in sports day run by CM Sports. It was lovely to see so many grown ups be able to join us to cheer everyone on. The children loved the different activities and did well to still have enough energy to complete the races at the end despite the heat. Congratulations to the blues for gaining the most points.

Week 4

English - Tell me a dragon

This week we started our final writing journey based around the story "Tell me a dragon by Jackie Morris." The children started by watching evidence of dragon sightings around the world before examining dragon photos and labelling them with amazing adjectives that best described the dragon's appearance and personality. Later on in the week, we unpicked the story and identified the different adjectives, and verbs used in the book and then used these to create our own sentences.

Romsey Abbey Project - Friendship

As part of the Year 2 leavers service at Romsey Abbey, the children were set the task of creating an art piece to symbolise friendship. The children decorated individual paper dolls and wrote different words on that reflected what friendship means to them. These are then going to be joined together to make a friendship paper doll chain which we will share at the Abbey to the other schools. 

Maths - Money

This week the children developed their knowledge and understanding of money by focussing on using different coins to make different amounts. The children had to find patterns and systems to find all the different ways and then solve problems by working out how much money was being shown and then creating the same value.

DT - Joining techniques

This week we used our knowledge of materials to think about different ways of joining materials. We explored how different materials and different purposes require different joining techniques. The children experimented with glue, sellotape, blu tac, staples and needle and thread. The children learnt two different sewing stitches - the running stitch and the over stitch which they practised successfully.

Week 5 - The Bee Musical

The children have worked incredibly hard over this last half term learning lines, song lyrics and then rehearsing on stage whilst carrying on with their learning of the Year 2 curriculum. All that hard work really payed off this week when the children performed 3 amazing shows - 2 for their grown ups and 1 for the rest of the school. We are so proud of all of them and hope they are proud of themselves too. This production really showed just how far all of our children have developed during their 3 years at Catherington and sadly how they are now ready for the next step of their learning journey. Congratulations Seahorses - you were amazing!!! 

Week 6

Romsey Abbey - Year 2 Leavers Service

This week the the children spent preparing for their special service at Romsey Abbey. This year the theme of the service was "friendship". The children each created their own friendship bracelets which we shared with each other at the Abbey. Robyn showed our value of courage as she volunteered to make a friendship bracelet for another child from another school and presented it during the service in front of the other schools.

We also thought about what friendship means to us and created a class prayer about diversity and equality which was read superbly by Adelaide and Billy.

Before the service we took part in a scavenger hunt, finding parts of the Abbey which matched the photos we had and learning a little bit of the history of the Abbey.